CITY OF COSTA MESA
Public Works Department
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
TO: BILL RODRIGUES, PLANNING & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
MANAGER
FROM: RAJA SETHURAMAN, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
DATE: OCTOBER 21, 2024
SUBJECT: PMAP-24-0001 695 W. 19TH STREET “JAMBOREE SENIOR HOUSING” PROJECT TRIP GENERATION AND VEHICLE MILES
TRAVELED (VMT) SCREENING ASSESSMENT FOR CEQA
The Transportation Services Division has prepared a Trip Generation and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Screening Assessment Memorandum for the proposed Jamboree Senior Housing Project in the City of Costa Mesa to comply with CEQA requirements to analyze transportation- related impacts caused by the Project.
The following summarizes the subject project description, project trip generation and traffic impact analysis assessment, CEQA transportation impact analysis methodology and VMT screening criteria, and presents the Division’s findings.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Jamboree Senior Housing Project, located at 695 W. 19 th Street Costa Mesa CA 92627, is on the site of the City of Costa Mesa’s Senior Center at the southeast corner of West 19th Street and Pomona Avenue. The development , consisting of 70 senior housing units over a podium garage, is proposed on a 1.50-acre portion of the Senior Center parking lot.
PROJECT TRIP GENERATION AND TRAFFIC IMPACT ANALYSIS
The City of Costa Mesa Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) Guidelines (October 2020) states that a traffic impact analysis that includes Level- of-Service assessment is required for all development projects estimated to generate one hundred (100) or more vehicle trip ends during a peak hour . In addition, for projects that require environmental determination under California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a transportation analysis based on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) will be required. A VMT assessment shall be required for a proposed project that does not satisfy the identified project screening criteria:
• Transit Priority Areas Screening
• Low VMT-generating Areas Screening
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• Project Type Screening
Project Trip Generation
The Project trip generation was estimated using the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) , Trip Generation Manual (11th Edition) for the following land use category:
• ITE Category 252 – Senior Housing Multifamily
Based on published rates for the above category, the project is estimated to generate 226 daily trips, 14 trips during the AM peak hour and 18 trips during the PM peak hour.
As the project is projected to generate significantly less than 100 project trips ends during the peak hours, a traffic study is not required for the project.
CEQA TRANSPORTATION IMPACT ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY
The first step in VMT Assessment is “screening” to determine if further analysis is needed. There are three types of screenings that may be applied to effectively determine if projects qualify for further VMT assessment: Transit Priority Area (TPA) Screening, Low VMT Area Screening, and Project Type Screening. Transportation Services staff determined that the Project Type Screening is applicable for the subject project. The Project Type Screening Criteria is provided below:
Project Type Screening
Some project types have been identified by the State Office of Planning and Research (OPR) as having the presumption of a less than significant impact. OPR specifically identified “local serving uses,” such as neighborhood retail as exempt from VMT assessment.
The subject project is 70-unit Senior Housing located within the parking lot of Senior Center with several adjacent retail establishments. In addition, the trip generation of Senior Housing is approximately 70 percent lower than traditional housing project without considering any credit for internal and local capture of trips. Therefore, staff determines that the project does not need any further VMT assessment and would have not have any CEQA-related transportation impacts.
FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
Consistent with the City of Costa Mesa Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) Guidelines (October 2020), the project does not meet the 100 peak hour trip threshold and therefore will not require a traffic impact analysis. The project was reviewed for CEQA Assessment based on the VMT screening methodology. The Senior Housing project was assessed using the criteria for Project Type Screening. Staff determined that the proposed Project , with its local- serving nature, is exempt from the preparation of any further VMT analysis and is presumed to have a less than significant CEQA-related transportation impact.
C Ramin Nikoui, Senior Engineer
Elizabeth Palacio, Engineering Technician III
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