Municipal Services Committee Approves Resolution Updating Local Mobility Analysis

The Municipal Services Committee on Tuesday voted unanimously to adopt a resolution that will replace the current Outside California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) analysis in the Transportation Impact Analysis Current Practice and Guidelines with an updated Local Mobility Analysis (LMA).

The current guidelines, which aim to help the city with information on how neighborhoods and local street networks will be impacted by new developments, were adopted in 2015. The guidelines require separate outside of CEQA evaluation processes to be completed for projects that exceed targeted thresholds.

According to the Department of Transportation, the LMA section of the Guidelines has to be updated to be consistent with current best practices and methodologies and to provide greater transparency with the public regarding local mobility analysis processes.

“The recommended LMA reflects five years of experience and lessons learned from that Outside CEQA process and reflects and considers countless public comments that have been submitted on project reviews over the years,” said Department of Transportation Director Laura Rubio-Cornejo.

Currently, an LMA analysis is required for all projects greater than 10 residential units, a non-residential project 10,000 square feet or more, or if the project is anticipated to generate 300 or more daily trips.

The revised guidelines lower the current daily vehicle trip threshold to 110 to be in better alignment with other jurisdictions, according to Rubio-Conejo. The revised guidelines also recommend the reestablishment of a formal scoping review process prior to commencement of any local mobility analysis.

Some members of the public expressed support for the transportation department’s proposal.

Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition (CSC) also called for the creation of a comprehensive bike plan, as well as the improvement of Pasadena’s bus system and pedestrian safety.

“The sooner we can create safe and convenient alternatives to driving, especially for people who live in new, denser buildings near transit, shops and services, the sooner we can reduce the number of vehicle trips generated,” Blair Miller of Pasadena CSC said.

According to the transportation department, the updated LMA may require more projects to be subject to additional transportation impact review processes than currently required. Project applicants would be responsible for any costs associated with the preparation of traffic impact studies.

According to the transportation department, the resolution will soon be considered by the City Council. The updated LMA will be in effect 90 days after the City Council’s approval.