City Council

16.\nRESOLUTION UPDATING VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED (VMT) CRITERIA FOR\nSMALL\nPROJECT\nSCREENING\nFOR\nPURPOSES\nOF\nANALYZING\nTRANSPORTATION IMPACTS UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL\nQUALITY ACT (CEQA) AND APPROVING STUDY GUIDELINES FOR VEHICLE MILES\nTRAVELED ASSESSMENT AS WELL AS LEVEL OF SERVICE TRAFFIC IMPACT\nASSESMENT WHEN REQUIRED UNDER THE GENERAL PLAN – F2M20-44, R2M2536, M2M25-156\nOn September 27, 2013, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 743 into law changing how\ntransportation impact analysis is conducted as part of the CEQA review of projects by\neliminating Level of Service (LOS) as the basis for determining transportation impacts\nunder CEQA and requiring the use of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) instead. On June 8,\n2020, with guidance from the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG), the\nCity Council adopted Resolution No. R2M20-22 adopting VMT thresholds of significance\nfor purposes of analyzing transportation impacts under the CEQA before the new CEQA\nGuidelines section 15064.3 went into effect on July 1, 2020. On March 11, 2024, the City\nCouncil adopted Resolution No. R2M24-7 which updated VMT thresholds of significance\nbased on the Southern California Association of Governments updated 2020 Regional\nTransportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy. To reflect changes to VMT\nscreening criteria, the City of Alhambra has prepared a new “City of Alhambra\nTransportation Study Guidelines for Vehicle Miles Traveled and Level of Service\nAssessment” with a date of September 2025 (Attachment 1 – Exhibit A of the October 13,\n2025 staff report by the Director of Community Development). The proposed changes are\nbased on an updated technical memorandum sent out by the SGVCOG on August 25,\n2025 advising SGVCOG member agencies to update their 2024 Transportation Study\nGuidelines to remove Screening Criterion #3, Project Type Screening. This criterion\ncontains the “small project” screening, which is the subject of the recent court ruling\n(CNFF, et al. versus County of San Diego). Notwithstanding the shift to VMT impact\nanalysis under CEQA, LOS analysis is still required under the Mobility chapter of the\nAlhambra General Plan under certain circumstances—specifically in connection with\nprojects that could have traffic impacts at major intersections of the City.\nAdditionally, this Resolution has been assessed in accordance with the authority and\ncriteria contained in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the State CEQA\nGuidelines, and the environmental regulations of the City. The adoption of changes to\nlocal CEQA thresholds of significance for transportation impacts and the adoption of new\nLocal Transportation Assessment Guidelines will not have a significant environmental\nimpact and are exempt from the CEQA pursuant to Section 15308 of Title 14 of the\nCalifornia Code of Regulations because the actions are undertaken by the City for the\nprotection of the environment.\nRecommended Action:\nCity Council adopt Resolution No. R2M25-36 entitled: A\nResolution of the City Council of the City Of Alhambra, California, updating Vehicle Miles\nTraveled (VMT) Criteria for small project screening for purposes of analyzing\ntransportation impacts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and\nadopting the updated City of Alhambra Transportation Study Guidelines for Vehicle Miles\nTraveled (VMT) and Level of Service (LOS) Assessment updating the Vehicle Miles\nTraveled (VMT) criteria by removing Screening Criteria #3, Project Type Screening, for\npurposes of analyzing transportation impacts under the California Environmental Quality\nAct and adopting the updated City of Alhambra Transportation Study Guidelines for\nVehicle Miles Traveled and Level of Service Assessment; and, direct staff to undertake\nthe steps necessary to finalize Council’s action. (M2M25-156)