California Story Report: Better Planning and Investment for Better California Communities

I. The California Story Report
II. Steve Sanders' "Growth Challenges and Trends" Paper
III. Jim King - Dear Friend and Colleague
IV. Regional and Statewide News and Information

A. Upcoming Events
B. Resources
C. Projects

The "California Story" highlights the innovative and effective work of local leaders and institutions throughout the state who are trying to manage growth in a manner that creates more livable and prosperous communities. With the support of Bank of America, the Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, the Hewlett Foundation, and the Surdna Foundation, on June 15, 2004, a group of 72 California and national leaders gathered to reflect on the remarkable progress we have made through innovations in planning, development, and conservation. The California Story reports on that discussion. It identifies new areas of possible policy leadership by the Schwarzenegger Administration and it suggests new leadership opportunities for philanthropy, civic groups, business, local government, and regional agencies in tackling our growth challenge.

A full copy of the report from the The California Story event can be downloaded at www.calregions.org/pdf/ca-story.pdf (4.6 MB PDF)

"Growth Trends & Challenges in California" by Steve Sanders, is an update of a scan of Smart Growth issues and opportunities in California first conducted for the Funders' Network in 2001. It highlights the unprecedented population pressures that are reshaping California's communities and analyzes the impacts of these trends (along with current growth patterns) on open space resources, wealth and health disparities, educational opportunities, housing affordability, and economic vitality in the state's regions. The paper also examines some of the lessons learned from recent policy-reform initiatives and outlines seven potential strategies to build support for future efforts.

A full copy of Steve Sanders' report, Growth Trends & Challenges in California, can be downloaded at
www.calregions.org/uipublish_files/Growth_Trends_and_Challenges.pdf (302 KB PDF)

Sacramento resident Jim King, a nationally respected authority on economic development issues, succumbed to a heart attack August 14th at a local hospital. He is survived by his daughter Jodee King Carlson, her husband Mike Carlson, and their daughter Sierra, all of Truckee; his son Eric R. King of Dallas, Texas, and his very dear friend Phyllis Gray. He also leaves a host of devoted friends and colleagues here in California and across the country who will miss his gentle mentoring, sage insights, and consistency of character.

Jim worked with CCRL on the California Regional Economics Project (CREP) and we will miss him dearly. On September 30th between 4:30 and 7:30 pm in Curtis Hall at the Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community, his friends and associates gathered to share their favorite Jim King stories and to marvel at this model of a man whose mind was never closed to new ideas.

A. Upcoming Events

• By 2030, the population of the San Gabriel Valley will increase by 33 percent to 2.5 million inhabitants. The San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership is presenting the 2004 Economic Outlook Conference on Thursday, October 14th to explore implications of these growth projections, examine the state of our preparedness, and answer the obvious question: Can we prepare ourselves to substantially improve the quality of life and our economic prosperity by making GREAT decisions? Full details are available online at www.valleyconnect.com/event.aspx?event_id=29.
• Celebrate the Sierra Business Council's 10th anniversary by attending their annual conference, Building Real Wealth in the Range of Light, at the Siena Hotel and Spa in Reno, Nevada on October 7-9. Learn from world-class speakers about best practices in areas of sustainable economic development, community planning, innovative networking, and marketing practices - in both rural and urban settings. Register for this conference today at www.sbcouncil.org/conf04.php.

B. Resources

• The California Regional Economies Project (CREP) has been working to provide a detailed analysis of each regional economy in California- and their key industry clusters - that identifies structural economic changes and areas of emerging opportunity for quality job growth. The economic base reports and cluster analyses were presented at nine regional forums throughout the State. The forums were hosted by local Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) in collaboration with economic development corporations and other partners. The project is staffed by a consultant team including Collaborative Economics, Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy, California Center for Regional Leadership, and J.K. Inc., with guidance provided by a Joint Advisory Committee of CALWIB and the California Economic Strategy Panel.
  
  To download the reports and user guides, go to www.labor.ca.gov/panel/esprepreports.htm. Using information from the analyses and follow up interviews with almost 100 business owners, the project team has prepared three monographs on key policy issues, including building a competitive workforce development system, and three cross-regional industrial clusters (forthcoming).
• The California Performance Review (a 2,500 plus page report to Governor Schwarzenegger) included an expanded role for volunteerism and the California Service Corps. Through leadership from First Lady Shriver, Nick Bollman and Nancy Peterson, among others, were invited to testify at CPR hearings on their recommendations for expanding opportunities for volunteerism. To read Nancy Peterson's full transcript, please visit cpr.ca.gov/updates/archives/pdf/09_09_2004/PETERSON.TESTIMONY.pdf. To read Nick Bollman's full transcript, please visit cpr.ca.gov/updates/archives/pdf/09_09_2004/BOLLMAN.TESTIMONY.pdf. More information about the California Service Corps is available online at www.csc.ca.gov.
• The 2003 State of the Region Report for Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties provides an improved social and economic understanding of the region and a gauge to which quality of life can be better measured. Released in February by the Regional Analysis and Planning Services, Inc., the non-profit organization of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments, the report provides an overview of the tri-county region using key indicators from secondary data sources and compares a wide range of historic and current data for the three counties. More information about this report can be found online at www.ambag.org.
• According to a report issued by the California Infrastructure Coalition, restoring California's transportation funding substantially increases employment and spending, ultimately impacting a wide variety of sectors in the California economy. "Economic Impact of Funding California's Transportation Infrastructure" details the potential economic impacts of increased funding for California's transportation infrastructure, including that for every state dollar spent on transportation projects, the state would see an additional $.97 in indirect and induced spending in the economy; and every one billion dollars of transportation spending in California creates approximately 18,000 new jobs in the state. Download the entire report at www.cbrt.org/PDF/CIC%20Transportation%20Study.pdf.
• Local agency officials frequently sit on state-created regional bodies, joint powers agencies, and other groups whose decision-making horizon extends beyond city or county boundaries. This involves conflicting sets of "right values": the value of loyalty to your city and your loyalty as a decision-maker on the regional body. Which loyalty should prevail? The League of California Cities' magazine, Western City, recently addressed this question with the article, "How to Balance City and Regional Interests When You're Asked to Serve Both." You can read this article online at www.cacities.org/index.jsp?zone=wcm&previewStory=22173.
• The notion of "community-based regionalism" is increasingly capturing the attention of academics, activists, policy makers, and funders. The Center for Justice, Tolerance, and Community at the University of California, Santa Cruz, recently released the short report, "Community Building, Community Bridging: Linking Neighborhood Improvement Initiatives and the New Regionalism in the San Francisco Bay Area." The report aims to cover the Center's experience working with three neighborhoods in the Bay Area around better linking their community development strategies with regional dynamics and regional opportunities. Copies of the report can be downloaded at cjtc.ucsc.edu/communityRegionalism.html.
• Are software tools better engaging the public in planning processes? A recent article tackles the issue of the new array of software tools designed to help citizens visualize and model the outcomes of proposed changes to the built environment. The author discusses how GIS modeling and visualization tools are tremendously innovative and show real promise to revolutionize how we conduct land use planning and community design. However, the author found that using these tools can often be a "rushed, frustrating, and even somewhat alienating experience." For additional information on the tools used to involve the public in community planning, please visit www.placematters.com. Read the entire article online at www.csus.edu/ccp/newsletter/2004/July_Edge/July04_Edge_index.htm#toolkit.
• How will we manage urban growth and change in Los Angeles? Up Against the Sprawl, co-edited by Jennifer Wolch, Manuel Pastor Jr., and Peter Dreier, focuses on managing urban growth in Los Angeles. This volume shows how governmental policies and public agencies have influenced the region's growth in terms of infrastructure, transportation, housing, immigration, fiscal policy, and the environment, while considering how innovative policies for greater social, economic, and environmental justice could contribute to an alternative future for the city. To order your copy today, please visit www.upress.umn.edu/Books/W/wolch_up.html.

C. Projects

• The Gateway Cities Partnership, Inc. is working to create community sustainability and wealth by systematically transforming distressed neighborhoods in Compton and other distressed communities in the region. The project will revitalize neighborhoods by purchasing and fixing up dilapidated houses that are either a source of crime or blight and negatively affect the quality of life and value of properties in communities. Gateway Cities will work with the residents on each street where houses are purchased to do a block makeover that will include the installation of California friendly landscaping to reduce water consumption, low flow water appliances and weatherproofing to reduce energy costs. The project is a partnership with Affinity Properties, the company that originated this entrepreneurial approach to neighborhood revitalization, city governments and community residents. At the core of the project is a set of tools that enable low to moderate income families to purchase homes that have been rehabilitated and enable them to see an increase in the equity of their homes. A link to an article about this project can be found at www.calregions.org/uipublish_files/go_paint_your_neighbors_house.pdf (62 KB PDF).
• The California Center for Regional Leadership, in cooperation with partner organizations, is conducting a series of Regional Economic Vitality Conversations around the state with representatives from Governor Schwarzenegger's Administration and a diverse group of regional business and civic leaders. The intent of these meetings is to solicit and discuss ideas on how the state government can help stimulate and sustain economic growth in California's regions - ideas that will then be brought for consideration to the Governor and his Cabinet. Generous support for this project is being provided by Pacific Gas and Electric Company and Bank of America. To download copies of reports from these Conversations, please visit http://www.calregions.org/publications.html.
• Next Ten is a new civic project that seeks to create a statewide movement for budget reform by engaging Californians in education, dialogue, and action. As its name suggests, Next Ten fosters the development of a long-term vision and a ten-year budget plan to match that vision. During the first phase of the project (May/June 2004), Next Ten held a series of budget education dialogues with civic leaders in nine regions of California. These sessions were convened to provide basic budget education, enabling these leaders to clarify the budget priorities and trade-offs they are willing to make. For more information about the project and to read a summary on the events, please visit www.next-ten.org.
• Policies of Trust Network is a non-profit civic engagement enterprise and grassroots coalition committed to healing our social and political divisions and liberating our human potential through the radical recovery of trust. This summer, PTN will launch its on-line civic navigator, a multi-partisan informational resource and "political router" aimed at linking Californians to a broad range of civic engagement activities that promote a more humanistic, person-centered approach to public policy and political activism. Visit www.PoliticsofTrust.net today and become a free member!
• On September 24, 2004 the Governor signed Sierra Nevada Conservancy Bill AB 2600. This bill creates the largest state conservancy in California, totaling 25 million acres from the Oregon Border to Kern County; the proposed legislation emphasizes collaboration, coordination and consultation with local governments, including public water systems. For more information about the Sierra Conservancy, please visit www.sierraconservancy.org.