A consultant offered information at last week’s Ceres City Council meeting about StanCOG’s efforts to plan for future transportation needs.

StanCOG stands for by the Stanislaus Council of Governments, which acts as a clearing house for state and federal transportation funds to cities and the county.

StanCOG contracted with Kimley-Horn Engineering consultants to develop the 2026 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Community Strategies. It is essentially a blueprint for how the Stanislaus County region will grow and affect transportation needs over the next 25 years.

Chris Gregerson of Kimley-Horn said the plan focuses on how land use growth over the next 25 years drives transportation needs.

“It’s a high-level planning document that’s used to really look at how the region’s going to grow over the next 25 years,” said Gregerson.

Four scenarios are being evaluated.

The plan prioritizes transportation projects such as roadway, bicycle, airport and public transit needs and identify revenue sources. The plan also must meet state and federal air quality requirements and environmental requirements.

StanCOG partners with the University of the Pacific to come up with demographic projections. Those projections suggest that Stanislaus County will grow by 36,018 residents between 2024 and 2049 with Ceres gaining 3,343 new residents and 866 households in the same period. It also projects what type of development will occur.

“A few of the guiding principles that we use are trying to preserve farmland, growing  infill areas and really trying to reduce the reliance on single lot features,” said Gregerson.

StanCOG would like to see infill growth happen in “existing developed areas” and placing growth near transit and near jobs “without having to drive everywhere.”

Another scenario focuses on increased Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs), or granny flats, in both existing and future lots.

The four different growth scenarios include new bus routes ranging from one to six.

CEQA requires local governments to incorporate a strategy to reduce VMTs, or Vehicle Miles Traveled.

StanCOG is also “taking a regionalized look at bicycle improvements, trying to close any gaps in-between agencies so that you’re not riding your bike and you hit the edge of the city and then all of a sudden there’s no bike infrastructure anymore,” said Gregerson.

StanCOG is also developing a “tool kit” to help cities in building middle housing and how to fund it.

StanCOG maintains a website at valleyvision2049.com which includes an interactive map, a survey and a place to provide public comments.

The final plan will be presented in June and public hearings held in June and adopted in August.