TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Carrie Tai, AICP, Community Development Department Director
Erik Zandvliet, T.E., City Traffic Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Establishing Local Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) Guidelines Including "Vehicle Miles Traveled" Thresholds of Significance in Compliance with Senate Bill 743 and the California Environmental Quality Act (Community Development Director Tai).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 20-0124
Line
_________________________________________________________
Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a Resolution establishing Local Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) Guidelines including "Vehicle Miles Traveled" Thresholds of Significance in compliance with Senate Bill 743 and the California Environmental Quality Act.
Body
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no fiscal implications associated with the recommended action.
BACKGROUND:
Senate Bill 743 (SB 743) was passed by the legislature and signed into law by the Governor in the fall of 2013. It took effect throughout California on July 1, 2020. This legislation changed the way that transportation impacts are measured under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Prior to SB 743, CEQA transportation studies were based on roadway and intersection operations expressed in terms of level of service (LOS), which measures delay at intersections and road segments. Pursuant to SB 743, CEQA transportation studies must now be based on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) which measures the amount of vehicle mileage generated by a project. This change was made to bring CEQA transportation studies into alignment with statewide initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, reduce sprawl, encourage infill developments, and promote the implementation of multimodal transportation networks.
Prior to these changes to CEQA, the City followed the Los Angeles County Congest...
Click here for full text