HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.0_Amend City Council Policy K-3 (CEQA Procedures)_Presentation_StaffCity Planning Commission
May 7, 2020
Tony Brine, PE, TE Tony Petros
City Traffic Engineer Principal Transportation Planner, LSA
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
Senate Bill 743 History
September 2013 -Law Passes.
December 2013 -Preliminary CEQA Guidance published –transportation analysis
shifts from motorist delay to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
August 2014 -Office of Planning and Research (OPR)-Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)
to replace delay or level-of-service (LOS),as metric for transportation impacts.
November 2017 -Draft CEQA Guidelines –VMT analysis required after July 1, 2020
December 2018 -Final Guidelines Adopted -OPR uses Technical Advisory (TA)on
Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA.
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
Vehicle Miles Traveled = daily trips generated by project multiplied by
estimated number of miles those trips travel to destination.
Level-of-Service (motorist delay) = traffic volume on roadway divided
by capacity (number of lanes). Typically, delay has been improved by
adding capacity or lanes.
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
OPR Technical Advisory (TA)
•Provides recommendations for:
•VMT analysis.
•Impact significance thresholds.
•Mitigation measures.
•Agencies may choose to use the
OPR recommendations; or agencies
may develop local thresholds if
supported by substantial evidence.
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
City VMT & Traffic Analyses
VMT Screening review for all non-CEQA exempt projects
VMT Analysis for all projects above screening threshold
Screening/VMT analysis provided in CEQA Document (ND, MND or EIR)
VMT is not the end of Level of Service (LOS)analysis.
Traditional Traffic studies will continue per Traffic Phasing Ordinance.
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Analysis
Three primary steps in VMT analysis process:
1.Screening Criteria –Which projects do not require detailed
VMT analysis.
2.Significance Thresholds -Compare calculated VMT against
thresholds to determine if there is an impact.
3.Mitigation –To reduce or eliminate project impact.
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
•“Home-based work trips”is primarily the subject of the thresholds.
Trips are associated with residential, office, and retail land uses as
they have the greatest influence on VMT.
•Residential uses are expressed as VMT per capita (or per person)
•Office uses are expressed as VMT per employee
•Retail uses are expressed as total VMT attributable to the project
•For mixed-use projects, each component is evaluated independently
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
1.High Quality Transit District –projects within ½ mile of major transit
stop or along transit corridor with service intervals less than 15 minutes.
2.VMT Maps -Projects located in area with low VMT area.
Maps prepared using City traffic model and County average VMT estimates.
3.Local-serving retail less than 50,000 square feet.
4.High percentage of affordable housing (TBD).
5.Projects that increase 300 or less net daily trips per ITE Manual.
6.Institutional/government or public serving uses.
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
High Quality Transit Areas
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
Existing VMT per
capita
Page 44 in PC Report
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
Existing VMT per
employee
Page 48 in PC Report
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
County Average = 17.9 VMT per capita (residential) –Home based trips
24.1 VMT per employee (office) –Home based and
work based trips
OPR Technical Advisory provides various thresholds for significance.
Most agencies have adopted OPR’s goal of 15 percent reduction from County VMT average
for residential and office projects. Staff Recommends OPR 15% reduction goal.
Proposed thresholds 15.2 VMT per capita for residential projects
20.5 VMT per employee for office projects
Net increase in total VMT for retail projects -OPR
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
1.Project application submitted.
2.City staff reviews Screening Criteria.
3.If project does not meet screening criteria, a detailed VMT analysis is
required.
4.For projects with daily trips of 300 ADT – 1,000 ADT, or with one
predominant land use, then the VMT can be calculated manually.
5.For large or mixed-use projects, use of City’s NBTM model is required to
calculate VMT.
6.If VMT per capita (residential), or per employee (office), or total VMT
(retail) exceed City thresholds, project has significant impact and
mitigation required.
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
Step-by-Step Process
Page 56 in PC Report
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
•The City VMT Implementation Guide includes possible
measures. (Pages 74 –88 in Planning Commission Report).
•Potential measures include improving transit access, bike
and pedestrian improvements, ride sharing, telework
options, on-site showers and lockers, etc.
•Mitigation improvements (reductions to VMT) can be
difficult to quantify and assumptions have to be made.
•Regional VMT impact fees could be established in future.
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
•City transportation CIP projects should be reviewed. Most,
if not all, will meet screening criteria for roadway projects.
•Most screening criteria is related to maintenance, bike lane
improvements, signal timing, safety improvements, etc.
•An addition of a through travel lane would require a VMT
analysis.
•Projects on State roads (Coast Highway) would be
analyzed using Caltrans VMT methodology.
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
VMT Analysis procedures added to the existing City
Council Policy K-3 (Implementation Procedures for
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
It includes a framework for completing necessary VMT
transportation analysis.
Staff recommends Planning Commission adopt
Resolution PC2020-017 recommending an Amendment
to City Council Policy K-3.
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures
Tony Brine, PE, TE
City Traffic Engineer
Tony Petros
Principal Transportation Planner, LSA Associates
Planning Commission - May 7, 2020
Item 4b Additional Materials Presented at Meeting
City Council Policy K-3 Amendment (CEQA Procedures) Regarding SB 743 Vehicle Miles Traveled Policy and Procedures