Vehicle Miles Traveled Reduction Program

The City of Fresno is implementing a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Reduction Program to address transportation impacts from new development projects under Senate Bill 743 and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The program is designed to mitigate increased VMT by offering developers two interconnected tools: an Urban Design Calculator to estimate potential VMT reductions through thoughtful urban planning elements like mixed-use development, transit access, and street connectivity, and a mitigation fee system backed by a nexus study that funds targeted transportation improvements across the city. These fees will be deposited into a dedicated mitigation bank to support projects such as bicycle lanes, pedestrian pathways, active transportation programs, and enhanced transit infrastructure that collectively reduce single-occupancy vehicle use. The program aims to streamline CEQA compliance for developers while ensuring that unavoidable VMT impacts are offset through measurable, citywide infrastructure enhancements. All program elements are administered by the City of Fresno Planning & Development Department, with Sophia Pagoulatos, Planning Manager, serving as the primary point of contact. Funding is derived entirely from mitigation fees collected from developments determined to trigger significant VMT impacts under CEQA, and no federal acquisition regulation clauses, contract pricing, or formal procurement evaluation factors are involved, as this is a locally governed environmental compliance initiative rather than a traditional federal contract. The program includes a formal Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program to track the effectiveness of funded measures and ensure accountability, with all related documentation maintained at the city’s planning office. While no formal contract execution details, delivery schedules, or payment structures are specified—due to its nature as a regulatory, fee-based framework—the program’s structure aligns with state mandates to shift transportation impact analysis from level-of-service metrics to VMT as the primary indicator of environmental significance.