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CC - Adoption of a Resolution Approving the Culver City Transportation Department 2022-2026 Short Range Mobility Plan (SRMP) and Finding the SRMP to be Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act
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Meeting Date: February 28, 2022
Contact Person/Dept: Michael Tobin /Transportation Department
Phone Number: (310) 253- 6593
Fiscal Impact: Yes [] No [X] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [X] Attachments: [X] IF APPLICABLE
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date:
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Meetings and Agendas - City Council (02/23/2022)
Department Approval: Rolando Cruz, Chief Transportation Officer (02/18/2022)
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council adopt a Resolution approving the Culver City Transportation Department 2022-2026 Short Range Mobility Plan (SRMP) and finding the SRMP to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, Section 15061(b)(3).
BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION
Federal transportation statutes require the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro), in partnership with state and local agencies, develop and periodically update a Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) and a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) which implements the LRTP by programming federal funds to transportation projects contained in the LRTP. In order to execute these planning and programming responsibilities effectively, Metro requires that each transit operator in its region which receives federal funding through the TIP prepare, adopt and submit a Short Range Transit Plan (SRTP) to Metro. This plan should be adopted by resolution of the governing board of the transit operator.
The Transportation Department is required to create an SRTP for Culver CityBus as an LA County Transit Operator, with the latest plan adopted in March 2020 covering FY19-21. The plan outlines governance, transit services provided, funding sources and the agency’s strategic performance goals and objectives for the period.
Over the past two years, the Transportation, Community Development, and Public Works departments have collaboratively been meeting to discuss and build a unified mobility vision and strategy that not only includes transit, but other mobility services and infrastructure as well as City policies that impact mobility within the City. With this goal in mind, the departments have agreed to expand the required Short-Range Transit Plan to create a citywide Short-Range Mobility Plan that summarizes all Citywide mobility initiatives over the next five years.
By working together to create truly cohesive, integrated campaigns and mobility initiatives, the City’s Mobility Departments are better suited to problem solve and address the multifaceted challenges that the City faces. This plan only summarizes the initiatives and is not intended to replace any detailed mobility plan (i.e., the Long-Rate CityBus Electrification Plan, the Bicycle and Pedestrian Action Plan, Complete streets etc.). Transportation initiatives are listed in one chapter and other city-wide mobility initiatives are in another. Also included is a chapter of all the funding sources available and the City’s process to prioritize and fund these projects.
The SRMP only summarizes projects that have already been approved by City Council, and therefore will merely serve as a roadmap on how the City intends to prioritize, identify funding for and implement existing mobility projects. Any additional approval that is required, including the commitment of funds, will take place during the annual budgeting cycle.
The intent of the SRMP is to summarize the near-term project activities and objectives, identify the funding sources that are secured or will be secured as well as layout the timeline that these project and initiatives will be implemented. The goal is to share how these mobility initiatives are interconnected and congruent with the Preferred Direction of the City General Plan Update’s Mobility Element. The SRMP is particularly important for guiding transportation and other mobility policy and investment decision making over the three- to five-year period following plan adoption, and therefore is primarily concerned with taking the longer-term initiatives listed in the GPU and breaking them up into much more manageable pieces. The SRMP is intended to be a dynamic plan of action, meaning that the plan can be revisited and amended, allowing Culver City to adapt to the changing conditions within the LA region.
CEQA Exemption
The SRMP is exempt from CEQA, pursuant to Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3), as it can be seen with certainty there is no possibility the proposed SRMP will have a significant effect on the environment. The SRMP, by itself, does not result in any physical changes in the environment because it is a guiding document and plan on how the City intends to prioritize, identify funding for and implement existing mobility projects. The SRMP does not approve any specific mobility projects; rather, it summarizes projects that have already been approved by City Council (which have undergone their own environmental review). Each future Council activity related to the SRMP, which itself is a project, would be subject to appropriate CEQA analysis at the time the Council reviews and approves or conditionally approves that project.
FISCAL ANALYSIS
The SRMP itself does not have any financial impact and only lists projects that have already been approved by Council. It also includes historical final audited FY21 financial tables for CityBus and the Transportation department and FY22 financial tables consistent with the projects approved in the current Transit Budget. Projections for FY23-25 will provide a framework for the budget development of future fiscal years.
The Financial Plan contained in the SRMP identifies the funding sources for the Department’s operating and capital budgets that are specific to transit and also identifies sources that can be used for any mobility efforts. On the Federal level, earmarks and discretionary capital will be used to complete various projects, such as the replacement of RCNG buses with electric buses. State and local transportation revenues that are expected to be allocated to Culver City through the Formula Allocation Procedure (FAP) were approved by the Metro Board. Metro distributes these funds amongst the various transit agencies within Los Angeles County based on a Countywide formula. Metro holds and allocates the County funds according to the amounts approved by the Metro Board. Although the current economy is stable, transportation funds are vulnerable to “redirection” within the State’s budget. For the next fiscal year, it is anticipated the amount of funding overall will increase slightly from its current levels. As with all transportation funding, monthly revenue and expenditure analyses will be conducted to evaluate the efficacy and implementation of projects and to ensure a strong financial foundation for the provision of mobility services.
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2022-02-28_ATT_Resoution Approving the Culver City Transportation Department 2022-2026 Short Range Mobility Plan (SRMP)
RECOMMENDED MOTIONS
That the City Council:
1. Adopt a Resolution approving the Culver City Transportation Department 2022-2026 Short Range Mobility Plan (SRMP); and
2. Authorize the City Manager to submit documents and information pertaining to the Short Range Mobility Plan, including:
a. File and claim funds made available by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), Transportation Development Act (TDA), State Transit Assistance Funds (STA), the Proposition A & C and Measure R Local Return Programs; and
b. Submit all reports mandated by federal, state, and local law that provide funds to the City’s Transportation Enterprise Fund.