REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Overview and Update on Proposed Changes to the City's Transportation Analysis Methodology and Processes to Comply with State Law
Report
BACKGROUND
Staff will conduct a study session with the City Council to provide an overview and update on proposed changes to the City's transportation analysis methodology and process for new development projects required to implement changes in State law.
In September 2013, the State of California Legislature passed, and Governor Brown signed, Senate Bill 743 - Steinberg (Attachment 1). SB 743 changes the way transportation impacts should be analyzed under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by removing automobile Level of Service (LOS) from environmental transportation analysis and replacing it with the State recommended Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) methodology or other measures that "promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity of land uses." While LOS measures traffic delay at signalized intersections or roadway segments, VMT generally measures the distance a vehicle will travel to a destination.
In December 2018, the State of California Natural Resources Agency certified and adopted an updated CEQA Guidelines package, including the Guidelines section implementing Senate Bill 743 (Section 15064.3). Additionally, the Governor's Office of Planning and Research has published a technical guidance document titled, "Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA", which contains technical recommendations on how CEQA lead agencies should assess VMT, create and evaluate thresholds of significance related to VMT impacts, and require and monitor impact mitigation measures. All California lead agencies, which includes cities, counties, etc., are required to implement VMT as the methodology for conducting CEQA analysis for projects by July 2020. The Valley Transportation Authority is working wit...
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