Adopted on February 16, 2021, Cupertino Ordinance #21-2223 adds a new section to the Cupertino Municipal Code with standards for the use of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) in environmental review. Senate Bill (SB) 743, which initiated the statewide transition to VMT, is intended to align transportation analysis with the State's Greenhouse Gas reduction goals.

Overview of VMT Standards:

Cupertino's target VMT reduction is 14.4% below the City's baseline rate. Any project not screened out from VMT analysis that cannot meet this threshold would trigger a transportation impact under CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), unless it is mitigated sufficiently to meet the City's reduction target.

Project Screening:

Some projects may be screened out, or assumed to not have a VMT impacts if they fall within the following categories:

  1. Local serving retail of up to 50,000 square feet.
  2. 100% affordable housing projects.
  3. Projects located within 1/4 mile of Stevens Creek Blvd (from SR 85 east), measured in walking distance.
  4. Small projects that generate less than 110 new trips per day, and do not exceed square footage thresholds (see pg. 35 of the White Paper and also the CEQA Technical Advisory.

A White Paper was prepared for the City by transportation consultant Fehr & Peers as part of the process of implementing SB743. The document contains supporting evidence for Cupertino's VMT standards, it describes the way VMT is measured, and also includes the full range of considerations used to set thresholds of significance for Cupertino. If you are new to VMT, a good place to start is with the ten page Executive Summary of the White Paper. 

What is VMT?

VMT is the total number of miles a person travels to reach a destination. Unlike LOS, it measures the amount of driving a person makes, where LOS measures how much congestion exists. For purposes of transportation analysis, VMT looks at how much driving a proposed project may cause, and LOS studies how much congestion it may cause.   

 Watch this 1:40 second video for a simple overview.