Contact:
Meggie ElledgeWTS-Sacramento
meggiee@quincyeng.com
WTS-Sacramento September Program:
Chris Ganson, OPR and Ron Milam, Fehr & Peers Discuss SB 743 CEQA Transportation Metrics!
We are pleased to welcome Chris Ganson, Senior Planner with the Governor's Office of Planning & Research (OPR) and Ron Milam, Director of Technical Development with Fehr & Peers, as our program speakers on Tuesday, September 23, 2014. Mr. Ganson and Mr. Milam will discuss the effort underway to update the transportation impact analysis metrics in the CEQA Guidelines as required by Senate Bill (SB) 743. SB 743 was signed into law on September 27, 2013, and tasked OPR with updating the CEQA Guidelines to provide an alternative to level of service for evaluating transportation impacts in the environmental review process.
The implementation of SB 743 will shift the focus of transportation analysis from driver delay to reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, creation of multi-modal transportation networks, and promotion of mixed land uses. These changes will affect CEQA practice and workload priorities for a wide variety of transportation professionals including traffic engineers, transportation planners, land use planners, and environmental professionals.
On August 6th OPR released a preliminary discussion draft of updates to the CEQA Guidelines implementing SB 743 for public comment. The discussion draft proposes Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) as the most appropriate measure for transportation impacts. Mr. Ganson and Mr. Milam will offer a state agency and CEQA practitioner perspective on the opportunities and challenges associated with the development and implementation of this new CEQA metric. OPR is requesting comments on the preliminary discussion draft through October 10th. Don't miss what is sure to be an informative and exciting discussion!
About our Speakers:
Chris Ganson is a Senior Planner with the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, working on issues at the intersection of transportation and land use planning. Chris’ recent efforts have included crafting the parameters of CEQA streamlining for infill and developing transportation greenhouse gas emissions quantification methodologies. Prior to joining OPR, he held positions at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the World Resources Institute, and US EPA Region 9. Chris holds master’s degrees in City Planning and Transportation Engineering from UC Berkeley.
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Chris Ganson
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Ronald T. Milam AICP, PTP is the director of technical development for Fehr & Peers. During his 20-plus years of professional work he has completed a wide variety of planning studies throughout the western U.S.; published over 20 professional papers; prepared federal, state, and local transportation policy and analysis guidance materials; and served as an expert witness. He is also the lead instructor for the U.C. Davis Extension Course entitled, The Intersection Between Transportation and Land Use.
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DATE: Tuesday, September 23, 2014
COST: Free for WTS Members, $15 for Non-Members.
Payment due by cash, check, or credit card at the door. There is a $0.50 surcharge for every $15 credit card transaction.
Note: All no-shows will be charged $15.
RSVP by Friday September 19, 2014.