BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE TRANSPORTATION & HOUSING COMMITTEE BILL NO: sb 811
SENATOR MARK DESAULNIER, CHAIRMAN AUTHOR: lara
VERSION: 4/3/13
Analysis by: Eric Thronson FISCAL: NO
Hearing date: April 30, 2013
SUBJECT:
I-710 Long Beach Freeway: environmental mitigation
DESCRIPTION:
This bill requires the California Department of Transportation
(Caltrans) to develop and fund specific elements of the I-710
Long Beach Freeway corridor project in order to mitigate
environmental and other impacts the project may have on
neighboring communities.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law restricts the Legislature from enacting statutes
for the construction or funding of specific individual
transportation projects. Instead, current law creates the
California Transportation Commission (CTC) that, among other
things, facilitates a process that results in the orderly
funding and construction of transportation projects across the
state.
Through this statutory process, the CTC biennially adopts a
five-year state transportation capital outlay program called the
State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP). The STIP
process begins with the development of a multi-year estimate of
all available state and federal transportation funds. Then the
CTC, based on the recommendations of the regional transportation
agencies and the California Department of Transportation, adopts
a program of projects that forms the basis for scheduling the
expenditure of all available funds during those years. The STIP
process endeavors to make investments in the state system that
reflect local and state priorities while ensuring future funding
will be available to complete these projects.
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires lead
agencies, such as Caltrans, to prepare an environmental impact
report (EIR) for each project it undertakes, unless the project
SB 811 (LARA) Page 2
is exempt from CEQA requirements. The lead agency must develop
the EIR before it can move forward with a project, which is done
through an iterative public engagement process. Generally, an
EIR describes the proposed project, evaluates a range of
reasonable alternatives to the project, identifies and analyzes
all expected significant environmental impacts, and determines
feasible mitigation measures to reduce those impacts. At the
end of the process, the lead agency formally approves the
environmental review. The public has an opportunity to
challenge an EIR in court if it feels the process was inadequate
or the lead agency did not consider appropriate alternatives.
In this way, CEQA is intended to ensure better environmental
outcomes than otherwise would occur through project development.
The Long Beach Freeway (I-710) is a vital transportation artery,
linking the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to Southern
California and beyond. An essential component of the regional,
statewide, and national transportation system, it serves both
passenger and goods movement traffic. As a result of Southern
California population growth, increased trade through the ports,
and aging infrastructure, the I-710 experiences serious
congestion and safety issues. Caltrans, Los Angeles County
Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), and other
regional partners are preparing an EIR to analyze the range of
possible improvement alternatives to the
I-710 corridor. The project study area extends from the ports
to the Pomona Freeway, a distance of 18 miles, and encompasses
15 cities and unincorporated areas adjacent to the freeway.
According to Caltrans, the I-710 project will likely cost
between $3 billion and $5 billion and consider it a prime
candidate for a public-private partnership that may include
tolling. While still in the beginning stages of the
environmental review process, Caltrans expects a draft EIR in 12
to 18 months with the approval of a final environmental document
at least four or five years away.
This bill requires Caltrans to develop and fund specific
elements of the I-710 corridor project in order to mitigate
environmental and other impacts the project may have on
neighboring communities. Specifically, this bill requires
Caltrans to:
Develop and implement a comprehensive public transportation
plan for the corridor. The plan, at a minimum, shall add bus
shuttles to transit centers, expand service on the Metro Blue
SB 811 (LARA) Page 3
and Green Lines as well as rapid bus services, and enhance
community bus service in communities along the corridor.
Include a comprehensive pedestrian and bicycle improvement
element for the corridor. This element shall include:
o Bridges solely for pedestrians and bicycles crossing the
freeway at one-quarter to one-half-mile intervals.
o Repair and improvement of existing trails, bicycle
paths, and sidewalks within the project area, including
enhanced lighting, widening, and separation from vehicle
traffic on all arterials intersecting the project and all
trails, bicycle paths, and sidewalks that connect with or
are along the Los Angeles River and adjacent tributaries.
o Neighborhood road improvements that create "bicycle
boulevards" with traffic circles, new bicycle routes
throughout the neighboring communities, and new bicycle
parking facilities.
Develop a collaborative entity with federal, state, and local
agencies and stakeholder organizations to fund and implement
the improvement of the Los Angeles River to restore it to its
natural river functions, including projects:
o Increasing, enhancing, and maintaining
recreational trails.
o Restoring and maintaining associated wetlands.
o Allowing for continuous fish migration along
the river.
o Increasing and maintaining native landscaping.
Include the following mitigation and community measures as
part of the project:
o Healthy school projects, such as streetscape
improvements, planting trees, installing air filtration
systems in school facilities, and constructing sound walls.
o Tree and streetscape projects in public and
shared spaces in neighboring communities.
o Traffic and parking mitigation measures, such as traffic
signal upgrades and traffic calming infrastructure.
Allocate $3 million per year for the life of construction of
the project to job training programs, subject to appropriation
by the Legislature.
Allocate funding from the I-710 project budget for the
SB 811 (LARA) Page 4
pedestrian and bicycle improvement projects, the Los Angeles
River projects, and all other identified mitigation measures
in this bill.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose . According to the author, this bill ensures the
communities along the I-710 receive important local benefits
necessary to mitigate freight impacts, advance sustainability,
and protect public health, including measures to enhance the
livability of neighborhoods along the corridor that have
suffered from decades of freeway-related pollution and
divestment. The proposed expansion of I-710 will have
additional adverse public health, air quality, and
quality-of-life impacts on residents throughout the corridor
and threatens to further degrade the Los Angeles River. The
author also contends that current project alternative
proposals do not include enough mitigation measures to protect
vulnerable communities adjacent to the freeway. The author
wants to not only mitigate environmental impacts of the
proposed expansion project, but also address the freeway's
current impacts on communities in the project study area.
This bill makes certain the I-710 project is completed with
the interest and safety of neighboring communities in mind and
requires Caltrans to improve, create, and implement community
benefit projects.
2.Committee policy on project bills . On April 2, 2013, the
committee approved its committee policies for the 2013-14
legislative session, which include a policy that the committee
not consider any measure containing provisions directing the
construction or funding of a specific transportation project
subject to the STIP process. The committee approved this
policy because, if the Legislature were to approve, advance,
or fund a specific project outside the STIP process, the
statewide transportation spending program would become
unbalanced and adjustments would be required. Hundreds of
projects are included in the multi-year STIP; legislative
action undermining this process could jeopardize the schedule
and funding of every project in the state.
This bill violates the committee policy on project bills. The
author, however, has agreed to substantially amend the bill
(as described below) in order for it to be heard, as long as
it continues to address the concerns raised by the bill's
proponents.
SB 811 (LARA) Page 5
3.Specifying mitigation measures is premature . As discussed
above, the CEQA process is a formulaic process that includes
public input and the analysis of multiple alternatives.
Should a lead agency not accurately follow this process, it is
open to litigation and delays, potentially having to redo some
or all of the CEQA process. This litigation and delay can end
up costing the lead agency significant sums, and when it comes
to billion-dollar projects like the I-710, the increased costs
can make pursuing the project impossible.
One way lead agencies can run into this type of trouble is to
assume the outcome of the alternative analysis ahead of time.
For example, through the environmental review of the
I-710 project, Caltrans is considering a number of alternative
solutions to the congestion problems in the corridor. Those
varying alternatives have different levels of environmental
impacts in different portions of the 18-mile route. If this
bill is enacted and Caltrans is required to take the described
environmental mitigation measures, it will open the state to
legal challenges of the approved environmental document
because it presupposes the impacts the selected project
alternative may or may not have.
4.Amending this bill . As stated above, the author has agreed to
amend this bill as long as it achieves its aim of requiring
Caltrans to legitimately weigh and act on affected
communities' input during the environmental review process and
include in the approved project proposal mitigation strategies
and community benefits described in this bill. In order to
avoid preempting the conclusion of the environmental review
process, and to deal with concerns surrounding the committee
policy on project-specific bills, the author has agreed to
remove the requirement that Caltrans develop and fund specific
aspects of the I-710 corridor project. Instead, the author
has agreed to amend the bill to require the following:
In consultation with all interested public
organizations, Caltrans will consider within the
environmental review process alternatives to address the
air quality, public health, and mobility impacts the
project will have on neighboring communities.
The final environmental document will include a
substantial investment in the identified mitigation
measures for the affected communities, including the Los
Angeles River, not to be less than 10 percent of the total
SB 811 (LARA) Page 6
project cost.
At least 90 days before approving the final
environmental document for the I-710 project, Caltrans will
submit a report to the Legislature describing the
identified mitigation measures and providing evidence of
meeting the requirements in this bill.
Other technical amendments as necessary.
Recognizing that this is the bill's first committee hearing,
the author has agreed to continue to work with committee staff
to improve the bill as it moves through the legislative
process. If the bill changes significantly, the committee
will request that Senate Rules re-refer it to be re-presented
to the committee.
1.Arguments in support . Many letters of support for this bill
were sent to the committee from local community organizations
effected by the I-710 freeway. Proponents point out that
low-income communities and communities of color - including
those that live along the I-710 corridor - are
disproportionately harmed by air, water, and noise pollution
from freeways. Studies show that toxic pollutants from
diesel, tires, and exhaust directly relate to higher
incidences of cancer, pulmonary and cardiovascular disease,
cognitive impairments, birth defects, diabetes, and other
harms. Proponents suggest Caltrans' proposal to widen I-710
to up to 14 lanes would exacerbate health and quality-of-life
impacts already borne by communities in the corridor. These
community groups just want to make certain Caltrans completes
the project with the interest and safety of neighboring
communities in mind.
POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on
Wednesday, April 24,
2013.)
SUPPORT: Asian Pacific Policy & Planning Council
Building Healthy Communities, Long Beach Steering
Committee
City of Commerce
City of Long Beach, Council District 9
Coalition for Clean Air
Communities for a Better Environment
Community Health Councils
East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice
SB 811 (LARA) Page 7
EndOil
Greater Pasadena Jews for Justice
InnerCity Struggle
Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma
Planning and Conservation League
Ruckus Society
Trust for Public Land
One individual
OPPOSED: None received.