Ahead of the Curve on SB 743

Since day 1, PlaceWorks has been examining the implications and possible consequences of SB 743, which will drastically change the way transportation impacts are analyzed under CEQA. Last April, PlaceWorks principal JoAnn Hadfield—with Tony Petros of LSA Associates and Tim Paone of Cox Castle & Nicholson—presented a “first reading” of the legislation at a meeting of the Orange County/Inland Empire ULI Infrastructure Council. After OPR released a draft of the SB 743 guidelines in August, ULI asked JoAnn and her colleagues to address the issues in its online publication, Urban Land. The final product, “Evaluating California’s Transportation Metrics,” combines information from the presentation with thoughts on the draft guidelines and the schedule for responding to OPR.

These are only the first steps in what is bound to be a complicated process, and PlaceWorks will have much more to say in an upcoming PlaceViews newsletter and other venues about how CEQA practitioners and urban planners might address SB 743. We responded to OPR’s draft guidelines and will follow subsequent events closely. In the meantime, we will continue to explore streamlined, cost-effective solutions that accomplish the intentions of the legislation as well as resolve some of the conflicts it creates with local planning practices.

Stay tuned for more updates and the latest approaches to implementing SB 743 in CEQA analyses.