Mission Viejo Municipal Code Ch. 12.20 Transportation Demand Management Requirements

The city council hereby adopts this chapter for the following specific purposes:

(1) To meet the requirements of Government Code § 65089(b)(3), as amended, which requires development of a trip reduction and travel demand element to the county congestion management program, and Government Code § 65089.3(a)(2), as amended, which requires adoption and implementation of a trip reduction and travel demand ordinance.

(2) To mitigate the impacts that development projects may have on transit mobility and air quality, and to promote transportation demand management strategies that encourage employers to more efficiently utilize the existing and planned transportation system.

(3) To specify responsibilities of public and private project developers proposing nonresidential development within the city to consider transportation demand management strategies in conjunction with development application submittals, and to incorporate design standards in each project approval which facilitate the reduction of single-occupant vehicle trips and support trip reduction activities.

(4) To support the development of physical facilities that would promote and encourage the use of alternative and energy-conserving transportation modes.

(5) To encourage the development of safe and secure transportation facilities at worksites.

(6) To achieve related reductions in vehicle trips, traffic congestion, and air pollution through utilization of existing local mechanisms and procedures for project review and permit processing.

(7) To promote, coordinate, and implement transportation demand management strategies that may reduce transportation demand and achieve the most efficient use of local resources.

(Ord. No. 91-66, § 1(7-9-900), 4-22-91)

For purposes of this chapter, the definitions of the following terms shall apply:

Alternative transportation modes means any mode of travel that serves as an alternative to the single occupant vehicle. This can include all forms of ridesharing such as carpooling or vanpooling, as well as public transit, bicycling, or walking.

Application project means any development project that is determined to meet or exceed a 100-employee threshold.

Carpool means two to six persons traveling together in a single vehicle.

Development project means any nonresidential or mixed-use project which requires discretionary approval by the city.

Director means the director of community development or the designee of the director of community development.

Employee means any person employed by a firm, person, business, educational institution, nonprofit agency or corporation, government agency or other entity, or combination of such entities, which collectively employs 100 or more persons at a single worksite. "Employee" shall include persons employed on a full-time, part-time or temporary basis.

Employer means any person, firm, business, educational institution, government agency, nonprofit agency or corporation, or other entity, or combination of such entities, which employs or houses tenants that collectively employ 100 or more employees at a single worksite within the city on a full- and/or part-time/temporary basis, and may either be a property owner or tenant of a development project.

Improvement plans means plans submitted to the city as part of an application for a building permit for the enlargement or expansion of new, existing, or change of use (as defined by the Uniform Building Code) of any nonresidential building or use.

Minimum building size means the total gross leaseable floor area measured in square feet of a building or group of buildings at a common work location. The term includes the total floor area of both new and existing facilities.

Mixed-use development means the development of a parcel(s) or structure(s) with two or more different land uses such as, but not limited to, a combination of residential, office, commercial retail, public or entertainment in a single or physically integrated group of structures.

Property owner means the legal owner of the applicable development project who serves as lessor to an employer or tenant. The property owner shall be responsible for complying with the provisions of this chapter either directly or by delegating such responsibility as appropriate to an employer or tenant.

Tenant means the lessee of facility space at a development project who may also serve as an employer.

Transportation demand management means the implementation of programs, plans or policies designed to encourage changes in individual travel behavior. Transportation demand management can include an emphasis on alternative travel modes to the single occupant vehicle such as carpools, vanpools and transit; on the reduction or elimination of the number of vehicle trips, or shifts in the time of vehicle commutes to other than the peak period.

Trip reduction means reducing the number of work-related trips taken during peak-period hours in single occupant vehicles.

Vanpool means a van occupied by seven or more persons traveling together.

Worksite means a building or group of buildings which are in actual physical contact or separated solely by a private roadway or easement and which are owned or operated by an employer.

(Ord. No. 91-66, § 1(7-9-901), 4-22-91)

Cross reference— Definitions generally, § 1.01.170.

The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all of the following development projects:

(1) Any new commercial, office/professional, business park/industrial, mixed use, institutional, or other nonresidential use which is expected to employ 100 or more persons, as determined by employee projections or by employee generation factors established by the director.

(2) Any existing or approved facility or development for which the property owner/tenant submits a subsequent discretionary application to change the proposed use, project design, or development intensity, and which will employ 100 or more persons as determined by the procedures established in subsection (4) of this section.

(3) Any development, existing or planned, which will have fewer than 100 employees, to which the approving authority determines applicability of the provisions of this chapter as a consequence of adverse traffic conditions.

(4) For purposes of determining whether a development project, as set forth above, is subject to this chapter, either of the following methods shall be used, at the discretion of the director:

a. Employment projections developed by the project applicant, subject to approval of the director; or

b. The following minimum building sizes which shall be considered equivalent to the 100-employee threshold:

(1) The employment projection for a development of mixed or multiple uses shall be calculated on a case-by-case basis based upon the proportion of development devoted to each type of use.

(Ord. No. 91-66, § 1(7-9-902), 4-22-91)

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this Code, the following uses and activities shall be specifically exempt from the provisions of this chapter:

(1) Development projects expected to employ fewer than 100 persons, except as provided in section 12.20.030(3) of this Code.

(2) Temporary construction activities on any affected project, including activities performed by engineers, architects, contract subcontractors and construction workers.

(3) Other temporary activities, as defined in the city development code, or as authorized by the city when such temporary activities shall discontinue at the end of the designated time period.

(Ord. No. 91-66, § 1(7-9-903), 4-22-91)

As a condition of approval of any development project covered by the provisions of this chapter, the approving authority shall require the preparation, adoption, and compliance with a TDM-facility design program which will encourage increased ridesharing and alternative transportation modes, applicable to the specific development project. The components of a TDM-facility design program may include any of the following standards and such other TDM-facility strategies as may be appropriate to encourage and facilitate TDM opportunities or related air quality requirements:

(1) Carpool/vanpool parking. A percentage of parking spaces, located as close as is practical to each entrance of the use such spaces are intended to serve or at other preferential locations within the employee parking area, may be reserved for use by carpool and vanpool vehicles, as determined by the approving authority.

These spaces may be reserved and designated for carpool/vanpool parking by marking such spaces "Carpool Only."

(2) Bicycle parking. An area where bicycle racks shall be provided for use by employees and tenants who commute to the site by bicycle may be designated. The bicycle parking area may be established in a secure location and be in close proximity to employee entrances.

(3) Transit waiting shelters. Transit waiting shelters, including bus pullouts, bus pads and rights-of-way for bus shelters, may be required by the city in consultation with the county transportation authority, for development projects located along high traffic volume streets and established or proposed bus routes. The applicability of this subsection (3) shall be determined in conformance with standard traffic engineering principals including, but not limited to, the frequency and relative impact of blocked traffic due to stopped buses and the level of transit ridership at the location.

(4) Pedestrian access. Sidewalks and other paved pathways may be provided on site to connect off-site external pedestrian circulation systems (planned or existing) to the building site. Sidewalk locations may integrate existing and planned waiting shelters with building entrances.

(5) Bicycle access. Implementation of the city's master plan of bike trails may be integrated with project review, to provision continuity and transition to existing and planned on-street and off-street bike trails.

(6) Joint access and shared parking. For applicable developments designed as a worksite, provision of joint access and shared parking across multiple parcels may be incorporated into project design to facilitate integration of TDM facility strategies.

(7) Miscellaneous optional requirements. The following additional TDM mechanisms may be incorporated into the project design, taking into consideration project use(s), size and building site layout:

a. A commuter information area, located within the central building, to provide employees with information on alternative transportation modes. This area shall be centrally located and accessible to all employees or tenants and shall be of sufficient size to provide and display information on alternative transportation modes, such as current maps, routes and schedules for public transit.

b. Shower and locker facilities on site for use by employees or tenants who commute to the site by bicycle or walking.

c. Rideshare vehicle passenger loading and unloading areas to provide employees who vanpool or carpool to embark and disembark from rideshare vehicles, to and from the building site. The design and location of such loading areas shall consider on-site circulation characteristics, pedestrian access, and building site entrances to provide for employee access.

d. On-site daycare facilities.

e. On-site lunch rooms/cafeterias.

f. On-site commercial services such as banks, restaurants, and small retail uses.

g. Parking spaces designated for park-and-ride users.

(Ord. No. 91-66, § 1(7-9-904), 4-22-91)