| Puget Sound Regional Council psrc.org | |
| Regional Coordination at work | |
| Transportation Policy Board and Growth Management Policy Board | |
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July 14, 2005
The Transportation Policy Board welcomed Joni Earl, Executive Director of Sound Transit, as she presented the Sound Transit Long Range Plan. Sound Transit recently approved an update to their long range plan. All of the projects in phase one are underway and will be completed in the next few years. The long range plan will include increased emphasis on serving Regional Growth Centers, additional HCT corridors and provide additional information for technology options in the corridors. The Phase 2 System Plan will be crafted this winter. For more information, contact Charlie Howard at 206-464-7122 or choward@psrc.org.
The Transportation Policy Board was briefed on the decision framework for the VISION 2020+20 Update. The Growth Management Policy Board is well into the update process for the Update. The schedule calls for two major public review periods: (1) at the draft Environmental Impact Statement stage, without a preferred alternative, February 2006, and (2) at the draft Final Environmental Impact Statement stage, with a preferred alternative, September 2006. Adoption is scheduled for March 2007. The Transportation Policy Board will be part of the decision in selecting a preferred alternative. For more information, contact Norman Abbott at 206-464-7134 or nabbott@psrc.org.
The Transportation Policy Board welcomed Amy Arnis, Chris Picard and David Dye of the Washington State Department of Transportation, who presented the 2005 Transportation Partnership Funding Package. The new funding includes a phased in 9.5 cent gas tax, weight fees, and licensing fees. The first 3 cents of gas tax went into effect of July 1, 2005. Information was also provided on the many projects moving forward with the new state funding, with emphasis on increased safety and improved flow at chokepoints. For more information, contact Charlie Howard at 206-464-7122 or choward@psrc.org.
In Other Business, the Transportation Policy Board:
The Transportation and Growth Management Policy Boards recommended certification of 2004 Comprehensive Plan Amendments for the City of Monroe and the 2004 Comprehensive Plan Update for the City of Bremerton. The City of Monroe Amendments include a new transportation demand model, reflected discussion of a new transportation mitigation fee program, and clarified the method of calculating level of service conditions. The City of Bremerton's plan includes capital facilities and services that will accommodate its growth targets, identifies level of service standards, and meets concurrency requirements. Both Monroe's and Bremerton's plans are consistent with Destination 2030 and VISION 2020. For more information, contact Yorik Stevens-Wajda at 206-389-2158 or ystevens@psrc.org.
The Growth Management Policy Board acted to postpone their decision on recommendations in the rural issue paper. The Board continued its review of the rural issue paper. Staff reported that since the June meeting additional comments have been received that suggest that the issue paper does not go far enough to talk about the significant differences in the character and approach to rural areas in the four counties. Staff will continue to work on this issue. For more information, contact Norman Abbott at (206) 464-7134 or nabbott@psrc.org.
The Growth Management Policy Board welcomed John Owen and Julie Bassuk of MAKERS who provided an update on progress made on the environmental issue paper. Their presentation also covered briefings on energy and utility issues-focusing on sewer service. In late 2004, the PSRC contracted with MAKERS to assess the current state of information and resources for environmental planning at the regional level. This assessment is intended to guide how the updated regional strategy addresses both the natural and built environment. The primary sections of the issue paper discuss (1) regional environmental priorities, and (2) implications for regional planning. For more information, contact Rocky Piro at (206) 464-6360 or rpiro@psrc.org.
The Growth Management Policy Board discussed preliminary recommendations in the housing issue paper. The housing issue paper includes an overview of current housing laws and policies, comments received during the scoping process, market trends, housing stock data, and best practices for housing policy. It concludes with preliminary policy recommendations, possible implementation actions, and ideas for monitoring.This information will be brought before the Board at a future meeting for action to proceed. The preliminary recommendations will then be incorporated into the process for the VISION 2020 + 20 update. For more information, contact Carol Naito at (206) 464-7535 or cnaito@psrc.org.
The Growth Management Policy Board discussed eight regional growth scenarios that have been created using the INDEX - Paint the Region Analysis tool. PSRC is using a new sketch-planning tool called Index - Paint the Region to conduct sensitivity tests of how the region might accommodate an additional 1.6 million people and 1.1 million jobs by the year 2040. The purpose is to develop and analyze a wide range of growth scenarios, with the goal of producing well-defined alternatives that will describe different ways in which the region might accommodate future growth through the distribution of population and employment. These alternatives will be further analyzed for social, economic, and environmental impacts in the VISION 2020 + 20 project's environmental impact statement. This analysis will lead to the development of a preferred alternative vision for future regional growth. For more information, contact Ben Bakkenta at (206) 464-5372 or bbakkenta@psrc.org.
In other business, the Growth Management Policy Board:
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