CEQA & Land Use Planning

​Land use and transportation plans and projects in the Sac Metro Air District jurisdiction have the potential to impact air quality.  Sac Metro Air District staff review and provide comments through lead agency planning, environmental and entitlement processes with the goal of reducing adverse air quality impacts and ensuring compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The following resources are provided to assist agencies and project proponents with air quality analysis and mitigation.

• ​Project Review Principles (adopted April 2017) guide staff's review of plans and projects.
• CEQA Guidance & Tools include the Guide to Air Quality Assessment in Sacramento County, thresholds of significance and emissions estimating models. 
• Recommended Mitigation measures for operational and construction emissions.
• Mobile Sources Air Toxics Protocol to assess potential cancer risk to receptors located near major roadways and railways, and a Landscaping Guidance for Improving Air Quality near Roadways.
• Model Air Quality Element contains policies for general plans.
• Draft Guidance for Land Use Emission Reductions 5.0 The Recommended Guidance for Land Use Emission Reductions, Version 5.0, creates a common platform of information and tools so developers, communities, and lead agencies can disclose air emissions and select appropriate design features, conditions of approval, and mitigation to reduce those emissions.
  

​Sac Metro Air District comment letters on plans and projects are publicly available.

Additionally, Sac Metro Air District staff publishes a quarterly newsletter highlighting updates to guidance, changes to models, and workshops and training opportunities.

The Sac Metro Air District's Urban Heat Project findings and recommendations can aid local governments in their planning for extreme heat and heat resilience for public health, land use design, urban forestry, and more. For the transportation sector, the project findings can help to improve the resilience of roadways and pavements, as well as support the health of active transportation users. The results demonstrate cooling benefits in sustainable land use design principles such as density and infill development, tree planting, and Electric Vehicle supportive designs – all of which produce air quality benefits as well. These goals are in line with the State of California's broader goals for climate resilience planning and the California Transportation Plan 2040’s goals for a vibrant multimodal transportation system.

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