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7.A. - Page 2 of 12 In 2013, Senate Bill 743 was signed by Governor Brown. SB 743 directed the State Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to develop new California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines and to remove Level of Service (LOS) as the evaluation measure for transportation impacts under CEQA. SB 743 directed OPR to replace LOS with another measure such as Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase the mix of land uses, and create multi -modal transportation networks. The guidelines potentially make it easier for developers to build residential, commercial and mixed-use infill projects that improve air quality by reducing the number of miles driven by automobiles, based on the land use and transportation characteristics of the project. In December 2018, after five years of outreach and planning, the California Natural Resources Agency released updated CEQA guidelines. The updated guidelines state that lead agencies shall no longer use LOS in their CEQA analyses and that by July 1, 2020 they shall use VMT to evaluate transportation impacts. Previously, VMT data were used statewide to assess air quality and greenhouse gas emissions under CEQA. Numerous policies and goals in the General Plan, Climate Action Plan, and in RWCmoves, the Citywide Transportation Plan, seek to increase the safety, mobility, and access of our transportation system through new development. To comply with SB 743, Redwood City must develop a new transportation impact policy that identifies the City's VMT metric(s), sets impact thresholds, and provides guidance on what analysis is required and how the analysis is to be done. Starting in 2017, in conjunction with the development of RWCmoves, the City developed draft transportation analysis guidelines to comply with SB 743. In December 2018, OPR released a Technical Advisory to supplement the new CEQA guidelines and to give general direction to lead agencies on implementation methodologies. With the support of our RWCmoves consultants, staff enhanced the draft guidelines to create a Transportation Analysis Manual (TAM). The TAM details the required transportation analysis consistent with State law and the Circulation Section of the General Plan Built Environment Element and identifies specific methodologies and significance criteria. These methodologies and thresholds vary by land use, type of project, plan, and place. A link to the TAM is at the end of this report. In August 2019, staff sought feedback from the City Council Transportation -Mobility Subcommittee on the process to guide our transition from LOS to VMT. Recommendations at the time included: • Holding study sessions for the Planning Commission and Transportation Advisory Committee • Discussing VMT in conjunction with development projects as they are processed • Providing the City Council with an overview of VMT in conjunction with adoption of the transportation analysis guidelines • Participating in the CCAG SB 743 Working Group to create a countywide, map -based VMT calculation tool to simplify environmental analyses The City Council Transportation -Mobility Subcommittee endorsed this approach and affirmed their interest in maintaining the use of LOS to evaluate development projects' effects on the local transportation network. Page 2 of 6 City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.ore 81