HomeMy WebLinkAboutAdopt Resolution No. 2020-43 supporting the delay of the im City of Huntington Beach
File #: 20-1690 MEETING DATE: 6/15/2020
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Oliver Chi, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Ursula Luna-Reynosa, Director of Community Development
Subject:
Adopt Resolution No. 2020-43 supporting the delay of the implementation of Title 14 of the
California Code of Regulations, Section 15064.3 (Vehicle Miles Traveled CEQA Analysis)
Statement of Issue:
This resolution would indicate the City Council's support for a one-year delay of the new California
Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) transportation impact analysis (Vehicle Miles Traveled)
requirements that are set to take effect on July 1, 2020. Because implementation of the new
requirements would pose significant challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and require
substantial costs and staff resources, there is a statewide effort to urge Governor Newsom to delay
implementation. If the City Council adopts the recommended action, Huntington Beach would join
the Orange County Transportation Authority, the Orange County Council of Governments, and many
members of the California State Legislature in supporting the delay.
Financial Impact:
Not applicable.
Recommended Action:
Adopt Resolution No. 2020-43, "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach
Requesting that the Governor of California Delay Implementation of Title 14 of the California Code of
Regulations, Section 15064.3 (Vehicle Miles Traveled - CEQA Analysis)."
Alternative Action(s):
Do not adopt Resolution No. 2020-43, and direct staff accordingly.
Analysis:
In 2013, Governor Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 743 (Steinberg, 2013), which created a process to
change the way that transportation impacts are analyzed under CEQA. Specifically, SB 743 required
the Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to amend the CEQA guidelines to provide an
alternative to Level of Service for evaluating transportation impacts. Particularly within areas served
by transit, those alternative criteria must "promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the
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File #: 20-1690 MEETING DATE: 6/15/2020
development of multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity of land uses." Essentially, SB
743 shifts the focus of transportation impact analysis in CEQA from measuring the impact to the
driver, to measuring the impact of driving. The metric for evaluating a project's impacts shifts from
vehicle delay (measured by how an intersection performs) to reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT).
OPR completed amendments to the CEQA guidelines in December 2018, and the Natural Resources
Agency adopted them in January 2019. Local city and county lead agencies are required to begin
implementing VMT analysis starting July 1, 2020.
Given the current COVID-19 public health crisis and ensuing economic crisis, a major shift in
evaluating transportation impacts in CEQA documents would likely contribute to furthering financial
hardships that have already hit both the public and private sectors. Project proponents in all industry
sectors will have to navigate the economic recovery with the added cost burdens associated with
hiring technical experts and implementing mitigation measures, such as costly project changes and
mitigation fees. In addition, lead agencies are facing staffing and budget constraints that would make
it difficult to implement the new requirements and ensure the legal defensibility of CEQA documents,
which could result in additional costs and time for project proponents and lead agencies.
Due to these factors, many government and private industry leaders are requesting that Governor
Newsom delay implementation of the new regulations. The attached resolution requests that the
Governor delay implementation of VMT requirements for a period of one year, starting July 1, 2021 .
If the Governor does not delay implementation of VMT, the City will begin implementing the new
requirements for all projects subject to CEQA starting July 1 , 2020.
Environmental Status:
The adoption of Resolution No. 2020-43, which supports the delay of implementation of VMT
analysis for projects subject to CEQA, is an administrative activity having no potential to result in a
direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change to the environment. As such, this action is
not a project as defined in Section 15378 of the CEQA guidelines, and no further environmental
analysis is required.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Non-Applicable - Administrative Item
Attachment(s):
1. Resolution No. 2020-43, "A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach
Requesting that the Governor of California Delay Implementation of Title 14 of the California.Code
of Regulations, Section 15064.3 (Vehicle Miles Traveled - CEQA Analysis)"
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RESOLUTION NO. 2020-43
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH REQUESTING THAT THE GOVERNOR OF
CALIFORNIA DELAY IMPLEMENTATION OF TITLE 14 OF THE CALIFORNIA CODE
OF REGULATIONS, SECTION 15064.3
(VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED CEQA ANALYSIS)
WHEREAS, on January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared
COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and on January 31, 2020, the
United States Secretary of Health and Human Services declared a Public Health Emergency; and
On March 4, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a State of Emergency to
make additional resources available, formalize emergency actions already underway across
multiple state agencies and departments,and help the state prepare for a broader spread of COVID-
19; and
The City of Huntington Beach is experiencing a decline in revenues and unanticipated
COVID-19 expenses have been incurred including expenses related to disinfection of public
facilities, purchase of personal protective equipment, new technology for remote operations,
increased public safety costs (including overtime), increased personnel costs (including overtime),
purchasing supplies for residents and financial support to residents and businesses; and
The City of Huntington Beach is required by a new state regulation (Title 14 of the
California Code of Regulations, section 15064.3) to adopt a threshold of significance under the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) making the act of driving one mile by a car or
pickup truck (even an electric car) by all future resident, visitor, vendor or employee to the new
housing, commercial or other projects an environmental "impact"under CEQA; and
State VMT regulations allow cities and counties to establish a"threshold of significance"
for determining how much VMT is a"significant' CEQA impact that requires projects to pay for
20-8660/230376 1
Resolution No. 2020-43
VMT mitigation, and different state agencies have conflicting recommendations for when and
whether a VMT impact is "significant"under CEQA; and
Mitigation for VMT under CEQA must result in reductions of VMT to reduce project VMT
to levels that are less than "significant," but car travel remains a necessity for the overwhelming
majority of Huntington Beach residents and employees who do not use public transit, or bike or
walk to work, and instead rely on a car to complete essential tasks including getting.to work,
acquiring necessary goods such as foods, and obtaining medical care; and
The COVID-19 pandemic is resulting in dramatic changes in transportation patterns such
as the expansion of working from home, learning from home, and even receiving medical care
from home via remote communication technologies, as well as 90% decreases in public transit
ridership based on social distancing and related health priorities;
The state agency adopting the VMT Guidelines strongly recommends imposition of a
regional "VMT Fee" (e.g., to fund bus passes or bike sharing services) on new projects to
"mitigate"VMT impacts; and
Notwithstanding the fact that this state agency has proposed this VMT CEQA expansion
for more than six years, no such VMT Fee mitigation program exists, and funding for the
establishment of a regional VMT program has been proposed but not approved and no work on a
VMT mitigation fee program has been completed by the Southern California Association of
Governments for the region; and
Conflicting significant significance threshold recommendations from state agencies, and
the absence of any feasible existing VMT Fee mitigation program, creates significant legal
uncertainties about how the city will be required to implement CEQA as of July 1; and
Defending CEQA lawsuits consumes City time and resources, and the City is responding
to urgent COVID-19 emergencies and the new unemployment crisis and loss of household income
as well as tax revenues and fees; and
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Resolution No. 2020-43
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach does hereby
resolve as follows:
SECTION 1: That the City of Huntington Beach hereby requests that Governor Newsom
extend the implementation date of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations, section 15064.3
until July 1, 2021.
SECTION 2: The Director of Community Development is hereby directed to transmit this
resolution to Governor Newsom immediately upon adoption.
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach at a
regular meeting thereof held on the 15th day of June , 2020.
ay
IE ND PPR D: AP ROVED AS TO FORM:
anager FCC ttorney
INITIATED AND APPROVED:
c
Director of Community Development
20-8660/230376 3
Res. No. 2020-43
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss:
CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH )
I, ROBIN ESTANISLAU, the duly elected, qualified City Clerk of the
City of Huntington Beach, and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council of said City, do
hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council of the City of
Huntington Beach is seven; that the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted
by the affirmative vote of at least a majority of all the members of said City Council
at a Regular meeting thereof held on June 15, 2020 by the following vote:
AYES: Posey, Delgleize, Hardy, Semeta, Peterson, Carr, Brenden
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
RECUSE: None
City Clerk and ex-officio Clerk of the
City Council of the City of
Huntington Beach, California