MEETING DATE: 5/24/2022
DEPARTMENT: RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AGENCY
DEPT HEAD/DIRECTOR: Steve Loupe, Asst. Director - Public Works
AGENDA ITEM PREPARER: Steve Loupe
SBC DEPT FILE NUMBER: 105
SUBJECT:
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AGENCY – S. LOUPE ASST. DIRECTOR PUBLIC WORKS
Accept presentation from Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc., discussing the implementation of a County Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) Policy.
SBC FILE NUMBER: 105
AGENDA SECTION:
REGULAR AGENDA
BACKGROUND/SUMMARY:
In 2013, SB 743 was signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown with a goal of reducing Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, promoting the development of infill land use projects and multimodal transportation networks, and to promote a diversity of land uses within developments. One significant outcome resulting from this statue is the removal of automobile delay and congestion, commonly known as level of service (LOS), as a basis for determining significant transportation impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) has documented recommended analysis guidelines for SB 743 in its Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA (2018) which provides for Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as the principal measure to replace LOS for determining significant transportation impacts. VMT is a measure of total vehicular travel that accounts for the number of vehicle trips and the length of those trips. OPR selected VMT, in part, because jurisdictions are already familiar with this metric. VMT is already used in CEQA to study other potential impacts such as GHG, air quality, and energy impacts and is used in planning for regional Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCS).
VMT also allows for an analysis of a project’s impact throughout the jurisdiction rather than only in the vicinity of the proposed project allowing for a better understanding of the full extent of a project’s transportation-related impact. It should be noted that SB 743 does not disallow San Benito County to use LOS for other planning purposes outside the scope of CEQA.
RESOLUTION OR ORDINANCE NEEDED FOR THIS ITEM:
No
CONTRACT NEEDED FOR THIS ITEM:
No
CONTRACT AND RFP HISTORY:
N/A
LAST CONTRACT AMOUNT OR N/A:
N/A
STATE IF THIS IS A NEW CONTRACT/ HOW MANY PAST AMENDED CONTRACTS/ OR N/A:
N/A
STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS:
BUDGETED:
N/A
Budget Adjustment Needed: N/A
Unfunded Mandate (Is this a mandate not funded by the State): N/A