CITY OF SAN LEANDRO
PROPOSED GUIDELINES FOR ANALYZING
VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED (VMT)
Facilities and Transportation Committee
November 1, 2023
Overview
1. Background
Legislative Requirements
What is VMT?
2. Proposed VMT Analysis Process
Screening Criteria
Estimating VMT
Thresholds of Significance
Mitigation Measures
3. Other Topics
Other Transportation Analyses
Proposed Updates to the General Plan
2 Legislative Requirements
1. BACKGROUND
• SB 743 (2013) requires lead agencies to replace level of service (LOS) or other measures of traffic congestion in environmental documents based on the following two legislative intent statements:
1. Ensure that the environmental impacts of traffic, such as noise, air pollution, and safety concerns continue to be properly addressed and mitigated through the California Environmental Quality Act.
2. More appropriately balance the needs of congestion management with statewide goals related to infill development, promotion of public health through active transportation, and reduction of GHG emissions.
3 Legislative Requirements
1. BACKGROUND • In support of SB743, the State’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR)
released a Technical Advisory in
December 2018
• OPR recommends that lead agencies replace
LOS with VMT-based metrics
• New CEQA Guidelines went into effect
on July 1, 2020, and all CEQA
documents are required to use VMT as
the primary metric to identify
transportation impacts
• City using VMT since 2020 • Case-by-case decisions • Relying on OPR Guidance 4 What is VMT?
1. BACKGROUND
• A metric that captures the total amount of vehicular travel through multiplying the number of vehicle trips generated and the length or distance of each trip.
• For transportation impact analysis purposes, VMT is usually measured on a typical weekday.
5 What is VMT?
1. BACKGROUND
Absolute Value
• The total amount of daily VMT to and
from a place, or on a roadway
• Tends to be a “big” number
• Directly related to total amount of
land use
• This can be further divided by trip
purpose
Per Capita
• Absolute VMT divided by the number of
residents, workers, or other population
• Tends to be a “small” number
• Directly related to the efficiency of the
project location and the land use type
• Can be divided by trip purpose
6 What is VMT?
1. BACKGROUND
What VMT is:
• Measures amount of driving
• More densely developed areas with
variety of land uses tend to have
shorter trip lengths = lower VMT rate
What VMT is not:
• VMT rate and level of traffic
congestion are not necessarily
related
• Low VMT rate ≠ low traffic
congestion
7 Overview of Process
2. PROPOSED VMT ANALYSIS PROCESS
• Consistent with SB
743 and State
requirements
1. Screening
Criteria
2. Estimating
VMT
3. Mitigation
Measures
• Provide consistent CEQAcompliant framework for
analysis and mitigation
throughout the City
8 Screening Criteria
• To avoid performing unnecessary detailed studies, lead agencies may use screening criteria to quickly identify projects that would be expected to cause less-thansignificant VMT-related impacts. • Proposed Screening Criteria in San Leandro:
1. CEQA Exemption
2. Small Project
3. Local Serving
4. Affordable Housing
5. Transit Priority Area
6. Low-VMT area
7. Infill Residential Development
2. PROPOSED VMT ANALYSIS PROCESS
9 Screening Criteria • Projects not eligible if: • Density too low • Too much parking • Replace affordable housing • Other characteristics that indicate it would generate
significant VMT
2. PROPOSED VMT ANALYSIS PROCESS
10 5. Transit Priority Areas
Screening Criteria
6. Low VMT areas for
residential projects
2. PROPOSED VMT ANALYSIS PROCESS
11 • Projects not eligible if: • Density too low • Too much parking • Replace affordable housing • Other characteristics that indicate it would generate
significant VMT
Screening Criteria
6. Low VMT areas for
employment-based
projects
2. PROPOSED VMT ANALYSIS PROCESS
12 • Projects not eligible if: • Density too low • Too much parking • Replace affordable housing • Other characteristics that indicate it would generate
significant VMT
VMT Analysis • Project that do not meet any of
the screening criteria are subject
to VMT analysis
• Main tool for estimating VMT for
projects in San Leandro is the
Alameda County Transportation
Commission Travel Demand Model • Travel Demand Models use various inputs such as land use and
transportation network data to
forecast various transportation metrics
such as traffic volumes and VMT
2. PROPOSED VMT ANALYSIS PROCESS
13 Thresholds of Significance
• Consistent with State Guidelines, VMT generated by a
project is considered a significant impact if:
Residential (and similar) projects: The project’s VMT exceeds the level that is 15% below existing homebased VMT per resident for the Central Planning Area Employment generating/office (and
similar) projects
Project VMT exceeds the level that is 15% below existing home-work VMT per worker for the Central Planning Area
Employment generating/industrial and
warehouse (and similar) projects
Project VMT exceeds the level that is below existing home-work VMT per worker for the Central Planning Area
Mixed-use projects
Each land use component of the project should be analyzed independently, applying the appropriate threshold of significance from above to each land use type included in the project.
Other land use and regional-serving
project types
Net increase in total VMT in the region (that is, the difference in total VMT in the region with and without the project), an appropriate per capita metric, or as determined by the Planning staff
Transportation projects Net increase in total VMT in the region
2. PROPOSED VMT ANALYSIS PROCESS
14 Mitigation Measures • If a project has a significant impact on VMT, CEQA requires the implementation of all
feasible measures to reduce the project VMT
• Mitigations for VMT include: • Changing project characteristics • Implementing Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures
• Participating in impact fee program and/or VMT
mitigation exchange/banking program (if/when
established)
• The Alameda CTC VMT calculator used to
quantify effectiveness of VMT mitigation
2. PROPOSED VMT ANALYSIS PROCESS
15 Other Transportation Analyses
OTHER TOPICS
• In addition to VMT, projects are required to evaluate the following in CEQA documents:
• Conflict with a program, plan, ordinance, or policy addressing the circulation system, including transit, roadway, bicycle and pedestrian facilities.
• Substantially increase hazards due to a geometric design feature (e.g., sharp curves or dangerous intersections) or incompatible uses (e.g., farm equipment).
• Result in inadequate emergency access.
• Outside of the CEQA process, projects generating more than 100 net new peak hour vehicle trips required to prepare a Local Transportation Impact Analysis to address traffic operations, parking, and access and circulation for various travel modes. 16 Proposed Updates to the General Plan
OTHER TOPICS
• Proposed updates to the General Plan would state
that:
• VMT is the primary metric to evaluate transportation
impacts in CEQA documents
• City to continue to evaluate the effects of major
development projects on traffic operations
• City aims to maintain the following LOS goals as long as they do not generate new VMT:
• LOS E within the priority development areas
• LOS D outside of the priority development areas
17