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Mariposa County adopts VMT policy to align CEQA reviews with state law
Summary
Mariposa County’s Board of Supervisors adopted a vehicle miles traveled (VMT) policy to comply with SB 743 and CEQA changes, setting a countywide baseline threshold (net zero) and screening many small projects from detailed transportation review. The policy was developed with consultants Fair & Peers and will be revisited periodically.
Mariposa County adopted its first vehicle miles traveled policy on Nov. 18, 2025, a step officials said is necessary to align local environmental review with state law. The board voted to adopt the policy after a presentation from Fair & Peers consultants that explained methods, thresholds and mitigation options designed for a rural county.
Consultant Jonathan Murillo of Fair & Peers described VMT in simple terms: “VMT is just vehicle trips times the trip length. One trip that goes one mile is one VMT.” He and colleague Sonia Anthoin told supervisors the countywide estimate — drawn from mobile-phone and connected‑vehicle data plus Census sources — is about 778,000 vehicle miles traveled on an average day in Mariposa County. The consultants recommended a practical, locally tailored threshold that treats new development as expected to perform at the same level as existing development (a net‑zero baseline) and allows for screening out projects that demonstrably will not increase county VMT.
The policy offers several screening categories to avoid unnecessary analysis for small projects, staff said. Examples include affordable housing, which empirical studies show generally has lower per‑resident travel; local‑serving retail that redistributes trips; and projects in parts of the county identified as low‑VMT in the consultant maps. If a project cannot be screened out, the policy lists mitigation options ranging from van‑pool programs and shuttle commitments to community investments such as pedestrian and bicycle improvements.
Board members pressed staff on how the policy will affect rural communities. Supervisor Menatray said she found the concept “very confusing” but acknowledged the county needed a compliant policy. Planning Director Steve Inch said the county is adopting the state’s new metric because it is now the required approach for CEQA transportation analysis and to provide guidance so individual projects do not each need to set their own metrics and thresholds.
Consultants recommended periodic updates to the underlying travel‑behavior model. Caltrans review suggested three‑year updates; Fair & Peers recommended every five years for a rural jurisdiction, aligning reviews with regional transportation planning cycles.
The board voted to adopt the policy. County staff will incorporate the new VMT methodology into CEQA screening and bring back future adjustments as needed.
