The Association of Monterey Bay Area Government Area Governments (AMBAG) is required by federal regulations to prepare and maintain a public participation plan for the tri-county region. This comprehensive document guides regional planning agencies, such as the Transportation Agency for Monterey County and local jurisdictions in the public participation process and how it will be structured for federally-funded transportation plans, programs and projects in the region. Staff for the Transportation Agency has assisted AMBAG in the preparation of this draft plan.
AMBAG, as the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Monterey Bay region, prepares and adopts the Public Participation Plan at least once every four years. The prior Public Participation Plan, the 2015 Monterey Bay Area Public Participation Plan, was adopted by AMBAG in April 2015 to comply with the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users legislation. The 2019 Public Participation Plan will cover the four-year period from 2019-2023 and must comply with the current Federal Surface Transportation Act, Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), which was enacted in 2015. The 2019 Public Participation Plan emphasizes the transportation decision making process, including the expanded use of visualization techniques and innovative online marketing strategies in public outreach.
The requirements for the Public Participation Plan under the FAST Act include increased involvement and collaboration with members of the public, decision makers and staff from the local jurisdictions and partner agencies within the region.
Key sections of the 2019 Public Participation Plan are listed below:
- Public Participation Plan Guiding Principles
- 2019 Public Participation Plan Timeline
- Incorporating Limited English-Proficiency Populations into the Public Participation Plan
- Public Participation Plan Procedures and Development Process
- Interested Parties and Public Engagement
- Online and Visualization Outreach Strategies
Recognizing that the essential component of public outreach is communication, the Transportation Agency Board of Directors adopted a set of strategic goals in 2017 which included the need to enhance public communications. The 2019 Draft Public Participation Plan provides the tools to accomplish that goal.
On June 26, 2019, the Transportation Agency's Board of Directors received the 2019 Draft Public Participation Plan and authorized its release for a 45-day public comment review period. The Board of Directors also scheduled a public hearing for the draft plan to take place during their next meeting on August 28, 2019. This report requests that the Transportation Agency Board of Directors receive a presentation on the 2019 Draft Public Participation Plan, open a public hearing on the draft plan, receive public comment and close the public.
Attached to the report is the introduction to the Draft 2019 Public Participation Plan. A link to the entire plan is provided as a web attachment. More information about the plan can be found on the AMBAG website at: https://ambag.org/programs-services/planning/public-participation-plan.