Fresno COG staff is also actively involved on Valleywide committees consist of COG staff members from all eight San Joaquin Valley Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). These groups meet regularly on issues of mutual interest. In addition to the committees or groups listed below, the San Joaquin Valley MPOs are also active in the state’s high-speed rail efforts, promotion of State Route 99, goods movement through the Valley, RTP/SCS development and other areas of mutual concern. Together they have developed a San Joaquin Valley Council of Governments website: www.sjvcogs.org
Programming Coordination Group
The Valley Programming Coordination Group provides a coordinated approach to Valley air quality, conformity and transportation modeling issues. The committee’s goal is to ensure Valleywide coordination, communication and compliance with Federal and State Clean Air Act requirements. Each of the eight Valley MPOs and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District (SJVAPCD) are represented. In addition, the FHWA, the EPA, CARB and Caltrans are all represented.
San Joaquin Valley Regional Planning Agencies – Regional Policy Council
The creation of the San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council is a key partnership that exemplifies the Regional Transportation Planning Agencies’ approach to working on regional issues. This sixteen member Regional Policy Council was established to discuss and build regional consensus on issues of Valley importance. The Council consists of two elected officials and one alternate appointed from each of the regional planning agencies’ policy boards. The Council is positioned to have a unique and potentially pivotal position in further Valley collaborative efforts and improving the quality of life for all Valley residents. The Policy Council provides guidance on common interregional policy issues and also represents the San Joaquin Valley at public forums such as the California Transportation Commission, the Governor and his administration, as well as State and Federal legislative bodies that require a common voice from the San Joaquin Valley. Meeting agendas, minutes and information about the SJV Directors meetings are available online at www.sjvcogs.org.
San Joaquin Valley Regional Planning Agencies – Directors’ Committee
The Valley Executive Directors meet regularly to discuss issues of mutual importance to all of the Valley Metropolitan Planning Organizations. Meeting agendas, minutes and information about the SJV Directors meetings are available online at www.sjvcogs.org.
Valley Planners Network
In 2007, as part of the Valleywide Blueprint planning activities, the Regional Planning Agencies sponsored the formation of the Valley Blueprint Planners Network (Planners Network). This group, originally called the SJV Blueprint Professional Planning Review Panel, then the San Joaquin Valley Professional Planners Group; and now the Valley Planners Network (VPN), was created to engage professional planners from counties and cities participating in the Blueprint process. Because Fresno COG serves as the lead agency on the Valley Blueprint activities, it continued to host the group, which is chaired by John Wright, former planning director for the City of Clovis. In 2016, the Office of Community and Economic Development (OCED) at Fresno State took over as the staff lead, while Fresno COG continues to coordinate activities and hosting.
The Planners Network served in an advisory capacity to the Project Managers on major Blueprint activities, such as the selection of the preferred growth scenario. During the Valley Blueprint planning process the Planners Network met quarterly to review and comment on Blueprint issues and progress. Since the adoption of the preferred growth scenario, the Planners Network continues to meet quarterly to engage local agency staff with regional and state planning topics.