Overview  

Starting in July of 2022, SACOG set out to present the 2025 Blueprint to every City Council and Board of Supervisors in the region. This tour was intended to broaden the region’s elected officials’ understanding of the regional long range transportation plan and empower them in their roles as decision makers in the development and implementation of the plan. The presentations described the need and purpose of the 2025 Blueprint (MTP/SCS), expectations as SACOG develops the plan and highlighted implementation activities that SACOG will conduct to support the plan once it is adopted. SACOG concluded this effort in January of 2023. 

Local Tours 

County  

• El Dorado County Board of Supervisors  
• Placer County Board of Supervisors  
• Sacramento County Board of Supervisors  
• Sutter County Board of Supervisors  
• Yolo County Board of Supervisors  
• Yuba County Board of Supervisors 

City and Town 

• Auburn City Council  
• Citrus Heights City Council  
• Colfax City Council  
• Davis City Council  
• Elk Grove City Council  
• Folsom City Council  
• Galt City Council  
• Isleton City Council  
• Lincoln City Council  
• Live Oak City Council  
• Loomis Town Council  
• Marysville City Council  
• Placerville City Council  
• Rancho Cordova City Council  
• Rocklin City Council  
• Roseville City Council  
• Sacramento City Council  
• West Sacramento City Council  
• Wheatland City Council  
• Winters City Council  
• Woodland City Council  
• Yuba City, City Council 

Partner Agency  

• Placer County Transportation Planning Agency  
• Yuba Sutter Transit Authority 

Summary  

The presentations explained how a Triple Bottom Line approach, one of the plan’s guiding principles, will strive to advance coequal policy goals in equity, economy, and environment. This approach is imperative to prepare the region to meet the complex growth and mobility challenges we all face in the coming decades. The presentation also provided an overview of the opportunities SACOG is creating to ensure public and stakeholder involvement in the regional planning process and a glimpse into the many programs SACOG has available or is developing to support public agencies in the implementation of the region’s vision for the future.

Summary of Key Themes

Across all the Board and Council meetings, key themes emerged from Councilmembers’ and Supervisors’ responses. The elected officials appreciated having SACOG Executive Director James Corless, SACOG Deputy Director Kacey Lizon, and Planning Manager Clint Holtzen come to their meetings and not only present the 2025 Blueprint but emphasize the importance of the local electeds’ participation in the plan update. Councilmembers and Supervisors, many with experience on the SACOG Board of Directors, recognized that the 2025 Blueprint is a vision for the future of our region and highlighted local projects that were funded and supported by SACOG, thus connecting our long lasting collaborative efforts. Collectively they were interested in SACOG’s plan for equity focused outreach and engagement throughout the 2025 Blueprint development process. This led to a commitment by SACOG to hold ‘Pop Up Workshops’ in every jurisdiction to collect input from local residents which aims to elevate voices that are historically left out of planning discussions.

After discussing the development process for the 2025 Blueprint, attention was given to the many projects and programs that will help implement the plan. Elected officials were intrigued by the Mega Region Working Group and the dozen critical transportation projects the group identified  to better connect the Central Valley, Sacramento, and Bay Area economies. The Working Group is an ongoing partnership with the San Joaquin Council of Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission in the Bay Area. Other topics that elicited conversation were air quality, housing, and equity in which many of the elected leaders acknowledged the importance of projects and programs like Green Means Go and the Triple Bottom Line Framework. One of the projects that all the elected officials were eager about is the Regional Trail Network that will add 1000 miles of new trails to better connect the region. Many of the participants stated that innovative projects and programs like these will make us more competitive for funding opportunities.  

Lastly, the Councilmembers and Supervisors were collectively excited about another year of SACOG’s Youth Leadership Academy, agreeing that when planning for the future, we must not only think about the youth that will be living with what we are planning now, but also include them in the process.  

Next Steps 

Elected officials are a critical factor in our region’s success and will play a key role in implementing the 2025 Blueprint. To ensure that all the region’s elected officials are included, SACOG will have various touch points with electeds throughout the planning process. Currently, the SACOG Board is providing input on opportunities for the SACOG hosted ‘Pop up Workshops’ to engage their constituents. In June, SACOG will host a half day workshop to provide a more in-depth overview of the Blueprint development process and differences in the scenario planning efforts, referred to as Pathways. The targeted audience is made up of local elected officials, city and county planning staff, community-based organizations, nonprofit partners, and regional residents. In the fall of 2023, SACOG will host county level convenings among elected officials to weigh in on the draft preferred pathways, a synopsis of completed outreach outcomes, and policies that will support the plan. Lastly in June of 2024, SACOG will return to each council and board of supervisors meeting around the region.