(A) Applicability. The applicant shall be required to file a traffic impact study if the Zoning Administrator, City Engineer, Planning Commission, or City Council determines that the development meets conditions warranting further study.
(B) Pre-study meeting.
(1) The individual parameters of the traffic impact study will be agreed upon during an initial pre-study meeting between the applicant and applicable city staff.
(2) The applicant, or their representative, shall document the discussions at the pre-meeting and submit a letter of confirmation to the city for approval.
(3) After review of the letter of confirmation, city staff shall provide the applicant with a letter confirming approval of the study parameters. This confirmation should be obtained prior to the beginning of analysis.
(4) Failure to obtain approval for the methodologies, parameters or assumptions used, in the traffic impact study, may result in rejection of the entire study by the city.
(C) Study parameters and methodology.
(1) Parameters for a traffic impact study may include, but not be limited to, the following and shall be determined as part of the pre-study meeting:
(a) Boundary of the traffic impact area;
(b) Roadway segments and critical intersections to be included in the study;
(c) Adequacy of available turning movement counts and need for additional data;
(d) Period of analysis (a.m. and/or p.m. peak hour weekday and/or weekend, depending on the development);
(e) Trip generation rates or acceptable sources to be used;
(f) Reductions to driveway trips due to internal circulation (if applicable);
(g) Percentage of trip reassignment to account for pass-by and diverted traffic;
(h) Directional distribution of site-generated traffic;
(i) Mode split assumptions (if applicable);
(j) Roadway capacity and trends in traffic growth;
(k) Acceptable methodologies to be used;
(l) The range of feasible traffic engineering and operational improvements associated with the development;
(m) Feasibility of including measures in the development proposal to promote transit ridership;
(n) Possibility of implementing other transportation system management strategies such as flextime and variable work hour programs to redistribute peak hour traffic, employer ridesharing programs, preferential parking for ride sharers, etc.;
(o) Possibility of implementing provisions for alternative modes of transportation, such as bikeways, pedestrian walkways, including the provision of sidewalks along state highways and along the county through roads system;
(p) The identification of high accident locations; and
(q) A formal cost estimate of mitigation measures, including construction, design, right-of-way and utility relocation cost.
(2) The methodology shall be in accordance with the following guidelines:
(a) Operating capacity and level of service analysis shall be provided for critical roadway segments and/or intersections within a predetermined impact area.
(b) Capacity and level of service analysis will be conducted for the following conditions:
1. Existing traffic, to establish the current conditions as a point of reference;
2. Existing plus expected natural traffic growth, and approved development projects not yet completed, if any, to establish the short-term future traffic conditions without the proposed development;
3. Full development traffic condition (including existing traffic, expected natural growth, approved development projects, and expected site generated traffic), to estimate future traffic conditions once the project is completed.
4. If the proposed development is expected to be constructed in phases, over a period of years, analysis for each phase of development must be provided for each of the above conditions and should include a predetermined rate for natural growth of through traffic.
5. If the proposed development includes a request for rezoning, the study should also include an analysis comparing the traffic generated by the proposed development with the traffic generated by the existing zoning or land use/zoning recommendations in the Comprehensive Plan or any applicable area plans. This analysis should be very brief, possibly consisting only of a table comparing the expected number of new trips generated by the recommended zoning and the proposed development plan. In addition, a short narrative should be present comparing the percentage or basic differences between the two scenarios.
(D) Review process. Applicable city staff shall review the completed traffic impact study in conjunction with the development plan and make a recommendation to the Planning Commission.
(Ord. 20220120-01, passed 1-20-22)