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Thriving Economy

Salton Sea communities thrive when we unleash and align our shared economic power. The Imperial, Eastern Coachella, and Palo Verde Valleys face many of the same economic and societal challenges. We are working to ensure our regional economies are connected, creating the conditions for the region to be more successful in attracting public and private investments that benefit all of us.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Land Use Alignment Initiative: Strengthening for the Salton Sea Region Through Unified Focus and Commitment to Investment Planning

The Salton Sea region stands to attract substantial federal, state, and philanthropic investments when we align on projects that deliver broad benefits to all who call this region home. Our goal is to identify local policies, programs, and projects of shared interest that could be significantly enhanced through regional and cross sectoral collaboration. The Land Use Alignment Initiative is reviewing key planning elements across seven local jurisdictions around the Salton Sea to find opportunities for collaboration on land use and infrastructure projects. In partnership with researchers at the University of Southern California, we are meeting with planning and other staff to identify potential projects to uplift and prioritize. Based on this research, we will present findings to the community, civic, and nonprofit leaders in the region.

Our work is comprehensive of the Salton Sea region and will focus on reviewing planning elements in the counties of Imperial and Riverside, as well as the cities of Brawley, Calipatria, El Centro, Westmorland, and Coachella.

View the Salton Sea Region Land Use Alignment Project Dashboard

Areas of Alignment:

  • Addressing infrastructure deficiencies
  • Addressing air quality through transportation updates
  • Evolving agriculture industry: impacted by Colorado River agreements, land use accommodations for lithium, and environmental impacts of climate change
  • Creating and enhancing parks, recreation, sports centers, trails, and community spaces

General Plan Elements Reviewed:

  • Climate action
  • Conservation and open spaces
  • Economic development
  • Infrastructure and public services
  • Land use
  • Mobility
  • Natural resources
  • Parks
  • Public safety and noise
  • Resource management
  • Water

Benefits to the Region and Local Jurisdictions:

  • Increase regional competitiveness for leveraging investments
  • Strengthen regional narrative
  • Better align resources
  • Enhanced buy-in from the community
  • Serve as groundwork for grant applications that require community benefit plans