A.
State
law establishing requirements for the development of a countrywide
congestion management program (AB 471 and AB 1791) mandates the inclusion
of a trip reduction and travel demand ordinance.
B.
Increased
traffic congestion significantly contributes to the deterioration
of air quality, increases the inefficient use of energy resources,
and adversely impacts public and private sector economies due to reduced
productivity of the work force and increased costs of travel.
C.
Various
efforts underway, including congestion management programs (CMP),
recognize and encourage the use of transportation demand management
(TDM) strategies to increase mobility and improve the general efficiency
of the transportation system by enhancing vehicle flow and shifting
demand on existing transportation facilities.
D.
Implementation
of TDM strategies at the local government level will provide significant
public benefits by improving air quality, enhancing the effectiveness
of the existing transportation system, reducing energy requirements
and costs of travel.
E.
Coordinated
TDM efforts among all local jurisdictions in the county can contribute
to air quality improvements, energy conservation, and decreases in
the level of noise and traffic congestion.
F.
Reduction
of congestion and the time and cost of commute trips will improve
the quality of life in the city and improve quality and level of access
for residents and employees and patrons of local businesses.
G.
The
city's general plan calls for the formation of transportation demand
management programs with rideshare coordinators for program monitoring
and reporting of annual progress towards attainment of rideshare objectives.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992)
The purpose of this chapter is to promote the development and
implementation of transportation demand management programs for employers
with fifty or more employees during the morning peak traffic period
in order to reduce traffic impacts and improve air quality within
the city.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992)
The objectives of this chapter are to:
A.
Reduce
traffic impacts within the community through a reduction in the number
of vehicular trips and total vehicle miles traveled;
B.
Reduce
the vehicular air pollutant emissions, energy usage, and ambient noise
levels through a reduction in the number of vehicular trips and total
vehicle miles traveled;
C.
Ensure
that employers located in the city comply with the South Coast Air
Quality Management District Regulation XV, and achieve city traffic
objectives;
D.
Prevent
levels of service on streets and intersections that have not reached
Level of Service D or E during peak hours from degrading to or decreasing
to those levels;
E.
Improve
levels of service on streets and intersections that have already reached
Level of Service D or E during peak hours;
F.
Minimize
the number of employees in single-occupant vehicles traveling to and
from work at the same time and during peak-hour periods;
G.
Assist
in attainment of the requirements of the federal and state Clean Air
Act;
H.
Maximize
the use of commute modes other than the single-occupancy vehicle through
transportation demand management programs.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992)
For the purpose of this chapter, the following words and phrases
are defined as set forth in this section:
means any mode of travel that serves as an alternative to
the single-occupant vehicle. This can include all forms of ridesharing
such as carpooling or vanpooling as well as public transit, bicycling
or walking.
means the total number of employees assigned to a work site
between six a.m. and ten a.m. divided by the number of vehicles driven
from home to work. Credit may be given for employee work trips eliminated
during a biweekly period due to the use of a compressed work week
or telecommuting.
means a motor vehicle occupied by two or more employees traveling
together.
means the city of Rancho Mirage, California.
means a home-to-work trip or a work-to-home trip.
means an employee or contractor or agent of an employer,
whose responsibility is the day-to-day management of any TDM program.
means a work schedule for an employee which eliminates at
least one round trip commute biweekly. For example, forty hours of
work in four ten-hour days or a work plan that allows one day off
every other week, known as the nine-eighty plan.
means any private entity or governmental agency designated
by the city to administer all or any of the provisions of this chapter
except those related to the bringing of enforcement actions under
this chapter.
means any person responsible for the planning, design and
construction of a nonresidential development project.
means any person employed, whether full or part-time, by
a firm, person(s), business, educational institution, nonprofit agency
or corporation, government agency or other entity which reports to
work at a single work site.
means any person(s), firm, business, educational institution,
government agency, nonprofit agency or corporation, or other entity
which employs the services of others.
means the total of all buildings, structures and grounds
that encompass a work site at either single or multiple locations.
means a variation of an employee's work hours, other than
eight a.m. to five p.m. to provide an incentive for the employee to
use alternative transportation modes.
means a project in which a variety of complementary land
uses are planned and constructed in one coordinated development.
means the hours from six a.m. to ten a.m., Monday through
Friday, excluding federal holidays. Peak period trips shall mean employees'
commute trips to a work site where the employees' work day begins
or ends.
means any mode of transportation other than a single occupancy
vehicle which transports one or more persons to or from a work site.
means a work site that requires a shorter commute distance
for the employee to travel and from which the employee performs regular
work functions.
means a motor vehicle occupied by a single employee.
means a strategy which allows an employee to work at home
or at an off-site work station and still be in communication with
the work site.
means the implementation of programs, plans or policies designed
to encourage changes in individual travel behavior. TDM can include
an emphasis on alternative travel modes such as carpools, vanpools
and transit, reduction or elimination of the number of vehicle trips,
or shifts in the time of vehicle commutes to the work site other than
the peak period.
means an employee or contractor or agent of an employer,
whose responsibility is to oversee the management of any TDM program
at the work site.
means a plan designed to carry out TDM that is implemented
by an employer.
means construction of major capital improvements to a highway
or transit system or installation of operating equipment which includes
new construction to the existing system or construction of a new system.
means a group or organization which is formed so that employers,
employees, developers and local governments can collectively address
community transportation-related issues by implementing, monitoring,
and evaluating a TDM Program.
means strategies designed to improve the transportation system
(roads and transit) which increase the operational efficiency and/or
capacity of the system.
means the reduction of the number of work-related trips in
single occupancy vehicles made between the hours of six a.m. and ten
a.m., inclusive, Monday through Friday.
means a van or similar vehicle with a seating capacity of
seven or more persons and which is occupied by four or more employees
traveling together to work at the same work site.
means a passenger car, van or truck used for commute purposes
including any motorized two-wheeled vehicle. Vehicles shall not include
bicycles, transit vehicles, buses serving multiple work sites.
means a building, part of a building, or grouping of buildings
located within the city which are in actual physical contact or separated
solely by a private or public roadway, and which are owned or operated
by the same employer.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992)
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all work sites
within the city with fifty or more employees during the hours of 6:00
a.m. to 10:00 a.m.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992)
A.
Within
sixty days following the effective date of the ordinance codified
in this chapter, every employer of fifty or more employees shall appoint
a designated TDM manager for each work site. An employer having more
than one work site within the city may appoint one manager for all
work sites or individual managers for one or more of the work sites.
The manager shall be required to carry out the following duties, responsibilities
and functions:
1.
Manage
the operation of any TDM program implemented at the work site;
2.
Compile,
review, approve and submit to the city or its designee the baseline
and annual TDM reports for each of the work sites;
3.
File
with the city or its designee such other material or information as
may be required by this chapter;
4.
Serve
as the designated liaison for the purpose of contact or coordination
with the city or its designee or agent concerning TDM.
B.
Within
sixty days after the effective date of the ordinance codified in this
chapter, the employer shall also appoint a commute/rideshare coordinator
for each work site(s) within the city. The appointed TDM manager may
also serve as the commute/rideshare coordinator. The coordinator shall
have the day-to-day responsibility for administering any TDM programs
implemented by the employer. If the coordinator has not had a total
of twelve months' experience as a TDM program coordinator, that individual
shall complete, within sixty days of appointment, a commute/rideshare
coordinator training course that is conducted by any recognized TDM
consultant or association that is approved by the city or its designee.
C.
Within
thirty days after making the appointments required by this section,
the employer shall notify the city or its designee in writing of the
appointments. The employer shall assume responsibility for determining
that such notification has been received by the city or its designee.
If there is any change in any such appointment, the employer shall
notify the city or its designee of any such change within thirty days.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992)
Within one hundred eighty days of the effective date of the
ordinance codified in this chapter, all employers with fifty or more
employees shall file with the city or its designee a baseline TDM
report for each work site located within the city. The baseline report
shall be prepared in such a format that is acceptable to the city
or its designee. The information to be included in the baseline TDM
report for each work site shall include the following:
A.
Objectives
of the plan and an explanation of why the plan is likely to achieve
the targeted AVR levels;
B.
Number
of employees by work hours and work site;
C.
A place
of residence zip code breakdown of the employees by work site;
D.
A description
of all TDM services and incentives offered to employees. These may
include, but are not limited to:
1.
Bicycle
parking or lockers,
2.
Shower
facilities,
3.
Preferential
parking or loading areas for rideshare vehicles,
4.
Bus
stop and shelter improvements,
5.
On-site
childcare facilities,
6.
On-site
amenities such as cafeterias and restaurants, automated teller machines,
and any other services that would eliminate the need for additional
trips,
7.
Flexible
work hours,
8.
Compressed
work weeks,
9.
Telecommuting,
10.
Subsidies or other incentive programs offered to employees,
11.
Guaranteed ride in case of emergency;
E.
A description
of the factors that may influence use of commute alternatives: employee
profile, unusual nature of business, etc.
F.
The
average vehicle ridership (AVR) as determined by one or more of the
following methods:
1.
An
employee survey developed by the city or its designee. An employee
response rate of at least seventy-five percent must be achieved,
2.
An
employee survey developed by the employer approved by the city or
its designee. An employee response rate of at least seventy-five percent
must be achieved,
3.
A
statistically valid random sample survey utilizing a methodology approved
by the city or its designee. An employee response rate of at least
seventy-five percent must be achieved;
G.
The
number of morning peak-period vehicle trips to and from the work site
and work-related trips;
H.
The
name of the person for each site who is responsible for the preparation,
implementation, and monitoring of the plan;
I.
The
available public transit services serving the work site, including
the specific locations of nearby transit stops;
J.
A description
of the general type of business and any unique aspects, such as seasonal
fluctuations in the number of employees and/or any business cycles;
K.
Any
other information that may be required by the city or its designee.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992)
Every employer required to submit a baseline TDM report shall
thereafter submit an annual TDM report to the city or its designee.
Upon submittal of the baseline TDM report, the city or its designee
shall establish an annual deadline for submittal of such annual TDM
reports. The annual reports shall contain such information as is required
in the baseline report unless the TDM manager is otherwise notified
in writing by the city or its designee.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992)
Transportation management associations may be formed so that
individuals in both the private and public sector can collectively
address community and work-site transportation-related problems or
opportunities. Such associations may be formed to implement TDM, TSM
and/or TFD strategies in mixed-use development projects. The primary
function of a TMA is to pool resources to implement solutions to commuter-related
congestion problems.
A.
The
city may require any employer within a mixed-use development project
that has a combined total of fifty or more employees to form or annex
into a transportation management association regardless of the number
of employees employed by an individual employer. The city may also,
at its option, require any business requesting the renewal of a city
business license or a new business license that is adjacent to a geographic
area or along a route that is covered by a TMA to annex into that
TMA at that time.
B.
Each
TMA that forms shall be required to submit a first-year work plan
which outlines the following:
1.
A
mission statement which describes the reasons for the association's
existence and the goals of the TMA;
2.
Goals
and objectives for the first year which target achievement of the
mission statement. Specific activities and tasks shall be listed to
show how the members will be served by the TMA and how the TMA will
help meet the area and regional transportation and air quality goals;
3.
A
plan for a baseline survey of commuters and employers in the area
to establish existing commuter characteristics and attitudes of commuters
toward traffic and the use of commute alternatives. The employer survey
shall obtain a descriptive profile of existing programs and employer
attitudes toward developing new programs;
4.
The
services to be provided by the TMA to its members, including the commute
alternatives to be provided and promoted, the advocacy and marketing
activities planned, and the role of the TMA staff in providing the
services;
5.
A
marketing plan which creates an identity for the TMA and which describes
how the TMA's planned services will be marketed to member employers,
their employees and customers;
6.
A
monitoring and evaluation plan to be used to measure progress against
goals and objectives, including results of the TMA's activities. This
plan will be used to provide annual reporting information to the city;
7.
A
budget plan which details how the work of the TMA will be accomplished,
including details of public and private financing and expenditures.
C.
The
TMA shall provide an annual report to the city that shall include
the same elements as the first-year plan with the following exceptions:
1.
The
mission statement shall be restated based on changes, if any, in the
goals and objectives of the TMA;
2.
The
goals and objectives shall be updated to reflect progress and changes
in the TMA services;
3.
The
baseline survey need not be repeated, however, the annual report shall
include follow-up monitoring and evaluation activities related to
the baseline survey.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992)
For the purpose of paying for the costs of administration and
enforcement associated with this chapter, the city may annually impose
an employer impact fee to be charged to those applicable employers.
The amount of the fee shall be established by resolution of the city
council.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992)
Failure to comply with this chapter is declared to be unlawful and a violation of city regulations and shall be subject to the penalties and remedies set forth in Title 14 of this Municipal Code. If noncompliance continues or becomes frequent, the following actions may occur.
1.
A misdemeanor
citation may be issued to the employer by the code enforcement division
of the community development department and may be carried through
by criminal prosecution by the city attorney;
2.
An
employer's business license may not be renewed or may be revoked if
found to be in noncompliance with the provisions of this chapter.
(Ord. 529 § 1(Exh. A),
1992; Ord. 928 § 2, 2006)
