Background of Alternatives Development
Phase One of the update project focused on identification of growth distribution alternatives for analysis in the environmental impact statement and pre-EIS research (issue papers). The PSRC Growth Management Policy Board and Regional Staff Committee met monthly to advise and provide direction to the Regional Council staff. PSRC staff also conducted wide ranging outreach efforts to interest groups, county planning directors, and countywide staff and elected groups. Through this process, they established a series of key assumptions to guide the update and environmental review. PSRC also used these assumptions to help identify alternatives to be included in the DEIS.
Assumptions guiding the update and the environmental review
- Forecasts. The update focuses on the region’s long-range VISION to accommodate continued growth through the year 2040 and beyond. The alternatives are based on the same regional forecasts for population and employment growth through the year 2040. These forecasts anticipate a year 2040 regional population of 4,988,000, and 3,047,000 jobs.
- Build on the Current VISION. In order to comply with the objectives and mandates of the state Growth Management Act and to fulfill the purpose and need for action, the update builds on the base of the policies and strategies adopted in VISION 2020. The focus of the update will be to clarify aspects of the VISION, emphasize efficiency, establish priorities, and reinforce the concept of a common purpose for the region’s many stakeholders. The VISION continues to reflect the Growth Management Act's objectives of containing the expansion of urban areas, conserving farmlands, forests, and open spaces, supporting more compact, people-oriented living and working places, and focuses a significant amount of new employment and housing into cities with vibrant urban centers.
- Transportation Plan. The growth distribution alternatives are being analyzed to see (among other things) which is best served by the existing transportation plan. In a separate planned action that will follow the selection of a preferred VISION, Destination 2030 will be extended to 2040 and amended to address the preferred growth alternative in March 2008.
