HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-028 Commute Trip Reduction Plan ORDINANCE NO. 93- 2 8 1'
AN ORDINANCE relating to licenses and business regulations, adopting a
Commute Trip Reduction Plan and implementing measures as
required by RCW 70 94 527, and enacting Chapter 5 90
"Commute Trip Reduction Plan" and Sections 5 90.010, 5 90.020,
5.90.030, 5.90.040, 5.90.050, 5.90.060, 5.90.070, 5 90.080, 5.90.090,
and 5 90 100 thereof as a new chapter, new sections, and new
subsections of the City of Yakima Municipal Code.
WHEREAS, the Washington State Legislature passed the Highway Access
Control and Transportation Demand Management Act, SSHB 1671, Laws of 1991,
Chapter 202, which requires cities with a major employer (as defined by the Act)
located within its boundaries to adopt a "Commute Trip Reduction Plan ", and
WHEREAS, the Act requires the City to place burdens on major employers to
reduce employee use of single occupant vehicles and to reduce vehicle miles
traveled by commuting employees, and
WHEREAS, the Act also requires the City to implement a Commute Trip
Reduction Program for City employees; and
• WHEREAS, the City adopts this ordinance solely to comply with the Act, and
intends to place minimum burdens on major employers as practical and as
allowable by law; and
WHEREAS, the City finds this ordinance is consistent with RCW 70.94 527 and
the State Commute Trip Reduction Task Force Guidelines, as required by law; now,
therefore,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF YAKIMA:
Section 1 Chapter 5 90 "Commute Trip Reduction Plan" and Sections
5 90.010, 5 90.020, 5 90.030, 5 90.040, 5 90.060, 5 90.070, 5 90.080, 5.90.090, and 5.90.100
thereof are hereby enacted as a new chapter and new sections of the City of
Yakima Municipal Code and read as follows:
"Chapter 5 90
Commute Trip Reduction Plan
5.90.010 pefinitions Unless the context clearly requires otherwise,
the following definitions apply throughout this chapter:
(1) "Affected employee" means a full -time employee who begins
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his or her regular workday at a single worksite between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00
a.m. on two or more weekdays per week for twelve continuous months.
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(2) "Base year" means the year January 1, 1992, through
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December 31, 1992, on which goals for vehicle miles traveled and single -
occupant vehicle trips shall be based.
(3) "City' means "City of Yakima, Washington."
(4) "CTR Plan" or "Commute Trip Reduction Plan" means the City's
plan as set forth in this chapter to regulate and administer the CTR
programs of major employers.
(5) "Commute trip reduction zone" means an area such as a census
tract or combinations of census tracts, within a jurisdiction that is
characterized by similar employment density, population density, level of
transit service, parking availability, access to high occupancy vehicle
facilities, and other factors that are determined to affect the level of single
occupancy vehicle commuting.
(6) "Commute trip vehicle miles traveled per employee" means
the sum of the individual vehicle commute trip lengths in miles over a set
period divided by the number of affected employees during that period.
(7) "Commute trip" means trips made from a worker's home to a
worksite during the peak period of 6.00 a.m. to 9 00 a.m. on weekdays.
(8) "Compressed work week" means an alternative work schedule,
in accordance with employer policy, that regularly allows a full -time
employee to eliminate at least one work day during the remaining days, •
resulting in fewer commute trips by the employee. This definition is
primarily intended to include weekly and bi- weekly arrangements, the
most typical being four 10 -hour days or 80 hours in nine days, but may also
include other arrangements.
(9) "CTR Program" means the employer's strategies to reduce
employee's single occupancy vehicle use and vehicle miles traveled per
employee.
(10) "Exemption" means a waiver from CTR requirements granted
to an employer by the City based on unique conditions applying to that
employer or the work site.
(11) "Full -time employee" means a person other than an
independent contractor or a seasonal agricultural worker scheduled for
employment on a continuous basis for 52 weeks, for an average of at least
35 hours per week.
(12) "A major employer" means a private or public employer that
employs one hundred or more full -time employees at a single worksite who
begin their regular workday between 6:00 a.m. and 9 a.m. on two or more
weekdays per week for at least twelve continuous months during the year
The City of Yakima is a major employer and is committed to fulfilling the
requirements of a major employer, including a commute trip reduction
program for its employees.
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• (13) "Major worksite" means a building or group of buildings that
are on physically contiguous parcels of land or on parcels separated solely
by private or public roadways or rights -of -way, and at which there are one
hundred or more full -time employees of one or more employers, who begin
their regular work day between 6 a.m and 9 a.m. on two or more
weekdays per week, for at least twelve continuous months. Excepted from
this definition are construction worksites where the expected duration of
construction is less than two years.
(14) "Proportion of single- occupant vehicle commute trips or SOV
rate" means the number of commute trips made by single- occupant
automobiles divided by the number of affected employees.
(15) "Transportation Management Organization (TMO)" means a
group of employers or an association representing a group of employers in
a defined geographic area. A TMO may represent employers within specific
city limits or may extend beyond city limits.
(16) "Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) per employee" means the sum
of the individual vehicle commute trip lengths in miles made by affected
employees over a set period, divided by the number of affected employees
during that period.
5 90 020 Applicability: Notification. Goals. Changes in Status;
Review of Parking Laws A This chapter applies to any major
• employer within the corporate limits of the City of Yakima.
B 1 Major employers known by the City Clerk to be located in the
City of Yakima as of the effective date of this chapter will receive written
notification of the requirements they are to meet pursuant to this chapter
Such notification shall be mailed within 30 days after passage of the
ordinance enacting this chapter
2. Major employers who, for whatever reasons, do not receive
written notice of this chapter must identify themselves to the City Clerk
within 180 days of the passage of the ordinance enacting this chapter
Such employers will be granted an extension to assure 150 days within
which to develop and submit a CTR program.
3. Employers who have not been identified by the City and who
do not identify themselves within 180 days of the passage of the ordinance
enacting this chapter are in violation.
4. Major employers who do not submit an annual CTR Program
Submittal Report within 150 days subsequent to the written notification by
the City are considered in violation.
5. The goals for reduction of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per
employee for all major employers identified within 180 days of the passage
enacting this chapter are. not less than fifteen percent reduction from the
base year values of the commute trip reduction zone in which their
• worksite is located by January 1, 1995, not less than twenty -five percent
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reduction from the base year values by January 1, 1997, and not less than
thirty-five percent reduction from the base year values by January 1, 1999
6. The goals for reduction of the single - occupant vehicle rate
(SOV Rate) for all major employers identified within 180 days of the passage
enacting this chapter are. not less than ten percent reduction from base
year value of the commute trip reduction zone in which their worksite is
located by January 1, 1995, not less than twenty percent reduction from the
base year values by January 1, 1997, and not less than thirty percent
reduction from the base year values by January 1, 1999
C. 1. Employers who meet the definition of 'major employer' in this
chapter must identify themselves to the City Clerk within 180 days of either
moving into the boundaries of the City of Yakima or growing in
employment at a worksite to one hundred (100) or more affected employees.
2. New major employers shall be granted a minimum of 150 days
from written notification of the City of Yakima or from the date of self -
identification by a major employer to develop and submit a CTR program.
3. New major employers who do not identify themselves within
180 days are in violation.
4. A new major employer shall have two years from the date of
CTR Program approval to meet the first CTR goals of ten and fifteen
percent; four years from the date of CTR Program approval to meet the
second goals of twenty and twenty -five percent; and six years from the date •
of CTR Program approval to meet the third goals of thirty and thirty -five
percent.
D. Any of the following changes in an employer's status will change
the employer's CTR program requirements.
1 If an employer initially designated as a major employer no
longer employs one hundred (100) or more affected employees and
reasonably expects not to employ one hundred (100) or more affected
employees for the next twelve (12) months, that employer is no longer a
major employer It is the responsibility of the employer to notify the City
that it is no longer a major employer
2. If the same employer returns to the level of one hundred
(100) or more affected employees within the same twelve (12) months, that
employer will be considered a major employer for the entire 12 months,
and will be subject to the same program requirements as other major
employers.
3. If the same employer returns to the level of one hundred
(100) or more affected employees twelve (12) or more months after its
change in status to 'non - major' employer, that employer shall be treated as
a new major employer, and will be subject to the same program
requirements as other new major employers.
E. The commute trip reduction zone for major employers within the •
City shall be the City limits of the City of Yakima.
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F. The following system shall be used for determining (1) base year
values of the proportion of single- occupant vehicle commute trips and
commute trip vehicle miles traveled per employee and (2) progress toward
meeting commute trip reduction plan goals on an annual basis. a base year
survey of major employers shall be completed within thirty days of the
passage of the ordinance enacting this chapter, and thereafter a survey of
major employers shall be made during goal years 1995, I997, and 1999.
G. In accordance with RCW 70 94, the City of Yakima will review local
parking policies and ordinances as they relate to major employers and
affected worksites and will make any revisions necessary to comply with
CTR goals and guidelines in a period consistent with the timelines of the
Growth Management Act review process. ti
5 90.030 CTR Program Requirements A. A major employer is
required to develop and implement a CTR program that will encourage its
employees to reduce vehicle miles traveled per employee and single
occupancy vehicle commute trips The CTR program must include the
mandatory elements described in subsections B and C below that are
necessary to achieve the CTR goals incorporated into this chapter Not
more than six (6) months after the enactment of this chapter, or within six
(6) months after an employer qualifies under Section 5 90 020 C or D 3, the
employer shall submit a description of its program to the City Thereafter,
• at one -year intervals as set pursuant to Section 5 90 050A, the employer
shall provide an annual progress report to the City on employee
commuting and progress toward meeting the single occupancy vehicle
goals.
B. The CTR program description will present the strategies to be
undertaken by an employer to achieve the trip reduction goals for 1995,
1997, and 1999 Employers are encouraged to consider innovative strategies
and combine program elements in a manner that will best address their
location, site characteristics, business type, and employees' commuting
needs Employers are further encouraged to cooperate with each other and
to form or use transportation management organizations in developing and
implementing CTR programs At a minimum, the major employer's CTR
program must include:
1 General description of the employment site location,
transportation characteristics, and surrounding services, including
unique conditions experienced by the employer or its employees;
2 Number of employees affected by the CTR program,
3. Documentation of compliance with the mandatory CTR
program elements;
4. Description of the additional elements included in the CTR
program (as described in subsection D of this section), and
• 5. Schedule of implementation, assignment of responsibilities,
and commitment to provide appropriate resources.
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C Each employer's CTR program shall also include the following •
mandatory elements:
1 Transportation Coordinator The employer shall designate a
Transportation Coordinator to administer the CTR program. The
coordinator's and /or designee's name, location, and telephone
number must be displayed prominently at each major worksite. The
coordinator should oversee all elements of the employer's CTR
program and act as liaison between the employer and City. A major
employer with multiple major sites may have one transportation
coordinator for all sites.
2. Information Distribution. Information about alternatives to
single occupancy vehicle commuting shall be provided to employees
at least once a year Each major employer's program description
must report the information to be distributed and the method of
distribution.
3. Annual Progress Report for Major Employers. The CTR
program must include an annual review of employee commuting and
of progress toward meeting the single occupancy vehicle reduction
goals The City will supply major employers with a progress report
form. Major employers shall file two copies of an annual progress
report with the City consistent with the CTR Task Force Guidelines.
The report shall describe each of the CTR measures that were in •
effect for the previous year, the results of any commuter surveys
undertaken during the year, and the number of employees
participating in CTR programs. Within the report the employer
should evaluate the effectiveness of the CTR program and if
necessary, propose modifications to achieve the CTR goals. Survey
information or approved alternative information must be provided
in the 1995, 1997, and 1999 reports.
D In addition to the specific program elements described above, the
major employer's CTR program shall include additional elements needed to
meet CTR goals. Elements may include, but are not limited to, one or ore of
the following:
(a) Provision of preferential parking or reduced parking
charges, or both, for high- occupancy vehicles;
(b) Instituting or increasing parking charges for single
occupancy vehicles;
(c) Provision of commuter ride matching services to facilitate
employee ridesharing for commute trips;
(d) Provision of subsidies for transit fares;
(e) Provision of vans for vanpools,
(f) Provision of subsidies for carpools or vanpools; •
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• (g) Permitting the use of the employer's vehicles for carpooling .
or vanpooling;
(h) Permitting flexible work schedules to facilitate employees' use
of transit, carpools, or vanpools;
(i) Cooperation with transportation providers to provide
additional regular or express service to the worksite;
(j) Construction of special loading and unloading facilities for
transit, carpool, and vanpool users;
(k) Provision of bicycle parking facilities, lockers, changing
areas, and showers for employees who bicycle or walk to work;
(1) Provision of a program of parking incentives such as a rebate ,.
for employees who do not use the parking facilities;
(m) Establishment of a program to permit employees to work part -
or full -time at home or at an alternative worksite closer to their
homes,
(n) Establishment of a program of alternative work schedules
such as a compressed work week with reduced commuting; and
(0) Implementation of other measures designed to facilitate the
use of high- occupancy vehicles, such as on -site day care facilities
and emergency taxi services.
5 90 040 Record Keeping Major employers shall include a list of the
records that will be kept as part of the CTR program submitted to the City
for approval Employers will maintain all records listed in CTR programs
for a minimum of 24 months. The City and the employer shall agree on the
record keeping requirements as part of the accepted CTR program.
5.90.050 CTR Annual Progress Reports. A. Employer Requested
Program Modifications /Waivers /Extensions. Implementation Deadlines
Upon revie\■ of a major employer's initial CTR program, the City shall
establish the employer's annual reporting date, which shall be not less
than twelve (12) months from the day the program is submitted. Each year
on the employer's reporting date, the employer shall submit to City the
annual CTR report.
B. The City shall provide the employer with written notification if a
CTR program is deemed unacceptable. The notification must give cause for
the rejection. If the employer receives no written notification of extension
of the review period for the CTR program or comment on the CTR program
or annual report within 90 days of submission, the employer's program or
annual report is deemed accepted. The City may extend the review period
up to 90 days.
411 C A major employer may receive notification that certain aspects of its
CTR plan are not acceptable, and modifications will be required. A letter of
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notification, requesting such modifications, will be sent addressed to the •
employer's Transportation Coordinator at the worksite. Employers will be
given 30 days from the date of notification to submit a revised CTR program
document.
D. Any employer may request the City for the waiver or modification of
CTR program elements, including record keeping requirements
Mandatory elements may not be modified. Such request may be granted if
one of the following conditions exist:
1. The employer can demonstrate it would be unable to comply
with the CTR program elements for reasons beyond the control of
the employer, or
2. The employer can demonstrate that compliance with the
program elements would constitute an undue hardship. This may
include evidence from employee surveys in the base year, showing
that the employer's own base year values of VMT per employee and
SOV rates were higher than the CTR zone average, or, in subsequent
years, showing that the employer has achieved reductions from its
own base values that are comparable to the reduction goals
established for the employer's CTR zone.
E An employer may request additional time to submit a CTR program or
CTR annual progress report, or to implement or modify a program. Such •
requests shall be made in writing no less than 30 days before the due date
for which the extension is being requested. If there is no response issued
to the employer, an extension is automatically granted for 30 days.
Extensions shall not exempt an employer from any responsibility in
meeting program goals. Extensions granted due to delays or difficulties
with any program element(s) shall not be cause for discontinuing or
failing to implement other program elements An employer's annual
reporting date shall not be adjusted permanently as a result of these
extensions. An employer's annual reporting date may be extended at the
discretion of the City
F Unless extensions are granted, the employer shall implement the
approved CTR program not more than 180 days after the program was first
submitted to the City Implementation of the approved program
modifications will occur within 30 days of the final decision or 180 days
from submission of the annual employer CTR program report, whichever is
greater
5 90 060 Credit for Transportation Demand Management
Efforts A. Major employers with successful Transportation Demand
Management programs implemented prior to the 1992 Base Year will
receive an "inherent credit." This inherent credit will be applied to the
employer's single occupancy vehicle and vehicle miles traveled for 1995
This means that a major employer which already has a Transportation
Demand Management program in place may only need to continue that
existing program, or provide minor modifications to the program, in order
to reach the 1995 single occupancy vehicle and vehicle miles traveled •
goals. No major employer, however, shall be exempt from submitting the
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initial employer CTR program submittal reports as defined in Section 3 of
this chapter
B Credit for alternative work schedules, work at home options,
bicycling, and walking by affected employees shall be available on the
following basis:
1 City will count commute trips eliminated through alternate
work schedule, work at home options, bicycling, and walking as one
and two-tenths vehicle trips eliminated. This assumption applies to
both the proportion of single occupancy vehicle trips and vehicle
miles traveled per employee.
2. This type of credit is applied when calculating the single
occupancy vehicle and vehicle miles traveled goals of major
employers.
5 90 070 Enforcement: Compliance, Program Modification
Criteria. Violations A. For purposes of this section, compliance shall
mean fully implementing all provisions in an accepted CTR program and
meeting or exceeding vehicle miles traveled and single occupancy vehicle
goals of this chapter
B . The following criteria for achieving goals for vehicle miles traveled
• per employee and proportion of single occupancy vehicle trips shall be
applied in determining requirements for employer CTR program
modifications.
1 If an employer meets either or both goals, the employer has
satisfied the objectives of the CTR plan and will not be required to
modify the CTR program,
2. If an employer meets the goal for proportion of single
occupancy vehicle trips but not for vehicle miles traveled per
employee, the City may recommend program modifications, but in
recognition of the employer's successful efforts in reducing single
occupancy vehicle trips, will not penalize the employer if it does not
implement recommended modifications.
3. If an employer fails to meet both the vehicle miles traveled
per employee goal and the single occupancy vehicle goal, the major
employer shall revise its program. The City may penalize the
employer if it does not submit a revised CTR program and
modifications The employer shall submit a revised CTR program
within 30 days of the date it filed, or should have filed, its annual
report.
4. The City shall review the revisions and notify the employer of
acceptance or rejection of the revised program If a revised
program is not acceptable, City will send notice to the employer to
that effect. A final decision on the required program will be issued
in writing by the City
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C. The following constitute violations by major employers if the
deadlines established in this chapter are not met:
1. Failure to develop and /or submit on time a complete program
including:
(a) Employers notified or who have identified themselves
to the City within 180 days of this chapter being adopted and
who do not submit a CTR program within 150 days from the
notification or self - identification, and
(b) Employers not identified or self - identified within 180
days of this chapter being adopted and who do not submit or
implement a CTR program within 180 days from the adoption
of this chapter
2. Failure to implement an approved CTR program or to comply
with any requirement of the program.
3 Failure to modify an unacceptable CTR program.
4 Failure to designate a Transportation Coordinator
5. Failure to disseminate information to employees at a
minimum, on an annual basis as specified herein.
6. Submission of fraudulent, false or bogus information, data, •
and /or survey results.
D Penalties and Defense.
1 Penalties A civil penalty of not more than $50 may be
assessed against the employer for each day of a violation of any
requirement of this ordinance or for each day of failure to
implement any requirement of the employer's Commute Trip
Reduction Program. The employer shall be notified of the City's
intent to impose a penalty, which notification shall include a notice
that the employer may appeal the decision to the City Council within
30 days of the date of the decision. No penalty shall be imposed until
the employer has been notified of the City's intent to impose a
penalty, and the employer has been given an opportunity to
demonstrate that it has made a good faith attempt to comply with this
ordinance.
2. Defense It shall be a defense to a failure to implement any
requirement of a Commute Trip Reduction Program that the
employer has made a good faith attempt to comply with this
ordinance and its failure to comply was due to circumstances beyond
its control Such circumstances can include failure to reach
agreement with a certified bargaining agent when the employer has
notified the agent that compliance with this ordinance necessitated
the bargaining and after the employer has pursued the bargaining •
in good faith.
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5 90 080 Worksite Exemption or Goal Modification. A. Any
major employer may request from the City an exemption at a particular
worksite from all CTR program requirements or penalties. The employer
must demonstrate that it would experience undue hardship in complying
with the requirements of this chapter as a result of the characteristics of
its business, its workforce, or its location(s) City may review annually all
employers receiving waivers, and shall determine whether the waiver will
be in effect during the following program year
B. Any major employer may request from the City a modification of
program goals. Any condition that can be demonstrated by the employer to
warrant a modification will be considered. The employer may not appeal a
modification based on an unanticipated condition until the first
measurement year (1995)
5.90.090 Appeals. Any major employer may appeal administrative
decisions regarding exemptions, modification of goals, CTR program
elements, and violations to the City Council by filing a written notice of
appeal with the City Clerk. The notice of appeal shall identify the
appellant, describe the issue or subject of the appeal, and describe the
remedy sought The notice of appeal must be filed within fifteen (15)
business days of the administrative decision. The City Council will evaluate
the appeal by determining if the City's decisions were consistent with CTR
law and guidelines Appeals may be granted if the employer can show (1)
the violations for which the penalties were imposed occurred for reasons
beyond the employer's control, or (2) the program components that the
City directed the employer to incorporate in its CTR program are unlikely to
reduce the proportion of single- occupant vehicles or vehicle miles
traveled per employee. The decision of the City Council shall be final and
conclusive, subject only to appeal to the Yakima County Superior Court.
5.90.100 No Private Cause of Action Created. It is the intent of
this chapter to protect the health, safety, and general welfare of the
general public only It is not the intent of this chapter to create any
private cause of action upon the City's failure of any duty set forth herein
if any, not is it the intent of this chapter to create any special relationship,
reliance, privity, or other exception to any government immunity,
including the public duty doctrine."
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Section 2 This ordinance shall be in full force and effect 30 days after its
passage, approval, and publication as provided by law and by the City Charter
P e g� PP P P Y
PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL, signed and approved this ath. day of June,
1993
ATTEST Mayor
City Clerk
Publication Date:
JUN11 1993
Effective Date: J U L 1 1 1993
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