Chapter 8.40

This chapter is intended to protect the public health, welfare and safety by reducing air pollution caused by vehicle trips and vehicle miles traveled. This chapter is intended to accomplish emission reductions by meeting requirements of California Government Code Section 65089.3(b) which requires adoption and implementation of a trip reduction and travel demand ordinance by local agencies.

(Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992)

The following words and terms used in this division shall have the meanings indicated below:

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

"Applicable development" means any new development project that is determined to meet or exceed the employment threshold using the criteria contained in this chapter. An applicable development also includes developments which are owned and/or managed as one unit, such as a business park or shopping center, that also meet or exceed the employment threshold.

"Bicycle facilities" means any capital improvements which would benefit an employee who rides a bicycle to their worksite, including shower facilities, locker facilities, bicycle parking, etc.

"Change of use" means a development or facility space of a lessee which has altered its initial use to another use not related to the previous. (Example: office space changes its use to commercial space.)

"Developer" means the builder who is responsible for the planning, design and construction of an applicable development project. A developer may be responsible for implementing this chapter as determined by the property owner.

"Employee" means any person employed by a firm, person(s), business, educational institution, nonprofit agency or corporation, government agency or other entity which employs one hundred or more persons at a single worksite.

"Employment generation factors" refers to factors developed for use by the jurisdiction for projecting the potential employment of any proposed development project.

"Employer" means any person(s), firm, business, educational institution, government agency, nonprofit agency or corporation, or other entity which employs one hundred or more persons at a single worksite, and may either be a property owner or tenant of an applicable development project.

"Employment threshold" refers to the number of employees which an applicable development must have for the TDM ordinance to be required of that employer.

"Minimum standards" means the minimum changes made to establish a transportation demand management and trip reduction plan at an applicable development project to a level which satisfies this chapter.

"Mixed-use development" means new development projects that combine any land uses one with

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City of Palm Springs, CA

BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION

§ 8.40.010

§ 8.40.015

another.

"New development project" means any nonresidential project being processed where some level of discretionary action by a decision making body is required.

"Peak period" means those hours of the business day between seven a.m. and nine a.m. inclusive, Monday through Friday, which TDM strategies such as this chapter identify as the priority period for reducing work-related vehicle trips.

"Property owner" means the legal owner of the applicable development and/or its designee (i.e., developer)

"Rideshare facilities" means any capital improvements which would benefit an employee who rideshares to the worksite, including on-site amenities, preferential parking, and rideshare dropoff areas at the entrance of the worksite.

"Site development plan/permit" means a precise plan of development that may be approved by the city for any development or change of use application that requires a transportation demand management plan.

"Transit facilities" means any capital improvements which would benefit an employee who uses any form of transit to travel to the worksite, including transit stops, shelters, bus turnouts, parkand-ride lots and other transit amenities.

"Transportation management association" or "TMA" means a voluntary entity of employers, property owners and other interested parties who share a mutual concern for local transportation problems. TMA's have the ability to collectively pool participants' resources to address these issues. A TMA must still meet a ten percent reduction in work-related trips for each individual applicable new development.

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

"Worksite" means a building or grouping of buildings located within the jurisdiction which are in physical contact or are separated solely by a private or public roadway or other private right-ofway, and which are owned or operated by the same employer (or by employers under common control).

(Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992)

This chapter shall apply to all new development projects and/or change of use projects that are estimated to employ a total of one hundred or more persons as determined by the following methodology:

• (1) For purposes of determining whether a new development or change of use project is subject to this chapter, the total employment figure will be determined as follows:

  • (A) Employment projections developed by the project applicant, subject to approval by the director of planning and zoning; or

  • (B) Employment projections developed by the director of planning and zoning using the

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City of Palm Springs, CA

PALM SPRINGS CODE

§ 8.40.015

§ 8.40.025

following employee generation factors by type of use.

==> picture [377 x 117] intentionally omitted <==

----- Start of picture text -----
Land Use Category Gross Square Feet/Employee
Retail/commercial 500
Office/professional 250
Industrial/manufacturing 525
Hotel/motel 0.8-1.2 employees/room
Hospital 300
----- End of picture text -----

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

• (Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992)

• (a) All applicable new developments (nonresidential developments which employ one hundred or more persons) and/or changes of use which are owned and/or managed as one unit shall submit a transportation demand management plan prepared by a traffic engineer, transportation planner or other qualified professional identifying traffic impacts associated with a proposed project and including design recommendations and mitigation measures, as appropriate, to address on-site and off-site project impacts. The TDM plan shall establish a standard of reducing trips by ten percent from the average level indicated in the Institute of Transportation Engineer's Trip Generation report. The plan shall also indicate specific strategies and guidelines to reduce the amount of trips and increase the amount of nonvehicular transportation.

• (b) All property owners of applicable new developments and/or changes of use shall be subject to required capital improvement standards as specified in this section. These standards must all be addressed to realize if they are applicable to their development. These required standards may be used to achieve the mandatory reduction of ten percent in the expected number of trips related to the project. Property owners shall include in their project site development plans provisions to address each of the following capital improvements:

  • (1) Transit facilities (on- and off-site);

  • (2) Bicycle facilities;

  • (3) Rideshare facilities;

  • (4) See options in Section 8.40.025(d) for specific capital improvement strategies.

• (c) Operational standards to achieve the mandatory ten percent reduction in trips related to the project must be established sixty days after occupancy of the development by an employer.

• (d) The following options may be included in the developer's TDM plan to fulfill both the capital improvement standards and the operational standards:

  • (1) Alternate Work Schedules/Flex-Time.

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City of Palm Springs, CA

BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION

§ 8.40.025

§ 8.40.025

Incorporate alternate work schedules and flex-time programs (such as nine/eighty or four/forty work schedule);

• (2) Telecommuting.

Establish telecommuting or work at home programs to allow employees to work at home or at a satellite work center;

• (3) Bicycle Facilities.

Provide bicycle parking facilities equal to five percent of the total required automobile parking spaces; and preserve up to two percent of the gross floor area for employee locker and shower facilities;

• (4) On-Site Employee Housing and Shuttles.

Provide affordable on-site housing and shuttles to and from residential and work areas;

• (5) Preferential parking for carpool vehicles;

• (6) Information center for transportation alternatives;

• (7) Rideshare vehicle loading areas;

• (8) Vanpool vehicle accessibility;

• (9) Bus stop improvements;

• (10) On-site child care facilities;

• (11) Availability of electrical outlets for recharging of electric vehicles;

• (12) On-site amenities such as cafeterias and restaurants, automated teller machines, and other services that would eliminate the need for additional trips;

• (13) Airport shuttle service to hotels and spas;

• (14) Contributions to funds providing regional facilities such as park-and-ride lots, multimodal transportation centers and transit alternatives in the area;

• (15) Incentives for mass transit usage including provision of a bus pass, additional pay, flex-time or others;

• (16) Implementation of increased parking fees or new fees;

• (17) Restriction of business hours;

• (18) Restriction of delivery hours;

• (19) Provide a direct pedestrian path from the closest transit stop into the facility;

• (20) Contribute up to one dollar per square foot to a housing subsidy fund so that affordable housing can be created closer to employer sites;

• (21) Develop rideshare and shuttle programs at resorts/hotels;

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City of Palm Springs, CA § 8.40.025

PALM SPRINGS CODE

§ 8.40.040

• (22) Create golf cart circulation system;

• (23) If an applicable development is on a current transit route, provide a transit stop, shelter, trash barrels, benches, shade and wind protection, and bus turnouts;

• (24) If an applicable development is not located on a current transit route, contribute to a fund which will be used to provide transit amenities;

• (25) If an applicable development is located on a major arterial, items (23) and (24) above should be considered;

• (26) Provisions for the implementation of bicycle lanes; and

(27) Provide other creative or innovative strategies to reduce vehicle trips. (Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992)

It shall be the responsibility of the planning director or the director's designee to inform a transportation demand management applicant as to the completeness of the application within 30 days of filing the application. Once the application is accepted as complete, the planning director shall either approve or deny the application within 60 days.

(Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992; Ord. 2031 § 11, 2020; Ord. 2088, 11/9/2023)

• (a) A request for TDM approval shall be made through application forms provided by the planning department. The application for such approval shall be filed with the planning department within 30 days of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.

• (b) A processing fee shall be paid at the time the completed application is filed with the planning department. The fee shall be as adopted by resolution of the city council.

• (c) An application for TDM review shall be supplemented by plans and other pertinent information to adequately address all applicable aspects of a proposal.

• (d) The planning department shall review applications and approve, conditionally approve or deny the application and shall assure conformity with the chapter.

• (Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992; Ord. 2031 § 11, 2020; Ord. 2088, 11/9/2023)

• (a) The department of planning and zoning shall review approved TDM plans annually for compliance to this chapter by sampling 25 percent of implemented TDM programs. This sampling will result in either renewal of a TDM program if the TDM plan is reducing workrelated trips by 10 percent, or denial of a renewal due to noncompliance with this chapter. If a TDM plan is not renewed, an updated plan must be submitted by the applicable development (developer, owner, employer or managing office) within 30 days of the denial of renewal. The updated plan shall be reviewed and approved as per Section 8.40.035. A follow-up review for compliance of the updated TDM plan will take place within 90 days.

• (b) The department of planning and zoning shall also review any approved TDM plan for compliance if complaints about a TDM plan and its noncompliance are recorded to the city.

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City of Palm Springs, CA

BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION

§ 8.40.040

§ 8.40.060

• (Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992)

For purposes of meeting its obligations under this chapter, the city council of the city may by resolution set fees deemed necessary to review and monitor TDM plans. (Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992)

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

• (1) Development projects which employ fewer than 100 persons;

• (2) Temporary construction activities on any affected project, including activities performed by engineers, architects, contact subcontractors and construction workers;

• (3) Other temporary activities, when such temporary activities shall discontinue at the end of the designated time period;

• (4) Employers having a current Regulation XV Plan certified by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which meets the intent of this chapter.

• (Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992)

For purposes of ensuring that applicable developments comply with the provisions of this chapter, the city shall, following written notice to subject property owner(s), initiate enforcement action(s) against such property owner(s) or designee(s) which may include, but not be limited to, the following:

• (1) Withholding issuance of a building permit or certificate of use and occupancy;

• (2) Issuance of a noncompliance infraction citation; and

• (3) Issuance of a stop work order;

• (4) Any other matter permitted by law.

• (Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992)

An appeal may be made by the property owner(s) or designee(s) of any applicable development regarding decisions by the director of planning and zoning, to the city council pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 2.05 of the Palm Springs Municipal Code. (Ord. 1421 § 1, 1992)

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City of Palm Springs, CA

BUILDINGS AND CONSTRUCTION

§ 8.50.005

§ 8.50.010