STATE CAPITOL PO. BOX 942849 SACRAMENTO, CA 94249-0115 (?ailifnmizt i?egialature May 25th, 2020 The Honorable Gavin Newsom California State Capitol Sacramento, California 95814 RE: Extension of the July 2020 Implementation Date for the Vehicle Miles Travelled Regulations Dear Governor Newsom: We would like to thank you for your leadership and prompt and decisive action to protect our state from the pandemic. We applaud you for taking this threat seriously, and taking the necessary actions to prevent its rapid spread thereby reducing the impacts on our healthcare system, economy, and housing that are sure to come. It is in this spirit that we bring to your attention a regulation that we believe will dramatically impact the ability for many Californians, including millennials and communities of color in particular, to purchase a home Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT), and respectfully request the extension of the implementation date to July 1st, 2022. In December 2018, the California Natural Resources Agency adopted new regulations for the implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The CEQA Guidelines contain many provisions that will increase the likelihood that housing projects will be subject to litigation and cost increases. Among them was the newly proposed impact known as VMT. VMT requires residential project developers to quantify how many miles home buyers or renters drive to work, to the store, for recreation, and other purposes. This new impact is in addition to existing laws which require the quantification and mitigation of air quality impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, from tail pipes. Accordingly, it will apply even once we convert to 100% zero emission vehicles. The ideological approach of VMT is to get people to abandon their individual vehicles and utilize multimodal transit opportunities such as walking, biking, and using public transit. The regulation views road congestion as a good thing, since it slows down traffic and incentivizes individuals to use alternative forms of transit. Improvements like road widening is considered a negative impact on greenhouse gas reductions because it increases commuter speeds which the regulation assumes will encourage people to drive longer distances. The new regulation advocates that California go on a ?road diet? and calls into question whether the voters understood this when they approved an increase in the gas tax. The highest costs imposed by the VMT regulation is in areas farther away from job centers. This is where housing can be produced at the lowest cost, and is the primary source of housing for low and middle class Californians. However, measures to mitigate VMT, especially in rural areas, significantly drive up the costs of residential development. VMT also disprOportionately impacts Iow? and middle?class Californians who are predominately communities of color. This point is illustrated in the graph below which shows that as people drive ?until they qualify?, home prices drop by $19,000 per mile as they move farther way from Santa Monica towards San Bernardino. Printed on Recycled Paper Figure 1; ?esgraptmy at" Sentiment. ?atliifomt?a Ragian?s Reusing ?eet tiriai?s ?Hausing. Costs increase $19390 per h?le .I?tvieectian BER Apat?tmeut Rents Increase- $33 per menth per mile I?t?lile Commute Histaazce- tie Beast) San Esarnardine Heme Apartment ?eet: i Amartmra begs-stamina: Mamie P?ut??kmtm: seesaw awar'tmartt?ant: tatl itzafatriasn .lftegazuzllaaten; aria; matter-tie laminae Wrens 5a: swarm Warm? ?esta-M I Walla? 5133;? mmham: g?ag?m wtlataamfrteea Waterman Mama/fittest: was e-aarltmant Rant: eases . Latins! ?martean Eta ?ulagtien: ?5??Zta ?esta flatmates Heen?m Purchase: almanac Apartment Res 131135325] am?lasrtcan Veyagtmten; Communities of color depend on cars more than non-protected classes to get to theirjobs which are often not at fixed locations served by transit (construction, farmworkers, janitors, etc). The VMT regulation will increase, not decrease, the cost of housing and will have its greatest impacts on classes protected by the federal and state constitutions and a variety of federal and state laws prohibiting housing discrimination. Moreover, a $1,000 increase in the cost of a home eliminates 8,870 households from the ability to afford a home and puts the American dream of homeownership - the primary method of establishing economic stability, community participation and economic growth further out of reach for those struggling to afford a home today. 7 During the health crisis, which has already produced dramatic reductions in VMT, we believe that you should pause this regulation for cities and counties until a more equitable solution can be achieved.? Therefore, we respectfully request that you extend the implementation of the VMT regulation for two years. Thank you again for your leadership during these challenging times, and know that we stand ready to assist you in our mutual effort to address the housing crisis in California. Sincerely, - i I - an?, 1 a jaw Anna Caballero Frank Bigelow Senator, 12th District 5th District ?ashy Andreas Borgeas Senator, 8th District Jr" - . Minx 7? Jr?? Melissa Hurtado Senator, 14th District Richard Roth Senator, 31St District Susan Rubio Senator, 22'? District Scott Wiik Senator, 21st District Steven Choi 68th District Jim oper 9th District 7% Tom Daly 69th District James Gallagher 3rd District Mike Gipson 64"? District Adam Gray 21-?t District Chad Maves 42"?l District Jay Obernolte 33rd District QM MM Patrick O?Donnell I 70th District g/zzi Jim?Patterson 23rd District Sharon QuirkSilva 65th District 48th District ?W?s Rudy Salas Assembiymember, District