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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-04-01; Traffic Safety Commission; ; INFORMATIONAL PRESENTATION OF THE APPROVED CITYWIDE TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT (TDM) PLAN, CITYWIDE TDM PROGRAM AND TDM ORDINANCEItem # 4 Meeting Date: April 1, 2019 To: Traffic Safety Commission Staff Contact: Jason Geldert, City Engineer (CED) Jason.Geldert@carlsbadca.gov or 760-602-2758 Subject: Informational presentation of the approved citywide Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Plan, citywide TDM program and TDM ordinance. Recommended Action That the Traffic Safety Commission receive the informational presentation of city’s TDM citywide plan, citywide program and ordinance. Background and Discussion On February 26, 2019, the City Council approved a series of actions to further implement Climate Action Plan (CAP) measures that aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The CAP which was adopted in 2015 in conjunction with the city’s General Plan update, describes several specific measures and actions that the city must undertake to offset and reduce forecasted emissions in alignment with state reduction goals. Measure K-1 and K-2 of the CAP focus on reducing single-occupancy vehicle travel through TDM. Staff will provide an overview of the TDM ordinance and related actions passed by the City Council that will implement these CAP measures. No action is being requested of the Traffic Safety Commission related to this presentation. Necessary Council Action The contract for TDM consultant services is anticipated to be submitted to City Council for approval in July 2019. Next Steps More information about the CAP ordinances, including TDM, is available on the city’s website at: http://www.carlsbadca.gov/news/displaynews.asp?NewsID=1808&TargetID=61 Exhibits 1. TDM Ordinance. 2. Citywide TDM Plan 3. TDM Fact Sheet e TRAFFIC SA. FETY COMMISSION Staff Report . ORDINANCE NO. . AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, ADDING CARLSBAD CHAPTER 18.51 (TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT) TO TITLE 18 OF THE CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE. WHEREAS, on September 22, 2015, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad approved Resolution No. 2015-244, approving the Climate Action Plan (CAP) which aims to reduce communitywide greenhouse gas emissions (GHG); and WHEREAS, in connection with approval of the CAP, the City Council certified a program environmental impact report (EIR 13-02) in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which evaluated the potential environmental effects of CAP implementation, including adoption and enforcement of various ordinances intended to reduce GHG; and WHEREAS, this Transportation Demand Management (TDM) ordinance fulfills CAP Measure K- 2 to address transportation-related GHG; and WHEREAS, the City Planner has determined that: 1) adoption of this ordinance is a subsequent activity of the CAP for which program EIR 13-02 was prepared; 2) a notice for the activity has been given, which includes statements that this activity is within the scope of the program approved earlier, and that program EIR 13-02 adequately describes the activity for the purposes of CEQA Section 15168( c)(2) and (e); 3) the project has no new significant environmental effect not analyzed as significant in the prior EIR 13-02; and 4) none of the circumstances requiring a subsequent or a supplemental EIR under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162 or 15163 exist. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, ordains as follows that: SECTION 1: The above recitations are true and correct. SECTION 2: That Chapter 18.51 is added to the Carlsbad Municipal Code to read as follows: Chapter 18.51 Transportation Demand Management 18.51.10 Purpose This chapter establishes policies and guidelines for Transportation Demand Management in the City of Carlsbad that implements the Carlsbad Climate Action Plan (the “CAP”). The purpose of this chapter is to: 1. Reduce single-occupancy vehicle trips and increase alternative mode share among Carlsbad workers to levels indicated in the CAP to meet 2035 greenhouse gas reduction targets. 2. Support citywide efforts to promote multi-modal streets and neighborhoods consistent with the Mobility Element of the General Plan including Livable Streets Guide. 3. Mitigate the effects of increased traffic on city infrastructure and maintain adequate provision of public facilities consistent with the City’s Growth Management Plan and Local Facilities Management Plan. 4. Provide more viable travel options and improve health, quality of life, and safety for City of Carlsbad residents and employees. 18.51.20 Authority The City Engineer or designee shall administer this chapter. 18.51.30 Incorporation of Transportation Demand Management Manual by Reference The City Engineer shall establish rules and procedures as necessary to administer this chapter. Such rules and procedures shall be referred to as the “Transportation Demand Management Handbook” (“TDM Handbook”) and is incorporated by reference into this chapter. The City Engineer is hereby authorized to modify the TDM Handbook as necessary provided such amendments are consistent with this chapter and state law. Should any provisions of the TDM Handbook conflict with any provisions of this chapter, the provisions of this chapter shall control. 18.51.40 Findings This chapter implements the CAP. The requirements of this chapter will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with motor vehicles through application of strategies and policies to reduce travel demand by shifting single occupancy vehicle trips to alternative modes. 18.51.50 Definitions “Alternative Modes” means all modes of transportation that do not include single-occupancy vehicle trips, including transit, walking, biking, ridesharing and others “Commuter Survey” means paper or electronic survey that includes questions about commuter behaviour, preferences, motivations, and barriers. A commuter survey is typically distributed to establish and monitor mode share at a work site. “Mode share” means percentage of commuters who use different modes of transportation, such as drive-alone, transit, bike, walking, etc. “Single-Occupancy Vehicle (SOV)” means one occupant per vehicle. SOV trips can be used interchangeably with drive-alone or solo driving trips. “TDM Plan” means strategies and investments to reduce SOV mode share tailored to a specific work-site, including facilities improvements, programs, incentives/disincentives, education, marketing, and outreach. “Transportation Demand Management (TDM)” means strategies, policies, and programs that reduce demand on roadway infrastructure by reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips. 18.51.60 Applicability This chapter, together with the TDM Handbook, shall apply to all non-residential development projects where employees produce a minimum of 110 average daily trips (ADT). Trip generation rates determined as according to the TDM handbook. All projects that are subject to this ordinance shall submit a TDM plan in accordance with the TDM handbook. 18.51.80 Enforcement A. The city manager, or designee, shall investigate and enforce this chapter. Any city authorized personnel or enforcement officer may exercise any enforcement power as set forth in Chapters 1.08 and 1.10 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code. B. Upon approval of the city council, the city manager, or designee, may delegate to or enter into a contract with a local agency or other person to implement and administer any of the provisions of this chapter on behalf of the city. C. TDM amenities approved and installed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be maintained in accordance with the policies and requirements of the TDM Handbook. Failure to do so may be subject to enforcement to the provisions of this section. 18.51.90 Fees An applicant for a project subject to this chapter shall include with the application, all fees established by the city council by resolution to cover the city’s cost to review an application, any required TDM documentation package and any other documents that the city staff reviews pursuant to the requirements of this chapter and the TDM Plan and TDM Handbook. EFFECTIVE DATE: This ordinance shall be effective thirty days after its adoption; and the City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this ordinance and cause the full text of the ordinance or a summary of the ordinance prepared by the City Attorney to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Carlsbad within fifteen days after its adoption. INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ at a Regular Meeting of the Carlsbad City Council on the ______ day of __________, 2019, and thereafter PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad on the __ day of ________, 2019, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: _________________________________ CELIA A. BREWER, City Attorney _________________________ MATT HALL, Mayor _________________________ BARBARA ENGLESON, City Clerk (SEAL) City of Carlsbad Citywide Transportation Demand Management Plan Introduction The State of California has set mandates to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) to 1990 levels by 2020 or 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. The City of Carlsbad is doing our part and adopted a Climate Action Plan in September 2015 to meet our required share of GHG emission reductions. The Climate Action Plan recognizes that Transportation Demand Management (TDM) is an important strategy to achieve the state’s mandated targets. Transportation accounts for nearly 40% of greenhouse gas emissions and the purpose of TDM is to reduce the number of single occupancy vehicle trips among employees that work in Carlsbad. TDM is an effective strategy to reduce GHG emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Specifically, the Climate Action Plan targets single occupancy vehicle trips, or people driving alone, to and from work. Measure K-1 requires the following: The Plan This citywide TDM plan outlines the framework within which city staff will operationalize TDM to meet the requirements of K-1 and ultimately the targets to reduce single-occupancy vehicle trips by 30% by the year 2035. Measure K-1 references the General Plan Mobility Element, which states that “TDM consists of programs and policies to reduce the demand for the single occupant automobile.” Thus, the citywide TDM plan consists of the following elements: 1. Infrastructure 2. Regulations & Policies 3. Guiding Resources 4. TDM Program 1. Infrastructure The ability of individuals or groups of individuals to choose alternative modes of transportation relies on the availability of a transportation network with adequate infrastructure to make other modes such as walking, biking, transit or carpooling viable. For example, a person is not likely to bike to and from work if there are not safe bike lanes available, if there are not clear bike routes from the street to their place of work, or if there are not showers available once they arrive at work. The city’s Sustainable Mobility Plan is an effort to examine alternative transportation options in a comprehensive way to present an existing and future network that will make it easier for individuals to K-1: Adopt a citywide transportation demand management (WM) plan, as described in the General Plan Mobility Element, detailing a mix of strategies to reduce travel demand, specifically of single occupancy vehicles. SANOAG's 2012 "Integrating Transportation Demand Management Into the Planning and Development Process'A2 provides a guide to designing and implementing a TDM plan and will be used as a reference document to develop the city's TOM plan. TDM strategies evaluated in the plan include parking ordinances, subsidized or discounted transit programs, transit marketing and promotion, carsharing, bikesharing, parking pricing, and bike parking. (Short-term) understand and make varied transportation choices. The Sustainable Mobility Plan effort will prioritize infrastructure project to close gaps that are hindering the use of alternative modes of transportation like biking, walking, transit and safe routes to schools. A robust infrastructure network will provide more options for the community to choose one or a combination of transportation methods other than driving alone. Infrastructure improvement projects identified through the Sustainable Mobility Plan will be incorporated into the city’s annual Capital Improvement Program. In addition to the Sustainable Mobility Plan, the city will evaluate appropriate TDM infrastructure improvements through other major city efforts, like the Village & Barrio Master Plan implementation. Any new transportation services that is available in Carlsbad either through efforts led by the city or through partnership with regional transportation agencies such as SANDAG or NCTD also fall into the category of infrastructure. For example, should the city work with the business community to launch service to and/from transit stations to the city’s industrial hub around McClellan-Palomar Airport, such service would be considered an infrastructure improvement to the city’s network. 2. Regulations & Policies From the regulatory level, in addition to Measure K-1 of the Climate Action Plan, Measure K-2 of the plan requires adoption of a TDM ordinance. This ordinance places regulations on new non-residential development to install appropriate TDM infrastructure and programs at the individual development project level. This will be achieved by the development and city approval of project-specific TDM plans that development applicants will prepare when the project meets the determine threshold of average daily trips generate by employees. City staff will use industry standards to calculate average daily trips and determine the applicability of a project to submit a project-specific TDM plan. In addition to the TDM ordinance, other major city efforts that affect the transportation effort from a policy level will consider which, if any TDM strategies would be appropriate. The Village & Barrio Master Plan is an example of such an effort. The plan addressed TDM by evaluating parking requirements in the geographic area of the plan, parking program elements and infrastructure improvements that would encourage all people in the Village & Barrio to consider transportation options, whether they are residents, employees or even visitors. City staff will work with the city’s Chief Innovation Officer to identify potential areas where TDM strategies can leverage technology effectively or to coordinate transportation-related innovation efforts with this plan. 3. Guiding Resources TDM is not something developers or businesses have an expertise in and will need consultative assistance. Carlsbad is at the forefront of municipal climate change by launching a proactive TDM plan. City staff believe an important part of the citywide TDM plan is appropriate assistance to make choices that are cost-effective and project-specific. The TDM ordinance references the TDM Handbook, which will serve as a “living” document to provide guidance to the development and business community on how to implement TDM in a specific context. The handbook outlines a comprehensive list of strategies, details how the strategy can be implemented and which modes each strategy addresses. Once the ordinance is approved and adopted, the TDM Handbook will be accompanied by more detailed information about TDM on the city’s webpage, as well as an interactive online tool that will help filter the strategies in the TDM Handbook based on what an employer or developer wants to achieve. The TDM Handbook is considered a “living” document because city staff expect to update the handbook based on experiences once developers and businesses start using the resource. It will be iterative so that as TDM plans are approved and implemented, staff can gain insight qualitatively and quantitatively on the effectiveness of each strategy within the Carlsbad context. 4. TDM Program The TDM ordinance can only address new non-residential development. Staff recognizes that in order to meet our GHG reduction targets, proactive efforts must be made with the existing business community. Carlsbad is a significant regional employer and tens of thousands of employees commute into Carlsbad from outside the city. The TDM program will proactively identify, target and work with existing businesses to implement TDM plans. The most cost-effective way to implement a robust TDM program with the city’s existing business community is to contract TDM consultant services with a qualified technical firm who will use best management practices and Carlsbad’s position as a regional employment hub to expand the reach of TDM beyond the ordinance alone. City staff will work with the TDM consultant to develop the TDM program, but the consultant will be expected to provide the following services in the first year. • Establish stakeholder advisory committee consisting of a variety of stakeholders within the business, transportation and government sectors • Update framework for and monitoring structure of the TDM program • Conduct outreach to the existing business community In addition to this work in the first year to set up the TDM program, the TDM consultant will also provide technical support for the TDM ordinance including review and monitoring of project-specific TDM plans. The TDM consultant will also conduct the monitoring of TDM efforts through both the ordinance and program. Monitoring & Reporting Monitoring for the program will be coordinated by a city staff member within the Community & Economic Development Department since implementation of the TDM Ordinance is being led by the Land Development Engineering Division and the TDM Program is being led by the Economic Development Division as a service and manner of support to the existing business community. Community & Economic Development staff will provide updates to City Council annually on TDM efforts as part of the annual Climate Action Plan report. Carlsbad Transportation Demand Management Ordinance FACT SHEET What is the Transportation Demand Management ordinance? The general purpose of the Transportation Demand Management ordinance is to establish policies and guidelines for transportation demand management in the City of Carlsbad that support the Climate Action Plan. The purpose of the ordinance is to reduce the number of Carlsbad employees driving alone to and from work and increase alternative commuting options like transit, biking, carpool and vanpool, to meet 2035 greenhouse gas reduction targets. Why is Carlsbad pursuing this ordinance? In the city’s Climate Action Plan, nearly 40 percent of the community’s greenhouse gas emissions are from transportation. By setting targets to reduce the number of employees driving alone to and from work, we can reduce how much transportation contributes to the community’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. Who would be required to comply with this ordinance? All new nonresidential development projects where the employees generate a minimum of 110 average daily trips. For example, a resort hotel in Carlsbad with a total of 2,000 daily trips generated, of which 675 are generated by employees, would be subject to the ordinance. However, a restaurant with a total of 300 average daily trips generated, of which 60 trips are generated by employees, would not be subject to the ordinance. What are the requirements of this ordinance? The ordinance requires development of a Transportation Demand Management plan for review and approval by the city. The Transportation Demand Management plan would outline facility improvements, programs, incentives, education, marketing and outreach for a development project. The city will provide support material to help developers meet their requirements. When would this ordinance take effect? The Transportation Demand Management ordinance will go into effect thirty days after the City Council adopts it, which is anticipated to be in the spring of 2019. ( City of Carlsbad How does a development comply with the Transportation Demand Management ordinance? The city has prepared a Transportation Demand Management handbook including tips and tools to assist applicants in the development of their Transportation Demand Management plan. The Transportation Demand Management handbook is a living document that will be updated as the city and development community work together to meet our Climate Action Plan goals. What about existing development and existing businesses? The Transportation Demand Management ordinance will place requirements only on new nonresidential development. The city recognizes that Transportation Demand Management on new development alone will likely not be sufficient to meet the city’s Climate Action Plan targets. In the future, the city plans to implement a broader Transportation Demand Management program along with the Transportation Demand Management ordinance. The Transportation Demand Management program will create ways to educate, market, encourage and support existing businesses to implement and execute Transportation Demand Management plans for their employees. (cityof Carlsbad