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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/08/1990 Ken Peterson, Chair Kevin McDermott Patricia M. Smith Jack Hardisty (Staff) URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE MEETING Monday, October 8, 1990 12:00 noon City Manager's Conference Room PLANNING COMMISSION JOINT COMMITTEE MEMBERS: David Cohn Jim Marino Kate Rosenlieb AGENDA 1. Indirect Source Review 2. Housing Element Advisory Committee 3. Progress on Freeway Acquisition 4. Roadway Medians Landscaping MEMORANDUM October 8~ 1990 TO: The Urban Development Committee FROM:~' Jack Hardistyr Planning Director SUBJECT: Backqround on California Clean Air Act The following information is being provided to acquaint you with the requirements of the California Clean Air Act. This information should be useful in developing an understanding of the elements of the Act that relate to the air quality impacts from development. The California Clean Air Act places the following responsibilities upon Air Pollution Control Districts. Require districts with respect to attainment of state ambient air quality standards. - Adopt and implement regulations to reduce emissions from indirect sources and areawide sources. - Encourage or require ridesharing vanpooling, flexible work hours, or other measures to reduce vehicle usage. - Require districts to adopt and enforce transportation control measures. Requirements for districts designated as nonattainment areas: ~ - PrePare and submit attainment plan by December 31, 1990 or June 30, 1991 for districts which receives or contributes to transport. 40716(b) Counties and Cities maintain authority to plan or control land use no authority is transferred to the district. Reductions in emissions based on actual level of emissions as of December 31, 1987. ELEMENTS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE ATTAINMENT PLAN. Districts with moderate air pollution: 1. A permitting program designed to achieve no net increase in emissions of nonattainment pollutants or their precursors from new or modified stationary sources which emit or have the potential to emit 25 tons per year or more of nonattainment pollutants or their precursors. 2. Reasonable available control technology for all existing sources. 3. Reasonable available transportation control measures. Urban Development Committee October 8, 1990 Page 2 4. Provisions to develop area source and indirect source control programs. 5. Provisions to develop and maintain an emissions inventory system to enable analysis and progress reporting and a commitment to develop other analytical techniques to carry out its responsibilities. 6. Provisions for public education programs to promote actions to reduce emissions from transportation and areawide sources. Districts with serious air pollution: 1. All measures required for moderate nonattainment areas. 2. A permitting program designed to achieve no net increase in emissions of nonattainment pollutants or their precursors from all permitted new or modified stationary sources. 3. Transportation control measures to substantially reduce the rate of increase in passenger vehicle trips and miles traveled per trip. 4. A requirement for the application of the best available retrofit control technology. Districts with severe air pollution: 1. All measures required for moderate and serious nonattainment areas. 2. Transportation control measures to achieve an average during weekday commute hours of 1.5 or more persons per passenger vehicle by 1999, and no net increase in vehicle emissions after 1997. 3. Measures to achieve the use of a significant number of low-emission motor vehicles by operators of motor vehicle fleets. 4. Measures sufficient to reduce overall population exposure to ambient pollutant levels in excess of the standard by at least 25 percent by December 31, 1994, 40 percent by December 31, 1997, and 50 percent by December 31, 2000, based on average per capita exposure and the severity of the exceedences, so as to minimize health impacts, using the average level of exposure experienced during 1986 through 1988 as the baseline. SG:kl Transportation control measures (TCMs) may be implemented for two main purposes, both of which are related. Most frequently, in' California at least, TCMs are thought of as air pollution control tactics. However, many may be intended to reduce traffic congestion. While the latter may also have air quality benefits, the air quality effects may not be the primary reason for implementing the program. The selection of air quality-related transportation, control measures depends on the nature of the air quality .problem, the target population, and the characteristics of the transportation system in the area. Many TCMs are commonly referenced by their acronyms. The following sections brief.ly describe some of the variations on the common transportation control measure theme. o ISR - Indirect Source Review " An indirect source is any development, commercial or industrial, that attracts people in automobiles. Mai or shopping centers, office complexes, or industrial parks are potential indirect sources. These sources tend to attract 1 arge numbers of aut omobil es, thereby creating a more concentrated source for auto emissions which can have an adverse effect on air quality. Indirect source review programs are designed to regulate indirect sources to reduce their adverse air quality effects by requiring the developer or employer to implement programs that reduce automobile use related to the project. Indirect source review programs are similar to transportation system management plans (belOw) in that they typically are directed toward vehicle emissions related to land use developmen2 (e. g., commercial and industrial facilities). However, whereas the emphasis of the former is generally on reducing Peak hour commute trips, the emphasis of the latter is on reducing total on-road motor vehicle trips or vehicles miles traveled. o TSM -'Transportation Systems Management Strictly defined, transpor~atio~ systems management refers to measures that improve the transportation system or allow it. to function more satisfactorily. Traffic signal synchroniza~ion or bus turn-outs which get busses out of the traffic flow at major stops are examples of TSM programs. TSM 1-5 measures improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, and tend to reduce ROC emissions, although NO. emissions may increase. Often, TSM and TDM (below) are used interchangeably. TDM - Transportation Demand Management Transportation demand management plans are employer- or developer-based programs for reducing peak hour single passenger vehicle commute trips. Transportation demand management seeks to alter the public's pattern of use of the transportation system, .primarily by encouraging people to avoid congested streets and highways at peak hours. Demand management approaches include flexible work schedules and incentives to use public transportation or to commute by alternative means, such as bicycling. I/M - Inspection and Maintenance Expanded vehicle inspection maintenance measures i.nclude a number of program options for increasing the effectiveness of the vehicle inspection maintenance program, a program that is currently being implemented in the Kern County area. Vehicle inspection and maintenance programs are the only "technical" transportation control measures in that they impose technical or engineering bas ed requirements on vehicles themselves rather than being'directed at the behavior of the vehicle's drivers. Inspection' and maintenance programs seek to assure that the emission control equipment required to be on vehicles is maintained so that it continues to perform properly and control vehicle emissions. As with all systems, . the effectiveness of emission control systems tends to deteriorate over time. Systems that are improperly maintained or not maintained at all deteriorate more rapidly and their benefit in reducing emissions is lost. Such programs seek to assure that the systems continue to function over a reasonable life time. o Alternate Fuels Finally, alternate fuels programs consists of operating automobiles and trucks on fuels such as methanol, compressed natural gas, or electricity. In certain applications, these fuels may generate less ozone causing pollution that gasoline or diesel. 1.2 EMISSION REDUCTION POTENTIAL OF TCMs In the context of an air quality plan, the primary goal of transportation control measures is to reduce emissions of regulated pollutants. In Kern County, these pollutants are oxides of nitrogen (NO~) and reactive organic compounds (ROCs), both precursors to ozone, a regulated pollutant for which Kern County 1-6 fails to attain the federal ambient air quality standard. The above control measures reduce emissions in various ways and there is often a trade-off between reductions in emissions of one pollutant and increases in emissions of the other as the following discussion of control approaches indicates. o Reducing Congestion Vehicles idling in traffic continue to emit pollutants even though they are not moving. In addition, being stationary or nearly so, the emissions tend to concentrate, in the area of congestion, thus causing localized higher pollution concentrations. Also, ROC emissions per mile tend to be higher the lower the speed of the vehicle. However, NO~ emissions tend to increase with increased speed. Thus, reducing congestion reduces emission "hot spots" while reducing ROC emissions. Oxides of nitrogen emissions tend to increase with reduced congestion. o Reducing Overall Vehicle Trips Vehicle emissions are related to how far the vehicle travels but also are influenced by whether the vehicle is hot or cold when started and how warm the engine and fuel system components are. The warmer the engine and components, the greater the evaporation of volatile fuel constituents which are a source of ROC emissions. By reducing the number of trips, overall vehicle emissions are decreased both by reducing the miles travelled and by reducing the emissions related to start up and fuel evaporation. o Encouraging Alternative Transportation Modes Alternative transportation modes, whether by bus, rail, car pools, foot, or bicycle, enable people to travel without using their automobiles or allow several' to travel using only one vehicle. Clearly, foot and bicycle travel entail no emissions at all. While bus, rail, and car pools entail some emissions, the increased ridership (larger number of people per vehicle) reduces the emissions per person compared to what would occur if each person used their own vehicles. Overall emissions may thus be lower, resulting in an overall improvement in air quality. One important factor is that 'both bus and rail emissions are differently d/stributed between NO, and ROC (generally less ROC and more NO,) than emissions from gasoline powered vehicles, but overall reductions are possible if ridership is sufficiently high. 1-7 o Employing Other Fuels Than Gasoline or Diesel The most common vehicle fuels by far are gasoline and diesel. While they have different emission characteristics, internal combustion engines using these fuels are sources of both ROC and NO~. Other fuels may be substituted for gasoline or diesel as transpor~ation fuels; some in reciprocating internal combustion engines originally designed for the common fuels, some in specially designed engines, and electricity provides a completely d/fferent method of vehicle propulsion. Most frequently proposed substitutes for oo~on liquid fuels include methanol (methyl alcohol), either 100 percent or in blends with gasoline, liquified petroleum gas (either butane or propane, both by products of oil and gas production), compressed natural gas, and electricity. As the reader will fl/scover in some of the following discussions, the extent to which emission reductions are obtainable by substituting these fuels is ~ifficult to determine and subject to some debate. ?~t~? ~'' ~ DENOTES AREA WITHIN · MEDIAN ACCEPTABLE FOR ' LANDSCAPIN0. AREAS OUTSIDE THESE LIMITS SHALL BE SURFACED ~e~ ~,osc..,.c WITH STAMPED CONCRETE OR Y~'I141N W0~M AREA c~-. or ~.m^.czs -~ OTHER ACCEPTABLE TREATMENT. 6rUST BE SEJ:~ARAT'~D BY ~o'.~.,.u. USE OF TREES OR OTHER' FEATURES MAY BE LIMITED DUE MAJOR ARTERIAL TO SIGHT LINE RESTRICTIONS. OR COLLECTOR I, 8.5' u~ I i t I 9.5' I I I .S' 14' Strop. 50% Min. Planter Area 50% Min. Planter Area Concrete & 50% Max. Stamped & 50% Max. Stamped Denotes stamped concrete Only Concre[e Area Concrete Area OrsurfaceaCCeptabtetreatmenthard ~ DETAIL OF MEDIAN 1. A 1.5' min. border of stamped concrete is required adjacent to the back of curb throughout sections A ~ B. 2. Where width is less than 8.5' measured from [ to [ (~' planter width) stamped concrete only required. 5. Stamped concrete only must be installed when the minimum width does not occur for 30 consecutive feet. ~. No turf will be allowed in planter area without prior approval of Paros Division. 5. Stomped concrete installation shall be ~o "Bomani[e" specifications or approved equal. 6. "Spray Head" t~e irrigation requires the 1.5' stamped concrete along the perimeter of the planter to be sloped inward toward the planter at 2%. 7. "Bubbler Head" type irrigation requires the installation of stamped concrete to standard median island slopes. 8. "Bubbler Head" type irrigation is encouraged however where street [ grades exceed 2% fall, 'Spray Head" type irrigation is required. REUSED 09/06/90 SUBDI~SION' DESIGN MANUAL 7/~/~ ~:~ i..,~ ,~ ~ MEDIANS .~ ~M~RN~ L-13 ARTERI, A L , i - WALL · . BACK QF SIDEWALK COLLECTOR WALL ............................. BACK OF' SIDEWALK L~~k~k~denotes area to receive landscape improvements. area shall consist of //o ~hardscape and ~O~,z~ landscape DETAIL OF PAP. KWAY 1). When wid=h is less than six (6) feet, ~ercentage of landscape and hardscape will be determined in consultation with the Parks Division. 2). Width of improved area to receive turf shall be a five (5) foot minimum. 3). Stamped concrete installation shall be to "Bomanite" specifications or approved equal. Color to be approved by Parks Division. 4). Hardscape shall be stamped concrete or acceptable hard surface treatment. , . .. Landscape limits DP, AFT parkways ,. :: :.~.:..'.:~. -- _- .:.~ . . = -..~ :.~'.::' . .. ...: '..; ....... -- . : . - .-... .... .-: .:..~ ~ · ._ .~.'_.~%~. . . . . . I I MASER ~NDSCAPE P~N RANC~ ~BORDE · ~.=., SPECI~C 3 ~ · ..... MAJOR ARTE~A~ ~ ~ ~Y ~ BAKER~E~ -