Impact Criteria for Development Projects under the California Environmental Quality Act Transportation Impact analysis in LA County

Los Angeles County Traffic Study Guidelines Section 3.1.3: Impact Criteria

A project is considered to have a potentially significant VMT impact if it meets one or more of the criteria listed below. These impact criteria serve as potential thresholds for determining significance and are based on guidance from OPR and CARB. The applicability of these criteria to a specific project must be justified with substantial evidence and is not presumed to be universally appropriate.

• Residential Projects: The project's residential VMT per capita must be at least 16.8% below the existing residential VMT per capita for the Baseline Area in which the project is located (refer to Table 3.1.3-1).
• Office Projects: The project's employment VMT per employee must be at least 16.8% below the existing employment VMT per employee for the Baseline Area in which the project is located (see Table 3.1.3-1).
• Regional Serving Retail Projects: The project must not result in a net increase in existing total VMT (see Table 3.1.3-1).
• Land Use Plans: The plan’s total VMT per service population (residents and employees) must be at least 16.8% below the existing VMT per service population for the Baseline Area in which the plan is located (see Table 3.1.3-1).

For other land use types, contact Public Works to determine which of the above thresholds of significance should be utilized (see Table 3.1.3-1).

Table 3.1.3-1 provides the Baseline VMT for the North and South areas of the County at the time these guidelines were prepared. The Baseline VMT applied in the Transportation Impact Analysis should be consistent with the year that the transportation study begins as defined in the Scoping Document.

Table 3.1.3.-1 – Baseline VMT for North and South County

The geographic boundaries for the North County and South County Baseline Areas are shown in Figure 3.1.3-1.