Introduction to SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments)
by Zuma Dogg
In case you haven’t heard, and most people haven’t, SCAG is the Southern California Association of Governments. And they are here to tell you, they are a very relevant and necessary association, but most importantly, mandated by the state and federal government.
The name itself, SCAG, just sounds like something you need to see a dermatologist about. Something clinging to you that you want to brush off. (Or more like the boss' son-in-law who you now have to answer to.)
Although SCAG is the under-publicized, often ignored, governmental body, they are looking out for the big picture; fighting for state and federal dollars (especially for infrastructure like the 1A-D bonds) and are a “regionalists” think tank that has all the answers to provide Southern California with the picture perfect future.
SCAG is mandated by the federal goverment to put together a transportation plan every four years. No one can get money for their federally funded transportation projects unless they use the “Regional Transportation Plan” as their guideline. And in the SCAG region, SCAG’s report on transportation IS the R.T.P. report.
Also, the State has mandated a report known as the “Regional Housing Needs Accessment” cities are forced to look at, and SCAG creates that report. SCAG is the “legislative watchdog” in representing the interests of the region and making sure the region gets it’s fair share of state and federal money.
According to SCAG’s biggest supporter and best spokesperson, Don Rhodes, “SCAG is a group, but the group is the people. Southern California ISN’T just Los Angeles. It’s 18 million people in the SCAG region. Rhodes says, “Smog, traffic, crime, etc. doesn’t just stop at the city or county line.”
If you had to create a bumper stick for SCAG’s, it should say, “SCAG: Regonialism to Combat Globalism.”
Rhodes says, “Railroads, ports, housing, education need to compete globally or things are gonna go somewhere else.”
The author of SCAG’s annual “State of the Region” report Ping Chang says, “For example, manufacturing has gone overseas to China. And the world’s financial market is over in New York. Many of the “service” jobs are in New York, and those in the West Coast are in San Fransico, rather than here. These are high quality services industries like banking, retail, legal services, engineers, consultants, ad agencies”.
Chang adds, “We need more of these “services” to be based in Southern California to stay competitive in the global economy. He says we don’t have enough hi-tech, aerospace and other high value added positions in this region. We don’t have enough high-tech, aerospace, high-value added positions. High end service jobs like the financial industry is based in New York. And any “high-end financial services” jobs in California are based primarily in San Franisco, not L.A.. We need more services in L.A. like banking, retail, legal services, engineers, consulting and ad agencies.
And in Los Angeles, the expensive housing market is a barrier to service industries doing business in the area. Housing costs are high in San Fransisco, but the higher paying, high end jobs offset the high cost of housing there.” [See LA Weekly article/Mark Pisano's coments.]
“In Southern Cali, the housing market is a barrier to jumpstarting the service industry, here", according to Pang.
And although statistics show job growth in the SCAG region of six counties, they are lower quality jobs than those that have headed overseas and across the country ,” adds Pang.
When looking at the six counties of SCAG, what seems to keep coming to the surface of any discussion is that this is the region blessed with the ports responsible for about 40% all imported goods that flow throughout the country. So that is some valuable faucet. And all the individual cities that make up the SCAG region, should unite to do everything possible
to maximize the volume of business the ports can accomodate, and help do something about the "gosh darned" infratructure and traffic problems for both the port business and it’s working residents.
You see, we already have to conceed maufacturing and those high end, hi-tech jobs and financial jobs. And if you’re in Vegas, you focus on the gambling industry. If you’re in Texas, you focus on the oil industry. And if you’re in the six counties of SCAG, you SHOULD BE focusing on the port industy and beefing up the infrustructure as much as possible so
we can move out the trucks and move on with our lives. (Not being stuck in traffic.)
So what are some of the ideas to help, “better move these goods along the 710 freeway”?
SCAG Boardmember, and County Board of Supervisors member, Yvonne Burke says, “How about building a separate freeway for trucks moving goods into and through the region? This would make the freeways safer for drivers and create more room on the other freeways for cars. ”
Opponents of this port-catering say this is only affects the overall "everyday constiuent" in a small way -- and is all about self-interests as politicians. Call it "NAFTA Superhighway preparedness".
SCAG is big on rail systems. Don mentions the Alameda Corridor East. Railways to help move the goods faster. Maybe we have to build underground tunnels for trucks moving goods. (Like an underground bridge.) Because SCAG says in ten to fifteen years, we’re gonna be one big, gigantic, gridlocked freeway.
SCAG's Cheryl Collier adds, “And the traffic is not only getting worse, it’s getting worse during all times of the day.”
Ashwani V. (former SCAG member who ZD is now a HUGE fan of) tells Chicken Little, the sky isn’t really falling. He says, “We're never gonna fix the traffic problem. You can never eliminate congestion, only manage it. You can build double decker highways, and expand infrastructure, but all that will do is allow for more traffic to flow in from further outlying regions, which will create more traffic.” (Supply and demand. If people hear the 405 is moving smoothly, more people will use the 405, again.)
Point being, all this new “alleged” infrustructure, will simply create more density, as it will allow more people to travel from further outlying parts of the region. (The more supply you create, more demand will be there to fill it.)
Ashwani adds, “SCAG's challenge is when dealing with local politicians who create SCAG, when you are focused on your local area, you look at things completely differently than you would if you were looking at it from a region. The way for SCAG to be more effective, is through better communtication. Not ‘Public Relations’, because they already have plenty of that. Just being, “a better communicator.” He calls it, "implementation through political goodwill."
SCAG’s biggest nemesis seems to be; in modern Southern California, focusing on THAT big an area is impracticle. Planning becomes impossible.
No one from Longdale cares about what’s happening in Temecula. And more and more you are seeing communites go “sub-regional” to solve their problems.
And the kryptonite of SCAG, the suggestion to move toward a more realistic approach to divide up the region into smaller chunks. Because it is impossible and impracticle to function off this large scale.
Agoura Hills City Attorney (and attorney with over twenty-years experience with gouvernment as attorney) Craig Steele feels, “The region has changed so much, you can’t plan and govern it on the scale that SCAG was set-up on. It was realistic at the time, but, it isn’t realistic anymore. The local communites feel SCAG is so focused on their (dream) pet-projects, like the high speed rail, they feel they have to create local, “sub-regional” to bypass SCAG, and get things done for themselves.”
Steele (as is everyone else I spoke with, including those with critical comments on SCAG), is quick to point out, “I’m not saying SCAG doesn’t do good work. I’m just saying they need to adapt, like everyone else.
Steele give SCAG points for their “Regional Housing Study” that is done every four years, by Federal mandate. It is tremendous in helping plan “land use” issues. (This is SCAG’s bread and butter/primary mandated function.)
A former SCAG employee tells ZD, “They need to communicate better with the people they are trying to influence. They’re just way over people's head. They have good intentions but the problem is beauracracy and and bad planning. I call it, "institutional inertia. The top people who create these reccomendations KNOW what to do, they are just so bad at planning and execution due to bad people and communication skills.”
And finally, he affirmed everything i've been sayinf about luxury-condo conversions and affordable housing in LA. He says you just can't have the rich living downtown in expensive lofts and the poor people living further and further out. you can only have a successful downtown if you have rich and poor living in the same area.
Burke points to SCAG's "Compass Program" that will accompish the goal of affordable housing near public transportation to appease the challenges posed by people like Ashwani.
So after attending SCAG’s yearly “State of the Region” press conference, and talking to some of the areas best minds, you could say, “Southern California is kinda in position to get it’s butt kicked in the global economy. All the high quality jobs have gone elsewhere. Traffic is getting to be a bigger and bigger nightmare. And if we want to maintain any quality of life
and attract any quality business to the region, we need to address the infrastructure problems that will bring the region to a “parking-lot” style standstill, which is bad for the number one business we should be focusing on: The port business. And we need to do everything we can to facilitate the distributon of these goods in the most efficeinet manner.”
So, to attack it at the big picture level, Don Rhodes passes along this final (stoner moment) idea for a new business and industry opportunity for this region:
In 60’s in The Graduate, Dustin Hoffman’s characture was strongly advised to go into “plastics” for the futute. Well,. according to SCAG, the business to be in is, “logistics”. In otherwords, anything you can do to help in the planning and facilitation of highways, and railways (transportation).
This, as Don Rhodes sees it, is the wave of the future. And whether you feel the things SCAG recommends has any chance of becoming reality, or not; at least they are fighting for our region’s share of the State and Federal infrastructre money, and really do have inspirining ideas coming out of the most insightful minds in the region. However, in this new global economic era, the challenge will remain in the ability to have politicians from 181 cities; in eight counties; with completely different needs and agendas, unite in the planning of execution of these long term projects that go against their very grain, when you
have the team from “Revenge of the Nerds” trying to create the political goodwill needed to help save this snowball’s chance in hell.
ZD Companion SCAG Blog Article
Official Zuma Dogg article on SCAG in LA Weekly
Official Zuma Dogg Website
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