The Transportation Agency prepares a Regional Transportation Plan every four years, which provides a basis for actions to allocate state and federal funding to transportation projects in Monterey County. The Agency prepares its plan in coordination with the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, which prepares a Metropolitan Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy for the three-county Monterey Bay Area in its role as the federal Metropolitan Planning Organization for this region. These plans outline the Agency’s priorities for meeting future transportation and mobility needs, consistent with the policy goals and objectives adopted by the Board, as well as within the constraints of a transportation revenue forecast over the 20-year planning horizon of the documents. In addition, the Sustainable Communities Strategy integrates land use and transportation strategies that will achieve California Air Resources Board emissions reduction targets.
The Regional Transportation Plan includes three main components: 1) A Policy Element communicating goals and measurable objectives for improving the transportation system, 2) a Financial Element that includes a forecast of revenues over the life of the plan, and 3) an Action Element that includes a list of projects to be funded within the capacity of the funding forecast, which meet the goals and objectives identified in the document. The Regional Transportation Plan does not approve any particular project, but does review the environmental impacts of all proposed projects on a "program level."
Since the passage of SB 375, state law requires that Regional Transportation Plans be consistent with local Sustainable Communities Strategies. Collaborating with AMBAG on a coordinated Regional Transportation Plan/Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy update allows for one Environmental Impact Report (EIR) to be prepared for all three documents.
To begin development of the plan, AMBAG staff has developed a detailed work program and schedule for the 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan / Sustainable Community Strategy that incorporates a variety of planning efforts. In accordance with state and federal guidelines, the 2045 Plan is scheduled for adoption by the AMBAG Board of Directors in June 2022. The Transportation Agency will develop the Regional Transportation Plan update consistent with this timeline.
The Work Program and Timeline are included as Attachments 1 and 2, respectively. A number of key inputs and components that will shape the development of a 2045 Plan are highlighted below.
2022 Regional Growth Forecast
The Regional Growth Forecast projects the region's population, housing and employment out to a specified horizon year (in this case, 2045). Work will begin to update the 2018 Regional Growth Forecast, which will be used in the preparation of the 2045 Plan. The expected completion of the draft 2022 Regional Growth Forecast is summer/early fall 2020.
Regional Housing Needs Assessment
The Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) is mandated by State Housing Law as part of the periodic process of updating local housing elements of the General Plan. The Assessment quantifies the need for housing within each jurisdiction during specified planning periods. AMBAG expects to receive a total Regional Housing Needs Assessment allocation for Monterey County from the California Department of Housing & Community Development in spring/summer 2021 for the 2023-2031 period. The local jurisdictions must update their housing elements to accommodate the new allocations by December 2023.
Policy Area/Technical Updates
The 2045 Plan will evaluate the growing connections between land use and transportation policy, as well as the State’s new emphasis on housing. Data will be updated and policy strategies will be evaluated across several categories within the 2045 Plan, including:
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Land Use
- Regional Growth and Urban Form
- Healthy Environment
- Affordable Housing
- Social Equity and Environmental Justice
- Economic Strategies
Public Involvement Plan
The Transportation Agency and AMBAG wil prepare a public involvement plan to detail the various strategies for obtaining input on the development of the various documents. The public involvement strategies will include series of workshops, visualizations, and other means. The Board of Directors will be asked to adopt the Public Involvement Plan later in 2019.
Environmental Impact Report
AMBAG will prepare a programmatic Environmental Impact Report for the combined Regional Transportation Plan / Metropolitan Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy. It is expected that the Notice of Preparation will be released in early 2020. New developments from recent court cases may increase the required environmental analysis.
Proposed Roles and Responsibilities
A number of committees and working groups will provide oversight and input into the development of all of the documents. In particular, the Transportation Agency will work with the local jurisdictions to update their project lists, which are incorporated into the Regional Transportation Plan.
Sean Vienna from the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments will provide a presentation to the Technical Advisory Committee at the February 2019 meeting on this proposed work plan and timeline for the 2045 Metropolitan Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy.