Central California Cities Team To Address Growth

"The San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Planning Process is an undertaking by the eight cities that make up the Valley to address growth issues in the central core of California for the next 40 years. The plan is funded by a $4million state grant over a two-year period."

"At the county level, the San Joaquin Council of Governments is leading the charge - conducting community workshops throughout the month of March. The hope is to engage input and participation by county residents, said Anthony Zepeda, a regional planner with the Council of Governments."

"San Joaquin County's population is 664,116, according to the 2005 U.S. Census. County officials hypothesize that number doubling by the year 2030, and will likely increase to over 1.7 million by 2050."

"The overall goal of the project is to generate a set of land use principles on how growth can be managed to the benefit of all involved as well as develop a set of tools to visually display short and long-term relationships of transportation and land use and how decisions will affect growth."

"'It's going to be a completely different place and we have to plan for it now. We have one chance to get it right,' Sayles said."