STPP California 2003 - 2004 Initiatives
Transportation Incentives 

Developing compact new suburbs, transit-oriented town centers and neighborhoods and encouraging infill and redevelopment can help California accommodate this growth, while maintaining its rural heritage and capitalizing on existing transportation investments. 

For instance, SB 1636 (Figueroa), sponsored by STPP and signed into law by Governor Davis on September 12, 2002, removes a state regulation that often delays or blocks infill developments and prevents the creation of affordable housing located near shops, services and transportation. This traffic congestion measure, known as the traffic “level of service” (LOS) standard, requires any proposed housing or commercial development to prove that it will not have a significant impact on traffic congestion.  It also requires projects to mitigate the impacts on congestion, often through road widening and other measures that degrade the pedestrian environment and “walkability” of the local area.

In addition, Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) programs give Council of Governments (COGs) a tool to reward jurisdictions that approve compact, mixed-use development in urban locations near transit hubs with grants for transportation improvements. Existing transportation funds are used to invest in existing urban areas thus improving infrastructure where people live and transit exists while protecting valuable agricultural land. A COG initiates a TLC program with a set-aside of money from their local, state, and federal transportation

I.  SACOG Community Design Implementation  Community Design is a transportation funding program to provide support for land use that conforms to the following “smart growth” principles – transportation choices, housing choices, compact development, use of existing assets, mixed land uses, natural resources conservation, and quality design – as an effective way to reduce or shorten vehicle trips, reduce congestion and improve air quality.  Near-term Program Objectives include:  Provide transportation infrastructure for specific land development projects or areas with plans or policies that conform to the principles; Provide transportation infrastructure for developed areas that conform to the principles but lack the infrastructure; Provide planning assistance to modify plans, other guidance, or specific projects; and Provide on-the-ground prototypes of the principles throughout the region.  Successful applicants for capital infrastructure projects must meet all federal funding requirements and processes, negotiate a coordinated phasing plan with SACOG, and be subject to SACOG’s “Use it or Lose it” funding policy.

II.  Transportation for Livable Communities Program  (Central Valley) 

California ’s Department of Finance projects that the population of California ’s Great Central Valley will triple by 2040.  How that growth takes form will have a critical impact on the Valley’s air quality problems, economic development, and ability to preserve the prime agricultural land.  Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) programs give COGs a tool to reward jurisdictions that approve compact, mixed-use development in urban locations near transit hubs, with grants for transportation improvements.  Recently, researchers at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and around the country have concluded that compact, mixed-use, transit-oriented and pedestrian-friendly design has significant benefits including better air quality, reduced infrastructure costs, reduced development impacts on fragile land, and attracts economic development.  STPP’s will also develop a Transportation for Livable Communities (TLC) program in the San Joaquin Valley by January 2005. 

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