AB 314: California Environmental Quality Act: major transit stop.

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.

CEQA exempts from its requirements residential projects on infill sites and transit priority projects that meet certain requirements, including a requirement that the projects are located within ¹/₂ mile of a major transit stop. CEQA defines major transit stop to include, among other locations, the intersection of 2 or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 15 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods.

This bill would additionally define major transit stop to include a planned or existing high-speed rail station. Because the bill would require a lead agency to make an additional determination as to whether a location is a major transit stop for purposes of determining whether residential or mixed-use residential projects are exempt from CEQA, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.