Groups Blast MTC and ABAG "One Bay Area" Plan
Project:
6 Big Wins for Social Equity Network
Date:
May 17, 2012
Report Card Gives $274B Plan for Bay Area’s Future a “D” for Disaster
OAKLAND — The 6 Wins for Social Equity Network (6 Wins Network) — a group of more than 30 social justice, faith, public health and environmental organizations — today sharply criticized the current draft of the “One Bay Area” plan that will come before regional policymakers for a decisive vote tonight. Network members say the plan in its current form will perpetuate air pollution, sprawl and segregation.
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Executive Board of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) will meet at 7 p.m. at the Oakland Marriott to vote on the plan, which will determine how the Bay Area will meet its housing needs and spend more than $270 billion in public transportation funding over the next 30 years.
The 6 Wins group has issued a report card giving a “D” grade to MTC’s and ABAG’s comprehensive plan for meeting the greenhouse gas reduction targets set by California’s SB 375, the companion legislation to California’s landmark climate law, AB 32.
“Unlike some others, we’re not against planning. We’re against bad planning,” said Parisa Fatehi-Weeks, a staff attorney with civil rights law firm Public Advocates Inc. “The One Bay Area plan has earned a ‘D’ for disaster for its failure to protect the region’s economic vitality and its struggling working families.”
The report card focuses on whether the planning done to date has created a One Bay Area plan for all based on five main criteria: economic opportunity, transportation, affordable housing, investment without displacement and health.
“The plan deserves a ‘D’ because it destroys our future,” said Marcia Lovelace, a member of Genesis, a coalition of congregations and community groups. “MTC has once again ignored the input of the community and opted for a plan with policies that perpetuate inequality and environmental decay for generations to come.”
6 Wins Network members point to a number of failures in the plan:
- By 2040, low-income households will be spending 75 percent of their income on housing and transportation, leaving little money for other necessities like food and healthcare, according to MTC and ABAG’s own analysis.
- Deep cuts to transit service made in the Great Recession will be made permanent.
- 1 out of every 3 households in low-income communities of color is likely to be displaced from their neighborhood.
- Inadequate workforce housing will reduce potential job growth by more than 10 percent.
- Most wealthy cities will be taking on a reduced share of the Bay Area’s affordable housing need.
“We’ve engaged positively and constructively in this process for almost two years,” said Lindsay Imai, associate director of the TJ Program at regional environmental justice organization Urban Habitat. “Many commissioners and staff members have ignored our voices, as well as those of other elected officials and their own working groups,” said Imai. “Their deafness is stunning and we’re angry. It’s time to turn up the volume.”
6 Wins Network members say they will make a loud statement at tonight’s meeting of MTC commissioners and ABAG executive board members before the scheduled vote on a “preferred scenario.” They will discuss the 6 Wins Network report card and the impact the plan will have on the lives of Bay Area families at a press conference and rally prior to the meeting.
SB 375 requires regional agencies to plan job growth, housing and transit investments together to decrease sprawl and driving, and thereby cut greenhouse gas emissions. The MTC/ABAG One Bay Area plan includes both a Regional Transportation Plan — which will allocate $274 billion over the next 30 years — and a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) that will influence where housing, including affordable homes, will be built.
WHAT: Press conference and rally followed by meeting
WHERE: Oakland Marriott, 1001 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94607
WHEN: Thursday, May 17, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. Joint MTC/ABAG meeting
begins at 7:00 p.m. in the Junior Ballroom
WHO: Representatives from the 6 Wins for Social Equity Network,
including social justice, faith, public health and environmental
leaders
VISUALS: Speakers, signs, large-scale report card, large-scale segregation
map, meeting testimony
###
Press packet includes:
-
Report Card
o Highlights
o Details
o Segregation map
o Housing distribution facts
o Why the One Bay Area Plan matters - April 25th comment letter
Press Kits
Related Press Releases
