Staff Report Highlights Comments on Draft Plan
Following a cooperative and comprehensive planning process with SCAG’s stakeholders, a large-scale outreach campaign throughout the six-county region to educate and solicit feedback, and a 60-day public comment period, SCAG received 107 separate communications (both oral and written) containing over 1,800 comments on the draft Connect SoCal Plan.
SCAG staff members summarized the comments into 16 major categories and included requests for clarification in the draft Connect SoCal staff report. Based on the submitted comments, SCAG staff recommended several updates to the Connect SoCal plan to address key points, including:
- Strengthening the language around complete streets implementation and the prioritization of bikeway classifications preferences
- Updating points to clarify and reinforce conservation strategies and engagement with stakeholders to assist in the coordination and implementation of conservation strategies
- Modifying approximately 172 projects to reflect the responsibility of the lead local transportation in final determination
- Identifying areas within the region that are sufficient to house the projected housing needs of the region and considering existing need for inclusion into future RTP/SCS growth forecasts
- Clarifying GHG reduction strategies while maintaining the focus of emphasis of certain strategies
This report was shared with the Regional Council and Policy Committee members at the March 5, 2020 meeting. After review and recommendation by the Joint Policy Committee and Energy and Environment Committee, the Regional Council will consider approving the Final PEIR and adopting the proposed Final Connect SoCal on April 2, 2020. The full draft Connect SoCal staff report, including additional comment summaries and clarifications on all 16 of the major categories is now available for review.