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San Francisco Chronicle​

This California region is changing the way America looks at urban governance

The first 19 cities on the list of 20 finalists for this year's All-America City Award, the most prestigious prize in local governance, were no surprise: big, growing cities like Denver, Seattle, Austin, Texas, and distinguished small towns such as Petaluma and Statesboro, Ga. But at the very bottom of the roster sat a puzzle: ' Western Riverside Region, California.' There is no municipality in the state by that name. That's because Western Riverside is not a city. It's an organization of municipalities and other local governments, known as a COG, or council of governments. Its inclusion on the list may be historic. While local regions and counties have won the All-America City Award, the National Civic League, which hands out the award, is unaware of a council winning before. Western Riverside's selection as a finalist also points to the future. As national governments are consumed by political conflict, they neglect bigger problems like climate change, disease, corruption and inequality. So, the work of handling these difficulties falls to local governments. But local governments often lack the capacity to address such big problems. In response, local governments around the world are collaborating to build capacity. Which is where a council of governments comes in. COGs are voluntary associations that assist member local governments with planning, coordination and technical assistance on issues that cross jurisdictional lines. There are 23 council of governments in California. Some of them —particularly the Association of Bay Area Governments, Southern California Association of Governments and San Diego Association of Governments — are well-known for transportation planning. The Western Riverside Council of Governments does not draw as much notice as these COGs. But it has contributed significantly to one of the fastest-growing regions in 21st century California. Western Riverside provides a 'collective voice' for the county government, two regional water districts, the county schools superintendent and 18 demographically and politically diverse cities. The municipalities range from young Eastvale and Jurupa Valley in the county's northwest corner to Temecula on the San Diego County border. If Western Riverside's 527-square-mile region were one city, it would have more than 2 million people, making it the second most populous municipality in California and the fifth most populous in the country. This growth might not have occurred without the COG, which was formed to restore the Inland Empire's economy and improve planning during a severe recession in the early 1990s. One challenge was making room for the Stephens' kangaroo rat, a Western Riverside native, which was listed as an endangered species in 1988. Combined with the recession, new legal protections for the rat had drastically slowed development in the area. Through the COG, governments came together to establish a county habitat conservation agency, which through public forums, created a Stephens' Kangaroo Rat Habitat Conservation Plan. The initiative ultimately protected 46,000 acres from development for the benefit of the rat and for human recreation. The plan also made it easier to build affordable housing and infrastructure in other parts of Western Riverside. The Western Riverside Council of Governments, with a staff of 35, is unusual for the breadth of its programs and its willingness to experiment and innovate to enhance the governing capacity of its member cities. Among its major initiatives are two fellowship programs to produce skilled government workers, particularly in energy and environmental sustainability. The Western Riverside Council of Governments Public Service Fellowship, launched in 2016, places students in city and county agencies and funds up to 100% of their salaries. In 2022, Western Riverside launched a fellowship with the Inland Regional Energy Network to train university and community college students to work for local agencies on municipal energy audits, climate planning and energy-saving measures. Western Riverside also encourages residents to volunteer their time to enhance the government's reach. Its Love Your Neighborhood program has placed over 5,000 volunteers on environmental projects, from community clean-ups to stormwater pollution prevention. Its new Regional Food Rescue Program fights food waste and climate change by enabling direct donations from restaurants and other food-generating businesses to a network of more than 50 food banks and nonprofits. The COG's community engagement and capacity building skills are almost certainly why it was recognized as a finalist by the National Civic League, founded by Louis Brandeis, Teddy Roosevelt and other municipal leaders in 1894. The civic league's All-America City Award recognizes 'communities whose citizens work together to identify and tackle community-wide challenges and achieve uncommon results.' This year's award theme emphasizes 'strengthening environmental sustainability through inclusive community engagement.' Representatives from Western Riverside — and members of its all-female executive team — are expected to join reps of the 19 other finalists to 'present their stories' in late June in Denver, where the All-America City designation will be awarded to 10 cities.