HomeMy WebLinkAboutAppendix N.2 - Vehicle Miles Traveled
13682-03 VMT.docx
December 15, 2021
Mr. David Ornelas
T&B Planning
3200 El Camino Real, Suite 100
Irvine, CA 92602
SUBJECT: BIRTCHER LOGISTICS CENTER VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED (VMT) SCREENING EVALUATION
Dear Mr. David Ornelas:
The following VMT Analysis has been prepared for the proposed Birtcher Logistics Center development
(Project), which is located on the southwest corner of Santa Ana Ave and Banana Ave in the City of
Fontana.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
It is our understanding that the Project site is located in the existing Southwest Industrial Park (SWIP)
Specific Plan and consists of 341,838 square feet of warehousing use (of which 20% will be evaluated
assuming high-cube cold storage use and 80% of warehousing use). (See Attachment A)
BACKGROUND
Changes to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines were adopted in December 2018,
which require all lead agencies to adopt VMT as a replacement for automobile delay-based level of
service (LOS) as the new measure for identifying transportation impacts for land use projects. This
statewide mandate went into effect July 1, 2020. To aid in this transition, the Governor’s Office of
Planning and Research (OPR) released a Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in
CEQA (December of 2018) (Technical Advisory) (1). Based on OPR’s Technical Advisory, specific
procedures for complying with the new CEQA requirements for VMT analysis, the City of Fontana
adopted Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines for Vehicle Miles Traveled and Level of Service Assessment
(City Guidelines) (2), which documents the City’s VMT analysis methodology and approved impact
thresholds. The VMT screening evaluation presented in this report has been developed based on the
adopted City Guidelines.
PROJECT SCREENING
The City Guidelines describe specific screening criteria that can be used to identify when a proposed land
use project is anticipated to result in a less than significant impact without conducting a more detailed
project level VMT analysis. Screening thresholds are described in the following four steps:
Mr. David Ornelas
T&B Planning
December 15, 2021
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• Step 1: Transit Priority Area (TPA) Screening
• Step 2: Low VMT Area Screening
• Step 3: Low Project Type Screening
• Step 4: Project net daily trips less than 500 ADT
Consistent with City Guidelines, a land use project needs only to satisfy one of the above screening
thresholds to result in a less than significant impact.
For the purposes of this analysis, the initial VMT screening process has been conducted with the SBCTA
VMT Screening Tool (Screening Tool), which uses screening criteria consistent with the screening
thresholds recommended in the Technical Advisory and City Guidelines.
STEP 1: TPA SCREENING
Consistent with guidance identified in the City Guidelines, projects located within a Transit Priority Area
(TPA) (i.e., within ½ mile of an existing “major transit stop”1 or an existing stop along a “high-quality
transit corridor”2) may be presumed to have a less than significant impact absent substantial evidence
to the contrary. However, the presumption may not be appropriate if a project:
• Has a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of less than 0.75;
• Includes more parking for use by residents, customers, or employees of the project than required by the
jurisdiction (if the jurisdiction requires the project to supply parking);
• Is inconsistent with the applicable Sustainable Communities Strategy (as determined by the lead agency,
with input from the Metropolitan Planning Organization); or
• Replaces affordable residential units with a smaller number of moderate- or high-income residential units.
Based on the Screening Tool results presented in Attachment A, the Project site is not located within ½
mile of an existing major transit stop, or along a high-quality transit corridor.
TPA screening criteria is not met.
STEP 2: LOW VMT AREA SCREENING
As noted in the City Guidelines, “Residential and office projects located within a low VMT-generating
area may be presumed to have a less than significant impact absent substantial evidence to the contrary.
In addition, other employment-related and mixed-use land use projects may qualify for the use of
1 Pub. Resources Code, § 21064.3 (“‘Major transit stop’ means a site containing an existing rail transit station, a ferry
terminal served by either a bus or rail transit service, or the intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency
of service interval of 15 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods.”).
2 Pub. Resources Code, § 21155 (“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.”).
Mr. David Ornelas
T&B Planning
December 15, 2021
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13682-03 VMT.docx
screening if the project can reasonably be expected to generate VMT per resident, per worker, or per
service population that is similar to the existing land uses in the low VMT area.” 3 The Screening Tool
uses the sub-regional San Bernardino County Transportation Analysis Model (SBTAM) to measure VMT
performance within San Bernardino County for individual traffic analysis zones (TAZ’s) within each city.
The Project’s physical location based on APN is input into the Screening Tool to determine the VMT
generated within the respective TAZ as compared to the jurisdictional average inclusive of a particular
threshold (i.e., 15% below baseline County of San Bernardino VMT per service population). Based on the
Screening Tool results, the Project is not located within a low VMT generating zone as compared to the
City’s adopted threshold of 15% below baseline County of San Bernardino VMT per service population.
(See Attachment A).
Low VMT Area screening criteria is not met.
STEP 3: LOW PROJECT TYPE SCREENING
The City Guidelines identify that local serving retail with buildings less than 50,000 square feet or other
local serving essential services (e.g., day care centers, public schools, medical/dental office buildings,
etc.) are presumed to have a less than significant impact absent substantial evidence to the contrary.
The proposed Project is not considered a local serving use based on the examples provided in the City
Guidelines.4
Low Project Type screening criteria is not met.
STEP 4: PROJECT NET DAILY TRIPS LESS THAN 500 ADT SCREENING
Projects that generate fewer than 500 net average daily trips (ADT) (stated in actual vehicles) are deemed
to not cause a substantial increase in the total citywide or regional VMT and are therefore presumed to
have a less than significant impact on VMT. Substantial evidence in support of this daily trip threshold is
documented in the City Guidelines.5 The City Guidelines state, “The screening criteria trip limit is based
on net trip generation after considering pass-by, internal capture, affordable housing, and/or existing
land use trips.” The trip generation rates used for this analysis are based on the trip generation statistics
published in the Institute of Transportation Engineer (ITE) Trip Generation Manual (11th Edition, 2021).
(3)
The Project site is located within the Jurupa North Research and Development District (West) (JND) of
the SWIP. The JND has proposed to provide opportunities for small business development which would
allow a mixture of various types of development including, but not limited to, light industrial,
warehousing, logistics-based warehousing, office, flex tech, research and development, and service
commercial. This area is also envisioned to provide community serving commercial uses in addition to
3 City Guidelines; Page 12.
4 City Guidelines; Page 13.
5 City Guidelines; Appendix B.
Mr. David Ornelas
T&B Planning
December 15, 2021
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the industrial uses, such as grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, etc. The JND is generally bounded
by Mulberry Avenue to the west, Santa Ana to the north, Jurupa Avenue to the south, and Citrus Avenue
to the east. The SWIP included the development of approximately 1,344,901 square feet of light
industrial use, 478,407 square feet of office use, 847,485 square feet of service commercial use (office
park), 338,994 square feet of live-work use, and 338,994 square feet of flex tech research and
development use within the JND West area. As shown in Attachment C, the SWIP Project Traffic Analysis
(prepared by RBF Consulting, September 29, 2011) concluded that the JND (West) area would generate
2,990 trips per day, with 427 trips generated during the AM peak hour and 404 trips generated during
the PM peak hour. A trip generation rate for uses within the JND (West) has been developed by dividing
the trip generation by the proposed 3,348,781 square feet of future development. As such, based on the
trip generation rates for the currently approved uses within the JND (West), the Project is anticipated to
generate 916 trips per day, with 67 trips generated during the AM peak hour and 74 trips generated
during the PM peak hour. Thus, the Projects results in a net decrease of 2,074 daily vehicle trips.
Therefore, would not exceed the City’s screening threshold of 500 ADT.
Project net daily trips less than 500 ADT screening criteria is met.
CONCLUSION
Based on our findings, the Project was found to reduce the daily vehicle trips by 2,374 as compared to
the approved SWIP specific plan in the JND (West) area. Therefore, the Project would meet the project
net daily trips less than 500 ADT screening criteria. Meeting the daily trip screening criteria would result
in a less than significant impact for VMT; no further VMT analysis required.
If you have any questions, please contact me directly at 949-660-1994.
Respectfully submitted,
URBAN CROSSROADS, INC.
Alexander So
Senior Analyst
Mr. David Ornelas
T&B Planning
December 15, 2021
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13682-03 VMT.docx
REFERENCES
1. Office of Planning and Research. Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA.
State of California : s.n., December 2018.
2. City of Fontana Traffic Engineering Division. Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines for Vehicle Miles
Traveled and Level of Service Assessment. City of Fontana : s.n., October 2020.
3. Institute of Transportation Engineers. Trip Generation Manual. 11th Edition. 2021.
13682-03 VMT.docx
ATTACHMENT A
PRELIMINARY SITE PLAN
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ATTACHMENT B
SBCTA SCREENING TOOL
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ATTACHMENT C
PROJECT TRIP GENERATION
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TABLE 1: TRIP GENERATION RATES
ITE LU AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour
Land Use1 Units2 Code In Out Total In Out Total
Actual Vehicle Trip Generation Rates:
Warehousing3 TSF 150 0.131 0.039 0.170 0.050 0.130 0.180 1.710
Passenger Cars 0.114 0.034 0.148 0.043 0.110 0.153 1.248
2-Axle Trucks 0.003 0.001 0.004 0.001 0.003 0.005 0.077
3-Axle Trucks 0.004 0.001 0.005 0.002 0.004 0.006 0.096
4+-Axle Trucks 0.011 0.003 0.014 0.005 0.012 0.017 0.289
High-Cube Cold Storage Warehouse3 TSF 157 0.085 0.025 0.110 0.032 0.088 0.120 2.120
Passenger Cars 0.062 0.018 0.080 0.025 0.067 0.092 1.378
2-Axle Trucks 0.008 0.002 0.010 0.003 0.007 0.010 0.257
3-Axle Trucks 0.003 0.001 0.003 0.001 0.002 0.003 0.082
4+-Axle Trucks 0.012 0.004 0.016 0.004 0.011 0.015 0.403
Passenger Car Equivalent (PCE) Trip Generation Rates:4
Warehousing3 TSF 150 0.131 0.039 0.170 0.050 0.130 0.180 1.710
Passenger Cars 0.114 0.034 0.148 0.043 0.110 0.153 1.248
2-Axle Trucks (PCE = 2.0)0.006 0.002 0.007 0.003 0.006 0.009 0.154
3-Axle Trucks (PCE = 2.5)0.009 0.003 0.011 0.004 0.010 0.014 0.239
4+-Axle Trucks (PCE = 3.0)0.032 0.010 0.042 0.014 0.037 0.051 0.867
High-Cube Cold Storage Warehouse3 TSF 157 0.085 0.025 0.110 0.032 0.088 0.120 2.120
Passenger Cars 0.062 0.018 0.080 0.025 0.067 0.092 1.378
2-Axle Trucks (PCE = 2.0)0.016 0.005 0.021 0.005 0.014 0.019 0.515
3-Axle Trucks (PCE = 2.5)0.006 0.002 0.008 0.002 0.006 0.008 0.204
4+-Axle Trucks (PCE = 3.0)0.037 0.011 0.048 0.012 0.033 0.045 1.209
1 Trip Generation Source: Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Trip Generation Manual, Eleventh Edition (2021).
2 TSF = thousand square feet
3 Vehicle Mix Source: ITE Trip Generation Handbook Supplement (2020), Appendix C.
Truck Mix: South Coast Air Quality Management District’s (SCAQMD) recommended truck mix, by axle type.
Normalized % - Without Cold Storage: 16.7% 2-Axle trucks, 20.7% 3-Axle trucks, 62.6% 4-Axle trucks.
Normalized % - With Cold Storage: 34.7% 2-Axle trucks, 11.0% 3-Axle trucks, 54.3% 4-Axle trucks.
4 PCE factors per City's Guidelines: 2-axle = 2.0; 3-axle = 2.5; 4+-axle = 3.0.
Daily
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TABLE 2: SWIP TRIP GENERATION SUMMARY
Land Use Quantity Units1 In Out Total In Out Total Daily
Jurupa North Research and Development District (West)
JND (West)3,348.781 TSF
Total Trip Generation2 3,699 515 4,214 537 3,409 3,946 29,278
JND (West)TSF
Trip Generation Rate 1.10 0.15 1.25 0.16 1.02 1.18 8.74
Proposed Project Trip Generation:
JND (West)341.838 TSF
376 51 427 55 349 404 2,990
1 TSF = thousand square feet
2 Source: SWIP Project Traffic Analysis, RBF Consulting, September 29, 2011.
AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour
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TABLE 3: PROJECT TRIP GENERATION SUMMARY
Land Use Quantity Units1 In Out Total In Out Total Daily
Actual Vehicles:
Warehousing (80%)273.470 TSF
Passenger Cars: 31 9 40 12 30 42 342
2-axle Trucks: 1 0 1 0 1 1 22
3-axle Trucks: 1 0 1 0 1 1 26
4+-axle Trucks: 3 1 4 1 3 4 80
Total Trucks:5 1 6 1 5 6 128
Total Trips (Actual Vehicles)2 36 10 46 13 35 48 470
High-Cube Cold Storage Warehouse (20%)68.368 TSF
Passenger Cars: 4 1 5 2 5 7 94
2-axle Trucks: 1 0 1 0 0 0 18
3-axle Trucks: 0 0 0 0 0 0 6
4+-axle Trucks: 1 0 1 0 1 1 28
Total Trucks:2 0 2 0 1 1 52
Total Trips (Actual Vehicles)2 6 1 7 2 6 8 146
Total Passenger Cars 35 10 45 14 35 49 436
Total Trucks 7 1 8 1 6 7 180
Project Total Trips (Actual Vehicles)2 42 11 53 15 41 56 616
Passenger Car Equivalent (PCE):
Warehousing (80%)273.470 TSF
Passenger Cars: 31 9 40 12 30 42 342
2-axle Trucks: 2 0 2 1 2 3 42
3-axle Trucks: 2 1 3 1 3 4 66
4+-axle Trucks: 9 3 12 4 10 14 238
Total Trucks (PCE):13 4 17 6 15 21 346
Total Trips (PCE)2 44 13 57 18 45 63 688
High-Cube Cold Storage Warehouse (25%)68.368 TSF
Passenger Cars: 4 1 5 2 5 7 94
2-axle Trucks: 1 0 1 0 1 1 36
3-axle Trucks: 0 0 0 0 0 0 14
4+-axle Trucks: 3 1 4 1 2 3 84
Total Trucks (PCE):4 1 5 1 3 4 134
Total Trips (PCE)2 8 2 10 3 8 11 228
Total Passenger Cars 35 10 45 14 35 49 436
Total Trucks 17 5 22 7 18 25 480
Project Total Trips (PCE)2 52 15 67 21 53 74 916
1 TSF = thousand square feet
2 PCE rates are per SANBAG.
2 Total Trips = Passenger Cars + Truck Trips.
AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour
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TABLE 4: TRIP GENERATION COMPARISON
Land Use Quantity Units1 In Out Total In Out Total Daily
Passenger Car Equivalent (PCE):
Proposed Project 341.838 TSF
Approved Project (JND West)376 51 427 55 349 404 2,990
Proposed Project (in PCE)52 15 67 21 53 74 916
Variance -324 -36 -360 -34 -296 -330 -2,074
1 TSF = thousand square feet
AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour