REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
New Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Program Guidelines (Information Only)
Report
BACKGROUND
Transportation Demand Management, or TDM, is the general term for a combination of strategies that strive to decrease the use of single occupant vehicle (SOV) travel and encourage people to use transit, walk, bike, and carpool. TDM emphasizes the movement of people rather than motor vehicles, and gives priority to other transportation modes in an effort to provide transportation options and reduce congestion. TDM strategies can include:
• Bike Parking
• Showers
• Transit Passes
• Carpool Parking
• Park and Ride Facilities
• Car Sharing
• Shuttles
• Vanpools
• Alternative Working Hours
The City has been utilizing TDM programs for a number of years. In 1999 the City developed a TDM Tool Kit as guidance to assist developers in the City of Sunnyvale to prepare, implement, and monitor the success of TDM plans and programs. As part of development approvals, the City has required TDM plans in an effort to reduce SOV trips and decrease congestion. The reduction of SOV trips as part of a TDM plan is usually referred to as a TDM trip reduction. Two examples of TDM plans and required trip reductions in the City are the requirements of the Moffett Park Specific Plan and the recently approved Landbank Development.
As regional growth and development has continued, the need for TDM programs has become even more important. As part of discussions with Council, staff had communicated that the City was in the process of updating its TDM guidelines, and staff would provide additional information once completed. This report provides the details of the new guidelines.
DISCUSSION
In an effort to achieve consistency as part of all new development, staff has prepared guidelines for the development of TDM programs, monitoring procedures to determine level of success, and penalty fees if the TDM reductions are not achieved. These are further described as part of Attachment 1 (Transportation Demand Management Program Guidelines), and summarized within this report. It must be noted that this staff operational document will be modified as needed if efficiencies or enhancements are identified as new TDM plans are developed. In addition, previously approved TDM plans will continue to meet the requirements established at their time of approval. However, if applicable and if it does not conflict with the approved plan, the monitoring and non-compliance fees will follow the new guidelines.
TDM Process and Requirements
Although the City has a history of requiring and implementing TDM plans, as part of these new guidelines, staff has developed a specific process and requirements for new TDM submittals. This will help provide clear direction to developers and help standardize TDM plans to allow for better management by staff. In summary, the TDM plan will be required to include all appropriate development project information, the required TDM trip reduction, proposed TDM measures, TDM program implementation, and monitoring and evaluation discussion.
Non-Compliance Penalty
The City’s goal is to encourage developers to reach the required TDM trip reduction, however if the goal is not met, non-compliance penalties will be assessed. To determine the level of penalty and the calculation procedure, staff reviewed what other jurisdictions have implemented and analyzed the dollar value of TDM reductions per approved industry standards. While staff did not find an example that met all of the City’s requirements, information in other City’s programs did help craft the City’s process. In general the City’s process and fees are based on the following criteria:
• The penalties are based on the average cost to implement a TDM program and correlation to reduction of trips.
• The penalties are intended to encourage compliance. It is not the City’s preference to collect penalties, but to encourage developers to reach their TDM goals. As such, the penalties have a sliding scale, and the closer you get to reaching the TDM requirement, the cost per trip penalty is reduced. This provides a financial incentive to ensure developers meet their goal or come as close as possible.
• There is a maximum penalty based on project size. The key reason for this is to ensure that the level of penalty is in line with the size of the project and that it is a reasonable penalty considering it can be collected on a yearly basis.
Staff has not determined the level of effort required to manage the TDM program and monitoring. As the program develops and gets implemented, staff will determine if it can be incorporated into current workload, or if additional staff will be required. Staff would propose that any penalty collected as part of this process be used towards funding for staff to support the TDM program and the implementation of multimodal and complete streets improvements or programs; however the Council will have the opportunity to make the final determination as part of the budget process. In May of 2016, staff will bring to Council an ordinance and resolution to adopt the penalties.
Program Monitoring
Currently TDM monitoring is typically completed through survey work by the property owners, and reviewed by the City. The new process will require that developers fund driveway counts (managed by the City) to determine if they have achieved the TDM goals. Property owners or tenants will be required to complete a report, using the counts provided by the City, by December 31st of each year after TDM plan implementation per the TDM Program. The reports will include all relevant project information, the count summary, and compliance discussion. If the project has not met its goals, they will receive a one-time six-month grace period to make the appropriate modifications to their TDM program. This grace period is only a one-time opportunity for each development and would only be available to property owners and tenants for the first monitoring period of their TDM program.
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Senior Center, Community Center and Department of Public Safety; and by making the agenda and report available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
Staff held an outreach meeting with developers on November 4, 2015 and with the Moffett Park Business Group on November 9, 2015.
Prepared by: Manuel Pineda, Director of Public Works
Reviewed by: Trudi Ryan, Director of Community Development
Reviewed by: Kent Steffens, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENT
1. Transportation Demand Management Program Guidelines.