San Diego County Supervisors to Review Options for Transit Policy This Fall

The county Board of Supervisors this fall will consider four options for a proposed transportation policy connected to climate action and development policies, according to the Land Use & Environment Group Friday.

After hearing an update on proposals for a vehicle-miles-traveled mitigation program, supervisors on Wednesday directed county Planning and Development Services staff members to return with an analysis and suggestions later this year.

The mitigation program is considered a tool “through which projects outside of VMT-efficient zones can reduce their impacts by providing funding or directly developing supporting infrastructure or add to a mitigation bank,” officials said.

According to information presented to the board, a development project can reduce (or “mitigate”) VMT impacts with features such as pedestrian-friendly infrastructure, bicycle amenities and public transit access.

“This is challenging and expensive in the unincorporated area given that much of it is suburban or rural in nature, and community members do not have access to viable alternatives to cars, like transit or services within walking distance,” county staffers wrote.

Further, increasing transit or adding sidewalks in a rural location “would not be financially feasible or even practical in many cases,” according to the county, but developers can also pay for such infrastructure in other locations.

Options that supervisors will consider are:

— a broad unincorporated-area program with limited mitigation efforts;

— a regional and/or partnership program that would include working with the San Diego Association of Governments, or other agencies or jurisdictions, on transit projects and vehicle-travel reduction efforts outside of unincorporated areas;

— a focused mitigation program in specific “transit opportunity areas,” which are planned for future high-quality transportation services and facilities; and

— a focused mitigation program in TOAs that also include a potential increase in housing densities, which would require a change to the county’s General Plan.

Passed in 2011, the General Plan focuses on the county’s unincorporated area and is described as “an environmentally sustainable approach to planning that balances the need for adequate infrastructure, housing and economic vitality while maintaining and preserving existing communities, agricultural areas and open spaces.”

Chair Nora Vargas stated via the board clerk, due to a vocal cord condition, on Wednesday that she wants to look into the regional partnership option.

“We need to bring everyone to the table — community, business, labor and other governments with land use authority — to come up with innovative solutions like transferring of development rights so we can build smart,” Vargas stated.

Collaborations “would leverage regional transit projects, and allow the scaling up of housing projects where the infrastructure can support them,” she added.

During a public comment period on Wednesday, several officials from business and housing groups urged the board to pass a policy that will jump-start more housing.

Restoring capacity will allow for the development of 58,000 homes in the county, said Lori Holt-Pfeiler, president and CEO of the Building Industry Association of San Diego.

“To say these homes are needed is an understatement,” she said, adding projects that meet General Plan requirements should move forward without additional burdens and costs.

Corinna Contreras, a policy analyst with Climate Action Campaign, said she was thankful to hear proposals that call for placing homes closer to transportation.

“Regulations are regulations,” she said. “If we want have more production of homes to meet demand, it’s gonna be critically important that VMT mitigation is done.”

According to Supervisor Joel Anderson’s office, state VMT policy has “caused confusion in many jurisdictions across California” and potentially increased homebuilding costs by as much as $1 million, along with adding two to three years to completion times — although recent court cases “have cleared up some confusion” and endorsed a more streamlined process.

In previous related actions, supervisors in March 2023 unanimously advanced a land-use plan. In September 2022, supervisors voted 4-1 in favor of a new transportation study guide that provides criteria for analyzing transportation-related impacts of proposed developments in unincorporated areas, in an effort to comply with state requirements on the number of vehicle miles that projects might generate.