BILL NUMBER: SB 375 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JULY 17, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 4, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 17, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Senator Steinberg
FEBRUARY 21, 2007
An act to amend Sections 65070, 65074, 65080, 65080.5, 65081.3,
65082, 65088.1, and 65088.4 of, and to add Sections 14522.1, 14522.2,
14522.5, and 65086.6 to, the Government Code, and to add Chapter 4.2
(commencing with Section 21155) to Division 13 of the Public
Resources Code, relating to environmental quality.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 375, as amended, Steinberg. Transportation planning: travel
demand models: preferred growth scenarios: environmental review.
(1) Existing law requires certain transportation planning
activities by the Department of Transportation and by designated
regional transportation planning agencies, including development of a
regional transportation plan. Existing law authorizes the California
Transportation Commission, in cooperation with the regional
agencies, to prescribe study areas for analysis and evaluation.
This bill would require the commission, by April 1, 2008, to adopt
guidelines for travel demand models used in the development of
regional transportation plans by certain transportation planning
entities. The bill would require the Department of Transportation to
assist the commission, on request, in this regard, and would impose
other related requirements.
This bill would also require the regional transportation plan
for specified regions to include a preferred growth
scenario, as specified, designed to achieve certain goals for the
reduction of vehicle miles traveled in a region. The bill would
require the State Air Resources Board, working in consultation with
the affected transportation agencies, to provide each affected
region with greenhouse gas emission reduction targets from the
automobile and light truck sector for 2020 and 2035 by an unspecified
date, and to update the regional targets, as specified, until 2050,
and would require the preferred growth scenario to inventory the
region's emission of those gases from the automobile and light truck
sector and establish measures to reduce those emissions to the
greatest extent feasible to achieve the targets. The bill would
require certain transportation planning and programming activities by
affected regional agencies to be consistent
with the preferred growth scenario contained in the regional
transportation plan , including the programming of
transportation projects in the regional transportation improvement
program and the implementation of infill opportunity zones by
local agencies , among other things.
Because the bill would impose additional duties on local agencies,
it would impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a
lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and
certify the completion of, an environmental impact report (EIR) on a
project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a
significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative
declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect.
CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative
declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the
environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that
effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as
revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.
This bill would require the environmental document prepared
pursuant to CEQA to only examine the significant or potentially
significant project specific impacts of a project located in a local
jurisdiction that has amended its general plan so that the land use,
circulation, housing, and open-space elements of the general plan are
consistent with the preferred growth scenario most recently adopted
by the metropolitan planning organization, pursuant to the
requirements specified in the bill, if the project is a residential
project or a residential or mixed-use project, is on an infill site,
and applicable mitigation measures have been or will be incorporated
into the project.
The bill would provide that no additional review is required
pursuant to CEQA for a project if the legislative body of a local
jurisdiction that has amended its general plan, as provided above,
finds, after conducting a public hearing, that the project meets
certain criteria and is declared to be a sustainable communities
project.
The bill would also authorize the legislative body of such a local
jurisdiction within an urbanized area to adopt traffic mitigation
measures for all future residential projects. The bill would exempt a
residential project seeking a land use approval from compliance with
additional measures for traffic impacts, if the local jurisdiction
that has adopted those traffic mitigation measures.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The transportation sector contributes over 40 percent of the
greenhouse gas emissions in the State of California; vehicles alone
contribute 35 percent. The transportation sector is the single
largest contributor of greenhouse gases of any sector.
(b) In 2006, the Legislature passed and the Governor signed
Assembly Bill 32 (Chapter 488 of the Statutes of 2006; hereafter AB
32), which requires the State of California to reduce its greenhouse
gas emissions to 1990 levels no later than 2020. In 1990, greenhouse
gas emissions from vehicles were approximately 73 million metric
tons, but by 2006 these emissions had increased to approximately 100
million metric tons.
(c) Greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles can be substantially
reduced by new vehicle technology and by the increased use of low
carbon fuel. However, even taking these measures into account, it
will be necessary to achieve significant additional greenhouse gas
reductions from changed land use patterns and improved
transportation. Without significant changes in land use and
transportation policy, California will not be able to achieve the
goals of AB 32.
(d) In addition, vehicles account for 50 percent of air pollution
in California and __ percent of its consumption of petroleum. Changes
in land use and transportation policy will provide significant
assistance to California's goals to implement the federal and state
Clean Air Acts and to reduce its dependence on petroleum.
(e) Current planning models and analytical techniques used for
making transportation infrastructure decisions and for air quality
planning should be able to assess the effects of policy choices, such
as residential development patterns, expanded transit service and
accessibility, the walkability of communities, and the use of
economic incentives and disincentives.
SEC. 2. Section 14522.1 is added to the Government Code, to read:
14522.1. (a) (1) The commission, in consultation with the State
Air Resources Board, shall adopt guidelines for travel demand models
used in the development of regional transportation plans by (A)
federally designated metropolitan planning organizations, (B) county
transportation agencies in areas that have been designated as
nonattainment areas under the federal Clean Air Act, and (C) in the
Counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino,
and Ventura, the agency described in Section 130004 of the Public
Utilities Code.
(2) The preparation of the guidelines shall include the formation
of an advisory committee that shall include representatives of the
regional transportation planning agencies, the department,
organizations knowledgeable in the creation and use of travel demand
models, local governments, and organizations concerned with the
impacts of transportation investments on communities and the
environment. The commission shall hold two workshops on the
guidelines, one in northern California and one in southern
California. The workshops shall be incorporated into regular
commission meetings.
(b) The department shall assist the commission in the preparation
of the guidelines, if requested to do so by the commission.
(c) The guidelines shall, at a minimum and to the extent
practicable, account for all of the following:
(1) The relationship between land use density and household
vehicle ownership and vehicle miles traveled in a way that is
consistent with statistical research.
(2) The impact of enhanced transit service levels on household
vehicle ownership and vehicle miles traveled.
(3) Induced travel and induced land development resulting from
highway or passenger rail expansion.
(4) Mode splitting that allocates trips between automobile,
transit, carpool, and bicycle and pedestrian trips. If a travel
demand model is unable to forecast bicycle and pedestrian trips,
another means may be used to estimate those trips.
(d) The guidelines shall be adopted on or before April 1, 2008.
SEC. 3. Section 14522.2 is added to the Government Code, to read:
14522.2. (a) A regional transportation planning agency shall
disseminate the methodology, results, and key assumptions of
whichever travel demand model it uses in a way that would be useable
and understandable to the public.
(b) Transportation planning agencies other than those identified
in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14522.1, cities,
counties, and congestion management agencies within multicounty
regions are encouraged, but not required, to utilize the guidelines.
SEC. 4. Section 14522.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
14522.5. A regional transportation planning agency described in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14522.1 shall report to
the commission on how the regional travel demand model supports
corridor planning and small area planning, at the time the regional
transportation plan is submitted to the commission and department
pursuant to Section 65080.
SEC. 5. Section 65070 of the Government Code is amended to read:
65070. (a) The Legislature finds and declares, consistent with
Section 65088, that it is in the interest of the State of California
to have an integrated state and regional transportation planning
process. It further finds that federal law mandates the development
of a state and regional long-range transportation plan as a
prerequisite for receipt of federal transportation funds. It is the
intent of the Legislature that the preparation of these plans shall
be a cooperative process involving local and regional government,
members of the public, transit operators, congestion management
agencies, and the goods movement industry and that the process be a
continuation of activities performed by each entity and be performed
without any additional cost.
(b) The Legislature further finds and declares that the last
attempt to prepare a California Transportation Plan occurred between
1973 and 1977 and resulted in the expenditure of over eighty million
dollars ($80,000,000) in public funds and did not produce a usable
document. As a consequence of that, the Legislature delegated
responsibility for long-range transportation planning to the regional
planning agencies and adopted a seven-year programming cycle instead
of a longer range planning process for the state.
(c) The Legislature further finds and declares that the
Transportation Blueprint for the Twenty-First Century (Chapters 105
and 106 of the Statutes of 1989) is a long-range state transportation
plan that includes a financial plan and a continuing planning
process through the preparation of congestion management plans and
regional transportation plans, and identifies major interregional
road networks and passenger rail corridors for the state.
SEC. 6. Section 65074 of the Government Code is amended to read:
65074. The Department of Transportation shall prepare, in
cooperation with the metropolitan planning agencies, a federal
transportation improvement program in accordance with subsection (f)
of Section 135 of Title 23 of the United States Code. The federal
transportation improvement program shall be submitted by the
department to the United States Secretary of Transportation, by
October 1 of each even-numbered year. The projects and improvements
identified in that plan shall be consistent with the regional
transportation plans adopted by the metropolitan planning
organizations pursuant to Section 65080.
SEC. 7. Section 65080 of the Government Code is amended to read:
65080. (a) Each transportation planning agency designated under
Section 29532 or 29532.1 shall prepare and adopt a regional
transportation plan directed at achieving a coordinated and balanced
regional transportation system, including, but not limited to, mass
transportation, highway, railroad, maritime, bicycle, pedestrian,
goods movement, and aviation facilities and services. The plan shall
be action-oriented and pragmatic, considering both the short-term and
long-term future, and shall present clear, concise policy guidance
to local and state officials. The regional transportation plan shall
consider factors specified in Section 134 of Title 23 of the United
States Code. Each transportation planning agency shall consider and
incorporate, as appropriate, the transportation plans of cities,
counties, districts, private organizations, and state and federal
agencies.
(b) The regional transportation plan shall include all of the
following:
(1) A policy element that describes the transportation issues in
the region, identifies and quantifies regional needs, and describes
the desired short-range and long-range transportation goals, and
pragmatic objective and policy statements. The objective and policy
statements shall be consistent with the funding estimates of the
financial element. The policy element of transportation planning
agencies with populations that exceed 200,000 persons may quantify a
set of indicators including, but not limited to, all of the
following:
(A) Measures of mobility and traffic congestion, including, but
not limited to, vehicle hours of delay per capita and vehicle miles
traveled per capita.
(B) Measures of road and bridge maintenance and rehabilitation
needs, including, but not limited to, roadway pavement and bridge
conditions.
(C) Measures of means of travel, including, but not limited to,
percentage share of all trips (work and nonwork) made by all of the
following:
(i) Single occupant vehicle.
(ii) Multiple occupant vehicle or carpool.
(iii) Public transit including commuter rail and intercity rail.
(iv) Walking.
(v) Bicycling.
(D) Measures of safety and security, including, but not limited
to, total injuries and fatalities assigned to each of the modes set
forth in subparagraph (C).
(E) Measures of equity and accessibility, including, but not
limited to, percentage of the population served by frequent and
reliable public transit, with a breakdown by income bracket, and
percentage of all jobs accessible by frequent and reliable public
transit service, with a breakdown by income bracket.
(F) The requirements of this section may be met utilizing existing
sources of information. No additional traffic counts, household
surveys, or other sources of data shall be required.
(2) (A) A Within the region
under the jurisdiction of each of the agencies described in paragraph
(1) of subdivision (a) of Section 14522.1, a preferred growth
scenario, consistent with the requirements of Section 450 of Title 23
of, and Section 93 of Title 40 of, the Code of Federal Regulations,
that (i) identifies areas within the region sufficient to house all
the population of the region including all economic segments of the
population over the course of the planning period taking into account
net migration into the region, population growth, household
formation and employment growth; (ii) identifies a transportation
network to service the transportation needs of the region; (iii)
identifies significant resource areas and significant farmland and
excludes from development areas in the preferred growth scenario the
significant resource areas defined in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of
subdivision (a) of Section 65086.6 and other adopted natural
resource protection plans, and, except as provided in subparagraph
(F), the significant resource areas defined in paragraphs (4), (5),
(6), and (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 65086.6 and significant
farmlands; and (iv) will allow the plan to comply with Section 176 of
the federal Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 7506).
(B) No later than ____, the State Air Resources Board, working in
consultation with the affected transportation agencies and after at
least one public workshop, shall provide each affected
region with greenhouse gas emission reduction targets from the
automobile and light truck sector for 2020 and 2035, respectively, in
order to implement Chapter 488 of the Statutes of 2006.
(i) The board shall update the regional targets consistent with
each agency's timeframe for updating its regional transportation plan
under federal law until 2050.
(ii) In making these determinations, the board shall consider
greenhouse gas emission reductions that will be achieved by improved
vehicle emission standards, changes in fuel consumption, and other
measures it has approved that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions in
the regions, and prospective measures the board plans to adopt to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions from other sources.
(iii) Consistent with data provided by the board, a preferred
growth scenario, prepared pursuant to subparagraph (A), shall
inventory the region's emission of greenhouse gases from the
automobile and light truck sector and establish measures to reduce
these emissions, to the greatest extent feasible, to achieve the
targets developed by the board.
(C) A preferred growth scenario shall be consistent with the state
planning priorities specified pursuant to Section 65041.1.
(D) If the preferred growth scenario, prepared in compliance with
subparagraphs (A) and (B), is unable to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions to achieve the targets established by the board, the
transportation planning agency shall prepare a supplement to the
preferred growth scenario showing how those greenhouse gas emission
targets could be achieved through additional transportation
investments, land use incentives, or other programs and incentives.
(E) A preferred growth scenario does not regulate the use of land,
nor shall it be subject to any state review or approval. Nothing in
a preferred growth scenario shall be interpreted as superseding or
interfering with the exercise of the land use authority of cities and
counties within the region.
(F) On and after January 1, 2009, projects and improvements to be
funded shall be consistent with regional transportation plans
developed pursuant to Section 65080. Projects programmed for funding
on or before December 31, 2011, are not required to be consistent
with the preferred growth scenario if they (i) are contained in the
2006 or 2008 Federal Transportation Improvement Program or (ii) are
funded pursuant to Chapter 12.49 (commencing with Section 8879.20) of
Division 1 of Title 2.
(G) Before identifying either a significant resource area defined
in paragraph (4), (5), (6), or (7) of subdivision (a) of Section
65086.6 or significant farmlands as a development area, the
transportation planning agency shall adopt findings that (i) the area
is adjacent to an existing developed area or is within an infill
area as defined in Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the
Public Resources Code; (ii) the area is served by all necessary
utilities; (iii) there is no feasible alternative to identifying the
area as a development area; (iv) the loss of a significant resource
area will be fully mitigated; and (v) the area will be efficiently
utilized for development with a density of at least 10 dwelling units
per acre.
(3) An action element that describes the programs and actions
necessary to implement the plan and assigns implementation
responsibilities. The action element may describe all projects
proposed for development during the 20-year life of the plan.
Proposed projects shall be consistent with the preferred growth
scenario, except as provided in subparagraph (F) of paragraph (2).
The action element shall consider congestion management
programming activities carried out within the region.
(4) (A) A financial element that summarizes the cost of plan
implementation constrained by a realistic projection of available
revenues. The financial element shall also contain recommendations
for allocation of funds. A county transportation commission created
pursuant to Section 130000 of the Public Utilities Code shall be
responsible for recommending projects to be funded with regional
improvement funds, if the project is consistent with the regional
transportation plan. The first five years of the financial element
shall be based on the five-year estimate of funds developed pursuant
to Section 14524. The financial element may recommend the development
of specified new sources of revenue, consistent with the policy
element and action element.
(B) The financial element of transportation planning agencies with
populations that exceed 200,000 persons may include a project cost
breakdown for all projects proposed for development during the
20-year life of the plan that includes total expenditures and related
percentages of total expenditures for all of the following:
(i) State highway expansion.
(ii) State highway rehabilitation, maintenance, and operations.
(iii) Local road and street expansion.
(iv) Local road and street rehabilitation, maintenance, and
operation.
(v) Mass transit, commuter rail, and intercity rail expansion.
(vi) Mass transit, commuter rail, and intercity rail
rehabilitation, maintenance, and operations.
(vii) Pedestrian and bicycle facilities.
(viii) Environmental enhancements and mitigation.
(ix) Research and planning.
(x) Other categories.
(c) Each transportation planning agency may also include other
factors of local significance as an element of the regional
transportation plan, including, but not limited to, issues of
mobility for specific sectors of the community, including, but not
limited to, senior citizens.
(d) Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, each
transportation planning agency shall adopt and submit, every four
years, an updated regional transportation plan to the California
Transportation Commission and the Department of Transportation. A
transportation planning agency located in a federally designated air
quality attainment area or that does not contain an urbanized area
may at its option adopt and submit a regional transportation plan
every five years. When applicable, the plan shall be consistent with
federal planning and programming requirements and shall conform to
the regional transportation plan guidelines adopted by the California
Transportation Commission. Prior to adoption of the regional
transportation plan, a public hearing shall be held after the giving
of notice of the hearing by publication in the affected county or
counties pursuant to Section 6061.
SEC. 8. Section 65080.5 of the Government Code is amended to read:
65080.5. (a) For each area for which a transportation planning
agency is designated under subdivision (c) of Section 29532, or
adopts a resolution pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65080, the
Department of Transportation, in cooperation with the transportation
planning agency, and subject to subdivision (e), shall prepare the
regional transportation plan, consistent with the requirements of
Section 65080, and the updating thereto, for that area and submit it
to the governing body or designated policy committee of the
transportation planning agency for adoption. Prior to adoption, a
public hearing shall be held, after the giving of notice of the
hearing by publication in the affected county or counties pursuant to
Section 6061. Prior to the adoption of the regional transportation
improvement program by the transportation planning agency if it
prepared the program, the transportation planning agency shall
consider the relationship between the program and the adopted plan.
The adopted plan and program, and the updating thereto, shall be
submitted to the California Transportation Commission and the
department pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 65080.
(b) In the case of a transportation planning agency designated
under subdivision (c) of Section 29532, the transportation planning
agency may prepare the regional transportation plan for the area
under its jurisdiction pursuant to this chapter, if the
transportation planning agency, prior to July 1, 1978, adopts by
resolution a declaration of intention to do so.
(c) In those areas that have a county transportation commission
created pursuant to Section 130050 of the Public Utilities Code, the
multicounty designated transportation planning agency, as defined in
Section 130004 of that code, shall prepare the regional
transportation plan and the regional transportation improvement
program in consultation with the county transportation commissions.
(d) Any transportation planning agency which did not elect to
prepare the initial regional transportation plan for the area under
its jurisdiction, may prepare the updated plan if it adopts a
resolution of intention to do so at least one year prior to the date
when the updated plan is to be submitted to the California
Transportation Commission.
(e) If the department prepares or updates a regional
transportation improvement program or regional transportation plan,
or both, pursuant to this section, the state-local share of funding
the preparation or updating of the plan and program shall be
calculated on the same basis as though the preparation or updating
were to be performed by the transportation planning agency and funded
under Sections 99311, 99313, and 99314 of the Public Utilities Code.
SEC. 9. Section 65081.3 of the Government Code is amended to read:
65081.3. (a) As a part of its adoption of the regional
transportation plan, the designated county transportation commission,
regional transportation planning agency, or the Metropolitan
Transportation Commission may designate special corridors, which may
include, but are not limited to, adopted state highway routes, which,
in consultation with the Department of Transportation, cities,
counties, and transit operators directly impacted by the corridor,
are determined to be of statewide or regional priority for long-term
right-of-way preservation.
(b) Prior to designating a corridor for priority acquisition, the
regional transportation planning agency shall do all of the
following:
(1) Establish geographic boundaries for the proposed corridor.
(2) Complete a traffic survey, including a preliminary
recommendation for transportation modal split, which generally
describes the traffic and air quality impacts of the proposed
corridor.
(3) Consider the widest feasible range of possible transportation
facilities that could be located in the corridor and the major
environmental impacts they may cause to assist in making the corridor
more environmentally sensitive and, in the long term, a more viable
site for needed transportation improvements.
(c) A designated corridor of statewide or regional priority shall
be specifically considered in the certified environmental impact
report completed for the adopted regional transportation plan
required by the California Environmental Quality Act, which shall
include a review of the environmental impacts of the possible
transportation facilities which may be located in the corridor. The
environmental impact report shall comply with the requirements of
Division 13 (commencing with Section 21000) of the Public Resources
Code and shall include a survey within the corridor boundaries to
determine if there exist any of the following:
(1) Rare or endangered plant or animal species.
(2) Historical or cultural sites of major significance.
(3) Wetlands, vernal pools, or other naturally occurring features.
(d) The regional transportation planning agency shall designate a
corridor for priority acquisition only if, after a public hearing, it
finds that the range of potential transportation facilities to be
located in the corridor can be constructed in a manner which will
avoid or mitigate significant environmental impacts or values
identified in subdivision (c), consistent with the California
Environmental Quality Act and the state and federal Endangered
Species Acts.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a
corridor of statewide or regional priority may be designated as part
of the regional transportation plan only if it is consistent with the
preferred growth scenario of the regional transportation plan and it
has previously been specifically defined in the plan required
pursuant to Section 134 and is consistent with the plan required
pursuant to Section 135 of Title 23 of the United States Code.
SEC. 10. Section 65082 of the Government Code is amended to read:
65082. (a) (1) A five-year regional transportation improvement
program shall be prepared, adopted, and submitted to the California
Transportation Commission on or before December 15 of each
odd-numbered year thereafter, updated every two years, pursuant to
Sections 65080 and 65080.5 and the guidelines adopted pursuant to
Section 14530.1, to include regional transportation improvement
projects and programs proposed to be funded, in whole or in part, in
the state transportation improvement program. Except as provided in
subparagraph (F) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section
65080, on and after January 1, 2009, projects and improvements to be
funded shall be consistent with regional transportation plans.
(2) Major projects shall include current costs updated as of
November 1 of the year of submittal and escalated to the appropriate
year, and be listed by relative priority, taking into account need,
delivery milestone dates, and the availability of funding.
(b) Except for those counties that do not prepare a congestion
management program pursuant to Section 65088.3, congestion management
programs adopted pursuant to Section 65089 shall be incorporated
into the regional transportation improvement program submitted to the
commission by December 15 of each odd-numbered year.
(c) Local projects not included in a congestion management program
shall not be included in the regional transportation improvement
program. Projects and programs adopted pursuant to subdivision (a)
shall be consistent with the capital improvement program adopted
pursuant to paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 65089, and
the guidelines adopted pursuant to Section 14530.1.
(d) Other projects may be included in the regional transportation
improvement program if listed separately.
(e) Unless a county not containing urbanized areas of over 50,000
population notifies the Department of Transportation by July 1 that
it intends to prepare a regional transportation improvement program
for that county, the department shall, in consultation with the
affected local agencies, prepare the program for all counties for
which it prepares a regional transportation plan.
(f) The requirements for incorporating a congestion management
program into a regional transportation improvement program specified
in this section do not apply in those counties that do not prepare a
congestion management program in accordance with Section 65088.3.
(g) The regional transportation improvement program may
include a reserve of county shares for providing funds in order to
match federal funds.
SEC. 11. Section 65086.6 is added to the Government Code, to read:
65086.6. The following definitions apply to terms used in this
chapter:
(a) "Significant resource areas" include (1) all publicly owned
parks and open space; (2) open space or habitat areas protected by
natural community conservation plans, habitat conservation plans, and
other adopted natural resource protection plans; (3) lands subject
to conservation or agricultural easements and lands under Williamson
Act contracts; (4) areas designated for open-space uses in adopted
open-space elements of the local general plan or by local ordinance;
(5) habitat for species identified as candidate, fully protected,
sensitive, or species of special status by local, state, or federal
agencies or protected by the federal Endangered Species Act of 1973,
the California Endangered Species Act, or the Native Plant Protection
Act; (6) habitat blocks, linkages, or watershed units that protect
regional populations of native species, including sensitive, endemic,
keystone, and umbrella species, and the ecological processes that
maintain them; and (7) floodplains.
(b) "Significant farmland" means farmland that is classified as
prime or unique farmland, or farmland of statewide importance and is
outside all existing spheres of influence as of January 1, 2007.
(c) "Consistent with the preferred growth scenario" or "consistent
with the regional transportation plan" means that the capacity of
the transportation projects or improvements does not exceed that
which is necessary to provide reasonable service levels for the
preferred growth scenario.
SEC. 12. Section 65088.1 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
65088.1. As used in this chapter the following terms have the
following meanings:
(a) Unless the context requires otherwise, "regional agency" means
the agency responsible for preparation of the regional
transportation improvement program.
(b) Unless the context requires otherwise, "agency" means the
agency responsible for the preparation and adoption of the congestion
management program.
(c) "Commission" means the California Transportation Commission.
(d) "Department" means the Department of Transportation.
(e) "Local jurisdiction" means a city, a county, or a city and
county.
(f) "Parking cash-out program" means an employer-funded program
under which an employer offers to provide a cash allowance to an
employee equivalent to the parking subsidy that the employer would
otherwise pay to provide the employee with a parking space. "Parking
subsidy" means the difference between the out-of-pocket amount paid
by an employer on a regular basis in order to secure the availability
of an employee parking space not owned by the employer and the
price, if any, charged to an employee for use of that space.
A parking cash-out program may include a requirement that employee
participants certify that they will comply with guidelines
established by the employer designed to avoid neighborhood parking
problems, with a provision that employees not complying with the
guidelines will no longer be eligible for the parking cash-out
program.
(g) "Infill opportunity zone" means a specific area designated by
a city or county, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65088.4,
zoned for new compact residential or mixed-use development within
one-third mile of a site with an existing or future rail transit
station, a ferry terminal served by either a bus or rail transit
service, an intersection of at least two major bus routes, or within
300 feet of a bus rapid transit corridor, in counties with a
population over 400,000. An infill opportunity zone shall be
consistent with the preferred growth scenario in the adopted regional
transportation plan. The mixed-use development zoning shall consist
of three or more land uses that facilitate significant human
interaction in close proximity, with residential use as the primary
land use supported by other land uses such as office, hotel, health
care, hospital, entertainment, restaurant, retail, and service uses.
The transit service shall have maximum scheduled headways of 15
minutes for at least 5 hours per day. A qualifying future rail
station shall have broken ground on construction of the station and
programmed operational funds to provide maximum scheduled headways of
15 minutes for at least 5 hours per day.
(h) "Interregional travel" means any trips that originate outside
the boundary of the agency. A "trip" means a one-direction vehicle
movement. The origin of any trip is the starting point of that trip.
A round trip consists of two individual trips.
(i) "Level of service standard" is a threshold that defines a
deficiency on the congestion management program highway and roadway
system which requires the preparation of a deficiency plan. It is the
intent of the Legislature that the agency shall use all elements of
the program to implement strategies and actions that avoid the
creation of deficiencies and to improve multimodal mobility.
(j) "Multimodal" means the utilization of all available modes of
travel that enhance the movement of people and goods, including, but
not limited to, highway, transit, nonmotorized, and demand management
strategies including, but not limited to, telecommuting. The
availability and practicality of specific multimodal systems,
projects, and strategies may vary by county and region in accordance
with the size and complexity of different urbanized areas.
(k) "Performance measure" is an analytical planning tool that is
used to quantitatively evaluate transportation improvements and to
assist in determining effective implementation actions, considering
all modes and strategies. Use of a performance measure as part of the
program does not trigger the requirement for the preparation of
deficiency plans.
() "Urbanized area" has the same meaning as is defined in the 1990
federal census for urbanized areas of more than 50,000 population.
(m) "Bus rapid transit corridor" means a bus service that includes
at least four of the following attributes:
(1) Coordination with land use planning.
(2) Exclusive right-of-way.
(3) Improved passenger boarding facilities.
(4) Limited stops.
(5) Passenger boarding at the same height as the bus.
(6) Prepaid fares.
(7) Real-time passenger information.
(8) Traffic priority at intersections.
(9) Signal priority.
(10) Unique vehicles.
SEC. 13. Section 65088.4 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
65088.4. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature to balance the
need for level of service standards for traffic with the need to
build infill housing and mixed-use commercial developments within
walking distance of mass transit facilities, downtowns, and town
centers and to provide greater flexibility to local governments to
balance these sometimes competing needs.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, level of service
standards described in Section 65089 shall not apply to the streets
and highways within an infill opportunity zone. The city or county
shall do either of the following:
(1) Include these streets and highways under an alternative
areawide level of service standard or multimodal composite or
personal level of service standard that takes into account both of
the following:
(A) The broader benefits of regional traffic congestion reduction
by siting new residential development within walking distance of, and
no more than one-third mile from, mass transit stations, shops, and
services, in a manner that reduces the need for long vehicle commutes
and improves the jobs-housing balance.
(B) Increased use of alternative transportation modes, such as
mass transit, bicycling, and walking.
(2) Approve a list of flexible level of service mitigation options
that includes roadway expansion and investments in alternate modes
of transportation that may include, but are not limited to, transit
infrastructure, pedestrian infrastructure, and ridesharing, vanpool,
or shuttle programs.
(c) The city or county may designate an infill opportunity zone by
adopting a resolution after determining that the infill opportunity
zone is consistent with the general plan, any applicable specific
plan, and any preferred growth scenario adopted pursuant to Section
65080. A city or county may not designate an infill opportunity zone
after December 31, 2009.
(d) The city or county in which the infill opportunity zone is
located shall ensure that a development project shall be completed
within the infill opportunity zone not more than four years after the
date on which the city or county adopted its resolution pursuant to
subdivision (c). If no development project is completed within an
infill opportunity zone by the time limit imposed by this
subdivision, the infill opportunity zone shall automatically
terminate.
SEC. 14. Chapter 4.2 (commencing with Section 21155) is added to
Division 13 of the Public Resources Code, to read:
CHAPTER 4.2. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PREFERRED GROWTH SCENARIO
21155. (a) This chapter applies only within a local jurisdiction
that has amended its general plan so that the land use, circulation,
housing and open-space elements of the general plan are consistent
with the preferred growth scenario most recently adopted by the
metropolitan planning organization pursuant to Section 65080 of the
Government Code for the region in which the local government is
located.
(b) For purposes of this section, the land use, circulation,
housing and open-space elements of the general plan are consistent
with the preferred growth scenario only if all of the following
requirements are met:
(1) The land use and housing elements designate housing, retail,
commercial, office, and industrial uses at levels of density and
intensity sufficient to accomplish the goals of the preferred growth
scenario for those locations.
(2) The uses for lands identified in the preferred growth scenario
as significant farmlands are limited to agricultural uses, including
processing, packing, worker housing, and other ancillary
agricultural uses.
(3) The uses for areas that are identified in the preferred growth
scenario as significant resource areas are limited to uses that are
consistent with protection of all the resource values of those areas.
(4) A local jurisdiction that meets the requirements of this
section is an eligible local jurisdiction for purposes of this
chapter.
21155.2. An environmental document prepared pursuant to this
division is required to only examine the significant or potentially
significant project specific impacts of a project located in an
eligible local jurisdiction, if an environmental impact report has
been certified on the preferred growth scenario and on the general
plan amendments to conform to the preferred growth scenario, and the
project meets all of the following requirements:
(a) The project is a residential project or a residential or
mixed-use project consisting of residential uses and primarily
neighborhood-serving goods, services, or retail uses that do not
exceed 25 percent of the total floor area of the project.
(b) The project is on an infill site.
(c) Any applicable mitigation measures approved in the final
environmental impact reports on the regional transportation plan or
the local general plan amendment have been or will be incorporated
into the project.
21155.4. If the legislative body of an eligible local
jurisdiction finds, after conducting a public hearing, that a project
meets all of the requirements of subdivisions (a) and (b) and one of
the requirements of subdivision (c), the project is declared to be a
sustainable communities' project and no additional review is
required pursuant to this division:
(a) The project complies with all of the following environmental
criteria:
(1) The project and other projects approved prior to the approval
of the project but not yet built can be adequately served by existing
utilities, and the project applicant has paid, or has committed to
pay, all applicable in-lieu or development fees.
(2) (A) The site of the project does not contain wetlands or
riparian areas, does not have any significant value as a wildlife
habitat, and the project does not harm any species protected by the
federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. Sec. 1531 et seq.)
or by the Native Plant Protection Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with
Section 1900) of Division 2 of the Fish and Game Code), the
California Endangered Species Act (Chapter 1.5 (commencing with
Section 2050) of Division 3 of the Fish and Game Code), and the
project does not cause the destruction or removal of any species
protected by a local ordinance in effect at the time the application
for the project was deemed complete.
(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, "wetlands" has the same
meaning as in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service Manual,
Part 660 FW 2 (June 21, 1993).
(C) For the purposes of this paragraph, "riparian areas" means
those areas transitional between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
and that are distinguished by gradients in biophysical conditions,
ecological processes, and biota. A riparian area is an area through
which surface and subsurface hydrology connect waterbodies with their
adjacent uplands. A riparian area includes those portions of
terrestrial ecosystems that significantly influence exchanges of
energy and matter with aquatic ecosystems. A riparian area is
adjacent to perennial, intermittent, and ephemeral streams, lakes,
and estuarine-marine shorelines.
(D) For the purposes of this paragraph, "wildlife habitat" means
the ecological communities upon which wild animals, birds, plants,
fish, amphibians, and invertebrates depend for their conservation and
protection.
(E) For the purposes of this paragraph, habitat of "significant
value" includes wildlife habitat of national, statewide, regional, or
local importance; habitat for species protected by the federal
Endangered Species Act of 1973, the California Endangered Species
Act, or the Native Plant Protection Act; habitat identified as
candidate, fully protected, sensitive, or species of special status
by local, state, or federal agencies; or habitat essential to the
movement of resident or migratory wildlife.
(3) The site of the project is not included on any list of
facilities and sites compiled pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the
Government Code.
(4) The site of the project is subject to a preliminary
endangerment assessment prepared by a registered environmental
assessor to determine the existence of any release of a hazardous
substance on the site and to determine the potential for exposure of
future occupants to significant health hazards from any nearby
property or activity.
(A) If a release of a hazardous substance is found to exist on the
site, the release shall be removed, or any significant effects of
the release shall be mitigated to a level of insignificance in
compliance with state and federal requirements.
(B) If a potential for exposure to significant hazards from
surrounding properties or activities is found to exist, the effects
of the potential exposure shall be mitigated to a level of
insignificance in compliance with state and federal requirements.
(5) The project does not have a significant effect on historical
resources pursuant to Section 21084.1.
(6) The project site is not subject to any of the following:
(A) A wildland fire hazard, as determined by the Department of
Forestry and Fire Protection, unless the applicable general plan or
zoning ordinance contains provisions to mitigate the risk of a
wildland fire hazard.
(B) An unusually high risk of fire or explosion from materials
stored or used on nearby properties.
(C) Risk of a public health exposure at a level that would exceed
the standards established by any state or federal agency.
(D) Seismic risk as a result of being within a delineated
earthquake fault zone, as determined pursuant to Section 2622, or a
seismic hazard zone, as determined pursuant to Section 2696, unless
the applicable general plan or zoning ordinance contains provisions
to mitigate the risk of an earthquake fault or seismic hazard zone.
(E) Landslide hazard, flood plain, flood way, or restriction zone,
unless the applicable general plan or zoning ordinance contains
provisions to mitigate the risk of a landslide or flood.
(7) The project site is not located on developed open space.
(A) For the purposes of this paragraph, "developed open space"
means land that meets all of the following criteria:
(i) Is publicly owned, or financed in whole or in part by public
funds.
(ii) Is generally open to, and available for use by, the public.
(iii) Is predominantly lacking in structural development other
than structures associated with open spaces, including, but not
limited to, playgrounds, swimming pools, ballfields, enclosed child
play areas, and picnic facilities.
(B) For the purposes of this paragraph, "developed open space"
includes land that has been designated for acquisition by a public
agency for developed open space, but does not include lands acquired
by public funds dedicated to the acquisition of land for housing
purposes.
(8) The buildings in the project will comply with all green
building standards required by the eligible local jurisdiction.
(9) Any applicable mitigation measures approved in the final
environmental impact reports on the regional transportation plan or
the local general plan amendment have been or will be incorporated
into the project.
(b) The project meets all of the following land use criteria:
(1) The project is located on an infill site.
(2) The project is a residential project or a residential or
mixed-use project consisting of residential uses and primarily
neighborhood-serving goods, services, or retail uses that do not
exceed 25 percent of the total floor area of the project.
(3) The site of the project is not more than eight acres in total
area.
(4) The project does not contain more than 200 residential units.
(5) The project density is at least equal to the applicable
density level provided in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3) of
subdivision (c) of Section 65583.2 of the Government Code.
(6) The project does not result in any loss in the number of
affordable housing units within the project area.
(7) The project does not include any single level building that
exceeds 75,000 square feet.
(8) The project is consistent with the general plan.
(c) The project meets one of the criteria specified in paragraphs
(1) to (4), inclusive:
(1) The project meets both of the following:
(A) At least 20 percent of the housing will be sold to families of
moderate income, or not less than 10 percent of the housing will be
rented to families of low income, or not less than 5 percent of the
housing is rented to families of very low income.
(B) The project developer provides sufficient legal commitments to
the appropriate local agency to ensure the continued availability
and use of the housing units for very low, low-, and moderate-income
households at monthly housing costs determined pursuant to paragraph
(3) of subdivision (h) of Section 65589.5 of the Government Code.
Rental units shall be affordable for at least 55 years. Ownership
units shall be subject to resale restrictions or equity sharing
requirements for at least 30 years.
(2) The project developer has paid or will pay in-lieu fees
pursuant to a local ordinance in an amount sufficient to result in
the development of an equivalent number of units that would otherwise
be required pursuant to paragraph (1).
(3) The project is located within one-quarter mile of a major
transit stop.
(4) The project provides public open space equal to or greater
than five acres per 1,000 residents of the project.
21155.5. (a) The legislative body of an eligible local
jurisdiction within an urbanized area may adopt traffic mitigation
measures that would apply to all future residential projects. These
measures shall be adopted or amended after a public hearing and may
include requirements for the installation of traffic control
improvements, street or road improvements, and contributions to road
improvement or transit funds, transit passes for future residents, or
other measures that will avoid or mitigate the traffic impacts of
those future residential projects.
(b) The traffic mitigation measures adopted pursuant to this
section shall apply to all residential projects of at least 10 units
per acre.
(c) (1) A residential project seeking a land use approval is not
required to comply with any additional mitigation measures required
by paragraph (1) or (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 21081, for the
traffic impacts of that project on intersections, streets, highways,
freeways, or mass transit, if the eligible local jurisdiction issuing
that land use approval has adopted traffic mitigation measures in
accordance with this section.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not restrict the authority of a local
jurisdiction to adopt feasible mitigation measures with respect to
the impacts of a project on pedestrian or bicycle safety.
(d) The legislative body shall review its traffic mitigation
measures and update them as needed at least every five years.
SEC. 15. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.