HomeMy WebLinkAboutAppendix F Refuge VMT Analysis F
Appendix F
VMT Analysis
(Available on City website)
14702-04 VMT.docx
August 5, 2022
Ms. Nicole Sauviat Criste
Terra Nova Planning & Research, Inc.
42635 Melanie Place, Ste 101
Palm Desert, CA 92211
VITALIA/REFUGE PALM DESERT RESIDENTIAL VMT SCREENING ANALYSIS
Ms. Nicole Sauviat Criste,
Urban Crossroads, Inc. is pleased to provide the following vehicle miles traveled (VMT) screening
analysis for the Vitalia/Refuge Palm Desert Residential development (Project) located west of
Rembrandt Parkway and south of Gerald Ford Drive in the City of Rancho Mirage (See Attachment
A).
PROJECT OVERVIEW
It is our understanding that the Project is to consist of 969 residential dwelling units, of which 248
are single family detached, 302 are rental homes, 150 are paired housing, and 269 are
apartments (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 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, the County of Riverside has prepared their Transportation Analysis Guidelines for Level
of Service, Vehicle Miles Traveled (County Guidelines) (2). This VMT analysis has been developed
based on the adopted County Guidelines as the City of Palm Desert utilizes the County Guidelines.
VMT SCREENING
The County Guidelines set forth screening criteria under which Projects are not required to
submit detailed VMT analysis. This guidance for determination of non-significant VMT impact is
primarily intended to avoid unnecessary analysis and findings that would be inconsistent with
the intent of SB 743. VMT screening criteria for development projects include the following:
Ms. Nicole Sauviat Criste
Terra Nova Planning & Research, Inc.
August 5, 2022
Page 2 of 3
14702-04 VMT.docx
Small Projects with low trip generation per existing CEQA exemptions or resulting in a
3,000 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide Equivalent per year screening level threshold.
Specific examples include Single Family Housing projects less than or equal to 110
Dwelling Units and Multi Family (low rise) Housing projects less than or equal to 147
Dwelling Units.
The small project screening threshold is not met.
Projects Near High Quality Transit within ½ mile of an existing major transit stop and
maintains a service interval frequency of 15 minutes or less during the morning and
afternoon peak commute periods. The study area is currently served by the SunLine
Transit Agency, but bus service is outside the immediate Project vicinity. Based on the
current transit in the study area, the Project site is not located within ½ mile of an existing
major transit stop, nor along a high-quality transit corridor.
The high quality transit screening threshold is not met.
Affordable Housing with a high percentage of affordable units as determined by the
Planning and Engineering departments.
The affordable housing screening threshold is not met.
Map-Based Screening eliminates the need for complex analyses by allowing existing
VMT data to serve as a basis for screening smaller residential and office developments.
Map-based screening is performed for residential and office developments, per the
County Guidelines. A Project is presumed to have a less-than-significant impact if the
area of development is under the threshold as shown on the screening map. This map-
based screening eliminates the need for complex analyses by allowing existing VMT data
to serve as a basis for the screening of smaller residential and office developments.
Map-based screening is performed using the map titled: RIVTAM Model (2012) Daily
Residential Home Based VMT per Capita Comparison to Riverside County Average, which
indicates it is based upon the County average. The map utilizes the sub-regional Riverside
Transportation Analysis Model (RIVTAM) to measure current VMT performance within
individual TAZ’s and compares them to the applicable impact threshold (e.g., VMT per
capita for residential land uses). The County Guidelines define VMT per Capita as the sum
of VMT for personal motorized trips made by all residents of a development project,
divided by the total number of residents of the project.
Attachment B shows the Project area on the County’s VMT map combined with an overlay
of the RIVTAM Traffic Analysis Zones (TAZs). The Project is located within RIVTAM TAZ
4672, which experiences less than the County average VMT / Capita. TAZ 4672
experiences 13.62 VMT / Capita whereas the Riverside County threshold is 15.2 VMT /
Capita.
For projects that are found to reside in a low VMT generating TAZ, the analyst is also
required to verify that the underlying land use assumptions contained in the low VMT
generating TAZ are consistent with the proposed development project. Urban Crossroads
Ms. Nicole Sauviat Criste
Terra Nova Planning & Research, Inc.
August 5, 2022
Page 3 of 3
14702-04 VMT.docx
reviewed the land use assumptions contained within the Project TAZ (TAZ 4672). TAZ
4672 contains 1,192 households (dwelling units), 2,651 population, which are
representative of the 969 dwelling unit project. In addition, the Project TAZ includes jobs
which are represented as 1,102 total employees. The residential land uses were found
to be consistent with the Project’s residential land use. The Project is therefore eligible to
be screened out based on map-based screening criteria.
The map-based screening threshold is met.
FINDINGS / CONCLUSIONS
The Project has been reviewed for VMT screening based upon the Project location on Riverside
County’s “Daily Residential Home Based VMT per Capita Comparison to Riverside County
Average”. No further VMT analysis is needed. Residential projects in areas that show less than
the County average existing VMT may be presumed to have a less than significant impact absent
substantial evidence to the contrary.
If you have any questions, please contact us at jkain@urbanxroads.com for John Kain or
mwhiteman@urbanxroads.com for Marlie Whiteman.
Respectfully submitted,
URBAN CROSSROADS, INC.
John Kain, AICP Marlie Whiteman, P.E.
Principal Senior Associate
REFERENCES
1. Office of Planning and Research. Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in
CEQA. State of California : s.n., December 2018.
2. County of Riverside. Transportation Analysis Guidelines for Level of Service, Vehicle Miles Traveled.
December 2020.
3. Institute of Transportation Engineers. Trip Generation Manual. 11th Edition. 2021.
ATTACHMENT A
PRELIMINARY SITE PLAN
14702-04 VMT.docx
14702-04 VMT.docx
ATTACHMENT B
RIVERSIDE COUNTY DAILY RESIDENTIAL HOME BASED VMT PER CAPITA
PROJECT TAZ OVERLAY
14702-04 VMT.docx