The environmental document review program is included in the approved Agency budget and funded by Rural Planning Assistance funds.

To effectively plan for the county’s future transportation needs, the Transportation Agency  is engaged in efforts to coordinate land use and transportation planning activities across the county. The goal of this coordination is to connect regional transportation infrastructure development with ongoing land use decision-making, thereby reducing the long-term need for costly regional infrastructure improvements. As more coordination occurs, such as building retail stores within walking distance of residential neighborhoods, less money will be needed to construct new roads and parking, allowing funds to be used on highway safety improvements and other regional projects. One of the Transportation Agency’s mechanisms for coordinating transportation and land use planning is through the environmental document review process as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Staff reviews plans and development proposals that are under consideration by the county’s jurisdictions pursuant to CEQA to identify new regional transportation impacts and recommend mitigation strategies. All comments are limited to those project activities that are within the agency’s area of expertise, or which are required to be carried out or approved by the agency.

During the 2019 year, staff reviewed ten environmental documents and provided comments on eight of the environmental documents. Comments submitted typical aligned with one or more of the following sentiments:

• Additional transportation safety enhancements should be added to the project;  
• Impacts on regional roads and highways were underestimated; and/or
• Inclusion of transit, bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure received support.

The following table summarizes the lead agency, project name, and type of environmental documents that staff provided comments on during 2019: