Solano markets its ‘megaregion’ location

(Daily Republic illustration)

FAIRFIELD — Solano County has a reputation of being on the fringe of either the Bay Area or the Sacramento area, a kind of in-between point within commuting distance of nearby metropolises.

Now local officials are embracing a new geographical reference point — and a new image.

“We’re the epicenter of the megaregion,” said Sandy Person, interim president of Solano Economic Development Corp.

By that way of thinking, Solano County isn’t in some kind of no-man’s land between growing, dynamic areas, but at the center of the action. That’s the way that Solano EDC and other groups are trying to brand the county to bring new businesses and federal dollars to the area.

But being at the heart of a megaregion of 14 million people poses challenges, too, given that Solano County has a long history of trying to preserve agriculture and rural areas between cities.

The idea of a megaregion — a concentration of growth that crosses regional boundaries — has been around for decades. Planners during the 1960s called such areas “megapolises.”

A few years ago, a group of think tanks, planners and researchers called “America 2050″ identified 10 megaregions in the United States as the places that will see the most population growth and economic expansion in coming decades.

Solano County is part of what America 2050 calls the Northern California megaregion. This megaregion includes the Bay Area and the Sacramento metropolitan area and stretches south to Stockton, Modesto and Monterey.

In the geographic sense, Solano County isn’t quite at the center of this megaregion — that honor probably belongs to a remote spot somewhere in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. But with Interstates 80 and 680 and Highway 12, it is certainly a crossroads.

Now it’s a matter of letting the world know — and, for that matter, letting people in Solano County know. Solano County economic planners have talked about the megaregion concept for a few years, but the term has yet to gain a high visibility.

“It needs to be marketed,” said Doug Henton, chief executive officer of San Mateo-based Collaborative Economics, which has done consulting work for Solano EDC.

The concept of “megaregion” is useful for recognizing Solano County’s strengths, such as the I-80 transportation corridor for goods and people, Henton said. The idea helps position Solano County in terms of the broader market, he said.

Meanwhile, the Solano Transportation Authority is trying to get money for transportation projects from Washington, D.C.

A sudden shift has taken place in the way federal transportation dollars are allocated, Solano Transportation Authority Executive Director Daryl Halls said. That shift has been from earmarks secured by local congressional representatives to competitive grants through agencies such as the Federal Highway Administration.

The goal is to get those Washington transportation officials to view a local I-80 improvement project as benefiting more than local cities. Rather, if all goes as planned, federal officials would see a better I-80 as keeping people and commerce flowing in the Northern California megaregion.

“They look at it not as a Solano project, but as a priority for California,” Halls said.

But many Solano County residents came to the area to get away from metropolises. It might be news to them to find out they instead ended up in at the epicenter of the megaregion.

“How do we know we have a megaregion?” said a 2007 article in the Urbanist. “If nothing else, it is because the cities and suburbs of Northern California are increasingly growing together.”

It goes on to mention that an increasingly urbanized area with limited undeveloped land can be found along I-80 from Vallejo through Fairfield, Vacaville, Dixon, Davis, Sacramento, Roseville, Rocklin and Auburn.

That raises the question: Can Solano County be at the epicenter of the Northern California megaregion while continuing to maintain farms, greenbelts and open space that make it look like anything but mega?

Solano County’s various voter-approved growth laws could be the answer. These laws limit growth in the rural county and funnel most large development projects into cities. In addition, three Solano County cities — Fairfield, Vacaville and Benicia  – have voter-approved growth boundaries.

Jack Batson of the Solano County Orderly Growth Committee said he is “mildly confident” that Solano County can maintain its large amounts of open spaces and farmland despite its megaregion location.

“We all want growth, we all want jobs, but we all want that quality of life, too,” Batson said. “I think the issue of significant visual space between cities is alive here in Solano County.”

He mentioned such factors as the Solano Land Trust preserving open space and the various growth boundaries. Growth versus quality of life is always an issue and Solano County balances the two factors, he said.

So Solano County will try to reap the benefits of being at the epicenter of a megaregion while avoiding the megaregion look. It will try to be a different kind of megaregion hub, with economic growth, thriving cities and vast swathes of rural land.

Now the Solano EDC just needs to get the word out, both to the world at-large and locally.

“It’s a real coup for us to be able to be included in that megaregion and sell that, rather than being an outsider,” Person said.

Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646, ext. 232, or beberling@dailyrepublic.net.

Short URL: http://www.dailyrepublic.com/?p=85137

Posted by Barry Eberling on Sep 18 2011.

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