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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/19/2007, COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT #1 - SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS (SLOCOG) SAN LUIS OBISPO MEETING OF JUNE 6, 2007 HECEIVEP JUN 14 2007 RED FILE SLO CITY CLERK - MEETING AGENDA �IIIIII�I ����IIIII�IIII DAT ITEM # tIWSs rg'LT4 tiaison nEpout ;city o>F san�Ltiis oi3ispo June 11, 2007 j2'cOUNC L ZCOD DIR .ICAO [TIN 01A KACAO AFIRE CHIEF ZATTORNEY zow Dip To: Council Colleagues 2CLEPP/ORI4 �rPObCE CHF HEA $ ffpfCDIA bi ( R From: Dave Romero, Mayor �i� Ja_ Hf b1A Subject: San Luis Obispo Council of Governments.(SLOCOG) San Luis Obispo/W' V' `k Meeting of June 6,2007 1 -, NU'K- The San Luis Obispo Council of Governments met on June 6, 2007. The following items are of interest to the City of San Luis Obispo. The Executive Director reported that the signal preemptive grant program is proceeding. This would provide programmable preemptive equipment for 100 signals countywide. The COG has received approval from the California Transportation Commission for funds to continue with the Environmental Impact Report preparation, right=of-way acquisition and engineering for the Santa Maria Bridge widening on 101, thus positioning it very well to compete for construction funds during the next several years. The CalTrans representation reported that CalTrans is preparing initial documents for extending the right-turn lane on southbound Highway 1 (Santa Rosa) at Olive Street. This would extend the lane to Montalban Street (past the now-vacant Union 76 site). Construction should begin in 2011. Staff reported that the RTA is closing a transit service gap at Cuesta College for late afternoon by a reschedule of the buses serving the Highway 1 corridor. The board discussed moving ahead with the regional road system deficiency analysis. This would be a county-wide analysis using the recently approved regional traffic model, which attempts to take into account general plan information for each community in order to arrive at accurate projections. The County traffic model will continue to serve as the basis for local cities for their traffic models. COG staff discussed programs to be put into place to meet Governor Schwarzenegger's climate change emissions control targets for California. These are scheduled to be met during the years of 2010, 2020, and 2050, and call for reduced congestion by improving the efficiency of transit systems, improving vehicle occupancy, reducing vehicle emissions, and adopting smart growth land use strategies. GACouncil Support&Corresp\City Council Correspondence\Romero\Liaison Reports\Liasion Report SLOCOG-SLORTA.doc The Board approved a number of actions in response to the Governor's May revisions to the budget, many of which affect transportation programs. There is opposition to the Governor's program to take some transit assistance funds approved under Proposition 1B and authorize them for school bus transportation programs. The Board favored the purchase of rail cars and locomotives to increase train service between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Board took a position asking that Prop 1B funds be made available to local jurisdictions in the near future rather than being spread over the next ten years as the Governor is proposing in order to balance the state budget. The Board took a position in opposition to the Williamson Act cuts which could result in the development of agricultural lands for urban uses, which would increase growth pressures within our rural county. Staff reported that the next round of housing allocations will come before the COG within the next several months. They expect the numbers to be reduced from previous HCD submittals, however, we anticipate another difficult time in dealing with the allocation.