Regional transportation plans: sustainable communities strategies.

Existing law, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, requires the State Air Resources Board to adopt a statewide greenhouse gas emissions limit equivalent to the statewide greenhouse gas emissions levels of 1990, to be achieved by 2020, as specified. Existing law requires certain transportation planning activities by designated regional transportation planning agencies, including development of a regional transportation plan. Certain of these agencies are designated under federal law as metropolitan planning organizations. Existing law requires metropolitan planning organizations to adopt a sustainable communities strategy as part of their regional transportation plan, which is to be designed to achieve certain targets established by the State Air Resources Board for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles and light trucks in the region. Existing law, to the extent the sustainable communities strategy is unable to achieve the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, requires the affected metropolitan planning organization to prepare an alternative planning strategy showing how the targets may be achieved through alternative development patterns, infrastructure, or additional transportation measures or policies. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to review each sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy to determine its effectiveness in meeting the targets, and requires certain actions by the metropolitan planning organizations to revise the strategy if it is found not to meet the targets. This bill would provide that upon the state board's acceptance that the sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy, if implemented, will achieve the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets established by the state board, that acceptance shall be final, and no person or entity may initiate or maintain any judicial proceeding to review the propriety of the state board's acceptance. This bill would also provide that any local government entity participating in the sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy that subsequently determines that a project proposed for approval within its jurisdiction is consistent with the applicable strategy, that project shall be deemed compliant with the requirements of AB 32 of 2006 and SB 375 of 2008, and no person or entity may initiate or maintain any judicial proceeding to review the propriety of the local government entity's determination that the project is consistent with the strategy. Existing law requires the State Air Resources Board to appoint a Regional Targets Advisory Committee, consisting of representatives of various entities, to recommend factors to be considered and methodologies to be used for setting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for the regions required to prepare a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy as part of their regional transportation plan. This bill would add representatives of commercial builders, the business community, and entities involved in the funding of transportation projects to the entities to be appointed to the committee. The bill would also require a metropolitan planning organization preparing a sustainable communities strategy or an alternative planning strategy to create a business advisory committee to provide input on the potential impacts of the proposed strategy on business activities and the economy. Existing law generally requires transportation planning and programming activities by the metropolitan planning organization to be consistent with the sustainable communities strategy, with exceptions applicable to certain transportation projects programmed by December 31, 2011, including projects listed in a local sales tax measure prior to December 31, 2008. This bill would further exempt all projects funded by the Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 1B) and the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 regardless of the date of programming or construction. The bill would also exempt projects listed in a local sales tax measure prior to December 31, 2010. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) provides that a residential or mixed-use residential project that is consistent with the use designation, density, building intensity, and applicable policies for the project area in a sustainable community strategy or an alternative planning strategy and that, if implemented, achieves the greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and incorporates the mitigation measures required by an applicable prior environmental document is exempted from the requirement to reference, describe, or discuss growth inducing impacts or project specific or cumulative impacts from vehicle trips generated by the project on global warming or the regional transportation network in any findings or other determination for an exemption, a negative declaration, a mitigated negative declaration, a sustainable communities environmental assessment, an environmental impact report, or addenda prepared or adopted pursuant to CEQA. This bill would extend the applicability of the above-referenced CEQA exemption to any development project, including, but not limited to, a residential or mixed-use residential project, health facility, educational facility, retail facility, commercial job center, or transportation project. By requiring a lead agency to determine whether this exemption applies to additional projects, the bill would increase the level of service provided by a local agency, thereby imposing a state-mandated local program. Existing law provides that the above-referenced CEQA exemption does not relieve a project from a requirement to comply with any conditions, exactions, or fees for the mitigation of the project's impacts on the structure, safety, or operations of the regional transportation network or local streets and roads. This bill would provide that this exemption also does not relieve a project from a requirement to comply with any conditions, exactions, or fees for the mitigation of the project's impacts on the structure, safety, or operations of the state highway system. This bill would also state the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation to resolve conflicts between the scheduling of new housing element updates and adoption of the regional transportation plans. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.