RESOLUTION NO. XXXX
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIALTO, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING “VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED” THRESHOLDS OF SIGNIFICANCE FOR PURPOSES OF ANALYZING TRANSPORTATION IMPACTS UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT.
WHEREAS, the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines (“CEQA Guidelines”) encourage public agencies to develop and publish generally applicable “thresholds of significance” to be used in determining the significance of a project’s environmental effects; and WHEREAS, per CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(b), the request is not a “Project” as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a “Project” means the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. According to Section 15378(b), a Project does not include: (5) Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 743, enacted in 2013 and codified in Public Resources Code section 21099, required changes to the CEQA Guidelines regarding the criteria for determining the significance of transportation impacts of projects; and WHEREAS, in 2018, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (“OPR”) proposed, and the California Natural Resources Agency certified and adopted, new CEQA Guidelines section 15064.3 that identifies vehicle miles traveled (“VMT”) – meaning the amount and distance of automobile travel attributable to a project – as the most appropriate metric to evaluate a project’s transportation impacts; and WHEREAS, as a result, automobile delay, as measured by “level of service” (“LOS”) and other similar metrics, will generally no longer constitute a significant environmental effect under CEQA; and WHEREAS, CEQA Guidelines section 15064.3 requires agencies to stop treating automobile delay/LOS as an environmental impact effective on July 1, 2020, though public agencies may elect to be governed by this section immediately; and WHEREAS, the City of Rialto, wishes to adopt the VMT thresholds of significance as described with particularity in the Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines for Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) and Level of Service Assessment (LOS), dated October 2021 (the “Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines for Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT)”), attached hereto as Exhibit “A” and incorporated herein by this reference, for determining the significance of transportation impacts that are recommended in an analysis conducted by the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority on behalf of its member jurisdictions.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Rialto does hereby resolve, determine and order as follows:
Section 1. The findings and determinations reflected above are true and correct and are incorporated by this reference herein as the cause and foundation for the action taken by and through this Resolution.
Section 2. The City Council does hereby declare that the City shall utilize the San Bernardino County Travel Demand Model (SBTAM) as its preferred methodology to measure VMT.
Section 3. The City Council does hereby declare that the City shall utilize the San Bernardino County Travel Demand Model (SBTAM) as its preferred method to analyze a project’s VMT impact.
Section 4. The City Council does hereby declare utilizing a threshold consistent with The Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines for Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).
WHEREFORE, this Resolution is passed, approved and adopted this 26th day of July 2022. _________________________________
DEBORAH ROBERTSON, MAYOR
ATTEST:
__________________________________
BARBARA MCGEE, CITY CLERK
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
__________________________________
ERIC S. VAIL, CITY ATTORNEY
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO ) ss
CITY OF RIALTO )
I, BARBARA MCGEE, City Clerk of the City of Rialto, do hereby certify that the foregoing Resolution No. _________ was duly passed and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Rialto held on the ______ day of ___________________, 2022.
Upon motion of Councilmember _______________, seconded by Councilmember ___________________, the foregoing Resolution No. _________ was duly passed and adopted.
Vote on the motion:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and the Official Seal of the City of Rialto this ______ day of __________________, 2022. ________________________________
BARBARA MCGEE, CITY CLERK
EXHIBIT “A” FOLLOWS THIS PAGE
-10-
1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272812345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728 1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 26
27 28
1 2
3 4
5 6
7 8
9 10
11 12
13 14
15 16
17 18
19 20
21 22
23 24
25 26
27 28