LAAEP CEQA Seminar: Impact Analysis Under SB 743

1. City of Pasadena
CEQA Transportation Impact
Analysis under SB 743
Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP)
Los Angeles Chapter
January 29, 2015
Mike Bagheri, P.E.

2. City of Pasadena
City of Pasadena
Transportation Performance Metrics

3. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Transportation Performance Measures
• Development of New Transportation
Performance Measure
• Revised Guidelines
• Threshold for requiring Transportation Analysis
• Adopted CEQA Metrics and Thresholds
• Outside of CEQA Caps
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4. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Transportation Performance Measures
• The Mobility Element is focused on three main
policy objectives, as refined from the 2004
General Plan and extensive community input:
• Enhance livability
• Encourage walking, biking, transit, and other
alternatives to motor vehicles
• Create a supportive climate for economic viability
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5. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Past Vehicular CEQA Metrics
• Intersection Level of Service (LOS) - Volume
to capacity ratios are the primary measures.
• Street Segment Analysis - Volume-based
analysis of change in traffic on street
segments to assess impact.
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6. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Pasadena Mobility Metrics
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Former CEQA Metrics-Land Use Impact Analysis
• Intersection Level of Service (LOS)
• Street Segment Impacts
Transportation System Performance
• Average Vehicle Ridership (AVR) – TRO Goal
of 1.5 for regulated sites
• Annual ARTS Ridership
• Green City Action Plan – Urban Environmental
Accord Indicators
• Arterials average travel time & speeds

7. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
• Not-so-good reflection of
people’s real experiences
• May be producing
unintended
consequences
• Not well-aligned with
adopted policies
• Not consistent with the
vision of Land Use and
Mobility Element Update
Why consider changes to the metrics?
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8. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
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New Measures Public Review
Draft
Measures
• Transportation Advisory Commission (Feb & Mar 2014)
• Municipal Services Committee (March 2014)
• Community Meeting (March 2014)
• Planning Commission (April 2014)
Adopted
Measures
• Transportation Advisory Commission (May, June, Sep
2014)
• Planning Commission (May, June, July, Sep 2014)
• Community Meetings (June 2014)
• Municipal Services Committee (July & Oct 2014)
• City Council Adoption (December 5, 2014)

9. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Transportation Performance Measures
New Performance Measures with CEQA
Thresholds
1. Vehicle Miles Traveled Per Capita
2. Vehicle Trips Per Capita
3. Prox. & Quality of Bike Facilities
4. Prox. & Quality of Transit Facilities
5. Pedestrian Accessibility & Quality
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10. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Metrics Outside of CEQA
• Auto Level of Service (LOS)
• Street Segment Analysis
• Pedestrian Environmental Quality Index
(PEQI)
• Bicycle Environmental Quality Index (BEQI)
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11. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Revised TIS- Thresholds for Determining
Transportation Review of Projects
TYPE OF
PROJECT
EXEMPTION
Category 1:
BELOW
COMMUNITYWIDE
SIGNIFICANCE
Category 2:
COMMUNITYWIDE
SIGNIFICANCE
Residential
(Net # of
units)
10 units or less 11 – 49 units 50+ units
Non-
Residential
use(Net)
10,000 Sq. Ft or
less than 300
daily trips
10,001 to 49,999
Sq. Ft
50,000+ Sq. Ft
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Non-CEQA Analysis CEQA Analysis

12. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Adopted Metrics with CEQA Thresholds
METRIC DESCRIPTION IMPACT THRESHOLD
1. VMT Per Capita
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in the City
of Pasadena per service population
(population + jobs).
CEQA Threshold: An increase
over existing Citywide VMT per
Capita of 22.6.
2. VT Per Capita
Vehicle Trips (VT) in the City of
Pasadena per service population
(population + jobs).
CEQA Threshold: An increase
over existing Citywide VT per
Capita of 2.8.
3.
Proximity and Quality of
Bicycle Network
Percent of service population
(population + jobs) within a quarter mile
of each of bicycle facility types
CEQA Threshold: Any
decrease in existing citywide
31.7% of service population
(population + jobs) within a
quarter mile of Level 1 or 2 Bike
Facilities.
4.
Proximity and Quality of
Transit Network
Percent of service population
(population + jobs) located within a
quarter mile of transit facility types.
CEQA Threshold: Any
decrease in existing citywide
66.6% of service population
(population + jobs) within a
quarter mile of Level 1 or 2
Transit Facilities.
5. Pedestrian Accessibility
The Pedestrian Accessibility Score uses
the mix of destinations, and a network-
based walk shed to evaluate walkability
CEQA Threshold: Any
decrease in the Citywide
Pedestrian Accessibility Score12

13. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Metrics Outside of CEQA
• Consistent with provisions of SB 743
• Modified to be consistent with General Plan
goals and Mobility Element objectives
• Methodology updated to current standard
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14. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Metrics Outside of CEQA
• Auto Level of Service (LOS)
• Street Segment Analysis
• Pedestrian Environmental Quality Index
(PEQI)
• Bicycle Environmental Quality Index (BEQI)
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15. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Level of Service (LOS) Caps
Study Intersections Existing + Project
Citywide D
Transit Oriented District (TOD) E
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16. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
LOS- Transit Oriented Districts Map
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Signalized Intersections
Citywide – LOS D Cap
TOD Areas – LOS E Cap

17. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Street Segment Analysis
• Applies to Projects of Communitywide Significance
> 50,000 Square Feet and/or 50 Dwelling Units
• Analysis would be limited to “Access” and
“Neighborhood Connector” street types within a
residential context
• May be required for smaller projects at the discretion of
Director of Transportation
• Project approval conditions would be imposed on
developments based on a “Percentage net increase of
project Average Daily Traffic (ADT) over Existing ADT”
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18. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Street Segment Analysis Cap
Existing Street
Segment ADT
Project-Related Vehicular Increase In
ADT
0 to 1500 150 or more
1,501 to 3,499 10 percent or more of final ADT
3,500 or more 8 percent or more of final ADT
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19. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Pasadena Street Types Plan
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20. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
PEQI/BEQI Caps
• Pedestrian Environmental Quality Index
(PEQI)
• Bicycle Environmental Quality Index (BEQI)
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METRIC CAP
PEQI Below average Conditions
BEQI Below average conditions

21. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
AEP Conference
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22. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
City of Pasadena
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Mike Bagheri
City of Pasadena
Department of Transportation
(626) 744-7208
mbagheri@cityofpasadena.net
City of Pasadena Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines
www.cityofpasadena.net/Transportation/Transportation_Impact_Review/
Mark Yamarone
City of Pasadena
Department of Transportation
(626) 744-7474
myamarone@cityofpasadena.net

23. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Case Studies
• Projects with Completed CEQA
Documents
• Three Different Types of
Projects
• Different Areas of the City
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24. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Case Study 1
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Existing Metrics
• LOS 15 Ints. Studied – No Impacts
• 12 Segs. Analyzed – 2 impacted
880 E Colorado Blvd.
• Mixed Use TOD
• 156-room hotel
• 14,000 SF retail
• 8,000 SF personal srvcs
• 38,000 SF restaurant
• 103,000 SF office space
• 5 residential units
Exist+ProjProj.Incr

25. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Case Study 2
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865 N. Fair Oaks Ave.
• Office development
• 19,000 SF of office space
Existing Metrics
• LOS 6 Ints. Analyzed – 0
Impacts
• 1 Seg. Analyzed – 0 Impact
Exist+ProjProj.Incr

26. City of Pasadena Department of Transportation
Case Study 3
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188 S Sierra Madre Blvd.
• Residential Mixed-Use TOD
• 60 multifamily Units
Existing Metrics
• 6 Ints Analyzed – 0 Impacts
• 3 Segs. Analyzed – 0 Impacts
due to site access modification
Exist+ProjProj.Incr