In a special joint session of BIA|Bay Area’s East and South Bay regional policy committees, experts outlined a pending change in the way local agencies will analyze traffic impacts and how the shift will impact the homebuilding industry. Starting July 1, California cities and counties must measure traffic impacts for the purposes of CEQA analysis using a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) matrix rather than Level Of Service or LOS. The shift will likely lead to higher mitigation costs in many communities as developers will be required to reduce VMT through a variety of methods including fees, transit subsidies and bicycle or pedestrian facilities. Click HERE to download an overview of the regulatory shift required under SB743. Click HERE to view a slide presentation by Fehr & Peers representative Ian Barnes. To view the Zoom conference call held on May 20, 2020, request the link and password from BIA’s LIsa Vorderbrueggen at lvorderbrueggen@biabayarea.org.
