COUNTY PROVIDES UPDATE ON VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED AND OPTIONS FOR PUBLIC INPUT
East County News Service
May 11, 2022 (San Diego) – The County of San Diego’s Planning & Development Services has prepared a revised Transportation Study Guide that establishes a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) threshold using the countywide average. It also designates which areas will or won’t need to have VMT analysis or mitigation. The actions follow a new state law, SB 743, which requires the amount of driving and length of trips – as measured by "vehicle miles traveled" or VMT – be used to assess transportation impacts on the environment for Calif. Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review.
The public has until June 13 at 4 p.m. to submit comments. Two public meetings are planned on May 24 and June 1:
Staff will be holding an in-person public meeting regarding the TSG on Tuesday, May 24, 2022 at 6PM, at the County Operations Center Chambers, 5520 Overland Avenue, San Diego, CA 92123.
Staff will be hosting a virtual meeting via Zoom on Wednesday, June 1, 2022 at 6PM:
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86979479019?pwd=RjNQVzRPM2Z5Ylljc29jc3BnWGtXUT09; Meeting ID: 869 7947 9019; Passcode: 324959.
Supervisors directed staff to identify Infill and General Plan Village areas in or near potential “transit opportunity areas” where no VMT analysis or mitigation would be required, excluding any areas designated as High and Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones. Projects located within infill areas would not have to analyze VMT or propose mitigation for VMT but would require environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for other topic areas.
The Board also directed that the previously prepared Local Mobility Analysis for discretionary projects would be used to evaluate road operations, safety, and access. This has been reduced from the previous type of traffic analysis done based on Level of Service prior to the implementation of SB 743, the law requiring VMT analysis, in that the area evaluated is limited to a few intersections around the project with the primary focus of safety and not traffic.
Stakeholders who wish to request a meeting with County staff, can contact Bruno Cavalieri at bruno.galvaocavalieri@sdcounty.ca.gov or 619-323-8864.
Following the 30-day public review period, staff will present the TSG to the Planning Commission and then return to the Board for consideration and adoption in August of this year.
For more information regarding VMT or to view the infill area maps or minute order form the Board meeting, visit SB 743
If you have any questions, or if you would like to request language services other than English or Spanish for the upcoming workshop, please contact Bruno Cavalieri at bruno.galvaocavalieri@sdcounty.ca.gov or at the following phone number: 619-323-8864.
For more information on the Transportation Study Guide, visit https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/ceqa/SB743TransportationStudyGuide2022.html.
For information on SB 743, visit https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/pds/SB743.html
Map of proposed infill options: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/dam/sdc/pds/SB743/Board%20Directed%20Infill%20Option.pdf