The San Francisco County Transportation Authority is calling for the elimination of auto levels of service (LOS) as a criteria under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
"Among other things, the report recommends replacing LOS with a new measure of 'Automobile Trips Generated.' While San Francisco is not the first City to discuss changes to traditional automobile LOS policies, it may be the first to propose completely eliminating it.
For those not familiar with CEQA, it requires agencies to determine if a given project will have a significant impact on the environment. CEQA also allows agencies to develop specific 'thresholds of significance' to determine the level at which an environmental effect is considered significant.Oftentimes, transportation impact analysis performed to comply with CEQA (or NEPA) focuses on only one perspective about potential impacts – the perspective of the automobile driver."
FULL STORY: Eliminating automobile LOS
Misuse of Environmental Laws Betrays Their Intent
How laws written to protect natural resources and biodiversity are being reinterpreted by NIMBY groups to block development.
New California Law Alters CEQA in Favor of Student Housing
Following a heated legal battle over new student housing in Berkeley, Governor Newsom signed a new law removing ‘social noise’ as an environmental impact.
Berkeley Noise Pollution Precedent Blocks Los Angeles Housing
Opponents to a new university housing project cited a recent Berkeley case in which noise pollution was successfully used to deny an exemption from environmental review.
National Parks Layoffs Will Cause Communities to Lose Billions
Thousands of essential park workers were laid off this week, just before the busy spring break season.
Retro-silient?: America’s First “Eco-burb,” The Woodlands Turns 50
A master-planned community north of Houston offers lessons on green infrastructure and resilient design, but falls short of its founder’s lofty affordability and walkability goals.
Delivering for America Plan Will Downgrade Mail Service in at Least 49.5 Percent of Zip Codes
Republican and Democrat lawmakers criticize the plan for its disproportionate negative impact on rural communities.
Test News Post 1
This is a summary
Test News Headline 46
Test for the image on the front page.
Balancing Bombs and Butterflies: How the National Guard Protects a Rare Species
The National Guard at Fort Indiantown Gap uses GIS technology and land management strategies to balance military training with conservation efforts, ensuring the survival of the rare eastern regal fritillary butterfly.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
EMC Planning Group, Inc.
Planetizen
Planetizen
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service