BILL NUMBER: AB 779 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 19, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 1, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 14, 2015
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 26, 2015
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Cristina Garcia
FEBRUARY 25, 2015
An act to amend Section 21099 Sections
65088, 65088.1, 65088.4, 65089, 65089.3, and 65089.4 of the
Public Resources Government Code,
relating to environmental quality.
transportation, and declaring the urgency thereof, to take effect
immediately.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 779, as amended, Cristina Garcia. Environmental
quality: transit priority areas. Transportation:
congestion management program.
Existing law requires the development, adoption, and updating of a
congestion management program with specified elements for each
county that includes an urbanized area, as defined. The program is
required to contain specified elements and to be submitted to
regional agencies, as defined, for determination of whether the
program is consistent with regional transportation plans. The
regional agency is then directed to monitor the implementation of all
elements of each congestion management program. Existing law defines
"infill opportunity zone" for purposes of the above-described
provisions to mean a specified area designated by a city or county
according to certain provisions and that is within a specified
distance of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor.
This bill would revise the definition of "infill opportunity zone"
to not require that it be within a specified distance of a major
transit stop or high-quality transit corridor. The bill would revise
the requirements for a congestion management program by removing
traffic level of service standards established for a system of
highways and roadways as a required element and instead requiring
measures of effectiveness for a system of highways and roadways. The
bill would also require the program to analyze the relationship
between local land use decisions and regional transportation systems,
instead of analyzing impacts of the land use decisions on the
transportation systems. The bill would delete existing law's
prohibition on including an estimate of the costs of mitigating the
impacts of interregional travel and the requirement that the program
provide credit for local public and private contributions to
improvements to regional transportation systems. The bill would also
require, to the extent the program identifies capacity enhancements,
the evaluation of the potential for capacity enhancement to induce
additional travel. To the extent this bill would impose additional
duties on local officials relating to the development of a congestion
management program, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
Existing law requires a local jurisdiction to prepare a deficiency
plan with specified components when highway or roadway level of
service standards are not maintained on segments or intersections,
including an analysis of the cause of the deficiency, list of
improvements necessary to maintain minimum levels of service, and
estimated costs of the improvements.
This bill would instead require a deficiency plan to be prepared
if the agency determines the county or its cities is not conforming
with the congestion management plan, and would remove the
requirements that a list of improvements necessary and the estimated
costs of the improvements be included in a deficiency plan. The bill
would exempt from the deficiency cause analysis improvements to
facilities for bicyclists, pedestrians, and public transportation,
traffic generated by a transit priority project, and traffic
generated by a mixed use development located within a transit
priority project area or infill opportunity zone.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
This bill would declare that it is to take effect immediately as
an urgency statute.
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
it 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 requires the Office of Planning and Research to prepare and
develop, and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify
and adopt, proposed revisions to the guidelines for the
implementation of CEQA to establish criteria for determining the
significance of transportation impacts of projects within transit
priority areas that, among other things, promote the reduction of
greenhouse gas emissions.
This bill would authorize the Office of Planning and Research to
determine that transportation impacts for residential and mixed-use
projects in transit priority areas do not meet the threshold of
significance.
Vote: majority 2/3 . Appropriation:
no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no
yes .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 65088 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
65088. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Although California's economy is critically dependent upon
transportation, its current transportation system relies primarily
upon a street and highway system designed to accommodate far fewer
vehicles than are currently using the system.
(b) California's transportation system is characterized by
fragmented planning, both among jurisdictions involved and among the
means of available transport.
(c) The lack of an integrated system and the increase in the
number of vehicles are causing traffic congestion that each day
results in 400,000 hours lost in traffic, 200 tons of pollutants
released into the air we breathe, and three million one hundred
thousand dollars ($3,100,000) added costs to the motoring public.
(d) To keep California moving, all methods and means of transport
between major destinations must be coordinated to connect our vital
economic and population centers.
(e) In order to develop the California economy to its full
potential, it is intended that federal, state, and local agencies
join with transit districts, business, private
private, and environmental interests to develop and
implement comprehensive strategies needed to develop appropriate
responses to transportation needs.
(f) In addition to solving California's traffic congestion crisis,
rebuilding California's cities and suburbs, particularly with
affordable housing and more walkable neighborhoods, is an important
part of accommodating future increases in the state's population
because homeownership is only now available to most Californians who
are on the fringes of metropolitan areas and far from employment
centers.
(g) The Legislature intends to do everything within its power to
remove regulatory barriers around the development of infill housing,
transit-oriented development, and mixed use commercial development
in order to reduce regional traffic congestion and
provide more housing choices for all Californians.
(h) The removal of regulatory barriers to promote infill housing,
transit-oriented development, or mixed use commercial development
does not preclude a city or county from holding a public hearing nor
from finding that an individual infill project would be
adversely impacted by the surrounding environment or transportation
patterns.
(i) The Legislature intends that the provisions of the act that
added this subdivision be carried out in a manner that promotes
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled,
related economic, environmental, and health benefits called for in
the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008
(Chapter 728 of the Statutes of 2008), and the implementation of
complete streets, as described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of
Section 65302.
SEC. 2. Section 65088.1 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
65088.1. As used in this chapter the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) Unless the context requires otherwise, "agency" means the
agency responsible for the preparation and adoption of the congestion
management program.
(b) "Bus rapid transit corridor" means a bus service that includes
at least four of the following attributes:
(1) Coordination with land use planning.
(2) Exclusive right-of-way.
(3) Improved passenger boarding facilities.
(4) Limited stops.
(5) Passenger boarding at the same height as the bus.
(6) Prepaid fares.
(7) Real-time passenger information.
(8) Traffic priority at intersections.
(9) Signal priority.
(10) Unique vehicles.
(c) "Commission" means the California Transportation Commission.
(d) "Department" means the Department of Transportation.
(e) "Infill opportunity zone" means a specific area designated by
a city or county, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
65088.4, that is within one-half mile of a major transit stop or
high-quality transit corridor included in a regional transportation
plan. A major transit stop is as defined in Section 21064.3 of the
Public Resources Code, except that, for purposes of this section, it
also includes major transit stops that are included in the applicable
regional transportation plan. For purposes of this section, a
high-quality transit corridor means a corridor with fixed route bus
service with service intervals no longer than 15 minutes during peak
commute hours. 65088.4.
(f) "Interregional travel" means any trips that originate outside
the boundary of the agency. A "trip" means a one-direction vehicle
movement. The origin of any trip is the starting point of that trip.
A roundtrip consists of two individual trips.
(g) "Level of service standard" is a threshold that defines a
deficiency on the congestion management program highway and roadway
system which requires the preparation of a deficiency plan. It is the
intent of the Legislature that the agency shall use all elements of
the program to implement strategies and actions that avoid the
creation of deficiencies and to improve multimodal mobility.
(h) "Local jurisdiction" means a city, a county, or a city and
county.
(i) "Multimodal" means the utilization of all available modes of
travel that enhance the movement of people and goods, including, but
not limited to, highway, transit, nonmotorized, and demand management
strategies strategies, including, but
not limited to, telecommuting. The availability and practicality of
specific multimodal systems, projects, and strategies may vary by
county and region in accordance with the size and complexity of
different urbanized areas.
(j) (1) "Parking cash-out program" means an employer-funded
program under which an employer offers to provide a cash allowance to
an employee equivalent to the parking subsidy that the employer
would otherwise pay to provide the employee with a parking space.
"Parking subsidy" means the difference between the out-of-pocket
amount paid by an employer on a regular basis in order to secure the
availability of an employee parking space not owned by the employer
and the price, if any, charged to an employee for use of that space.
(2) A parking cash-out program may include a requirement that
employee participants certify that they will comply with guidelines
established by the employer designed to avoid neighborhood parking
problems, with a provision that employees not complying with the
guidelines will no longer be eligible for the parking cash-out
program.
(k) "Performance measure" is an analytical planning tool that is
used to quantitatively evaluate transportation improvements and to
assist in determining effective implementation actions, considering
all modes and strategies. Use of a performance measure as part of the
program does not trigger the requirement for the preparation of
deficiency plans.
( l ) "Urbanized area" has the same meaning as is
defined in the 1990 federal census for urbanized areas of more than
50,000 population.
(m) Unless the context requires otherwise, "regional agency" means
the agency responsible for preparation of the regional
transportation improvement program.
SEC. 3. Section 65088.4 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
65088.4. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to balance the
need for level of service standards for traffic with the need to
build infill housing and mixed use commercial developments within
walking distance of mass transit facilities, downtowns, and town
centers and to provide greater flexibility to local governments to
balance these sometimes competing needs.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if
level of service standards described in Section 65089
are used in a congestion management program,
those standards shall not apply to the streets and highways
within an infill opportunity zone.
(c) The city or county may designate an infill opportunity zone by
adopting a resolution after determining that the infill opportunity
zone is consistent with the general plan and any applicable specific
plan, and is a transit priority area within a sustainable communities
strategy or alternative planning strategy adopted by the applicable
metropolitan planning organization.
SEC. 4. Section 65089 of the Government
Code is amended to read:
65089. (a) A congestion management program shall be developed,
adopted, and updated biennially, consistent with the schedule for
adopting and updating the regional transportation improvement
program, for every county that includes an urbanized area, and shall
include every city and the county. The program shall be adopted at a
noticed public hearing of the agency. The program shall be developed
in consultation with, and with the cooperation of, the transportation
planning agency, regional transportation providers, local
governments, the department, and the air pollution control district
or the air quality management district, either by the county
transportation commission, or by another public agency, as designated
by resolutions adopted by the county board of supervisors and the
city councils of a majority of the cities representing a majority of
the population in the incorporated area of the county.
(b) The program shall contain all of the following elements:
(1) (A) Traffic
level of service standards Measures of effectiveness
established for a system of highways and roadways designated by
the agency. The highway and roadway system shall include at a
minimum all state highways and principal arterials. No highway or
roadway designated as a part of the system shall be removed from the
system. All new state highways and principal arterials shall be
designated as part of the system, except when it is within an infill
opportunity zone. Level of service (LOS) shall be measured
by Circular 212, by the most recent version of the Highway Capacity
Manual, or by a uniform methodology adopted by the agency that is
consistent with the Highway Capacity Manual. The determination as to
whether an alternative method is consistent with the Highway Capacity
Manual shall be made by the regional agency, except that the
department instead shall make this determination if either (i) the
regional agency is also the agency, as those terms are defined in
Section 65088.1, or (ii) the department is responsible for preparing
the regional transportation improvement plan for the county.
(B) In no case shall the LOS standards established be below the
level of service E or the current level, whichever is farthest from
level of service A except when the area is in an infill opportunity
zone. When the level of service on a segment or at an intersection
fails to attain the established level of service standard outside an
infill opportunity zone, a deficiency plan shall be adopted pursuant
to Section 65089.4.
(2) A performance element that includes performance measures to
evaluate current and future multimodal system performance for the
movement of people and goods. At a minimum, these performance
measures shall incorporate highway and roadway system performance,
and measures established for the frequency and routing of public
transit, and for the coordination of transit service provided by
separate operators. These performance measures shall support
mobility, air quality, greenhouse gas emissions reductions,
land use, and economic objectives, and shall be used in the
development of the capital improvement program required pursuant to
paragraph (5), deficiency plans required pursuant to Section 65089.4,
and the land use analysis program required pursuant to paragraph
(4).
(3) A travel demand element that promotes alternative
transportation methods, including, but not limited to, carpools,
vanpools, transit, bicycles, and park-and-ride lots; improvements in
the balance between jobs and housing; and other strategies,
including, but not limited to, flexible work hours, telecommuting,
and parking management programs. The agency shall consider parking
cash-out programs during the development and update of the travel
demand element.
(4) A program to analyze the impacts of
the relationship between land use decisions made by local
jurisdictions on and regional
transportation systems, including an estimate of the costs
associated with mitigating those impacts. as reflected
in regional transportation plans. This program shall measure,
to the extent possible, the impact to
effectiveness of the transportation system using the
performance measures described in paragraph (2). In no case
shall the program include an estimate of the costs of mitigating the
impacts of interregional travel. The program shall provide credit for
local public and private contributions to improvements to regional
transportation systems. However, in the case of toll road facilities,
credit shall only be allowed for local public and private
contributions which are unreimbursed from toll revenues or other
state or federal sources. The agency shall calculate the amount of
the credit to be provided. The program defined under this
section may require implementation through the requirements and
analysis of the California Environmental Quality Act, in order to
avoid duplication.
(5) A seven-year capital improvement program, developed using the
performance measures described in paragraph (2) to determine
effective projects that maintain or improve the performance of the
multimodal system for the movement of people and goods, to
mitigate regional transportation impacts identified pursuant to
paragraph (4). goods. To the extent that the program
identifies capacity enhancements, the program shall evaluate the
potential for the capacity enhancement to induce additional travel.
The program shall conform to transportation-related vehicle
emission air quality mitigation measures, and include any project
that will increase the capacity of the multimodal system. It is the
intent of the Legislature that, when roadway projects are identified
in the program, consideration be given for maintaining bicycle access
and safety at a level comparable to that which existed prior to the
improvement or alteration. The capital improvement program may also
include safety, maintenance, and rehabilitation projects that do not
enhance the capacity of the system but are necessary to preserve the
investment in existing facilities.
(c) The agency, in consultation with the regional agency, cities,
and the county, shall develop a uniform data base on traffic
impacts transportation conditions for use in a
countywide transportation computer model and shall approve
transportation computer models of specific areas within the county
that will be used by local jurisdictions to determine the
quantitative impacts of development on the circulation system that
are based on the countywide model and standardized modeling
assumptions and conventions. The computer models shall be consistent
with the modeling methodology adopted by the regional planning
agency. The data bases used in the models shall be consistent with
the data bases used by the regional planning agency. Where the
regional agency has jurisdiction over two or more counties, the data
bases used by the agency shall be consistent with the data bases used
by the regional agency.
(d) (1) The city or county in which a commercial development will
implement a parking cash-out program that is included in a congestion
management program pursuant to subdivision (b), or in a deficiency
plan pursuant to Section 65089.4, shall grant to that development an
appropriate reduction in the parking requirements otherwise in effect
for new commercial development.
(2) At the request of an existing commercial development that has
implemented a parking cash-out program, the city or county shall
grant an appropriate reduction in the parking requirements otherwise
applicable based on the demonstrated reduced need for parking, and
the space no longer needed for parking purposes may be used for other
appropriate purposes.
(e) Pursuant to the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation
Efficiency Act of 1991 and regulations adopted pursuant to the act,
the department shall submit a request to the Federal Highway
Administration Division Administrator to accept the congestion
management program in lieu of development of a new congestion
management system otherwise required by the act.
SEC. 5. Section 65089.3 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
65089.3. The agency shall monitor the implementation of all
elements of the congestion management program. The department is
responsible for data collection and analysis on state highways,
unless the agency designates that responsibility to another entity.
The agency may also assign data collection and analysis
responsibilities to other owners and operators of facilities or
services if the responsibilities are specified in its adopted
program. The agency shall consult with the department and other
affected owners and operators in developing data collection and
analysis procedures and schedules prior to
before program adoption. At least biennially, the agency shall
determine if the county and cities are conforming to the congestion
management program, including, but not limited to, all of the
following:
(a) Consistency with levels of service standards, except
as provided in Section 65089.4. Achieving performance
standards for the transportation system as provided in the
performance element.
(b) Adoption and implementation of a program to analyze the
impacts of relationship between land
use decisions, including the estimate of the costs
associated with mitigating these impacts. decisions
and the regional transportation system.
(c) Adoption and implementation of a deficiency plan pursuant to
Section 65089.4 when highway and roadway level of service
standards are not maintained on portions of the designated system.
65089.4.
SEC. 6. Section 65089.4 of the
Government Code is amended to read:
65089.4. (a) A If the agency determines
that a county or its cities is not conforming to the congestion
management plan, a local jurisdiction shall prepare a
deficiency plan when highway or roadway level of service
standards are not maintained on segments or intersections of the
designated system. plan. The deficiency plan
shall be adopted by the city or county at a noticed public hearing.
(b) The agency shall calculate the impacts subject to exclusion
pursuant to subdivision (f) of this section
(f) , after consultation with the regional agency, the
department, and the local air quality management district or air
pollution control district. If level of service standards are
used in a congestion management program, and if the calculated
traffic level of service following exclusion of these impacts is
consistent with the level of service standard, the agency shall make
a finding at a publicly noticed meeting that no deficiency plan is
required and so shall notify the
affected local jurisdiction.
(c) The agency shall be responsible for preparing and adopting
procedures for local deficiency plan development and implementation
responsibilities, consistent with the requirements of this section.
The deficiency plan shall include all of the following:
(1) An analysis of the cause of the deficiency. This analysis
shall include the following:
(A) Identification of the cause of the deficiency.
(B) Identification of the impacts of those local jurisdictions
within the jurisdiction of the agency that contribute to the
deficiency. These impacts shall be identified only if traffic
level of service standards are used in the congestion
management program and if the calculated traffic level of
service following exclusion of impacts pursuant to subdivision (f)
indicates that the level of service standard has not been maintained,
and shall be limited to impacts not subject to exclusion.
(2) A list of improvements necessary for the deficient segment or
intersection to maintain the minimum level of service otherwise
required and the estimated costs of the improvements.
(3)
(2) A list of improvements, programs, or actions, and
estimates of costs, that will (A) measurably improve multimodal
performance, using measures defined in paragraphs (1) and (2) of
subdivision (b) of Section 65089, and (B) contribute to significant
improvements in air quality, such as improved public transit service
and facilities, improved nonmotorized transportation facilities, high
occupancy vehicle facilities, parking cash-out programs, and
transportation control measures. The air quality management district
or the air pollution control district shall establish and
periodically revise a list of approved improvements, programs, and
actions that meet the scope of this paragraph. If an improvement,
program, or action on the approved list has not been fully
implemented, it shall be deemed to contribute to significant
improvements in air quality. If an improvement, program, or action is
not on the approved list, it shall not be implemented unless
approved by the local air quality management district or air
pollution control district.
(4)
(3) An action plan, consistent with the provisions of
Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 66000), that shall be implemented,
consisting of improvements identified in paragraph (2), or
improvements, programs, or actions identified in paragraph
(3), (2), that are found by the agency
to be in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare. The
action plan shall include a specific implementation schedule. The
action plan shall include implementation strategies for those
jurisdictions that have contributed to the cause of the deficiency in
accordance with the agency's deficiency plan procedures. The action
plan need not mitigate the impacts of any exclusions identified in
subdivision (f). Action plan strategies shall identify the most
effective implementation strategies for improving current and future
system performance.
(d) A local jurisdiction shall forward its adopted deficiency plan
to the agency within 12 months of the identification of a
deficiency. The agency shall hold a noticed public hearing within 60
days of receiving the deficiency plan. Following that hearing, the
agency shall either accept or reject the deficiency plan in its
entirety, but the agency may not modify the deficiency plan. If the
agency rejects the plan, it shall notify the local jurisdiction of
the reasons for that rejection, and the local jurisdiction shall
submit a revised plan within 90 days addressing the agency's
concerns. Failure of a local jurisdiction to comply with the schedule
and requirements of this section shall be considered to be
nonconformance for the purposes of Section 65089.5.
(e) The agency shall incorporate into its deficiency plan
procedures, a methodology for determining if deficiency impacts are
caused by more than one local jurisdiction within the boundaries of
the agency.
(1) If, according to the agency's methodology, it is determined
that more than one local jurisdiction is responsible for causing a
deficient segment or intersection, all responsible local
jurisdictions shall participate in the development of a deficiency
plan to be adopted by all participating local jurisdictions.
(2) The local jurisdiction in which the deficiency occurs shall
have lead responsibility for developing the deficiency plan and for
coordinating with other impacting local jurisdictions. If a local
jurisdiction responsible for participating in a multi-jurisdictional
deficiency plan does not adopt the deficiency plan in accordance with
the schedule and requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, that
jurisdiction shall be considered in nonconformance with the program
for purposes of Section 65089.5.
(3) The agency shall establish a conflict resolution process for
addressing conflicts or disputes between local jurisdictions in
meeting the multi-jurisdictional deficiency plan responsibilities of
this section.
(f) The analysis of the cause of the deficiency prepared pursuant
to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall exclude the following:
(1) Interregional travel.
(2) Construction, rehabilitation, or maintenance of facilities
that impact the system.
(3) Freeway ramp metering.
(4) Traffic signal coordination by the state or
multi-jurisdictional agencies.
(5) Traffic generated by the provision of low-income and very low
income housing.
(6) (A) Traffic generated by high-density residential development
located within one-fourth mile of a fixed rail passenger station, and
(B)
(6) Traffic generated by any mixed use development
located within one-fourth mile of a fixed rail passenger
station, if more than half of the land area, or floor area, of the
mixed use development is used for high density residential housing,
as determined by the agency. a transit priority
project area or infill opportunity zone. For purposes of this
paragraph, "mixed use development" means development that integrates
compatible commercial or retail uses, or both, with residential uses,
and that, due to the proximity of job locations, shopping
opportunities, and residences, will discourage new trip generation.
(g) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
following meanings:
(1) "High density" means residential density development which
contains a minimum of 24 dwelling units per acre and a minimum
density per acre which is equal to or greater than 120 percent of the
maximum residential density allowed under the local general plan and
zoning ordinance. A project providing a minimum of 75 dwelling units
per acre shall automatically be considered high density.
(2)
"Mixed use development" means development which integrates compatible
commercial or retail uses, or both, with residential uses, and
which, due to the proximity of job locations, shopping opportunities,
and residences, will discourage new trip generation.
(7) Traffic generated by any transit priority project, as defined
in Section 21155 of the Public Resources Code.
(8) Improvements to facilities for bicyclists, pedestrians, and
public transportation.
(g) Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to require a
local agency to implement improvements to reduce delay at
intersections or roadway segments that the local agency determines
would impede the development of a balanced, multimodal transportation
network that meets the needs of all users of the streets, roads, and
highways for safe and convenient travel in a manner set forth in the
circulation element of the local agency's general plan.
SEC. 7. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs
shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of
Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
SEC. 8. This act is an urgency statute necessary
for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety
within the meaning of Article IV of the Constitution and shall go
into immediate effect. The facts constituting the necessity are:
In order to reduce the financial burden and hurdles to development
caused by duplicative transportation and land use planning analyses,
and to give local agencies flexibility to quickly update their plans
to provide for a safe transportation system for all users, it is
necessary that this act take effect immediately.
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 adopted pursuant to Section
450.216 or 450.322 of Title 23 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(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) The Office of Planning and Research may determine that
transportation impacts, including as measured by vehicle miles
traveled, for residential and mixed-use projects in transit priority
areas do not meet the threshold of significance.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(5) 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.
(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.