Amended
IN
Assembly
March 26, 2015 |
Introduced by Assembly Member Bloom |
February 27, 2015 |
Existing
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a)Although California’s economy is critically dependent upon transportation, its current transportation system relies primarily upon a street and highway system designed to accommodate far fewer vehicles than are currently using the system.
(b)California’s transportation system is characterized by fragmented planning, both among jurisdictions involved and among the means of available transport.
(c)The lack of an integrated system and the increase in the number of vehicles are causing traffic congestion that each day results in 400,000 hours lost in traffic, 200 tons of pollutants released into the air we breathe, and three million one hundred thousand dollars ($3,100,000) added costs to the motoring public.
(d)To keep California moving, all methods and means of transport between major destinations must be coordinated to connect our vital economic and population centers.
(e)In order to develop the California economy to its full potential, it is intended that federal, state, and local agencies join with transit districts, business, private and environmental interests to develop and implement comprehensive strategies needed to develop appropriate responses to transportation needs.
(f)In addition to solving California’s traffic congestion crisis, rebuilding California’s cities and suburbs, particularly with affordable housing and more walkable neighborhoods, is an important part of accommodating future increases in the state’s population because homeownership is only now available to most Californians who are on the fringes of metropolitan areas and far from employment centers.
(g)The Legislature intends to do everything within its power to remove regulatory barriers around the development of infill housing, transit-oriented development, and mixed use commercial development in order to reduce regional traffic congestion and provide more housing choices for all Californians.
(h)The removal of regulatory barriers to promote infill housing, transit-oriented development, or mixed use commercial development does not preclude a city or county from holding a public hearing nor finding that an individual infill project would be adversely impacted by the surrounding environment or transportation patterns.
(b)“Bus rapid transit corridor” means a bus service that includes at least four of the following attributes:
(1)Coordination with land use planning.
(2)Exclusive right-of-way.
(3)Improved passenger boarding facilities.
(4)Limited stops.
(5)Passenger boarding at the same height as the bus.
(6)Prepaid fares.
(7)Real-time passenger information.
(8)Traffic priority at intersections.
(9)Signal priority.
(10)Unique vehicles.
(c)
(d)
(e)“Infill opportunity zone” means a
specific area designated by a city or county, pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 65088.4, that is within one-half mile of a major transit stop or high-quality transit corridor included in a regional transportation plan. A major transit stop is as defined in Section 21064.3 of the Public Resources Code, except that, for purposes of this section, it also includes major transit stops that are included in the applicable regional transportation plan. For purposes of this section, a high-quality transit corridor means a corridor with fixed route bus service with service intervals no longer than 15 minutes during peak commute hours.
(f)“Interregional travel” means any trips that originate outside the boundary of the agency. A “trip” means a one-direction vehicle movement. The origin of any trip is the starting point of that trip. A roundtrip consists of two individual trips.
(g)“Level of service standard” is a threshold that defines a deficiency on the congestion management program highway and roadway system which requires the preparation of a deficiency plan. It is the intent of the Legislature that the agency shall use all elements of the program to implement strategies and actions that avoid the creation of deficiencies and to improve multimodal mobility.
(h)
(i)“Multimodal” means the utilization of all available modes of travel that enhance the movement of people and goods, including, but not limited to, highway, transit, nonmotorized, and demand management strategies including, but not limited to, telecommuting. The availability and practicality of specific multimodal systems, projects, and strategies may vary by county and region in accordance with the size and
complexity of different urbanized areas.
(j)
(k) “Performance measure” is an analytical planning tool that is used to quantitatively evaluate transportation improvements and to assist in determining effective implementation actions, considering all modes and strategies. Use of a performance measure as part of the program does not trigger the requirement for the preparation of deficiency plans.
(l )
(m)
(a)It is the intent of the Legislature to balance the need for level of service standards for traffic with the need to build infill housing and mixed use commercial developments within walking distance of mass transit facilities, downtowns, and town centers and to provide greater flexibility to local governments to balance these sometimes competing needs.
(b)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, level of service standards described in Section 65089 shall not apply to the streets and highways within an infill opportunity zone.
(c)The city or county may designate an infill opportunity zone by adopting a
resolution after determining that the infill opportunity zone is consistent with the general plan and any applicable specific plan, and is a transit priority area within a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy adopted by the applicable metropolitan planning organization.
(1)(A)Traffic level of service standards established for a system of highways and roadways designated by the agency. The highway and roadway system shall include at a minimum all state highways and principal arterials. No highway or roadway designated as a part of the system shall be removed from the system. All new state highways and principal arterials shall be designated as part of the system, except when it is within an infill opportunity zone. Level of service (LOS) shall be measured by Circular 212, by the most recent version of the Highway Capacity Manual, or by a uniform methodology adopted by the agency that is consistent with the Highway Capacity Manual. The determination as to whether an alternative method is consistent with the Highway Capacity Manual shall be made by the regional agency, except that the department instead shall make this determination if either (i) the regional agency is also the agency, as those terms are defined in Section 65088.1, or (ii) the department is responsible for preparing the regional transportation improvement plan for the county.
(B)In no case shall the LOS standards established be below the level of service E or the current level, whichever is farthest from level of service A except when the area is in an infill opportunity zone. When the LOS on a segment or at an intersection fails to attain the established level of service standard outside an infill opportunity zone, a deficiency plan shall be adopted pursuant to Section 65089.4.
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(a)Consistency with levels
of service standards, except as provided in Section 65089.4.
(b)Adoption and implementation of a program to analyze the impacts of land use decisions, including the estimate of the costs associated with mitigating these impacts.
(c)Adoption and implementation of a deficiency plan pursuant to Section 65089.4 when highway and roadway level of service standards are not maintained on portions of the designated system.
(a)A local jurisdiction shall prepare a deficiency plan when highway or roadway level of service standards are not maintained on segments or intersections of the designated system. The deficiency plan shall be adopted by the city or county at a noticed public hearing.
(b)The agency shall calculate the impacts subject to exclusion pursuant to subdivision (f) of this section, after consultation with the regional agency, the department, and the local air quality management district or air pollution control district. If the calculated traffic level of service following exclusion of these impacts is consistent with the level of service standard, the agency shall make a finding at a publicly noticed meeting that no deficiency plan is required and so notify the affected local jurisdiction.
(c)The agency shall be responsible for preparing and adopting procedures for local deficiency plan development and implementation responsibilities, consistent with the requirements of this section. The deficiency plan shall include all of the following:
(1)An analysis of the cause of the deficiency. This analysis shall include the following:
(A)Identification of the cause of the deficiency.
(B)Identification of the impacts of those local jurisdictions within the jurisdiction of the agency that contribute to the deficiency. These impacts shall be identified only if the calculated traffic level of service following exclusion of impacts pursuant to subdivision (f) indicates that the level of service standard has not been maintained, and shall be limited to impacts not subject to exclusion.
(2)A list of improvements necessary for the deficient segment or intersection to maintain the minimum level of service otherwise required and the estimated costs of the improvements.
(3)A list of improvements, programs, or actions, and estimates of costs, that will (A) measurably improve multimodal performance, using measures defined in paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 65089, and (B) contribute to significant improvements in air quality, such as improved public transit service and facilities, improved nonmotorized transportation facilities, high occupancy vehicle facilities, parking cash-out programs, and transportation control measures. The air quality management district or the air pollution control district shall establish and periodically revise a list of approved improvements, programs, and actions that meet the scope of this paragraph. If an improvement, program, or action on the approved list has not been fully implemented, it shall be deemed to contribute to significant improvements in air quality. If an improvement, program, or action is not on the approved list, it shall not be implemented unless approved by the local air quality management district or air pollution control district.
(4)An action plan, consistent with the provisions of Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 66000), that shall be implemented, consisting of improvements identified in paragraph (2), or improvements, programs, or actions identified in paragraph (3), that are found by the agency to be in the interest of the public health, safety, and welfare. The action plan shall include a specific implementation schedule. The action plan shall include implementation strategies for those jurisdictions that have contributed to the cause of the deficiency in accordance with the agency’s deficiency plan procedures. The action plan need not mitigate the impacts of any exclusions identified in subdivision (f). Action plan strategies shall identify the most effective implementation strategies for improving current and future system performance.
(d)A local jurisdiction shall forward its adopted deficiency plan to the agency within 12 months of the identification of a deficiency. The agency shall hold a noticed public hearing within 60 days of receiving the deficiency plan. Following that hearing, the agency shall either accept or reject the deficiency plan in its entirety, but the agency may not modify the deficiency plan. If the agency rejects the plan, it shall notify the local jurisdiction of the reasons for that rejection, and the local jurisdiction shall submit a revised plan within 90 days addressing the agency’s concerns. Failure of a local jurisdiction to comply with the schedule and requirements of this section shall be considered to be nonconformance for the purposes of Section 65089.5.
(e)The agency shall incorporate into its deficiency plan procedures, a methodology for determining if deficiency impacts are caused by more than one local jurisdiction within the boundaries of the agency.
(1)If, according to the agency’s methodology, it is determined that more than one local jurisdiction is responsible for causing a deficient segment or intersection, all responsible local jurisdictions shall participate in the development of a deficiency plan to be adopted by all participating local jurisdictions.
(2)The local jurisdiction in which the deficiency occurs shall have lead responsibility for developing the deficiency plan and for coordinating with other impacting local jurisdictions. If a local jurisdiction responsible for participating in a multi-jurisdictional deficiency plan does not adopt the deficiency plan in accordance with the schedule and requirements of paragraph (a) of this section, that jurisdiction shall be considered in nonconformance with the program for purposes of Section 65089.5.
(3)The agency shall establish a conflict resolution process for addressing conflicts or disputes between local jurisdictions in meeting the multi-jurisdictional deficiency plan responsibilities of this section.
(f)The analysis of the cause of the deficiency prepared pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (c) shall exclude the following:
(1)Interregional travel.
(2)Construction, rehabilitation, or maintenance of facilities that impact the system.
(3)Freeway ramp metering.
(4)Traffic signal coordination by the state or multi-jurisdictional agencies.
(5)Traffic generated by the provision of low-income and very low income housing.
(6)(A)Traffic generated by high-density residential development located within one-fourth mile of a fixed rail passenger station, and
(B)Traffic generated by any mixed use development located within one-fourth mile of a fixed rail passenger station, if more than half of the land area, or floor area, of the mixed use development is used for high density residential housing, as determined by the agency.
(g)For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the following meanings:
(1)“High density” means residential density development which contains a minimum of 24 dwelling units per acre and a minimum density per acre which is equal to or greater than 120 percent of the maximum residential density allowed under the local general plan and zoning ordinance. A project providing a minimum of 75 dwelling units per acre shall automatically be considered high density.
(2)“Mixed use development” means development which integrates compatible commercial or retail uses, or both, with residential uses, and which, due to the proximity of job locations, shopping opportunities, and residences, will discourage new trip generation.
The study steering committee established pursuant to Section 6 of Chapter 444 of the Statutes of 1992 may designate at least two congestion management agencies to participate in a demonstration study comparing multimodal performance standards to highway level of service standards. The department shall make available, from existing resources, fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) from the Transportation Planning and Development Account in the State Transportation Fund to fund each of the demonstration projects. The designated agencies shall submit a report to the Legislature not later than June 30, 1997, regarding the findings of each demonstration project.