The San Francisco Bay Area is a unique and diverse region-home to 7.1 million people living in big cities, suburbs, and small towns. In the Bay Area, people have access to a wide variety of distinctive communities, beautiful natural environments, a diverse economy, and unique recreation areas. However, these positive attributes mean that the region will continue to attract new residents. It is expected that there will be over 1 million more people living in the Bay Area by 2030.

Although change is part of what makes the Bay Area a vibrant place to live, growth also poses challenges. How can the region accommodate future growth in ways that support the diversity and uniqueness of each community and the region as a whole? How can communities make room for more people while protecting and enhancing the qualities that make the Bay Area special?

The FOCUS Program seeks to work with local governments and others in the Bay Area to collaboratively address issues such as high housing costs, traffic congestion, and protection of natural resources. The primary goal of FOCUS is to encourage future growth near transit and in the existing communities that surround the San Francisco Bay, enhancing existing neighborhoods and providing housing and transportation choices for all residents.

What are Priority Development Areas?
In the summer of 2007, local governments in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area were invited to apply for regional designation of an area within their community as a Priority Development Area (PDA). PDAs are infill development opportunities within existing communities. These communities welcome more residents; they are committed to creating more housing choices in locations easily accessible to transit, jobs, shopping and services. To be eligible to become a PDA, an area had to be within an existing community, near existing or planned fixed transit or served by comparable bus service, and planned for more housing.

In response to the call for applications, 50 jurisdictions (plus several Congestion Management Agencies) submitted applications for over 100 PDAs. The areas nominated include most of the places in Bay Area served by fixed transit, major bus corridors, or planned transit under MTC's Resolution 3434. Together, these areas comprise about 115,000 acres of urban and suburban land, less than 5 percent of the Bay Area's total land area. However, even though this is a small proportion of the region's land area, the proposed PDAs could accommodate half of the Bay Area's projected housing growth to the year 2035, mostly at relatively moderate densities.

Regional Adoption of PDAs
With the help of the Working Group, FOCUS staff reviewed and evaluated the PDA applications. As part of this review, the nominated PDAs were separated into those that are Planned and those that are Potential. The primary difference between these two designations is that a planned PDA has both an adopted land use plan and a resolution of support from the city council or county board. In general, these categories relate to readiness for funding: Planned PDAs would be eligible for capital infrastructure funds, planning grants, and technical assistance while Potential PDAs would be eligible for planning grants and technical assistance, but not capital infrastructure funds.

ABAG's Executive Board adopted Priority Development Areas as Planned or Potential on November 15, 2007. Potential PDAs will be changed to the Planned category upon the jurisdiction's adoption of the applicable land use plan and resolution.

• List of Adopted Priority Development Areas
• Map of Adopted Priority Development Areas

Directing Incentives to PDAs
Designation of PDAs in the Bay Area expresses the region's priorities for growth and informs regional agencies which jurisdictions want and need assistance. To achieve the region's housing objectives in a way that works for both new and existing residents and ensures complete, livable communities, PDAs will require help and resources. The regional agencies are working to develop a program of technical assistance, planning grants, and capital funding for local governments undertaking PDA development. The Regional Transportation Plan being developed now for adoption in 2009 is one opportunity to identify supportive funds. Other opportunities will be pursued in partnership with the State of California and a variety of funding sources.

Nominating a PDA
The deadline for submitting an application for priority development area designation under the FOCUS program was June 29, 2007. Jurisdictions that chose not to submit applications at this time will have periodic opportunities to apply for designation in the future. Another call for priority development area applications is expected in 2008.

For more information about the PDA application process, click on the links below:

• 2007 Application Guidelines for Priority Development Area Designation
• Frequently Asked Questions about the PDA application
• Presentation about the Priority Development Area application