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Ordinance 32420006.190.042 CAM /WSS /Ifs /are /aaf 1/20/93 R: 1/20/99 ORDINANCE NO. 3242 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, AMENDING EDMONDS COMMUTE TRIP REDUCTION (CTR) PLAN AND IMPLEMENTING MEASURES AS REQUIRED BY RCW 70.94.527 BY AMENDING CHAPTER 17.95 OF THE EDMONDS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CODE, AND FIXING A TIME WHEN THE SAME SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE. WHEREAS, increases in the amount and rate of urban growth within the City of Edmonds have directly contributed to higher levels of traffic congestion and delay; and WHEREAS, the public's health, safety and welfare are threatened by increases in vehicular travel and petroleum fuel consumption that negatively impact traffic safety, air quality and neighborhood noise levels; and WHEREAS, traffic congestion and delay harm the City's economy by impeding the delivery of goods and services and causing working hours to be lost; and WHEREAS, the Legislature has enacted the Commute Trip Reduction Law (RCW 70.94.521 -551) which requires the City in 1992 to establish commute trip reduction plans that require affected employers to prepare commute trip reduction programs for their employees; WHEREAS, the 1990 Growth Management Act requires the City to implement Transportation Demand Management measures (TDM) as part of the transportation element of its comprehensive plan; and CAM37880.2 - 1 - WHEREAS, the City of Edmonds recognizes the importance of increasing individual citizen's awareness of air quality, energy consumption, and traffic congestion and the contribution individual actions can make toward addressing these issues; NOW THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, DO ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1. Chapter 17.95 of the Edmonds Community Development Code is hereby amended to read as follows: Chapter 17.95 COMMUTE TRIP REDUCTION PLAN 17.95.010 Administration 1. Title. This ordinance shall be known as the "Commute Trip Reduction Ordinance of the City of Edmonds," and the requirements set forth in this ordinance are applicable to all affected employers defined herein. 2. Jurisdiction. These regulations shall apply to all affected employers within the incorporated area of the City of Edmonds. 3. Purpose. The Purpose of this ordinance is to provide a method for compliance with the Statewide Commute Trip Reduction Law of 1991 (RCW 70.94.521 -551), Chapter 202, Laws of 1991. The Commute Trip Reduction Ordinance shall not be used as a substitute for reviews of projects under City requirements for compliance with the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). 4. Administration. The Director of the Community Services Department or his /her designee shall have the duty and responsibility of administering the provisions of this ordinance with the authority to promulgate rules and regulations to implement and administer this ordinance. The Community Services Department shall work with other departments to develop and implement an administrative CAM37880.2 - 2 - process for enforcing this ordinance. 5. Definitions. For the purpose of this ordinance, the following definitions shall apply in the interpretation and enforcement of this ordinance: a. Affected Employee: A full -time employee who begins his or her regular work day at a single work site between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. (inclusive) on two (2) or more weekdays for at least twelve (12) continuous months. Full -time employee: A person other than an independent contractor, scheduled to be employed on a continuous basis for fifty-two (52) weeks for an average of at least thirty -five (35) hours per week. The employee will only be counted at his or her primary work site. Seasonal agricultural employees, including seasonal employees of processors of agricultural products are excluded from the count of affected employees. b. Affected Employer: An employer that employs one hundred (100) or more full -time employees at a single work site who are scheduled to begin their regular work day between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. (inclusive) on two (2) or more weekdays for at least twelve (12) continuous months. Construction work sites, when the expected duration of the construction is less than two years, are excluded from this definition. (Also see definition of Employer.) C. Alternative Mode: Any means of commute transportation other than that in which the single - occupant motor vehicle is the dominant mode, including telecommuting and compressed work weeks if they result in reducing commute trips. d. Alternative Work Schedules: Work schedules which allow employees to work their required hours outside of the traditional Monday- Friday, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. schedule. Programs such as compressed work weeks that eliminate work trips for affected employees are an example. e. Base Year: The period from January 1, 1992 CAM37880.2 - 3 - through December 31, 1992 on which goals for vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per employee and proportion of single- occupant vehicle (SOV) trips shall be based. f. Carpool: A motor vehicle occupied by two (2) to six (6) people traveling together for their commute trip that results in the reduction of a minimum of one motor vehicle commute trip. g. Commute Trips: Trips made from a worker's home to a work site with a regularly scheduled work start time of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (inclusive) on weekdays. h. CTR Guidelines: A document prepared in 1992 (subject to revision) by the State -wide Commute Trip Reduction Task Force. The document includes guidelines for preparing plans and ordinances, as well as model programs and data from work sites across the country. i. CTR Law: A law passed in 1991 (Chapter 202, Laws of 1991) and codified in RCW 70.94.521 -551 requiring counties of over 150,000 residents, with one or more affected employers to implement a CTR ordinance and plan. All cities in such counties with one or more affected employers are also required to adopt CTR ordinances and plans. j. CTR Plan: City of Edmonds' Plan and Ordinance to regulate and administer the CTR programs of affected employers within its jurisdiction. k. CTR Program: An employer's strategies to reduce affected employees' SOV use and VMT per employee. 1. CTR Zone: One (1) of three (3) areas, such as a census tract or combination of census tracts within Snohomish County, characterized by similar employment density, population density, level of transit service, parking availability, access to high occupancy vehicle facilities, and other factors that CAM37880.2 - 4 - are determined to affect the level of SOV commuting. City of Edmonds and parts of unincorporated Snohomish County have been combined to form one zone, known as the Southwest Zone. m. Commuter Matching Services: A system that assists in matching commuters for the purpose of commuting together. n. Compressed Work Week: An alternative work schedule in accordance with employer policy that regularly allows a full -time employee to eliminate at least one work day every two weeks by working longer hours 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 (4) ten (10) hour days or eighty (80) hours in nine (9) days, but may also include other arrangements. Compressed work weeks are understood to be an ongoing arrangement. o. Custom Bus /Buspool: A commuter bus service arranged to transport one or more specific employee groups to work. P. Days: Calendar days, unless otherwise specified. q. Dominant Mode: The mode of travel used for the greatest distance of a commute trip. r. Employer: A sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, unincorporated association, cooperative, joint venture, agency, department, district or other individual entity, whether public, non - profit, or private, that employs workers. S. Edmonds: The City of Edmonds. t. xem tion: A waiver from CTR program requirements granted to an employer by the City of Edmonds based on unique conditions that apply to the employer or employment site. CAM37880.2 - 5 - U. Flex -Time: An employer policy allowing individual employees some flexibility in choosing the time, but not the number, of their working hours to facilitate the use of alternative modes. V. Full -Time Employee: A person other than an independent contractor, scheduled to be employed on a continuous basis for fifty-two (52) weeks for an average of at least thirty-five (35) hours per week. W. Good Faith Effort: Means that an employer has met the minimum requirements identified in RCW 70.94.531 and his ordinance, and is working collaboratively with the City to continue its existing CTR program or is developing and implementing program modifications likely to result in improvements to it CTR program over an agreed upon length of time. X. Implementation: Active pursuit by an employer of the CTR goals of RCW 70.94.521 -551 and this ordinance as evidenced by appointment of a transportation coordinator, distribution of information to employees regarding alternatives to SOV commuting, and commencement of other measures according to its approved CTR program and schedule. Y. Mode: The means of transportation used by employees, such as a single- occupant motor vehicle, ride share vehicle (carpool, vanpool), transit, ferry, bicycle, and walking. Z. Peak Period: The hours from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (inclusive), Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. aa. Peak Period Trip: Any employee trip that delivers the employee to begin his or her regular work day between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. (inclusive), Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. CAM37880.2 - 6 - bb. Proportion of Sin lg e- Occupant Vehicle Trips or SOV Rate: The number of affected employees in SOVs over a set period divided by the number of affected employees working during that period. cc. Single-Occupant Vehicle (,SOW A motor vehicle occupied by one (1) employee for commute purposes, including a motorcycle. dd. Single- Occupant Vehicle (SOV) Trips: Trips made by affected employees in SOVs. ee. Single Work Site: A building or group of buildings on physically contiguous parcels of land or on parcels separated solely by private or public roadways or right -of -ways occupied by one or more affected employers. ff. Telecommuting: The use of telephones, computers, or other similar technology to permit an employee to work from home, eliminating a commute trip, or to work from a work place closer to home, reducing the distance traveled in a commute trip by at least half. gg. Transit: A multiple- occupant vehicle operated on a for -hire, shared -ride basis, including bus, ferry, rail, shuttle bus, or vanpool. A transit trip counts as zero (0) vehicle trips. hh. Transbortation ManaLyement Organization (TMO): 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 have a sphere of influence that extends beyond City limits. ii. Vanpool: A vehicle occupied by seven (7) to fifteen (15) people traveling together for their commute trip that results in the reduction of a minimum of one (1) motor vehicle trip. A vanpool trip counts as zero (0) vehicle trips. jj. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Per Employee: The CAM37880.2 - 7 - 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. kk. Week: A seven (7) day calendar period, starting on Monday and continuing through Sunday. 11. Weekday: Any day of the week except Saturday or Sunday. mm. Writing, Written. or In Writing: Original signed and dated documents. Facsimile (fax) transmissions are a temporary notice of action that must be followed by the original signed and dated document via mail or delivery. 17.95.020 CTR Plan The 1993 City of Edmonds' CTR Plan set forth in Attachment A is wholly incorporated herein by reference. 17.95.030 Program Compliance 1. Applicability. The Provisions of this ordinance shall apply to any affected employer at any single work site within the corporate limits of the City of Edmonds. Employees will only be counted at their primary work site. The following classifications of employees are excluded from the counts of employees: a. Seasonal agricultural employees, including seasonal employees of processors of agricultural products; and b. Employees of construction work sites when the expected duration of the construction is less than two years. CAM37880.2 - 8 - 2. Notification of Applicability,. a. Affected employers located in the City of Edmonds are to receive written notification that they are subject to this ordinance. Such notice shall be in writing, addressed to the company's chief executive officer, senior official, or CTR manager at the work site. Such notification shall be delivered a minimum of one hundred fifty (150) days prior to the due date for submittal of their CTR Program. b. Affected employers that, for whatever reasons, do not receive notice within thirty (30) days of passage of the ordinance and are either notified or identify themselves to the City within one hundred eighty (180) days of the passage of the ordinance will be granted an extension to assure up to one hundred fifty (150) days within which to develop and submit a CTR program. 3. Newly Affected Employers. Employers that meet the definition of affected employer in this ordinance must identify themselves to the City within one hundred eighty (180) days of either moving into the boundaries of the City or growing in employment at a work site to one hundred (100) or more affected employees. Such employers shall be granted a minimum of one hundred fifty (150) days to develop and submit a CTR program. Employers that do not identify themselves within one hundred eighty (180) days are in violation. New affected employers shall have two (2) years from the City's acceptance of the program to meet the first CTR goal of fifteen percent (15 %); four (4) years to meet the second goal of twenty-five percent (25 %); and six (6) years to meet the third goal of thirty-five percent (35 %) from the time they begin their program. 4. Change in Status as an Affected Employer. Any of the following changes in an employer's status will change the employer's CTR program requirements: a. If an employer initially designated as an affected employer no longer employs one hundred (100) or more affected employees and has not employed one hundred (100) or more affected employees for the CAM37880.2 - 9 - next twelve (12) months, that employer is no longer an affected employer. It is the responsibility of the employer to notify the City that it is no longer an affected employer. b. 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 an affected employer for the entire twelve (12) months, and will be subject to the same program requirements as other affected employers. C. 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 an unaffected employer, that employer shall be treated as a new affected employer, and will be subject to the same program requirements as other new affected employers. 5. Requirements for Employers . Employers are required to make a good faith effort as defined in RCW 70.94.531 and this ordinance, to develop and implement a CTR program that will encourage its employees to reduce VMT per employee and SOV commute trips. The CTR program must include the mandatory elements described below that are necessary to achieve the CTR goals incorporated into this ordinance. The employer shall submit a description of its program to the City and provide an annual progress report to the City on employee commuting and progress toward meeting the SOV goals. 6. CTR Program Description Requirements. The CTR program description presents the strategies to be undertaken by an employer to achieve the commute trip reduction goals for 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2005. These goals are currently fifteen percent (15 %) reduction in base year values by 1995, twenty percent (20 %) reduction by 1997, twenty-five percent (25 %) reduction by 1999, and thirty-five percent (35 %) reduction by 2005. Goals for newly affected employers are a fifteen percent (15 %) reduction after two years, a twenty percent (20 %) reduction after four years, a twenty-five percent (25 %) reduction after six years, and a thirty-five percent (35 %) reduction after 12 years. CAM37880.2 _10- Employers are encouraged to consider innovative strategies and combine program elements in a manner that will best suit 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 (TMOs) in developing and implementing CTR programs. 7. Description of Employer's CTR Program. At a minimum, the employer's description must include: a. General description of the employment site location, transportation characteristics, and surrounding services, including unique conditions experienced by the employer or its employees; b. Number of employees affected by the CTR program; C. Documentation of compliance with the mandatory CTR program elements (as described in section 8); d. Description of the additional elements included in the CTR program (as described in section 9); and e. Schedule of implementation, assignment of responsibilities, and commitment to provide appropriate resources. 8. Mandatory Program Elements. Each employer's CTR program shall include the following mandatory elements: a. Transportation Coordinator. The employer shall designate an employee transportation coordinator (ETC) to administer the CTR program. The coordinator's name, location, and telephone number must be displayed prominently at each affected work site. Coordinators shall be trained in CTR program development and administration through a program approved by the City. The coordinator shall oversee all elements of the employer's CTR program and act as liaison between the employer and the City. The objective is to have an effective transportation coordinator present at each work site; CAM37880.2 - 11 - an affected employer with multiple sites may have one transportation coordinator for all sites. The employer shall negotiate with the City for the number of ETCs required. b. Information Distribution. Information about alternatives to SOV commuting shall be provided to employees at least twice a year. Each employer's program description and annual report must report the information to be distributed and the method of distribution. C. Annual Progress Report. The CTR program must include an annual review of employee commuting and of progress toward meeting the SOV and VMT reduction goals. Affected employers shall file an annual progress report with the City in accordance with the format established by this ordinance and 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 modification to achieve the CTR goals. Survey information or approved alternative information must be provided in the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth years after program implementation begins. For worksites which have been participating in the CTR program since the beginning, this requirement applies to the 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2005 annual reports. The format of the report, which shall include a section to be returned to the City and a section to be returned to the Washington State Energy Office, is described in Attachment A. 9. Additional Program Elements. In addition to the specific program elements described above, the employer's CTR program shall include additional elements needed to meet CTR goals. Elements may include, but are not limited to, one (1) or more of the following: CAM37880.2 -12- a. Provision of preferential parking or reduced parking charges, or both, for high- occupancy vehicles; b. Instituting or increasing parking charges for SOVs; C. Provision of commuter ride matching services to facilitate employee ride sharing for commute trips; d. Provision of subsidies for transit fares; e. Provision of vans for vanpools; f. Provision of subsidies for carpools or vanpools. 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 work site; 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 -time or full -time at home or at an alternative work site closer to their homes; n. Establishment of a program of alternative work schedules, such as compressed work weeks which reduce commuting; CAM37880.2 - 13- o. Promotional activities for ride sharing and transit, as well as fixed commuter information centers; P. Guaranteed rides in emergency situations for ride sharers; q. Implementation of other measures designed to facilitate the use of high - occupancy vehicles, such as on -site day care facilities and emergency taxi services; and r. Reduction of parking provided in accordance with the City of Edmonds' Community Development Code. 10. Record Keeping. Affected employers shall include a list of the records they will keep as part of the CTR program they submit to the City for approval. Records shall reflect the measures selected by the employer. For example, an employer providing transit and vanpool pass subsidies shall keep monthly records of pass sales; employers with parking charges and reduced rates for carpools and vanpools shall record parking pass sales by type. Employers will maintain all records listed in their CTR program for a minimum of thirty-six (36) months. The City of Edmonds and the employer shall agree on the record keeping requirements as part of the employer's CTR program. 11. Schedule and Process for CTR Reports. a. CTR Program. Not more than six (6) months after the adoption of this ordinance, or within six (6) months after an employer becomes subject to the provisions of this ordinance, the employer shall develop a CTR program and shall submit to the City a description of that program for review. b. CTR Annual Progress Reports. Upon review of an employer's initial CTR program, the City shall establish the employer's annual reporting date, which shall not be 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 the City the annual CTR report. CAM37880.2 -14- C. Document Review. The City shall provide the employer with written notification within thirty (30) days if a CTR program was approved or deemed unacceptable. d. Requirements. Initial program descriptions will be deemed acceptable if: (1) All required information on the program description form is provided; and, (2) The program description includes the following information: (a) Name, location and telephone number of the Employee Transportation Coordinator for each work site. (b) Plan for and documentation of regular distribution of information to employees about the employer's CTR program at the work site, including alternatives to driving alone to work. (c) Plan for and implementation of at least one additional measure designed to achieve the applicable goal. e. Annual Reports. Annual reports will be deemed ac- ceptable if the annual report form is complete and contains information about implementation of the prior year's program elements and proposed new program elements and implementation schedule. Annual reports must also contain a review of employee commuting and report of progress toward meeting SOV goals. f. Acceptance. The notification must give cause for the rejection. The employer shall have thirty (30) days to resubmit a modified program. If the employer receives no written notification of CAM37880.2 -15- extension of the review period for the CTR program or comment on the CTR program or annual report within ninety (90) days of submission, the employer's program or annual report is deemed accepted. The City may extend the review period up to ninety (90) days. The implementation date for the employer's CTR program will be extended an equivalent number of days. 12. Modification of CTR Program Elements. Any affected employer may request that the City allow the modification of CTR program elements, other than the mandatory elements specified in this ordinance, including record keeping requirements. Such request may be granted if one of the following conditions exist: a. The employer can demonstrate it would be unable to comply with the CTR program elements for reasons beyond the control of the employer; b. The employer can demonstrate that compliance with the program elements would constitute an undue hardship. This may include evidence from employee surveys administered at the work site: first, 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; and subsequently, in the progress year(s) 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. 13. Extensions. 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 thirty (30) days before the due date for which the extension is being requested. Requests must be made in writing. Extensions not to exceed ninety (90) days shall be considered for reasonable causes. The City shall grant or deny the employer's extension request in writing within ten (10) working days of receipt. If there is no response issued to the employer, an extension is automatically granted for thirty (30) days. Extensions shall CAM37880.2 -16- 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 Community Services Director or his /her designee. 14. Implementation of Employer's CTR Program. Unless extensions are granted, the employer shall implement the approved CTR program not more than one hundred eighty (180) days after the program was first submitted to the City. Implementation of the approved program modifications shall occur within thirty (30) days of the final decision of one hundred eighty (180) days from submission of the CTR program or CTR annual report, whichever occurs first. 15. If an employer makes a good faith effort, as defined in RCW 70.94.534(2) and this ordinance, and meets either or both applicable goals, the employer has satisfied the objectives of the CTR plan and will not be required to modify its CTR program. If an employer makes a good faith effort, as defined in RCW 70.94.534(2) and this ordinance, but has not met or is not likely to meet the applicable SOV or VMT goal, the City of Edmonds shall work collaboratively with the employer to make modifications to its CTR program. After agreeing on modifications, the employer shall submit a revised CTR program to the City for approval within 30 days of reaching an agreement. If an employer fails to make good faith efforts as defined in RCW 70.94.534(2) and this ordinance, and fails to meet the applicable SOV of VMT reduction goal, the City shall work collaboratively with the employer to identify modifications to the CTR program and shall direct the employer to revise its program within 30 days to incorporate the modifications. In response to the recommended modifications, the employer shall submit a revised CTR program description, including the requested CAM37880.2 -17- modifications or equivalent measures, within 30 days of receiving written notice to revise its program. The City shall review the revisions and notify the employer of acceptance or rejection of the revised program. If a revised program is not accepted, the City will send a written notice to that effected employer within 30 days and, if necessary, require the employer to attend a conference with program review staff for the purpose of reaching a consensus on the required program. A final decision on the required program will be issued in writing by the City within 10 working days of the conference. 16. Credit for Transportation Demand Management Efforts. a. Credit for Programs Implemented Prior to the Base Year. Employers with successful transportation demand management (TDM) programs implemented prior to the 1992 base year may be eligible to apply for program exemption credit, which exempts them from some program requirements. When these employers apply for the program exemption credit in their initial 1993 CTR program descriptions, they shall be considered to have met the 1995 CTR goals if their VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips are equivalent to a twelve percent (12 %) or greater reduction from the base year zone values. This three percentage point credit applies only to the 1995 CTR goals. b. Process to Apply for Program Exemption Credit. Affected employers may apply for program exemption credit for the results of past or current TDM efforts by applying to the City's Community Services Director or his designee in their initial program description or as part of any other annual report. Application shall include results from survey of employees or equivalent information that established the affected employer's VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips. The survey or equivalent information shall conform to all applicable standards established in Section 7 of the Measurement and Evaluation Guidelines. C. Employers that apply for credit and whose VMT CAM37880.2 - 1 g - per employee and proportion of SOV trips are equal to or less than goals for one (1) or more future goal years, and commit in writing to continue their current level of effort, shall be exempt from the requirements of the ordinance except for the requirements to report performance in 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2005. If any of these reports indicate the employer does not satisfy the next applicable goal(s), the employer shall immediately become subject to all requirements of the CTR ordinance. 17.95.040 General 1. Enforcement. a. Compliance. For purposes of this section, compliance shall mean fully implementing all provisions in an accepted CTR program or meeting or exceeding VMT and SOV goals of this ordinance. b. Failure to implement an approved CTR program, unless the program elements that are carried out can be shown through quantifiable evidence to meet or exceed VMT and SOV goals are specified in this ordinance. Failure to implement a CTR program includes but is not limited to: (1) Failure of any affected employer to submit a complete CTR program with the deadline specified in Section 17.95.04.04 of this ordinance. (2) Failure to submit required documentation for annual reports. (3) Submission of fraudulent data. (4) Failure to make a good faith effort, as defined in RCW 70.94.534(4) and this ordinance. (5) Failure to modify a CTR program found to be unacceptable by the City under Section CAM37880.2 -19- 17.95.030.4.3. C. Penalties. No affected employer with an approved CTR program may be held liable for the failure to reach the applicable SOV or VMT goals. The City may at its discretion exercise the following alternative remedy: (1) Civil infraction. Each day of failure by an employer to: (a) Implement a commute reduction pro- gram; or (b) Modify an unacceptable commute re- duction program shall constitute a separate violation and shall be considered to be a civil infraction punishable by a penalty for violation of up to $250 per day. Affected employers may appeal such civil penalties pursuant to the provisions of RCW 7.80.100. (2) Nuisance and Abatement. Each day of failure by an employer to: (a) Implement a commute reduction pro- gram; or (b) Modify an unacceptable commute re- duction program shall also constitute a public nuisance and may be abated as provided in accordance with the provisions of ECDC Chapter 20.110. Any violation shall be processed and shall be appealable as provided in Chapter 20.110. (3) It shall not be considered a failure to implement the CTR program, if an employer's inability to implement an element of a CTR program was the result of CAM37880.2 -20- an inability to reach agreement within the preceding twelve month period with a certified collective bargaining agent under applicable laws where the issue was raised by the employer and pursued in good faith. Unionized employers shall be presumed to act in good faith compliance if they: (a) Propose to a recognized union any provision of the employer's CTR program that is subject to bargaining as defined by the National Labor Relations Act; and (b) Advise the union of the existence of the statute and the mandates of the CTR program approved by the City and advise the union that the proposal being made is necessary for compliance with State Law (RCW 70.94.531). 2. Exemptions or Goal Modifications. a. Exemptions. An affected employer may submit a request to the City to grant an exemption from all CTR program requirements or penalties for a particular work site. The employer must demonstrate that it would experience undue hardship in complying with the requirements of the ordinance as a result of the characteristics if its business, its work force, or its location(s). An exemption may be granted if and only if the affected employer demonstrates that it faces extraordinary circumstance, such as bankruptcy, and is unable to implement any measures that could reduce the proportion of SOV trips and VMT per employee. Exemptions may be granted by the City at any time based on written notice provided by the affected employer. The notice should clearly explain the conditions for which the affected employer is seeking an exemption from the requirements of the CTR program. The City shall review annually all employers receiving exemptions, and shall CAM37880.2 -21- determine whether the exemption will be in effect during the following program year. b. Modification of CTR Program Goals. Prior to implementation, an affected employer may request from the City a modification of program goals. Grounds for granting modification and the associated modification will be determined on a case -by -case basis and include the following: (1) Specific employees or groups of employees who are required to drive alone to work as a condition of employment may be exempted from a worksite's CTR program. Exemptions may also be granted for employees who work variable shifts throughout the year and who do not rotate as a group to identical shifts. The City shall review annually all employee exemption requests, and shall determine whether the exemption will be in effect during the following program year. (2) An affected employer may request that the City modify its CTR program goals. Such requests shall be filed in writing at least 60 days prior to the date the worksite is required to submit its program description or annual report. The goal modification request must clearly explain why the worksite is unable to achieve the applicable goal. The worksite must also demonstrate that it has implemented all of the elements contained in its approved CTR program. The City will review and grant or deny requests for goal modifications in accordance with procedures and criteria identified in the CTR Task Force Guidelines. An employer may not request a modification of the applicable goals until one year after the City approval of its initial program description or annual report. 3. Appeals of Final Decision. Affected employers may file a CAM37880.2 -22- written appeal of the City's final decision regarding the following actions: a. Rejection of an employer's proposed program. b. Denial of an employer's requests for a waiver or modification of any of the requirements of this ordinance or a modification of the employer's program. C. Denial of credits requested under Section 17.95.030.5. Such appeals must be filed with the City within ten (10) days after the employer receives notice of a final decision. Timely appeals shall be heard by the City's Hearing Examiner. The Hearing Examiner's decision shall be final, and may be appealed to the City Council pursuant to Edmonds City Code Section 20.105.010(c) et seq. Determinations on appeals shall be based on whether the decision being appealed was consistent with this ordinance or applicable law. 4. Third Party Liability. It is expressly the purpose of this ordinance to provide for and promote the health, safety, and welfare of the general public and not to create or otherwise establish or designate any particular class or group of persons who will or should be especially protected or benefitted by the terms of this ordinance. It is the specific intent of this ordinance that no provisions nor any term used in this ordinance is intended to impose any duty whatsoever upon the City or any of its officers or employees, for whom the implementation and enforcement of this ordinance shall be discretionary and not mandatory. Nothing contained in this ordinance is intended nor shall be construed to create or form the basis of any liability on the part of the City, or its officers, employees or agents, for any injury or damage resulting from any action or inaction on the part of the City related in any manner to the enforcement of this ordinance by its officers, employees or agents. CAM37880.2 -23- Section 2. Section 20.110.030 of the Edmonds Community Development Code Nuisance Section is hereby amended to read as follows: 20.110.030 Nuisance Section I. Violations of the provisions of Chapter 17.95 relating to development and implementation of commute trip reduction (CTR) programs. Section 3. Amending the provisions of Section 20.110.040(F) relating to monetary penalties for civil violations to read as follows: 20.110.040 Enforcement Procedures F. Monetary Penalties. Except for the violations of Chapter 17.95 and Section 20.100.030(I) violations shall be assessed at the rate of $100.00 per day, or portion of day thereof, for each and every day after service of the notice of civil violation. Provided however that if an appeal is made to the Hearing Examiner, violations shall be assessed at the rate of $100.00 per day or a portion of the day thereof for each and every day after the violations Hearing Examiner finds that a violation exists and hearing order has been served. Violations of the provisions of Chapter 17.95 and Section 20.100.030(I) shall be assessed at a fine of up to $250 per day or a portion thereof following notice of civil violation or order of the violation Hearing Examiner as provided above. The violations Hearing Examiner also granted extension of the date upon which fines will begin in order to allow for a reasonable period of abatement. Such extension shall not exceed ten (10) calendar days. Section 4. Severability. Should any section, subsection, paragraph, sentence, clause or phrase of this ordinance or its application to any person or situation be declared CAM37880.2 -24- unconstitutional or invalid for any reason, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance or its application to any other person or situation. The City Council of the City of Edmonds hereby declares that it would have adopted this ordinance and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, clauses, phrases or portions be declared invalid or unconstitutional. Section 5. Effective Date. This ordinance, being an exercise of a power specifically delegated to the City legislative body, is not subject to referendum and shall take effect five (5) days after passage and publication. APPROVED: RBARBURT So. fA�q�HEY ATTEST /AUTHENTICATED: z- exc--a" CITY CLERK, SANDRA S. CHASE APPROVED AS TO FORM: OFFICE OF THE CITY ATTORNEY: BY FILED WITH THE CITY CLE ) PASSED BY THE CITY COUNCIL: PUBLISHED: EFFECTIVE DATE: ORDINANCE NO. 02/12/99 02/16/99 02/21/99 02/26/99 3242 CAM37880.2 -25- CITY OF EDMONDS COMMUTE TRIP REDUCTION PLAN TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION 1: GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES ...... .................1 -3 Introduction.................. ..............................1 SECTION 2: MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION ...........................4 -16 CTR Zones, Base Year Values and Goals .......................4 Origin of Information Used for Base Year Values .............4 .Credit for Transportation Demand Management Efforts .........5 -7 Goals for VMT per Employee and Proportion of SOV Trips ......7 -8 Basic Methodology for Calculating SOV Trips .....:...........8 TheEmployer Survey ........, .... ...........................8 -14 Transportation Management Organizations ....................14 Evaluation of the CTR Program .... ..........................14 -16 SECTION 3: TRANSPORTATION SERVICES : ............................ 17 -22 Transportation Service Providers . ..........................17 -18 Vehicle -Based Programs ........... ..........................18 -20 Service -Based Programs ........20 -22 SECTION 4: PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS FOR AFFECTED EMPLOYERS ......23 -28 Notification and Compliance ...... ..........................23 -24 ProgramRequirements .......... .............................24 Mandatory Elements ............... ..........................24 -25 Optional Elements ................ ..........................25 -26 ProgramAcceptance ............ .............................27 GoalAchievement .............. .............................28 SECTION 5: REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CITY ................... ,........ 29 -31 SECTION 6: OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES .........................32 -36 Parking ...................... . .............................32 Technical Guidance and Support.............................. 32 Training Guidelines .............. ..........................32 -34 Oversight............ ..... .............................34 Course Development Responsibility ..........................35 State Responsibilities and the Future of CTR Law ...........35 -36 SECTION 7: RELATED PLANS AND POLICIES .........................:37 -40 Parking Guidelines ............... ..........................37 -39 Site Design Standards ............ ..........................39 -40 APPENDIX I - GLOSSARY ................. ..........................41 -44 APPENDIXII - MAP ........... ............................... ...45 APPENDIX III - EMPLOYEE QUESTIONNAIRE . ..........................46 -47 ATTACHMENT A SECTION 1: GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND POLICIES Introduction The growth in the City of Edmonds over the past decade has increased the overall levels of vehicular travel. The resultant increase in air pollution, traffic congestion, petroleum fuel consumption, and neighborhood noise levels have a negative impact on the health, safety and welfare of Edmonds' citizens. In addition, the increases in traffic congestion harm the area's economy by impeding the delivery of goods and services, causing productive working hours to be lost, and increasing capital expenditures on public and private facilities. In 1991, the Washington State Legislature enacted the Commute Trip Reduction Law to improve air quality, reduce traffic congestion, and reduce the consumption of petroleum fuels. This law enables the City to adopt ordinances requiring major employers to implement Commute Trip Reduction Programs that encourage the use of alternatives to the single- occupant vehicle. The 1990 Growth Management Act also requires the City to implement Transportation Demand Management (TDM) measures as part of the City -Wide Transportation Plan. In response to the aforementioned problems and laws, the City of Edmonds believes: o That decreasing use of single- occupant vehicles (SOVs) can help reduce projected high levels of traffic congestion on City roadways; o That reductions in traffic congestion and the vehicle miles of travel associated with commuter SOV use can help lower levels of fuel consumption, air pollution and noise; o That deferring or delaying expensive transportation capital and operating costs could be reduced with a significant shift of commuter trips from SOVs to high occupancy vehicles (HOVs) and other modes of travel; o That major employers are in a position to encourage and support commuter travel by public transportation, carpools, vanpools, pedestrian and bicycle modes, while discouraging SOV use. The following goals, objectives and policies have been prepared as guidance for preparation of the City Commute Trip Reduction Plan and its ultimate implementation. I. GOAL: MINIMIZE TRAFFIC CONGESTION AND REDUCE THE DETRIMENTAL IMPACTS OF TRANSPORTATION ON AIR QUALITY, ENERGY CONSUMPTION, NATURAL SYSTEMS, AND OUR COMMUNITIES. Objective 1: Major employers implement Commute Trip Reduction Programs that reduce vehicle miles of travel (VMT) and single occupant vehicle (SOV) use from 1992 levels by fifteen percent (15 %) in 1995, twenty -five percent (25 %) by 1997, and thirty -five percent (35 %) by 1999. Page 1 Policies: a. Calculate each affected employer's VMT and SOV reduction targets based on 1992 VMT and SOV use for all employers within designated Commute Trip Reduction zones (identified in Figure 1). b. Commute credits for trip reduction measures implemented prior-to 1992 and allow modifications to VMT and SOV use targets where undue hardship would be experienced. C. Develop and maintain a trip reduction planning database with pertinent.information on the affected employers, trip reduction goals, base year values, and trip reduction programs. d. Monitor individual employer progress towards achieving VMT and SOV use targets for 1995, 1997, and 1999. Objective 2: Shift employee commuting from SOVs to buses, carpools, vanpools, bicycles, and walking; thereby, reducing the need for roadway improvements. Policies: a. Give high priority in the Transportation Improvement Program to facilities for high- occupancy vehicles, and non- motorized modes that support Commute Trip Reduction. b. Help Community Transit develop in- county commuter routes which focus on major employment sites. C. Work with other transit agencies to develop intercounty commuter service. d. Work with Community Transit to develop park- and -ride and park- and -pool lots. e. Work with any non - affected employers who voluntarily develop trip reduction programs. Objective 3: Refine existing policies and /or adopt additional policies to support and enhance the effectiveness of trip reduction planning. Policies: a. Prepare and adopt a trip reduction ordinance that applies to new development. b. Revise parking ordinances to support trip reduction policies, including minimum and maximum ratios for required parking stalls, and requiring preferential parking for HOVs. II. GOAL: INFORM AND EDUCATE EMPLOYERS, EMPLOYEES AND THE PUBLIC ON THE BENEFITS OF COMMUTE TRIP REDUCTION Objective 1: Supp.ort a centralized marketing and employer outreach program to inform and educate on trip reduction programs. Policies: a. Support Community Transit in its lead role in marketing transit and ride sharing in Snohomish County. b. Provide information to non - affected employers to 'encourage voluntary trip reduction programs. Page 2 III. GOAL: PURSUE CONSISTENT AND EFFECTIVE TRIP REDUCTION PLANNING PROCESSES AMONG GOVERNMENT, EMPLOYERS, AND THE COMMUNITY Objective 1: Assist employers in successfully implementing effective trip reduction programs for their employees. Policies: a. Allow employers one hundred eighty (180) days to Participate in and support the technical and submit their trip reduction programs for review, policy committees serving as forums for cooperative upon adoption of the City's Commute Trip decision- making on trip reduction planning. - Reduction Plan. b. Provide affected major employers with guidance and in designating trip reduction zones and VMT /SOV technical assistance, including an explanation of reduction targets on a regional basis. required trip reduction measures which will guide Encourage and provide opportunity for major them through the process of developing trip affected employers to serve on policy committees reduction programs. C. Establish a means for determining base year values reduction programs. which include a method for adjusting the base year Provide consistent treatment of affected employers value to reflect prior trip reduction efforts. d. Establish an appeals process by which affected jurisdictions. employers may obtain a modification or waiver from Establish a CTR plan consistent with the CTR plans individual jurisdictional CTR requirements. e. Impose civil penalties for affected employers sharing common borders or common regional where there is failure to adopt a CTR program. f. Collaborate with Community Transit in providing Work collaboratively where possible to pool counsel and technical assistance to affected resources and avoid duplication of efforts to employers preparing CTR programs. Objective 2: Coordinate trip reduction planning on a regional and local basis. Policies: a. Participate in and support the technical and policy committees serving as forums for cooperative decision- making on trip reduction planning. - b. Collaborate with the Puget Sound Regional Council in designating trip reduction zones and VMT /SOV reduction targets on a regional basis. C. Encourage and provide opportunity for major affected employers to serve on policy committees making recommendations and decisions on trip reduction programs. d. Provide consistent treatment of affected employers who have work sites in different locations or jurisdictions. e. Establish a CTR plan consistent with the CTR plans of other jurisdictions in the County or those sharing common borders or common regional transportation and growth issues. f. Work collaboratively where possible to pool resources and avoid duplication of efforts to minimize the administrative burden on local jurisdictions and affected employers in achieving CTR goals. Page 3 SECTION 2: MEASUREMENT AND EVALUATION CTR Zones, Base Year Values and Goals The following section discusses the methodology the City of Edmonds will follow for all measurement and evaluation processes necessary to be consistent with the Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Law. The Measurements and Evaluation Guidelines established by the Statewide CTR Task Force define the methods by which base year values of vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per employee and proportion of single- occupant vehicle (SOV) trips, and the subsequent goals, are established; the methods by which employers will receive credit for the results of Transportation Demand Management efforts; the methods for determining progress toward achieving reductions in VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips, and the final framework for evaluating the costs and benefits of the CTR Law. A basic concept in the law is the CTR zone. It recognizes that employers located in different areas may have different opportunities for affecting the commute behavior of their employees because of such factors as transit service, employment, and population density. To require all employers to strive for the same goals without recognizing those differences would clearly be unfair. The concept of the CTR zone is to identify areas that are similar in their opportunities for alternatives to the SOV. All affected employers within those areas will then be required to work toward the same goals for reductions in VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips. Snohomish County has been divided into three CTR zones. These are shown on Figure 1 and include the Rural North and East Zone, the Everett /Mukilteo Zone, and the Southwest Zone. The City of Edmonds is in the Southwest Zone. Origin of Information Used for Base Year Values The preliminary base year values for VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips for CTR zones have been determined with information provided by the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC). This information is based on existing regional transportation modeling data and 1980 and 1990 U.S. Census data projected forward to 1992. The Task Force decided to determine preliminary base year values of VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips using existing regional transportation modeling data because: 1) this data is available for many of the affected jurisdictions, particularly in the Puget Sound area; 2) this is the data that.will be used in determining CTR zone boundaries in those areas, and 3) by'using this data, the performance of the CTR programs of affected employers will be compared against base year data for all employers, minimizing the potential for existing TDM efforts to affect the base year values. The Task Force may re- examine the use of additional 1990 U.S. Census data if it becomes available prior to June, 1993. Local jurisdictions may review CTR zone base year values and goals for consistency with the updated information. The Task Force shall review and report to the State Legislature in 1995 on the accuracy of program base year values. Page 4 Base Year Values Consistent within Counties The method used to determine base year values is designed to be consistent within counties and within the Puget Sound Regional Council (PSRC) area. All jurisdictions within a county and all counties within the PSRC area shall use the same methodology. It is essential that all jurisdictions in the Puget Sound Regional Council area use the same method to determine base year values in order to ensure consistent treatment of affected employers. Credit for Transportation Demand Management Efforts Employers with successful TDM programs implemented prior to the 1992 base year are entitled to credit for their efforts (RCW 70.94.537 (f)). The overall scheme of establishing goals for VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips in relation to the base year values for all employers in a CTR zone inherently gives credit to employers that have already implemented effective Transportation Demand Management (TDM) programs. Since most employers have not implemented TDM efforts, it is expected that those who have, will be able to demonstrate lower VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips than average for the CTR zone. As public recognition for their efforts, employers with VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips lower than the zone average will receive a Commute Trip Reduction Certificate of Leadership from the City of Edmonds. Employers with successful TDM programs implemented prior to the 1992 base year should apply.for program exemption credit, which exempts them from most program requirements. When these employers apply for the program exemption credit in their initial 1993 CTR program descriptions, they shall be considered to have met the 1995 CTR goals if their VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips are equivalent to a twelve percent (120) or greater reduction from the final base year zone values. This three percentage point credit applies only to the 1995 CTR goals. For the City of Edmonds' review of employer programs, there are two acceptable methods for calculating VMT per employee. First, VMT per employee can be calculated using the modeled average commute trip length in the affected employer's CTR zone multiplied by the number of vehicle trips per employee for that employer. Using this method, reductions in the number of vehicle trips per employee are used as a surrogate for reductions in VMT per employee. Alternatively, an affected employer may choose to use its own average measured survey data to determine its VMT for the work site. Independent verification may be conducted by the City of Edmonds with zip code or other data. For example, the Southwest CTR Zone has a base year value of 7.3 VMT per employee and a proportion of SOV trips of 0.82. The goals for employers that had TDM programs prior to the base year would be adjusted as follows: Page.5 VMT per Employee 1992 base year value 7.3 1995 zone goal (15% reduction) 6.2 1995 goal w /credit (12% reduction). 6.4 In the above example, an employer with a TDM could receive program exemption credit if its or lower and its SOV rate is 0.72 or lower. commit in writing to continue the current TDM Proportion of SOV Trips 0.82 0.69 0.72 program prior to 1992 VMT per employee is 6.4 The employer must also program. Process to Apply for Program Exemption or Modification Affected employers may apply for program exemption credit for the results of past or current TDM efforts. Affected employers can apply for program exemption credit in their initial program description or as part of any other annual report to the City of Edmonds. Application shall include results from a survey of employees, or equivalent information that establishes the applicant's VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips. Employers that apply for credit and whose VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips are equal to or less than zone goals for one (1) or more future goal years, and commit in writing to continue their current level of effort, shall be exempt from the requirements of the ordinance except for the requirements to report performance in 1995, 1997, and 1999. For example, if an employer currently has a VMT of 6.3 and an SOV rate of 0.70, they would be able to apply for the three percent (3 %) credit and commit to continuing their current level of effort. If any of these reports indicate the employer does not satisfy the next applicable goal, the employer shall immediately become subject to all requirements of the CTR ordinance.. An affected employer may request that the City grant an exemption from all CTR program requirements or penalties for a particular work site. The employer must demonstrate that it would experience undue hardship complying with the requirements of the ordinance as a result of the characteristics of its business, its work force, or its location(s). An exemption may be granted if, and only if, the affected employer demonstrates that it faces an extraordinary circumstance, such as bankruptcy, and is unable to implement any measures that could reduce the proportion of SOV trips and VMT per employee. Employers contemplating exemption requests should notify the City in advance of program submission, and should negotiate a good -faith effort to comply with some of the required elements of the law.. Exemptions may be granted by the City during the annual program review process. The City of Edmonds will. review all employers receiving exemptions as part of the annual review process, and will determine whether the exemption will be in effect during the following program year. Page 6 Prior to implementation, an affected employer may request a modification of program goals from the City. Grounds for granting modification and the associated modification will be determined on a' case -by -case basis and include the following:. (1) An affected employer can demonstrate it requires significant numbers of its employees to use the vehicles they drive to work during the work day for work purposes. The employer shall provide documentation indicating how many employees meet these conditions and must demonstrate that no reasonable alternative commute mode exists for these employees and that the vehicles cannot reasonably be used for carpools or vanpools. Under this condition, the applicable goals will not be changed, but those employees who .need daily access to the vehicles they drive to work will not be included in the calculations of proportion of SOV trips and VMT per employee used to determine the employer's progress toward program goals. (2) An affected employer demonstrates that its work site is contiguous with a CTR zone boundary and that the work site conditions affecting alternative commute options are similar to those for employers in the adjoining CTR zone. Under this condition, the employer's work site may be made subject to the same goals for VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips as employers in the adjoining CTR zone. The employer may only request a modification based on these conditions prior to the CTR program implementation date. Modification may also be requested due to unanticipated conditions: (1) An affected employer demonstrates that opportunities for alternative commute modes do not exist due to factors related to the work site, its work force, or characteristics of the business that are beyond the employer's control. (2) Affected employers whose work site changes and that contribute substantially to traffic congestion in a CTR zone may request a program modification to seek alternative program goals and (3) any other condition that can be demonstrated by the. affected employer to warrant a modification. The employer may not request a modification based on these three conditions until the first measurement year (1995). Goals for VMT per Employee and Proportion of SOV Trips The goals for January 1 of 1995, 1997, and 1999 for reducing SOV and VMT per employee are specified i:n RCW 70.94.527 (4a) and (4g) to be fifteen percent (150), twenty -five percent (250), and thirty -five percent (35 %), respectively,, from the'1992 base year values for a CTR zone. That is, the 1995 goal is eighty -five percent (850) of the base year value, the 1997 goal is seventy -five percent {750) of the base year value, and the 1999 goal is sixty -five percent (65 %) of the base year value. The base year values for SOV use were determined from 1980 and 1990 census data, along with information from the Puget Sound Regional Council's 1990 transportation model. The following table summarizes the base and goal levels for SOV use and VMT in the Southwest Zone. Page 7 YEAR SOV PERCENTAGE VMT /EMPLOYEE 1992 (base) 820 7.3 1995 690 6.2 1997 1999 610 5.5 530 4.7 Basic Methodology for Calculating SOV Trips The proportion of SOV trips and VMT per employee values for each affected employer will be determined using data from a survey of employees about their commute mode choice as shown in Exhibit 1. Calculation Assumptions The following assumptions will be used in counting commute vehicle trips: o Single- occupant vehicle trips count as one trip (includes one - person motorcycle and drive -on ferry trips). o Carpool.trips count as the inverse of the number of occupants in the vehicle: two - person carpool counts as 112 trip, three - person carpool counts as 1 /3.trip, four - person carpool counts as 1/4 trip, five - person carpool counts as 1/5 trip, six - person carpool counts as 1/6 trip. o Vanpools of seven (7) or more occupants and transit (bus and bike -on ferry or walk -on ferry) count as zero (0) vehicle trips. o Telecommuting, alternative work schedules (excluding flex- time), bicycling, and walking count as zero (0) vehicle trips plus a twenty percent (200) credit -- each commute trip eliminated or using non - motorized modes is counted as 1.2 trips eliminated. This assumption applies to both proportion of SOV trips and VMT per employee. For calculation purposes, VMT per employee is assumed to be the average trip length multiplied by the number of vehicle trips per employee (based on the above assumption). As SOV trips are eliminated, fewer vehicle miles will be traveled. The Employer Survey The Legislature, local governments, program managers, and affected employers desire consistent, accurate, timely, and.valid information about the CTR Law for use in decision- making, resource allocation, program development, evaluation, and other purposes. The basic success indicators of the CTR Law.are reduced VMT per employee and SOV rates. Because employee surveys of commuting patterns will be a primary source of data about program performance, the Task Force has established guidelines for the use of surveys in the CTR Law. Page -8 In all phases of survey administration, the State technical assistance team shall provide assistance to local jurisdictions and affected employers when it is appropriate and feasible. Uses of the Survey The City and Community Transit will provide employers with technical assistance and support in conducting the surveys. Surveys, using the official State- provided survey forms, are required during the measurement years of 1995, 1997, and 1999: Surveys are not required during the base year (1992), but the City is strongly encouraging all affected employers to conduct surveys in the base year and will help to facilitate this process by processing the base year surveys. Employers may also supplement the State survey.with additional questions of their own to aid in program planning. Employers will be responsible for processing their own supplemental surveys. Employers may use an existing alternative source of equivalent information as described in the CTR Task Force Guidelines (page 2 -8). An example of acceptable equivalent information would be detailed travel diaries. In general, other forms of information cannot be used to stand alone as an alternative to surveys, but can be used in addition to survey data if an employer's response rate is below seventy percent (700). Several possible uses of surveys are required, affected employers survey data using the official S- and reporting format established alternative report that provides survey. are identified below. When surveys shall provide the City either 1), Late- provided.survey form (Exhibit 1) by the Task Force, or 2), an information equivalent to the official When surveys are voluntary, the Task Force strongly urges employers to use the official State - provided survey forms. There are several benefits to using the official forms: 1) the employer does not pay for the design or printing of the survey form; 2) the State will provide centralized processing (data entry and analysis) of the forms; and 3) the surveys provide consistent data, ensuring that the employers information is acceptable over the entire duration of the CTR law for any reason listed below: o To establish a base line measure of employee commuting habits for use by employers in designing their CTR programs (voluntary). o To evaluate the costs and benefits to employers and the public of the CTR law; to assess the effectiveness of the program (voluntary). o To establish CTR zone base year values in counties where surveys are deemed necessary (required). o To give credit for TDM programs.existi.ng prior to the base year (voluntary). o To measure progress toward goals in 1995, 1997, and 1999 (required). Page 9 o To establish site - specific base year values for employers that request modifications of program requirements (voluntary). Alternative Data on Employee Commute Patterns The State and the City will make every effort to minimize the cost and burden of surveys on employers. Therefore, employers may use an alternative report that provides information equivalent to the official survey. The information must have been collected within the twelve (12) months before the time a survey would have been conducted. The . employer must demonstrate to the City of Edmonds that the information is equivalent, based on the following criteria: o Employees are verified as regular, full -time (thirty -five (35) hours per week) employees who begin their regular work day between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. (inclusive), two (2) or more weekdays, for twelve (12) continuous months; o Telecommuting and alternative work schedules, such as compressed work weeks, are documented and categorized by type and frequency; o Commute mode choice is identified for the dominant mode for each trip; and o If employees use carpools or vanpools, the number of people in these vehicles is provided. Equivalent Information Equivalent information stands alone as a substitute for the State- provided survey; for example: o Data base that demonstrates actual commuting behavior (daily trip logs); acceptable in all measurement years. o Travel survey that uses the State - provided survey form with electronic data collection (computer or telephone methods); acceptable in all measurement years. o Travel survey done within the last twelve (12) months that clearly denotes affected employees; acceptable for the 1992 -93 base year only. Supporting Information Supporting information does not stand alone, but can be used in addition to survey data if an employer's response rate is below-seventy percent (70o);-for example: o Transit pass sales or records of subsidies paid for carpools or vanpools. Acceptable as "supporting" data in all measurement years. In the.1992 -93 base year only, these records may also be accepted as "equivalent" information. Page 10 o Parking lot counts, where affected employees' actual commute trip behavior is measured and documented during the peak period, Monday through Friday. Access and egress points must be completely monitored. Acceptable as "supporting" data in all measurement years. Unacceptable Information Any information that cannot be validated by the employer and /or the City is unacceptable information; for example: o Driveway counts where access and egress is not completed monitored. o Aerial photographs that cannot be validated with work shift information. If an employer can provide basic mode choice information, but not all information required to be equivalent, the City shall use minimum default values. For example, if an employer can verify that a vanpool has at least seven (7) employees on a passenger list (who may work for different employers), then that vanpool shall count as zero (0) vehicle trips. If an employer can provide the number of employees who use carpools or vanpools, but not the occupancy in those vehicles, the City shall assume that they have two occupants. If an employer does not provide adequate information on alternative work schedules or telecommuting, the City shall assume no employees use these alternative modes. When alternative information is provided, the affected employer shall provide the raw data file upon which the information is based to the City of Edmonds, with all employee identifiers removed, in a format to be specified by the State technical assistance team. Survey Design The City of Edmonds will use the State- provided survey to measure affected employers' progress towards goal attainment. The City will not require employers to hire professionals to administer the survey. If employers do not have an alternative source of equivalent information, they shall use the official State - provided survey. The employer may not delete questions from the State survey. However, the State - provided survey has a voluntary attachment, which the employer may use to design its own program. This voluntary attachment includes questions related to program planning and demographics. The information from the voluntary survey attachment will be treated confidentially and used for planning and research purposes only. In addition, the employer may add its own supplemental questionnaire to the official survey for the purpose of developing its own CTR program. The employer may voluntarily provide the information derived from the additional questions to the Washington State Energy Office to be used for evaluation purposes; it could be very valuable in helping the State assess the effectiveness of elements in the CTR Law. The employer also Page 11 may voluntarily provide the information derived from the additional questions to the City. All information given to the State and City will be kept confidential, and will not be released except in aggregate form. Sampling at Work Sites Employers with more than five hundred (500) affected employees may choose to do sampling as opposed to census surveys, provided that the sampling is done by qualified persons with demonstrated experience in sampling techniques. Employers desiring to use sampling must receive prior permission to do so from the City. General guidelines for sampling will be provided by the State technical assistance team. Sample shall be random. Stratification may be done to ensure that all major work groups are represented in the sample. The employer shall demonstrate to the City and /or the State that the sampling method is in accordance with generally accepted research sampling methods before sampling is undertaken. The sampling method used at a specific work site shall be developed by staff professionals (from the employer of a consultant) with expertise in sampling techniques, in consultation with the local government and the State technical assistance team. Employers must, for example: o Use a professional survey firm to draw the sample, or o Use its own staff, with demonstrated expertise in sampling techniques, to draw the sample. In this case, the sampling methodology must have prior approval from the City of Edmonds with guidance from the State technical assistance team, or o Use a public agency with staff that has demonstrated expertise in sampling techniques Guidelines for sampling will be provided to employers in the technical assistance document to be prepared by the State technical assistance team. Employers should be aware that there are costs associated with developing valid samples. Distribution and Collection of Survey Forms Employers are responsible for the distribution and collection of surveys at their work sites. The accomplishment of these tasks is at the discretion of the employer., but certain techniques are effective in increasing response rates. Recommendations for increasing survey response rates will be provided by the City and Community Transit. If the employers.cannot adequately document which employers are affected, then all employees should be surveyed. The employer can use discretion in the administration of the surveys, provided that all affected employees can be documented and surveyed. Page 12 If an'employee works thirty -five (35) or more hours in a week and is scheduled to report to a single work site between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on two (2) or more weekdays for at least twelve (12) continuous months, he /she is an affected employee and should be surveyed. That person is counted as an affected employee at one location -- his /her primary work site. Seasonal agricultural employees are excluded from the count of affected employees. Survey Response Rate The target minimum response rate for the survey is seventy percent (70 %) of all affected employees (in the population /sample) who typically start . work between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00.a.m. on weekdays for at least twelve (12) continuous months. If an employer cannot determine and document which employees are affected, it should survey all employees at the work site. In calculating VMT /employee and SOV percentage, the commute modes of non - respondents between seventy percent (70 %) and one hundred percent (100 %) will be distributed proportionately. Some employers may have difficulty achieving the target minimum response. In these instances, acceptable alternatives include: 1. If an employer can demonstrate they have followed all steps in the technical assistance document for maximizing response rate and have "supporting" information, they may request that the City accept their survey as valid, or 2. An employer may choose to designate all non- response below seventy percent (70 %) of the affected employee population /sample as SOV trips, or 3. A combination of options 1 and 2 above, negotiated between employer and the City of Edmonds A survey with less than seventy percent (70 %) response rate may be judged by the City to be valid if the employer can document that they followed all recommended steps for increasing response rates and have valid supporting information on VMT /employee and SOV percentages. Data Entry and Analysis Affected employers may send their official State - provided survey forms directly to the City of Edmonds for processing. The State will process the official State - provided survey at no cost to the employer. The City of Edmonds shall provide verification to employers that the survey forms were received. The survey data will be processed within three months of receipt, and the City shall notify the employer of the survey results as part of its annual review of employer programs. The employer may enter and analyze the State- provided survey, but is not required to do so. If the employer undertakes data entry of the surveys, that entry should be done to professional standards, where data entry staff verify at least twenty percent (20 %) of the surveys by Page 13 re- entering and checking for errors. If employers use the State - provided voluntary attachment, the State will provide data processing of this section at their cost to the employer., If the employer adds a supplemental questionnaire to the official State supplied survey, the employer will be responsible for processing the supplemental data. The City of Edmonds and Snohomish County may provide PC -based analysis software in DOS- compatible formats to employers who want to analyze their own surveys. If an employer does data entry and analysis, they shall provide the raw survey data file to the City for verification purposes. The City of Edmonds shall provide verification to employers that the raw data file was received. Reporting Survey Results Employers who do data entry and analysis are responsible for reporting their results to the City. All affected employers, including those who send their surveys to the City for processing, are still accountable for the results of their surveys. The Task Force believes that survey processing should be centralized and that the State should seek funding to support this activity throughout the CTR program. Federal Congestion Management and Relief and Surface Transportation Program funds have been received for survey processing in the base year (1992 -93) only. Transportation Management Organizations Transportation management organizations (TMOs), or other business partnerships, may submit a single program description that described the common program elements. The program should also describe specific program elements at individual employer work sites. The TMO, as an agent for its members, should provide individual performance data for each company, as well as combined measurements to the City. Each employer shall remain accountable for the success of the program. Adjustment of a program that does not meet the goals would be specific to that employer; it would not apply .to other employer members. TMOs that straddle jurisdictional boundaries would submit the employer members' CTR programs to the appropriate jurisdictions. Evaluation of the CTR Program The Task Force is responsible for evaluating the CTR law. It must make recommendations to the Legislature by December 1, 1995 and December 1, 1999 on whether the program should be continued, modified, or terminated (RCW 70.94:537 (4)). Specifically, the Task Force must: 1) review progress toward the law's implementation, 2) evaluate the costs and benefits of the law, 3) consider the costs of not having implemented the law, and 4) examine other TDM programs nationally and incorporate their findings into their recommendations to the Legislature, as required by the CTR law. The Task Force and Legislature will base major decisions on the evaluation results, so it is important that the information be of good Page 14 quality. Employers will be interested in the evaluation results as well since they are bearing a large part of the burden of this program and will need information about the most cost effective TDM strategies for their particular situations. Evaluation Questions In assessing costs and benefits of the CTR law, several key questions must be answered. In order of priority: o How is the law implemented in affected local jurisdictions? o How many affected employers are complying with local CTR ordinances based on the law? o What are the impacts of the law on VMT per employee and SOV rates for all affected employers? o What did it cost to implement the law for government and employers? Added costs to employees? o What are the impacts of the law on air quality, traffic congestion, and fuel consumption? o How do the benefits compare to the costs? o What types of programs and circumstances .led to the greatest reductions in VMT per employee and SOV rates? For example, what type of employer— provided program is most utilized by employees? What level of incentives are most cost effective? o How effective are training and technical assistance in meeting the objectives of the law? o What are the impacts on employers, employees, and the general public? o How do the impacts of the law compare with other potential strategies that meet the same goals? The answers to these questions will be used by the Task Force and the Legislature to determine whether the CTR law is sound public policy, whether it should be continued, and /or how it should be modified to maximize its cost effectiveness. Evaluation Design The Task-Force will approve an evaluation design based on the recommendation of the Washington State Energy Office and their consultant(s). Most issues in the evaluation are technical and should not affect local governments or employers beyond the existing requirements. Page 15 The evaluation elements, which are in addition to other requirements, are explained below. Every effort.will be made to minimize the cost and burden to local governments and employers of the evaluation. In addition,.all information collected solely for evaluation will be kept strictly confidential, will not be released to any party, and will be reported only in aggregate. A Sample of Employers for the State -Wide Evaluation In addition to using a consistent measurement tool like the State - provided survey, a good evaluation design is essential to support evaluation conclusions. Good design requires a valid sample of employers who are willing to do surveys in the base year to establish pre - program values for VMT per employee and SOV rates. A random sample for this evaluation would be drawn after employers are grouped by size, type of business, location, and whether there is an existing TDM program. Based on the diversity in the group being evaluated, an appropriate sample size would be about twenty percent (200) of the entire group, or about five hundred (500) employers State -wide. In order for an evaluation sample to be statistically valid, it must be drawn randomly from the population as a whole or from large groups in the population. This minimizes bias that would otherwise be introduced if certain types of employers were over or under represented in the sample. Only a statistically valid sample can be generalized to the entire population of employers affected by this legislation. A survey will, however, create additional costs for some employers. Therefore, in counties where base year values are not determined by surveys, the State will request survey information from all employers already doing surveys for other purposes. Where necessary, the State will supplement this pool of information with a random sample of employers who will be asked to participate in a voluntary survey for purposes of evaluating the impacts of the CTR Law. This information also will be very useful to employers in designing their own programs. The State will provide as much technical assistance as is possible to those employers. Technical assistance will include providing surveys, assistance, training in distribution and collection of surveys, and centralized processing. If employers refuse to participate, the State will redraw employers for the evaluation sample until the sample size reaches five hundred (500) employers. The Task Force strongly encourages employers to cooperate with the evaluation effort, since the information provided will be very valuable to the Legislature, the affected employers, and the general public in making future decisions about the law. Page 16 SECTION 3: TRANSPORTATION SERVICES Transportation Service Providers Shifting commuters out of peak - period, single- occupant vehicles (SOVs) to achieve Snohomish County's trip reduction performance objectives will depend on the utilization of various alternative transportation services. High occupancy vehicle (HOV) alternative modes include transit buses, carpools, and vanpools. Other alternatives include bicycle and pedestrian modes. Trip reduction can also be achieved by eliminating peak - period SOV trips altogether through compressed work weeks or telecommuting. The primary providers of alternative transportation services in Snohomish County are Community Transit (CT) and Everett Transit (ET). The Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (METRO) provides limited services in Snohomish County. Community Transit The Snohomish County Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA) Corporation is a special purpose municipal corporation approved by voters in 1976 who operates Community Transit. The Benefit Area includes most urban portions of Snohomish County, except the City of Mountlake Terrace.. Voters also approved the initial funding mechanism of a 0.3 percent sales tax in the PTBA and an increase to 0.6 percent in February 1990. Funding is also derived from matching State motor vehicle excise tax money. Community Transit has been providing transit service to Snohomish County since October 1976, taking over METRO's inter - county service provided at that time and beginning local service in the.PTBA later that year. The PTBA has since expanded through several annexations. Today, Community Transit provides local fixed -route service, commuter express -route service, demand - response "Dial -A- Ride" service, and vanpool service for Snohomish County residents. Everett Transit The City of Everett took over operation of a private transit company in 1969 and created Everett Transit. ET provides local Fixed -route service throughout the City of Everett. ET also provides demand - responsive service for elderly and disabled riders. METRO The'Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle (METRO) has been operating transit service in King County since 1973. Voters approved a 0.3 percent sales tax funding mechanism in 1972, which has since been raised to 0.6 percent. METRO operates its fixed -route service entirely in King County, but does provide vanpools for a number of King County residents commuting.to Snohomish County employers and three custom buses to the Boeing plant from Renton, North Seattle, and Kirkland. METRO has a Board policy which essentially precludes them from Page 17 providing inter- county service unless, as with custom buses, the fares cover the total operating costs. Vehicle -Based Programs Local Fixed -Route Service Community Transit currently operates buses on twenty -one local, fixed routes in the PTBA. These routes serve the urban areas of the county, some suburban areas, and several small rural cities. Most routes operate seven days per week, but with reduced service hours on Saturdays and Sundays. Headways are typically thirty to sixty minutes and bus stops are located approximately every 1/4 mile. Routes serve . major trip attractors and producers, such as shopping malls, hospitals, nursing homes, community colleges, major employers, etc. The routes primarily serve persons who are transit dependent (persons who for one reason or another either cannot, or choose not to, drive). Once established, these local routes become the chief means of transportation for a distinct population,,and changing routes can cause significant social impacts. For most persons commuting to work,. travel time is the main factor in determining mode choice. Travel times on local routes are usually much greater than corresponding travel times for automobiles. Thus, in general, local fixed routes serve a very small percentage.of commuters in the county and will play only a limited role in future commuter trip reduction. Many more commuters would use local transit service if the travel times were competitive with auto travel times. Arterial congestion does not necessarily improve the utility of the local transit mode because buses are caught in the same congestion as automobiles. Travel cost is an important, but secondary factor for most commuters in determining mode choice. Most commuters weigh their commute options based only on their direct, out -of- pocket travel costs, namely gasoline and parking for automobiles or fares for transit. Current gasoline costs are at the lowest levels since World War II i.n terms of proportion of.income and in terms of absolute dollars (adjusted for inflation). Parking costs at most major Snohomish County employers are free. Thus, cost factors currently work against local transit as a viable alternative to the automobile. Nevertheless, there are certain niches in which local service can, compete. For those major employers who are already served by local routes, a mode shift to transit may be induced by providing subsidies for fares. This is particularly true if auto users face parking costs at work. Even with such incentives, only employees who happen to live close to the existing local routes are likely to shift to buses. Considering the county's low residential density, the number of such persons may be quite low. Over time, some employees may choose to move to locations that take advantage of the local transit commute option. In some cases, local routes may be adjusted to encourage more commuter use. There may be cases where an existing route can be deviated slightly to serve a major employer. In some cases, certain runs can be modified during peak hours to act more like express routes. Page 18 Another possibility is special "subscription" routes which could offer competitive travel times. Also, in the long run, improved transit compatibility in the design of work sites and residential developments will help induce some model shift. In general, however, the county's local fixed -route services will play a minor role in the overall commute trip reduction program. Commuter Express -Route Service Community Transit currently provides inter- county commuter express service on fifteen (15) routes between Snohomish County and downtown Seattle. Three (3) routes serve Eastside destinations., and six (6) serve the University District. Commuter express service can compete very well with the automobile, especially in corridors that have HOV facilities. For instance, the service from Snohomish County to the Seattle CBD takes advantage of the HOV lanes on I -5. Travel times are comparable to, or better than, SOV travel times. Other factors supporting CT's inter - county express service include high parking costs in the Seattle CBD and the large park -and -ride lots in Snohomish County. At present, the limiting factors for providing more inter - county service to King County are the capital outlays for more buses and more park- and -ride stalls. CT's inter - county express service won't, obviously, help reduce the proportion of SOV use for the major employers in Snohomish County. There is presently limited express service offered in the opposite direction --that is from King County to the major employment centers in Snohomish County. Such service is provided by METRO on a custom bus basis. No increases are planned at present. In- county express service could be a significant factor in trip reduction for some employers. The future of this type of service will depend, to a large extent, on the success of the recently established routes to the main Boeing plant in Everett. CT currently provides in- county commuter express service on eight routes to Boeing. Everett Transit provides some express service to Boeing. While Boeing is the obvious destination for these initial routes, it is conceivable that new routes could be established focusing on other growing employment centers, such as Mountlake Terrace and Lynnwood. Demand - Response Service Community Transit currently contracts with Senior Services of Snohomish County to provide demand - response or paratransit service to the entire Public Transit Benefit Area (PTBA). The service is provided seven days per week and includes evening service. Based on interlocai agreements with Snohomish County, Community Transit provides limited paratransit service in portions of Snohomish County that lie outside the PTBA. The extent of service in these areas depends on the conditions spelled out in the interlocal agreements. By its nature, demand - response service will not be a major factor in commute trip reduction. Page 19 Vanpool Programs Community Transit'currentl'y`pro.vides vans'to any group of commuters wishing to form a vanpool. A minimum group of seven (7) persons qualifies for an eight (8) passenger van, ten (10) persons for a twelve (12) person van, and thirteen (13) persons for a fifteen (15) passenger van. The cost per person is based on the monthly mileage and includes operating costs and capital recoupment. Administrative costs are not captured by the fares. METRO also provides vans for a number of King County residents commuting to Snohomish County employers. Vanpools can compete very well with SOVs, especially for long commutes and in corridors with HOV facilities. The travel time for vanpools may be slightly greater than for SOVs because of the additional time to pick up passengers at their homes or for individuals to drive.to a central meeting place. However, this loss of time can be compensated for by the ability of vanpool passengers to use their commute time to read, sleep, etc. In addition, vanpool passengers are guaranteed a seat as opposed to commuters on some crowded express transit buses. The travel costs for vanpools are usually comparable to fares on transit express routes. For the smaller vans, the fares are higher than for the larger vans. Vanpools work well in the Puget Sound region because of the dispersed land use. Only the Seattle CBD and, to a lesser extent, the University District and Bellevue have employment concentrations large enough to support significant transit express service. Smaller employment centers like the Everett CBD, Lynnwood CBD, the Paine Field area, the Canyon Park area, and certain large employers, may be too small for transit routes, but definitely large enough to support vanpools. The demand for vanpools currently outstrips the supply. Waiting lists exist, consisting of groups of people who want to vanpool, but for whom vans are not yet available. The limiting factor is the capital outlays necessary to purchase more vans. Community Transit relies on Federal programs for the initial capital outlays and, to a lesser extent, on capital recouped from the existing vanpools. Unlike transit bus services, Community Transit's vanpool services are not heavily subsidized by public revenues. Vanpools operate on a "break even" basis, in which the revenues from the vanpool fares must pay for the operating costs and capital recovery. 'Only the administrative costs are subsidized. It has been argued that being the most fuel- efficient mode, vanpools deserve to be subsidized to a greater extent. Such subsidy would create even more demand for this service. Service -Based Programs. Ride - Matching Services Achieving commute trip reduction performance objectives in Snohomish County will depend, to a large extent, on shifting persons from SOVs to carpools. More than transit, vanpooling, or the other service -based programs, the ride -share mode has the potential .to significantly reduce commute trips. Statistically, the odds are simply much higher than a Page 20 group of two (2) to three (3) persons (enough for a carpool) as opposed to a group of seven (7) to thirteen (13) persons (enough for a vanpool), or a group of twenty- five-(25) t6 forty -fi.ve (45) persons (enough for a bus) will live within a few blocks of one another and commute to the same general location at the same time. Incentives to,facilitate ride - sharing include preferential parking locations, subsidized parking stalls, guaranteed ride home, and flexible start /end work times. For instance, employers can offer carpoolers free parking stalls closest to the building and allow persons carpooling to slide .their eight (8) hour work days forward or backwards by fifteen (15) to thirty (30) minutes. The guaranteed ride -home programs provide for free taxi rides home for carpoolers who have to go home in the middle of the day because of unforeseen circumstances, thus eliminating the need by commuters to have their own cars at work in case of emergencies. Background of Employer Ride -Share Efforts Employer involvement in ride sharing dates back to voluntary efforts during World War II to conserve rubber, oil, and gasoline. After the war, there was no need for such efforts until the first Arab oil embargo in 1973 -1974 during which employer ride -share programs were an important part of the effort to provide commuters with alternatives. The National Demonstration Program was an ambitious $3.5 million dollar project to evaluate seventeen regional ride -share programs. While the project fell short of achieving its ambitious goals, it nevertheless provided some significant conclusions: o Careful design and adequate funding are necessary to make a ride share program work. o Parking pricing was moderately effective in areas with poor transit service like suburban activity centers. o Regional ride share programs had little effect overall on reducing SOV trips on a regional level. In 1990, Erik Ferguson of the Georgia Institute of Technology conducted a major study of employer ride share programs in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. One of his most significant findings was that personalized "in- house" ride matching worked very well for employers of all sizes. Furthermore, personalized ride matching was cost effective with average costs ranging from $400 per year for firms of one hundred (100) employees to $2,000 per year for firms of 1,000 employees. Personalized ride matching refers to "in- house" employer programs in which transportation coordinators actively attempt to match employees who wish to ride share. The success of personalized ride matching in the Los Angeles area suggests that it should be a part of each affected employer's program in Snohomish County. Page 21 Transit Agencies Community Transit offers "regional" ride'matching services. Community Transit is linked-with METRO and Pierce Transit in a region -wide data base with some 18,000 persons from as far as Blaine in the north to Tumwater in the south, and from the Kitsap Peninsula to Concrete. Persons are matched on the basis of similar origins, destinations, and similar workdays. Persons joining the data base are sent a list of the persons that match and any vanpoois that match. Affected employers in the county should participate in regional ride matching as well as personalized in -house ride.matching to maximize the potential for ride sharing. Employer Outreach and Marketing Community Transit has an ongoing outreach program that markets its services with major employers in the county. Representatives from CT go out personally to large employers and provide information and materials to promote alternative transportation services. This function is being expanded with the CTR implementation in the county in an effort to help employers write CTR programs and achieve CTR performance objectives. Page 22 SECTION 4: PROCEDURAL REQUIREMENTS FOR AFFECTED EMPLOYERS The City.of•Edmonds Community Services Department is responsible for. implementing the CTR ordinance, and the CTR plan. This-department has the necessary-authority to carry out responsibilities, such as rule- making or certain administrative decisions. The provisions of the ordinance apply to any affected employer at any single work site within the corporate limits of the City of Edmonds. As presented in the City of Edmonds' Commute Trip Reduction Ordinance, there are a number of requirements placed on affected employers. These requirements include notifying the City that they meet the definition of "affected," developing a CTR program and submitting it to the City, and taking corrective action if the plan does not meet specified goals for the CTR zone. Strategies for complying with the ordinance requirements are summarized below: Notification and Compliance Employers that, for whatever reasons, do not receive notice within thirty (30) days of passage of the ordinance and are either notified or identify themselves to the City within one hundred eighty (180) days of the passage of the ordinance will be granted an extension to assure up to one hundred fifty (150) days within which to develop and submit a CTR program. Employers that have not been identified or do not identify themselves within one hundred eighty (180) days of the passage of the ordinance and do not submit a CTR program within one hundred eighty (180) days from the passage of the ordinance are in violation. Employers that meet the definition of "affected employer" in this ordinance must identify themselves to the City within one hundred eighty (180) days of either moving into the boundaries of the City of Edmonds or growing in employment at a work site to one hundred (100)-or more affected employees. Such employers shall be granted a minimum of one hundred fifty (150) days to develop and submit a CTR program. Employers that do not identify themselves within one hundred eighty (180) days are in violation. New affected employers shall have two (2) years to meet the first CTR goal of fifteen percent (150); four (4) years to meet the second goal of twenty -five percent (250); and six (6) years to meet the third goal of thirty -five percent (350) from the time they begin their City- approved program. Any of the following changes in an employer's status will change the employer's CTR program requirements: o If an employer initially designated as an affected employer no longer employs one hundred (100) or more affected employees and expects not to employ one hundred (100) or more affected employees for the next twelve (12) months, that employer is no-longer an affected employer. It is the responsibility of the employer to notify the City that it is no longer an affected employer. These employers are encouraged to continue their programs voluntarily. o 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 an affected employer for the entire Page .23 twelve (12) months and will be subject to the same program requirements as other affected employers.. o 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 an "unaffected" employer, that employer shall be treated as a new affected employer, and will be subject to the same program requirements as other new affected employers (two years to achieve fifteen percent reduction). Program Requirements An affected employer is required to develop and implement a CTR program that will encourage its employees to reduce VMT per employee and SOV commute trips. The CTR program must include the mandatory elements described below that are necessary to achieve the CTR goals adopted by the ordinance. The employer shall submit a description of its program to the City of Edmonds Community Services Department and provide an annual progress report to the department on employee commuting and progress toward meeting the SOV goals. The CTR program description presents the strategies to be undertaken by an employer to achieve the commute trip reduction goals for 19.95, 1997, and 1999. Employers are encouraged to consider innovative strategies and combine program elements in a manner that will best suit their location, site characteristics, business type, and employee' 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 employer's program description must include: (a) general description of the employment site location, transportation characteristics, and surrounding services, including unique conditions experienced by the employer or its employees; (b) number of employees affected by the CTR program; (c) documentation of compliance with the mandatory CTR program elements; (d) description of the additional elements included in the CTR program and (e) schedule of implementation, assignment of responsibilities, and commitment to provide appropriate resources. Mandatory Elements o The employer shall designate an Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) to administer the CTR program. The coordinator's and /or designee's name, location, and telephone number must be displayed prominently at each affected work site. Coordinators shall be trained in CTR program development and administration through a program approved by the City. (These programs include, but are not limited to training developed by Community Transit, METRO, the State CTR training program, and similar programs in other jurisdictions.) The coordinator shall oversee all elements of the employer's CTR program and act as liaison between the employer and the City. Coordinators may work with Community Transit representatives for training and assistance in program development. The objective is to have an effective Page 24 transportation coordinator present at each work site; an affected employer with multiple sites may have one transportation coordinator 'for all sites:- The employer shall.negotiate with the City for the number of ETCs required. The number of ETCs will be determined using an estimate of full -time equivalents (FTEs) needed to undertake the duties of implementing an employers program. Each individual employer's situation will be different in terms of location, number of sites and proximity of sites to one another, and elements of the program. The Task Force Guidelines, Model Employer Programs section suggests that one full -time ETC is needed per 4,000 employees. The guidelines also recommend one person per site for large, multi -site companies. o Information about alternatives to SOV commuting shall be provided to employees at least twice a year. Community Transit has developed a variety of this type of information which may be used, or an employer may develop its own information program. Each employer's.program description and annual report to the City must report the information to be distributed and the method of distribution. o The CTR program must include an annual review of employee commuting and of,progress toward meeting the SOV reduction goals. Affected employers shall file an annual progress report with the City in accordance with the format established by the City of Edmonds' CTR ordinance and 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 modification to achieve the CTR goals. Survey information or approved alternative information must be provided in the 1995, 1997, and 1999 reports. The employer should contact the designated official in the City of Edmonds Community Services Department for the format of the report, which shall include a section to be returned to the City and a section to be returned to the Washington State Energy Office. Employers shall maintain records related to CTR programs for thirty -six months. Optional Elements In addition to the specific program elements described above, the employer's CTR program shall include additional elements needed to meet CTR goals. Elements may include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following: o Provision of preferential parking or reduced parking charges, or both, for high- occupancy vehicles and bicycles o Instituting or increasing parking charges for SOVs o Provision of commuter ride matching services to facilitate employee ride sharing for commute trips Page 25 o More frequent promotional activities o -Orientation programs for new employees. o Restriction of parking availability o Provision of subsidies for transit fares o Provision of.vans for vanpools o Provision of subsidies for carpools or vanpools o Permitting the use of the employer's vehicles for carpooling or vanpooling o Permitting flexible work schedules to facilitate employees' use of transit, carpools, or vanpools o Cooperation-with public or private transportation providers to provide additional regular or express service to the work site o Construction of special loading and unloading facilities for transit, carpool, and vanpool users o Provision of bicycle parking facilities, lockers, changing areas, and showers for employees who bicycle or walk to work o Provision of a program of parking incentives, such as a rebate for employees who do not use the parking facilities o Providing parking at a.level below that required by City zoning code, with City approval o Establishment of a program to permit employees to work part -time or full -time at home or at an alternative work site closer to their homes (telecommuting) o Establishment of a program of alternative work schedules, such as compressed work week, which reduces commuting o. Implementation of other measures designed to facilitate the use of high- occupancy vehicles, such as on -site day care facilities and guaranteed ride -home programs . Affected employers shall include a list of the records they will keep as part of the CTR program they submit to the City for approval. For example, an employer providing pass subsidies shall record monthly pass sales; employers with variable rate parking fees shall record parking permit distribution. Employers will maintain all records listed in their CTR program for a minimum of thirty -six (36) months. The City and the employer shall agree on the record keeping requirements as part of the accepted CTR program. Page 26 Program Acceptance The CTR-program, or a summary thereof,•shall-be submitted-to the City of Edmonds Community Services Department for review. Upon review of an employer's initial CTR program, the Community Services Department will establish the employer's annual reporting date, which will not be less than twelve (12) months from the day the program is submitted. Each year on the employer's reporting date, the employer shall submit the annual CTR report to the department. Any affected employer may request that the City modify its CTR program elements, other.than the mandatory elements specified in this ordinance, including record keeping requirements. 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. (2) The employer can demonstrate that compliance with the program elements would constitute an undue hardship. This may include evidence from employee surveys administered at the work site: first, 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, and, subsequently, in the progress year(s) 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. 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 thirty (30) days before the due date for which the extension is being requested. Extensions not to exceed ninety (90) days shall be considered for reasonable causes. The City shall grant or deny the employer's extension request in writing within ten (10) working days of receipt.. If there is no response issued to the employer, an extension is automatically granted for thirty (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 for 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 Community Services Department designee. Unless extensions are granted, the employer shall implement the approved CTR program not more than one hundred eighty (180) days after the program was first submitted to the City. Implementation of the approved program modifications will occur within thirty (30) days of the final decision or one hundred eighty (180) days from submission of the CTR program or CTR annual report, whichever occurs first. Page 27 t Goal Achievement Achievement of.CTR goalt'in'1995, 1997, an-d 1999 '(or within the two -year period allowed for employers who become affected employers after 1993) will be based on three standards: 1. Employers with existing programs in 1992 who applied for credit will be reviewed to determine their compliance requirements for the next goal year. 2. Employers with valid 1992 -93 survey data proving that their base year.SOV and VMT rates are different from the zone average will.be reviewed on the basis of achieving the appropriate reductions from their base year values. 3. Employers without valid base year survey data, or a base year value below the zone average, will be reviewed on their achievement of the established zone goals shown on.page.XX. Page 28 SECTION 5: REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CITY Affected employers located.in the City of Edmonds are to receive written notification that they are subject to this ordinance, addressed to the company's chief executive officer, senior official, or CTR manager at the work site. Such notification shall be delivered a minimum of one hundred fifty (150) days prior to the due date for submittal of their CTR program. Employers who, for whatever reasons, do not receive notice within thirty (30) days of passage of the ordinance and are either notified or identify themselves to the City within one hundred eighty (180) days of the passage of the ordinance will be granted an extension to assure up to one hundred fifty (150) days within which to develop and submit a CTR program. The City shall provide the employer with written notification if a CTR program is deemed unacceptable. The notification must give cause for he rejection. The employer then has thirty (30) days to resubmit the program. 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 ninety (90) days of submission, the employer's program or annual report is deemed accepted. The City may extend the review period up to ninety (90) days. The implementation date for the employer's CTR program will be extended an equivalent number of days. For purposes of this section, compliance shall mean fully implementing all provisions in an accepted CTR program or meeting or exceeding VMT and SOV goals of this ordinance. The following criteria for achieving goals for VMT per employee and proportion of SOV 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 SOV trips, but not for VMT per employee (or meets the goal for reduction in- VMT, but not the SOV reduction goal), the City of Edmonds may recommend program modifications, but in recognition of the employer's successful efforts in meeting one of the goals, will not penalize the employer if they do not implement recommended modifications; (3) if an employer fails to meet both the VMT per employee goal and the SOV rate goals, the City shall propose modifications, the employer shall submit a revised CTR program description, including the requested modifications or equivalent measures, within thirty (30) days of certified return receipt. The Community Services Department shall review the revisions and notify the employer of acceptance or rejection of the revised program. If a revised program is not acceptable, the City of Edmonds will send written notice to that effect to the employer within'thirty (30) days and, if necessary, require the employer to attend a conference with program review staff for the purpose of reaching consensus on the required program. A final decision on the required program will be issued in writing by the City within ten (10) working days of the conference. Page 29 The following constitutes violations if the deadlines established in this ordinance are not .met:, (1) fai.l.ure to-develop and /or submit an time•a complete program, including': (a) affected.employers notified or that have identified themselves to the City of Edmonds within one hundred eighty (180) days of the ordinance being adopted and that do not submit a CTR program within one hundred fifty (150) days from the notification or self - identification and (b) employers not identified or self- identified within one hundred eighty (180) days from the adoption of the ordinance; (2) failure to implement an approved CTR program, unless the program elements that are I carried out can be shown through quantifiable evidence to meet or exceed VMT and SOV goals as specified in the ordinance; or (3) failure to modify an unacceptable CTR program after 1995. Under Washington State Law, first class cities are allowed to determine nuisances and means to abate them. The City has an established administrative procedure for notification and abating nuisances. Each day of failure to implement the CTR program required by the ordinance shall constitute a violation of the ordinance and deemed to be a public nuisance. In order to avoid the nuisance, the City is authorized to issue a determination of non - compliance which is appealable to the Hearing Examiner. Following an appeal, or in the absence of such an appeal to the Hearing Examiner, the City is authorized to further abate this nuisance by applying to any court of competent jurisdiction, which may, after a hearing, grant an injunction. The injunction, either preliminary, temporary, and /or permanent, would restrain any person, firm, and /or corporation from failing to comply with the provisions of the ordinance. If the City is successful in seeking compliance, all costs incurred by the City in obtaining compliance shall be paid by the violator. It shall not be considered a failure to implement the CTR program if an employer's inability to implement an element of the program was the result of an inability to reach agreement within the preceding twelve month period with a certified collective bargaining agent under applicable laws where the issue was raised by the employer and pursued in good faith. Unionized employers shall be presumed to act in good faith compliance if they: (a) propose to a recognized union any provision of the employer's CTR program that is subject to bargaining as defined by the National Labor Relations Act, and (b) advise the union of the existence of the statute and the mandates of the CTR program approved by the Community Services Department and advise the union that the proposal being made is necessary for compliance with State Law (RCW 70.94.531). Any affected employer may appeal administrative decisions regarding exemptions, modification of goals, modification of CTR program elements, and determinations concerning failure to implement a CTR program. The appeal must be filed with the City Clerk not later than the 10th day following the date of the administrative decision. The appeal must be in writing and state the specific exceptions and objections to the decision. The appeal will be heard by the City's Hearing Examiner in accordance Page 30 with Chapter 20.100 of the ECDC and fee paid in accordance with Chapter.15.00 of the E.CDC. The burden of establishing the contrary sfi Ml.be on the appellant.. 'Fn reviewing the appeal, the. Hearing Examiner shall determine whether the administrative decision is consistent with'the provisions of the.City of Edmonds' CTR ordinance and plan. The Hearing Examiner has the jurisdiction over the appeal and the authority to affirm, modify, reverse, or remand the administrative decision. He /she may also grant other appropriate relief. The decision of the Hearing Examiner shall constitute final decision, which may be appealed to the City Council per the provisions of the Hearing Examiner's ordinance. Page 31 SECTION 6: OTHER ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES Parki ng In working toward "CTR goals, a property owner, as an employer on a single tenant site or on behalf of employers on a multi - employer site, may request a reduction in the parking space requirements for a particular site. The City will use an administrative review process to determine acceptance of such requests. A discussion of parking as a TOM strategy follows in Section 7. Technical Guidance and Support Technical guidance and support are available through Community Transit (CT) and the City of Edmonds. CT will provide basic services to help employers set up and maintain their CTR programs and to reach their program goals. At a minimum, the City of Edmonds and CT will ensure the following basic services are provided, and State - provided. camera -ready art work is distributed to all affected employers at no cost to the employer. o Written information on basic requirements of the CTR ordinance, CTR zones, and an explanation of how the plan is intended to achieve its goals. o Initial basic training for employee transportation coordinators. o Informational materials that explain a range of measures and activities that may help the employer achieve the CTR goals of the ordinance (which may include model employer programs). o Forms for annual progress reports that are consistent with State CTR Task Force requirements. o Guidance for employers to prepare their CTR program descriptions and annual program reports. o State supplied employee survey forms. After the initial training offered to employee transportation coordinators at no charge, periodic and regular training will be provided, for which the City, CT, and the employers will share the cost. Training Guidelines The Training Guidelines established by the Task Force contain elements strongly recommended for training instructors and program reviewers, as well as additional training elements the Task Force believes to be appropriate. The Training Guidelines set a standard throughout the State for application, review, and evaluation of employer commute trip reduction programs. After examining local and national experience with training practices, the Task Force concluded that a comprehensive training program is vital to successful implementation of the CTR law. The major advantages of training are listed below. Page 32 o Training will help ensure consistent knowledge and understanding of the law-,.rules, and guidelines. o Training will add a sense of professionalism and importance to the program. o Training will make future evaluation easier and more effective. o Training will permit more interaction and participation among those directly involved in implementation, which will foster future "networking." A training program will be provided by Community Transit, which will use the curriculum developed by the State and their consultant. The State's guidelines cover types of training, training development, funding and public education. The basis for these training guidelines is the report "Training Recommendations," produced by the CTR Task Force subcommittee on parking, training, and model programs. Three types of standardized training programs will be centrally developed for ongoing use by the State and /or local jurisdictions, including the City of Edmonds: orientation, basic training, and specialized training. Orientation Presentations and materials have been developed by Community Transit to familiarize local governments and employers with the CTR law. This optional orientation would be offered to local officials and their staffs to explain CTR requirements, and to senior manager of affected employers to gain their commitment to CTR programs (for example, through presentation at business association meetings). Basic Training- Curriculum and materials that cover the law, rules, guidelines, process, and procedures are being prepared by the State and Community Transit for governments and employers. In addition, the importance of obtaining high survey response rates will be emphasized. Basic training will be required for instructors and program reviewers, but will be optional for others. Specialized Training In addition to basic training, specialized training is being tailored by the State to each major applicable job at the local government level and at employer sites, as described below: o Local Instructor: A professional who will train others on various operations of the CTR law. Instructors could be staff or consultants of the City or one or more affected employers. An instructor would become qualified (as described below) to conduct orientations, basic training, and /or specialized training for City and /or employer personnel involved in administering the CTR law. Page 33 Qualifications: Required to complete State- provided training course for instructors and earn a- certificate of-.competency issued by the chair of the Commute Trip Reduction Task Force.''.This training would''include the basic training course and the Comprehensive Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) Training Program, with the addition of subjects related to being an effective instructor. The State should ensure that a formal process is in place to update instructors on any changes to the law, guidelines, or procedures. o Local Program Reviewer: City staff (or others functioning in this role) who will review employer programs and progress reports. Qualifications: Pass exam to earn a certificate of competency issued by the chair of the Commute Trip Reduction Task Force. The State will provide training to help ensure consistency across the State in program review and records maintenance. The State should ensure that a formal process is in place to update program reviewers on any changes to the law, guidelines, or procedures. o Employee Transportation Coordinator and Program Developers /Coordinators /Managers: Staff (or others functioning in these roles) of an affected employer who administer the employer's CTR program, performing such functions as CTR program development, administration, and record- keeping, as well as promoting alternative transportation modes among employees. Qualifications: Encouraged to complete the State - developed training course, which will provide ETCs with everything they need to know about the law, along with how to develop, implement, market, manage, and evaluate an effective CTR program at their work site. The Task Force also encourages local jurisdictions to offer ETC training and continuing education. Ongoing training could be available through an ETC network, workshops on specific topics, etc. o Local Service Provider: Operators of services that may be in demand as a result of employer CTR programs, such as parking operators, taxi associations, transit operators, shuttle operators, and consultants. Qualifications: Encouraged to about the CTR law. Consultants of the administrative services training described above. Oversight complete locally provided training already on contract to provide any would attend the appropriate The development of training programs should be overseen by the present Task Force subcommittee on parking, model programs, and training, which will continue functioning, as needed, beyond March 1992. The State will also continue to provide technical assistance. Page 34 Course Development Responsibility The intent of the CTR Task Force is-to have.th.e State technical assistance team work with the available resources of local transit agencies, local governments and, if necessary, hire a consultant to create the training curriculum.The City of Edmonds, in conjunction with CT, may supplement the decision -maker orientation, the basic training course, and the specialized training courses with any additions needed to create a complete package to meet State and local requirements. Training for ETCs will be customized for Edmonds and Snohomish County needs. Local instructor and program reviewer training should be coordinated with the State technical assistance team to ensure these training programs are complete and tailored to local conditions. Training Development Schedule The schedule for developing training courses is estimated as follows and may be subject to change: March 1993 o Master trainers (one per county) April - May 1993 o Local instructors (instruction by master trainers) o Employee Transportation Coordinators (instruction by local instructors) o Program reviewers (instruction by local instructors) May 1993 - and beyond o Training as needed The Task Force recognizes the need to support training over and above what is possible with existing funding and will pursue additional funding sources. The Task Force considers public education vital to the success of the CTR law and will pursue additional effort and funding for education and information. These efforts will be coordinated with related programs of the Washington State Department of Ecology, Washington State Department of Transportation and the Washington State-Energy Office. State Responsibilities and the Future of CTR Law In addition to the guidelines developed for local jurisdictions, the Task Force will continue to review and recommend local and State actions that will help achieve CTR goals. The Task Force intends to: 1. Develop specific guidelines for employee parking management programs at new and existing employment sites, including employee parking supply and charges in the Model Employer Programs Report. Page 35 Z. Review local experience with changes in parking demand, as reported in local jurisdiction annual progress reports. Incorporate findings and recommend revisions to these guidelines in the Task Force's December 1995 report to the Legislature. 3. Ask the State Legislature to amend the 1990 Local Option Commercial Parking Tax to include non - commercial parking sites if there is insufficient progress toward achieving CTR goals by 1995. The Task Force may bring this issue to the Legislature earlier, if appropriate. 4. Plan and fund, in partnership with local jurisdictions, educational workshops and informational materials designed to increase employer awareness about parking cost and its influence on mode choice. These information materials should be part of the orientation program for employer senior managers and the training for ETCs and employer program developers. Explore the use of Congestion Management and Air Quality Improvement Program funds available through the Intermodel Surface Transportation Efficiency Act. 5. Investigate aspects of the Uniform Building Code (UBC), fire codes, zoning codes, and other regulations that increase the costs of providing covered bicycle parking and lockers /showers. Recommend State and /or local changes that would allow these facilities to be provided in a cost effective manner without compromising the integrity of the regulations. Page 36 SECTION 7: RELATED PLANS AND POLICIES There are other elements in the City of Edmonds Municipal Code, primarily in the Edmonds Community Development Code (ECDC) that can be modified to support transportation demand management strategies. These revisions are in areas such as parking requirements, where new minimum and maximum levels of parking can be specified in order to deter SOV use. Requirements for HOV priority parking and measures to reduce existing parking supplies will be examined by the City. Parking Guidelines The Task Force developed a set of parking guidelines to respond to the Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) law requirement that each affected jurisdiction's CTR plan "shall include ... a review of local parking policies and ordinances as they relate to employers and major work sites and any revisions necessary to comply with commute trip reduction goals and guidelines..." (RCW 70.94.527(4e)). These guidelines were intended to give direction to jurisdictions in their review and revision process and to help achieve regional consistency in parking policy changes. The Task Force recommendations cover parking supply, parking cost, and site design. They also address parking revisions for existing sites. Because of the focus of the CTR law, the Task Force considered applications to long -term (all day) employee parking, rather than short -term customer parking, such as at retail sites. The recommendations are designed to encourage local land use codes to respond to reductions in parking demand as single - occupant. vehicle use decreases through CTR programs and to encourage local jurisdictions to provide flexibility to employers to use parking management as an element of CTR programs. These guidelines are based on the "Parking Policy Report," produced by the Commute Trip Reduction Task Force subcommittee on parking, training, and model programs, July 1, 1992. This report contains analysis and more detailed methodology and reasoning behind the recommendations. The Task Force finds that local parking policy is critical to the success of the CTR law because of the close relationship between commuter behavior and the supply and cost of parking. Charging for parking has been shown to be a more effective and direct way to influence mode choice than fine tuning parking supply. Local governments do not now have the authority to require property owners or employers to charge for parking, and many employers are not aware of their true parking costs. A key means for achieving CTR goals is the ability to apply similar parking supply and cost strategies at both existing sites and new developments. The Task Force also recognizes the influence of site design on travel mode choice. The.presence and quality of facilities for pedestrians, transit users, and bicyclists are critical to the convenience, comfort, and safety of commuters using those modes. Page 37 The City of Edmonds will make its own decisions regarding the strategies recommended here, as local parking requirements are the result of many factors, such as land use policies. CTR goals are among those considerations. However, the regional nature of transportation system calls for a coordinated approach to parking policy revisions, and the schedule and requirements of the Growth Management Act (RCW. 36.70A.070) provide an appropriate opportunity to make such revisions. Recommendations The City of Edmonds will use the Task Force recommendations as a basis for establishing parking standards for new developments and expansions: 1. Review parking policies and standards in conjunction with and consistent with arterial and transit levels of service required under the Growth Management Act (GMA). The timing of parking policy review will be coordinated with GMA policies adopted by July 1992 and new comprehensive plans adopted by July 1993. 2. Review off - street parking requirements for professional office and industrial uses, as well as related land use categories, such as business or industrial parks, high -tech, and light industry. Institutions will be dealt with on a case -by -case basis. Standards will be set to meet actual demand, rather than to provide "ample" parking. 3. Conduct parking demand studies, if desired, to supplement previous national and local studies that analyze the supply of parking at office and industrial sites. Explore the use of congestion management funds available through the Intermodel and Surface Transportation Efficiency Act to support studies relating to parking policy. 4.. Report to the CTR Task Force in the annual progress report any problems experienced in implementing these recommendations, such as inadequate resources. Adjusting Parking Supply The City will consider the following Task Force recommendations when adjusting parking standards in land use codes: 1. Lower the minimum parking requirement for all office and manufacturing land use categories to -the level of projected parking demand, commensurate with the achievement of 1995 CTR goals. 2. Allow further reductions below the minimum on a case -by -case basis. Case -by -case deviations below the minimum should be linked to implemented TDM measures. Requests by developers to reduce parking supply below the minimum should be considered by administrative review rather than a variance process. 3. Establish maximum parking standards for new development. Maximums should be set to meet actual demand, including a cushion of ten to fifteen percent for practical capacity to guard against spill -over Page 38 parking. Exceptions to the maximum standard should be handled by administrative review. In areas where maximums are established, the City of Edmonds may consider residential permit parking programs or other off -site parking controls, such as short -term meters, if spill -over is a concern. 4. Base maximum and minimum parking standards for office and industrial uses on studies that take into account employee densities at specific employer sites and full occupancy projections. 5. Re- evaluate minimum and maximum standards in 1995 and 1997 to determine whether changes in parking demand resulting from the CTR law warrant additional reductions. 6. Require reserved parking spaces for carpools and vanpools at office and industrial sites to.accommodate and encourage high occupancy vehicle (HOV) commuting. These spaces should be nearest and most convenient to building entrances, and should be posted as reserved for HOVs arriving between 5:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. HOV spaces may be available for other uses after that time. Increase the code requirement for HOV reserved spaces, commensurate with increases in HOV demand resulting from CTR law implementation. 7. Allow nearby properties with different peak times in parking demand to share parking spaces as a means of reducing unnecessary supply. 8. Allow developers /employers to establish a public parking management program in lieu of requiring all or some portion of on -site parking. 9. Establish an administrative process that encourages existing developments to reduce excess I parking as an element of their CTR programs. These reductions should be consistent with the revised parking standards recommended here for new developments. Site Design Standards The City will examine establishing site design standards for new developments that facilitate the use of alternatives to the single- occupant vehicle. Site design recommendations related to parking are as follows: 1. Require secure, well lit bicycle parking facilities close to building entrances. Encourage property owners and public agencies to cooperate so that cost effective covered bicycle parking, showers, and lockers can be provided. Bicycle parking should be provided as a ratio of total parking stalls, with a minimum specified. A higher ratio may be warranted in dense urban areas. 2. Require employee parking to be designed and located to ensure direct, convenient, and safe access for pedestrians and transit riders between the street and the building entrance. Page 39 3. Work with transit agencies and site developers to establish requirements for transit facilities if the site is located adjacent to a street with existing or planned transit service. Provision of pedestrian facilities, such as covered walkways, also should be encouraged in exchange for reductions in required parking. Guidelines for parking layout and other site design elements that are compatible with transit use can be found in A Guide to Land Use and Public Transportation, Snohomish County Transportation Authority (SNO- TRAN), December 1989. Page. 40 APPENDIX GLOSSARY OF TERMS 1. Affected Employee: A full -time employee who begins his or her regular work day at a single work site between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. (inclusive) on two or more week days for at least twelve continuous months. Full -time Employee: a person other than an independent contractor scheduled to be employed on a continuous basis for fifty -two (52) weeks for an average of at least thirty -five (35) hours per week. The employee will only be counted at his or her primary work site. Seasonal agricultural employees, including seasonal employees of processors of agricultural products, are excluded from the count of affected employees. 2. Affected Employer: An employer that employs.one hundred (100) or more full -time employees at a single work site who are scheduled to begin their regular work day between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. (inclusive) on two or more week days for at least twelve continuous months. Construction work sites, when the expected duration of the construction is less than two years, are excluded from this definition. (Also see definition of Employer.) 3. Alternative Mode: Any means of commute transportation other than that in which the single- occupant motor vehicle is the dominant mode, including telecommuting and compressed work weeks, if they result in reducing commute trips. 4. Alternative Work Schedules: Work schedules which allow employees to work their required hours outside of the traditional Monday - Friday, 8:00 a.m. -5:00 p.m. schedule. Programs such as compressed work weeks that eliminate work trips for affected employees are an example. 5. Base Year: The period from January 1, 1992 through December 31, 1992, on which goals for vehicle miles traveled (VMT) per employee and proportion of single - occupant vehicle (SOV) trips shall be based. 6. Carpool: A motor vehicle occupied by two (2) to six (6) people traveling together for their commute trip that results in the reduction of a minimum of one (1) motor vehicle commute trip. 7. Commute Trips: trips made from a worker's home to a work site with a regularly scheduled work start time of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (inclusive) on weekdays. 8. CTR Guidelines: A document prepared in 1992 (subject to revision) by the State -wide Commute Trip Reduction Task Force. The document includes guidelines for preparing plans and ordinances, as well as model programs and data from work sites across the country. Page 41 9. CTR Law: A law passed in 1991 (Chapter codified in RCW 79.94.521 -551 requiring residents, with one or more affected em . ordinance and plan. All cities in such affected employers are also required to plans. 202, Laws of 1991) and counties of over 150,000 aloyers to implement a CTR counties with one or more adopt CTR ordinances and 10. CTR Plan: City of Edmonds' plan and ordinance to regulate and administer the CTR programs of affected employers within its jurisdictions. 11. CTR Program: An employer's strategy to reduce affected employees' SOV use and VMT per employee. 12. CTR Zone: One (1) of three (3) areas, such as a census tract or combination of census tracts, within Snohomish County, 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 SOV commuting. The City of Edmonds, and parts of unincorporated Snohomish County have been combined to form one zone. 13. Commuter Matching Service: A system that assists in matching commuters for the purpose of commuting together. 14. Compressed Work Area: An alternative work schedule, in accordance with employer policy, that regularly allows a full -time employee to eliminate at least one (1) work day every two (2) weeks by working longer hours 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 (4) ten (10) hour days or eighty (80) hours in nine (9) days, but may also include other arrangements. Compressed work weeks are understood to be an ongoing arrangement. 15. Custom Bus /Buspool: A commuter bus service arranged to transport one or more specific employee groups to work. 16. Days: Calendar days, unless otherwise specified. 17. Dominant Mode: The mode of travel used for the greatest distance of a commute trip. 18. Employer: A sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, unincorporated association, cooperative, joint venture, agency, department, district or other individual or entity, whether public, non - profit, or private, that employs workers. 19. City of Edmonds: City. 20. Exemption: A waiver from CTR program requirements granted to an employer by'the City of Edmonds based on unique conditions that apply to the employer or employment site. Page 42 21. Flex - time: An employer policy allowing individual employees some flexibility in choosing the time, but not the number, of their working hours to facilitate.the use of alternative modes. 22. Full -time Employee: A person other than an independent contractor, scheduled to be employed on a continuous basis for fifty -two (52) weeks for an average of at least thirty -five (35) hours per week. 23. Implementation: Active pursuit by an employer of the CTR goals of RCW 70.94.521 -551 and this ordinance as evidenced by appointment of a transportation coordinator, distribution of information to employees regarding alternatives to SOV commuting, and commencement of other measures according to its approved CTR program and schedule. 24. Mode: The means of transportation used by employees, such as single- occupant motor vehicle, ride share vehicle (carpool, vanpool), transit, ferry,'bicycle, and walking. 23. Peak Period: The hours from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. (inclusive), Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. 26. Peak Period Trip: Any employee trip that delivers the employee to begin his or her regular work day between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. (inclusive), Monday through Friday, except legal holidays. 27. Proportion of Single- Occupant Vehicle Trips or SOV Rate: The number of affected employees in SOVs over a set period divided by the number of affected employees working during that period. 28. Single- Occupant Vehicle (SOV): A motor vehicle occupied by one (1) employee for commute purposes, including a motorcycle. 29. Single - Occupant Vehicle (SOV) Trips: Trips made by affected employees in SOVs. 30.. Single Work Site: A building or group of buildings on physically contiguous parcels of land or on parcels separated solely by private or public roadways or rights -of -way occupied by one or more affected employers. 31. Telecommuting: The use of telephones, computers, or other similar technology to permit an employee to work from home, eliminating a commute trip, or to work from a work place closer to home, reducing the distance traveled in a commute trip by at least half. 32. Transit: A multiple- occupant vehicle operated on a for -hire, shared -ride basis, including bus, ferry, rail, shuttle bus, or vanpool. A transit trip counts as zero vehicle trips. 33. Transportation Management Organization (TMO): A group of employers or an association representing a group of employers in a Page 43 defined geographic area. A TMO may represent employers within specific city limits, or may have a sphere of influence that extends beyond city limits. 34. Vanpool: A vehicle occupied by seven (7) to fifteen (15) people traveling together for their commute trip that results in the reduction of a minimum of one (1) motor vehicle trip. A vanpool trip counts as zero (0) vehicle trips. 35. Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Per Employee: 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. 36. Week: A seven (7) day calendar period, starting on Monday and continuing through Sunday. 37. Week Day: Any day of the week except Saturday or Sunday. 38. Writing, Written, or In Writing: Original signed and dated document. Facsimile (fax) transmission is a temporary notice of action which must be followed by the original signed and dated document via mail or delivery. . Page 44 { rEREt - MUKILTEO ZONE UTHWEST ZONE Page 45 5ll"0 i INTY l GTR Zones 1. RURAL NORTH AND EAST ZONE Commute Trip Reduction State of Washington Commute Trip Reduction Program Employee Questionnaire _ MARKING DIRECTIONS • Use a No. 2 pencil. CORRECT MARK • Fill in the circle. completely. O 0 * Q • Erase cleanly any marks you wish to change. INCORRECT MARKS • Do not make any stray marks on this form. Q5 ( t:) Please use a No. 2 pencil to complete this questionnaire. Fill in circles completely to indicate your answers. ALL QUESTIONS REFER TO WORK FOR THIS EMPLOYER ONLY - - - - 1. Do you usually work 35 or more hours per week for this employer in a position intended to last 12 months or more? — 0 Yes () No 2. Are you scheduled to arrive, or do you usually arrive, at your work location between 6 and 9 a.m.? Q Yes 0 No 3. Last week, which days did you arrive at work between 6 and 9 a.m.? (Fill in all that apply.) Q Monday 0 Thursday 0 Tuesday O Friday Q Wednesday Q None 4a. Last week, what type of transportation did you use Monday through Friday to commute TO your usual work location? • Fill in ONLY ONE type of transportation per day. • If you used more than one type, fill in the type used for the LONGEST DISTANCE. • Fill in "Carpool" only if at least one other person age 16 or older is in the vehicle. For example, driving children to daycare does not count as a carpool. • If you used a ferry for the longest distance, fill in the type of transportation you took onto the ferry. • If you reported to a different location for this employer, fill in the type of transportation used to get to that location. M T W Th F Drove alone Q O @ Q O Q Q Carpool (2 or more people) @ Q O © @ Vanpool ri @ 0 w, .61 Q Motorcycle/moped Bus/Transit } Q Q OF Bicycled (Q Q 0 Walked Q Q d O Telecommuted ( (Q Q ( Other: Q CJ ( Q {Q Did not work (day off, sick, etc.) 4c. (Optional) Was last week a typical week for commuting? 0 Yes Q No - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -P. 4b. If you are in a carpool or vanpool, how — many people (age 16 or older) are usually in the vehicle, including yourself? — 0 Two people — 0 Three people — 0 Four people — 0 Five people — 0 Six people — J Seven or more people — 5. Do you work five days a week, or do you have an alternative schedule? (Fill in schedule closest to your own. 0 5 days a week Or Alternative Schedules: 0 3 days in a week Q 9 days in 2 weeks Q 4 days in a week Q Other: Q 7 days in 2 weeks Page 46 E mom NNNE No - - - - - - r a 6a. Do you work at home for this employer at least one day every other week, and eliminate a commute trip? Or, do you work at a telework center or satellite office that is less than one -half the distance to your usual work location? (Do you telecommute ?) 0 No (go to question 7a) 0 Yes > 6b. On how many days did you telecommute in the last two weeks? G 0 1 day 0 6 days 0 2 days 0 7 days 0 3 days 0 8 days 0 4 days 0 9 days 0 5 days 0 10 days 6c. Where do you telecommute? 0 At home 0 At a satellite office or telework center 0 Other: 7a. How many miles do you commute ONE- WAYfrom home TO your usual work location? • Include miles for errands or stops made daily on the way to work. • Round off the distance travelled to the nearest mile. • Fill in as shown in the example. Example �]EV 0 0 G 0 coo @ e 00 0 0 0 (D 0 O 0 (D Q 0 0 0 .0 0 0. 0 0 0 04.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 oJ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 or more miles 7b. What is this distance based on? 0 a measurement (an odometer reading, etc.) 0 an estimate that you are sure of 0 an estimate that you are not sure of r.r r —M■ ■N■■ ■E■ ■ 8. What type of job do you do for this employer? (Fill in the response that fits best.) 0 Administrative support (clerical, fiscal, receptionist) 0 Craft/Production (baker, machinist, plumber, construction, skilled repair) 0 Farming, forestry, or fishing 0 Labor (machine operator, maintenance, warehouse worker, truck driver) 0 Management (supervisor, administrator) 0 Sales /Marketing (retail, wholesale, public relations) 0 Information /Counter Services (librarian, operator, bank teller, cashier, customer service) 0 Personal Services (waiter, concierge, hairdresser) 0 Professional Services (doctor /nurse, attorney/ paralegal, accountant, insurance examiner) 0 Social /Public Services (teacher /trainer, police officer, community outreach, legislator, letter carrier) 0 Technical Services (analyst, engineer, scientist, technician) 0 Other: 9. What is your home zip code? (Write numbers in boxes and fill in corresponding circles.) 10. (Optional) Comments about the type of transportation you took to work last week: Please return this survey as soon as possible. Thank you. Page 47 R6011 -PFI -54321 e @ e @ 0 (D o (D Cp�^}� (D (D Q �0 ',,� J'" p l`J 0 0 0 0. 0 0 0 04.7 0 0 0� 0 ; 0. 0 /(D ti 0 0 0 oJ 0 0 0 0 0 0 9 9 9 0 0 10. (Optional) Comments about the type of transportation you took to work last week: Please return this survey as soon as possible. Thank you. Page 47 R6011 -PFI -54321 SUMMARY OF ORDINANCE NO. 3242 of the City of Edmonds, Washington On the 16th day of February, 1999, the City Council of the City of Edmonds, passed Ordinance No. 3242. A summary of the content of said ordinance, consisting of the title, provides as follows: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, ADOPTING EDMONDS COMMUTE TRIP REDUCTION (CTR) PLAN AND IMPLEMENTING MEASURES AS REQUIRED BY RCW 70.94.527 BY ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 17.95 TO THE EDMONDS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CODE AND FIXING A TIME WHEN THE SAME SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE. The full text of this Ordinance will be mailed upon request. DATED this 17th day of February, 1999. ,'I ", "'f L"(� CITY CLERK, SANDRA S. CHASE Affidavit of Publication STATE OF WASHINGTON, ss. COUNTY OF SNOHOALISH, SUS F The undersigned, being first duly sworn on oath deposes and says of the ry dmo252 Washington On the 16th day of February, that she is Principal Clerk of THE HERALD, a daily newspaper 1999, the City Council of the City asse No. 3242. Apsummary dofathe printed and published in the City of'Everett, County of Snohomish, content of said ordinance, con- sisting of the title, provides as and State of Washington; that said newspaper is a newspaper of follows: AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF EDMONDS, WASHINGTON, general circulation in said Count and State; that said newspaper g y ADOPTING EDMONDS COM- MUTE TRIP REDUCTION (CTR) 'PLAN has been approved as a legal newspaper by order of the Superior AND IMPLEMENTING -MEASURES AS REQUIRED BY CW 70.94.527 BY ADDING A Court of Snohomish County and that the notice .. ............................... NEW EDMONDSP COMMUNITY DE- City of Edmonds NELOPMENT CODE AND FIX- ING A TIME WHEN THE SAME ................... - r. d- i- n-a. n. GE ... No.,,.... 3. 24. 2 .. ............................... .................... SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE. The full te)d of this Ordinance will be mailed upon request. DATED this 17th day of Feb- ruary, 1999. -° ........................ ............................... CITY CLERK, SANDRA S. CHASE Published: February 21, 1999. ................ ............................... a printed copy of which is hereunto attached, was published in said newspaper proper and not in supplement form, in the regular and entire edition of said paper on the following days and times, namely: Fe ruary 21 1999 ........... I ............. .. ............... ............................... ....................... ........... .................... and th newspaper was regul y istribute to its subscribers ing of said period r...... .— ....,,.�...... ................. Principal Clerk Subscribed and sworn to before me this ............................ March 99 df ............................. ...............----- ........ 19 ......... .............. ..... . - .......... . -- -- -- ...... ........................... . ..................... Notary Public in and for t e State o Washington, residing at Everett, Snoh ' It Co ty. o t�, NOTARY 'fA ••� i r iU 9{In r PUBUC ti: • Z -yam •?iy p0 • '0, � � e B -2 -1