AB 779, as amended, Cristina Garcia. Environmental quality: transit priority areas.
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 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.
CEQA requires the Office of Planning and Research to prepare and develop, and the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency to certify and adopt, proposed revisions to the guidelines for the implementation of CEQA to establish criteria for determining the significance of transportation impacts of projects within transit priority areas that, among other things, promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
This bill wouldbegin delete provide that the revised guidelines shall not be effective before July 1, 2017.end deletebegin insert authorize the Office of Planning and Research to determine that transportation impacts for residential and mixed-use projects in transit priority areas do not meet the threshold of significance.end insert
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 21099 of the Public Resources Code is
2amended to read:
(a) For purposes of this section, the following terms
4mean the following:
5(1) “Employment center project” means a project located on
6property zoned for commercial uses with a floor area ratio of no
7less than 0.75 and that is located within a transit priority area.
8(2) “Floor area ratio” means the ratio of gross building area of
9the development, excluding structured parking areas, proposed for
10the project divided by the net lot area.
11(3) “Gross building area” means the sum of all finished areas
12of all floors of a building included within the outside faces of its
13exterior
walls.
14(4) “Infill site” means a lot located within an urban area that
15has been previously developed, or on a vacant site where at least
1675 percent of the perimeter of the site adjoins, or is separated only
17by an improved public right-of-way from, parcels that are
18developed with qualified urban uses.
19(5) “Lot” means all parcels utilized by the project.
20(6) “Net lot area” means the area of a lot, excluding publicly
21dedicated land and private streets that meet local standards, and
22other public use areas as determined by the local land use authority.
23(7) “Transit priority area” means an area within one-half mile
24of a major transit stop that is existing or planned,
if the planned
25stop is scheduled to be completed within the planning horizon
26included in a Transportation Improvement Program adopted
27pursuant to Section 450.216 or 450.322 of Title 23 of the Code of
28Federal Regulations.
P3 1(b) (1) The Office of Planning and Research shall prepare,
2develop, and transmit to the Secretary of the Natural Resources
3Agency for certification and adoption proposed revisions to the
4guidelines adopted pursuant to Section 21083 establishing criteria
5for determining the significance of transportation impacts of
6projects within transit priority areas. Those criteria shall promote
7the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of
8multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity of land uses.
9In developing the criteria, the office shall recommend potential
10metrics to measure
transportation impacts that may include, but
11are not limited to, vehicle miles traveled, vehicle miles traveled
12per capita, automobile trip generation rates, or automobile trips
13generated. The office may also establish criteria for models used
14to analyze transportation impacts to ensure the models are accurate,
15reliable, and consistent with the intent of this section.
16(2) The Office of Planning and Research may determine that
17transportation impacts, including as measured by vehicle miles
18traveled, for residential and mixed-use projects in transit priority
19areas do not meet the threshold of significance.
20(2)
end delete
21begin insert(3)end insert Upon certification of the guidelines by the Secretary of the
22Natural Resources Agency pursuant to this section, automobile
23delay, as described solely by level of service or similar measures
24of vehicular capacity or traffic congestion shall not be considered
25a significant impact on the environment pursuant to this division,
26except in locations specifically identified in the guidelines, if any.
27(3)
end delete
28begin insert(4)end insert This subdivision does not relieve a public agency of
the
29requirement to analyze a project’s potentially significant
30transportation impacts related to air quality, noise, safety, or any
31other impact associated with transportation. The methodology
32established by these guidelines shall not create a presumption that
33a project will not result in significant impacts related to air quality,
34noise, safety, or any other impact associated with transportation.
35Notwithstanding the foregoing, the adequacy of parking for a
36project shall not support a finding of significance pursuant to this
37section.
38(4)
end delete
39begin insert(5)end insert This subdivision does not preclude the
application of local
40general plan policies, zoning codes, conditions of approval,
P4 1thresholds, or any other planning requirements pursuant to the
2police power or any other authority.
3(5) The revised
guidelines adopted pursuant to paragraph (1)
4shall not be effective before July 1, 2017.
5(c) (1) The Office of Planning and Research may adopt
6guidelines pursuant to Section 21083 establishing alternative
7metrics to the metrics used for traffic levels of service for
8transportation impacts outside transit priority areas. The alternative
9metrics may include the retention of traffic levels of service, where
10appropriate and as determined by the office.
11(2) This subdivision shall not affect the standard of review that
12would apply to the new guidelines adopted pursuant to this section.
13(d) (1) Aesthetic and parking impacts of a residential, mixed-use
14residential, or employment center
project on an infill site within
15a transit priority area shall not be considered significant impacts
16on the environment.
17(2) (A) This subdivision does not affect, change, or modify the
18authority of a lead agency to consider aesthetic impacts pursuant
19to local design review ordinances or other discretionary powers
20provided by other laws or policies.
21(B) For the purposes of this subdivision, aesthetic impacts do
22not include impacts on historical or cultural resources.
23(e) This section does not affect the authority of a public agency
24to establish or adopt thresholds of significance that are more
25protective of the environment.
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