laaep ceqa seminar: impact analysis under sb 743

City of Pasadena

CEQA Transportation Impact

Analysis under SB 743

Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) Los Angeles Chapter

January 29, 2015

Mike Bagheri, P.E.

City of Pasadena

City of Pasadena

Transportation Performance Metrics

City of Pasadena Department of Transportation

Transportation Performance Measures

• Development of New Transportation Performance Measure

• Revised Guidelines

• Threshold for requiring Transportation Analysis

• Adopted CEQA Metrics and Thresholds

• Outside of CEQA Caps

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• The Mobility Element is focused on three main policy objectives, as refined from the 2004 General Plan and extensive community input:

• Enhance livability

• Encourage walking, biking, transit, and other

alternatives to motor vehicles

• Create a supportive climate for economic viability

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Past Vehicular CEQA Metrics

• Intersection Level of Service (LOS) - Volume to capacity ratios are the primary measures.

• Street Segment Analysis - Volume-based analysis of change in traffic on street segments to assess impact.

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Pasadena Mobility Metrics

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Former CEQA Metrics-Land Use Impact Analysis

• Intersection Level of Service (LOS)

• Street Segment Impacts

Transportation System Performance

• Average Vehicle Ridership (AVR) – TRO Goal of 1.5 for regulated sites

• Annual ARTS Ridership

• Green City Action Plan – Urban Environmental Accord Indicators

• Arterials average travel time & speeds


• Not-so-good reflection of people’s real experiences

• May be producing unintended consequences

• Not well-aligned with adopted policies

• Not consistent with the vision of Land Use and Mobility Element Update

Why consider changes to the metrics?

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New Measures Public Review

Draft

Measures

• Transportation Advisory Commission (Feb & Mar 2014)

• Municipal Services Committee (March 2014)

• Community Meeting (March 2014)

• Planning Commission (April 2014)

Adopted

Measures

• Transportation Advisory Commission (May, June, Sep 2014)

• Planning Commission (May, June, July, Sep 2014)

• Community Meetings (June 2014)

• Municipal Services Committee (July & Oct 2014)

• City Council Adoption (December 5, 2014)



New Performance Measures with CEQA Thresholds

1. Vehicle Miles Traveled Per Capita

2. Vehicle Trips Per Capita

3. Prox. & Quality of Bike Facilities

4. Prox. & Quality of Transit Facilities

5. Pedestrian Accessibility & Quality

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Metrics Outside of CEQA

• Auto Level of Service (LOS)

• Street Segment Analysis

• Pedestrian Environmental Quality Index (PEQI)

• Bicycle Environmental Quality Index (BEQI)

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Revised TIS- Thresholds for Determining

Transportation Review of Projects

TYPE OF

PROJECT EXEMPTION

Category 1:

BELOW

COMMUNITYWIDE

SIGNIFICANCE

Category 2:

COMMUNITYWIDE

SIGNIFICANCE

Residential

(Net # of

units)

10 units or less 11 – 49 units 50+ units

Non-

Residential

use(Net)

10,000 Sq. Ft or

less than 300

daily trips

10,001 to 49,999

Sq. Ft 50,000+ Sq. Ft

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Non-CEQA Analysis CEQA Analysis


Adopted Metrics with CEQA Thresholds

METRIC DESCRIPTION IMPACT THRESHOLD

1. VMT Per Capita

Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in the City

of Pasadena per service population

(population + jobs).

CEQA Threshold: An increase

over existing Citywide VMT per

Capita of 22.6.

2. VT Per Capita

Vehicle Trips (VT) in the City of

Pasadena per service population

(population + jobs).

CEQA Threshold: An increase

over existing Citywide VT per

Capita of 2.8.

3. Proximity and Quality of

Bicycle Network

Percent of service population

(population + jobs) within a quarter mile

of each of bicycle facility types

CEQA Threshold: Any

decrease in existing citywide

31.7% of service population

(population + jobs) within a

quarter mile of Level 1 or 2 Bike

Facilities.

4. Proximity and Quality of

Transit Network

Percent of service population

(population + jobs) located within a

quarter mile of transit facility types.

CEQA Threshold: Any

decrease in existing citywide

66.6% of service population

(population + jobs) within a

quarter mile of Level 1 or 2

Transit Facilities.

5. Pedestrian Accessibility

The Pedestrian Accessibility Score uses

the mix of destinations, and a network-

based walk shed to evaluate walkability

CEQA Threshold: Any

decrease in the Citywide

Pedestrian Accessibility Score 12



• Consistent with provisions of SB 743

• Modified to be consistent with General Plan goals and Mobility Element objectives

• Methodology updated to current standard

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• Auto Level of Service (LOS)

• Street Segment Analysis



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Level of Service (LOS) Caps

Study Intersections Existing + Project

Citywide D

Transit Oriented District (TOD) E

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LOS- Transit Oriented Districts Map

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Signalized Intersections

Citywide – LOS D Cap

TOD Areas – LOS E Cap


Street Segment Analysis

• Applies to Projects of Communitywide Significance

> 50,000 Square Feet and/or 50 Dwelling Units

• Analysis would be limited to “Access” and “Neighborhood Connector” street types within a residential context

• May be required for smaller projects at the discretion of Director of Transportation

• Project approval conditions would be imposed on developments based on a “Percentage net increase of project Average Daily Traffic (ADT) over Existing ADT”

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Street Segment Analysis Cap

Existing Street

Segment ADT

Project-Related Vehicular Increase In

ADT

0 to 1500 150 or more

1,501 to 3,499 10 percent or more of final ADT

3,500 or more 8 percent or more of final ADT

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Pasadena Street Types Plan

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PEQI/BEQI Caps



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METRIC CAP

PEQI Below average Conditions

BEQI Below average conditions


AEP Conference

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City of Pasadena

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Mike Bagheri

City of Pasadena

Department of Transportation

(626) 744-7208

[email protected]

City of Pasadena Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines

www.cityofpasadena.net/Transportation/Transportation_Impact_Review/

Mark Yamarone

City of Pasadena

Department of Transportation

(626) 744-7474

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


http://www.cityofpasadena.net/Transportation/Transportation_Impact_Review/



Case Studies

• Projects with Completed CEQA Documents

• Three Different Types of Projects

• Different Areas of the City

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Case Study 1

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Existing Metrics • LOS 15 Ints. Studied – No Impacts

• 12 Segs. Analyzed – 2 impacted

880 E Colorado Blvd.

• Mixed Use TOD

• 156-room hotel

• 14,000 SF retail

• 8,000 SF personal srvcs

• 38,000 SF restaurant

• 103,000 SF office space

• 5 residential units

Exis

t +

Pro

j P

roj. In

cr


Case Study 2

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865 N. Fair Oaks Ave.

• Office development

• 19,000 SF of office space

Existing Metrics • LOS 6 Ints. Analyzed – 0

Impacts

• 1 Seg. Analyzed – 0 Impact

Exis

t +

Pro

j P

roj. In

cr


Case Study 3

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188 S Sierra Madre Blvd.

• Residential Mixed-Use TOD

• 60 multifamily Units

Existing Metrics • 6 Ints Analyzed – 0 Impacts

• 3 Segs. Analyzed – 0 Impacts

due to site access modification

Exis

t +

Pro

j P

roj. In

cr

laaep ceqa seminar: impact analysis under sb 743

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