Chapter 17.148 TRANSPORTATION CONCURRENCY MANAGEMENT

Chapter 17.148
TRANSPORTATION CONCURRENCY MANAGEMENT

Sections:

17.148.010 Purpose.

17.148.020 Authority.

17.148.030 Definitions.

17.148.040 Transportation concurrency – Exempt development.

17.148.050 Water and sewer certificates of availability – Applicability.

17.148.060 Level of service (LOS) standards.

17.148.065 Use of transportation demand management (TDM).

17.148.070 Concurrency evaluation.

17.148.080 Certificates of capacity for transportation, water and sewer.

17.148.090 Preexisting use rights.

17.148.100 Administrative reconsideration.

17.148.110 Appeal.

17.148.120 Annual capacity reporting and monitoring.

17.148.130 Utilities and facilities – Other service providers.

17.148.010 Purpose.

The purpose of this chapter is to implement the concurrency provisions of the city’s Comprehensive Plan, the Comprehensive Water System Plan, and the Wastewater Facilities Plan, in accordance with RCW 36.70A.070 (6)(c), and consistent with WAC 365-195-510 and 365-195-835. No development permit shall be issued except in accordance with this chapter, which shall be cited as the concurrency management ordinance. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000).

17.148.020 Authority.

The director of public works, or his/her designee, shall be responsible for implementing and enforcing this chapter. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000).

17.148.030 Definitions.

(1) “Affected facility” means the city roads and intersections selected by the public works director for which concurrency evaluations and monitoring are required; or any utility or facility provided by the city or another service provider that is required for the development.

(2) “Applicant” means a person or entity who has applied for a development permit or a concurrency determination.

(3) “Available capacity” means the capacity for a facility that is currently available for use.

(4) “Certificate of capacity” means a document issued by the city of Stanwood indicating the quantity of capacity for each concurrency facility that has been reserved for a specific development project on a specific property.

(5) “Concurrency” means that improvements or strategies are in place at the time of development, or that a financial commitment is in place to complete the improvement or strategies within six years.

(6) “Concurrency evaluation” means the comparison of an applicant’s impact on facilities to the capacity, including available and planned capacity of the facilities.

(7) Concurrency Evaluation, Preliminary. “Preliminary concurrency evaluation” means an informal, nonbinding assessment of available capacity.

(8) “Department” means the city of Stanwood public works department.

(9) “Director” means the city of Stanwood public works director.

(10) “Development permit” means a land use, site development, or building permit.

(11) Development Permit, Final. “Final development permit” means a site development permit or building permit.

(12) Development Permit, Preliminary. “Preliminary development permit” means a short plat, preliminary plat, shoreline substantial development/conditional use permit, preliminary site plan approval, conditional use permit, binding site plan approval, or SEPA.

(13) “ITE trip generation manual” means the manual prepared by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, latest edition, for the purpose of assigning numbers of vehicle trips associated with various land uses.

(14) “Level of service (LOS) standard” means the minimum capacity of affected facilities that must be provided per unit of demand or other appropriate measure of need as defined in the Stanwood Comprehensive Plan.

(15) “Planned capacity” means the capacity for a facility that is not yet available, but for which the necessary facility construction, expansion or modification project is contained in the current adopted city capital improvement program or the State Department of Transportation’s list of programmed projects, and is scheduled to be completed within six years.

(16) “Service provider” means the department or agency responsible for providing the facility.

(17) “Transportation demand management (TDM)” means the use of strategies to reduce commute trips made by single occupant vehicles and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per employee.

(18) “Trip generation study” means a study prepared by a licensed engineer documenting the number of vehicle trips associated with a proposed land use for the purpose of determining whether the proposal is exempt from a concurrency evaluation. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000).

17.148.040 Transportation concurrency – Exempt development.

(1) All new developments, redevelopments, changes in use, and additions in building square footage that generate 15 or more additional peak trips according to the ITE manual or a trip generation study prepared by a professional engineer are subject to the concurrency standards herein; and the applicant shall have a transportation study prepared for the development to determine any concurrency impacts to the city’s transportation system.

(2) The following types of development are exempt from the requirements of this chapter, except if they generate 15 or more peak hour trips:

(a) Any development generating less than 15 peak hour trips;

(b) Construction of an individual single-family residence or duplex;

(d) Any addition or accessory structure to a residence with no change in use or increase in the number of dwelling units;

(e) Interior renovations with no change in use or, if a residential use, no increase in number of dwelling units;

(f) Interior completion of a structure for use(s) with the same or less intensity as the existing use or a previously approved use;

(g) Replacement structure with no change in use or increase in number of dwelling units;

(h) Single accessory dwelling unit;

(i) Temporary construction trailers;

(j) Driveway resurfacing or parking lot paving;

(k) Reroofing of structures;

(l) Demolitions;

(m) Clearing, filling and grading;

(n) Water, sewer, and storm drainage hook-ups;

(o) Any portion of any project in connection with the following:

(i) Public transportation facilities, not including school facilities;

(ii) Public parks and recreation facilities;

(iii) Public libraries;

(iv) Municipal administration or police, fire or public works facilities; and

(v) Water, sewer, or storm drainage facilities;

(p) Other types of minor development as approved in writing by the public works director.

(3) Exempt Permits. The following development permits are exempt from the requirements of this chapter:

(a) Administrative interpretation;

(b) Building permits for an individual single-family residence, residential or commercial tenant improvement that don’t increase peak hour trips by 15 or more, or a single accessory dwelling unit;

(d) Clearing, filling and grading permit;

(e) Demolition permit;

(f) Electrical permit;

(g) Final plat;

(h) Mechanical permit;

(i) Plumbing permit;

(j) Right-of-way permit;

(k) Shoreline variance;

(l) Short plat creating four or fewer lots for development of single-family homes;

(m) Sign permit;

(n) Street vacation;

(o) Temporary use permit;

(p) Variance;

(q) Zoning code amendments; and

(r) Proposed development regulations.

(4) Complete development permit applications that have been submitted before the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter are exempt from the requirements of this chapter.

(5) Notwithstanding any of the above-listed exemptions, any development that will generate 15 or more peak hour trips is not exempted from the requirements of this chapter. At his or her discretion, the director may require a trip generation study to confirm the number of peak hour trips generated by a proposed development. Projects that are shown to generate 15 or more peak trips shall be subject to the concurrency application and evaluation process specified in SMC 17.148.070.

(6) Change in Use.

(a) For the purposes of this chapter, change in use shall not be considered an exempt development.

(b) However, if a change in use will have an equal or lesser impact on affected transportation facilities than the previous use as determined by the public works director based on review of information submitted by the developer, a certificate of capacity shall not be required.

(7) Notwithstanding the exemptions listed above, the traffic resulting from any exempt use or permit shall nonetheless be included in computing background traffic for any nonexempt project.

(8) Exemption from the provisions of this chapter does not exempt the payment of transportation impact fees under Chapter 17.151 SMC. In the case where payment is required, but the threshold for the transportation study has not been triggered, nor a study produced, impact fee payment shall be based on the city’s adopted fee schedule in place at the time of complete application. (Ord. 1216 § 3, 2007; Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1110 § 3, 2002; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000).

17.148.050 Water and sewer certificates of availability – Applicability.

Water and sewer concurrency and certificates of availability shall apply only to the following types of development:

(1) Building permits for new dwelling units or new commercial/industrial/institutional buildings;

(2) Site development permits;

(3) Short plats;

(4) Preliminary plats;

(5) Final plats (if not completed during preliminary plat phase); and

(6) SEPA applications that apply to any of the above. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004).

17.148.060 Level of service (LOS) standards.

The director of public works shall use LOS standards set forth in the Stanwood Comprehensive Plan to make concurrency evaluations pursuant to this chapter. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000. Formerly 17.148.050).

17.148.065 Use of transportation demand management (TDM).

(1) Transportation demand management strategies may be utilized when there is a known tenant in order to mitigate for a portion of the traffic generated by a new development. Use of TDM for mitigation shall be accompanied by the transportation engineer’s evaluation of the strategies and approved for incorporation by the public works director.

(2) Possible TDM strategies include:

(a) Provision of vans or cars for vanpools or carpools;

(b) Preferential parking for carpools and vanpools which is signed, monitored and enforced;

(d) Financial incentives, including but not limited to subsidized bus passes, vanpool subsidies, a transportation allowance for non-single occupant vehicle (SOV) commuting, or rebates for employees who do not use the parking facilities;

(e) Imposition of parking charges for SOV commuters.

(f) Establishment of a program of alternate work schedules that eliminates work trips for affected employees or facilitates employees’ use of transit, carpools, or vanpools;

(g) Establishment of a program of telecommuting that permits affected employees to work at home or at an alternative worksite closer to their home;

(h) Cooperation with transportation providers to provide additional regular or express service to the worksite;

(i) Provision of a guaranteed ride home or emergency taxi service program;

(j) Provision of commuter ride matching services to facilitate employee ride-sharing for commute trips;

(k) Installation of bicycle facilities, including bicycle storage and gender-separated shower/locker facilities; or

(l) Implementation of other measures designed to facilitate the use of high-occupancy vehicles, including but not limited to on-site day care facilities or concierge service. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004).

17.148.070 Concurrency evaluation.

(1) Application.

(a) The city review of all applications for preliminary development permits, unless exempted by SMC 17.148.040, shall include a concurrency evaluation. Final development permits for projects that have not undergone a concurrency evaluation for a preliminary development permit shall be subject to this concurrency evaluation, unless exempted by SMC 17.148.040.

(b) The application shall be on a form provided by the department.

(d) For phased projects, an evaluation of the whole project under SEPA is preferred. However, if a preliminary development permit is only for a phase of a project, a determination, if one has not been performed during the SEPA process, may be made for that phase. A determination and certificate issued only for a phase shall not guarantee capacity for future phases.

(e) For transportation concurrency, the applicant shall provide a traffic study prepared by a licensed traffic engineer, which shall, at a minimum, provide the following information:

(i) Number of peak trips generated by the development according to the ITE trip generation manual or other method approved by the director;

(ii) The current LOS of all affected transportation facilities impacted by the development;

(iii) The expected LOS of all affected transportation facilities with the development completed;

(iv) Any proposed mitigation; and

(v) The expected LOS of all affected transportation facilities with the incorporation of the project and any proposed mitigation.

(f) Within 28 days of receipt of the application, the director of public works shall determine if the application is complete and notify the applicant. An application shall be considered complete if all the items on the required application form have been submitted to the city. If the applicant is not notified of an incomplete application within 28 days, the application shall be assumed to be complete.

(g) If the application is incomplete, the applicant shall have 90 days in which to submit the required materials.

(h) The department may request additional materials in order to complete the concurrency evaluation at any time.

(i) Notice of an application for concurrency evaluation shall be provided to all service providers.

(j) An applicant may request a preliminary concurrency evaluation without an accompanying request for a development permit. Any available capacity cannot be reserved. A certificate of capacity will only be issued in conjunction with a development permit approval as outlined in this section.

(2) Evaluation. The director shall determine whether a proposed development can be accommodated within the existing or planned capacity of facilities. This shall involve the following:

(a) A determination of anticipated total capacity at the time the proposed impacts of development occur;

(b) Calculation of how much of that capacity will be used by existing developments and other planned developments with certificates of concurrency at the time the impacts of the proposed development occur;

(d) Calculation of the impact on the capacity for the proposed development, minus the effects of any mitigation, including transportation demand strategies, proposed by the applicant; and

(e) Comparison of available capacity with proposed development impacts.

(3) Determination.

(a) If the capacity of affected facilities is equal to or greater than the capacity required to maintain the adopted level of service standard with the impact from the development, the concurrency test is passed. A certificate of capacity will be issued according to the provisions of SMC 17.148.080.

(b) If the planned capacity for the affected facilities will be equal to or greater than the capacity required to maintain the adopted level of service standards with the impact from the development, the concurrency test is passed. A certificate of capacity will be issued according to the provisions of SMC 17.148.080.

(c) If both the capacity and planned capacity of the affected facilities are less than the capacity required to maintain the adopted level of service standard with the impact from the development, the concurrency test is not passed. The director shall notify the applicant in writing of the denial. The applicant may:

(i) Modify the project to reduce the impact on affected facilities;

(ii) Phase the project to coincide with planned improvements that will ensure concurrency;

(iii) Mitigate the impacts of the project to ensure concurrency;

(iv) Arrange with the service provider to provide the additional capacity of facilities required;

(v) Propose transportation demand management strategies that will reduce the demand for capacity (must be approved by the public works director);

(vi) Ask for formal reconsideration of the concurrency evaluation to the public works director in accordance with the provisions of SMC 17.148.100; or

(vii) Reapply for an evaluation when concurrency can be ensured. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000. Formerly 17.148.070).

17.148.080 Certificates of capacity for transportation, water and sewer.

(1) Issuance. Certificates of capacity, guaranteeing the availability of capacity in the city’s transportation, water, and sewer facilities subject to the terms contained herein, shall be issued prior to the issuance of a final development permit. If applicable, payment of fee and/or performance of any condition required by a service provider shall be a condition of certificate of capacity issuance. Certificates of capacity may be issued immediately upon approval of a preliminary development permit or at the time of the final development permit issuance. Administrative procedures may specify issuance of certificate of capacity at an earlier timeframe and conditions required thereof. In no event shall the director determine concurrency for a greater amount of capacity than is needed for the development proposed in the underlying permit application, except as provided for phased projects.

(2) A certificate of capacity shall apply only to the specific land uses, densities, intensities and development projects described in the application and development permit.

(3) A certificate of capacity is not transferable to other land, but may be transferred to new owners of the original land. The developer may, as part of a development permit application, designate the amount of capacity to be allocated to portions of the property, such as lots, blocks, parcels, or tracts included in the application. Capacity may be reassigned or allocated within the boundaries of the original property by application to the director.

(4) Phasing.

(a) Phased Projects. A certificate may be issued for a phase of a project if the underlying permit is only for a phase. In this case the certificate shall be conditioned to note that certificates are required for future phases.

(b) Phased Improvements. If a certificate is issued for a whole project that is to be completed in phases and that requires mitigation, the certificate may allow mitigation to be phased so long as the mitigation ensures capacity for each phase.

(5) Life Span of Certificate. A certificate of capacity shall expire if the accompanying development permit expires or is revoked. A certificate of capacity may be extended according to the same terms and conditions as the accompanying development permit. If the development permit is granted an extension, so shall the certificate of capacity. If the accompanying development permit does not expire, the certificate of capacity shall be valid for one year. The director may approve an extension of up to one year.

(6) Unused Capacity. Any capacity that is not used because the developer decides not to develop, or the accompanying development permit expires, shall be returned to the available pool of capacity. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000. Formerly 17.148.070).

17.148.090 Preexisting use rights.

Development permits that were issued before the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter shall be considered to have capacity as long as the accompanying development permit is valid. If the accompanying development permit does not expire, capacity shall be considered to be available for one year after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000. Formerly 17.148.080).

17.148.100 Administrative reconsideration.

(1) The applicant may request reconsideration of the results of the concurrency evaluation within 15 days of the notification of the evaluation results by filing with the public works department a formal request for reconsideration specifying the grounds thereof, using forms authorized by the public works department.

(2) Each request for reconsideration shall be accompanied by a fee as set forth in Chapter 3.30 SMC. Upon filing of such request for reconsideration, the public works department shall notify the appropriate service provider(s) of such request.

(3) The public works director shall reconsider the evaluation results and issue a determination either upholding the original determination or amending it. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000. Formerly 17.148.090).

17.148.110 Appeal.

(1) The results of an administrative reconsideration pursuant to SMC 17.148.100 may be appealed to the hearing examiner, as provided by SMC 17.80.140.

(2) Any appeal shall be accompanied by a fee as set forth in Chapter 3.30 SMC.

(3) Upon filing of such appeal, the public works department shall notify the appropriate service provider(s) of the appeal. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000. Formerly 17.148.100).

17.148.120 Annual capacity reporting and monitoring.

(1) The public works director shall maintain an accounting system for affected facilities as follows:

(a) Available capacity account;

(b) Reserved capacity account; and

(2) Capacity shall be withdrawn from the available capacity account and deposited into a reserved capacity account when a certificate of concurrency is issued. After a project is constructed the capacity shall be withdrawn from the reserved account and placed into the used account.

(3) The director shall prepare an annual report presenting current capacities and LOSs for affected facilities. The report shall be used in the annual update of the city’s capital improvement program and transportation improvement program. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004; Ord. 1092 § 1, 2000. Formerly 17.148.110).

17.148.130 Utilities and facilities – Other service providers.

The applicant shall coordinate with other service providers of utilities and facilities, including but not limited to schools, libraries, transit, power, cable, etc., to assure level of service standards are met for those facilities prior to beginning of construction. (Ord. 1164 § 4, 2004).