Circulation and Mobility Element Update
OVERVIEW
The Circulation and Mobility Planning Element will update existing policies regarding access, development, and expansion. The Element will also take a fresh look at the needs of the County road system in the context of traffic conditions and land uses for consistency with the California Complete Streets Act of 2008. Updating the Element will take a two-prong approach by:
- Preparing a new General Plan Circulation and Mobility element to capture the goals of the California Complete Streets Act. "Complete Streets" is a national movement to ensure that all modes of transportation: vehicles, public transit, bicyclists, pedestrians of all ages and abilities are accommodated on roads as needed. The County's updated Circulation and Mobility element already addresses this but will be fine-tuned and updated to meet the needs of the Complete Streets Act.
- Existing policies will be updated for nearly the 600 miles of County-maintained roads, addressing development policies and standards for both public and private roads, and determining future road expansion needs. The Element will provide the context for which Complete Streets types of future improvements are identified.
PEIR - PROGRAM ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
- Notice of Preparation - NOP: The County of Santa Clara prepared a Program Environmental Impact Report (Program EIR) for the Santa Clara County General Plan Circulation and Mobility Element Update. The Circulation and Mobility Element Update will include policies to support and implement improvements to the County Expressways and County Unincorporated Road System. The Notice of Preparation includes the project location and description, a brief summary of the potential environmental impacts, and instructions for submitting written comments on the scope and content of the environmental information to be discussed in the Program EIR. A Public Scoping Session to solicit comments for the Notice of Preparation was held at the Isaac Newton Senter Auditorium, County Government Center, 70 West Hedding Street, San Jose, CA on Thursday, June 19, 2014 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m
- June 19, 2014 NOP Public Scoping Session Meeting Summary (Circulation Element EIR Scoping Meeting Notes 6-19-14 Final.pdf)
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Comment Letters received in response to NOP. Per state law and in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the comment period on the Notice of Preparation were due 30 days from the receipt of the posting, May 27, 2014. The attached comments were received within the 30 day notice of June 30, 2014.