Carlsbad planners briefed on VMT rules, thresholds and monitoring under CEQA

City of Carlsbad planning commissioners received a technical briefing Nov. 5 on vehicle miles traveled, the metric California requires for transportation impact analysis under CEQA.

Jason Gelderd, engineering manager for the City of Carlsbad, and consultant Katie Cole of Fehr & Peers walked the commission through why VMT replaced the older level-of-service (LOS) approach and how the city applies thresholds and screening criteria adopted in a 2020 resolution. "VMT is what we commonly refer to and it's just the amount of driving that's generated by a project," Gelderd said.

Cole said the state-directed shift to VMT (per SB 743) is intended to reduce greenhouse gases, promote infill and encourage active transportation. "I like to think of VMT as my odometer," Cole said. For CEQA purposes, Carlsbad evaluates residential projects on VMT per person (citywide average) and employment projects on VMT per employee (regional average).

The city’s adopted thresholds require a residential project to…