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Attachment 8 - Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Screening Evaluation14736-06 VMT 14736-06 VMT November 8, 2022 Revised: May 18, 2023 Mr. Rafael Cobian City of Anaheim 200 S. Anaheim Blvd. Anaheim, CA 92805 SCHOLARSHIP PREP SCHOOLS (DEV2021-00218) VEHICLE MILES TRAVELED (VMT) SCREENING EVALUATION Mr. Rafael Cobian, Urban Crossroads, Inc. is pleased to provide the following Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Screening Evaluation for the Scholarship Prep Schools (DEV2021-00218) development (Project) located at 2780 E. Wagner Avenue in the City of Anaheim (See Attachment A). PROJECT OVERVIEW •It is our understanding that the project is to consist of improvements and additions to an existing building site to allow for the development of a not-for-profit, public charter school charted by the Orange County Department of Education, pursuant to California Education Code (EC) Section 47601. The public charter school will host students from transitional kindergarten through eighth grades. The maximum student enrollment will include a total of 480 students on site. •As stated in California legislature (EC Section 47605[e][2]), Charter Schools must admit any student wishing to attend their school. Therefore, Scholarship Prep Public Charter School does not have any criteria required for admission. •The proposed staff for the school includes 40 people per shift and will operate from Monday to Friday 6:00 AM – 6:00 PM. •The remodeling of an existing 8,923 sf 2-story building for 10 classrooms, administration offices, and restrooms. •The addition of a new 5,633 sf 2-story building containing 6 classrooms, restrooms, and an elevator to match the existing 2-story building in height. •Remodel of an existing 5,439 sf 1-story building with basement for 3 classrooms, restrooms, and a new lift. •Parking lot improvements and pick-up/drop off areas. •For an initial 24-month period, the existing church sanctuary will operate Sundays, with the use of (1) classroom after 5:00 PM and (1) office during the week, once per week. Religious assembly use of the site will cease following the 24-month duration. ATTACHMENT NO. 8 Mr. Rafael Cobian City of Anaheim November 8, 2022 Revised May 18, 2023 Page 2 of 7 14736-06 VMT BACKGROUND Changes to California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines were adopted in December 2018, which requires all lead agencies to adopt VMT as a replacement for automobile delay-based level of service (LOS) as the new measure for identifying transportation impacts for land use projects. This statewide mandate went into effect July 1, 2020. To aid in this transition, the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research (OPR) released a Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA (December of 2018) (Technical Advisory) (1). Based on OPR’s Technical Advisory, the City of Anaheim has prepared their City of Anaheim Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines for California Environmental Quality Act Analysis (June 2020) (City Guidelines) (2). This analysis has utilized the City Guidelines for the review of applicable VMT screening criteria. VMT SCREENING The City’s Guidelines list standardized screening methods for project level VMT analysis that can be used to identify when a proposed land use development project is anticipated to result in a less than significant impact thereby eliminating the need to conduct a full VMT analysis. The City of Anaheim VMT screening types, as described within the City Guidelines, are listed below: • Type 1: Transit Priority Area (TPA) Screening • Type 2: Low VMT Area Screening • Type 3: Project Type Screening A project only needs to fulfill one of the screening types to qualify for screening. TPA SCREENING The Technical Advisory and City Guidelines describe those projects located within a Transit Priority Area (TPA) (i.e., within ½ mile of an existing “major transit stop”1 or an existing stop along a “high-quality transit corridor”2) may be presumed to have a less than significant impact absent substantial evidence to the contrary. However, the presumption may not be appropriate if a project: • Has a Floor Area Ratio (FAR) of less than 0.75; • Includes more parking for use by residents, customers, or employees of the project than required by the jurisdiction (if the jurisdiction requires the project to supply parking); 1 Pub. Resources Code, § 21064.3 (“‘Major transit stop’ means a site containing an existing rail transit station, a ferry terminal served by either a bus or rail transit service, or the intersection of two or more major bus routes with a frequency of service interval of 15 minutes or less during the morning and afternoon peak commute periods.”). 2 Pub. Resources Code, § 21155 (“For purposes of this section, a high-quality transit corridor means a corridor with fixed route bus service with service intervals no longer than 15 minutes during peak commute hours.”). Mr. Rafael Cobian City of Anaheim November 8, 2022 Revised May 18, 2023 Page 3 of 7 14736-06 VMT • Is inconsistent with the applicable Sustainable Communities Strategy (as determined by the lead agency, with input from the Metropolitan Planning Organization); or • Replaces affordable residential units with a smaller number of moderate- or high-income residential units. Based on the TPA map provided in the City Guidelines, the Project site is not located within ½ mile of an existing major transit stop, or along a high-quality transit corridor (See Attachment B). TPA screening criteria is not met. LOW VMT AREA SCREENING The City Guidelines state that, “residential and office projects located within a low VMT-generating area may be presumed to have a less than significant impact absent substantial evidence to the contrary. In addition, other employment-related and mixed-use land use projects may qualify for the use of screening if the project can reasonably be expected to generate VMT per resident, per worker, or per service population that is similar to the existing land uses in the low VMT area.”3 The City Guidelines provides a map of areas of low VMT within the City of Anaheim. The Project is not found to be located in a low VMT area (See Attachment C). Low VMT area screening criteria is not met. PROJECT TYPE SCREENING The City Guidelines indicates for small projects that generate low traffic volumes (i.e., fewer than 110 daily trips) and by association low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are also assumed to cause a less than significant impact. Trips generated by the Project’s proposed land use have been estimated based on trip generation rates collected by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual, 11th Edition, 2021 (3). The existing use is currently generating 202 weekday vehicle trip-ends per day. The proposed Project is estimated to generate 926 weekday vehicle trip-ends per day which is a net increase of 724 vehicle trip-ends per day. Therefore, the Project exceeds the 110 daily trip generating threshold (See Attachment D). The City Guidelines identify that local serving retail buildings with less than 50,000 square feet or other local serving essential services (e.g., day care centers, K-12 schools, religious assembly uses, etc.) are presumed to have a less than significant impact absent substantial evidence to the contrary. The Project intends to develop a public charter school along with ancillary religious assembly uses. As defined by the California Department of Education, “A charter school is a public school that may provide instruction in any combination of grades (kindergarten through grade twelve).”4 In addition, according to the school’s website, the school is open to all age-eligible students including those with disabilities, academically low-achieving, English learners, neglected or delinquent students, or those students who are economically disadvantaged as determined by 3 City Guidelines; page 23. 4 https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/ch/cefcharterschools.asp Mr. Rafael Cobian City of Anaheim November 8, 2022 Revised May 18, 2023 Page 4 of 7 14736-06 VMT eligibility for any free or reduced-price meal program, foster youth, or pupils based on nationality, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation 5. As provided by the Project applicant, existing Scholarship Prep Charter School located at 1010 W. 17th St. Santa Ana, CA 92706, student body data was used analyze the existing school’s service area. The student body data resulted in 273 of 337 or 81% of students resides within 5 miles of the 17th Street Scholarship Prep School, see Exhibit 1. Existing Scholarship Prep Charter School located at 1821 N. Grand Ave. Santa Ana, CA 92705, student body data was used analyze the existing school’s service area. The student body data resulted in 259 of 307 or 84% of students resides within 5 miles of the Grand Avenue Scholarship Prep School, see Exhibit 2. Existing Scholarship Prep Charter School located at 24910 S. Avalon Blvd., Wilmington, CA, 90744, student body data was used analyze the existing school’s service area. The student body data resulted in 201 of 270 or 74% of students resides within 5 miles of the Wilmington Scholarship Prep School, see Exhibit 3. As evidenced by the mapped areas of the existing Scholarship Prep Charter Schools. The proposed Project is anticipated to have a similar service area and would therefore, be considered a local serving public school. Project type screening criteria is met. 5 “FAQs Scholarship Prep Schools,” Scholarship Prep [website], https://scholarshipschools.org/faqs, (accessed 15 October 2022) Mr. Rafael Cobian City of Anaheim November 8, 2022 Revised May 18, 2023 Page 5 of 7 14736-06 VMT EXHIBIT 1: 17TH SANTA ANA SCHOOL MAP Mr. Rafael Cobian City of Anaheim November 8, 2022 Revised May 18, 2023 Page 6 of 7 14736-06 VMT EXHIBIT 2: GRAND SANTA ANA SCHOOL MAP Mr. Rafael Cobian City of Anaheim November 8, 2022 Revised May 18, 2023 Page 7 of 7 14736-06 VMT EXHIBIT 3: SOUTH BAY SCHOOL MAP CONCLUSION Based on our review of applicable VMT screening criteria, the Project is found to meet Project Type screening; no further VMT analysis required. If you have any questions, please contact me directly at aso@urbanxroads.com. Respectfully submitted, URBAN CROSSROADS, INC. Alexander So Senior Associate 14736-06 VMT REFERENCES 1. Office of Planning and Research. Technical Advisory on Evaluating Transportation Impacts in CEQA. State of California : s.n., December 2018. 2. City of Anaheim. City of Anaheim Traffic Impact Analysis Guidelines for California Environmental Quality Act Analysis. June 2020. 3. Institute of Transportation Engineers. Trip Generation Manual. 11th Edition. 2021. 14736-06 VMT ATTACHMENT A PRELIMINARY SITE PLAN 14736-06 VMT 14736-06 VMT ATTACHMENT B TPA MAP 14736-06 VMT 14736-06 VMT ATTACHMENT C LOW VMT AREA MAP 14736-06 VMT 14736-06 VMT ATTACHMENT D PROJECT TRIP GENERATION 14736-06 VMT TABLE 1: EXISTING USE TRIP GENERATION SUMMARY TABLE 2: PROPOSED PROJECT TRIP GENERATION TABLE 3: WEEKDAY TRIP GENERATION COMPARISON Land Use Quantity Units1 In Out Total In Out Total Daily Trip Generation Summary Existing Use (Weekday)2 8.898 TSF 19 17 36 9 14 23 202 Existing Use (Weekend)3 4.800 TSF 24 2 26 4 36 40 194 1 TSF = Thousand Square Feet 2 Based on counts collected at 2780 E. Wagner Avenue on Thursday, April 14, 2022. 3 Based on counts collected at 2780 E. Wagner Avenue on Sunday, April 10, 2022. AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour ITE LU AM Peak Hour Land Use Units2 Code In Out Total In Out Total Trip Generation Rates1 Public Charter School STU 536 0.54 0.50 1.04 0.06 0.10 0.16 1.85 Church/Religious Assembly TSF 560 0.20 0.12 0.32 0.22 0.27 0.49 7.60 1 Trip Generation Source: Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Trip Generation Manual, 11th Edition (2021). 2 STU = Students; TSF = Thousand Square Feet Land Use Quantity Units1 In Out Total In Out Total Daily Trip Generation Summary Public Charter School 480 STU 259 240 499 29 48 77 888 Church/Religious Assembly 4.800 TSF 1 1 2 1 1 2 38 Weekday Total 260 241 501 30 49 79 926 1 STU = Students; TSF = Thousand Square Feet Daily AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour Land Use In Out Total In Out Total Daily Existing Uses 19 17 36 9 14 23 202 Proposed Uses 260 241 501 30 49 79 926 Variance 241 224 465 21 35 56 724 1 Based on counts collected at 2780 E. Wagner Avenue on Thursday, April 14, 2022. 2 Trip Generation Source: Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), Trip Generation Manual, 11th Edition (2021). AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour