Advocacy: East Bay and Plan Bay Area 2050

August 5, 2020

On behalf of the East Bay Economic Development Alliance, the East Bay Leadership Council and
Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group, which represent a broad range of private and public sector
employers in both Alameda and Contra Costa counties, we are writing to express our appreciation for
your efforts to develop a comprehensive Plan Bay Area 2050. This Plan will help address both immediate
and long-term transportation, housing, economic, and environmental needs in the greater Bay Area
region.

The East Bay is one of the world’s most vibrant economies and fastest growing regions with direct access to global markets, talent, and capital. Our diverse communities, skilled workforce, and innovative business climate are some of the reasons why companies of all sizes and types invest and thrive in the
East Bay. Our region’s 2.8 million residents also account for over a third of the total 9-county Bay Area
population, yet more than a third of these residents commute outside of our sub-region for work, The East
Bay also supports a high share of cross-regional commute trips (roughly 33% of regional commute trips
pass through Alameda County, and this is expected to increase as the number of mega-commuters
continues to grow).

In examining the Economic Strategies outlined in your Draft Blueprint, one of the objectives which we support is shifting the location of jobs. The current jobs-housing imbalance in the Bay Area has led to
displacement of workers, increased congestion, and a host of environmental issues. To address these
issues, we believe that more vibrant commercial centers need to be expanded in locations that are in
closer proximity to their workforce where residential growth has occurred in recent years. Considering
that the East Bay has been the main catalyst for housing construction, the economic element of the Plan
should prioritize our region for future job growth.

Some of the strategies outlined in the Blueprint which show promise include incentivizing the placement
of public institutions and sector-based incubators programs aligning employers with the local workforce
in housing rich areas, retaining key industrial lands by providing supportive resources towards the
creation of Priority Production Areas, investments in advanced manufacturing and related job training,
and allowing greater commercial densities in growth geographies beyond just the urban core. Other
strategies we feel should be considered are investments in physical and broadband infrastructure in
economically-distressed areas through public-private partnerships, providing catalytic job-generating seed funding and regional resources to promote trade and investment activity, and including the
implementation of federal opportunity zones, foreign trade zones (FTZ), and the redevelopment of aging
industrial stock in the East Bay.

Accordingly, we also believe that transportation investments to support regionally significant priorities
and projects in the East Bay such as Express Buses. Lanes, and Shared Mobility Hubs on the I-580 and I-
680 Corridors, reconstructing the I-580/I-680 interchange, constructing Valley Link in the Altamont
Corridor, facilitating goods movement in the Vasco Road/Byron Highway Corridor, and improving the
Capitol Corridor should be key components of the Bay Area’s future growth strategies. These regionally
significant projects will connect housing to jobs, strengthen critical goods movement infrastructure, and
provide the seamless connectivity, worker equity, and emissions reductions that Plan Bay Area seeks.

In closing, we believe that the East Bay’s central location in the Northern California megaregion is a key
asset. We have an extensive physical infrastructure which supports exports and goods movement with
direct access to domestic and international markets. The East Bay is home to three national laboratories
and two global port which provide significant employment and investments to the Bay Area. Therefore,
making investments to further strengthen job creation, workforce accessibility, and infrastructure in the
East Bay are critical to sustaining the Bay Area’s economic growth.

We look forward to continuing our dialogue with you around this important work as we embark on a new
Plan for the next 30 years.

Warmest regards,
Kristin Connelly, East Bay Leadership Council
Stephen Baiter, East Bay Economic Development Alliance
Lynn Naylor, Innovation Tri-Valley Leadership Group