Executive Director’s Monthly Report, July 2022
33rd Annual Demographic Workshop Dates Announced
The 33rd Annual Demographic Workshop, co-hosted by SCAG and the University of Southern California, will be held virtually on the afternoons of Wednesday, Sept. 14, and Wednesday, Sept. 21. This year’s workshop will explore the demographic trends that have and have not bounced back following the COVID-19 pandemic, how different populations have experienced the rebound in different ways, and the impact of remote work and other emerging trends in our cities. More information will be available soon. Please check scag.ca.gov/demographics for updates.
Meeting with Assemblymember Davies
SCAG’s Regional Council officers, including President Jan Harnik, Immediate Past President Clint Lorimore, First Vice President Carmen Ramirez, and Second Vice President Art Brown, who were joined by Legislative/Communications and Membership Committee Chair Peggy Huang and Regional Council members Wendy Bucknum, Fred Minagar, and Don Wagner, met with Assemblymember Laurie Davies (R-Laguna Niguel) on June 15 to discuss the agency’s budget priorities and other items of importance. Assemblymember Davies represents the 73rd Assembly District in South Orange County and is a member of the Transportation and Appropriations committees. SCAG’s budget priorities include budget augmentations to the Infill Infrastructure Grant and Senate Bill 1 programs, funding for the 2028 Summer Olympics Transportation projects, and increased investment in the Active Transportation Program. During the meeting, there was also a discussion on public safety, Regional Housing Needs Assessment reform and funding equity for Southern California, especially regarding ports, freight, and goods movement.
REAP 2.0 Housing Supportive Infrastructure Program Development Outreach
SCAG staff have kicked off an extensive outreach program for development of the Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) 2.0 housing supportive infrastructure program. In June, SCAG hosted a series of one-on-one meetings, listening sessions and presentations to solicit stakeholder input on proposed program areas, core objectives, and prioritization of projects. Through coordination with subregional councils of governments, SCAG staff engaged with city and county planning staff at regularly scheduled planning director meetings and working groups. To help identify existing efforts, funding gaps and need for technical assistance, SCAG hosted two listening sessions open to staff of local cities and counties and engaged key tribal government representatives as well. To solicit feedback from the housing development community, SCAG launched focused outreach efforts targeting community-based organizations, housing trusts, developers, tribal governments, community land trusts and housing authorities. Outreach efforts will continue throughout summer and early fall, in support of SCAG’s full REAP 2.0 funding application due in December 2022. More information on SCAG’s REAP 2.0 programs is available at scag.ca.gov/reap2021.
Go Human Update
In June, SCAG’s Go Human campaign selected 26 projects – spread throughout all six counties in the SCAG region – to receive an award as part of its Mini-Grant Program to fund community-driven traffic safety engagement projects. SCAG released its call for applications for the Mini-Grants Program in March 2022 and receiving 37 applications by the deadline. SCAG intends to conditionally award up to $15,000 per project, totaling $350,000, to these community-led traffic safety projects to implement safety and engagement strategies between June and August 2022. A full list of awarded projects will be available on the Go Human blog in the coming days.
Connect SoCal 2024 Local Data Exchange Underway
SCAG’s Local Information Services Team (LIST) has met one-on-one with 51 SCAG region jurisdictions to discuss the Local Data Exchange process, which is the main opportunity for cities and counties to provide input into Connect SoCal 2024. SCAG’s goal is to meet with all jurisdictions by fall 2022 to discuss land use, growth and other data that will help the region achieve the next plan’s goals. More information is available at scag.ca.gov/local-data-exchange. For jurisdictions in the counties of Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino, these meetings will be initiated by their respective subregional council of governments. Jurisdictions in the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles and Ventura are encouraged to sign up for a one-on-one meeting at your earliest convenience. Please contact list@scag.ca.gov for more information.
Toolbox Tuesday on Census and ACS Data Using the R Statistical Programming Language
SCAG’s Toolbox Tuesday technical webinars provide a range of practical skills and knowledge for local planners, including training in the use of tools and education in practical approaches to timely planning issues such as equity. On June 7, SCAG staff provided an advanced training titled, “Census and American Community Survey Data Using the R Statistical Programming Language,” which had the most attendees in the Toolbox Tuesday series this calendar year. In this session, more than 100 participants learned how to utilize R to perform various tabular and spatial analyses as well as obtaining data directly using the Census application programming interface. Materials from the training session, as well as for past trainings, are available on the Toolbox Tuesday Online Training Materials webpage. Register here for the next Toolbox Tuesday training on “Innovative Parking Strategies,” scheduled for July 26. Please reach out to LIST at list@scag.ca.gov for any questions.
CONNECT SOCAL 2024 SUBCOMMITTEES
In September 2022, SCAG launched three subcommittees to look at emerging issues for the Connect SoCal 2024 plan.
The Resilience and Conservation subcommittee, and the Racial Equity and Regional Planning subcommittee concluded last month, and members of both committees unanimously approved a set of recommendations.
The Next Generation Infrastructure subcommittee will meet on Feb. 15 to review their key findings and finalize their own recommendations.
10 SPOTS STILL AVAILABLE FOR HOUSING SUPPORTIVE GRANT APPLICATION TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
In addition to Permanent Local Housing Allocation application assistance, SCAG is offering technical assistance for jurisdictions and Tribal Governments to prepare and submit applications for housing-supportive funding.
State Agency Meetings
On Nov. 8 and 9, SCAG Executive Director Kome Ajise and SCAG Planning Director Sarah Jepson traveled to Sacramento for a series of meetings with executive leadership at the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the California Office of Planning Research (OPR), the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC) and the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS).
REGIONAL EARLY ACTION PROGRAM (REAP) 2.0 PROGRAM UPDATE
Continuing development of the REAP 2.0 program, staff have been conducting outreach to identify priorities for transformative planning and implementation. This has included engaging representatives from disadvantaged and rural communities on their participation in the program. Most recently, staff hosted virtual workshops to provide information and collect feedback from tribal entities and the public.
REGIONAL EARLY ACTION PROGRAM (REAP) 2.0 PROGRAM UPDATE
Since the approval of the REAP 2.0 Program Framework by the Regional Council (RC) in July, staff has continued outreach efforts to develop specific programs using the framework as a guiding document.
33rd Annual Demographic Workshop Dates Announced
The 33rd Annual Demographic Workshop, co-hosted by SCAG and the University of Southern California, will be held virtually on the afternoons of Wednesday, Sept. 14, and Wednesday, Sept. 21. This year’s workshop will explore the demographic trends that have and have not bounced back following the COVID-19 pandemic, how different populations have experienced the rebound in different ways, and the impact of remote work and other emerging trends in our cities. More information will be available soon.
President Harnik Shares Region’s Housing and Transportation Priorities
SCAG President Jan Harnik had the pleasure of hosting a recent meeting with Senate Transportation Committee Chair Lena Gonzalez (D-Long Beach) to discuss our region’s housing and transportation budget priorities, such as the Regional Council’s support for an augmentation to the Infill Infrastructure Grant program and using budget surplus dollars to fully fund the Active Transportation Program.
State Housing Funds Awarded to 29 SCAG Jurisdictions
The California Department of Housing and Community Development approved another 35 jurisdictions for Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) funds, bringing the total to 135 jurisdictions state-wide. Specifically, 29 of the 35 jurisdictions are located in the SCAG region and totaled another $49.4 million in homelessness and affordable housing funds for PLHA’s second round. Total SCAG awards for PLHA’s second round are $121.9 million for 54 jurisdictions.
REGISTER FOR THE 57TH ANNUAL REGIONAL CONFERENCE & GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SCAG’s 57th Annual Regional Conference & General Assembly is just around the corner on May 5–6. Register today for access to high-quality presentations and panels, featuring engaging speakers and thought leaders, and unbeatable networking opportunities filled with collaborative, solution-oriented discussions on fostering change and addressing challenges in our communities.
REGISTRATION FOR THE 57TH ANNUAL REGIONAL CONFERENCE & GENERAL ASSEMBLY IS NOW OPEN!
Join Southern California’s most influential elected officials and policymakers on May 5–6, 2022 at the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, CA. This two-day event will focus on solution-oriented discussions to address the most pressing problems facing communities, businesses, and families throughout the SCAG region. General admission tickets for the event are $350, but registrations done in advance by Thursday, March 31 using the code EARLYBIRD will receive $100 off the general admission price.
The February 2022 Executive Director’s Report covers the agency’s major activities, key programs, and accomplishments over the past month.
The January 2022 Executive Director’s Report covers the agency’s major activities, key programs, and accomplishments over the past month.