San Joaquin Valley Blueprint - 1645

The San Joaquin Valley Regional Blueprint will provide a planning process and products to support long-range planning for the eight San Joaquin Valley MPO’s and compliment the work of the San Joaquin Valley Partnership.

The San Joaquin (SJ) Valley is a large, diverse, and complex area that contains millions of acres of the world’s most fertile farmland, a wealth of natural resources, and large urban environments. The 240-mile long valley stretches from Stockton to Bakersfield and encompasses the eight-county region (Kern, Kings, Tulare, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin).

Today, 3.3 million people live in the SJ Valley. According to the Department of Finance, the SJ Valley’s population will grow to 8 million by 2050. How will the region accommodate this anticipated growth? Will it be through expansion of current cities or the development of new ones? How will intra and interregional transportation accommodate commuters, travelers, and goods movement? And how will the balance be maintained between the development of new infrastructure and the need to preserve the region’s most important resources?

A look at the current economy of the region points to agriculture as the SJ Valley’s economic base. While growth of agriculture has altered some of the natural environmental landscape over time, perhaps even more concerning is the rate at which prime agricultural land is being converted to urban uses. Much of the land conversion is due to the attractiveness of SJ Valley home prices to residents of the Bay Area and Los Angeles regions. However, these new SJ Valley residents often commute back to their place of origin for employment compounding transportation impacts, air quality dynamics, and presenting significant civic engagement challenges.

Highway 99 bears the yeoman’s share of commuter traffic, and is also burdened with extraordinary truck traffic transporting goods. Insufficient for current traffic loads, Highway 99 is further impacted by industrial growth and new distribution centers, especially in the Southern SJ Valley.

At both the federal and state levels, policymakers have begun to recognize the extraordinary challenges facing the Valley. Through executive orders issued by two presidents, the Federal Interagency Task Force was formed to help coordinate federal efforts within the region. Following suit, Governor Schwarzenegger signed an executive order creating the California Partnership for the San Joaquin Valley, a state effort to direct resources to the region. Through the Blueprint process, regional leaders have worked closely with the Partnership to address the significant issues facing the region. Teaming with the San Joaquin Valley Partnership enables pooling of resources, consistency of vision, and combined momentum to bring solutions to the forefront.