Article 40 — Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Standards for New Development

Transportation demand management (TDM) programs are designed to reduce the need, or demand, for automobile trips, especially during congested commute times. TDM strategies include a wide range of activities to encourage transit use, ridesharing and making trips at less congested times or not making trips at all. Successful TDM programs reduce the number of cars driven which generally results in less congestion and improved air quality.

State law requires each City and the County to adopt their own transportation demand management or trip reduction ordinance. The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC) is responsible for the preparation of the Congestion Management Program (CMP) in Ventura County. Among the state-mandated elements of the CMP is a Trip Reduction and Travel Demand Management Element that promotes alternative transportation methods, such as carpools, vanpools, transit, bicycles, walking and park-and-ride lots, improvement in the balance between jobs and housing, and other strategies, including flexible work hours, telecommuting and parking management programs (California Government Code Section 65089(b)(3)). The goals and policies of the CMP also support the increased use of low- and no-emission vehicles. The VCTC must determine biennially whether the County and cities within the county are conforming to the CMP. (California Government Code Section 65089.3.)

This article is intended to promote trip reduction and travel demand measures in the City of Thousand Oaks and meet the TDM facilities ordinance adoption requirement as set out in the Ventura County Congestion Management Program. The requirements of Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (VCAPCD) Rule 210 are separate from this article which sets forth the minimum requirements for meeting CMP. Employers are encouraged to offer or provide additional inducements to use alternatives to single- occupant vehicles to their employees necessary to meet Rule 210 requirements.

(§ 1, Ord. 1199-NS, eff. March 1, 1994, as amended by § 27, Ord. 1374-NS, eff. April 26, 2001)

For the purposes of this article, unless otherwise apparent from the context, certain words and phrases used in this article are defined as follows:

(a) “Alternate transportation” shall mean the use of modes of transportation other than the single-passenger motor vehicle, including but not limited to carpools, vanpools, buspools, public transit, walking and bicycling.

(b) “Applicable development” means any development project that is determined to meet or exceed the project size threshold criteria contained in Section 9-4.4003 and the provisions of Section 9-4.4004 of this article.

(c) “Buspool” shall mean a vehicle (bus) with more than sixteen (16) seating positions used and maintained primarily for carrying commuters to and from work.

• (d) “Carpool” shall mean a vehicle (passenger automobile) occupied by two (2) or more persons aged sixteen (16) years or older commuting to or from work and/or school.

• (e) “Dwelling unit” shall be per the definition in Section 9-4.230 of this title.

(f) “The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)” shall mean Sections 21000 et seq. of the California Public Resource Code.

(g) “Developer” shall mean the builder who is responsible for the planning, design and construction on an applicable development project. A developer may be responsible for implementing the provisions of this article as determined by the property owner.

(h) “Development” and “development project” means the construction or addition of new building square footage. Additions to buildings which existed prior to the adoption of the ordinance codified in this article and which exceed the thresholds defined in Section 9-4.4003 shall comply with the applicable requirements but shall not be added cumulatively with existing square footage; existing square footage shall be exempt from these requirements. All calculations shall be based on gross square footage.

(i) “Employee parking area” shall mean the portion of total required parking at a development project used by onsite employees. Based upon information developed by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE), broad employee parking needs shall be calculated as follows:

The Public Works and Community Development Departments shall determine the land use category for proposed development projects and shall determine based on ITE information, any appropriate percentage factors for special land uses not listed. Total development project required parking shall be determined per the requirements of Section 9- 4.2402 of this chapter.

(j) “Preferential parking” shall mean parking spaces designated or assigned, through use of a sign or painted space markings, for carpool and vanpool vehicles carrying commute passengers on a regular basis that are provided in a location more convenient to a place of employment than parking spaces provided for single-occupant vehicles.

(k) “Public transit” shall mean transit services provided for the general public on a regular basis by buses usually on a fare-paying basis.

(l) “Neighborhood work center” means a location in a community where facilities are provided either by public or private means for shared employees work activities.

(m) “Transportation demand management (TDM)” shall mean the alteration of travel behavior, usually on the part of commuter, through programs of incentives, services and policies. TDM addresses alternatives to single-occupant

vehicles such as carpooling and vanpooling, and changes in work schedules that move trips out of the peak period or eliminate them altogether (as is the case in telecommuting or compressed workweeks).

(n) “Trip reduction” shall mean reduction in the number of work-related trips made by single-occupant vehicles.

(o) “Property owner” means the legal owner of a development project who serves as the lessor to a tenant. The property owner shall be responsible for complying with the provisions of this article either directly or by delegating such responsibility as appropriate to a tenant and/or his agent.

(p) “Vanpool” shall mean a group of at least seven (7) commuters traveling to work in a vehicle designed for carrying more than six (6) but less than sixteen (16) persons, including the driver, which is maintained and used primarily for work-related transportation of adults for the purpose of ridesharing.

(q) “Vehicle” shall mean a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power, or a device used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, or buses used for public or private transit. Examples include, but are not limited to, passenger cars, motorcycles, vans, recreational vehicles and pickup trucks.

(r) “Tenant” means the lessee of facility space at an applicable development project.

(s) “Ventura County Air Pollution Control District” (VCAPCD) is the authority created by the California State Legislature to meet federal standards and otherwise improve air quality in the Ventura County portion of the South Central Coast Air Basin.

(§ 1, Ord. 1199-NS, eff. March 1, 1994)

Prior to City approval of an entitlement for any development project or entitlement issued pursuant to this title, the applicant shall make provision for, as a minimum, all the following applicable transportation demand management and trip reduction measures:

(a) Nonresidential development standards. The developer shall provide calculations or information for determining the number of employees expected to work at the proposed development project site or work center on the development entitlement application submitted to the City. If the developer is unable to provide sufficient information to accurately determine the expected number of employees, then an estimate shall be made which may be subject to verification by the City at a later date. A typical calculation to estimate the number of employees shall be based on: the number of parking spaces required as determined in Section 9-4.2402 of this title entitled, Parking Space Required; assume one employee per parking space; and the “employee parking area” factors listed under Section 9-4.4002(i) of this article.

Compliance with this criteria shall be provided on the site or floor plans for each entitlement request. (1) Nonresidential development projects capable of holding fifty (50) employees or more shall provide a bulletin board, display case or kiosk displaying transportation information located where the greatest number of employees are likely to see it. Information displayed shall include, but is not limited to, the following: current map routes and schedules for public transit routes serving the site; ridesharing promotional material supplied by commuter-oriented organizations; telephone numbers for referrals on transportation information including numbers for the regional ridesharing agency; Dial-A-Route and local transit operators; bicycle route and facility information, including regional and local bicycle maps and bicycle safety information; and a listing of facilities and services available for carpoolers, vanpoolers, bicyclists, transit riders and pedestrians at the site. All proposed public, private streets or driveways that serve as the main access from project buildings to the exterior street system shall include sidewalk facilities per City standards for pedestrians and bike routes as feasible. In cases involving multiple tenants, a bulletin board/display case shall be provided by each tenant, or it shall be provided at a common area acceptable to the Public Works and Community Development Departments.

(2) Nonresidential development projects capable of holding one hundred (100) employees or more shall comply with subsection (a)(1) of this section and shall provide all of the following measures:

(i) Not less than ten (10%) percent of “employee parking area” (employee parking area shall be calculated from Section 9-4.4002(i) of this article and Section 9-4.2402 of this chapter) shall be located as close as is practical to the employee entrance(s), and shall be reserved for use by carpool/vanpool vehicles, without displacing handicapped and customer parking needs. This preferential carpool/vanpool parking area shall be identified on the site plan upon application for development permit or other applicable entitlement. A statement that preferential carpool/vanpool spaces for employees is available and a description of the method for obtaining such spaces must be included on the required transportation information board. Spaces will be signed and striped. Additional carpool/vanpool spaces shall be provided as demand warrants. The following minimum spaces shall be provided in any case: at least one space for projects of fifty thousand (50,000) gross square feet to one hundred thousand (100,000) gross square feet and two (2) spaces for projects over one hundred thousand (100,000) gross square feet will be signed and/or striped for carpool and/or vanpool vehicles.

(ii) Preferential parking spaces reserved for vanpools must be accessible to vanpool vehicles. When located within a parking structure, a minimum vertical interior clearance of seven (7') feet two (2") inches shall be provided for those parking spaces and access ways to be used by such vehicles. Adequate turning radii for vanpool vehicles shall be provided. Parking space dimensions in vanpool parking areas shall be a minimum nine (9') feet by twenty (20') feet. (iii) Bicycle racks or other secure bicycle parking shall be provided near building entrances to accommodate four (4) bicycles per the first fifty thousand (50,000) gross square feet of nonresidential development and one bicycle per each additional fifty thousand (50,000) gross square feet of nonresidential development. Calculations which result in a fraction of 0.5 or higher shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number. A bicycle parking facility may also be a fully enclosed space or locker accessible only to the owner or operator of the bicycle, which protects the bike from inclement weather. Specific facilities and location (e.g., provision of racks, lockers or locked bike room) shall be per the requirements of the Public Works and Community Development Departments imposed as conditions on each entitlement request.

(iv) Safe and convenient bicycle access shall be provided from the external circulation system (e.g., from public access bike paths, bike lanes, and/ or bike routes) to bicycle parking facilities on-site. Safe access shall be provided so as to minimize conflicts with other vehicles and pedestrians as determined by the Public Works Department.

(3) Nonresidential development projects capable of holding one hundred fifty (150) employees or more shall comply with subsections (a)(1) and (2) of this section, and shall provide all of the following:

(i) A safe and convenient zone if feasible and appropriate as determined by the Public Works and Community Development Departments in which vanpool and carpool vehicles may deliver or board their passengers. Passenger loading areas should be located as close as possible to the building entrance and should be designated in a manner that does not impede vehicular circulation in the parking area. A passenger loading zone or van turn-out area may be required to accomplish this. In the case of multiple-tenant developments, more than one passenger loading zone may be required and the location and number of vanpool/carpool passenger loading zones shall be distributed in a manner acceptable to the Public Works and Community Development Departments.

(ii) Sidewalks or other designated pathways following, to the greatest extent feasible, direct and safe routes from the external (public or private) pedestrian circulation system to each, and between each building in the development. (iii) If determined necessary by the Public Works and Community Development Departments to mitigate project impacts, bus stop improvements shall be provided. Appropriate bus service improvements as determined by the Public Works Director include bus turnouts, bus pads (thickened pavement structural section where bus travels or stops), bus shelters, bus benches, bus stops, bus lighting, etc. When locating bus stops and or planning building entrances,

entrances should be designed to provide safe and efficient access to nearby transit stations and/ or stops as determined by the Public Works Director and the Community Development Director.

(iv) Development design shall incorporate, to the extent feasible as determined by the Public Works Director and the Community Development Director, showers, changing rooms, lockers, etc., for employees who bicycle, jog or walk to work.

(v) Development design shall incorporate an eating area and shall incorporate to the extent feasible as determined by the Departments of Public Works and Community Development cafeterias, eating establishments, ATMs, day care facilities, gyms, and other facilities which will reduce the need for mid day driving. The requirement of this subparagraph will be deemed to be satisfied if the developer enters into a written agreement with a neighboring project to mutually share approved TDM facility or facilities such as eating areas, cafeterias, eating establishments, ATMs, day care facilities, and gyms.

(b) Residential development standards.

(1) Residential development projects of one hundred (100) dwelling units or more shall provide the following which shall be provided on the site plans for each entitlement request:

(i) Safe, convenient and direct pedestrian and bicycle access from the internal circulation system to collector and/or arterial roadways. The project residential street system shall include sidewalks per City standards. The project residential street system may also serve as bicycle routes to connect to the collector and/or arterial roadways. These types of standard facilities should satisfy this requirement; however, development projects may be required to provide additional off-street pedestrian and or bicycle facilities as determined by the Public Works and Community Development Departments.

(ii) If determined necessary by the Public Works Department, bus stop improvements including but not limited to bus turnouts, shelters, benches, lighting, etc. shall be provided.

(2) Residential development projects of five hundred (500) dwelling units or more shall comply with subsection (b) (i) of this section, and shall: incorporate development project design to the greatest extent possible and as appropriate based on adjacent land use and market services such as dry cleaners, eating establishments, child care facilities, grocery markets, neighborhood work centers, ATMs, gyms, and other facilities which will reduce home-based vehicle trips and vehicle miles traveled. This requirement could be satisfied if the proposed development project is to be located in proximity to existing or planned services as determined by the Community Development Department. All facilities and improvements constructed or otherwise required by this section shall be maintained in a state of good repair.

A reduction in the number of project-required parking spaces and/or parking space size (i.e., compact parking space size in lieu of standard space size) may be allowed in certain cases, as determined by the Public Works and Community Development Departments. To be considered for a parking reduction, the developer, by imposed conditions, shall agree to provide and guarantee approved TDM measures and/or TDM program enhancements that exceed the requirements of this article for the development project. The extent of the credit for TDM measures in lieu required parking spaces shall be consistent with requirements of this chapter and shall be approved by the City. (§ 1, Ord. 1199-NS, eff. March 1, 1994)

The provisions of this article shall not apply to projects for which a development application has been deemed “complete” by the City pursuant to Government Code Section 65943, prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this article. Phased development projects, development projects subject to a development agreement, or development projects requiring subsequent approvals, need not repeat this process as long as no significant changes are made to the project. It shall remain the discretion of the City of Thousand Oaks to make this determination.

(§ 1, Ord. 1199-NS, eff. March 1, 1994)

Prior to approval of any development project for which an environmental impact report (EIR) will be prepared pursuant to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) or based on a local determination, regional and municipal fixed-route transit operators providing service to the project shall be identified and consulted with to provide input. Projects for which a notice of preparation (NOP) for a draft EIR has been circulated pursuant to CEQA prior to the effective date of the ordinance codified in this article shall be exempted from the provisions of this section. Transit operators shall be sent a NOP for all contemplated EIRs and shall, as part of the NOP process, be given opportunity to comment on the impacts of the project, to identify recommended transit service or capital improvements which may be required as a result of the project, and to recommend mitigation measures which minimize automobile trips on the CMP network. Impacts and recommended mitigation measures identified by the transit operator shall be evaluated in the environmental impact report prepared for the project. Related mitigation measures adopted shall be monitored through the mitigation monitoring requirements of CEQA. (§ 1, Ord. 1199-NS, eff. March 1, 1994)

All provisions of this article and the requirements imposed by the approved conditions of development imposed on a project shall be complied with and inspected by the City prior to the release of final occupancy permits. (§ 1, Ord. 1199-NS, eff. March 1, 1994)