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HomeMy WebLinkAbout14 LEGISLATIVE REPORTSAgenda Item ~14 '~ Reviewed: AGENDA REPORT City Manager Finance Director N A MEETING DATE: AUGUST 3, 2010 TO: WILLIAM A. HUSTON, CITY MANAGER FROM: COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: UPDATE - AB 32 AND SB 375 IMPLEMENTATION SUMMARY Assembly Bill (AB) No. 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, addresses climate change and global warming resulting from the release of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere. A key goal of AB 32 is a reduction in the state's GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Senate Bill (SB) No. 375 seeks to achieve this goal in the automobile and light truck sectors by providing for regionally based GHG reduction targets achieved through integrated transportation, land use, and housing planning designed to reduce vehicle miles travelled. This report provides an overview and update to the Council on the implementation of AB 32 and SB 375. RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council receive and file this report. FISCAL IMPACT: The cost to local governments associated with the implementation of AB 32 and SB 375 will be significant. BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION: Assembly Bill 32 AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, established the following: • Requires California to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. • Granted the California Air Resources Board (GARB) the authority over sources of greenhouse gas emissions. • Required GARB to prepare a Scoping Plan. • Set the stage for SB 375. City Council Report AB 32 and SB 375 Update August 3, 2010 Page 2 Senate Bill 375 SB 375, the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act, signed in 2008, established the following: • Implements a small portion of AB 32. • Achieves greenhouse gas emissions reduction from automobiles and light trucks by reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT) through land use and related policies. • Linked transportation, housing, and land use planning with global warming. • Aligned three major programs that address growth patterns: ^ Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) • Regional Housing Needs Allocations (RHNA) ^ California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). ^ Required a Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) in the Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) of each Metropolitan Planning Organization. Sustainable Communities Strategy The Sustainable Communities Strategy identifies: • The general location of uses residential densities, and building intensities within the region. ^ Areas within the region sufficient to house all the population of the region, including all economic segments of the population, over the course of the planning period of the regional transportation plan. ^ Areas within the region sufficient to house an eight-year projection of the regional housing need for the region. ^ A transportation network to service the transportation needs of the region. The SCS also accomplishes the following: • Gathers and considers the best practically available scientific information regarding resource areas and farmland in the region. ^ Sets forth a development pattern and transportation network that will achieve the greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. ^ Allows an Alternative Planning Strategy (APS), which describes any constraints, if the SCS does not achieve the greenhouse gas emissions reduction target. The Orange County subregion has accepted delegation to prepare its subregional SCS which will be incorporated into the regional SCS. The Southern California Association of Governments approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Orange County Council of Governments and the Orange County Transportation Authority for the City Council Report AB 32 and SB 375 Update August 3, 2010 Page 3 preparation of the SCS on July 1, 2010. A consultant will be selected and hired by OCCOG/OCTA to conduct the SCS for Orange County. Regional Targets The California Air Resources Board is required to set the regional greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets for 2020 and 2035 by September 30, 2010. In preparation for this deadline, draft targets were presented on June 24, 2010, and released for review on June 30, 2010. For the four largest Metrolopolitan Planning Organizations, including SCAG, the target for 2020 is a reduction of between 5% and 10% in per capita emissions from 2005 to 2020. For 2035, the draft target for the SCAG region is a 3-12% reduction in per capita emissions from 2005 to 2035. Several Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) submitted quantitative data and modeled various scenarios in coordination with CARB to determine that these emission reduction targets would be ambitious and achievable. The draft targets are also based on input from the Regional Targets Advisory Committee, which issued a report to CARB that recommended that the targets be expressed in per capita percentage reductions rather the million metric tons number used in the AB 32 Scoping Plan because the metric is simple, easily understood, can be developed with currently available data, and is used by MPOs today. This metric also has the advantage of directly addressing growth rate differences among the regions. CARB staff has indicated that the final, proposed targets to be released this month will be expressed as specific percentages rather than ranges. Furthermore, the 2035 targets will be considered tentative, as improved modeling and updated technical information in the future will enable these numbers to be refined. CARB is required to re-evaluate the targets every eight years. Next Steps It is expected that CARB will release final proposed greenhouse gas emissions reductions targets later this month, with final targets due to be released by September 30, 2010. Staff will continue to monitor the implementation of Assembly Bill No. 32 and Senate Bill No. 375 and report back to the Council as needed. ~/J ~.tL~L. ~~-Lt~r.J Scott Reekstin Senior Planner Elizabeth A. Binsack Community Development Director S:\Cdd\CCReports\2010WB 32 SB 375 Update.doc