In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and City regulations, the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) may require project applicants to conduct an analysis and assessment of transportation impacts specific to their projects. The City of Los Angeles Transportation Assessment Guidelines (TAG), for Traffic Study Requirements for Development Projects, define the criteria for project review objectives and requirements. These guidelines offer instructions and set standards for the preparation of transportation assessments within the city.
In August 2019, LADOT issued an updated version of the TAG to align with the provisions of Senate Bill 743. This update aimed to incorporate changes in the CEQA guidelines as proposed by the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR), along with additional guidance provided in OPR's Technical Advisory. Furthermore, it sought consistency with and implementation of the City of Los Angeles CEQA Thresholds Guide update. During the development of this TAG version, the City also revised its Travel Demand Forecasting (TDF) Model and transportation impact thresholds to align with the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) impact methodology. This updated TAG version refines and clarifies the analysis methodologies introduced in the previous August 2019 update.
Senate Bill 743 mandated that the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) create new guidelines for evaluating transportation impacts under CEQA. These new guidelines move away from traditional measurements such as automobile delay and level of service (LOS). Instead, they focus on a transportation performance metric that promotes the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multi-modal transportation networks, and improved access to diverse land uses. OPR's proposed updates to the CEQA guidelines emphasize VMT as the primary metric for assessing a project's environmental and transportation impacts. Additionally, they clarify how a project's environmental assessment should evaluate and disclose any conflicts or inconsistencies with local plans or policies. The California Natural Resources Agency officially adopted and certified these updated CEQA Guidelines in December 2018, implementing Senate Bill 743 (Section 15064.3), which are now in effect.
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