City Council to Hold Study Session on CEQA Transportation Analysis

The City Council on Monday is expected to hold a study session to better understand the differences and similarities between a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) transportation analysis and the city’s own local mobility plans.

The council will receive an oral report and information regarding the plans but no action is expected.

The event follows a study session held by the council’s Transportation Advisory Committee earlier this month.

In November, the council updated the CEQA baseline and adopted updated Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and Vehicle Trips (VT) transportation impact analysis thresholds. 

“Recognized as one of the early VMT adopters, the city is continuing to take proactive steps that further promote sustainable transportation and align with the state’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving long?term climate change goals,” the city said in a statement.

VMT refers to the number of miles traveled by a car regardless how many passengers are inside.

These actions comply with Senate Bill 743, signed into law in 2013. The bill updated the standard by which a development’s impacts on transportation are evaluated under CEQA.

Prior to SB743, impacts were evaluated by a “level of service” standard (LOS) which measured how projects would affect traffic on local roadways. 

“The current thresholds and city analysis of traffic on our streets do not accurately reflect the impact of developments on our traffic flow,” wrote Megan Foker in a letter to the City Council.

“It is critical that traffic be viewed both as a whole and how it interconnects between the different thoroughfares. The way that LOS has been interpreted to date hides real problems, and as a result the impact of new developments and the resulting traffic is underestimated,” Foker wrote. 

Projects that could alleviate or divert traffic from congested areas received a higher LOS score. 

SB743 replaced LOS with VMT, which takes into account the number of vehicles on the road and the miles they’re driving. 

Projects that reduce or have little impact on VMT receive better ratings. 

For more on VMT visit: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE4TJItVdJ8&feature=youtu.be