HomeMy WebLinkAboutAppendix J Vehicle Miles Traveled Screening Analysis Memo
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Date: November 14, 2022
Prepared by: Hashem Basrawi
To: City of Fontana
Site: 15912, 15936 & 15956 Chase Road, Fontana, CA 92336
Subject: Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Screening Analysis
This technical memorandum evaluates the trip generation and need to prepare a vehicle miles traveled
(VMT) analysis for the proposed residential project at 15912, 15936 & 15956 Chase Road in the City of
Fontana. The project site encompasses 3 parcels identified as APNs 0228-151-17-0-000, 0228-151-18-0-
000, 0228-151-19-0-000. The project comprises 48 Single Family Detached homes located on a vacant
6.839-acre site. 4 homes out of the total 48 homes would be income restricted (i.e., restricted to very low-
income households). 96 garage parking spaces and 29 guest parking spaces would be provided. Access to
the site would be provided through Chase Road and Cascade Drive. The project site plan is shown in Figure 1.
VMT Screening Analysis
Senate Bill (SB) 743 was signed by Governor Brown in 2013 and required the Governor’s Office of Planning
and Research (OPR) to amend the CEQA Guidelines to provide an alternative to LOS for evaluating
Transportation impacts. SB743 specified that the new criteria should promote the reduction of greenhouse
gas emissions, the development of multimodal transportation networks and a diversity of land uses. The bill also specified that delay-based level of service could no longer be considered an indicator of a significant impact on the environment. In response, Section 15064.3 was added to the CEQA Guidelines beginning January 1, 2019. Section 15064.3 - Determining the Significance of Transportation Impacts states that Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) is the most appropriate measure of transportation impacts and provides lead agencies with the discretion to choose the most appropriate methodology and thresholds for evaluating VMT.
City of Fontana VMT Screening
Section 12.2 of the City’s Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines provides VMT screening thresholds to identify
projects that would be considered to have a less-than significant impact on VMT and therefore could be
screened out from further analysis. If a project meets one of the following criteria, then the VMT impact of
the project would be considered less-than significant and no further analysis of VMT would be required:
1. The project is located within a Transit Priority Area (TPA).
2. The project is located in a low VMT generating area.
3. The project is considered a local-serving land use.
4. The project net daily trips are less than 500 ADT.
The applicability of each criterion to the project is discussed below.
Screening Criteria 1 - Transit Priority Area Screening: According to the City’s guidelines, projects located in
a TPA may be presumed to have a less than significant impact. The project is not located in a TPA, therefore
the project would not satisfy the requirements of Screening Criteria 1 – TPA screening.
Screening Criteria 2 - Low VMT Area Screening: The City’s guidelines include a screening threshold for
projects located in a low VMT generating area. Low VMT generating area is defined as traffic analysis
zones (TAZs) with a total daily VMT/Service Population (employment plus population) that is 15% less than
Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Screening Analysis
15912, 15936 & 15956 Chase Road, Fontana, CA 92336
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the baseline level for the County. The project’s site was evaluated using the SBCTA VMT Screening Tool
(SBCTA VMT Screening Tool (arcgis.com)). As shown in Figure 2, the Countywide VMT/Service Population is 33.3 and the VMT/Service Population for the project zone is 24.1. The VMT/Service Population of the project zone is below the County average. Therefore, the project would meet Screening Criteria 2 – Low-VMT Area Screening and screen out of a VMT analysis.
Screening Criteria 3 – Low Project Type: According to the City’s guidelines, projects which propose local
serving retail (retail projects less than 50,000 square feet) or other local serving uses would have a less than
significant impact on VMT. The types of projects considered local serving include supermarkets, hair/nail salon, walk-in medical clinics/urgent care, K-12 schools, day care centers, and community institutions such as libraries, fire stations, etc. The project does not propose a local serving land use and therefore would not satisfy the requirements of screening criteria 3.
Screening Criteria 4 – Net Daily Trips less than 500 ADT: According to the City’s guidelines, projects which
would generate fewer than 500 average daily trips (ADT) would not cause a substantial increase in the total
citywide or regional VMT. The project trip generation was evaluated using Land Use 210 (Single Family
Detached Housing) from the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation (11th Edition). As shown
in Table 1, the project would generate 453 daily trips. Because the project would generate less than 500
ADT, it is presumed to have a less than significant impact on VMT and further analysis would not be required.
Summary
The project was evaluated using the City of Fontana VMT screening thresholds to determine if the project
would require a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) analysis. The project is located in a low VMT area and it
would generate less than 500 ADT. Therefore, the project VMT impacts would be considered less than
significant and further analysis of VMT would not be required.
If you have any questions about this information, please contact me at (909) 525-0528 or
hashem@epdsolutions.com.
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15912, 15936 & 15956 Chase Road, Fontana, CA 92336
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Figure 1: Site Plan
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Table 1: Project Trip Generation
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Figure 2: Low VMT Area Screening