March 2003

Table of Contents Regional Council Sends $12 Million to Transportation Projects Report on Concurrency Workshop Available General Assembly to Meet March 20 Travel Demand Modeling Workshop -- May 6 & 7 Puget Sound Milestones . . . monitoring VISION 2020 and Destination 2030 New Profile Gives Snapshot of Region's Economic Performance Growth Management Policy Board Considers Draft Criteria for New Growth Centers -- Public Comment Encouraged Economic Development District Streamlines Operations, Integrates with Regional Council About the Central Puget Sound Economic Development District Puget Sound Trends: Manufacturing/Industrial Centers Gain Employment Back Issues

Regional Council Sends $12 Million to Transportation Projects On February 27, the Puget Sound Regional Council's Executive Board directed $12.1 million in federal transportation funds to state and local projects in the central Puget Sound region. The funds were identified through cost savings in projects previously funded by the Regional Council. "Our action keeps priority regional and local projects moving forward. All of these projects are ready to go and will help address some of the most pressing transportation needs in our region," said Councilmember Richard McIver, Regional Council President. Most of the projects recommended for funding were previously targeted for funding from Referendum 51, which was defeated by voters. The projects are in jeopardy without additional funds. The funding package includes: King County $1.2 million ......... I-405 corridor program $1.2 million ......... Alaskan Way Viaduct $1 million ......... Trans-Lake Washington (520) program $800,000 ......... Highway 509 project $400,000 ......... Highway 167 study (Kent-Edgewood) $745,563 ......... SR-167 HOV/SW 27th St HOV/Strander Blvd Connection (Renton) $722,323 ......... 156th Avenue NE - NE 8th Street to Northup Way (Bellevue) $170,950 ......... Overlay for NE 195th Street and 120th Ave. NE (Bothell) $332,600 ......... 16th Avenue NE Overlay (Bellevue) $655,343 ......... Northgate Transit System Management (TSM) Improvements (Seattle) $100,000 ......... Aurora Transit Express (Seattle) Pierce County $2.1 million ......... "D" Street Overpass Snohomish County $1.3 million ......... I-5 HOV lanes $400,000 ......... 148th Street SW in Lynnwood $159,000 ......... Sultan Highway 2/5th Street Traffic Signal Kitsap County $422,000 ......... Kitsap passenger-only ferry plan $212,000 ......... West Kingston Road $148,000 ......... High School Road Preservation and bike and pedestrian improvements. The Executive Board's action includes a caveat that if any of these funds are not obligated by June 1, 2003, remaining funds will be offered to the "D" Street Overpass in Pierce County. If the "D" Street Overpass is unable to use the funds within 15 days, the funds will go to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency for use in their Diesel Solutions program, which retrofits school buses to reduce toxic diesel emissions. For more information, contact Karen Richter at (206) 464-6343, e-mail krichter@psrc.org. Back to top Report on Concurrency Workshop Available A new report details the recommendations of concurrency practitioners from around the region who attended the Regional Council's workshop on transportation concurrency last November. The goal of workshop was to develop recommendations for refining concurrency practices at the local and regional level, and to determine if there is a need for any statewide changes. The report is available on the Web at psrc.org /projects/growth/concur/concurrency.htm, or through the Regional Council's Information Center, (206) 464-7532. This spring, the Regional Council will publish a final report that compiles and combines the findings and recommendations from the Council's two-year concurrency project. This report will be the foundation for discussion of concurrency issues by the Regional Council's Transportation and Growth Management policy boards. For more information, contact Ivan Miller at (206) 464-7549 or imiller@psrc.org. General Assembly to Meet March 20 The Regional Council's General Assembly will gather at Seattle Center's new Fisher Pavilion on March 20. This annual meeting of all Regional Council members will feature a keynote address, election of new officers, a vote on the FY 2004-2005 budget and work program, and the VISION 2020 awards. The meeting is open to the public. The agenda is as follows: 2:30 - 3:30 ......... Registration 3:30 - 5:30 ......... Business meeting 5:30 - 6:30 ......... No-host social 6:30 - 8:30 ......... VISION 2020 Awards Dinner To register or for more information, contact Sylvia Nelson at (206) 464-7518. Back to top Save the Date: Travel Demand Modeling Workshop -- May 6 & 7 A one-day workshop explaining the Regional Council's new travel demand model will be offered on May 6 and 7, 9am - 4pm, in the Regional Council's board room. An agenda and registration information will be available in early April. For more information, contact Gail Boyd, (206) 464-7890, e-mail gboyd@psrc.org. Back to top Puget Sound Milestones . . . monitoring VISION 2020 and Destination 2030 New Profile Gives Snapshot of Region's Economic Performance The Regional Council is putting the finishing touches on the first installment of a new Puget Sound Milestones monitoring report, Central Puget Sound Regional Economic Profile. The profile will highlight key characteristics of the region's economic performance, and outline the region's economic strategy. Monitoring the regional economy and measuring its progress over time will help determine whether the region's policies are achieving the desired results. The region's elected officials can use this information as they re-examine adopted economic policies as part of an upcoming comprehensive update of VISION 2020, the region's growth management, economic and transportation strategy. Installments of the economic report will be released over the next several months, with a final comprehensive report produced in summer 2003. The first section to be released gives an overview of the central Puget Sound economy, including data on labor force characteristics, employment, unemployment, income, wages, and inflation. Comparisons are made between the region's four counties, as well as with the state of Washington and the nation. Additional chapters to be released over the next several months will address trends in employment and unemployment from 1995-2001, provide an analysis of change at the industrial sector level, and describe the locations and characteristics of key regional industries. Chapters will also explore regional poverty and how it has changed over time, and examine selected regional employment clusters, with the aim of providing a basis for understanding their competitive advantages. Final installments will compare the region to other regions of similar size and industry composition, and evaluate the central Puget Sound economy in relation to the stated goals of VISION 2020. The first section of the Central Puget Sound Regional Economic Profile is expected to be available mid-March on the Regional Council's Web site, psrc.org, or by calling the Regional Council's Information Center, (206) 464-7532. For more information, contact Kristen Koch at (206) 587-5667, e-mail kkoch@psrc.org, or Ben Bakkenta at (206) 464-5372, e-mail bbakkenta@psrc.org. Percent of Industry Employment in the Region by County, March 2002 This figure shows the percentage of employment by industry that each county is composed of in comparison to the industry jobs total of the region. King County accounts for over 50 percent of the jobs in every sector category. See the Employment section of the upcoming Regional Economic Profile. Source: Employment Security Department, Puget Sound Regional Council. Per Capita Personal Income and Wages by Region, State and Nation, 2001 The central Puget Sound region has higher per capita income and wages than both the state and the nation. Total Personal Income and Wages are explored in the upcoming Regional Economic Profile. Source: Employment Security Department, Bureau of Economic Analysis, Puget Sound Regional Council. County Percent of Region Employment, March 2002 King County holds the highest percent share of regional employment of the four counties. Regional employment is discussed in more detail in the upcoming Regional Economic Profile. Source: Employment Security Department, Puget Sound Regional Council. Back to top Growth Management Policy Board Considers Draft Criteria for New Growth Centers -- Public Comment Encouraged The Growth Management Policy Board is inviting public comment on draft criteria for new growth centers. The draft criteria define characteristics and roles of regional growth and manufacturing industrial centers, specify growth thresholds, and clarify how new centers will be designated. The final criteria will apply only to newly proposed regional growth and manufacturing industrial centers. Last October, the policy board approved Central Puget Sound Regional Growth Centers - 2002, a new monitoring report examining the successes and challenges experienced by regional centers between 1995 and 2000. In that action, the board recommended addressing a range of issues related to centers. Among the recommendations was direction for staff to prepare new regional criteria and designation processes for both types of regional centers for consideration by the board. Currently, the region has 21 designated centers and eight manufacturing industrial centers. The region's growth and transportation strategy, VISION 2020, calls for focusing additional housing, jobs and transportation investments in these areas. Federal transportation funds distributed by the Regional Council are targeted to designated centers and the corridors that connect them. On April 10, the Growth Management Policy Board will make a recommendation on the draft criteria to the Regional Council's Executive Board. Public comments are welcome at the policy board meeting, and throughout the review and approval process. It is expected that the Executive Board will take action on the new criteria this spring. The draft criteria are available for review on the Web at psrc.org/about/news/news012803.htm, or by contacting the Regional Council's Information Center, (206) 464-7532. For more information, please contact Ben Bakkenta, (206) 464-5372, e-mail bbakkenta@psrc.org Back to top Economic Development District Streamlines Operations, Integrates with Regional Council After a year of living together, the Central Puget Sound Economic Development District and the Regional Council are about to be married. In January, the EDD board voted to make a long-term commitment with the Regional Council to strengthen economic development planning and improve efficiency. The EDD board named Mary McCumber, the Regional Council's executive director, to also serve as executive director of the EDD. The merger will become official after approval of the Regional Council's FY 2004-2005 budget and work program at the annual General Assembly meeting on March 20. "It's a good time to make this move, both to increase government efficiency and bolster economic development planning and coordination within the region," says Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg, EDD Board Chair. Ladenburg is also vice president of the Regional Council. More than a year ago, the Regional Council and the EDD began exploring options for bringing the two organizations closer together, with the aim of saving taxpayer dollars and more closely linking the EDD's economic development work with the Regional Council's regional growth management and transportation planning. In July 2002, EDD staff co-located at Regional Council's offices and one EDD staff member became a contract employee of the Regional Council. Under federal law, the District and Regional Council will still retain separate boards to carry out specific federally mandated responsibilities. After action by the Regional Council's General Assembly, EDD staff will join the Regional Council staff. For more information about the merger, contact Mark Gulbranson at (206) 464-7524. Back to top About the Central Puget Sound Economic Development District The Central Puget Sound Economic Development District is the federally designated economic development district for the central Puget Sound region and receives federal funding for carrying out regional economic planning. One of its responsibilities is to rank proposals within the region for Economic Development Administration (EDA) grants for infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer. EDA awards are targeted to projects which are market-based and proactive, will result in the creation of high skill, high wage jobs and attract a sizeable amount of private investment. The EDD also provides a variety of technical and informational services throughout the region. These services include direct assistance to local jurisdictions in preparing economic development plans and implementing projects, economic development issue reports, analysis of individual sectors of the region's economy, and the provision of economic and demographic base data. The EDD was formed by agreement between King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties in 1971 as a public non-profit corporation. Its governing board of directors includes elected officials of the four counties, cities, and port districts as well as appointed members of the private sector. Board meetings are held regularly throughout the region and are open to the public. Back to top Manufacturing/Industrial Centers Gain Employment The region's eight manufacturing industrial centers cover a total of 22,048 acres (34.5 square miles), and represent some of the most productive and intensely developed manufacturing and industrial land in the Pacific Northwest. The centers are characterized by intense manufacturing and industrial development, high technology uses, warehouse and distribution activities, major port facilities, commercial fishing, and related waterfront uses. Between 1995 and 2000, total covered employment1 in the eight centers increased 14 percent, from 156,870 to 178,960. Change within the individual centers varied dramatically. Some, like Seattle's Ballard-Interbay and the Port of Tacoma, changed little, while others (Seattle's Duwamish, Kent, and Paine Field/Boeing Everett) grew quite robustly. The most dramatic gains and losses included an 85 percent increase in Redmond Overlake, and an 18 percent decrease in North Tukwila. Since the adoption of VISION 2020 in 1995, King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties have collectively identified eight manufacturing industrial centers, mapped their boundaries, and developed countywide planning policies which address their preservation, development, and expansion. In addition, many of the comprehensive plans of the communities in which these eight centers are located have been amended to include specific provisions to address them. Manufacturing Industrial Center Covered Employment 1 Source: Washington State Employment Security Department, Puget Sound Regional Council. 1Covered employment refers to the approximately 85 percent of total jobs that are covered under the state unemployment insurance program.

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