The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) serves some of the many planning needs of the tri-county area (Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz) by producing common future growth assumptions for the region as a whole and all of its localities. In addition, AMBAG is involved with the following regional planning issues: Water Quality, Transportation and Air Quality Planning, and Housing. 

As the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization for Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties, AMBAG oversees federal transit planning requirements and programming regulations.  AMBAG may fund, and/or assist in, the development of special transit studies and also incorporates transit operations, projects and studies into the long-range transportation plan and the four-year transportation improvement program for the region. 

AMBAG works closely with the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (MBUAPCD) to prepare plans that meet State and Federal standards for ozone.  AMBAG is primarily responsible for developing Transportation Control Measures for these plans and generating travel data for input into the mobile source emission inventory developed by the California Air Resources Board. 

Preparation of a seven-year Regional Housing Needs Assessment under the State’s Housing Element legislation is AMBAG’s only state mandate. Housing unit goals given by the State every five years are distributed by AMBAG to its member cities and Counties in the Monterey and Santa Cruz counties area for very low, low, moderate and above moderate income housing.