(a) (1) A traffic mitigation agreement that is required to be executed with the County under Article IV of Chapter 8 as a prerequisite to the issuance of a building permit must meet the requirements of this section.
(2) The purpose of a traffic mitigation agreement is to reduce single occupancy vehicle traffic from a proposed development in order to reduce potential congestion, promote traffic safety and pedestrian access, and reduce air and noise pollution.
(3) A traffic mitigation agreement executed under this section is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other transportation requirement imposed on the applicant under law.
(4) A traffic mitigation agreement executed under this Section is not intended to satisfy the requirements of the Growth Policy for exceeding staging ceiling limitations. Until the County Council adopts specific traffic mitigation or commuting goals in the Growth Policy, the goal of a traffic mitigation agreement must be to have the percentage of non-driver trips employees make during the peak period equal the percentage of home-based work trips non-drivers make in the policy area. The mitigation agreement should consider proximity to Metro and other relevant factors listed in subsection (e). The percentage of non-driver trips the employees make during the peak period must not be lower than 15 percent or the percentage of home-based work trips using transit, whichever is greater. The percentage must not be higher than 35 percent. In determining the appropriate percentage of home-based work trips for non-drivers under this paragraph, the Department of Transportation must use data of commuting patterns from the most recent census update.
(5) A traffic mitigation agreement executed as part of site plan review satisfies the requirements of this section. The Department of Transportation should review and comment on each agreement.
(6) The Department of Transportation must submit each proposed traffic mitigation agreement to the Planning Department for review and comment.
(b) The permit applicant and the Department of Transportation must execute a traffic mitigation agreement before a building permit is issued. If the applicant is not the owner of the property subject to the permit application, each owner of the property must also execute the traffic mitigation agreement if the agreement requires that owner to take any action. A traffic mitigation agreement executed by an owner must apply to all successors in interest to the owner of the property during the term of the agreement. The owner must record the executed agreement in the County land records.
(c) A traffic mitigation agreement must include the appointment of a transportation coordinator for the development.
(d) A traffic mitigation agreement may include:
(1) limitations on parking spaces to the minimum permitted under the zoning ordinance after allowance of available credits for ridesharing programs, shared parking, proximity to Metro, and similar factors;
(2) peak period parking charges, including charging employees for parking at commercial rates;
(3) participation in an area personalized ridesharing program, if available, including promotional efforts with tenants and employees;
(4) preferential parking requirements for carpools and vanpools, and the installation of one or more bus shelters;
(5) provision of transit or vanpool subsidies for employees;
(6) provision for emergency rides home for carpoolers and vanpoolers; and
(7) similar measures to reduce single occupancy vehicle traffic from the development.
(e) In determining reasonable and otherwise appropriate provisions of a traffic mitigation agreement, the Director of Transportation must consider, among other relevant factors:
(1) the type, density, and physical layout of the development;
(2) probable peak hour trip generation rates at the proposed development;
(3) occupancy projections, including the types of employers, the demographic composition of the workforce, and the work hours of employees, if known;
(4) proposed parking at the development, as shown in the application for the building permit;
(5) the degree to which public transit is available and its frequency of service;
(6) parking policies established for the policy area;
(7) experience of similar developments or employers in undertaking similar traffic mitigation measures; and
(8) location of the development within a transportation management district, share- a-ride district or outreach area, or in proximity to a voluntary transportation management association or other developments where owners or employers are willing to cooperate in joint traffic mitigation measures.
(f) Administration of this section should be accomplished in conjunction with existing public and private transportation management efforts.
(g) (1) A traffic mitigation agreement may require adequate financial security assurances, including bonds, letters of credit, or similar guarantees;
(2) A traffic mitigation agreement must:
(i) be made binding on future tenants; and
(ii) provide for liquidated damages, specific performance, or other remedies, as appropriate. (1990 L.M.C., ch. 3, § 3; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1; 2004 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 2; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1.)
Editor's note—See County Attorney Opinion dated 8/24/07 regarding the elements that dictate when an entity must pay the transportation management fee.
2008 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 3, states: Sec. 3. Any regulation in effect when this Act takes effect that implements a function transferred to another Department or Office under Section 1 of this Act continues in effect, but any reference in any regulation to the Department from which the function was transferred must be treated as referring to the Department to which the function is transferred. The transfer of a function under this Act does not affect any right of a party to any legal proceeding begun before this Act took effect.
Section 42A-9A was added by 1990 L.M.C., ch. 3, contingent upon passage of Subdivision Regulation 89-1. This regulation was enacted July 25, 1989.