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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 4 - Staff Report SB743 C H U L A VISTA PLANNING COMMISSION E AGENDA STATEMENT Item: 4 Meeting Date: 5/27/20 ITEM TITLE: Public Hearing: Consideration of Transportation Study Guidelines which implement the requirements of Senate Bill 743,including using Vehicle Miles Traveled to determine the significance of a project's transportation impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act. Resolution of the City of Chula Vista Planning Commission Finding that the Chula Vista Transportation Study Guidelines(TSG)are Consistent with the Legislative Intent of Senate Bill 743 and Referring the Chula Vista TSG to the City Council for Adoption. SUBMITTED BY: Scott Barker, Transportation Engineer REVIEWED BY: Kelly Broughton, Director of Development Services INTRODUCTION On September 27, 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 743 into law, changing how transportation impacts are analyzed pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The primary change eliminates the Level of Service(LOS)methodology for determining significant impacts and replaces it with an analysis of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). The City is required to implement the new transportation impact analysis procedures by July 1, 2020. Staff has retained Fehr & Peers, a consulting firm with SB 743 experience, to manage a team that includes legal counsel and CEQA expertise, to assist the City in drafting new VMT guidelines. The attached Transportation Study Guidelines(TSG)document has been prepared to assist project applicants, consultants, and staff conducting CEQA review by providing standardized methods that are supported by substantial evidence to analyze a project's transportation impacts in accordance with SB 743. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The Director of Development Services has reviewed the proposed activity for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and has determined that the activity is not a "Project" as defined under Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines because it will not result Planning Commission Senate Bill 743 Transportation Impact Study Guidelines May 27,2020 Page -2- in a physical change to the environment; therefore, pursuant to Section 15060(c)(3) of the State CEQA Guidelines,the activity is not subject to CEQA. Thus, no environmental review is required. RECOMMENDATION That the Planning Commission adopt Resolution No. 2020-01 recommending City Council adoption of the Chula Vista Transportation Study Guidelines as required by SB 743. DISCUSSION SB 743 was adopted by the California State Legislature in 2013; however, guidelines for implementation were not provided by the State's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) until December 2018. Local governments were given until July 1, 2020 to implement the new transportation impact analysis methodology. The legislative intent of SB 743 is to replace LOS analysis methods with a metric that: 1) ensures that the environmental impacts of traffic continue to be properly addressed; and 2)more appropriately balances the needs of congestion management with statewide goals for infill development, promotion of public health through active transportation, and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. VMT versus LOS The new metric set forth by OPR for CEQA review is Vehicle Miles Traveled or VMT. This method accounts for the number of vehicle trips generated plus the length or distance of those trips. By way of example, one vehicle driving 100 miles would result in 100 VMT, which is the same as 10 vehicles going 10 miles. In contrast, LOS is a measure of traffic congestion, and the main inputs are traffic volumes and capacity (i.e., number of vehicles and number of lanes). There are generally lower volumes and more unused capacity in outlying or greenfield areas than in built up areas where infill development could occur. As a result, traffic generated by greenfield development would be more likely to exhibit good LOS, while the opposite would be true for infill development. As a result, OPR concluded that LOS-based CEQA review is more likely to result in significant impacts for infill development than greenfield development,thus discouraging infill development. OPR asserts that the LOS methodology has contributed toward urban sprawl and increased greenhouse gas emissions from traffic. Mitigation for LOS-based impacts typically involves adding through and/or turning lanes at intersections to increase vehicular capacity. These improvements make roadways less hospitable to pedestrians and bicyclists, and LOS analysis generally considers pedestrians and bicyclists as having a negative effect on LOS. The resulting roadway network often includes wide, high-speed arterial roadways that primarily serve motor vehicles. Unlike LOS, VMT data cannot be observed in the field by measuring traffic volumes or intersection delay. Typical mitigation for significant LOS impacts requires expanding the road network's capacity.In contrast,mitigation for significant VMT impacts is not as obvious. Rather than performing data collection, practitioners use travel forecast models (such as the San Diego Association of Governments' Activity Based Models) and various spreadsheet tools to calculate VMT. Mitigation is aimed at reducing the number of trips Planning Commission Senate Bill 743 Transportation Impact Study Guidelines May 27,2020 Page -3- and/or the distance of trips and may include measures such as Transportation Demand Management(TDM), improved access to transit, and improved active transportation modes. OVERVIEW OF THE TRANSPORTATION STUDY GUIDELINES Some Implications of VMT To the extent that VMT mitigation shifts project trips outside of peak commuting hours and/or to other travel modes,there will likely be benefits to traffic congestion as well as VMT.However,VMT mitigation will not specifically address LOS, and therefore delay and congestion resulting from a project will not necessarily be improved through CEQA mitigation. Other VMT mitigation, such as narrowing or removing lanes to install nonmotorized facilities, will reduce capacity and worsen vehicle LOS. Over time, the transportation network may evolve from an arterial network built primarily for cars into a multi-modal network intended to move people, not just vehicles. Vehicle travel speeds may be reduced while walking and bicycling may become safer and more attractive. VMT Analysis Procedures Consistent with the OPR Technical Advisory, the TSG presents methods to determine whether projects require CEQA review of transportation impacts. Development in a low VMT generating area, small projects, certain developments near transit facilities, and other types of projects may be presumed to have a less than significant impact to transportation and are therefore not subject to a detailed VMT analysis (i.e. screened out). Attachments 2 and 3 are screening maps for VMT per resident (which is used to screen residential projects) and VMT per employee (which is used to screen certain employment-based projects), respectively. Projects not meeting the screening criteria must determine the VMT impacts of the proposal. VMT impact analysis considers both the direct and induced VMT resulting from the project. The TSG implements significance thresholds for various types of projects and, in general, projects with VMT that exceeds 85 percent of the citywide or regional VMT average would be considered to have significant transportation impacts. Mitigation is aimed at reducing the number of trips and/or the distance of trips, and may include measures such as TDM, improved access to transit, and improved active transportation modes. Local Mobility Analysis (LMA) LOS may no longer be used for CEQA transportation analyses under SB 743. However, LOS remains a valuable tool for measuring traffic congestion that is familiar to citizens, stakeholders, and the development community. The TSG includes methods for preparing a Local Mobility Analysis, which considers the effects of the project on LOS within a limited study area. As provided in the LMA, projects will be required to develop or contribute toward operational improvements to alleviate traffic congestion. This approach is consistent with the Guidelines for Transportation Impact Studies in the San Diego Region and the draft VMT implementation in the City of San Diego. Outreach Development of the TSG involved getting input from the following elected bodies and groups: Planning Commission Senate Bill 743 Transportation Impact Study Guidelines May 27,2020 Page -4- • City Council: March 10, 2020 • Building Industry Association, South County Legislative: April 15, 2020 Staff also scheduled meetings with the Growth Management Oversight Commission (April 16, 2020) and the Safety Commission (May 6, 2020), but both meetings were cancelled in response to social distancing protocols arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the July 1, 2020 implementation deadline is fixed and will not be adjusted, it is necessary to proceed without these additional meetings in order to meet the deadline. Next Steps Following approval of the TSG, staff and the consulting team will work to develop comprehensive strategies for the mitigation of VMT impacts. Potential strategies currently under consideration include development of a VMT in-lieu fee program and/or modification of the existing Transportation Development Impact Fee programs. Staff also anticipates that as implementation of the TSG occurs, future modifications and clarifications will be necessary. Input from the public stakeholder groups and advisory commissions, as appropriate, will be pursued by staff to improve the effectiveness and clarity of the guidelines. DECISION-MAKER CONFLICTS Staff has reviewed the decision contemplated by this action and has determined that it is not site- specific and consequently,the real property holdings of the Planning Commission members do not create a disqualifying real property-related financial conflict of interest under the Political Reform Act(Cal. Gov't Code § 87100, et seq.). Staff is not independently aware and has not been informed by any Planning Commission member, of any other fact that may constitute a basis for a decision-maker conflict of interest in this matter. FISCAL IMPACT There is no fiscal impact associated with approval of the Transportation Study Guidelines. Attachments 1. Resolution 2. Transportation Study Guidelines 3. VMT per resident screening map 4. VMT per employee screening map