As the Congestion Management Agency (CMA) and transit agency for Santa Clara County, VTA plays an active role in integrating land use and transportation planning.
VTA’s Land Use and Transportation (LUTI) program seeks to strengthen coordination of land use and transportation strategies with local jurisdictions and the development community by promoting sustainable development and expanding mobility options.
As part of the LUTI Program, VTA manages a Development Review Program to engage in local near-term development projects and long-range land use and transportation policies (e.g...
As the Congestion Management Agency (CMA) and transit agency for Santa Clara County, VTA plays an active role in integrating land use and transportation planning.
VTA’s Land Use and Transportation (LUTI) program seeks to strengthen coordination of land use and transportation strategies with local jurisdictions and the development community by promoting sustainable development and expanding mobility options.
As part of the LUTI Program, VTA manages a Development Review Program to engage in local near-term development projects and long-range land use and transportation policies (e.g. General Plans or Specific Plans) in order to encourage a multimodal/transit-integrative planning approach. In this role VTA provides:
- Local jurisdiction land use coordination
- California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review
- Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) review
- Joint Development coordination and planning
Land Use and Development Review Policy
VTA’s Board of Director’s adopted a Land Use and Development Review Policy on January 10, 2019, to increase the effectiveness of the overall LUTI Program.
The policy states VTA’s positions on the integration of land use and transportation, and formalizes the way VTA engages in local land use and development processes.
The policy’s principles, informed by VTA’s Strategic Plan, are as follows:
- Build Effective Partnerships – by establishing common ground with jurisdictions to maximize synergy between land use and transportation.
- Increase Ridership and Support Fast Frequent, Safe and Reliable Transit Service – by making it safe and more comfortable to access our services.
- Support Transit-Supportive Development in Close Proximity to Transit – by maximizing transit access, incentivizing ridership, and improving communications with local jurisdictions.
- Prioritize Sustainable Travel Behavior – by promoting active transportation as a strategy to reduce solo diving, VMT and supporting public health.
The policy’s key strategies are to work closely with local jurisdictions on land use planning efforts (e.g. development projects and long-range plans) at the earliest planning stages and throughout the process to expand mobility options in sustainable locations (e.g., promoting growth in close proximity to VTA’s Frequent Network), and to preserve and enhance VTA operations and the quality of service VTA provides. The policy also calls for VTA to create a transparent, comprehensive and streamlined Land Use and Development Review VTA internal procedure, and other tools to facilitate well-integrated and structurally safe development adjacent to transit facilities, and ensure early and ongoing coordination.
Successful implementation of this policy will help create high-quality built environments that enable multimodal access, support fast and efficient transit operations, and create transit ridership.
2019 LUTI Workplan
VTA has developed an action plan to implement the policy, including one-on-one consultations with local jurisdictions, and the creation of policy tools to assist with implementing specific objectives of the policy.
The 2019 Workplan establishes a new framework of collaboration, information and monitoring tools and will assist with implementing and integrating the LUTI program.
Contact Us
You can reach the Land Use and Transportation Program team by emailing plan.review@vta.org.