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Home My WebLink AboutCOW 2013-03-25 Item 2B - Special Presentation - Growing Transit Communities Partnership by Puget Sound Regional CouncilPuget Sound Regional Counci PSRC DISCUSSION ITEM To: Tukwila City Council From: Michael Hubner, Senior Planner Subject: PSRC's Growing Transit Communities Program AT ISSUE March 25, 2013 In October 2010, the region was awarded a $5,000,000 regional planning grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. Grant funds are supporting a multi -year PSRC program called Growing Transit Communities. At your March 25 meeting, staff will provide an overview and status report on project implementation. DISCUSSION The purpose of the project is to address some of the greatest barriers to implementing the region's framework plans— VISION 2040, Transportation 2040, and the Regional Economic Strategy —and securing equitable outcomes. A significant goal will be to identify unique development opportunities in bus rapid transit and light rail station areas, and other ways to strengthen existing communities as Sound Transit expands the LINK light rail system. The program is coordinating and directly involving a wide array of community stakeholders, both public and private. Tasks being conducted under the Growing Transit Communities program include: • Regional Equity Network. Developing and supporting a regional network to promote equitable community planning and mobilize residents and community groups representing diverse populations to participate in local planning and decision - making. • Affordable Housing Action Strategy. Creating an affordable housing action strategy that will test, recommend, and implement local policies and financial tools to encourage and facilitate a wide variety of housing choices along light rail corridors. • Corridor Action Strategies. Convening and supporting light -rail corridor task forces to craft local agreements and Corridor Action Strategies to attract transit - oriented development along the North, East, and South light rail investment corridors. Work includes establishing goals for station areas and adjacent communities, and for coordination of development, housing, jobs, and community amenities. • Innovative Tools. Developing new tools and resources to bridge the gap from goals and policies to specific actions and steps. New technologies and analyses will assist local 1 communities in planning, decision - making, and building local support for sustainable development. Tasks will test and refine these approaches with catalyst demonstration and case study projects in light rail corridor neighborhoods to serve as visible templates for sustainable development. • Technical Assistance. Providing direct technical support to jurisdictions and to non - profit organizations to explore and establish incentive programs for affordable housing. Technical assistance will support local jurisdiction updates to local comprehensive plans. More detailed summaries of work program elements and other explanatory materials are available at http : / /www.psrc.org /growth/growing- transit - communities For more information, please contact Michael Hubner at (206) 971 -3289 or at mhubner@psrc.org. 2 Growing Transit Communities Implementation Frequently Asked Questions What is the Growing Transit Communities Partnership? The Growing Transit Communities Partnership is an advisory body of diverse public, private, and nonprofit agencies and organizations working together to promote successful transit communities. The Partnership is funded by a three - year grant from the federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities and is housed at the Puget Sound Regional Council. The Partnership is developing recommendations for best practices and new tools and resources to address three overarching goals that advance adopted regional policy: • Attract more of the region's residential and employment growth near high- capacity transit • Provide housing choices affordable to a full range of incomes near high- capacity transit • Increase access to opportunity for existing and future community members in transit communities Why equitable transit communities? Why now? Building communities around high- capacity transit is a key strategy to promote a more sustainable, prosperous, and equitable central Puget Sound region. While the region is already a recognized national leader on planning for sustainable development, the investment of more than $15 billion in light rail and other forms of transit requires bold, coordinated action to ensure the greatest value from these investments is realized. Success means creating a region that can compete globally for jobs and investment, and is well positioned to attract scarce state and federal funds for transportation and community development. Success also means providing the tools, resources, and public support necessary to achieve a regional vision where compact growth, improved transit connections, and a range of community investments provide benefits fairly to all. How do the Growing Transit Communities recommendations relate to state or regional policies and requirements? The recommendations do not create new mandates for partners across the region; rather, they identify tools, resources, and incentives to help partners carry out what is already adopted regional policy in VISION 2040 and Transportation 2040, and in state requirements of the Growth Management Act. The Partnership's recommendations have been developed for regional and local governments, as well as a range of private, non - profit, and community partners. Adoption of the Partnership's recommendations will depend on appropriate legislative or board approval. What are the mechanisms for implementing the Growing Transit Communities Partnership recommendations? There are three primary ways to implement the recommendations of the Growing Transit Communities Partnership: THE PLAYBOOK: Corridor Action Strategies The Regional Compact affirms support for the Partnership's work and a commitment to work toward regional goals by implementing the Corridor Action Strategies. The Compact calls for a continuing regional effort involving the region's diverse partners. The Compact does not obligate partners to implement all recommendations, but rather to consider and adopt tools that fit best with community needs and available resources. The Corridor Action Strategies include 24 detailed recommendations that identify actions for public, private, and nonprofit partners. The strategies identify effective transit community development approaches, shaped by input from experts and the Partnership's corridor task forces and advisory committees. The strategies vary for different types of communities. The Local Implementation Agreements are local government, agency, or organization specific work plans which define short- and medium -term actions that can implement the Corridor Action Strategies. The nature and format of the Local Implementation Agreements will vary to reflect the diversity of public and private partners, legislative and decision making processes, and actions adopted. 3 Is this just about light rail stations? By promoting transit ridership, sustainable patterns of development, and equitable social outcomes, the Corridor Action Strategies are intended to benefit the entire region. The Partnership has focused on 74 transit communities along the region's three long -range light rail corridors identified in Transportation 2040. This includes portions of 16 cities (Everett, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Shoreline, Seattle, Mercer Island, Beaux Arts Village, Bellevue, Redmond, Tukwila, SeaTac, Kent, Des Moines, Federal Way, Fife, and Tacoma) and three counties (Snohomish, King, and Pierce). Other important transit nodes also exist throughout the region. Future work will expand the approaches developed by the Partnership to additional transit communities not in the three light rail corridors. What is the Transit Community Typology and how does it guide implementation? From the outset, the Partnership recognized that one set of strategies cannot address the diversity of communities that currently exist or are planned around the region's high- capacity transit investments. For this reason, the Growing Transit Communities Partnership has developed a Transit Community Typology to link key implementation strategies to transit communities based on characteristics of the existing community. The Typology resulted in eight different types, each with priority strategies, that demonstrate the varying needs and opportunities present in different transit communities across the region. Do the recommendations include updates to VISION 2040, Transportation 2040 or the Regional Economic Strategy? The focus of Growing Transit Communities is to develop tools and resources to help carry out existing regional policy. One first step will be integrating regional data and tools developed under this grant with the minor update to Transportation 2040 currently underway. As implementation of the Corridor Action Strategies proceeds in the coming years, PSRC may consider further refining or adding detail to its policies and plans to advance regional goals for transit communities. Any such amendments or policy changes will be subject to PSRC board approval. Will the Corridor Action Strategies affect project funding or plan certification through PSRC? Transportation project funding can be an effective tool to support transit communities in the region. The Partnership has identified key infrastructure needs as well as opportunities to reward implementation of best practices throughout the region. The Corridor Action Strategies suggest adding greater detail or additional points to the current funding criteria used for competitive regionally- managed transportation funds or refinements to the local comprehensive plan certification review criteria. Adoption of changes to project funding or plan certification criteria would be subject to PSRC board approval. Recommended strategies that may inform project funding and plan certification criteria include adoption of: • Station area plans consistent with regional guidance • Housing needs assessment and a strategy to address local needs • Community engagement strategies in public processes consistent with regional guidance • Tools to address regulatory barriers to development What is the timeline for implementation? The Growing Transit Communities Partnership's Oversight Committee is expected to release the draft Regional Compact and Corridor Action Strategies for public comment in mid - April, with final adoption in summer 2013. Growing Transit Communities staff will work with Consortium Members and other regional partners on the Regional Compact and the Local Implementation Agreements through the end of 2013. Looking beyond the end of the grant period in early 2014, implementation will continue through regional and local work plans. GrowingTrana, 0 Communities For more information, please contact Program Manager Ben Bakkenta at 206 - 971 -3286 or bbakkenta @psrc.org. March 8, 2013 4