The Transportation and Sustainable Communities threshold is designed to reduce reliance on the automobile, support the attainment of the greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) reduction goals of California and Nevada, and increase mobility.

TRPA’s unique planning authority allows it to closely coordinate land use (Regional Plan) and transportation (Regional Transportation Plan) planning. The two plans work together to provide visitors and residents with alternatives to personal automobile travel and reduce VMT. For more than twenty years the focus of both has been supporting compact, mixed-use development, and walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly communities. 

The TRPA Governing Board adopted the Transportation and Sustainable Communities threshold category and the VMT per capita threshold standard in April 2021. Therefore they were not evaluated in the 2019 Threshold Evaluation Report, and will be evaluated for the first time in the 2023 Threshold Evaluation.