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(a) Before a building permit for a facility that has been constructed with planned participation in the share-a-ride program under this Chapter is issued, the Director or the Planning Board must require the owner of an office development to execute an agreement that is binding on that owner as well as all subsequent owners of the office development.
(b) The agreement must provide:
(1) for the participation of the owner or subsequent owners in the share-a-ride program; and
(2) that if the owner or a subsequent owner fails to comply with the terms of the agreement, the owner or the subsequent owner will be liable for the penalties under this Chapter.
(c) The owner of the office development must record the agreement in the County land records. (1985 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1; 2016 L.M.C., ch. 8, § 1.)
(a) The county executive may adopt regulations, under method (2) of section 2A-15 of this Code, to decrease by no more than fifty (50) percent or increase by no more than one hundred (100) percent:
(1) The initial schedule of payments under section 42A-6(b); and
(2) The initial penalty payment schedule under section 42A-7(c).
(b) The county executive may adopt regulations, under method (2) of section 2A-15 of this Code, to implement this chapter. (1985 L.M.C., ch. 9, § 1.)
(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.
Editor's note—Article II. “Transportation System Management” was renamed “Transportation Demand Management” and §§ 42A-10 through 42A-20 were repealed by 2002 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1. Secs. 42A-10, 42A-12, 42A-13, 42A-14, 42A-15, 42A-16, 42A-17, 42A-18, 42A-19, and 42A-20 were derived from 1988 L.M.C., ch. 18, § 1; Sec. 42A-11 was derived from 1988 L.M.C., ch. 18, and § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1.
Sec. 42A-10. — Sec. 42A-20. Reserved.
Editor's note—Article III. “Transportation Management in Metro Station Areas” was repealed by 2002 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1.
Sec. 42A-20A. Reserved.
Editor’s note—Sec. 42A-20A was repealed by 2002 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1. Note that § 42A-20A was enacted as § 42A-20 under Article III by 1993 L.M.C., ch. 47, § 1. This section was editorially renumbered § 42A- 20A to avoid duplication with the final section of art. II, also numbered § 42A-20.
In this Article, unless the context indicates otherwise:
Alternative work hours program means any system that shifts the workday of an employee so that the workday starts or ends outside of a peak period, including:
(1) compressed workweeks;
(2) staggered work hours involving a shift in the set work hours of an employee at the workplace; or
(3) flexible work hours involving individually determined work hours under guidelines established by the employer.
Bundling of parking means a requirement by the seller or lessor that a prospective purchaser or tenant purchase or lease a minimum number of parking spaces in the facility as a precondition to buying or leasing space or renewing a lease in a commercial or residential building. Bundling of parking does not include:
(1) the provision of parking spaces as a component of a sale or lease when voluntarily requested by a prospective purchaser or lessee; or
(2) a parking space physically integrated with an individual leasable or sales unit if the parking space is dedicated to that unit and can be directly accessed through that unit such that only occupants of that unit are able to use the space or spaces.
Carpool means a motor vehicle occupied by 2 or more employees traveling together.
Commute means a home-to-work or work-to-home trip. A commute may have brief intervening stops, but the primary purpose must be travel between work and home.
Date of final occupancy means the earlier of:
(1) the date on which 80 percent of a building or project has been leased or sold; or
(2) two years after the first final use and occupancy certificate has been issued.
Department means the Department of Transportation.
Director means the Director of the Department of Transportation or the Director’s designee.
District means a transportation management district created under this Article.
Employee means a person hired by an employer, including a part-time or seasonal worker or a contractor, reporting to or assigned to work on a regular basis at a specific workplace controlled by that business or organization, including a teleworker.
Employer means any business or government entity, including the County, employing 25 or more employees including contractors assigned to a worksite. Employer does not include:
(1) a home-based business;
(2) a business with no employees housed at that work site; or
(3) any government agency not required by law to follow County regulations.
Growth and Infrastructure Policy means the most recent policy adopted under Section 33A-15.
NADMS goal means the specific NADMS percentage goal for peak period commuters in a District or a Policy Area that has been established though a Master Plan, through the Growth and Infrastructure Policy, or through regulation.
Non-Auto Driver Mode Share or NADMS means the percent of commuters who travel by modes other than driving an automobile. NADMS includes commuters who travel by transit, vanpool, biking, walking, or connecting to the workplace electronically. NADMS does not include carpool or vanpool drivers, but it does include carpool and vanpool passengers.
Peak period means the hours of highest transportation use each workday, as defined in the resolution creating a District, as established in the Growth and Infrastructure Policy or established through a technical study.
Planning Board means the Montgomery County Planning Board of the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission.
Policy Area means a Transportation Policy Area adopted by the County Council through the Growth and Infrastructure Policy.
Project-based TDM Plan means a TDM plan for a new development project.
Resident means an adult domiciled in the relevant area.
Single-occupancy vehicle means a motor vehicle occupied by one employee for commuting purposes, other than a two-wheeled vehicle.
Telework means a work arrangement where a manager directs or permits an employee to perform usual job duties away from the central workplace in accordance with established performance expectations and agency-approved or agreed-upon terms.
Traffic Mitigation Plan or TMP means a set of strategies designed to implement TDM at an existing commercial or residential building or by an employer in an existing building.
Transportation demand management or TDM means any method of reducing demand for road capacity, especially during a peak period, including an alternative work hours program, carpools, vanpools, subsidized transit passes, preferential parking for carpools or vanpools, improved bicycle and pedestrian access and safety, public transportation, and a parking charge, or other parking management strategies.
Transportation Demand Management Plan or TDM Plan means a set of strategies designed to implement TDM for a new or existing building, a new or existing development project, or an employer.
Transportation management organization means a public, nonprofit private, or public-private firm, corporation, or instrumentality created or contracted to manage or coordinate transportation demand management programs.
Vanpool means a vehicle that has the capacity for 6 or more passengers in addition to the driver if:
(1) passengers occupy 50% or more of the seats at any point during the trip; and
(2) the vehicle is used to transport employees between their residences, designated locations, and their place of employment for 80% or more of the miles the vehicle is driven.
Workplace means the place of employment, base of operations, or predominant location of an employee. (1993 L.M.C., ch. 47, § 1; 1996 L.M.C., ch. 4, § 1; 2002 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 2004 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 2; 2008 L.M.C., ch. 5, § 1; 2019 L.M.C., ch. 28, §1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 3, §1.)
Editor’s note—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.
(a) New economic development is important to stimulate the local economy. Focusing new development in high transit-service areas is an important County land use and economic development objective.
(b) Limited transportation infrastructure, traffic congestion, inadequate access to transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and safety issues impede the County’s land use and economic development objectives.
(c) Transportation demand management, in conjunction with adequate transportation facility review, planned capital improvement projects, and parking and traffic control measures, will:
(1) help provide sufficient transportation capacity to achieve County land use objectives and permit further economic development;
(2) reduce the demand for road capacity, promote safety for all users of transportation infrastructure, and improve access to transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities; and
(3) help reduce vehicular emissions, energy consumption, and noise levels, and help address climate change.
(d) Improved traffic levels and air quality, and a reduction in ambient noise levels will help create attractive and convenient places to live, work, visit, and conduct business.
(e) Transportation demand management will equitably allocate responsibility for reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips among government, developers, employers, property owners, tenants, and the public.
(f) Transportation demand management should be consistent with any commuting goals set in the Growth and Infrastructure Policy, Master Plans, and Sector Plans. TDM should foster coordinated and comprehensive government, private industry, and public action to:
(1) make efficient use of existing transportation infrastructure;
(2) increase transportation capacity as measured by numbers of people transported;
(3) reduce existing and future levels of traffic congestion by moving more people in fewer vehicles;
(4) reduce air and noise pollution, and address climate change; and
(5) promote traffic safety together with transit, pedestrian and bicycle safety and access for all users.
(g) Transportation demand management will substantially advance public policy objectives. Adoption of this Article is in the best interest of the public health, safety, and general welfare of the County. (1993 L.M.C., ch. 47, § 1; 2002 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 2004 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 2; 2019 L.M.C., ch. 28, §1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 3, §1.)
(a) The County Council by resolution may create a transportation management district (TMD) in Red, Orange, or Yellow Policy Areas as defined in the Growth and Infrastructure Policy. A district may be formed from all, or portions of, one or more Policy areas, even if they are not contiguous.
(b) The Department may take actions necessary to achieve effective transportation demand management in each District, on its own or by contract with any employer, transportation management organization, or other party, including:
(1) controlling the use of or limiting public parking, by regulation adopted under method (2);
(2) prohibiting bundling of parking in new developments;
(3) monitoring and assessing traffic patterns and pedestrian access and safety;
(4) adopting traffic and parking control measures;
(5) providing transit, shuttles, circulator services, or other transportation services;
(6) implementing approved transportation-related capital projects;
(7) promoting, implementing, and improving existing transit and ridesharing incentives;
(8) promoting regional cooperation between the County and other government agencies;
(9) creating cooperative County-private sector programs to increase ridesharing and transit use; and
(10) conducting surveys, studies, and statistical analyses to determine the effectiveness of and improvements needed to advance transportation demand management plans and employer and building owner efforts.
(c) In each District, sole source contracts may be signed with, or funds granted to, one or more transportation management organizations to carry out transportation demand management programs that the Department could otherwise carry out, under Chapter 11B.
(d) The Department and the Planning Board may, in accordance with this Article and other applicable law, jointly or separately impose transportation demand management measures as conditions on the Board’s approval of development in any District.
(e) Each District may have a Transportation Management District Advisory Committee if the Executive by regulation decides a Committee is necessary to carry out this Article or if the Council creates a Committee by resolution. The Executive or Council may designate any existing advisory body appointed by the Executive and confirmed by the Council to serve as a Transportation Management District Advisory Committee. The Executive must appoint and the Council must confirm members of any Advisory Committee. The County must not compensate members of an Advisory Committee for their services. Advisory Committee members, not otherwise public employees as defined in Chapter 19A, are not subject to the financial disclosure provisions of that Chapter. (1993 L.M.C., ch. 47, § 1; 2002 L.M.C., ch. 34, § 1; 2004 L.M.C., ch. 2, § 2; 2006 L.M.C., ch. 1, § 1; 2019 L.M.C., ch. 28, § 1; 2021 L.M.C., ch. 3, §1.)
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