SB 375 & the Bay Area’s Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS)

Upcoming Events

 
 

More Meetings

SCS brings together different important local and regional issues requiring an unprecedented amount of coordination. Here is is a list of the regular or ad-hoc meetings relevant to San Francisco that will occasionally or regularly include SCS items. All meetings are open to the public.
 
Learn More
 

Sustainable Community Strategies banner

What is SB 375 and SCS?

Senate Bill 375, adopted in October 2008, calls upon each of California's 18 regions to develop an integrated transportation, land-use and housing plan known as a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). This SCS must demonstrate how the region will reduce greenhouse gas emissions through long-range planning.

Regional transportation, land-use and housing plan

The law requires the Regional Transportation Plan and its funding decisions to be consistent with the SCS, and as such may provide an opportunity to leverage more state and federal funding to prioritize sustainable transportation investments in San Francisco. It also requires the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, which anticipates housing need for local jurisdictions, to conform to the SCS, which an opportunity to advocate for increased access to and distribution of affordable housing across the region. However, SB 375's impacts are unclear at this time, and continued participation and advocacy is necessary to positively affect its outcome.

For more information on SB 375, refer to the One Bay Area SB 375 fact sheet.

Who's responsible?

In the Bay Area, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), our regional transportation organization, and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), our regional planning agency, will develop the Strategy in partnership with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. These agencies are tasked with soliciting participation from local governments and agencies, interested residents and community groups, to ensure that all those with a stake in the outcome are actively involved in the Strategy's preparation.

What is One Bay Area?

One Bay Area is a new initiative meant to coordinate efforts among the region's nine counties and 101 towns and cities to create a more sustainable future. One major effort now underway is the development of Plan Bay Area, the region's long-range plan for sustainable land use, transportation and housing.

Metropolitan planning organizations are responsible for implementing SCS. SB 375 applies to the state of California.

MTC & ABAG have released the Draft Plan Bay Area document here, and a companion Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) here (note: extremely large PFD file). You can review both documents at the One Bay Area website here.

ABAG and MTC are slated to adopt Plan Bay Area and the companion Environmental Impact Report in summer 2013.

How is the City participating?

Local elected officials and city staff are participating, along with advocates, public organizations and other local governments in the Bay Area, in the Sustainable Community Strategy development process, and are committed to advocating on behalf of San Francisco's citizens.



  • City agencies meet monthly to coordinate on issues related to sustainability in general, including development of the SCS.
  • Staff from those agencies attend the Regional Advisory Working Group (RAWG), providing input to regional agency staff during the development of the RTP/SCS, and the Regional Housing Needs Allocation Methodology Committee, advise staff about the appropriate methods for allocating the region's housing need. For a more comprehensive list of meetings, please see the SCS Meeting Schedule.
  • Participating City agencies coordinate comments to the regional agencies, providing information and advice to represent our City's diverse interests. For a comprehensive set of letters provided thus far, see San Francisco Correspondence to MTC/ABAG.
  • Department directors and regional agency staff meet at leadership roundtable meetings hosted by Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, as chair of the Transportation Authority Board.
  • The Transportation Authority, who serves as lead coordinator for San Francisco input into the SCS, is coordinating with congestion management agencies (CMAs), transit operators, and planning departments in both the Transbay and Peninsula corridors.

Agencies involved include:

How can I participate?

  1. Join the San Francisco Planning Department discussion on Facebook about SB 375 and SCS.
  2. Participate in One Bay Area
  3. Attend an SCS Workshop/Hearing (Click to see Workshop/Hearing Calendar)

City feedback to regional agencies about SCS

To help inform the development of SCS, San Francisco agencies have sent the following letters to Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG):

  • May 18, 2010 Letter - Comments from City and County of San Francisco agencies on the Regional Advisory Working Group (RAWG) April 2010 meeting and materials presented at the meeting
  • June 30, 2010 Letter - Comments from City and County of San Francisco agencies on the Regional Advisory Working Group (RAWG) May 2010 meeting and materials presented at the meeting
  • October 5, 2010 Letter - Letter from the Mayor's Office of Housing and the Planning Department to the MTC on how affordable housing priorities might be integrated into a Bay Area regional growth strategy
  • October 5, 2010 Letter - Letter from the Mayor's Office of Housing and the Planning Department to ABAG on how affordable housing priorities might be integrated into a Bay Area regional growth strategy
  • December 10, 2010 Letter - Comments from City and County of San Francisco agencies on draft Proposed Performance Targets for SCS
  • December 20, 2010 Letter - Comments from City and County of San Francisco agencies San Francisco Vision Scenario place types and policies
  • May 17, 2011 Letter - Letter from County Transportation Authority regarding the Regional Transportation Plan Call for Projects Submittal.
  • May 20, 2011 Letter - Comments from City and County of San Francisco agencies on Initial Vision Scenario and Alternative Scenarios
  • August 15, 2011 Letter - Comments and Requests for Information on the Sustainable Communities Strategy Detailed Scenarios
  • November 4, 2011 Letter - Letter from SFCTA Chair to MTC on One Bay Area Grant Proposal
  • December 23, 2011 Letter - Comments on the Alternative Scenarios, One Bay Area Block Grant Proposal, and Transportation Investment Policy Discussio
  • May 16th, 2013 Letter - Comments on the Draft Plan Bay Area and its Draft EIR

Past & Upcoming City meetings about SCS

To inform City Commissions and Advisory Commitees on the develompent of SCS, City and County agencies have made the following presentations:

  • June 26, 2012: MTC and ABAG's Scoping Meeting for the Environmental Impact Report for the Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (RTP/SCS), 10 a.m.-noon, at the San Francisco Planning and Urban Research (SPUR) Center, 654 Mission Street.
  • January 5, 2012: MTC and ABAG's Public Workshop for San Francisco on the SCS. 5:45-8:30PM, UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center, 1675 Owens St.
  • October 21, 2011: Leadership Roundtable #4 Regional Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy
  • September 21, 2011: Director's Forum
  • July 6, 2011: Director's Forum: San Francisco's Response to the Sustainable Communities Strategy – development of a shared message to the region about SCS
  • May 5, 2011: Leadership Roundtable #3 Regional Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy
  • April 27, 2011: Update to the Citizens Advisory Committee on the Initial Vision Scenario of the Bay Area's Sustainable Communities Strategy
  • April 19, 2011: Update to the SFCTA Plans and Programs Committee on the Initial Vision Scenario of the Bay Area's Sustainable Communities Strategy
  • February 24, 2011: Update to the SF Planning Commission on the Development of the Bay Area's First Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS)
  • January 26, 2011: Presentation to the Transportation Authority Citizens Advisory Committee
  • January 11, 2011: Presentation to the Transportation Authority Plans and Programs Committee – information item on the development of the SCS
  • May 9th, 2013: Presentation to the Planning Commission – information item on the draft Plan Bay Area and the companion Environmental Impact Report

This webpage has been provided by the San Francisco Planning Department to help inform the public; it provides the information needed to help City and County agencies, citizens, and stakeholders become involved with SCS and SB 375, an important city, state and regional issue.