WRCOG has convened Subcommittees focused on areas identified by its Executive Committee as issues that WRCOG might have a role in addressing on a subregional basis. These include economic development, education, healthcare, transportation, energy/environment, water/wastewater, and legislative advocacy. Since 2010, each Subcommittee has met several times and identified general strategies to pursue in order to accomplish tangible goals. Some Subcommittees, for example Transportation and Energy/Environment, have chosen to support existing WRCOG programs, such as the Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF) and the AB 811 Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation Retrofit program, before beginning and implementing new efforts. Other Subcommittees are pursuing more active agendas, including the potential development and implementation of a subregional Economic and Workforce Development Plan. The Planning Center | DC&E has been hired to facilitate the work of the Subcommittees and help translate issues discussed into a comprehensive Sustainability Framework for Western Riverside County. Creation of the Sustainability Framework will be an action-oriented process that will prioritize key initiatives for future undertaking and establish a common foundation for progress.

The Executive Committee approved minor revisions to the long-range growth forecast for the subregion, which will be utilized by SCAG as it develops its Regional Transportation Plan / Sustainable Communities Strategy. The revised forecast includes a reduction of approximately 30,000 jobs for the subregion in the 2035 forecast compared to the forecast approved by the Executive Committee in June 2010. The WRCOG subregion’s reduction is part of an overall 200,000 jobs reduction in the 2035 forecast for the six-county SCAG region. The basis for reducing the employment numbers for 2035 was that when the employment numbers for the region were initially aggregated, they produced an unrealistic unemployment rate of less than four percent for the region.

The inaugural Riverside County Community Indicators Report tracks key health, social, education and economic indicators, and evaluates the impacts of these changes, providing readers with a valuable mechanism to target and address crucial issues. The report was modeled after community indicator reports published around the country, including San Bernardino and Orange Counties. It is hoped that the information contained in the report might help the region’s leaders as they discuss how to improve the quality of life for existing and future Riverside County residents and employees. Click HERE to download the Riverside County 2011 Community Indicators Report.

Kenn Young, who last month was included as a member of WRCOG’s Executive Committee, provided an overview of California’s public education system at the state, county and district level, and also provided details regarding the growth of Riverside County’s public education system. Riverside County’s system is comprised of 23 local school districts, 486 schools, and more than 20,000 employees. Mr. Young outlined his responsibilities in his capacity as the Superintendent of Schools, and also provided some comparative data regarding Riverside County student achievement against other counties in California.

WRCOG is hosting 10 “contractor orientation” workshops throughout the subregion in preparation for launching the nation’s largest property-assessed-clean-energy (PACE) financing program. The program will provide $325 million in financing to Western Riverside residential and business property owners to use for retrofitting properties with energy and water conservation upgrades. Financing is paid back over time through an assessment on the property tax. The workshops will educate contractors about the program and train them to assist property owners in applying for program financing and selecting eligible improvements to install. Initial workshops have been held in Riverside and Banning, and future sessions are scheduled as follows:

November 28, 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., City of Murrieta Public Library

November 30, 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., City of Hemet Public Library

December 5, 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., City of Corona Public Library

Seating is limited, and contractors must contact WRCOG at (951) 955-8311 to register prior to attending.

WRCOG has received funding from Caltrans to study the Jefferson Avenue Corridor and prepare a multi-jurisdictional, multi-modal transportation and mixed use development plan for the Jefferson Avenue Corridor as it courses through the Cities of Lake Elsinore, Murrieta, Temecula and Wildomar. The joint planning process with the four cities aims to bring consistency to the individual city planning efforts, stimulate greater dialogue and identify land use and transportation opportunities that can revitalize the area. A Community Workshop is scheduled for Thursday, November 17, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Murrieta Public Library. A project website has been developed for this study. Click HERE to learn more about the project and how you can participate.

The City of Riverside has taken a lead role in Riverside County in the area of providing public access electric vehicle charging stations. The effort is intended to help potential electric vehicles overcome “range anxiety” by providing more charging stations throughout the city. Check out the video by clicking HERE.

Two Agreements Approved

1. Clinton Keith Road: TUMF will provide $885,000 for planning and engineering to widen Clinton Keith Road from two to four lanes from the I-15 freeway to the City limits of Murrieta (Copper Craft Drive).

More

All atwitter

Why wait for tweets to come out every day or so, when you can view mass twittering to keep you abreast of what’s happening in the world of planning.

Tweet:		California’s High Speed Rail pricetag now at nearly $100 billion, joining the Dodgers as the state’s other major issue that has doubled in price and faces eroding support.

Tweet:		SCAG draft Regional Transportation Plan reports revenue deficit of $35 billion and discusses range of solutions to address the funding shortfall. For more background information on funding shortfalls, please refer to “1990 was the last time the gas tax was increased in California.”

More

November 17
WRCOG Technical Advisory Committee (9:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.), Riverside County Admin. Ctr., 5th Floor, Conf. Room C.

November 17
WRCOG Planning Directors TAC (1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.), Moreno Valley City Hall, 14177 Frederick Street, 2nd floor Training Room.

November 18 & 19
City of Corona Household Hazardous Waste Collection event (9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.), City of Corona Corporate Yard, 730 Corporate Yard Way.

November 19
Used Oil Filter Exchange event (9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.), O’Reilly Auto Parts Store, 1691 University Avenue, Riverside.

December 1
Central Zone TAC (2:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.), Riverside County Admin. Ctr., 3rd Floor, Conf. Room A.

More

• Clean Cities Newsletter
• Western Riverside Energy Leader Partnership Newsletter
• Quarterly Economic Report