2013 Legislation and Recap of 2012

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First a recap of 2012-

AB 2245 Smyth (2012) was signed by the governor on Sep 28, 2012. It  adds a new subsection, 21080.20.5, to the  Public Resources Code on Statutory exemptions. It provides a statutory exemption  from CEQA for the “restriping of streets and highways for bicycle lanes in an urbanized area that is consistent with a prepared bicycle transportation plan”. The caveat is that the lead agency would be required make “an assessment of traffic and safety impact and holding hearings before determining a project is exempt”.  The bills unsets on Jan 1 2018 unless extended by the legislature.

AB 819 Wieckowski (2012), was signed by the governor on Sep 28, 2012.  This bill amends the Streets and Highways Code section that pertains to Bikeway. It adds a new section 891.1 that directs Caltrans to develop a process for local agencies to create a process for local agencies to develop bikeway designs that are not currently in the Highway Design Manual.  The exact text of SHC 891.1 is:

a) The department shall, by November 1, 2014, submit a report to the transportation policy committees of both houses of the Legislature that describes the steps the department has taken to implement the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 891 related to permitting exceptions to the requirements of subdivision (a) of Section 891. The report shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:

(1) The number of requests the department has received from cities, counties, and local agencies from July 1, 2013, to June 30, 2014, inclusive.

(2) The number of exceptions the department granted during that year.

(3) If any requests were rejected, the reasons why those requests were not approved.

(b) This section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2015

Now for 2013

AB 417 Frazier (2013) was signed by the governor on October 07, 2013.  Similar to AB 2245, this bill creates a statutory exemption from CEQA for bike plans in urban areas (Public Resources Code___).  The caveat again, is that a traffic study is still required.  Specifically this law:

1) Establishes an exemption from CEQA for a bicycle transportation plan for an urbanized area for restriping of streets and highways, bicycle parking and storage, signal timing, and related signage.

2) Requires a lead agency, prior to determining a plan is exempt, to hold noticed public hearings, assess any traffic and safety impacts, and include measures to mitigate those impacts.

3) Requires a lead agency to file a notice of any bicycle plan exemption with the Office of Planning and Research and the county clerk in the county in which the project is located.

4) Sunsets the bill's provisions on January 1, 2018.

SB 714 Stenberg (2013) Environmental quality: transit oriented infill projects,   was  signed by the governor on September 27, 2013. This bill amends several sections of the Government Code and the Public Resources Code to facilitate transit-oriented infill projects.  It directs to OPR, by 2014, to develop new measures to assess the significance of transportation impacts of projects  in these areas, and once adopted,  automobile delay or traffic congestion shall not be considered a significant impact on the environment pursuant to this division.  This bill also states that OPR may develop new metrics for automobile traffic outside of transit priority areas.

A more detailed description of SB 714 is as follows:

SB 714 revises the definition of “infill opportunity zone,” that exists in current law to include transit priority area within a sustainable communities strategy or alternative planning strategy adopted by an applicable metropolitan planning organization. The bill then directs the Office of Planning and Research shall prepare establishing criteria for determining the significance of transportation impacts of projects within transit priority areas. that “ promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity of land uses. In developing the criteria, the office shall recommend potential metrics to measure transportation impacts that may include, but are not limited to, vehicle miles traveled, vehicle miles traveled per capita, automobile trip generation rates, or automobile trips generated.” (2) Upon certification of the guidelines by the Secretary of the Natural Resources Agency pursuant to this section, automobile delay, as described solely by level of service or similar measures of vehicular capacity or traffic congestion shall not be considered a significant impact on the environment pursuant to this division, except in locations specifically identified in the guidelines, if any.”  Further, the bill allows that  the Office of Planning and Research may adopt guidelines pursuant to Section 21083 establishing alternative metrics to the metrics used for traffic levels of service for transportation impacts outside transit priority areas. The alternative metrics may include the retention of traffic levels of service, where appropriate and as determined by the office.

SB 99 (2013) created the Active Transportation  Program, (ATP) consolidating several federal and state programs, ( federal Transportation Alternative, Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program,  Safe Routes to School, Bicycle Transportation Account)  into a single  $129 million program called Active Transportation Program. This Budget Trailer Bill makes statutory changes necessary to implement the Active Transportation Program, which changes the way the state allocates funds for various human-powered transportation activities and programs. The Administration proposed this new Program in the January 2013 Budget proposal, but due to the complex nature of the programs, and the scope of the changes proposed, the Legislature chose to defer action on this proposal when adopting the June 15th Budget package and instead froze funds for these purposes and inserted intent language that the Program would be developed before the end of the 2014 legislative session.  Guidelines are yet to be developed by the California Transportation Commission, but keep your eyes out for the call for projects. Even though it is one program, there are still restrictions that set aside certain dollar amounts for certain types of projects, such as school  projects and an overall requirement that 25 % of the funds to go disadvantaged communities.