One of the largest, most influential regional governments in the state has asked for exemptions from changes to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that will measure Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) instead of Level of Service (LOS).
"[The Southern California Association of Government] sent a last-minute letter attempting to delay progressive updates to California’s outdated environmental standards," according to an article by Melanie Curry, who explains in more detail.
In the letter [PDF], Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)—the regional transportation planning organization for much of southern California—requested exemptions for highway expansion projects and freight corridors from proposed state rules that could show their true environmental impact in a way that old rules do not.
In effect, SCAG is asking the Governor's Office of Planning and Research, which is developing the reformed CEQA requirements, to "limit the new VMT measure to projects that are close to transit, and also to 'grandfather in' highway expansion and freight corridor projects that have already been approved in planning documents." According to an environmentalist source cited in the article, it looks like SCAG is asking for exemptions on projects that won't perform will under the new environmental review process in the state. According to a SCAG source, the letter was meant to "request that OPR focus first on transit priority areas and allow a longer opt-in period for other areas."
The feet dragging by SCAG stands in contrast to the leadership shown by Pasadena and San Francisco, in beginning to implement CEQA reforms while the state is still hammering out the new details of the law.
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