Regional Plans and Projects
We help regions and the communities within them improve their social well-being, economic growth, and environmental sustainability from the neighborhood to the community to the metropolitan region. Regional planning has evolved over the last six decades through a variety of initiatives, planning efforts, and other broad-based movements. Major forces, such as the emergence of single-function state infrastructure planning agencies and heightened awareness of growth impacts on the environment, helped raise serious concerns regarding growth-related challenges such as air quality, regional economic health, overcrowded schools, affordable housing, urbanization of prime agricultural land, and water shortages.
Unlike individual city and county planning projects and programs, regional planning deals with land use and housing, transportation and mobility, infrastructure, economic development, and resource conservation for multiple communities and stakeholders. Often neighboring communities share common characteristics and values and rely on the same resources for their success. However, they may also have conflicting and competing interests. Regional planning is based on the principle that, by working together, local communities can address region-wide environmental, social, and economic issues which may otherwise be left unattended or result in negative consequences. At the heart of this principle is the idea that through consensus building, trust, and an understanding of common goals, local communities and the regions in which they are located can become stronger, more sustainable, and vibrant.
We use our extensive background and expertise in comprehensive planning, research and policy development, and public engagement to plan regions and the communities within them as they grow and change, develop economies, plan transportation and infrastructure systems, and use resources and open spaces. We work with communities, local officials, regional agencies, and other stakeholders to develop long- and short-term plans, strategies, programs, and tools that promote the sustainability and best use of a region’s lands, resources, and people. We help our clients address many regional issues, including:
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Recent Projects
Fresno Clovis Metropolitan Area Multi-modal Corridor Land Use Integration Partner Project
We are currently leading a consulting team in preparation of the Fresno Clovis Metropolitan Area Multi-modal Corridor Land Use Integration Partner Project (Partner Project) in the South San Joaquin Valley. This ambitious, collaborative effort will plan to develop a regional, multi-modal transportation network among Madera, Fresno, Kings, and Tulare counties and their 30 cities. It represents a long-term approach to regional land use and transportation planning, resource management, and economic development aimed at creating a multi-modal, multi-city, multi-county, transit oriented-transportation corridor.
The Partnership Project builds upon the 2009 Metro Rural Loop Feasibility Study results. It is intended to strengthen inter-jurisdictional relationships between and among partner agencies and develop model land use policies and zoning changes that will support and facilitate the Metro Rural Loop. Key objectives of the project include preserving the Metro Rural Loop corridor as a long-term multi-modal transportation corridor; creating compact, transit-oriented communities that preserve farmland and open space; and implementing adopted regional plans, sustainability initiatives, and significant transportation projects (e.g., San Joaquin Valley Blueprint, Smart Valley Places, Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, High Speed Rail system). The results of the Partner Project will provide inputs into Caltrans system planning, the general plan and zoning ordinance updates of partner jurisdictions, and the sustainable communities strategies (i.e., SB 375) of regional planning agencies.
San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Roadmap
We managed a consulting team for the Regional Policy Council to produce an implementation program for the adopted San Joaquin Valley Blueprint. The project, known as the Blueprint Roadmap, equips Valley communities, planning staff, and elected officials with tools and strategies for Blueprint implementation that are within the capabilities of cities and counties, cost-effective, and fiscally responsible. As part of the Roadmap project we prepared the following reports: the SJV Blueprint Planning Process Summary; the SJV Blueprint Guidance Framework; and the Institutional Arrangements Whitepaper.
The Blueprint Planning Process Summary provides an overview of the first four years of the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint (2005-2009), including the key players and participants, and the results of the Valleywide planning effort. The Guidance Framework outlines 12 strategies and related actions to create a structure, process, and set of actions for carrying out the Blueprint and for translating Blueprint principles into local policy and actions. It identifies the roles and responsibilities of various public and non-profit organizations; financial and personnel resources for implementation of the Blueprint; and communication methods and tools to build support for Blueprint implementation. Finally, the Institutional Arrangements Whitepaper highlights nine case studies of regional institutional arrangements from California and the nation, describes the relationship of institutional arrangements to implementation of the Valley Blueprint, and outlines three institutional arrangement options for the Valley.
As part of the Roadmap project, we worked closely with directors and staff from the eight Valley Regional Planning Agencies (i.e., COGs/MPOs), the Valley Planners Workgroup, and the Regional Policy Council. We also coordinated extensively with Blueprint partners participating in and conducting dozens of meetings and interviews with representatives from over 60 local, regional, State, and Federal agencies and organizations.
| Major Work Products |
| San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Process Summary |
San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Planners Toolkit
In collaboration with Mogavero Notestine Associates, we led the development, design, and preparation of the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Planners Toolkit. The Toolkit is an educational guide and reference source for communities who want to translate the SJV Blueprint Smart Growth Principles into action. As part of the Planners Toolkit, we worked closely with directors and staff from the eight Valley Regional Planning Agencies (i.e., COGs/MPOs), the Valley Planners Workgroup, and the Regional Policy Council. We developed the Toolkit with the idea that a multitude of smart growth resources already exist. Many organizations throughout California and the country have developed smart growth initiatives, strategies, plans, and ordinances. Instead of reinventing these resources, we gathered the best and most appropriate strategies, plans, policies, and ordinances that have been successfully used in other communities for use in the San Joaquin Valley.
We designed the Toolkit a dynamic online resource so that existing tools can be refined and new tools added on a regular basis to allow the Toolkit to evolve and expand over time. While intended for local planning staff, the Toolkit is designed to also be accessed by community members and decision-makers. The Toolkit uses the ideas, experiences, and input of its users. Through its interactive interface, the Toolkit asks that its users participate in Toolkit by rating the usefulness of existing tools and contributing new content. Each tool includes a place for users to critique and suggest modifications to existing tools and recommend new case studies, templates, and other resources. The Toolkit also includes a place to request development of new tools and to submit applicable content.
In 2011 the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Planners Toolkit won the Best Practices Award from both the Central and Sacramento Valley sections of the American Planning Association. The Toolkit was identified as a “fabulous resource sensitive to the economic realities facing jurisdictions today.” The awards committee was particularly impressed that the Toolkit was developed through an eight county collaborative effort that engaged the community planners in the San Joaquin Valley.
APA Award Winning Plan x2
Sustainable Paradise: a vision for the future of the San Diego/Tijuana Metropolitan region
In collaboration with Citizens for Century 3 (C3), we designed, formatted, and prepared Sustainable Paradise: a vision for the future of the San Diego/Tijuana Metropolitan region. Sustainable Paradise is based on John Nolen‘s 1908 Comprehensive Plan for San Diego and “Temporary Paradise?”, a 1974 publication by Kevin Lynch and Donald Appleyard, which looked at the unique qualities of the San Diego/Tijuana Metropolitan region and how it might be sustained. Sustainable Paradise builds upon a 1998 C3 assessment of the San Diego /Tijuana region‘s progress in achieving the vision articulated in “Temporary Paradise?” known as “Toward Permanent Paradise.”
Sustainable Paradise recognizes that new issues have emerged in the region, including: climate change and the effects of natural disasters; conflicts over dwindling resources; new technologies that change how we live; globally linked economies; and an aging society. Sustainable Paradise provides a vision for a functionally integrated international metropolis that preserves its natural and historic assets; displays its unique cultural identity through the design of distinct cities and neighborhoods; provides attractive transportation alternatives to cars; designs streets that are fun and safe to walk and bike; values architecture, art, and the environment; and provides affordable access to world class education and health care systems. It organizes these topics into a series of strategies and actions that can be used to advocate for more sustainable future in the San Diego/Tijuana Metropolitan region.
Click here to download Sustainable Paradise
Regional Planning and Climate Change: Understanding SB 375
The passage of SB 375 focused new attention on regional planning in California. Many State, regional, and local officials were left to ask how land use, transportation, and housing planning would be affected by this new law. To answer some of these questions and clarify what SB 375 does and doesn’t do, Mintier Harnish prepared a brief, but consice brochure. The brochure summarizes this complex piece of legislation (and clean-up legislation SB 575) and explains who will implement it and how it is likely to change the transportation, housing, and land use planning process. It dispels some common myths about SB 375 and tries to clarify its implications.
We have used this brochure successfully to assist our clients and dozens of other regional and local officials and planners gain a better understanding of this complex law and how it will likely effect planning processes in California. We hope you will find it useful as well.
