Regional Government & Planning

Regional Government & Planning

We support comprehensive regional planning and the establishment of a planning agency in our region.
Position History: 

LWVBA Position 2012-2014 (Updated 5/2000)

*Vertical Positions – Local Leagues are authorized to take local action on the basis of these positions.

Regional Government

  • Support legislative action to establish a multi-purpose regional planning agency for the nine Bay Area counties with directly elected representatives from newly established districts
  • Support, in the interim, state or local government action to consolidate existing regional agencies
  • Support measures to make regional decision-making bodies representative of the population distribution and region-wide governmental, environmental, social equity, and economic interests
    • Recognition that many regional functions require cooperation between the level of government closest to the people and regional governing bodies
    • Concerted effort to maintain local government identity within the regional framework
    • Authority for the designated regional planning agency (currently ABAG) to prepare and implement a long-term, comprehensive regional plan and capital improvements program according to state policies and guidelines, with:
      • power of eminent domain
      • authority to review local general plans and major development proposals for consistency with the regional plan
      • power to allocate or withhold federal and state funds to implement the comprehensive regional plan and capital improvements program
    • Mandatory local general and special district plan compliance with the comprehensive regional plan
    • Reform of the state/local finance system to provide local governments with sufficient and dependable funding, and adequate funding for comprehensive regional planning and implementation

Regional Planning

Support legislation to establish state/regional/local comprehensive planning criteria that promote compact growth, natural resources protection, and social and economic equity .

  1. Include as planning considerations: environmental quality, transportation, conservation and environmentally sensitive development of the Bay, its shoreline and tributaries, parks, open space, agricultural lands and natural resources, sewage and waste disposal, housing, seismic hazards, employment, social equity, and economic health
  2. Limit future growth to the existing urbanized areas in order to prevent urban sprawl, protect environmental resources, maintain open space around urban centers, utilize existing services, provide workforce housing close to jobs, and promote a regional transportation system, through:  
    1. regional growth framework that coordinates local growth boundaries and includes: 
      1. land use controls outside the boundaries to protect agricultural lands and natural resources,  
      2. requirements inside the boundaries for more job-related housing and transit-oriented development with. consideration of social equity, and natural resource protection, and 
      3. adherence of LAFCOs to the regional growth framework 
      4. regional capital improvements program for allocating federal, state, and local resources for regional facilities, low-to-moderate income housing, and land acquisition to implement the regional plan. 
  3. Create a sense of regional identity.
  4. Maintain local and community identity. 
Issues: 
League to which this content belongs: 
The Bay Area