| |  Bay Area & Regional EffortsGrand Boulevard Initiative - The Grand Boulevard Initiative is a collaboration of 19 cities, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, and local and regional agencies united to improve the performance, safety and aesthetics of El Camino Real. The initiative is looking to rethink the corridor's potential for housing and urban development, balancing the need for cars and parking with viable options for transit, walking and biking. Stretching from Daly City to San Jose, the vision is of a boulevard that connects communities by a mix of land uses designed to attract people. C/CAG Regional Housing Needs Allocation - State law required ABAG to determine the existing and projected housing need for its region by allocating the regional housing numbers provided by the State of California Department of Housing and Community Development to every individual city and county. All cities and the county in San Mateo County decided to join together to create a Regional Housing Needs Allocation “subregion”, an ad hoc joint powers authority formed specifically to locally administer ABAG’s RHNA process. This allowed an opportunity for all San Mateo County cities and the County to negotiate trades between willing partners. San Carlos was allocated a total of 599 housing units. ABAG Priority Development Areas & Map (122kB PDF,  ) - FOCUS (short for Focusing Our Vision Initiative) is a Bay Area, multi-agency effort to promote "smart growth" in the region. Among its many tenants is an emphasis on housing supply, choice, affordability and co-location around transit corridors and nodes. The area surrounding the Depot Station and the proposed Transit Village has been designated by ABAG as a priority Development Area. PDAs represent infill development opportunities within existing communities. According to ABAG, these communities welcome more residents and are committed to creating more housing choices in locations easily accessible to transit, jobs, shopping and services. The regional agencies are working to develop a program of technical assistance, planning grants, and capital funding for local governments undertaking PDA development. With PDA designation, San Carlos is in a position to receive funding for studies, station access improvements, pedestrian amenities, connectivity measures and other transit-oriented development features. Sustainable San Mateo County - Sustainable San Mateo County seeks to create a broader awareness of the sustainability concept and is dedicated to the long-term health of our county’s economy, environment and social equity. The goal of sustainable thinking is that we meet our current needs while preserving the ability of future generations to meet their needs. The 2007 Indicators for a Sustainable San Mateo County: A Yearly Report Card evaluated 32 indicators of the sustainability of our region’s well being. The 2007 Report highlights progress reports from 19 local cities, including San Carlos. Historical Resources Inventory, 1991 - This report was prepared by the San Mateo County Historical Association and the San Mateo County Historical Resource Advisory Board under contract to the City. Its purpose is to create a citywide survey of cultural resources in order to include them in the comprehensive community planning process. Guiding Principles Adoption Template FINAL - The Guiding Principles for El Camino adopted by the Grand Boulevard Task Force have now been endorsed by more than 10 local governments. For San Carlos, these Guiding Principles will need to be brought to the City Council for adoption approval. Fred Kent, Boulevard Show Short (1MB PDF, )- An informational powerpoint on transit-oriented development. This powerpoint talks about the Peninsula Corridor Plan in relation to San Mateo County, reviews case studies of Redwood City and San Carlos, and discusses the idea of a boulevard as the new vision for El Camino Real. Filling In The Gaps - an informative booklet just released by the San Mateo County Department of Housing, on how cities in San Mateo County can promote infill housing. The Great Communities Collaborative brings together residents and local organizations to participate in community planning processes across the San Francisco Bay Area. Their goal is to create a region of vibrant neighborhoods with affordable housing, shops, jobs, and services within convenient walking distance near transit. In 2006, the California legislature passed AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act, which requires California to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. California’s Climate Action Plan cites smart land use and intelligent transportation systems as the second largest source of potential emissions reductions. SB 375 identifies clear strategies to reduce emissions through housing and transportation planning decisions and funding mechanisms. ClimatePlan - is a new network of leading organizations that have come together to inform and educate California’s local, regional and state decision-makers about the global warming-land use connection.
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