Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area:
Economy, Environment, Equity
Table of Contents
Preface 5
Introduction 7
Vision 8
Challenges 9
A Commitment to Action 11
Indicators 22
Signatories to the Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area 22
Appendices 22
Working Groups
Working Caucuses
GOALS AND STRATEGIES 22
Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Development
Post Office Box 2050 Voice: (510) 464-7978
Oakland California 94604-2050 Fax: (510) 464-7970
Dear Bay Area Friends:
The Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Development (Bay Area Alliance) is a multi-stakeholder coalition established to develop and implement an action plan that will lead to a more sustainable Bay Area. An outgrowth of the President's Council on Sustainable Development (PCSD), the Bay Area Alliance seeks to exemplify the theme in the PCSD report, Sustainable America - A New Consensus, that a sustainable America can only be achieved by creating sustainable communities. In its work the PCSD integrated the perspectives of the economy, environment and social equity -- the three E’s. It adopted the definition of sustainable development endorsed by the United Nations' World Commission on Environment and Development: "Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs."
Richard Clarke, CEO-retired of Pacific Gas & Electric Company and Michele Perrault, International Vice President of the Sierra Club, both PCSD members, presented the idea of a sustainable development initiative in 1997 to representatives of the business, social equity, environmental and governmental sectors in the Bay Area. This group of leaders, all of whom have signed this letter, constitute the Steering Committee of the Bay Area Alliance. The members of the Bay Area Alliance are also listed at the end of this letter. Each member organization agrees in principle to the provisions of this Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area.
The people of the Bay Area want to preserve the environmental, economic, and social attributes of the region for generations to come. There has already been much work to preserve and enhance these attributes. We acknowledge the contributions of the people and groups that have worked and continue to work for sustainability. It is our intention to build from these efforts and develop a broad, effective constituency of support for actions that will encourage more sustainable behaviors in the Bay Area.
We also acknowledge the contributions of the participants in the Bay Area Alliance. More than 200 people have served on working groups and working caucuses. In addition to their participation, their support of the work of the Bay Area Alliance as they interact with their friends and colleagues is critical to the success of the Bay Area Alliance, and ultimately to the Bay Area itself.
For the next six months, the Bay Area Alliance will seek public feedback and input as it conducts public workshops throughout the Bay Area and implements a media strategy to help build awareness for the concept of sustainable development. It is expected that suggestions for improvement to this Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area will emanate from this public outreach. These improvements will be integrated into the Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area prior to it being presented to the membership of the Bay Area Alliance for formal endorsement early next year.
Our region has nine counties, 101 cities and more than 200 governmental entities that develop and implement policy. The Bay Area needs a better framework to help coordinate policy decisions and implementation programs. This framework needs to recognize that certain issues transcend political boundaries. It needs to help instill a new attitude in business and communities, one of considering the regional implications of local decisions, as well as the implications of all decisions on all three E’s -- environment economy, equity. It needs to improve intraregional cooperation. The Bay Area Alliance is trying to develop such a framework through this Compact.
We see this Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area not as an end, but to paraphrase Winston Churchill, merely the end of the beginning. We are encouraged that continuing interaction among groups and individuals with different perspectives has led to concurrence on issues of critical importance. We recognize that there are other crucial issues, including the economic prosperity potential and environmental carrying capacity of the region, but with the continuing commitment of, and dialogue among, ever-increasing numbers of Bay Area residents, they can and will be resolved.
We recognize that full implementation of the strategies and actions in this document will not ensure that the Bay Area will be sustainable. However, such action would be a large step in the right direction. By working together and simultaneously considering social equity, environmental quality, and economic prosperity, we in the Bay Area will leave a sustainable future for generations to come.
Sincerely,
Carl Anthony, President, Urban Habitat Program
Richard Clarke, CEO-Retired, Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Mary King, President, Association of Bay Area Governments
Sunne Wright McPeak, President and CEO, Bay Area Council
Michele Perrault, International Vice President, Sierra Club
Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Development
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Preface
While recognizing that they may not sufficiently address the specifics of the Bay Area region, the Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area uses as a guide the principles from two reports prepared by the President's Council on Sustainable Development: the 1996 report, Sustainable America: A New Consensus, and the 1999 report, Towards a Sustainable America: Advancing Prosperity, Opportunity, and a Healthy Environment for the 21st Century.
1. To achieve our vision of sustainable development, some things must grow--jobs, productivity, wages, capital and savings, profits, information, knowledge, and education--and others--pollution, waste, and poverty--must not.
2. Change is inevitable and necessary for the sake of future generations and for ourselves. We can choose a course for change that will lead to the mutually reinforcing goals of economic growth, environmental protection, and social equity.
3. Steady progress in reducing disparities in education, opportunity, and environmental risk within society is essential to economic growth, environmental health, and social justice.
4. The United States has made great progress in protecting the environment in the last 25 years, and must continue to make progress in the next 25 years. We can achieve that goal because market incentives and the power of consumers can lead to significant improvements in environmental performance at less cost.
5. Economic growth based on technological innovation, improved efficiency, and expanding global markets is essential for progress toward greater prosperity, equity, and environmental quality.
6. Environmental regulations have improved and must continue to improve the lives of all Americans. Basic standards of performance that are clear, fair, and consistently enforced remain necessary to protect that progress. The current regulatory system should be improved to deliver required results at lower costs. In addition, the system should provide enhanced flexibility in return for superior environmental performance.
7. Environmental progress will depend on individual, institutional, and corporate responsibility, commitment, and stewardship.
8. We need a new collaborative decision process that leads to better decisions; more rapid change; and more sensible use of human, natural, and financial resources in achieving our goals.
9. The nation must strengthen its communities and enhance their role in decisions about environment, equity, natural resources, and economic progress so that the individuals and institutions most immediately affected can join with others in the decision process.
10. Economic growth, environmental protection, and social equity are linked. We need to develop integrated policies to achieve these goals.
11. The United States should have policies and programs that contribute to stabilizing global human population; this objective is critical if we hope to have the resources needed to ensure a high quality of life for future generations.
12. Even in the face of scientific uncertainty, society should take reasonable actions to avert risks where the potential harm to human health or the environment is thought to be serious or irreparable.
13. Steady advances in science and technology are essential to help improve economic efficiency, protect and restore natural systems, and modify consumption patterns.
A growing economy and healthy environment are essential to national and global security.
15. A knowledgeable public, the free flow of information, and opportunities for review and redress are critically important to open, equitable, and effective decision making.
16. Citizens must have access to high-quality and lifelong formal and non-formal education that enables them to understand the interdependence of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social equity--and prepares them to take actions that support all three.
The Bay Area Alliance is regional in scope; it acknowledges the interdependence of the Bay Area's sub-regions and strives to make the concept of "region" a value for Bay Area residents. It also recognizes the inter-relationship of the Bay Area with adjoining regions in California.
The Bay Area Alliance acknowledges and is building on the work of many other organizations that have addressed components of sustainable development., The Bay Area Alliance is distinguished by its inclusiveness and comprehensiveness in addressing issues from the perspective of all three E’s simultaneously.
The Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area includes set of commitments that the members seek to accomplish, beginning now. The Bay Area Alliance members are in positions that will help to assure the realization of these commitments.
The Bay Area Alliance, as an outgrowth of the President's Council for Sustainable Development, operates within a national context.
The Bay Area Alliance held its initial meeting on April 1, 1997 and has since been meeting quarterly. Two criteria guided the Steering Committee in developing the list of invitees for membership: 1) the Bay Area Alliance should be large enough to be representative of the business, social equity, environmental, and governmental sectors and small enough to be able to reach consensus; and 2) it should include many of the most influential people from the most influential organizations within each of the sectors.
The Bay Area Alliance established five working caucuses and six working groups.
The caucuses include a broad cross-section of people working within a specific sector or geographic area. They provide input to the working groups and the Alliance. The caucuses are:
Social Justice
Regional Agencies
Business/Employer
Local/Sub-regional Sustainability Programs Roundtable
Environmental.
The working groups consist of people who represent the perspectives of the business, social equity, and environmental sectors. Each group provided recommendations for the Compact. The working groups are:
Housing, Jobs and Access
Environmental Quality and Biodiversity
Public Education & Media Strategy
Tax/Fiscal Policy
Best Practices
Sustainable Development Indicators
Introduction
This Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area recommends strategies and actions that move toward the three essential E’s of sustainability: economy, environment, and equity. All are equally important and interdependent. The three E’s also represent different constituencies in the Bay Area that, along with local government, have the ability to accomplish recommended actions. Each constituency views every strategy and action through its particular lens or point of view. The recommendations in the Compact are those that will have a positive effect on all three E’s.
The Compact is a commitment by the participating organizations to take specific steps extending over the next quarter century. It is also an action plan to guide government, business, civic organizations, and individuals in cooperative efforts that will lead to a region that is economically prosperous, environmentally healthy, and socially equitable.
The Compact, thus far, articulates our vision for a sustainable future, identifies challenges currently facing the Bay Area, and describes our Commitment to Action, starting now.
Next is a chapter describing broad-based Sustainable Development Indicators for the Bay Area, followed by a list of signatories to this Compact. The appendices include a brief description of the process followed by the working groups and working caucuses and the participants in each working group and working caucus. Copies of the working group and working caucus reports are available upon request.
The Compact will be supplemented by a document that identifies goals and strategies related to our Commitment to Action. Under each strategy there are specific suggested actions, responsible organizations and agencies (implementers), and indicators to measure performance. These strategies and actions are not intended to be comprehensive but rather illustrative. We expect this supplementary document to evolve and grow over time as actions which prove successful in neighborhoods, communities and sub regions of the Bay Area are added to it and thereby shared with the rest of the Bay Area.
Vision
In its Working Plan adopted in June 1997, the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Development stated its vision:
"We envision a Bay Area where the natural environment is vibrant, healthy and safe, where the economy is robust and globally competitive, and where all citizens have equitable opportunities to share in the benefits of a quality environment and a prosperous economy."
We, the members of the Bay Area Alliance, agree that a sustainable Bay Area must have the following attributes:
Environmental quality is excellent.
The Bay Area ecosystem—including the Bay-Delta Estuary, air quality, wetlands and watersheds, and biodiversity—is healthy, vibrant, and productive.
Open space and agriculture are preserved as a result of efficient, compact land use patterns.
Resources are conserved, and waste is eliminated.
The economy is prosperous.
The regional economy is robust, and productivity is high.
Unemployment rates are low, and poverty levels are decreased.
Sufficient housing affordable to the workforce is available close to job centers.
Traffic congestion is greatly reduced. There is a first-rate public transportation system including water transit and the percentage of single occupant vehicle trips significantly declines.
Economic well being and quality of life are high in all neighborhoods.
The diverse segments of the population share the region’s economic prosperity and environmental quality.
Education performance is greatly improved, especially among the disadvantaged population.
Strategic capital investments in priority neighborhoods, in partnership with local neighborhood leaders, improve the physical and social environment, provide living-wage jobs, and enhance housing opportunities for neighborhood residents.
The workforce in all sectors and civic leadership throughout the region reflect the diversity of the population.
Land use planning, economic development, and the transportation network minimize disparities among neighborhoods and municipalities.
The sustainable vision is possible, starting now and continuing over the next quarter century.
This Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area calls for actions by business, community organizations, and government to bring about the vision. It will be especially important for all of us to consider our decisions from the perspectives of all three E’s (economy, environment, social equity).
CHALLENGES
Today, the Bay Area is one of the world's most desirable places to live and work. It has a robust and expanding economy. It is a gateway to the Pacific Rim. It has internationally known institutions of higher learning. It has a richly diverse population. It has a climate that is among the best in the nation. And it has natural resources whose beauty is unmatched anywhere in the world.
But the Bay Area also has major challenges facing the economy, the environment, and social equity. These challenges are interconnected and must be addressed comprehensively.
Sustainable economy. The Bay Area economy has not been immune to recession. Earlier in this decade the region experienced its most significant recession since the Great Depression. In aggregate, the recovery from this recession has gone very well. But many people have been left out of the recovery. The gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" has grown substantially in the region. Many workers earn less than a living wage.
Housing supply. People travel increasing distances between home and work, leading to traffic congestion, personal stress and excessive time away from families. Housing prices are among the highest in the nation, adding to the problem of homelessness and causing Bay Area workers to live outside the region. Decent, affordable, safe and accessible housing should be available to all Bay Area residents.
Transportation system. Historical expansion of the freeway system in the Bay Area has reinforced low-density vehicle-dependent suburban development and more congestion. While funding priorities have shifted in recent years, public transit systems throughout the Bay Area are not sufficiently coordinated and do not provide adequate service, which is especially a hardship in low-income areas.
San Francisco Bay, habitats, farmland, open space and other natural assets. Prevailing low-density patterns of development separate homes from job centers, services and other destinations. These patterns are wasting resources, eating up open space, wildlife habitat and farmland, and threatening San Francisco Bay, the region’s biodiversity and human health through the degradation of air and water quality.
Resource use. Inefficient practices of production and consumption cause pollution and threaten the future prosperity of the economy.
Neighborhood integrity. The movement of job centers away from inner city neighborhoods and older suburbs is resulting in concentrations of poverty, deteriorated housing, a lack of adequate job training, public transit and other services, and a growing disparity of incomes between the rich and poor.
Educational system. The quality of the K-12 education system has deteriorated to the point where we are no longer among national educational leaders. We no longer provide an adequately educated workforce, and the future of our children is at risk.
Community health and safety. Declining inner city neighborhoods and older suburbs have experienced increasing crime and safety concerns. These issues are often exacerbated by environmental degradation in the same areas leading to increasing levels of health-related problems. People move away from unsafe and unhealthy communities, thereby increasing the rate of decline of the community.
Local government finance. Because of unreliable sources of funds, local governments often plan land uses that compete with other jurisdictions in order to increase revenues to meet growing demands for social and other municipal services. The result is a growing financial challenge, particularly for inner cities and older suburbs.
Civic engagement. Increasing geographic and cultural separation among people of different races, classes, and cultures and a lack of understanding of the dynamics of growth have resulted in a decline of a common civic conscience. People who are stressed by poverty, long commutes, and lack of support networks have little time for involvement in their neighborhoods and communities. Without established mechanisms for ongoing dialogue and policy development we cannot address emerging regional challenges effectively and equitably.
If present trends continue, our quality of life will deteriorate. But trends are not destiny. We have other choices, through the cooperation of the constituencies of the three E’s economy, environment, equity working in partnership with government at all levels.
A Commitment to Action
This Compact contains a specific commitment to action by the members of the Bay Area Alliance, and recommended actions by others as we move toward a broader consensus throughout the region.
We, the members of the Bay Area Alliance, propose the following framework for bold action. The following ten strategic initiatives are inextricably interconnected, and they are directly linked to the previous ten challenges. The order of listing is not intended to imply a priority.
Enable a diversified, sustainable and competitive economy to continue to prosper and provide jobs in order to achieve a high quality of life for all Bay Area residents.
Accommodate sufficient housing affordable to all income levels within the Bay Area to match population increases and job generation.
Target transportation system investment to support efficient land use and decrease dependency on single-occupancy vehicle trips.
Preserve and restore the region’s natural assets, including San Francisco Bay, farmland, open space, other habitats and the region’s air and water quality.
Use resources efficiently, eliminate pollution and significantly reduce waste.
Focus investment to preserve and revitalize neighborhoods.
Provide all residents with the opportunity for quality education and lifelong learning to help them meet their highest aspirations.
Promote healthy and safe communities.
Implement local government fiscal reforms and revenue sharing.
Stimulate civic engagement.
1. Enable a Diversified, Sustainable and Competitive Economy to Continue to Prosper and Provide Jobs in order to Achieve a High Quality of Life for All Bay Area Residents.
The Bay Area Alliance will work to strengthen the regional economy to reduce the aggregate effect of future global, national, state or regional recessions. We will seek to ensure that all sectors of the Bay Area population have the opportunity to participate in the region’s growing economic prosperity.
We commit ourselves to:
Support and lead collaborative actions to enhance the region’s economic strengths and minimize its weaknesses while ensuring its comparative advantage, protecting the environment and improving social equity.
Encourage businesses in environmental technologies, material recycling, energy efficiency, brownfields reuse and those that employ the disadvantaged.
Participate in discussions on growth and sustainability, the nature and quality of jobs in the region, the relationship of a living wage and sustainability, and incentives for businesses to support a living wage without affecting competitive position.
Encourage the location of jobs near places where workforce housing exists, and link jobs and housing with convenient, affordable transit service.
Link employer-based workforce development to the schools, including technical and vocational schools.
2. Accommodate Sufficient Housing Affordable to All Income Levels within the Bay Area to Match Population Increases and Job Generation
The Bay Area Alliance will work to protect and expand the supply of housing that is needed by and affordable to all residents. Actions will be taken to promote housing the most needy, current and future workers of all income levels in locations near transit, community services and places of employment, and to place jobs near where people live. We will coordinate our efforts with regional agencies, local, state and federal governments, employers, community organizations, developers, non-profits, business associations, economic development organizations, foundations and lenders.
We commit ourselves to:
Reach out to financial institutions to encourage diverse housing types and mixed-use investments at transit-supportive densities within urban areas, near transit, which reuse underutilized or deteriorated areas.
Work with local community organizations to learn about their needs for housing and services, including needs of the homeless, and encourage community organizations to participate in planning, advocacy and implementation.
Advocate in support of mixed-density and mixed-income residential development, particularly in areas with transit and other services.
Support efforts to use existing housing stock efficiently, by encouraging second units, group housing and similar mechanisms.
Support community-based efforts to retain and expand the supply of existing affordable housing and the adoption of measures to prevent displacement.
Advocate local government actions, such as amending general plans and zoning and providing incentives such as permit fast tracking, to encourage affordable housing development, especially near transit.
Advocate changes in federal and state legislation to provide incentives for the development of resource efficient, affordable housing near transit, community services and places of employment and to address barriers such as construction defect litigation.
Establish an Affordable Housing Trust Fund, to assist jurisdictions in providing their fair share of affordable housing.
Support existing fair housing laws and prohibitions against discrimination in housing.
Support state legislative reform to improve the fair share housing process and provide financial and other incentives to strengthen local jurisdictions' abilities to meet their fair share responsibilities.
Support preservation and conservation of existing housing stock such as housing at closing military bases, single residential occupancy hotels and other affordable housing.
3. Target Transportation System Investment to Support Efficient Land Use and Decrease Dependence on Single-Occupancy Vehicle Trips
To increase the effectiveness of investments, the Bay Area Alliance will work with transportation planning agencies and advocacy groups to give priority to public transportation and other alternatives to single-occupant vehicle use, that improve access and the mobility of people, goods and services throughout the region, as well as air and water quality. In addition, the Bay Area Alliance will work with others to promote improved linkages between transportation investments and land use planning to help ensure effective and efficient use of transportation funds.
We commit ourselves to:
Advocate that the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and others continue to allocate a larger share of future funds toward capital improvements for and operations of public transportation.
Work to assure that the highest priorities for transportation improvements are linked to compact land use patterns at transit-supportive densities, and to environmental protection.
Support efforts to improve the efficiency, coordination and affordability of transit services, including water transit, BART, CalTrain and other trains, lightrail and buses.
Encourage the restoration and expansion of transit service during both commute and non-commute times to under-served neighborhoods and populations, e.g., seniors, schoolchildren, etc.
Advocate that MTC continue giving priority to, and where feasible expand funding for, the repair, maintenance and improvement of existing freeways over the development of new ones while increasing the amounts allocated for public transportation.
Support the implementation of congestion pricing and other pricing reforms that do not unduly burden vulnerable populations and use the revenue generated to improve transit alternatives and affordability.
Advocate for a safe, convenient network of bicycle and pedestrian facilities that link residential, commercial, recreational and other uses, and connect with transit.
Support the continuing efforts of MTC to conduct an equity analysis of the Regional Transportation Plan process; and consider the social equity impact of new transportation investments.
Support the addition of surface transportation capacity at selected key bottlenecks in the region, while maintaining intentionally designed gateways consistent with voter preferences that limit additional vehicle flows into already congested areas and corridors, where public transit is a more viable cost-effective option.
Preserve and Restore the Region’s Natural Assets, including San Francisco Bay, Farmland, Open Space, Other Habitats, and Air and Water Quality
The Bay Area Alliance will work with others to identify and protect high-priority lands, waterways and San Francisco Bay. We will seek resources to develop a region-wide plan and map showing which lands should be considered for restoration and preservation and which could be considered for development, consistent with sustainability criteria. These criteria must include the encouragement of compact, mixed-use, mixed-income development in existing developed areas to ensure that land is used efficiently (including the reuse of brownfields). The criteria should also include matching jobs with housing, linking homes, jobs and services, and reducing dependence on motor vehicles. Recognizing that the Bay Area has already lost extensive habitat, we will work to obtain funds for land protection, restoration and management, through acquisition and other means, to protect wetlands and watersheds and to preserve open space, prime agricultural land, wildlife habitat, and natural resources and providing appropriate public access. We will work with local and regional park and open space agencies, environmental organizations, and local governments to identify priority areas. We will coordinate efforts to obtain funds from federal, state, foundations, and other sources.
We commit ourselves to:
Support efforts to protect and restore the Bay-Delta Estuary.
Support an open space initiative/regional bond measure.
Address the particular needs for open space, environmental cleanup, and resource/habitat protection in urban areas and low-income neighborhoods and promote environmental responsibility throughout the region.
Develop plans to set priorities for natural resource preservation, including wetlands restoration and preservation, informed by best available science.
Support coordinated advocacy efforts to obtain funds for planning, acquisition, restoration and stewardship and appropriate public access incentives.
Advocate incentives for landowners to practice good environmental stewardship.
Work with farmers to develop policies and incentives that promote environmentally-responsible agricultural practices.
Coordinate land acquisition efforts with environmental and community-based organizations.
Link land protection/management programs to local economic development and employment efforts, including assistance to family farmers and farm workers.
Support urban growth boundaries, provided that complementary policies and incentives are adopted that ensure that new jobs generated and needed housing are accommodated within the boundariesin a manner emphasizing revitalization and reuse.
Implement strategies to reduce water pollution, especially non-point source run-off, and promote watershed management practices for the Bay and associated waterways.
Reduce air pollution, especially from mobile sources.
Support public-private partnerships to improve the efficiency of environmental regulation while simultaneously improving environmental performance and enforcement of existing environmental laws and regulations.
Support the study of the relationship of carrying capacity to growth.
5. Use Resources Efficiently, Eliminate Pollution and Significantly Reduce Waste
To improve resource efficiency, the Bay Area Alliance will work to support leadership by utilities, manufacturers, builders, other businesses, institutions, public agencies and consumer groups that encourages the efficient use and reuse of resources, including water and energy, and the elimination of pollution and reduction of waste.
We commit ourselves to:
Seek tax and other incentives, and work to eliminate existing disincentives, to encourage producers and consumers to minimize the environmental impact associated with their energy and resource use.
Encourage high quality design and "green" building materials through a cooperative effort involving industry, government and community organizations.
Emphasize the use of goods and services produced, packaged and transported in an environmentally and socially responsible fashion.
Encourage more resource efficient production and construction processes.
Support local and regional recycling and resource recovery programs, emphasizing resource cycling.
Encourage the use of energy and water efficient technologies in new building design and retrofit of residential, business and institutional facilities.
Encourage the substitution of renewable for non-renewable energy resources, and reduction in energy use.
Encourage households, industry, government and agriculture to reduce the use of harmful pesticides, fertilizers and other potential pollutants.
Reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Encourage development of total ecological production processes.
6. Focus Investment to Preserve and Revitalize Neighborhoods
The Bay Area Alliance will work to establish a Community Investment Program ("Community Capital Investment Initiative") which supports neighborhood revitalization efforts while encouraging compact, efficient development patterns. The program, which is intended to complement existing efforts, will focus job development and training, community improvements, and social services in neighborhoods experiencing decline, including inner cities, older suburbs, and the Bay Area's 46 most impoverished neighborhoods (see map attached). The program will provide assistance to community-based entrepreneurs. It will also encourage employers with high growth opportunity to locate in these areas, and use indigenous vendors for needed services to the extent possible.
We commit ourselves to:
Recruit community and Bay Area business leaders to participate in developing and adopting a Community Investment Program ("Community Capital Investment Initiative").
Support and strengthen the efforts of economic development organizations in the region that invest in stimulating local entrepreneurship in identified neighborhoods that are in decline or at risk, while minimizing resident displacement.
Seek ways to address the adverse impacts of gentrification and displacement of low-and moderate-income residents.
Work to assure that environmental, housing and infrastructure problems that discourage investment in these neighborhoods are addressed, including training and incentives for self-help neighborhood projects.
Support and strengthen community-based financial institutions to facilitate neighborhood revitalization in low-income communities.
Work with service providers to assure adequate job training and support programs for local residents.
Encourage business incubators, and vendors and suppliers to regional growth- industry clusters to locate in impoverished neighborhoods to complement local entrepreneurship.
Support and strengthen the efforts of employers who recruit, hire, and train currently unemployed or underemployed welfare recipients and the working poor for jobs with career and income growth potential.
Ensure that new industrial development is compatible with neighborhood and community needs.
7. Provide All Residents with the Opportunity for Quality Education and Lifelong Learning to Help Them Meet Their Highest Aspirations
To improve educational performance, the Bay Area Alliance will establish a "Support for Schools" program, working with local school districts, community organizations, residents and employers. The focus will be on investment in and improvement of the quality of public education performance at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. Performance indicators will include levels of achievement and rates of graduation, especially for low-income youth and those living in impoverished neighborhoods
.
We commit ourselves to:
Support school reform programs and state and local school bond issues, consistent with sustainable community development.
Support mentoring programs
Encourage parental and community involvement.
Support programs that help ensure students have both basic education and job skills.
Advocate education on the environment, sustainable living, and environmentally-responsible consumption throughout the region, within inner city and suburban communities alike.
Advocate adequate, stable and equitable funding for all schools.
Support targeted efforts, including increased funding, to improve school performance in the poorest neighborhoods.
8. Promote Healthy and Safe Communities
To break the cycle of community decline leading to increased crime which in turn leads to more community decline, the Bay Area Alliance will work to enhance the safety and health of inner city and older suburban neighborhoods. In this effort, we will work with the Bay Area Partnership and others to build on the assets of families, neighborhoods and individuals rather than focusing on deficits.
We commit ourselves to:
Work with the Bay Area Partnership and others to help ensure that residents of all communities have access to adequate health care and community facilities.
Encourage community policing where police officers have longer-term assignments on specific beats in order to facilitate closer relations between police and community residents.
Support efforts that lead to toxic-free communities.
Seek opportunities to support and participate in local neighborhood social and cultural events.
Support and strengthen efforts that facilitate community access to clean, healthy food supplies and enhance food security.
Advocate for performance-based "good neighbor agreements" that ensure worker and neighborhood health and safety.
Continue to support the Bay Area’s leadership in family planning services.
Support enhancing human services for families, youth and children.
9. Implement Local Government Fiscal Reforms and Revenue Sharing
To address local government finance and fiscal inequity and uncertainty, which currently motivates local governments to plan and zone for revenue rather than for balanced communities, the Bay Area Alliance will advocate changes in legislation and practices at the state, regional and local level. The goals will be to reduce competition between jurisdictions for development and to reduce economic polarization in the region and increase cooperation. We will pay particular attention to improving the fiscal health of economically distressed inner cities and older suburbs.
We commit ourselves to:
Advocate changes in state legislation to provide local governments with adequate and stable tax revenues.
Establish cooperative, rather than competitive, economic development programs at the subregional and regional levels.
Encourage local governments to work together to determine how to allocate and share tax revenues.
Support expansion and strengthening of sub-regional and regional co-operative land-use planning and implementation efforts.
Support legislative reforms that reduce the fiscalization of land use.
10. Stimulate Civic Engagement
To improve civic engagement, the Bay Area Alliance will celebrate the diversity of the Bay Area and will work to establish means of conversing and cooperating across racial, ethnic, cultural, age and class lines, and jurisdictional boundaries. We will also seek to assure that people have the support and services they need in order to participate in community decision making. To address emerging regional challenges we will promote the establishment of appropriate forums for ongoing policy discussions and development.
We commit ourselves to:
Engage local residents and community organizations as equal partners in planning, development, and investment decisions.
Support efforts to provide needed services, such as child care, youth programs and elder care in neighborhoods and at places of employment so that people have time to participate in community events, planning and decision making.
Continue to actively engage in ongoing multi-stakeholder dialog to address regional sustainability issues.
Work with others, including the school community, to enhance understanding of the concept of sustainability, civic engagement and the interdependence of the economy, environment and social equity, including the equity impact of public investments.
Support a continued analysis of other metropolitan regional models.
Encourage and support ongoing models of cooperation in the Bay Area.
Encourage local government to consider the regional impact of their local decisions
INDICATORS
Sustainable development indicators are an essential component of this Compact. Widely publicized indicators will help increase the general awareness of the concept of sustainable development. Additionally, indicators provide a mechanism for motivation as characterized by the adage -- "what gets measured gets done." Furthermore, indicators may help encourage the behavioral changes that could move the Bay Area towards a more sustainable path.
Following (to be added in October 1999) are a set of broad indicators that the Bay Area Alliance will use to gauge the Bay Area's progress (or lack thereof) toward sustainability. This set of indicators is expected to be widely published by the Bay Area media and will provide a periodic "report card" to the residents of the Bay Area. In addition to these broad indicators, others will be developed for many of the initiatives and commitments associated with them.
Signatories to the Compact for a Sustainable Bay Area
(To be added when this Compact is formally adopted, expected to be in April, 2000)
Appendices
The appendices will consist of short descriptions of the working group and working caucus process. Each working group and caucus will be listed along with all of its participants. Copies of the working group/caucus reports will be made available upon request. In addition, the appendices will include a map of the 46 most impoverished neighborhoods in the Bay Area and a brief explanation of how their status was determined.
_____________________________________________
Supplementary Document
Goals and Strategies
The substance of this supplementary document will be based on the materials and recommendations in the working group reports. It will be formatted so that the recommendations are consistent with the ten initiatives identified in the Commitment to Action section of this Compact.