Plan Bay Area 2040: MTC Invites Comments on Preferred Scenario

In September 2016 MTC released the Draft Preferred Scenario, a framework for accommodating projected regional household and employment growth in the nine-county Bay Area by the year 2040. The Draft Preferred Scenario will form the foundation for Plan Bay Area 2040, a strategic update to Plan Bay Area 2013 and a long-range roadmap for transportation and land-use planning in the Bay Area. 

The Draft Preferred Scenario presents updated 25-year growth forecasts that reflect the region’s booming economy over the past four years, including a 15 percent increase in employment and a 25 percent increase in households relative to the last plan. With the Scenario, MTC and its planning partner, the Association of Bay Area Governments, seek to provide sufficient housing at all income levels for current residents and newcomers alike, and focuses development in Priority Development Areas (PDAs) – pockets of land close to transit that local jurisdictions have identified as appropriate for smart, compact development. 

For more information on the Draft Preferred Scenario, including projected and proposed growth and land use patterns, the proposed transportation investment strategy, and performance against regionally adopted targets and equity measures, click here and see “Presentations and Memorandums” in the right-hand column.

MTC is accepting public comment on the Draft Preferred Scenario until October 14, 2016. Feedback should be submitted to MTC via email at info@bayareametro.gov or via U.S. mail to MTC, 375 Beale Street, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA 94105.

Public comment will help guide refinements to the preferred scenario prior to adoption by MTC and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Executive Board at a joint November 2016 meeting.  Plan Bay Area 2040 is slated for final adoption in September 2017.