Public comment through Dec. 18 on Draft Plan Bay Area 2050+, EIR for housing, transportation, economic development and the environment

East Bay Webinar Nov. 5

By Veronica Cummings, Principal Public Information Officer, Engagement & John Goodwin, Assistant Director of Communications, Metropolitan Transportation Commission 

After more than two years of public discussion, technical analyses and refinement, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) today released Draft Plan Bay Area 2050+ and the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Environmental Impact Report for public review and comment.

Draft Plan Bay Area 2050+ charts a course for the future of the Bay Area over the next 25 years. Designed to guide growth and investment across the region’s nine counties and 101 cities, the latest plan aims to advance an integrated vision for a Bay Area that is affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant for all. The plan contains 35 strategies for public policies and investments that can be implemented to help the Bay Area build more homes, reduce commute times, and create vibrant downtowns and natural areas for everyone to enjoy. These strategies also aim to keep people safe from natural hazards, support a strong economy and provide stable housing.

Unique to this plan cycle is Transit 2050+, a parallel and first-of-its-kind planning effort conducted by MTC and ABAG in partnership with Bay Area transit agencies to re-envision the future of Bay Area public transit.

MTC and ABAG have scheduled a series of webinars and public hearings for comment on Draft Plan Bay Area 2050+ and associated supplemental reports, as well as on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for Plan Bay Area 2050+. All interested people, agencies and other organizations are encouraged to attend a webinar or public hearing, where they can ask questions and offer comments on these documents. Full event details are listed below:

• Webinar #1 — North Bay 
  Wednesday, October 29, 2025 
  12-1:30 p.m. 
  Zoom link: https://bit.ly/northbaywebinar 
• Webinar ID: 892 3077 8001 
• Passcode: 256814 
• 888-788-0099 US Toll Free   

• Webinar #2 — West Bay 
  Wednesday, October 29, 2025 
  6-7:30 p.m. 
  Zoom link: https://bit.ly/westbaywebinar 
  Webinar ID: 831 4140 5598 
  Passcode: 096944 
  888-788-0099 US Toll Free   
• Webinar #3 — South Bay 
  Thursday, October 30, 2025 
  6-7:30 p.m. 
  Zoom link: https://bit.ly/southbaywebinar    
  Webinar ID: 822 2561 7467 
  Passcode: 356845 
  888-788-0099 US Toll Free   
• Webinar #4 — East Bay 
  Wednesday, November 5, 2025 
  6-7:30 p.m. 
  Zoom link: https://bit.ly/eastbaywebinar  
  Webinar ID: 869 8283 4999 
  Passcode: 682098 
  888-788-0099 US Toll Free 

In addition to these webinars, MTC and ABAG will host three public hearings around the Bay Area to provide opportunities for all interested agencies, organizations and individuals to comment on the Draft Plan and Draft Environmental Impact Report. The full list of hearings is as follows: 

• Public Hearing #1 — MTC Planning Committee and ABAG Administrative Committee 
  Friday, November 14, 2025, at 9:40 a.m. or upon the conclusion of the Bay Area Infrastructure Financing Authority Network and Operations Committee, whichever is later. 
  Bay Area Metro Center -or- Zoom 
  Boardroom, 1st Floor 
  375 Beale Street, San Francisco
• Instructions to join by Zoom  

• Public Hearing #2 — Fremont  
  Wednesday, December 3, 2025, at 6 p.m. 
  Olive Hyde Art Center and Gallery -or- Zoom 
  123 Washington Boulevard, Fremont 
  Zoom link: https://bit.ly/drafthearing2  
  Webinar ID: 875 7625 3306 
  Passcode: 178983 
  888 788 0099 US Toll Free 
• Public Hearing #3 — Novato  
  Thursday, December 4, 2025, at 6 p.m. 
  Best Western Plus Novato Oaks Inn -or- Zoom 
  215 Alameda del Prado, Novato 
  Zoom link: https://bit.ly/drafthearing3  
  Webinar ID: 898 0347 9624 
• Passcode: 129009 
• 888 788 0099 US Toll Free 

Interested Bay Area residents, agencies and organizations also are encouraged to view and comment on the draft plan online at planbayarea.org/draftplan. Comments will be reviewed by officials from both ABAG and MTC as they consider the adoption of Final Plan Bay Area 2050+, slated for early 2026.

Written comments will be accepted via mail to MTC Public Information Office, Attn: Plan Bay Area -or- Draft EIR Comments, 375 Beale Street, Suite 800, San Francisco, CA, 94105; or via email (Draft Plan Bay Area 2050+ inbox: info@planbayarea.org; Draft EIR inbox: eircomments@bayareametro.gov). Comments by phone can made at (415) 778-2292.

The comment period for all documents will close Dec. 18, 2025, at 5 p.m. 

Questions? Visit planbayarea.org, email info@planbayarea.org or call (415) 778-6757. 

Accessible Meetings 

Do you need an interpreter or any other assistance to participate? Please call (415) 778-6757. For TDD or hearing impaired, call 711, California Relay Service, or (800) 735-2929 (TTY), (800) 735-2922 (voice) and ask to be relayed to (415) 778-6700. We require at least three working days’ notice to accommodate requests.

¿Necesita un intérprete u otra asistencia para participar? Por favor llámenos con tres días de anticipación al (415) 778-6757. Para telecomunicaciones para personas sordas y discapacitadas, favor de llamar al 711, el Servicio de Retransmisión de California (CRS) para TTY/VCO/HCO a Voz o para Voz a TTY/VCO/HCO al (800) 855-3000 y pedir que lo retrasmitan al (415) 778-6700.

您是否需要口譯或任何其他協助才能參加？請致電（415）778-6757。若需使用TDD或為聽障人士人士，請致電711，加州轉接服務，或（800）735-2929（TTY），（800）735-2922（語音），然後要求轉接至（415）778-6700。請至少提前三個工作日提出申請，以便我們能為您提供適當的口譯安排。

ABAG is the council of governments and the regional planning agency for the 101 cities and towns, and nine counties of the Bay Area. MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area. 

By City of Antioch Economic Development Department

The City of Antioch received funding from the National League of Cities (NLC) to pilot a grant program aimed at advancing local jobs through collaboration between Antioch businesses and nonprofits. The City invites teams of three or more Antioch-based small businesses and/or nonprofits to propose creative projects that will help residents, especially those with low incomes, find and grow in meaningful employment.

This is a pilot grant program. A total of $20,000 will be split between 2–4 selected teams ($5,000-$10,000 per team). All grant funds must be spent by June 1, 2026.

Applications are open until 10/10/25.

Read the program guidelines and application: https://www.antiochca.gov/rfps/

Register for the info session: https://us02web.zoom.us/…/register/rBnlNIImR5KcSbf3eBskSQ

Zach Seal brings over 25 years’ experience in city planning, economic development in East Bay

By Jaden Baird, PIO, City of Antioch

ANTIOCH, CA — Following City Manager Bessie Scott reorganizing and combining the City of Antioch’s Community Development and Economic Development Departments, it was announced today, Friday, September 5, 2025, the appointment of Zach Seal as its new Director. He will officially begin his role on October 6, 2025.

Seal brings over 25 years of experience in city planning and economic development throughout the East Bay. His impressive track record includes leadership roles in Pleasant Hill, Martinez, Oakland, Alameda, and with the Association of Bay Area Governments, where he has consistently delivered high-impact results for local communities.

In his most recent position as Economic Development Manager for the City of Pleasant Hill, Seal played a pivotal role in revitalizing a key area of downtown by attracting Osaka Marketplace, a unique grocery store and restaurant market hall, to a long-vacant building. He also authored much of the City’s $500,000 Merchant Support Initiative, which included launching an award-winning Technical Assistance Grant Program for small businesses.

Seal’s previous work includes negotiating the agreement that brought the Martinez Sturgeon professional baseball team to Waterfront Park and establishing the public-private partnership that launched Oakland’s free Broadway Shuttle, connecting downtown residents and workers to the Jack London waterfront.

Earlier in his career, Seal served as a City Planner for the City of Alameda and the Association of Bay Area Governments, where he helped shape regional planning strategies and oversaw a range of private development projects.

“Zach’s depth of experience, creativity, and proven success in economic revitalization make him a tremendous asset to the City of Antioch,” said City Manager Scott. “We’re thrilled to welcome him to the team as we continue building a vibrant, business-friendly community.”

According to his LinkedIn profile, Seal holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology from U.C.L.A. and a Master’s Degree in City Planning from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Outside of work, he is a proud father of two young daughters and, by his own account, a recently minted expert in dad jokes and hair bows.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Seeking experienced firms; proposal deadline: July 16

The City of Antioch invites Antioch-based organizations to propose projects that advance economic development interests throughout the city. This request aims to award up to three grants of $20,000 each to the best projects. Proposals are due July 16!

The City of Antioch is seeking an experienced firm that can enter into a Contractor Agreement for economic development projects in Antioch, CA. The City is looking for organizations that have the ability to produce the advancement of economic development outcomes and will enter into a contractor agreement for a specific period of time.

The city boasts a variety of commercial corridors that serve as key hubs for business and economic activity. Antioch has designated areas like the Downtown Area also known as Rivertown as well as Western Antioch Commercial Focus Area, which includes regional commercial zones such as Somersville Towne Center and Delta Fair Shopping Center. Additionally, the Highway 4 Corridor plays a significant role in the local economy, with ongoing real estate developments and business expansions. The Commercial Infill Housing Overlay District has also introduced new zoning regulations, allowing for mixed-use developments in commercial areas like Lone Tree Way and Buchanan Crossings. These corridors provide retail, office, and industrial spaces, contributing to Antioch’s growing economy and community development.

Awardees should design and implement projects that result in tangible improvements to Antioch’s economic ecosystem. Projects funded under this RFP should aim to achieve at least two or more of the following outcomes:

1. Increased Economic Activity – Boost foot traffic, sales, or commercial occupancy rates in key corridors.
2. Business Retention or Expansion – Provide support or services that result in business stabilization, retention, or physical/operational growth.
3. Entrepreneurial Development – Foster new business creation, especially among underserved populations or within underutilized areas.
4. Commercial Corridor Revitalization – Visibly enhance underperforming areas (e.g., vacant storefront activations, façade improvements, pop-ups).
5. Job Creation or Workforce Upskilling – Generate new employment opportunities or improve job readiness among residents.
6. Community Engagement – Increase stakeholder participation, visibility of small businesses, or community pride in economic corridors.

The scope shall include but shall not be limited to:

• Advances current economic development strategies. Examples of this may be to hold convenings of Antioch merchants or activation of an economically depressed location
• Firm must demonstrate history of similar work in Antioch
• Submit reports, invoices and documentation in a timely manner
• Maintain an active business license
• Proof of non-profit status
• Follow terms of contract
• Maintain communication with City and attend regular check ins
• Show how the City of Antioch and its commercial areas will prosper with your company/firm

To evaluate the success of funded projects, grantees will be expected to measure and report on relevant key performance indicators such as increases in foot traffic, customer engagement, and retail sales; the number of businesses supported, retained, or expanded; the launch of new businesses or entrepreneur support efforts; the activation or improvement of underutilized commercial spaces; the creation or retention of jobs and workforce training outcomes; and/or levels of community participation, awareness, and satisfaction.

All grantees will be required to submit quarterly reports on progress made, as well as a final report at the conclusion of the grant term, which should include how the outcome was achieved and how the grant funds were expended. Reports will inform the City’s assessment of program impact and future funding considerations.

Read the program overview at www.antiochca.gov/fc/purchasing/bids/rfp-061625-sd.pdf and watch Bid Walkthrough video, here: www.antiochca.gov/fc/purchasing/bids/rfp-061625.mp4 and read the RFP, here:

www.antiochca.gov/fc/purchasing/bids/rfp-061625.pdf.

“Demonstrates continued progress toward key plan goals” of housing, transportation, economy and environment in the nine counties including “a gradual shift away from the use of single-occupancy cars and trucks.”

Includes over $1.2 trillion to maintain existing transportation system, build and buy affordable housing, “Provide an income-based monthly payment to all Bay Area households” and to “Adapt to Sea Level Rise.”

Also working on parallel Transit 2050+ plan

Public input opportunities

By MTC & ABAG staff

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)’s and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)’s newly released Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint analysis outlines how the nine-county region can advance an affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant Bay Area for all residents by the year 2050. 

The Blueprint is essentially a draft version of the plan. It is a foundational framework for a future vision of the Bay Area that includes: 

• Forecasts and Assumptions about the Bay Area’s future (population, jobs, financial needs and revenues, sea level rise, etc.);
• Strategies for public investment and policy reform; and
• Geographies where future housing and/or job growth can be focused under the plan’s Strategies.

The Blueprint is then analyzed through computer-generated models and simulations to measure how successful the strategies are in achieving shared goals for the future, such as housing affordability, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and much more.

As the first draft of the Bay Area’s next long-range plan, the Draft Blueprint demonstrates significant progress toward reaching key goals for housing affordability, post-pandemic economic recovery and environmental health and sustainability. This includes the addition of 840,000 affordable homes, with a total of nearly 1 million permanently affordable homes regionwide by 2050; a 17 percent increase in the number of lower-income households living within a half-mile of transit service; and a gradual shift away from the use of single-occupancy cars and trucks. MTC and ABAG planning staff stress that the expected progress would only come about if all the strategies to be detailed in Plan Bay Area 2050+ are implemented.

The full range of performance and equity outcomes from the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint analysis may be found in the Draft Blueprint Compendium, which also demonstrates how the Bay Area can accommodate some 1.3 million additional jobs and nearly 1 million new households by the year 2050.

The Compendium shows the following proposed budget highlights for three of the Plan’s categories:

Transportation Strategies

$382 billion for T1 – Operate and Maintain the Existing System. Commit to operate and maintain the Bay Area’s roads and transit infrastructure while transitioning to zero-emission transit vehicles.

Housing Strategies

$250 billion for H2 – Preserve Existing Affordable Housing. Acquire homes currently affordable to low- and middle-income residents for preservation as permanently deed-restricted affordable housing, including opportunities for resident ownership.

$302 billion for H4 – Build Adequate Affordable Housing to Ensure Homes for All. Construct enough deed-restricted affordable homes to fill the existing gap in housing for the unhoused community and to meet the needs of low-income households.

Economic Strategies

$205 billion for EC1 – Implement a Statewide Guaranteed Income. Provide an income-based monthly payment to all Bay Area households to improve family stability, promote economic mobility and increase consumer spending.

Environment Strategies

$94 billion for EN1 – Adapt to Sea Level Rise. Adapt shoreline communities, infrastructure and ecosystems affected by sea level rise.

These outcomes were first presented at the May meeting of MTC’s Policy Advisory Council, and then at the June 14 joint meeting of the MTC Planning Committee and the ABAG Administrative Committee.  

The Draft Blueprint also identifies challenges that will have to be addressed as part of the Final Blueprint process over the coming months. More work is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as well as to identify transportation investment priorities for the plan’s fiscally constrained transportation project list. The Draft Blueprint does not include significant transportation expansion or enhancement investments, as these will be identified through Transit 2050+ and the Final Blueprint process. 

What’s Next?

In light of the pandemic’s lasting impact to public transportation, MTC is collaborating with the region’s transit operators on Transit 2050+ , a parallel planning effort to re-envision the future of public transit in the nine-county Bay Area. Two key updates in this process will be released in July: the Draft Project Performance Assessment and the Transit 2050+ Draft Network. It will be a comprehensive overhaul of the six transit-related strategies included in Plan Bay Area 2050.

The Draft Project Performance Assessment will analyze the costs and benefits of major capacity-increasing projects being considered for inclusion in Plan Bay Area 2050+, the vast majority of which are transit projects. These investments, including those adopted in Plan Bay Area 2050, now face a significantly reduced projected revenue stream. This is due largely to slow post-pandemic transit ridership recovery and other economic changes.

The Transit 2050+ Draft Network will identify strategies and investments (capital and operating) envisioned through 2035 and over the long term through 2050. Development of the Draft Network has been guided in part by public engagement conducted in summer 2023, when nearly 3,000 Bay Area residents provided input on the future of Bay Area transit. The Draft Network also is being informed by an existing needs and gaps assessment conducted in partnership with local transit agencies, the Draft Project Performance Assessment, local priorities and improvements to transit network connectivity and customer experience.

Summer 2024 Public Engagement

Beginning in August, MTC staff will conduct a second round of public engagement for Plan Bay Area 2050+, the content of which will focus on:

• Sharing both the Draft Blueprint outcomes and the Transit 2050+ Draft Network
• Gathering feedback to inform the development of the Final Blueprint and address identified Draft Blueprint challenges
• Identifying early priorities for implementing Plan Bay Area 2050+

There will be a variety of in-person and virtual opportunities for the public to participate. Stay up-to-date on upcoming engagement activities in your community by subscribing to the Plan Bay Area 2050+ mailing list. There also will be dedicated engagement opportunities for technical partners and stakeholders, which will be publicized on the Plan Bay Area website’s Partner Engagement page.

Following an analysis of public input, the Commission and the ABAG Executive Board are expected to consider approval of the Final Blueprint in late 2024.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Matched with “non-binary” Fellow to run program to support new Crossroads to The Delta Project to revitalize the local economy, address commuter challenges, promote a sustainable business ecosystem

The City of Antioch announced on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2024, it has been selected as a host site of the first cohort for the Economic Recovery Corps (ERC). The ERC is a new, collaborative initiative designed to accelerate recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in distressed communities and regions throughout the U.S. by connecting organizations with the talent and capacity needed to advance new ways of doing economic development that promote economic resilience and transformative change. The ERC is working in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s U.S. Economic Development Administration and the International Economic Development Council.

The ERC Program has the potential to shift the practice of economic development nationwide in an unprecedented manner.

Utilizing strategic partnerships, innovative industry development and data-driven planning, the project addresses issues such as lengthy commutes, limited local job opportunities and underutilized city resources. The challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic include a disbanded public safety office, staff shortages, struggling small businesses, and an underused waterfront. The ERC Fellow will research, audit, manage, or develop up to six key initiatives, covering areas like district-based associations, OceanTech, advanced manufacturing, supplier diversification programs, and assessing small business grant impact. The project aims to contribute to Antioch’s economic recovery and sustainability, fostering a resilient and vibrant community.

About the Fellow

The City also introduced ERC Fellow Gaby Seltzer who was matched with the Antioch community. Seltzer will play a pivotal role in revitalizing the local economy, address commuter challenges, and promote a sustainable business ecosystem. Gaby will be living and working in our community for the next 2.5 years.

The ERC’s website provided background about Antioch’s fellow in the program.

“Gaby is passionate about building community wealth and power through sustainability initiatives. ‘Their’ professional background is in grassroots food systems work, including managing a social enterprise program that increased access to healthy foods at corner stores in Washington, DC’s food apartheid neighborhoods. Through this work, ‘they’ helped locally-anchored businesses build resilient partnerships with residents, governments, academic institutions, and industry groups.

Witnessing the power of local networks to foster sustainability and social justice led Gaby to Presidio Graduate School, where ‘they’ honed ‘their’ cross-sector organizing skills through an MBA and MPA in Sustainability. While pursuing these degrees ‘they’ consulted for several economic resilience organizations. ‘They’ also served as an Environmental Defense Fund Climate Corps Fellow twice: first designing a data portal to drive climate investments to frontline communities at the City of Seattle, and next building datasets and learning materials to drive climate adaptation programming at Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

In ‘their’ spare time, Gaby enjoys spending time outside and hosting gatherings.”

Asked if there is just one or more fellows, how Seltzer was matched with Antioch and in which city department the fellow will be working, Antioch Economic Development Manager Bret Sweet responded, “There was only one fellow, Gaby Seltzer. Gaby has asked us to use ‘they’, ‘them’ and ‘their’ in reference.”

“I applied for the program and went through a fairly intensive pitch process along with (Acting City Manager and Economic Development Director) Kwame (Reed),” he explained. “Once we were selected, we formed a panel of city and county employees to interview multiple candidates. As it worked out, we scored the highest and Gaby ranked Antioch the highest, so we were matched. There are 65 fellows in the program and only two were sent to California. As I learned at the kick-off last week in Portland, apparently ‘more than half the candidates asked to work on the Antioch project’.”

“Gaby works in the Economic Development Department here and will also work a bit with the Economic Development Department at the county,” Sweet added.

About the Project

Asked about the name of the project, Sweet shared, “Crossroads to the Delta project is the name we designed for the six initiatives we asked applicants to work on. Here is the project as it appeared to applicants: Crossroads To The Delta

“It was the name of the project for the ERC. It is not something established by the council,” he continued. “It was named crossroads to highlight Antioch’s positioning between San Francisco, Palo Alto, Stockton and Sacramento.”

“Gaby and I worked all last week at the kick-off in Portland to update the project goals based on feasibility, bandwidth and resources. We will probably have the page updated by next month,” Sweet said.

Learn more about the ERC program and the various projects across the US and stay up
to date on the ERC’s happenings by signing up for updates at www.iedconline.org/ERC_Updates.

Allen D. Payton contributed to this report.

Include non-transit transportation, environment, housing and economy strategy refinements

Will impact Antioch’s BART Station and industrial areas

The Joint Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Planning Committee with the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Administrative Committee on Jan. 12, 2024 approved the revised Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint strategies and Growth Geographies.  This action enables staff to further study the strategies’ performance in meeting critical regional goals for an affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant Bay Area for all. Staff are aiming for adoption of the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Final Blueprint in summer 2024.

Given Plan Bay Area 2050’s solid foundation of 35 strategies, the Draft Blueprint phase for Plan Bay Area 2050+ is focusing on making targeted refinements to select plan strategies. These refinements reflect Plan Bay Area 2050’s implementation progress, the post-pandemic planning context and insights gathered during engagement with the public and partners in summer 2023.

What is the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Blueprint?

The Plan Bay Area 2050+ Blueprint will integrate strategies across the four elements of the plan — the economy, the environment, housing and transportation — to create a more equitable and resilient future for all.

Beginning in summer 2023 and wrapping up in late 2024, staff will develop the Blueprint over two phases: the Draft Blueprint and the Final Blueprint. Given Plan Bay Area 2050’s solid foundation of 35 strategies, the Draft Blueprint phase for Plan Bay Area 2050+ will focus on making targeted refinements to select plan strategies.

What are Growth Geographies?

Priority Development Areas — Places nominated by local governments served by transit and planned for new homes and jobs at densities necessary to support effective transit service.

Priority Production Areas — Industrial areas of importance to the regional economy and local communities that support middle-wage jobs.

Transit-Rich Areas — Places near rail, ferry or frequent bus service that were not already identified as Priority Development Areas.

High-Resource Areas — State-identified places with well-resourced schools and access to jobs and open space.

Staff previously shared proposed Draft Blueprint strategy refinements in October and November 2023, detailing which of Plan Bay Area 2050’s 35 strategies were likely to see major, minor or no changes in Plan Bay Area 2050+. This month, the MTC and ABAG committees approved moving forward with revisions for further study and analysis, including:

• Non-transit transportation strategy refinements focused on prioritizing equity considerations, adapting to tighter fiscal constraints, promoting active transportation and safety, and expanding pricing strategies;
• Environment strategy refinements focused on further reducing greenhouse gas emissions and proactively adapting to climate change; and
• Housing and economy strategy refinements focused on addressing pressing challenges of housing affordability, homelessness and access to opportunity.

At this time the Draft Blueprint only includes a handful of modified transportation strategies, pending the development of a fiscally constrained Transportation Project List, which will integrate recommendations from the ongoing parallel Transit 2050+ effort. The complete suite of revised transportation strategies will be integrated as part of the Final Blueprint in summer 2024.

The Joint ABAG and MTC Committee also approved targeted updates to the Growth Geographies that were adopted as part of Plan Bay Area 2050. Growth Geographies are places that Plan Bay Area prioritizes for future homes, jobs, services and amenities and serve as a component of the plan’s housing and economy elements. Specifically, draft Growth Geographies for Plan Bay Area 2050+ will include five new Priority Development Areas (PDAs) and 16 modified existing PDAs nominated by local Bay Area jurisdictions; reflect up-to-date information on transit service, natural hazards and demographics; and integrate areas subject to MTC’s revised Transit Oriented Communities Policy.

The Draft Blueprint approval comes six months after MTC and ABAG kicked off the limited and focused update to Plan Bay Area 2050. In November 2023, staff shared progress-to-date with policymakers, including findings from the first round of engagement, core planning assumptions, the draft Regional Growth Forecast, a financial needs and revenue analyses and proposed strategy refinements.

The next round of public and partner organization engagement activities, which will inform the development of the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Final Blueprint, is planned to begin in spring 2024. MTC and the ABAG Executive Board are expected to approve Final Blueprint strategies in summer 2024.

Learn more about the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint strategies and Growth Geographies. For additional technical resources, please visit the Plan Bay Area 2050+ Draft Blueprint Documents page on our website.

Creating the Blueprint is a key step in developing Plan Bay Area 2050+.

Public engagement is a fundamental element of the plan update process.

September 6th workshop in Contra Costa; Deadline for comment: September 7, 2023

The Plan Bay Area 2050+ Blueprint will integrate strategies across the four elements of the plan — the economy, the environment, housing and transportation — to create a more equitable and resilient future for all.

Beginning in summer 2023 and wrapping up in late 2024, staff will develop the Blueprint over two phases: the Draft Blueprint and the Final Blueprint. Given Plan Bay Area 2050’s solid foundation of 35 strategies, the Draft Blueprint phase for Plan Bay Area 2050+ will focus on making targeted refinements to select plan strategies. (See Plan Bay Area 2050 Executive Summary)

Assumptions for the select Blueprint strategies will be refined to reflect ongoing implementation efforts from Plan Bay Area 2050, while also leveraging findings from previous planning efforts that may be relevant to the post-COVID environment.

Equity and performance analyses will also be conducted during the Draft Blueprint phase to evaluate how the plan’s strategies are supporting progress towards making the Bay Area more affordable, connected, diverse, healthy and vibrant for all.

Furthermore, Transit 2050+ — the comprehensive re-thinking of the six transit-related strategies in Plan Bay Area 2050’s transportation element — will develop an integrated regional transit network that will be incorporated into the Final Blueprint.

While still remaining fiscally constrained per federal planning requirements, the focused plan update approach will consider whether to pursue targeted updates to — or to reaffirm — the Regional Growth Forecast (while maintaining its forecast methodology), as well as to the External Forces, the Growth Geographies and the Needs and Revenue Forecasts.

Culminating in late 2024, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) will consider adoption of the Final Blueprint, which will then move forward in the plan update process as the preferred alternative for environmental review.

Getting Involved

Creating the Blueprint is a key first step toward updating the plan itself, and thus the Blueprint planning phase will require iteration and deep engagement of the public, partners and elected officials.

A first step in developing the Blueprint is to better understand what has changed as the region emerges from the pandemic. This summer, MTC and ABAG staff will be traveling across the region to speak to the community to understand how life has changed for individuals as the Bay Area enters the “new normal.”

MTC and ABAG are taking input from community members and partners to help inform the development of the Draft Blueprint.

You can make your voice heard in a variety of ways! Attend a pop-up workshop near you; participate in our survey; or submit comments via email, telephone or mail.

Find an event near you and join the conversation to help staff better understand how the last three years have impacted life across the Bay Area.

Participate in Our Survey

A first step in updating the plan is to better understand what has changed for you as the region emerges from the pandemic. MTC and ABAG want to learn how the “new normal” may be impacting your life.

• Participate in the survey in English(link is external)
• 快來參與中文版的問卷調查(link is external)
• Participa en la encuesta en español(link is external)
• Tham gia khảo sát bằng tiếng Việt(link is external)

The survey will close on September 7, 2023.

The survey also will help inform the development of Transit 2050+, a parallel long-range planning effort that will produce a first-of-its-kind plan to re-envision the future of the public transit network in the nine-county Bay Area, and the expenditure plan for a potential transportation revenue measure. The revenue measure is key in advancing implementation of Plan Bay Area.

Join a Pop-up Workshop

This summer, MTC and ABAG staff will be traveling across the region to speak to the community to understand how life has changed for individuals as the Bay Area emerges from the pandemic. Attend a pop-up workshop near you and tell us what the “new normal” means to you.

Contra Costa County

Diablo Valley College — Pleasant Hill Campus

Wednesday, September 6, 12 to 3 p.m.

321 Golf Club Road, Pleasant Hill, CA

About Plan Bay Area

Plan Bay Area is a long-range regional plan jointly developed and adopted by MTC and ABAG every four years.