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Home My WebLink About1999-02-09 - AGENDA REPORTS - SCAG (2)AGENDA REPORT City Manager Appro, Item to be presented CONSENT CALENDAR DATE: February 9, 1999 Jeffrey Lambert SUBJECT: SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (SLAG) DEPARTMENT: Planning and Building Services RECOMMENDED ACTION Receive report and direct staff to work with SCAG to officially assign the City of Santa Clarita to the North County District (including the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster) of SLAG and pursue a more active role for the City in SCAG policy discussions, and begin participating with Palmdale and Lancaster in subregional policy planning, projects and studies. BACKGROUND The City of Santa Clarita is a member agency within the Southern California Association of Governments (SLAG). SCAG is a voluntary association of cities and counties formed by a "joint powers agreement" and funded through federal transportation planning grants, state planning grants and contracts, local grants and contracts, membership dues and member fee services. SCAG prepares regional policies and regional action plans that address issues that cross city and county boundaries such as transportation, air quality, housing, growth, hazardous waste and water quality. The SCAG region includes 184 cities and the counties of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Imperial. Members of SCAG's Regional Council representing areas adjacent to Santa Clarita include David Myers from Palmdale and Dennis Washburn from Calabasas. The City of Santa Clarita has had many regional projects with the Antelope Valley cities, including the North County Transportation Coalition and the Ventura Rail Restoration Study. Mayor Darcy has asked City staff to look into ways the City could take a more active role in the regional policy discussions of SLAG. City staff discussed this question with SCAG staff who recommended the City formalize its relationship with the Antelope Valley cities of Lancaster and Palmdale. Formalizing this relationship would be accomplished in two phases. First, the City would request in writing to be included in SCAG District 43 with the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale. This is an administrative procedure within SCAG and acknowledges our interest in working together as a subregion. Second, since SCAG recognizes District 43 as the North County Subregion for policy planning purposes, three elected officials are eligible to be appointed to SCAG's three policy committees to represent the subregion. The three SCAG policy committees are: Transportation and Communications, Energy and Environment and Community, Economic and Human Development. The three elected officials selected for appointment to SCAG's policy committees (one to each committee) could occur in connection with a meeting of the North County Transportation Coalition. FISCAL IMPACT No specific fiscal impacts have been identified at this time. However, expanded involvement could require administration funding for subregion, travel costs and additional revenues for special projects. ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS Staff has identified the following alternative actions the Council could take: Council could direct staff not to pursue a more active role for the City in SLAG. Council could provide other direction to staff and ask that this item be returned for future discussion. ATTACHMENTS SCAG Frequently Asked Questions JJL:Iep s:\pbs\advance\scag.doc I Regional Cooperation, not Regional Government \y{` NEVADA CALIFORNIA L Poppe Leadership Vsion Progress Leadership, vision and progress which promote economic growth, personal well- being, and livable communities for all Southern Californians. A Questions and Answers about the Southern - California Association of Governments aourxm uwawe UlocunoaK aov[aar[aTa 818 West Seventh Street • 12th Floor Los Angeles CA 90017 113.236-1802 FAX 213.236-1964 What is the Southern California Association of Governments? ♦ SCAG is a voluntary association of cities and counties formed by a "joint powers agreement". SCAG isnot a government organization with land use, taxing or regulatory powers. SCAG has reaffirmed this local government approach to regional decision-making at its last 3 annual General Assemblies. What does SCAG do? ♦ SCAG prepares regional policies and regional action plans that address issues that cross city and county boundaries such as transportation, air quality, housing, growth, hazardous waste and water quality. ♦ The SCAG region includes 184 cities and the six counties of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Imperial. What is the Regional Comprehensive Plan and Guide? The Regional Comprehensive Plan and Guide is a resource tool that provides a compre- hensive overview of the region and its interrelat- ed metropolitan service systems, -The document identifies key issues facing the. region. It also provides strategies to address these issues that can be used by cities, counties, subregional orga- nizations, business, other public agencies, non- profit organizations, community groups and individuals. ♦ The Regional Comprehensive Plan and Guide does not tell local government what to do. It does not create additional mandates for cities and counties. It does not reduce or eliminate local government control over land use decisions. What is SCAG's authority to perform its work? ♦ SCAG's work is authorized by the Regional Council, SCAG's governing body. ♦ SCAG is mandated to prepare and maintain regional plans for transportation, air quality, growth management, housing, water quality and hazardous waste under various federal and state laws and desig- nations (Metropolitan Planning Organization and Regional Transportation Planning Agency). ♦ SCAG has the federal designation as a clearing- house for federal funding of regional projects, and federal and state designation to review regionally sig- nificant projects for consistency with regional plans. Who makes SCAG's decisions? ♦ SCAG's decisions are made by the Regional Council, SCAG's governing board of mayors, council members and county supervisors from throughout the region. The Regional Council meets monthly. An annual General Assembly of city and county delegates gives general direction to the organization ♦ The Regional Council has 71 members repre- senting the 6 counties and 184 cities in the SCAG region. The 7 county representatives are appointed by their boards. The 64 city representatives are elect- ed by their peer mayors and council members to rep- resent groups of cities (districts) with approximately 200,000 people. Do SCAG's policies/plans affect the authority of cities and counties? ♦ SCAG does not have regulatory or land -use authority over cities and counties. SCAG is not another layer of government. ♦ For many years, Federal and state laws have required SCAG to review and comment on the consis- tency of regionally significant projects with adopted regional plans. If a regional project is determined to be inconsistent, SCAG. may suggest adjustments so that the city or county can improve the project. SCAG has no authority to reject projects. Do SCAG's policies/plans help cities and counties? ♦ Cities and counties are required by federal and state law to consider the impacts of local development decisions on neighboring communities. SCAG's poli- cies, plans, data, and coordination activities can help cities and counties comply with these legal require- ments at a lower cost. ♦ Federal and state funds continue to be available to cities and counties for infrastructure projects because SCAG has prepared mandated regional plans for trans- portation, growth management, air quality, water quality and hazardous waste. How is SCAG funded? ♦ SCAG's funding comes from federal transportation planning grants, state planning grants and contracts, local grants and contracts, membership dues and member fee services. SCAG's funding is for planning programs, activities and studies. These funds are not available for construction or services purposes. How are SCAG's funds spent? ♦ SCAG develops an annual work program. The work program primarily includes those transporta- tion planning activities required by federal and state law. The work program also includes related planning activities and studies required by federal and state law and authorized by the Regional Council. These related planning studies address the overall social, economic and environmental effects of transporta- tion decisions in the region. How does SCAG perform its work? —� ♦ SCAG prepares its regional plans and policies through a "bottom-up" planning process. The process is based on the fundamental' belief that community ideas and solutions are the most effec- tive to solve the region's problems. ♦ A focal point for community input and partici- pation to the regional planning program is through a subregional arrangement. Subregions and their organizations are self -defined groupings of commu- nities such as the San Gabriel Valley Subregion with shared interests and geography. ♦ Subregional organizations do not duplicate SCAG's role and responsibilities. These organizations are still evolving and they perform a variety of func- tions, especially as SCAG's parmers in developing required regional plans and programs. ♦ SCAG's staffing level has been maintained at approximately 100 employees for the last 10 years. An increasing proportion of the work is being per- formed under contract to subregional organizations and private consultants. How are citizens involved in SCAG's planning activities? ♦ Citizen review and participation in SCAG's regional planning activities is primarily achieved through the Regional Advisory Council (RAC). The RAC represents a broad range of diverse business, professional, environmental, labor, eth- nic, educational, civic, charitable, human service, religious and other community organizations. Information about RAC is available through the SCAG offices. Why is SCAG responsible for such a large geographical area? Regional Council Members OFFICERS: PRESIDENT: PRESIDENT: Mayor, Bob Bartlett, City of Monrovia FIRSTVICE PRESIDENT: Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Los Angeles County SECONO VICE PRESIDENT. Councilmember Ron Bates, City of los Alamitos IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT: Supervisor Judy Mlkels, Ventura County IMPERIAL COUNTY: Tom Veysey, Imperial County • David Dhillon, EI Centro Los ANGELES COUNTY -Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, Los Angeles County • Richard Alarcon, Los Angeles • Richard Alatorre, Los Angeles • Eileen Ansan, Diamond Bar • Bob Bartlett, Monrovia • Bruce Barrows, Cerritos • George Bass, Bell • Sue Bauer, Glendora • Hal Bernson, Los Angeles • Robert Bruesch, Rosemead • Laura Chick, Los Angeles • Gene Daniels, Pammount•Doug Drummond, Long Beach • John Ferraro, Los Angeles • Michael Feuer, Los Angeles • Jane Friedkin, EI Segundo Ruth Galanter, Los Angeles • Eileen Givens, Glendale • Jackie Goldberg, Los Angeles • Garland Hardeman, Inglewood • Mike Hernandez, Los Angeles • Nate Holden, Los Angeles • Keith McCarthy, Downey Barbara Messina, Alhambra • Cindy Miscikowski, Los Angeles • David Myers, Palmdale • George Nakano, Torrance • Pam O'Connor, Santa ♦ Southern California is recognized as a Monica • Jenny Oropeza, Long Beach • Beatrice Proo, Pico Rivera region by the federal, state and local govern- Diann Ring, Claremont • Mark Ridley-Thomas, Los Angeles • Richard mens because it is connected by transportation Riordan, Los Angeles • Martin Shaw, Compton • Rudy Svorinich, Los systems, air quality, economic development and Angeles • Joel Wachs, Los Angeles • Rita Walters, Los Angeles • Dennis jobs, growth patterns and housing demands. Washburn, Calabasas • Paul Zee, South Pasadena How is SCAG held accountable? SCAG's work is directed and monitored by the Regional Council and its policy committees. ALL MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. ♦ SCAG provides quarterly progress reports and products to CALTRANS and federal agencies. ♦ SCAG is audited annually by an indepen- dent financial auditor, CALTRANS and FHWA. The audit report is reviewed by the Regional Council and General Assembly. ORANGE COUNTY: William Steiner, Orange County • Steve Apodaca, San Clemente • Ron Bates, Los Alamitos • Art Brown, Buena Park • Ian Debay, Newport Beach • Richard Dixon, Lake Forest • Charlene Hatakeyama, La Palma • Bev Perry, Brea RIVERSIDE COUNTY: James Venable, Riverside County • Dick Kelly, Palm Desert • Ian Lela, Beaumont • Ron Loveridge, Riverside • Andrea Puga, Corona • Ron Roberts, Temecula SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY: Larry Walker, San Bernardino County • Bill Alexander, Rancho Cucamonga • Jim Bagley, Twentynine Palms David Eshleman, Fontana • Lee Ann Garcia, Grand Terrace • Gwenn Norton -Perry, Chino Hills • John Starbuck, Highland VENTURA COUNTY: Judy Mikels, Ventura County • Andrew Fox. Thousand Oaks • John Mellon, Santa Paula • Toni Young, Port Hueneme