Bill Text: CA SB1410 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: California Environmental Quality Act: transportation impacts.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-2)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2022-08-11 - August 11 hearing: Held in committee and under submission. [SB1410 Detail]

Download: California-2021-SB1410-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  May 02, 2022

Amended  IN  Senate  March 31, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1410

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Introduced by Senator Caballero
(Coauthors: Senators Borgeas and Roth)
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Arambula, Gray, Grayson, and Patterson)

February 18, 2022

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An act to amend Section 21099 of the Public Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1410, as amended, Caballero. California Environmental Quality Act: transportation impacts.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that the lead agency proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA establishes a procedure by which a person may seek judicial review of the decision of the lead agency made pursuant to CEQA.

CEQA requires the Office of Planning and Research to prepare and develop proposed guidelines for the implementation of CEQA by public agencies and requires the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt those guidelines. CEQA requires the office to prepare, develop, and transmit to the secretary for certification and adoption proposed revisions to the guidelines establishing criteria for determining the significance of transportation impacts of projects within transit priority areas, as defined, that promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity of land uses. Existing law requires the office to recommend potential metrics to measure transportation impacts, as specified. CEQA authorizes the office to adopt guidelines establishing alternative metrics to the metrics used for traffic levels of service for transportation impacts outside transit priority areas.

This bill instead would require the criteria for determining the significance of transportation impacts of projects within transit priority areas to only promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The bill would require the potential metrics described above to only apply to projects within transit priority areas. office, by January 1, 2025, to conduct and submit to the Legislature a study on the impacts and implementation of the guidelines described above relating to transportation impacts. The bill would require the office, upon appropriation, to establish a grant program to provide financial assistance to local jurisdictions for implementing those guidelines.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 21099 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

21099.

 (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms mean the following:

(1) “Employment center project” means a project located on property zoned for commercial uses with a floor area ratio of no less than 0.75 and that is located within a transit priority area.

(2) “Floor area ratio” means the ratio of gross building area of the development, excluding structured parking areas, proposed for the project divided by the net lot area.

(3) “Gross building area” means the sum of all finished areas of all floors of a building included within the outside faces of its exterior walls.

(4) “Infill site” means a lot located within an urban area that has been previously developed, or on a vacant site where at least 75 percent of the perimeter of the site adjoins, or is separated only by an improved public right-of-way from, parcels that are developed with qualified urban uses.

(5) “Lot” means all parcels utilized by the project.

(6) “Net lot area” means the area of a lot, excluding publicly dedicated land and private streets that meet local standards, and other public use areas as determined by the local land use authority.

(7) “Transit priority area” means an area within one-half mile of a major transit stop that is existing or planned, if the planned stop is scheduled to be completed within the planning horizon included in a Transportation Improvement Program or applicable regional transportation plan.

(b) (1) The Office of Planning and Research shall prepare, develop, and transmit to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency for certification and adoption proposed revisions to the guidelines adopted pursuant to Section 21083 establishing criteria for determining the significance of transportation impacts of projects within transit priority areas. Those criteria shall promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity of land uses. In developing the criteria, the office shall recommend potential metrics to measure transportation impacts that may include, but are not limited to, vehicle miles traveled, vehicle miles traveled per capita, automobile trip generation rates, or automobile trips generated. The office may also establish criteria for models used to analyze transportation impacts to ensure the models are accurate, reliable, and consistent with the intent of this section.

(2) Upon certification of the guidelines by the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency pursuant to this section, automobile delay, as described solely by level of service or similar measures of vehicular capacity or traffic congestion, shall not be considered a significant impact on the environment pursuant to this division, except in locations specifically identified in the guidelines, if any.

(3) This subdivision does not relieve a public agency of the requirement to analyze a project’s potentially significant transportation impacts related to air quality, noise, safety, or any other impact associated with transportation. The methodology established by these guidelines shall not create a presumption that a project will not result in significant impacts related to air quality, noise, safety, or any other impact associated with transportation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the adequacy of parking for a project shall not support a finding of significance pursuant to this section.

(4) This subdivision does not preclude the application of local general plan policies, zoning codes, conditions of approval, thresholds, or any other planning requirements pursuant to the police power or any other authority.

(5) On or before July 1, 2014, the Office of Planning and Research shall circulate a draft revision prepared pursuant to paragraph (1).

(c)  (1) The Office of Planning and Research may adopt guidelines pursuant to Section 21083 establishing alternative metrics to the metrics used for traffic levels of service for transportation impacts outside transit priority areas. The alternative metrics may include the retention of traffic levels of service, where appropriate and as determined by the office.

(2) This subdivision shall not affect the standard of review that would apply to the new guidelines adopted pursuant to this section.

(d) (1) Aesthetic and parking impacts of a residential, mixed-use residential, or employment center project on an infill site within a transit priority area shall not be considered significant impacts on the environment.

(2) (A) This subdivision does not affect, change, or modify the authority of a lead agency to consider aesthetic impacts pursuant to local design review ordinances or other discretionary powers provided by other laws or policies.

(B) For the purposes of this subdivision, aesthetic impacts do not include impacts on historical or cultural resources.

(e) This section does not affect the authority of a public agency to establish or adopt thresholds of significance that are more protective of the environment.

(f) On or before January 1, 2025, the Office of Planning and Research shall conduct and submit to the Legislature, in accordance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, a study on the impacts and implementation of the guidelines adopted pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c). The study shall be conducted in collaboration with other interested entities, including academic and research institutions with demonstrated expertise in transportation impacts and analyzing vehicle miles traveled.

(g) The Office of Planning and Research, upon the appropriation funds by the Legislature for this purpose, shall establish a grant program to provide financial assistance to local jurisdictions for implementing the guidelines adopted pursuant to subdivisions (b) and (c), including establishing regional thresholds of significance of transportation impacts.

SECTION 1.Section 21099 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:

21099.

(a)For purposes of this section, the following terms mean the following:

(1)“Employment center project” means a project located on property zoned for commercial uses with a floor area ratio of no less than 0.75 and that is located within a transit priority area.

(2)“Floor area ratio” means the ratio of gross building area of the development, excluding structured parking areas, proposed for the project divided by the net lot area.

(3)“Gross building area” means the sum of all finished areas of all floors of a building included within the outside faces of its exterior walls.

(4)“Infill site” means a lot located within an urban area that has been previously developed, or on a vacant site where at least 75 percent of the perimeter of the site adjoins, or is separated only by an improved public right-of-way from, parcels that are developed with qualified urban uses.

(5)“Lot” means all parcels utilized by the project.

(6)“Net lot area” means the area of a lot, excluding publicly dedicated land and private streets that meet local standards, and other public use areas as determined by the local land use authority.

(7)“Transit priority area” means an area within one-half mile of a major transit stop that is existing or planned, if the planned stop is scheduled to be completed within the planning horizon included in a Transportation Improvement Program or applicable regional transportation plan.

(b)(1)The Office of Planning and Research shall prepare, develop, and transmit to the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency for certification and adoption proposed revisions to the guidelines adopted pursuant to Section 21083 establishing criteria for determining the significance of transportation impacts of projects within transit priority areas. Those criteria shall only promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In developing the criteria, the office shall recommend potential metrics to measure transportation impacts that may include, but are not limited to, vehicle miles traveled, vehicle miles traveled per capita, automobile trip generation rates, or automobile trips generated. The office may also establish criteria for models used to analyze transportation impacts to ensure the models are accurate, reliable, and consistent with the intent of this section.

(2)Upon certification of the guidelines by the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency pursuant to this section, automobile delay, as described solely by level of service or similar measures of vehicular capacity or traffic congestion, shall not be considered a significant impact on the environment pursuant to this division, except in locations specifically identified in the guidelines, if any.

(3)This subdivision does not relieve a public agency of the requirement to analyze a project’s potentially significant transportation impacts related to air quality, noise, safety, or any other impact associated with transportation. The methodology established by these guidelines shall not create a presumption that a project will not result in significant impacts related to air quality, noise, safety, or any other impact associated with transportation. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the adequacy of parking for a project shall not support a finding of significance pursuant to this section.

(4)This subdivision does not preclude the application of local general plan policies, zoning codes, conditions of approval, thresholds, or any other planning requirements pursuant to the police power or any other authority.

(5)On or before July 1, 2014, the Office of Planning and Research shall circulate a draft revision prepared pursuant to paragraph (1).

(c)(1)The alternative metrics adopted pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall only be applied to projects within a transit priority area.

(2)This subdivision shall not affect the standard of review that would apply to the new guidelines adopted pursuant to this section.

(d)(1)Aesthetic and parking impacts of a residential, mixed-use residential, or employment center project on an infill site within a transit priority area shall not be considered significant impacts on the environment.

(2)(A)This subdivision does not affect, change, or modify the authority of a lead agency to consider aesthetic impacts pursuant to local design review ordinances or other discretionary powers provided by other laws or policies.

(B)For purposes of this subdivision, aesthetic impacts do not include impacts on historical or cultural resources.

(e)This section does not affect the authority of a public agency to establish or adopt thresholds of significance that are more protective of the environment.