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 California
Policy Forum has co-convened three regional forums. On December 5,
2001, the “New Schools Better Neighborhoods Forum: Environmental
Livability and Smart Schools” focused on the nuts and bolts of
school bond measures that could total as much as $30 billion over
the next three general elections. Sessions examined the rules and
regulations regarding school construction, ways to use incentives
to encourage collaboration with city and county planning
authorities, and joint-use of schools with
parks/libraries/housing/health and other community facilities.
Other topics included use of environmentally smart design and
building materials, neighborhood engagement, intergovernmental
collaboration and smart growth planning. See the forum eSummary at
http://cpf.grassroots.com/esummary120501.
A follow-up symposium with regional civic leaders, state-level
interest groups and state policymakers is taking place at the
Capitol Building in Sacramento on February 26.
On January 13-15,
2002, the California Center for Regional Leadership (CCRL)
convened the 5th Annual Civic Entrepreneur Summit for the leaders
of California's twenty-one Collaborative Regional Initiatives. The
California Policy Forum Workshop convened CPF Regional Partners,
the CPF Network Partners and others to discuss land use, fiscal
reform and infrastructure investment policy issues and strategies
for 2002-2003. Speakers included: Steve Nissen, Office of Planning
& Research; Fred Silva, Public Policy Institute of California;
Connie Rice, English, Munger & Rice; and Steve Erie, Associate
Professor, Dept. of Political Science from the University of
California. The session concluded with a presentation by Wally
McGuire from the Environmental Policy Center on the key elements
of conducting an effective media campaign based on his experience
with the Flex Your Power initiative. Learn More about the Summit
at http://www.calregions.org/news/item.php?id=8
 On
Januray 16, 2002, following an earlier Valley Vision/CPF forum in
Sacramento, Valley Vision, the Sacramento Metro Chamber and CPF
held a forum at Cal State Sacramento to examine AB 680, an
innovative sales tax revenue sharing measure. Local elected
officials and civic leaders, including the sponsor of the bill,
Assemblyman Darrel Steinberg, D-Sacramento, spoke on the merits
and concerns about the bill. In the days following the forum,
Steinberg amended his bill, in large part in ways responsive to
the concerns and proposals raised at the Forum, and it passed the
Assembly by one vote, 41-27. See the forum eSummary at http://cpf.grassroots.com/esummary011602.
What’s ahead:
A full calendar of upcoming regional and local forums is available
online at http://cpf.grassroots.com/calendar.
The following are highlights of some upcoming events.
By the end of
February 2002, the League of Women Voters Education Fund will have
completed seven local events in the Bay Area, Salinas Valley,
Claremont, Fresno, North Orange County and Davis, reaching about
500 League and community members. Topics range from creating
walkable neighborhoods to use of community college funds for
academic programs. All events are focused on diverse community
involvement, educating and engaging the audience in lively
conversation, and providing useful and proactive follow-up
suggestions, engaging local leaders in the regional forums and
reaching state policymakers. For further information on League
events, please contact the Education Fund Project Director Seena
Clark at seenaforums@earthlink.net
or call 510-568-2388.
On February 26th,
The Metropolitan Forum Project will co-host an in-depth discussion
about the school bond issue at the State Capitol. Speakers will
include Assembly Speaker Emeritus and bond sponsor Robert
Hertzberg, State Senator Dede Alpert, co-chair of the conference
committee on the bond legislation, Stephan Castellanos, California
State Architect; Assemblymember Pat Wiggins, Chair of the
Legislature's Smart Growth Caucus; and Assemblymember Dario
Frommer, author of AB 1841 – the Urban Parks Act of 2001, among
others. This event may be a crucial turning point in the effort to
encourage and incentivize in the bond measure and associated
legislation the idea of planning, siting and operating schools
“as centers of communities.”
On April 5, a CPF/Riverside
Regional Forum aims to address the barriers and challenges to a
long-term planning project now under review, the Riverside County
Integrated Project (RCIP), and to identifying needs for
accommodating future housing, population and employment growth in
the western Riverside County sub-region. In particular the forum
will focus on the state policy barriers and solutions that would
enable the RCIP to go forward, such as lowering the local capital
bond finance vote threshold to 55 percent in conformance with the
minimum standard for passage of local school construction bonds.
On
April 19, the Cities, Counties and Schools Partnership, a CPF
partner, will host an unprecedented gathering of organizations
representing nearly every local governing body in the state,
including all 58 counties, 475 cities and 1000 school districts
and school boards. CCS will lay groundwork for this joint meeting
on growth issues by convening a diverse focus group to give
attention to ideas on minimizing growth impacts.
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California
Policy Forum brings citizens and civic leaders together to propose
and discuss ideas for fundamental land use, governance and fiscal
reform, primarily focused on state policy.