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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03 - Amendment to the Traffic Phasing OrdinanceT 0 0 El CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH �' _=' 1' AGE+ r': CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT No. Agenda Item No. 3 July 10, 2007 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Public Works Department Stephen G. Badum 949 -644 -3311 or sbadum @city.newport- beach.ca.us SUBJECT: AMENDMENT TO THE TRAFFIC PHASING ORDINANCE FOR CONSISTENCY WITH GENERAL PLAN AND TRAFFIC MODEL RECOMMENDATION: Introduce Ordinance No. 2007 - amending Chapter 15.40 of the Municipal Code (the Traffic Phasing Ordinance) to delete references to NBTAM and to make the Institute of Transportation Engineers' Trip Generation the primary source for calculating trip generation rates; and pass to second reading on July 24, 2007. DISCUSSION. The Traffic Phasing Ordinance (TPO) has existed for nearly thirty years and has served as the City's primary tool for analyzing the short-term traffic impacts of new development. The TPO has been amended several times and was last revised in 1999. One of the key considerations in evaluating traffic impacts is selecting the appropriate trip generation rate, which is the number of trips either per day or during the AM and PM peak traffic hours per unit of development. The Traffic Phasing Ordinance contains several references to using trip generation rates from NBTAM for conducting traffic impact studies of new development. The Ordinance defines NBTAM as "the most current City Council approved traffic analysis model for the City of Newport Beach." NBTAM was the name used for the traffic model developed for the City in 1986. In conjunction with the General Plan update approved by the City Council and the voters last year, a new traffic model was developed (known as NBTM). It is an entirely different type of model, required to meet the sub -area model consistency guidelines of the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA). Instead of trip generation rates tied directly to units of land use, the new model uses socioeconomic data for determining the number of trips. This data includes categories such as population, dwelling units, employment, and income. Trip generation rates can be derived from the model but those rates are not comparable to rates based directly upon land use. For Amendment to the Traffic Phasing Ordinance July 10, 2007 • Page 2 that reason, the new traffic model is not an appropriate source for trip generation rates used to analyze specific project impacts. •` The trip generation rates in the old model were very similar to those in the then - current edition of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) publication Trip Generation, with a few exceptions. Trip Generation is based upon actual counts of traffic entering and leaving a large number of differing land uses. ITE publishes updates to this document on a periodic basis to incorporate additional studies and new trends in land use. It is widely accepted as the primary source for trip generation rates used to analyze the impact of new development and all traffic engineers have ready access to this information. For these reasons staff believes it is more appropriate to reference ITE Trip Generation as the primary source for trip rates to be used in TPO studies. There are two other references in the TPO to NBTAM that need to be updated. The first is Appendix A, Section 3.d.iv where NBTAM is listed as a source of information for regional traffic increases. The second reference is in Appendix A, Section 4.6 where the distribution of trips from a new development onto the circulation system is required to be consistent with NBTAM. In both instances "NBTAM" will be changed to refer to "the most current City Council approved traffic analysis model for the City of Newport Beach ". The new traffic model is an appropriate source for these inputs to traffic studies. The General Plan /LCP Implementation Committee reviewed the proposal to delete the references to NBTAM and use ITE as the primary trip generation source at their • meeting on May 17, 2007. The Committee supported the proposal. Environmental Review: Adoption of an ordinance is not a project as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act since it constitutes general policy and procedure making. Submitted by: U hephen GBadum Works Director Attachment: Ordinance 0 • F L ORDINANCE No. 2007 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH AMENDING CHAPTER 15.40 OF THE NEWPORT BEACH MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO THE SOURCE OF TRIP GENERATION RATES TO BE USED IN TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDIES WHEREAS, THE City Council of the City of Newport Beach initially adopted the Traffic Phasing Ordinance (Ordinance 1765) on June 26, 1978; and WHEREAS, the Traffic Phasing Ordinance has been amended several times including most recently a comprehensive update adopted by Ordinance 99 -17 on July 12,1999; and WHEREAS, the Traffic Phasing Ordinance methodology is based upon using a recognized source for trip generation rates; and WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach no longer uses its former land use based transportation model known as NBTAM; and WHEREAS, the Institute of Transportation Engineers produces the widely recognized publication Trip Generation; NOW, THEREFORE, THE City Council of the City of Newport Beach hereby ordains as follows: SECTION 1: Section 15.40.040 of the Newport Beach Municipal Code and Sections 2.b.v., 3.f., 3.h., 4.c.i., and 5.b. of APPENDIX A thereto shall be amended as provided in Exhibit A. SECTION 2: The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper of the City, and it shall be effective thirty (30) days after its adoption. SECTION 3: This ordinance was introduced at a regular meeting of the City • Council of the City of Newport Beach, held the 10 day of July, 2007, and adopted on the 24 day of July, 2007, by the following vote, to wit: AYES, COUNCIL MEMBERS NOES, COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT COUNCIL MEMBERS MAYOR ATTEST: ITY CLERK 0 n EXHIBIT A Section 15.40.040 — Definitions. The following terms used in this chapter shall have the meaning indicated below: "Circulation element" means the Circulation Element of the General Plan of the City of Newport Beach as amended from time to time. "Circulation improvement(s) "or "improvement(s)" means a modification to a primary intersection (possibly including a related roadway link) that increases the capacity of the primary intersection. "Date of approval" means the date the project is approved, pursuant to this chapter, by the Planning Commission or City Council on review or appeal. "Feasible improvement" means a circulation improvement that: 1. Is not inconsistent with the Circulation Element as the date of approval and has not been identified as infeasible by the City Council at a public hearing to initiate or approve a traffic mitigation study; or 2. Is not inconsistent with any amendment(s) to the Circulation Element initiated and approved in conjunction with the project and is required to be completed by the project proponent and/or the City within the time frames required by this chapter. "ICU" means the intersection capacity utilization computed in accordance with standard traffic engineering principles and the procedures outlined in the existing Appendix A. "Impacted primary intersection" means any primary intersection where project trips increase the volume of traffic on any leg by one percent (I%) or more during any peak hour period. "Level of traffic service" means the letter assigned to a range of ICU's in accordance with Appendix A. "Members eligible to vote" means all members of the Planning- Commission, or the City Council on review or appeal, lawfully holding office except those members disqualified from voting due to a conflict of interest. "Peak hour period" means the four consecutive fifteen (15) minute periods between seven a.m. and nine a.m. (morning) and the four consecutive fifteen (15) minute periods between four p.m. and six p.m. (evening) with the highest traffic volumes (for each primary intersection) as determined by the field counts required by Appendix A. "Primary intersection " means each intersection identified in the existing Appendix B and, with respect to individual projects, any additional intersection selected by the Traffic Manager pursuant to Section 15.40.050(6)(1). "Project" means "project" as defined in the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §21000 et seq.), the CEQA Guidelines, and relevant decisional law without regard to whether any environmental document is required for the project. The term "project" shall also mean any application for a building or grading permit for development that would generate more than three hundred (300) average daily trips. "Traffic engineer" means the traffic engineer retained by the City to prepare the traffic study. "Traffic Manager" means the person employed by the City who occupies the position of Traffic and Development Services Manager or similar position. "Traffic mitigation study" means a study designed to evaluate and recommend a plan to mitigate the impact of an actual or potential unsatisfactory level of traffic service at any primary intersection or traffic volumes in any residential neighborhood in the vicinity of that primary intersection. "Traffic study" means the study prepared by the traffic engineer in strict compliance with this chapter including Appendix A. "Unsatisfactory level of service" means a level of service at a primary intersection, which is worse than level of service "D" (.90 ICU), during any morning or evening peak hour period as determined in accordance with Appendix A. LJ CHANGES TO APPENDIX A • Section 2.b.v. Any information, study, or report that supports any request by the Project proponent to use trip generation rates that differ from those in the NBTA 11 most current version of ITE's Trip Generation Manuel or the SANDAG Manuel Traffic Generators; and Section 3.d.iv Increases in regional traffic anticipated to occur within one year after Project completion as projected in the NUAM most current City Council approved traffic analysis model for the City of Newport Beach or other accepted sources of future Orange County traffic growth; and Section 3.f. Trip generation rates for the land uses contemplated by the Project shall be based on standard trip generation values utilized in N13' n listed in the current version of ITE's Trip Generation except as provided in this Subsection. The Traffic Engineer may, with the concurrence of the Traffic Manager, use trip generation rates other than as specified in "'N BT- M Trip Generation when such rates are based on limited information or study and there is a valid study of the trip generation rate of a similar land use that supports a different rate NBTAM trip geneFatmen Fates aFe based 9R limited infaFmatien 0 and Cher lid study of the trip generate ate of . mina, sand use stud e�- a -�. .. that supports a .dm#erent rat Section 3.h. In determining Project trips, credit shall be given for existing uses on the Project site. Credit shall be given based on the trip generation rates in the NSTAM ITE's Trip Generation. In the alternative, the Traffic Manger may, in the exercise of his /her professional judgment, authorize the use of trip generation rates in the 'TAE Manual SANDAG's Manual Traffic Generators or on the basis of actual site traffic counts. In the event the Project site has not been used for any purpose for a period of one (1) year prior to the filing of an application for a Traffic Study, credit shall be limited to trips generated by the last known land use, if any, that could be resumed with no discretionary approval. For any land use that is not active as of the date of the application for a Traffic Study, the Project proponent shall have the burden of establishing that the use was in operation during the previous one (1) year period. Section 4.6 the assumptions in NBTAM the City's current transportation analysis model relative to tro production and attraction characteristics of various land uses; and Section 5.b In the case of conversion of an existing structure to a more intense land use, the incremental increase in trips generated by- the Project shall be evaluated. In the event the uses within the existing structure changed during the preceding twelve (12) months, the differential shall be calculated on the basis of the prior use or uses with the highest trip generation rates according to the A1BTAM ITE's Trip Generation. ( ^r 'T� -"Manu (or SANDAG's Trip Generators Manual as appropriate).