If the project adds excessive car travel onto our roads, the project may cause a significant transportation impact.Īgencies have used VMT as a concept and metric for some time. VMT measures how much actual auto travel (additional miles driven) a proposed project would create on California roads. Starting on July 1, 2020, agencies analyzing the transportation impacts of new projects must now look at a metric known as vehicle miles traveled (VMT) instead of LOS.
#VMT CONSTRUCTION UPDATE#
SB 743, which was signed into law in 2013, initiated an update to the CEQA Guidelines to change how lead agencies evaluate transportation impacts under CEQA, with the goal of better measuring the actual transportation-related environmental impacts of any given project.Īccording to the Legislature: "New methodologies under the California Environmental Quality Act needed for evaluating transportation impacts that are better able to promote the state’s goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and traffic-related air pollution, promoting the development of a multimodal transportation system, and providing clean, efficient access to destinations.” Traditionally, transportation impacts have been evaluated by examining whether the project is likely to cause automobile delay at intersections and congestion on nearby individual highway segments, and whether this delay will exceed a certain amount (this is known as Level of Service or LOS analysis). One key determination under CEQA is the transportation impact of these projects. Under CEQA, cities, counties, and other public agencies must analyze real estate and transportation projects to determine whether they may have a significant impact on the environment. Can a jurisdiction still require a project to study LOS?.What is an appropriate environmental baseline that lead agencies can use to determine significance of a roadway expansion project?.Could adding tolling to an existing lane increase VMT?.Is there another advisory document that lead agencies can also consider? OPR’s Technical Advisory provides a list of transportation project types that would not likely result in a substantial or measurable increase in vehicle travel, and therefore generally should not require an induced travel analysis.In the VMT Technical Advisory, does the term “regional” refer to the MPO/RTPA?.What about development that is partially affordable? OPR recommends presuming residential development that is 100 percent affordable to have a less than significant transportation impact.Does SB 743 impact any other part of CEQA?.Does SB 743 impact general plans that contain LOS standards?.Can I still tier from or rely on an environmental document that uses LOS?.What about draft documents that still use LOS? Do they need to be redone with a VMT analysis?.Are lead agencies required to formally adopt VMT thresholds to begin using VMT?.When do lead agencies need to begin using VMT for land use projects?.
Will SB 743 result in new fees and taxes for California residents?.Does SB 743 still make sense given COVID-19?.Won’t reducing the amount of driving limit economic growth?.Will significant VMT impacts prevent housing projects from being approved?.How will SB 743 reduce housing costs throughout California?.Does SB 743 only benefit coastal communities or dense urban areas?.What are the benefits of moving to a VMT metric?.SB 743 Frequently Asked Questions Questions Background and Purpose
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