[1]
Ordinance History Division 14.13, Traffic Impact Mitigation
Ord. 1555, §5, 1996, adopted
Ord. 1555, §3, 6, 1996, repealed Res. No. 1993-109, Amending the Traffic Impact Mitigation Policy
Ord. 1555, §2, 1996, repealed Res. No. 1992-E-9, Traffic Impact Mitigation Policy
This division is known as the Traffic Impact Mitigation Ordinance of the City of Vacaville.
(Ord. 1920, Amended, 11/14/2017)
The purpose of this division is to establish a procedure to evaluate and mitigate the impact of major subdivisions and land development projects upon the circulation system in order to:
A. 
Implement the policies of the Circulation Element of the General Plan relative to levels of service;
B. 
Ensure that adequate circulation facilities are available to serve development approved pursuant to this Development Code;
C. 
Implement a "first come, first served" system applicable at project approval to utilize the capacity of available circulation improvements;
D. 
Establish a consistent, technical procedure for the evaluation of the traffic impacts of new development projects, and identification of necessary mitigation measures to resolve such impacts;
E. 
Protect the public health, safety, and welfare by ensuring that land use and traffic generation are balanced with the carrying capacity of the circulation system.
(Ord. 1920, Amended, 11/14/2017)
The definitions contained in this division govern the construction and interpretation of the provisions of this division unless the context requires otherwise. The definition of a word or phrase also applies to any variation of the word or phrase. Other general terminology shall have the definitions assigned to them in Division 14.02, Definitions, of this title.
"Base conditions"
means a database consisting of the existing land use conditions, plus all of the existing project approvals (design review, conditional use permits, planned developments, residential tentative maps, development agreements, and other project specific development entitlements). The base conditions database will be updated on a quarterly basis but may be updated more frequently if major land use changes or project approvals could significantly impact projected traffic flows.
"City Engineer"
means the City Engineer in agreement with the City's Traffic Engineer.
"Level of service"
(LOS) means a scale which ranks street, highway, and intersection operations based on the amount of traffic and traffic operations. The level of service ranking system is a scale with a range of A through F. Level A represents free-flow conditions and Level F represents severely congested or capacity conditions.
"Major project"
means a project that will generate 100 or more peak hour vehicular trips as determined by the City Engineer.
"Minor project"
means a project that will generate less than 100 peak hour vehicular trips as determined by the City Engineer.
"Peak hour"
means the a.m. and p.m. hour with the highest average traffic volume, occurring between seven a.m. to nine a.m. and four p.m. to six p.m.
"Project"
means a subdivision or a land development project.
"Road network affected by the project"
means any arterial or collector road link or intersection or a freeway interchange for which the base condition volume to capacity ratio is degraded a total of 0.02 or greater by the project.
"Special mitigation improvements"
means improvements which are necessary to improve the level(s) of service projected by the traffic impact analysis for a project to an acceptable LOS, as identified in the General Plan. They shall not include the normal and customary street improvements and right-of-way dedication associated with the subject project or related off-site improvements that are necessary to accommodate the localized traffic impact of the project not related to the traffic impact analysis.
(Ord. 1920, Amended, 11/14/2017)
Traffic impact analysis utilizing the City traffic model and other traffic analysis methods may be required in order to ensure that circulation facilities can safely accommodate the traffic generated by a development project.
A. 
Analysis of Project Specific Factors. Traffic impact analysis may be required in order to evaluate the adequacy of circulation improvements related to specific project factors including but not limited to driveway locations, median breaks, and turning lanes. The need for such analysis is a project specific determination. Traffic model analysis shall be required if the City Engineer determines that such analysis is needed to assess the adequacy of public improvements to accommodate the proposed traffic impact.
B. 
Analysis of Impact on Levels of Service.
1. 
Any minor project may be approved without traffic impact analysis except in the case where the project would generate more than 30 peak hour trips and the City Engineer finds that the road network affected by the project currently functions below the acceptable LOS, as defined in the General Plan. In that case, a traffic impact analysis shall be required;
2. 
Any major project shall require a traffic impact analysis to determine the impact of the project upon the road network affected by the project.
a. 
Adjoining projects which are being processed concurrently by the same applicant that would cumulatively meet the traffic impact analysis requirements of this section shall be considered as one project for the purposes of this section;
b. 
Subsequent development approvals or time extensions to major development approvals, involving 100 or more peak hour trips, shall require updated traffic model analysis;
c. 
A traffic impact analysis requirement in accordance with this section and the traffic impact guidelines may be waived or modified by the City Engineer if a finding is made that the project will clearly not impact any arterial or collector intersection or interchange to the extent that the level of service will be degraded below the acceptable LOS, as defined in the General Plan.
(Ord. 1920, Amended, 11/14/2017)
Traffic impact analysis required pursuant to Section 14.13.180.040 shall be conducted as follows:
A. 
Traffic impact analysis may be performed by the Traffic Engineering Division of the Public Works Department if staffing and workload allow for such service as determined by the Director of Public Works. In this case, a fee for service established by resolution of the City Council shall be required. Traffic impact analysis may also be performed by a qualified, private traffic engineer subject to approval by the City's Traffic Engineer as follows:
1. 
The analysis may be under contract to the City or an applicant if the analysis is not part of an environmental impact report, subject to review and approval by the City Engineer;
2. 
The analysis shall be under contract to the City or a City contractor if the analysis is part of an environmental impact report;
3. 
The analysis shall be prepared to the specification and scope of the City's Traffic Engineer and the City Engineer. If the analysis is part of an environmental impact report, the scope shall also be reviewed by the person assigned by the Director as project manager for the environmental impact report;
4. 
Any traffic impact analysis required pursuant to this division shall utilize the computerized traffic model(s) and the technical guidelines issued by the Traffic Engineering Division of the Public Works Department;
5. 
The City shall have the right to require a peer review of analysis that is prepared under contract to an applicant. Such peer review shall be prepared by or under contract to the City and funded by the applicant.
B. 
The traffic impact analysis shall consider the project in addition to the "base condition." It is intended that the initial scope of analysis identify the intersections, interchanges or road links that are anticipated to be within the "road network affected by the project." Review of the computerized traffic model output may dictate that additional intersections, interchanges, or road links need to be included for analysis because the model output indicated greater than anticipated impacts.
C. 
The traffic impact analysis shall incorporate the circulation network improvements that the City Engineer determines will likely be in place when the project is anticipated to be completed, including improvements that are a part of the project. If the City Engineer determines, however, that the phased construction of the project may result in some interim levels of service below the acceptable LOS, as identified in the General Plan, then additional interim analysis may be required by the City Engineer to evaluate the impacts of the project in that interim situation(s).
D. 
If the roadway network affected by the project will be impacted by major projected circulation improvements related to an interchange, a new roadway, or a major widening project and/or a development agreement(s) which vests long-term projects, the City Engineer may determine that it is necessary to analyze the impacts of the project in more than one time frame to ensure that adequate circulation capacity will be available for the project in both the short and long term.
E. 
The traffic impact analysis shall relate to the peak hour unless the City Engineer determines that the project involves additional peak traffic periods which require analysis in order to determine the traffic impact of the project.
F. 
The Director may require that additional analysis is necessary in order to fully comply with the provisions of Division 14.03, Environmental Review, of this Title.
G. 
The City Traffic Engineer and the City Engineer shall develop written technical traffic impact guidelines for the preparation of traffic analysis pursuant to this chapter. The guidelines shall allow for impact and mitigation criteria based on the incremental traffic contribution from the proposed development for locations where the then current LOS exceed the acceptable LOS, as identified in the General Plan, without the addition of traffic from the proposed development.
H. 
The project will be evaluated for traffic calming measures consistent with the City's traffic calming guidelines and City standards.
I. 
Roadway design will be evaluated for compliance with City's Complete Streets Policy and City standards.
(Ord. 1920, Amended, 11/14/2017)
Level of service (LOS) is a qualitative measure of operating conditions within a traffic stream. A LOS definition generally describes these conditions in terms of such factors as speed, travel time, freedom to maneuver, comfort and convenience, and safety.
Six classifications are used to define level of service, designated by the letters A through F. Level of service "A" represents the best conditions, while Level of service "F" represents heavily congested flow with traffic demand exceeding highway capacity.
Level of Service
Description
A
Free flow. Traffic flows at or above the posted speed limit and motorists have complete mobility between lanes.
B
Reasonably free flow. LOS A speeds are maintained, maneuverability within the traffic stream is slightly restricted.
C
Stable flow, at or near free flow. Ability to maneuver through lanes is noticeably restricted and lane changes require more driver awareness.
D
Approaching unstable flow. Speeds slightly decrease as traffic volume slightly increase.
E
Unstable flow, operating at capacity. Flow becomes irregular and speed varies rapidly because there are virtually no usable gaps to maneuver in the traffic stream and speeds rarely reach the posted limit.
F
Forced or breakdown flow. Every vehicle moves in lockstep with the vehicle in front of it, with frequent slowing required.
(Ord. 1920, Amended, 11/14/2017)
Traffic impact analysis required pursuant to Section 14.13.180.040.B shall be considered by the decision-maker for any subdivision or land development permit, and the following traffic impact standards shall be applied:
A. 
If the traffic impact analysis indicates that the project impact will result in acceptable levels of service as defined by the General Plan, the project may be approved and no special mitigation improvements shall be required.
B. 
If the traffic impact analysis indicates that the project impact will result in unacceptable levels of service as defined by the General Plan, the project shall be denied due to the inadequacy of circulation improvements to safely accommodate the project without adversely affecting existing land uses and approved projects, unless one of the following actions occurs:
1. 
The application is withdrawn by the applicant;
2. 
The application is voluntarily modified by the applicant to include the funding and construction of special mitigation improvements to the impacted roadways to improve the levels of service to acceptable levels as identified in the General Plan, without a claim for supplemental dedication or improvement in accordance with Division 14.12, Dedication and Improvement Requirements, of this title. Whenever possible, such mitigation improvements shall be within the scope of the improvement projects in the City's traffic impact fee program;
3. 
The decision-maker for a project determines that the City has entered into a development agreement which commits the City to approve the project without regard to the traffic impact of the project.
C. 
The applicant for a project may request an exception to permit a project to cause an unacceptable LOS, as defined by the General Plan, for one or more intersections, interchanges, or road links. Such application shall be accompanied by a fee established by resolution of the City Council and shall be processed in accordance with the procedures in Chapter 14.09.030, Common Procedures.
1. 
The Planning Commission shall hold a public hearing to consider the requested exception and make a recommendation to the City Council related to the request;
2. 
The City Council shall hold a public hearing and consider the recommendation of the Planning Commission prior to the approval, approval with conditions, or denial of the request for an exception. An exception may be granted if the City Council makes one of the following alternative findings:
a. 
Finding One.
i. 
That the intersection(s), interchange(s), or road link(s) in question are within an infill area where existing development limits the acquisition of right-of-way for mitigation or isolated area where the subject facility serves a limited area as opposed to a large portion of the City; and
ii. 
There is no practical and feasible way to mitigate the projected level of service; and
iii. 
The project resulting in the lower level of service is of clear, overall public benefit.
b. 
Finding Two.
i. 
An improvement is identified in the traffic impact fee program, which will improve the projected level of service to an acceptable LOS, as defined by the General Plan and will not appreciably contribute to congestion, as identified in the traffic impact guidelines, and
ii. 
That the interim impact of the projected traffic congestion is offset by the public benefits of the project.
c. 
Finding Three.
i. 
The projected unacceptable level of service, as defined by the General Plan, is the result of project approvals within the base conditions that are not reasonably expected to be implemented within the next 10 years due to changed circumstances.
(Ord. 1920, Amended, 11/14/2017)
If the applicant for a project modifies a development project to include special mitigation improvements as provided in Section 14.13.180.070.B.2 the cost of such improvements may be eligible for reimbursement as follows:
A. 
A benefit district established in accordance with Division 14.15 to collect reimbursement from other benefiting properties as they develop if the special mitigation improvements are not specifically included in the traffic impact fee program.
B. 
An assessment or community facilities district or other financing district established in accordance with state law.
C. 
The traffic impact fee fund if the special mitigation improvements are specifically included in the most recent study adopted in conjunction with the traffic impact fee. Such reimbursement may be in the form of a fee credit or cash payment as approved by the Director of Public Works in accordance with the provisions of Section 11.01.070 of the Municipal Code and the following provisions:
1. 
Reimbursement would include the reasonable amount of funds expended to design and construct the improvements that are comparable to the improvements included in the traffic impact fee program, as determined by the Director of Public Works at the time of completion of said improvements. The amount of funds to be reimbursed as established above shall be increased by an amount equal to the Composite Construction Index for the Bay Area as set forth in the Engineering News-Record for each full calendar year that transpires between completion of said improvements and reimbursement;
2. 
Reimbursement shall occur when the funding of the subject improvements is available from traffic impact fee revenues consistent with the priority and scheduling of improvement projects within the traffic impact fee program.
(Ord. 1920, Amended, 11/14/2017)