Long Range Planning

SBCAG, serving as the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), for the Santa Barbara County region is responsible for developing and maintaining a long-range transportation plan for the region. In California, these plans are typically called Regional Transportation Plans and are required to be updated every four years.

The Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) is a long-range planning document that defines how the region plans to invest in the transportation system over 20+ years based on regional goals, multi-modal transportation needs for people and goods, and estimates of available funding. The RTP includes a Sustainable Communities Strategy as required by SB 375.

The Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) is a component of the RTP, required by SB 375 (2008), that sets forth a forecasted development pattern for the region, which, when integrated with the transportation network and other transportation measures and policies, will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from passenger vehicles and light trucks to achieve the GHG reduction targets set by the California Air Resources Board. The future land use and transportation scenario presented in the SCS must accommodate forecast population, employment, and housing sufficient to meet the needs of all economic segments of the population, including the State-mandated Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA), while considering State housing goals.

In August 2021, the SBCAG Board of Directors adopted Connected 2050, the region’s current Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy.

SBCAG is in the process of updating the 2021 version of Connected 2050. The updated RTP-SCS is expected to be adopted by the SBCAG Board of Directors during its August 2025 meeting. Documents related to the update process are posted below as they become available. Contact SBCAG staff for more information.