Introduction, Background and Context
The City of Fontana Public Works Department has developed these transportation impact analysis (TIA) guidelines to provide guidance to applicants and consultants on evaluating transportation impacts for projects in Fontana. These guidelines aim to:
- Ensure evaluation consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
- Promote adherence to applicable city and state regulations.
- Maintain consistency in the preparation of studies by applicants and consultants.
- Provide predictability in content for staff and public review.
While the Fontana TIA Guidelines are comprehensive, they do not cover all aspects of every transportation analysis. Project applicants and other parties should consult with City staff through a scoping meeting before using these guidelines to analyze a project for potential transportation impacts. City staff reserve the right to apply professional engineering judgment to provide exemptions or modify requirements for specific projects during the review application.
These guidelines describe transportation analysis requirements for land development projects, transportation projects, and area plan or specific plan projects in the City of Fontana. They provide information on evaluating environmental transportation impacts under CEQA and local transportation system effects. Additionally, a detailed set of mitigation measure options is included to address both CEQA and local transportation impact considerations.
The primary purpose of this document is to guide the preparation of TIA studies in the City of Fontana, ensuring conformance with all applicable City and State regulations. This version of the Fontana TIA Guidelines is consistent with Senate Bill 743 (SB 743), incorporates guidance from Technical Advisories by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR), and lists potential mitigation measures to address CEQA and local transportation or site access impacts, following guidance from the California Air Resources Board (CARB), California Air Pollution Control Officers Association (CAPCOA), and the City of Fontana.
SB 743 Overview
Governor Brown signed SB 743 into law in 2013 to promote the reduction of greenhouse gases, development of multi-modal transportation networks, and diverse land uses. SB 743 directed OPR to identify appropriate metrics for transportation impacts under CEQA. The OPR's Technical Advisory, released in December 2018, identified Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as the preferred metric, replacing Level of Service (LOS) and other congestion-related metrics. Vehicular or auto delay is no longer considered a significant environmental transportation impact.
The California Natural Resources Agency certified and adopted CEQA Guidelines including the section implementing SB 743. By July 2020, all lead agencies must use VMT to identify impacts for land use and transportation projects under CEQA. The Office of Administrative Law has approved these changes, now in effect.
While VMT is the preferred metric for identifying significant transportation impacts under CEQA, the City of Fontana also retains LOS and other congestion-related metrics as part of local general plan policies, municipal and zoning codes, or other planning requirements to ensure the adequate operation of the transportation system regarding vehicular queueing, delay, and roadway capacity. Thus, Fontana requires both VMT-based analysis for CEQA and local transportation analysis, including congestion-related effects and corrective measures, outside CEQA.
Projects Affected by SB 743
The following types of projects are affected:
- Land Development Projects: Projects generating 250 daily trips or more and involving discretionary action require a TIA consisting of CEQA and local transportation analyses.
- Transportation Infrastructure Projects: Projects likely to induce additional VMT due to increased vehicular capacity require a TIA and local transportation analysis.
- Area / Master Plans or Specific Plan Projects: Plans covering areas beyond individual project sites generating 250 daily trips or more require TIA studies, including CEQA and local transportation analyses.
The transportation impact analysis under CEQA is based on VMT, while local transportation analysis includes intersection delay and LOS analysis to identify queueing issues, construction analysis, residential neighborhood street cut-through analysis, and site access analysis.
Implementation Overview
The updated CEQA guidelines include a new section (Section 15064.3) for assessing transportation impacts. The OPR's Technical Advisory helps lead agencies adopt the VMT-based metric. This method requires determining the total number of car trips, trip length, and mode split (car, transit, bike, scooter, walking, or combination).
Although traffic congestion is no longer the primary measure of a project's impacts under state law, the City will continue to assess how development projects affect local traffic conditions at nearby streets and intersections.
Key considerations in the state's guidance for assessing environmental impacts include:
- Conflict with plans, ordinances, or policies addressing circulation system safety or performance.
- Cause substantial additional VMT per capita or per worker.
- Substantially induce additional automobile travel by increasing physical roadway capacity in congested areas or adding new roadways to the network.
The transportation analysis framework under CEQA involves:
- Determining Baseline VMT.
- Applying VMT Screening Criteria.
- Assessing VMT Impact Thresholds.
- Identifying VMT Mitigation Strategies.
Process - Transportation Impact Analysis in the City of Fontana
To comply with SB 743 requirements, the City of Fontana has prepared the Fontana TIA Guidelines to provide guidance on conducting transportation impact analyses. This document includes:
- Transportation Study Overview: Explains the process for determining if a project requires analysis, steps to start the process, and submission requirements for transportation studies.
- CEQA Analysis Requirements: Presents requirements for conducting transportation impact CEQA analysis, including SB 743-consistent VMT analysis and impacts on pedestrians, bicyclists, transit, hazards, emergency access, and other impacts.
- Local Transportation Analysis Requirements: Outlines requirements for conducting LOS analysis, site access assessments, and other local transportation analyses for non-CEQA purposes.
Study Hiatus
If the Public Works Department reviews a TIA for a project that is modified after finalization, and extensive revisions are required, the revised project may be considered new, necessitating a new TIA and review fees. If revisions are minor, a supplemental analysis and review fees may be required. Projects without communication for over a year may be assumed inactive, requiring a new TIA and fees to reinstate.
Ministerial Projects not requiring CEQA Review
Projects not requiring CEQA transportation review but requiring a TIA per city policies should focus on impacts identified under Section 4.3, with the Public Works Department reviewing based on professional traffic engineering standards. If impacts are expected, measures to accommodate roadway users' access needs during construction will be required.
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