Report to the Commission and the ABAG Executive Board: June 26, 2019

Status Report: AB 1487 Ad Hoc Committee:

• The Ad Hoc Committee appointed by the MTC Chair and ABAG President has met twice in the last month. Members include:
  • Vice Chair Alfredo Pedroza, Jim Spering, Amy Worth, Libby Schaaf and Damon Connolly (MTC)
  • President David Rabbit, VP Jesse Arreguin, Cindy Chavez, Julie Pierce and Warren Slocum (ABAG)

• The Assemblyman’s office has provided questions and issues related to the bill, and has sought input from the Ad Hoc members; the office staff met with the Ad Hoc group on July 21^st.  A meeting with assemblyman Chiu is set for this Friday, June 28th. No final/formal recommendations have been submitted on behalf of either MTC or ABAG.

The following issues and initial input has been provided as follows:

• Distribution of Duties: The Ad Hoc group commented that establishment of a separate Regional Housing Authority was not preferred, as activities and authorities contemplated in the bill could be assumed and shared between MTC and ABAG. The primary assignments are suggested as follows:
  
   

Language would be included to transfer responsibilities to any new regional Governance structure, should one be established in subsequent legislation following a regional deliberative process.

• Revenues: As previously advanced by both boards, sales tax is advised to be removed from consideration.
  
   
• Expenditures: Key comments included:

• At least 75% of any tax revenue should go to the county of origin based on revenue generated, leaving up to 25% for a regional fund; the possible exception would be for the employer “head tax” (suggested 50/50 split) which has distinct regional characteristics/impacts.
  
   
• Within each county, counties and cities should collaborate to determine distribution of the 75% funding to projects within their jurisdiction, with an allowance that the four largest cities would receive a direct allocation of funds as a proportion of their share of the county’s total RHNA allocation.  However, to ensure that projects indeed move forward and not languish, timely use of funds conditions should be imposed.
  
   
• For both  county and regional funding shares, required (i.e. at least) minimums (“floors”); not maximums (caps) would be set for the “three P’s”:
  
  Production: 50%
  
  Preservation: 15%
  
  Protection: 5%
  
   
• Flexibility should be embedded to allow for revisiting certain provisions based on experience and mutual agreement between MTC and ABAG: e.g. distribution of responsibilities, percentage shares across the 3 P’s.
  
   

Bay Area Metro Awards/ABAG General Assembly

June 6, 2019

MTC and ABAG hosted the first Bay Area Metro Awards, our new joint award recognizing contributions toward the region’s mobility, affordability, and resilience. For those that missed the event, details and videos can be accessed on ABAG or MTC websites. The award ceremony was followed by my first ABAG General Assembly as Executive Director; the Assembly unanimously approved the ABAG 2019 Budget/Work Plan. The session ended with a panel on Housing Challenges & Best Practices with the mayors of Fremont & Burlingame; Sup. David Rabbitt & KQED’s Guy Marzorati.

SCAG/USC: Impact of Census 2020

June 11, 2019

I was invited to speak on a panel addressing the role of metropolitan planning as it aligns with critical data coming from the upcoming Census 2020, it was a great reminder of how crucial that national exercise is, and the role we all play to have our constituents participate in the count! I was able to highlight our Planning team’s ground breaking scenario based planning Horizons initiative.

Meeting with Rating Agencies

New York- June 17-18, 2019

I joined CFO Brian Mayhew and Treasury Director Sue Woo in two days of introductory meetings with Moody’s, S & P and Fitch rating agencies. We successfully reinforced our commitment to ensure that BATA’s bridge assets and attendant debt portfolio are well managed as a top priority. We also presented a refinancing BATA is pursuing this summer.

Bus Tour of San Mateo Housing and Transportation Projects

Commissioner Gina Papan and representatives from several San Mateo County, City and business interests graciously hosted a half day tour of TOD/housing projects, as well as key transportation planned investments. Thanks to Commissioners Nick Josefowitz, Amy Worth and Anne Halsted who were able to join staff on the tour. The “on the ground” view was instructive, and a model we should consider in other parts of the region. Thanks Gina!

10th Annual Norman Mineta National Transportation Finance Summit

June 21, 2019

I was invited to deliver the key note address for this event, hosted by the Mineta Transportation Institute and San Francisco Commonwealth Club. It was a true honor to participate alongside former Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta, one of the undisputed transportation leaders in this country. The theme of the Summit was “The Intersection between Transportation and Housing: Building Blocks for the Future” — indeed the challenge of our current time in the Bay Area.

MTI Annual Awards and Convocation

June 22, 2019

MTI graciously invited me to deliver the commencement address to the graduating class of 2019, for the Master’s degree in Transportation Management, with its namesake Secretary Mineta in attendance. Commissioners Dave Cortese and Sam Liccardo were present, as was State Senator and former Commissioner Jim Beall, and former Commissioner Rod Diridon (one of the founding fathers of MTI) among other dignitaries.

ITE Western District Annual Meeting

Monterey CA, June 24, 2019

I presented the opening key note address for this regional gathering of engineering professional and students.  It was gratifying to see the diverse program featuring highway and pedestrian safety, complete streets, active transportation, and future planning for autonomous vehicles among many other topics.