Cupertino's Growth Can Be Influenced at Public Workshops

Estimates for growth in the Bay Area include an additional 900,000 households and 1.2 million new jobs by 2035, according to Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Influencing how this growth is managed is an option offered to Bay Area residents in the form of public workshops and an online interactive tool.

"Now is the time to speak up about your vision for a sustainable, prosperous future," said Adrienne Tissier, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). "As our population is projected to grow from about 7 million to nearly 9 million people by 2040, we need a plan that meets the transportation and housing needs of current and future generations."

Beginning Tuesday and running through May 19, a series of public workshops will be held throughout the region. Santa Clara County’s Plan Bay Area workshop will be Thursday from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at a Microsoft Corporation facility at 1065 La Avenida St. in Mountain View.

Registration is required to attend the workshops, with space limitations. Register here, or call 510-817-5831.

Silicon Valley Community Foundation, along with a group of other nonprofits, will lead Envision Bay Area, a strategic initiative focused on providing information and tools to help residents make decisions about land-use, transportation, open space preservation, energy use, water consumption and the like, for future development in the region.

One such tool is the interactive YouChoose Bay Area, a Web-based visual simulation tool that allows the user to prioritize things such as water conservation, carbon emissions, affordable homes, traffic concerns and access to jobs and parking, then make choices on where new homes should be placed and see how those choices would impact the region.

Plan Bay Area is a joint effort led by the Association of Bay Area Governments and the MTC, working in partnership with Bay Area Air Quality Management District and Bay Conservation and Development Commission. The four agencies collaborate with nine counties, including Santa Clara County, plus 101 towns and cities such as Cupertino, to help plan and manage the Bay Area’s transportation system.

California’s 2008 Senate Bill 375, which requires the state’s 18 metropolitan areas to develop a Sustainable Communities Strategy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks, led to the Plan Bay Area program.

"Sustainable communities are places where people want to live and work, now and in the future," said Mark Green, chairman of ABAG. "That's why we're having this regional dialogue. We want to collaborate with elected officials, policymakers and residents in building a plan that is sensitive to Bay Area communities' environment, economy and social equity."