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(a) According to Plan Bay Area 2040, the long-range integrated transportation and land-use/housing strategy for the San Francisco Bay Area through 2040 adopted in 2013 by the Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco is expected to grow by approximately 191,000 jobs and 102,000 households from 2010 to 2040.
(b) This growth will generate an increased demand for transportation infrastructure and services on an already constrained transportation system. One of the challenges posed by this growth is the increased number of single occupancy vehicle trips, and the pressures they add to San Francisco’s limited public streets and rights-of-way, contributing to congestion, transit delays, and public health and safety concerns caused by motorized vehicles, air pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and noise, thereby negatively impacting the quality of life in the City.
(c) The Transportation Sustainability Program, or TSP, is aimed at accommodating this new growth while minimizing its impact on San Francisco’s transportation system. It is a joint effort of the Mayor’s Office, the Planning Department, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency that has spanned many years and has involved a robust process of public outreach and discussion. The TSP includes three separate but related policy initiatives: the Transportation Sustainability Fee (TSF); the modernization of San Francisco’s environmental review process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); and the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Program.
(1) The first component, the TSF, seeks to fund transportation improvements to support new growth by charging a development impact fee on new development. The City approved the TSF in 2015 with the enactment of Ordinance No. 200-15 (Board of Supervisors File No. 150790).
(2) The second component, the modernization of the environmental review process under CEQA, has been shepherded by the State under Senate Bill 743 (Stats. 2013. C. 386, now codified in Public Resources Code Section 21099). SB 743 required the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to develop new guidelines to replace the existing transportation review standard, focused on automobile delay, with new criteria that “promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity of land uses.” OPR recommended a replacement metric of Vehicle Miles Traveled, or VMT, that is, the amount and distance of automobile travel attributable to a project. The Planning Commission unanimously approved a Resolution adopting changes consistent with implementation of SB 743, including the use of Vehicle Miles Traveled as the metric for calculating transportation-related environmental impacts, at its hearing on March 3, 2016 (Planning Commission Resolution No. 19579).
(3) The third component creates the TDM Program, detailed in Section 169. The TDM Program seeks to promote sustainable travel modes by requiring new development projects to incorporate design features, incentives, and tools that support transit, ride-sharing, walking, and bicycle riding for the residents, tenants, employees, and visitors of their projects.
(d) State and regional governments have enacted many laws and policy initiatives that promote the same sustainable transportation goals the TDM Program seeks to advance. For instance, at the state level, the Congestion Management Law, Gov. Code Section 65088, establishes that to reduce the state’s traffic congestion crisis and “keep California moving,” it is important to build transit-oriented development, revitalize the state’s cities, and promote all forms of transportation. Assembly Bill 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Chapter 488, Statutes of 2006), requires statewide GHG reductions to 1990 levels by 2020. Executive Orders B-30-15, S-3-05 and B-16-12 set forth GHG reduction targets beyond that year, to 2050. Senate Bill 375, the Sustainable Communities and Climate Protection Act of 2008 (Chapter 728, Statutes of 2008) supports the state’s climate action goals to reduce GHG emissions through coordinated transportation and land use planning with the goal of creating more sustainable communities. Under this statute, the California Air Resources Board establishes GHG reduction targets for metropolitan planning organizations, based on land use patterns and transportation systems specified in Regional Transportation Plans and Sustainable Community Strategies. Plan Bay Area 2040 sets GHG and Vehicle Miles Traveled reduction targets and a target for increasing non-automobile mode share for the Bay Area.
(e) In addition, San Francisco has enacted many laws and policy initiatives that promote the same sustainable transportation goals the TDM Program seeks to advance. The “Transit First Policy,” in Section 8A.115 of the City Charter, declares that public transit is “an economically and environmentally sound alternative to transportation by individual automobiles,” and that within the City, “travel by public transit, by bicycle and on foot must be an attractive alternative to travel by private automobile.” The GHG Reduction Ordinance, codified at Chapter 9 of the Environment Code, sets GHG reduction emission targets of 25% below 1990 levels by 2017; 40% below 1990 levels by 2025; and 80% below 1990 levels by 2050. The City’s Climate Action Strategy, prepared pursuant to the GHG Reduction Ordinance, has identified a target of having 50% of total trips within the City be made by modes other than automobiles by 2017, and 80% by 2030. One of the ways identified to achieve this target is through TDM for new development.
(f) San Francisco has long acknowledged the importance of TDM strategies in the Transportation Element of the City’s General Plan, the San Francisco County Transportation Plan, and many Area Plans. For example, each of the Area Plans within Eastern Neighborhoods and the Transit Center District Plan identify policies for the development of a TDM program within them.
(g) The TDM Program set forth in Section 169 requires new projects subject to its requirements to incorporate design features, incentives, and tools to encourage new residents, tenants, employees, and visitors to travel by sustainable transportation modes, such as transit, walking, ride-sharing, and biking, thereby reducing Vehicle Miles Traveled associated with new development. The goals of the TDM Program are to help keep San Francisco moving as it grows, and to promote better environmental, health, and safety outcomes, consistent with the state, regional, and local policies mentioned above.
(h) For projects that use Development Agreements and may not be required to comply fully with the requirements of Section 169, it is the Board of Supervisors’ strong preference that Development Agreements should include similar provisions that meet the goals of the TDM Program.
(i) The Board of Supervisors finds that it is in the public interest to exempt affordable housing from the fees and requirements of the TDM Program, in order to promote this important City policy and priority, and also because these projects generally generate less VMT. A 2014 study by Transform and California Housing Partnership Corporation, “Why creating and preserving affordable homes near transit is a highly effective climate protection strategy,” finds that “Higher Income households [defined as above 120% of area median income] drive more than twice as many miles and own more than twice as many vehicles as Extremely Low-Income households [defined as 30% or less of AMI] living within 1/4 mile of frequent transit,” which demonstrates how the TDM value for on-site affordable housing units is largely dependent on the level of affordability of the targeted households.
(j) The Board of Supervisors finds that it is in the public interest to exempt some uses from the TDM Program fees, in order to promote other important City policies and priorities, such as the goals and missions of City-funded charitable health and human service organizations. As such, the Board of Supervisors finds that parking spaces dedicated to service vehicles provided for City-funded charitable health and human service organizations shall be excluded from the definition of a parking space in the TDM Program Standards.
(Added by Ord. 34-17, File No. 160925, App. 2/17/2017, Eff. 3/19/2017)
For purpose of Section 169, the following definitions shall apply. In addition, see the Planning Commission Standards for the Transportation Demand Management Program (TDM Program Standards), described in Section 169.6, for additional definitions of terms applicable to this Section 169.
Approval. Any required approval or determination on a Development Application that the Planning Commission, Planning Department or Zoning Administrator issues.
Transportation Demand Management, or TDM. Design features, incentives, and tools implemented by Development Projects to reduce VMT, by helping residents, tenants, employees, and visitors choose sustainable travel options such as transit, bicycle riding, or walking.
Transportation Demand Management Plan, or TDM Plan. A Development Project’s plan describing compliance with the TDM Program.
Transportation Demand Management Program, or TDM Program. The San Francisco policy requiring Development Projects to incorporate TDM measures in their proposed projects, as set forth in Section 169.
Vehicle Miles Traveled, or VMT. A measure of the amount and distance that a Development Project causes people to drive, as set forth in more detail by the Planning Commission in the TDM Program Standards prepared pursuant to Section 169.6.
(Added by Ord. 34-17, File No. 160925, App. 2/17/2017, Eff. 3/19/2017)
(a) Except as provided in subsection (b), Section 169 shall apply to any Development Project in San Francisco that results in:
(1) Ten or more Dwelling Units, as defined in Section 102; or
(2) Ten or more bedrooms of Group Housing, as this term is defined in Section 102; or
(3) Any new construction resulting in 10,000 occupied square feet or more of any use other than Residential, as this term is defined in Section 102, excluding any area used for accessory parking; or
(4) Any Change of Use resulting in 25,000 occupied square feet or more of any use other than Residential, as this term is defined in Section 102, excluding any area used for accessory parking, as set forth in the TDM Program Standards, if:
(A) The Change of Use involves a change from a Residential use to any use other than Residential; or
(B) The Change of Use involves a change from any use other than Residential, to another use other than Residential.
(5) For any Development Project that has been required to finalize and record a TDM Plan pursuant to Section 169.4 below, any increase in accessory parking spaces or Parking Garage spaces within such Development Project that results in an increase in the requirements of the TDM Standards shall be required to modify such TDM Plan pursuant to Section 169.4(f) below.
(1) One Hundred Percent Affordable Housing Projects. Residential uses within Development Projects where all residential units are affordable to households at or below 120% of the Area Median Income, as defined in Section 401, shall not be subject to the TDM Program. Any uses other than Residential within those projects, whose primary purpose is to provide services to the Residential uses within those projects shall also be exempt. Other uses shall be subject to the TDM program. All uses shall be subject to all other applicable requirements of the Planning Code.
(2) Parking Garages and Parking Lots, as defined in Section 102. However, parking spaces within such Parking Garages or Parking Lots, when included within a larger Development Project, may be considered in the determination of TDM Plan requirements, as described in the TDM Program Standards.
(3) Commercial to Residential Adaptive Reuse projects per Planning Code Section 210.5.
(c) When determining whether a Development Project shall be subject to the TDM Program, the Development Project shall be considered in its entirety. A Development Project shall not seek multiple applications for building permits to evade the applicability of the TDM Program.
(d) The TDM Program shall not apply to any Development Project that receives Approval of any Development Application or Development Agreement before the effective date of this Section.
(e) Operative Date.
(1) Except as described in subsection (4) below, Development Projects with a Development Application filed or an Environmental Application deemed complete on or before September 4, 2016 shall be subject to 50% of the applicable target, as defined in the Planning Commission’s Standards.
(2) Except as described in subsection (4) below, Development Projects with no Development Application filed or an Environmental Application deemed complete on or before September 4, 2016, but that file a Development Application on or after September 5, 2016, and before January 1, 2018, shall be subject to 75% of such target.
(3) Development Projects with a Development Application filed on or after January 1, 2018 shall be subject to 100% of such target.
(4) Development Projects within the Central SoMa Special Use District that fall within Central SoMa Fee Tier A, B, or C, as defined in Section 423.2, shall be subject to the following requirements:
(i) projects that have filed a Development Application or submitted an Environmental Application deemed complete on or before September 4, 2016 shall be subject to 75% of such target.
(ii) projects that filed a Development Application or submitted an Environmental Application deemed complete after September 4, 2016 shall be subject to 100% of such target.
AMENDMENT HISTORY
(a) A property owner shall submit a proposed TDM Plan along with the Development Project’s first Development Application. For all projects that require a community meeting occur prior to project application, the Project Sponsor shall discuss potential TDM measures and program standards at that meeting and solicit feedback from the local community to be taken into consideration in preparing the proposed TDM Plan for submittal to the Planning Department. If the Planning Department requires any preliminary application or assessment prior to the project application, the project sponsor shall submit a draft TDM plan at that time. The proposed TDM Plan shall document the Development Project’s proposed compliance with Section 169 and the Planning Commission’s TDM Program Standards.
(b) The proposed TDM Plan shall be reviewed in conjunction with the approval of the first Development Application for the Development Project.
(c) Compliance with the TDM Program, including compliance with a finalized TDM Plan, shall be included as a Condition of Approval of the Development Project. The Planning Commission shall not waive, reduce, or adjust the requirements of the TDM Program through the approval processes described in Sections 304, 309, 329 or any other Planning Commission approval process that allows for exceptions.
(d) The Development Project shall be subject to the TDM Program Standards in effect at the time of its first Development Project Application. If the Planning Commission has issued revised TDM Program Standards subsequent to the date of the Development Project’s first Development Application was filed, then the property owner may elect to have the Development Project be subject to the later-approved TDM Program Standards, but if so, must meet all requirements of such revised Standards.
(e) The Zoning Administrator shall approve and order the recordation of a Notice in the Official Records of the Recorder of the City and County of San Francisco for the subject property prior to the issuance of a building or site permit. The Planning Department shall maintain the Development Project’s final TDM Plan and detailed descriptions of each TDM measure for public view and access.
(f) Upon application of a property owner, after a TDM Plan is finalized and the associated building or site permit has been issued, a Development Project’s TDM Plan may be modified in accordance with procedures and standards adopted by the Planning Commission in the TDM Program Standards. However, if such modification to an existing TDM Plan is required pursuant to Section 169.3(a)(5) above, the modified TDM Plan shall be finalized in accordance with the procedures and requirements of the TDM Standards in effect at the time of the modification.
(g) Property owners shall pay administrative fees with the application, periodic compliance review, and voluntary update review of their TDM Plans, as set forth in the Planning Department Fee Schedule.
AMENDMENT HISTORY
Division (e) amended; Ord. 33-24, Eff. 3/23/2024.
(a) Prior to the issuance of a first certificate of occupancy, the property owner shall facilitate a site inspection by Planning Department staff to confirm that all approved physical improvement measures in the Development Project’s TDM Plan have been implemented and/or installed. The property owner shall also provide documentation that all approved programmatic measures in the Development Project’s TDM Plan will be implemented. The process and standards for determining compliance shall be specified in the Planning Commission’s TDM Program Standards.
(b) Throughout the life of the Development Project, the property owner shall:
(1) Maintain a TDM coordinator, as defined in the Planning Commission’s TDM Program Standards, who shall coordinate with the City on the Development Project’s compliance with its approved TDM Plan.
(2) Allow City staff access to relevant portions of the property to conduct site visits, surveys, inspection of physical improvements, and/or other empirical data collection, and facilitate in-person, phone, and/or e-mail or web-based interviews with residents, tenants, employees, and/or visitors. City staff shall provide advance notice of any request for access and shall use all reasonable efforts to protect personal privacy during visits and in the use of any data collected during this process.
(3) Submit periodic compliance reports to the Planning Department, as required by the Planning Commission’s TDM Program Standards.
(Added by Ord. 34-17, File No. 160925, App. 2/17/2017, Eff. 3/19/2017)
(a) The Planning Commission, with the assistance of the Planning Department and in consultation with staff of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency and the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, shall adopt the Planning Commission Standards for the Transportation Demand Management Program, or TDM Program Standards. The TDM Program Standards shall contain the specific requirements necessary for compliance with the TDM Program. The TDM Program Standards shall be updated from time to time, as deemed appropriate by the Planning Commission, to reflect best practices in the field of Transportation Demand Management.
(b) When preparing, adopting, or updating the TDM Program Standards, the Planning Commission shall consider the primary goals of Section 169, that is, to reduce VMT from new development in order to maintain mobility as San Francisco grows, and to achieve better environmental, health and safety outcomes. In addition, the Planning Commission shall consider the following principles:
(1) The requirements of the TDM Program, as set forth in the TDM Program Standards, shall be proportionate to the total amount of VMT that Development Projects produce, and shall take into account site-specific information, such as density, diversity of land uses, and access to travel options other than the private automobile in the surrounding vicinity.
(2) The TDM Program Standards shall provide flexibility for Development Projects to achieve the purposes of the TDM Program in a way that best suits the circumstances of each Development Project. To that end, the TDM Program Standards shall include a menu of TDM measures from which to choose. Each measure in this TDM menu shall be designed to reduce VMT by site residents, tenants, employees, or visitors, as relevant to the Development Project, and must be under the control of the developer, property owner, or tenant.
(3) Each of the TDM measures in the TDM Program Standards shall be assigned a number of points, reflecting its relative effectiveness to reduce VMT. This relative effectiveness determination shall be grounded in literature review, local data collection, best practice research, and/or professional transportation expert opinion, and shall be described in the TDM Program Standards.
(c) One year after the effective date of the TDM Program, the Planning Department shall prepare a report analyzing the implementation of the TDM Program and describing any changes to the TDM Program Standards. Every four years, following the periodic updates to the San Francisco Countywide Transportation Plan that the San Francisco County Transportation Authority prepares, the Planning Department shall prepare a report containing the same information. The Planning Department shall present such reports to the Planning Commission, and may present them to the Board of Supervisors during a public hearing, if a Supervisor chooses to request a hearing on the matter.
(Added by Ord. 34-17, File No. 160925, App. 2/17/2017, Eff. 3/19/2017)