Laserfiche WebLink
City of San Leandro Proposed Guidelines for Analyzing VMT <br />December 8, 2023 <br />Page 6 of 12 <br />In the case where a new model run is required, the project land use(s) should be added to the <br />land use database for the relevant TAZ, or a separate TAZ should be created in the Alameda CTC <br />model to contain the project land uses. A full model run should then be performed and the VMT <br />metrics for the project TAZ calculated. The final model output should be reviewed to confirm <br />reasonableness. <br />Note that VMT may also need to be estimated for purposes of other, non-transportation analysis <br />topics under CEQA, including air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, energy use and noise. For <br />these impact areas, the VMT metric used is typically total VMT, which is different from the VMT <br />metrics used for the transportation analysis. <br />For projects that consist of atypical land uses that are not represented in the Alameda CTC Model, <br />the appropriate methodology for estimating and evaluating the VMT impact of the project shall <br />be determined in consultation with the City of San Leandro staff. <br />4. Thresholds of Significance <br />Once the project VMT is calculated, the City must determine if that level of VMT (whether in <br />absolute terms or on a per-capita basis) constitutes a significant environmental impact. Thus, the <br />measured VMT must be compared against a threshold of significance. <br />According to the OPR Technical Advisory, the threshold of significance can be based on the <br />average regional or citywide VMT metrics. Table 1 summarizes the existing home-based VMT per <br />resident and the home-work VMT per worker for the City of San Leandro and the different <br />regions applicable to the City of San Leandro. For both the home-based VMT per resident and the <br />home-work VMT per worker, the average for the Central Planning Area (which consists of the <br />Cities of San Leandro and Hayward, and the unincorporated areas of Ashland, Cherryland, San <br />Lorenzo, and Castro Valley) is the least stringent. Thus, it is recommended that the thresholds of <br />significance be based on the VMT metrics for the Central Planning Area. <br />Table 1: VMT Metric Comparison <br />Geography Home-Based VMT per Resident Home-Work VMT per Worker <br />City of San Leandro 17.5 18.4 <br />Central Planning Area 20.6 19.2 <br />Alameda County 19.4 15.9 <br />Bay Area Region 19.8 18.1 <br />Source: Fehr & Peers based on the Alameda CTC Travel Demand Model results, 2023.