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Notice Revised CEQA Guidelines Proposal Regarding Transportation Impacts for Public Comment
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) is pleased to invite your input on a revised proposal to update the CEQA Guidelines regarding the analysis of transportation impacts.
Senate Bill 743 (Steinberg, 2013) required that OPR develop an initial draft of such changes by the Summer of 2014.This revised proposal reflects input that OPR received on that preliminary discussion draft. The revised proposal contains:
(1) an explanation of the changes and how they respond to public input,
(2) a revised proposed new CEQA Guidelines Section 15064.3,
(3) a draft technical advisory containing recommendations related to methodology, thresholds of significance, safety, and mitigation, and
(4) case studies illustrating how the proposed analysis would apply to sample projects.
A copy of the revised proposal is available here:
https://www.opr.ca.gov/docs/Revised_VMT_CEQA_Guidelines_Proposal_January_20_2016.pdf.
A news release describing the proposal is provided below. Notices of any public workshops will be announced on this listserv and posted on OPR’s website at opr.ca.gov.
We look forward to your input.
Please submit all written comments by 5:00pm on February 29, 2016, to CEQA.Guidelines@resources.ca.gov.
State Seeks Public Comment On New Rules to Streamline Projects Benefiting Public Transportation, Walking and Biking
MEDIA CONTACT: 916-445-4571
SACRAMENTO—Following 18 months of public workshops and incorporating hundreds of public comments, the Office of Planning and Research today announced a proposal to streamline CEQA for projects that boost public transportation, walking and biking, and reduce the need for traveling long distances by car.
“These new rules help remove a quirk of California environmental law that made it harder to build projects that improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” said Ken Alex, Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research. “Not only does this proposal remove barriers to infill development, walking, biking and public transportation—it also explicitly recognizes that such projects have less-than-significant impacts under environmental law.”
SB 743 required the state to change how impacts on transportation are evaluated under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), removing barriers to infill development, public transportation projects and projects that increase walking and biking. Under current environmental rules, increases in car traffic are considered an environmental impact that must be mitigated—often by building more roads for more cars—even if that mitigation actually increases greenhouse gas emissions.
The new rules would streamline CEQA review for projects that increase infrastructure for transit, bicycles and pedestrians and reduce the need for traveling long distances by car. The new rules will also make it easier for developers to complete residential, commercial and mixed-use infill projects that improve air quality by reducing the number of miles driven by cars.
Public agencies will have two years to prepare for the transition to the new rules. Cities that are already moving ahead with the changes can begin implementing them as soon as formal rule-making is complete.
“The implementation of SB 743 will allow other cities throughout California to better align their project review and analysis with local goals to enhance livability and economic vitality, and encourage walking, biking, and transit,” said Fred Dock, Director of the City of Pasadena’s Department of Transportation.
Transportation currently accounts for approximately half of California’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.
Today’s release marks the beginning of a forty-five day initial public comment period before finalizing the proposal and submitting to the California Natural Resources Agency to commence the formal rule-making process under the Administrative Procedure Act. The regulations are anticipated to be effective statewide in 2019.
A draft of the proposed rules is available here:
https://www.opr.ca.gov/docs/Revised_VMT_CEQA_Guidelines_Proposal_January_20_2016.pdf.
The public can comment on the rules by submitting comments to:
CEQA.Guidelines@resources.ca.gov
by 5:00pm on February 29, 2016.
Organization: Governor's Office of Planning and Research
Contact Email:
Website: https://www.opr.ca.gov/