The San Francisco Planning Commission took historic action earlier this month, voting to end the use of Level of Service in environmental review.
"The San Francisco Planning Commission voted 6-0 today to adopt a resolution to move forward with state-proposed guidelines that modernize the way city officials measure the transportation impacts of new development," according to a press release from the Planning Department of the City and County of San Francisco.
"The commission voted to remove automobile delay as a significant impact on the environment and replace it with a vehicle miles traveled threshold for all California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, environmental determinations. The resolution, put forward by San Francisco Planning, allows San Francisco to immediately implement changes to how it analyzes environmental impacts of development and transportation projects rather than wait for state adoption."
The press release includes more background on the differences between Level of Service (LOS) and Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT). The press release also includes soundbites from San Francisco Planning Director John Rahaim discussing the benefits of VMT over LOS. Also noted is the ongoing drafting process for new CEQA regulations at the State Office of Planning and Research (OPR). Planetizen last reported on the CEQA reform process in January, when OPR released a draft of recommended changes to CEQA.
San Francisco joins Pasadena as California cities taking a leadership role on LOS while the state undertakes its process.
FULL STORY: San Francisco Planning Takes Lead in Modernizing Environmental Review for New Development Projects
The Final Days of 'Level of Service' in California's Environmental Review Process
A long-awaited draft update of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) has finally been released, and Level of Service will finally be a thing of the past in the next two to four years.
California Environmental Law Continues to Frustrate Bike Planning (for Now)
Help is on the way. The law that requires the governor's planning office to devise an alternative method for measuring vehicle traffic for environmental compliance will also take up where an earlier law that exempted bike lanes from CEQA left off.
Day One of the National Planning Conference—Reunions, Pandemic Planning, Equity, and VMT
The American Planning Association gathers for its first in-person National Planning Conference since 2019. Planetizen is in attendance, and here is some of what we saw on the first day of the conference.
Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
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.
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Analysis: Cybertruck Fatality Rate Far Exceeds That of Ford Pinto
The Tesla Cybertruck was recalled seven times last year.
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