Five Years After VMT Reform: Project Siting Before and After SB 743

This report provides a comparative analysis of development project siting in the City of San Mateo before and after the implementation of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) policies mandated by California Senate Bill 743 (SB 743) in 2020. The purpose of this comparison is to determine whether or not the policy changes have successfully influenced new projects to be located in more VMT-efficient areas, which is a core objective of the policy. This research used archived lists of development projects provided on the City of San Mateo’s website to construct a pair of two-year samples to represent pre- and post-SB 743 projects. The C/CAG VMT Screening Tool was used to test each project to determine if the location was in a Transit Priority Area and/or a Low-VMT Area, two commonly used metrics in VMT analysis. The research found that, following the implementation of SB 743 requirements, the proportion of projects in Transit Priority Areas increased from 69.4% to 80.0%, and among approved projects, increased from 58.8% to 87.5%. However, the proportion of projects located in Low-VMT Areas did not show the same patterns. The results suggest that SB 743 is effectively encouraging development near transit, but falls short in steering projects to the most VMT-efficient areas, potentially limiting its emissions-reduction impact. The steering of projects towards TPAs may be the result of multiple overlapping incentives. This paper is intended for planners and policymakers evaluating the on-the-ground effects of SB 743.