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Draft Policies for the Bay Area’s Implementation of SB 375 ACT February 24, 2009. Ted Droettboom ABAG/BAAQMD/BCDC/MTC Joint Policy Committee. Outline. Premise: How transportation and land use affect climate change. Progress: How the Bay Area’s plans respond.
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DraftPolicies for theBay Area’s Implementation of SB 375ACTFebruary 24, 2009 Ted Droettboom ABAG/BAAQMD/BCDC/MTC Joint Policy Committee
Outline • Premise:How transportation and land use affect climate change. • Progress:How the Bay Area’s plans respond. • Prescriptions and Policies:How SB 375 changes the rules and how we propose to put it all together for the Bay Area.
Premise: Big Footprint/Big Impact • Bay Area’s impact on the globe: • Per capita carbon footprint 3 times the world average • Impact on Bay Area: • Rising sea levels • More hot, smoggy days • Vanishing Sierra snow pack; water shortages • More wild fires with particulate-matter pollution
Premise: Transportation is CriticalGreen House Gases Compared World Bay Area Transportation: 14% Transportation: 41% Sources: USEIA, BAAQMD
Premise:Location Matters 1 gallon = 20 lbs. of CO2 Don Weden
Premise:Location Matters Growing Cooler: Compared to sprawl, compact development results in a 20 to 40 percent reduction in VMT and hence in CO2
Premise: Location MattersMicro Climates Bay Area Temperature Gradient: As much as a degree per mile
Progress: Performance-based Regional Transportation Plan * Low fuel economy ** High fuel economy Target: Reduce CO2 40% below 1990 levels by 2035
Progress:Alternative Growth Patterns Change in CO2
Nearly 60 jurisdictions Over 100 areas About 400,000 new housing units by 2035 About 3% of region’s land area About 50% of projected regional growth • Priority Development Area Criteria: • In existing community • Near transit • Planning more housing • >100 acres Progress: FOCUS PDAs
Prescription:SB 375 Basics • CO2 Targets • Models • Sustainable Communities Strategy • Alternative Planning Strategy • RHNA Integration • CEQA Assistance
Prescription: CO2Targets for the Region • For 2020 and 2035 • For cars and light trucks only • Adopted by CARB by September 30, 2010 • CARB must consider methodology recommended by broad-based advisory committee (RTAC) • Regions may recommend targets
Policy:CO2Targets for the Region • Participate fully in target-setting process • Seek targets that do not limit and do challenge • Seek unambiguous and accurate metrics to assess target achievement (e.g., VMT)
Prescription:Models • New state guidelines will require that models account for: • The relationship among land-use density, automobile ownership, and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) • The impact of enhanced transit service on vehicle ownership and VMT • Induced travel and development likely to result from highway and rail expansion • Mode splits among automobile, transit, carpool, bicycle and pedestrian trips • Speed and frequency, days, and hours of operation of transit service • Models required to be usable and understandable by the public
Policy:Models • Work together to construct integrated and transparent models which facilitate technical, decision-maker and public understanding of how land-use and transportation decisions can be coordinated to reduce CO2
Prescription: Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) • Forecast development pattern, accommodating all regional housing demand • Integrated with transportation network and transportation policies and measures • To achieve, to the extent practicable, CO2 targets • While also complying with federal requirements for RTPs (i.e., realistically attainable) • Part of (2013) Regional Transportation Plan (which must be internally consistent) • Not binding on local government land-use authority
Prescription: Alternative Planning Strategy (APS) • Prepared if SCS is unable to meet targets • Like SCS, but unconstrained by Federal realism requirement • Not part of the Regional Transportation Plan • Like SCS, must be reviewed by CARB, which certifies whether targets have been met or not • Two purposes: • Provides access to CEQA assistance • Provides feedback to State on requirements for additional authorities and measures
Policy:SCS/APS • Achieve targets through the SCS • Use APS only as a last resort • Assist SCS target achievement by: • Partnering broadly • Directing TLC to PDAs no later than FY 2010-11 • Programming funds jointly • Prioritizing new funds for SCS achievement • Advocating for state incentives • Seeking reasonable realism tests • Advocating for pricing and related transportation authorities
Prescription: RHNA Integration • 8-year RHNA/Housing Element cycle, coterminous with every second Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) • RHNA must be consistent with SCS • Housing elements must be adopted 18 months after adoption of the RTP • Zoning to implement housing element (including minimum densities and development standards) must be in place within three years of adoption of housing element
Policy:RHNA Integration • Develop SCS, RTP and RHNA together through a single and integrated cross-agency work program • Report first to the JPC and then to responsible boards and commissions • Form JPC subcommittees with expanded membership to facilitate broad vetting • Reference interdependencies in all documents
Prescription: CEQA Assistance • Streamlining SCS- or APS-consistent residential or mixed-use projects • Not required to deal with growth-inducing impacts, global warming impacts, or regional transportation impacts if incorporate mitigation from previous environmental review • Do not have to propose a lower-density alternative to deal with local traffic impacts • Exempting Transit Priority Projects, subject to a number of conditions
Prescription: CEQA Assistance Conditions for TPP Exemption: Be consistent with the general use designations, density, building intensity, and other policies of the adopted and approved SCS or APS, be at least 50 percent residential and, if the project contains between 26 and 50 percent non-residential use, have an FAR of at least 0.75; provide a minimum net residential density of at least 20 units an acre; and be within ½ mile of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor (15-minutepeak-period headways). A TPP will be totally exempt from CEQA if: • It is no larger than 8 acres and not more than 200 units; • It can be served by existing utilities and has paid all applicable in-lieu and development fees; • It does not have a significant effect on historical or environmental resources (e.g. natural habitat); • It has remediated any environmental hazards to applicable standards and is not subject to significant and defined catastrophic risks; • It is not located on developed open space; • Its buildings are 15 percent more energy efficient than required by California law and it is designed to achieve 25 percent less water usage than the average household use in the region; • It does not result in the net loss of affordable housing units in the area; • It does not include any single-story building that exceeds 75,000 square feet; • It incorporates mitigation measures from previous environmental impact reports; • It does not conflict with nearby industrial uses. AND if it meets at least one of following three requirements: 1. At least 20 percent of the housing units will be sold to families of moderate income, or not less than 10 percent of the housing will be rented to families of low income, or not less than 5 percent of the housing will be rented to families of very low income AND the developer commits to the continued availability of the non-market units (55 years for rental units, 30 years for ownership units); OR 2. The developer pays in-lieu fees equivalent to costs of meeting the first requirement; OR 3. The project provides public open space equal to or greater than five acres per 1,000
Policy:CEQA Assistance • Develop a functional design for SCS, APS and associated EIR(s) to maximize appropriate and responsible CEQA relief
Policy:Regional and Interregional Alignment • Vet all regional-agency policies affecting the location and intensity of development or the location and capacity of transportation infrastructure through the JPC • Consult with neighboring regions to facilitate consistency of assumptions and policies
Our Challenge To achieve actual CO2 reductions, not just forecast results and paper plans
More Information The Joint Policy Committee www.abag.ca.gov/jointpolicy