HomeMy WebLinkAboutord2007-009WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL AGENDA BILL NO.
2007- 69
CLEARANCES
Initial
Date
Date Receiver! in Council Office
Agenda Date
Assigned to:
Originator:
Everett
1/23/2007
1/30/2007
Introduction
Division Head:
2/13/07
Hearing
Dept. Head:
Prosecutor:
Purchasin lBud el:
Executive:
TITLE OF DOCUMENT.•
Revised Transportation Concurrency Management Ordinance
ATTACHMENTS:
Ordinance and memo
SEPA review required? { ) Yes { ) NO
Should Clerk schedule a hearing ? ( X ) Yes ( J NO
SEPA review completer!? { ) Yes { ) NO
Requested Date:
2/13/2007
SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE: (If this item is an ordinance or requires a public
!rearing, you must provide the language for use in the required public notice. Be specific and cite RC or WCC as appropriate.
Be clear in explaining the intent of the action.)
An ordinance relating to transportation concurrency management establishing development review procedures ensuring that adequate transportation
facilities are available or provided concurrent with development, in accordance with the Growth Management Act.
COMMITTEE ACTION:
COUNCIL ACTION.
1/30/2007: Introduced
2/13/2007: Council Adopted 7 -0
Ord. 2007 --009
Related County Contract #:
Related File Numbers:
Ordinance or Resolution
AB2006 -443
Number: Ord. 2007 -009
Please Note: Once adopted and signed, ordinances and resolutions are available for viewing and printing
on the County's website at: www.co.whatcom.wa.us /council.
SPONSORED BY: Consent
PROPOSED BY: planning
INTRODUCTION DATE: 1/30/2007
ORDINANCE NO. 2007 -009
AN INTERIM ORDINANCE AMENDING WCC, TITLE 20 BY ADDING A NEW CHAPTER 20.78
ESTABLISHING DEVELOPMENT REVIEW PROCEDURES ENSURING THAT ADEQUATE
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES ARE AVAILABLE OR PROVIDED CONCURRENT WITH
DEVELOPMENT, IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT ACT.
WHEREAS, rapid population, employment opportunities and traffic growth in and around
the unincorporated urban growth areas of Whatcom County have led to community
recommendations to ensure that public facilities and services necessary to support development
are adequate or will be provided in a timely manner; and
WHEREAS, high rates of development in the County's unincorporated growth areas
have begun to strain the County's ability to finance and construct transportation improvements
necessary to ensure adequate levels of service; and
WHEREAS, the Growth Management Act (GMA) RCW 36.70A.020 includes the goal of
ensuring that those public facilities and services necessary to support development shall be
adequate to serve the development at the time the development is available for occupancy and
use without decreasing current service levels below locally established minimum standards; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Growth Management Act of 1990 (GMA) RCW
36.70A requires jurisdictions to establish Levels of Service (LOS) Standards for their
transportation systems and to prohibit development if it will cause the transportation LOS to
decline below the adopted standard (unless transportation improvements and strategies are
made to accommodate the development within six years); and
WHEREAS, the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan Policy 4J -1 states that "Based on
established levels of service for all road segments under control of the county, develop a
concurrency management program that provides for consistent and predictable evaluation of the
impacts of future proposed development; and
WHEREAS, the Whatcom County SEPA official issued a Determination of Non -
Significance on November 1, 2006; and
WHEREAS, RCW 36.70.790 and RCW 36.70.795 permits adoption of interim official
controls so long as a public hearing is held within 60 days of adoption; and
WHEREAS, RCW 36.70.795 requires the adoption of findings of fact which justify
Council action; therefore, the Council makes the following findings of fact:
1. The County currently lacks the regulatory mechanisms necessary to ensure that adequate
public facilities and services are provided concurrent with development.
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2. This new chapter related to transportation concurrency management is consistent with the
goals and policies of the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan and the Washington State
Growth Management Act.
3. An interim transportation concurrency management system is necessary to allow evaluation
and discussion of options related to levels of service, the promotion of multimodal facilities,
financing, as well as consideration of innovative regulatory controls and administration.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council that WCC Title
20 is hereby amended to include a new Chapter 20.78 as shown in Exhibit A.
BE IT FURTHER ORDAINED by the Whatcom County Council, pursuant to RCW
36.70.795, that this amendment shall be effective for not longer than six months following the
effective date of this ordinance, which may be renewed for one or more six -month periods until
December 31, 2008 if subsequent public hearings are held and findings of fact are made prior to
each renewal.
ADOPTED this 13 day of February , 2007.
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APPROVED as to form
Civi secutor
WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL
WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON
Carl Weimer, Council Chair
(I-Approved () Denied
Pete Kremen, County Executive
Date: 0� _l r "
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EXHIBIT A
2 Chapter 20.78
3 TRANSPORTATION CONCURRENCY MANAGEMENT
Sections:
20.78.010 Purpose.
20.78.020 Authority.
20.78.030 Transportation concurrency — Exempt development.
20.78.040 Level of service standards.
20.78.050 Concurrency evaluation.
20.78.060 Concurrency determination.
20.78.070 Certificates of transportation capacity.
20.78.080 Administrative reconsideration.
20.78.090 Appeal.
20.78.100 Annual Transportation Concurrency Renort
20.78.00110 Definitions.
17 20.78.010 Purpose.
18 The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that adequate transportation facilities are available or
19 provided concurrent with development, in accordance with the Growth Management Act RCW
20 36.70A.0701 and consistent with WAC 365- 195 -510 and WAC 365- 195 -835. No development
21 permit shall be issued except in accordance with this chapter.
22 20.78.020 Authority.
23 The planning and development services director, or his/her designee, shall be responsible for
24 implementing and enforcing this chapter.
20.78.030 Exempt development.
The following development permits shall be exempt from requiring a new concurrency evaluation:
(1) Developments with complete applications prior to the effective date of this ordinance so long as
the original proposal has not been modified after the effective date of this ordinance in a manner that
increases development units.
(2) Renewals of previously issued, unexpired permits.
(3) Phases of projects that were included in a concurrency evaluation as part of the original
application (i.e., phased development), provided that the determination of concurrency was approved
for the subsequent phase.
(4) Development applications for public buildings, including but not limited to:
(a)Public libraries;
(b)Publicly funded and operated educational facilities;
(c) Public parks and recreation facilities; and
(d) Public transportation facilities.
(5) Development that does not result in an impacted transportation facility as defined by this
chapter; such development includes but is not limited to:
(a) Residential development projects of four (4) or fewer dwelling units;
(b) Subdivision of land that will result in four (4) or fewer dwelling units;
(c) Non - residential developments that generate four (4) or fewer peak hour project trips;
(d) Any addition or accessory structure to a residence with no change in use or increase in the
number of dwelling units;
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(e) Interior renovations with no change in use or increase in the number of development units;
(f) Interior completion of a structure for use(s) generating the same or less peak hour traffic as
the existing use or a previously approved use;
(g) Replacement structure with no change in use or increase in the number of development
units;
(h) Temporary construction trailers;
(i) Driveway resurfacing or parking lot paving;
0) Reroofing structures; and
(k) Demolitions.
(6) At his or her discretion, the director may require of an applicant for a development permit that
does not qualify as exempt pursuant to WCC 20.78.030(5) a trip generation and distribution study
performed by a traffic engineer to confirm that the proposed development or use does not result in an
impacted transportation facility.
(7) Notwithstanding the exemptions listed above, the traffic resulting from any exempt use or
permit shall be included in computing background traffic for any nonexempt development.
61 20.78.040 Level of service standards.
62 The transportation level of service standards are described and contained in the Whatcom County
63 Comprehensive Plan and any adopted modifications.
20.78.050 Concurrency evaluation.
(1) Application.
(a) County review of all applications for development permits, unless exempted by WCC
20.78.030, shall include a concurrency evaluation.
(b) For transportation concurrency evaluation, the applicant shall provide a traffic study
prepared by a traffic engineer, which shall compare the calculated level of service to the adopted level
of service standard for each impacted transportation facility. The traffic study shall, at a minimum,
provide the following information:
(i) Number of peak hour trips generated by the development according to the ITE trip
generation manual or other method approved by the director;
(ii) Anticipated trip distribution;
(iii) The current calculated level of service of all impacted transportation facilities;
(iv) The future calculated level of service of all impacted transportation facilities
incorporating traffic volumes from the proposed development;
(v) Any proposed mitigation; and
(vi) The future calculated level of service of al I impacted transportation facilities with the
incorporation of proposed development traffic volumes and any proposed mitigation.
(c) The concurrency evaluation shall be accompanied by an application on a form provided by
the department and an application fee as provided in the County's Unified Fee Schedule.
(d) The concurrence evaluation and determination shall be completed prior to:
(i) Issuance of administrative approvaVdenial of the project permit if SEPA review is not a
requirement of the project;
(ii) Issuance of the DNS, MDNS or DS if SEPA review is a requirement of the project, or
(iii) Issuance of the staff report to the Hearings Examiner if there is a hearing before the
Hearings Examiner and SEPA review is not a requirement of the project. if SEPA is Fequi,.aa for- the
proposed developmelit, the eeneufr-eney evaluation shall be submit4ed and eensidered 4 th
SEPA .,
(e) Development Permits for phased developments shall have the concurrence evaluation
completed for the entire project. A developer niay elect to have the concurrence evaluation
undertaken for less than the entire proiect, if and only if:
(i) The Director agrees to such limited evaluation,
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(ii) Each phase shall include all of the infrastructure to service that phase;
(ii) There is a written note included in the preliminary approval for such phased
development that the traffic concurrency evaluation is limited only to the specific phases for which
approval has been provided.F-^f phased projee4s, an e ..,lu t:^., of the whole p eet under SEP A is
,i4i fiea4 issued £,r single phase Shall flOt g Rt8 ity f 4 r , phases.
20.78.060 Concurrency determination
The County shall not approve a development appliea4ien-pgrmit unless there are adequate
transportation facilities to meet the level of service standards for existing and approved uses, based on
the forecast PM peak hour traffic volumes and the committed transportation system.
(1) If the concurrency evaluation shows that the ratio of the forecast PM peak hour traffic volume
to the capacity of each transportation facility is equal to or less than the adopted level of service
standard for each impacted transportation facility, the director shall issue a determination of
concurrency finding and a certificate of transportation capacity according to the provisions of WCC
20.78.070.
(2) If the concurrency evaluation shows that the ratio of the forecast PM peak hour traffic volume
to the capacity of eas#a___y transportation facility exceeds the adopted level of service standard for
eae-h-air impacted transportation facility, the concurrency test is not passed and the director shall
notify the applicant in writing of the denial of the issuance of the certificate of transportation capacity.
The applicant may:
(a) Amend the application within ninety (90) days in such a way to ensure that the ratio of the
forecast PM peak hour traffic volume to the capacity of each transportation facility does not exceed
the adopted level of service standard for each impacted transportation facility. To meet the foregoing,
amendments may include one or more of the following ways:
(i) Modify the project to reduce the impact on affected facilities;
(ii) Phase the project to coincide with planned improvements that will ensure concurrency;
(iii) Mitigate the impacts of the project to ensure concurrency;
(iv) Arrange with the service provider to provide the additional capacity of facilities
required; and/or
(v) Propose transportation strategies that will reduce the demand for capacity.
(b) Ask the director for formal reconsideration of the concurrency evaluation in accordance
with the provisions of WCC 20.78.080;
(c) Withdraw the application and reapply for an evaluation when concurrency can be ensured;
or
(d) if nefte of the above aetiens are initiated within 90 days of netification of denial,
nlieatien shall be deter-mined to be ineempL4eAppeal the denial per WCC 20.78.090.
(3) A concurrence determination shall expire if the underlying permit application upon which the
determination was based expires or is withdrawn.
135 20.78.070 Certificates of transportation capacity.
136 (1) A certificate of transportation capacity shall be issued upon approval of the development
137 pr ape sal-permit for which a concurrency evaluation was conducted by the applicant, reviewed by the
138 County and issued a determination of concurrency by the director. If applicable, payment of fee
139 and/or performance of any condition required by a service provider shall be a condition of certificate
140 issuance if such fee or performance of condition has been approved by the County. In no event shall
141 the director determine concurrency for a greater amount of capacity than is needed for the
142 development proposed in the underlying permit application, except as provided for phased
143 development.
144 (2) A certificate of transportation capacity shall apply only to the specific land uses, densities,
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145 intensities and development projects described in the applieation andVpLoved development permit.
146 In the event that, subsequent to issuance of the certificate, the approved development is modified to
147 generate lower traffic impacts on the transportation system, the certificate shall be modified to reflect
148 the reduced traffic impact. The °4i fieat° shall only be valid for the type and intensity °r
149 ,
150 subsequent development phases that were identified as paFt efth° evaluation.
151 (3) Phasing.
152 A certificate of transportation capacity may hall be issued for all
153 phases of a development permit, except when the conditions set forth in WCC 20.78.050(e) have been
154 fulfilled. if the • ndeFlyi g permit is my for- ° phase —In this case the certificate shall be conditioned to
155 note that certificates are required for future phases. The certificate shall specifically identify the
156 amount, extent and timing of anv required traffic miti atg ion.
157
158 tha4 is te be eempleted in phases and that requires ,
159 be phased leng as the itiga :., .,I , each phase. ensur-
160 (4) Transferability. A certificate of transportation capacity is not transferable to other land;. The
161 certificate of transportation capacity, once issued, shall become part of the development permit and
162 shalHR44na�-be transferred to new owners of the original land if and only if the development permit
163 is so transferred to the new owners.
164 (5) Capacityy allocations. The develepe� applicant may, as part of a development permit
165 application, designate in writing the amount of capacity to be allocated to portions of the property,
166 such as lots, blocks, parcels, or tracts included in the application. Any such allocation shall be
167 reflected in the certificate of transportation capacity. Capacity may be reassigned or allocated within
168 the boundaries of the original property by application to the director. The director shall amend the
169 certificate accordingly.
170 ( -So Life Span of Certificate. A certificate of transportation capacity shall expire 4when the
171 accompanying development permit expires or is revoked. The certificate may be extended according
172 to the same terms and conditions as the accompanying development permit. If the development
173 permit is granted an extension, so shall the certificate of transportation capacity. If the accompanying
174 development permit does not expire, the certificate of transportation capacity shall be valid for four
175 years from the date of issuance. The director may approve an extension of up to one year.
176 (67) Unused Capacity. Any capacity that is not used because the developer voluntarily surrenders
177 the certificate, decides not to develop, or the accompanying development permit expires, shall be
178 returned to the available pool of capacity.
179 20.78.080 Administrative reconsideration.
180 (1) The applicant may request reconsideration of the results of the concurrency evaluation within
181 15 days of the written notification of the evaluation results by filing a formal request for
182 reconsideration specifying the grounds thereof, using forms authorized by the department.
183 ,
184 .
185 (3�) The director shall reconsider the evaluation results and issue a determination within 30 days
186 of the filing of such request either upholding the original determination or amending it.
187 20.78.090 Appeal.
188 (1) The results of an administrative reconsideration pursuant to WCC 20.78.080 may be appealed
189 to the hearing examiner, as provided by Chapter 20.92 WCC.
190 (2) Any appeal shall be accompanied by a fee as defined in the County's Unified Fee Schedule.
191 (3) Upon filing of such appeal, the department shall notify the appropriate service provider(s) of
192 the appeal.
193
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194 20.78.100 Annual transportation concurrency report.
195 (1) The director shall prepare an annual report presenting current capacities and levels of service
196 for affected facilities. The report shall identify any known existing and projected service deficiencies
197 and recommend steps necessary to achieve concurrency including, but not limited to, reevaluating
198 level of service standards, improvement financing strategies trategies and /or reassessment of land use policies.
199 The report shall be used in the review and update of the County's Six -Year Transportation
200 Improvement Program and the Countv's Six -Year Capital Improvement Program.
201 20.78.89110 Definitions.
202 (1) "Adequate transportation facilities" means transportation facilities which have the capacity to
203 serve development while meeting the County's established level of service standards.
204 (2) "Calculated level of service" means the ratio of the forecast peak hour traffic volume to the
205 capacity of a transportation facility.
206 (3) "Capacity" means the estimated directional rate of traffic flow that can be accommodated by a
207 given transportation facility within the PM peak hour and is expressed in terms of vehicles per hour.
208 The capacity used in the concurrency evaluation is defined by the County and based on the committed
209 transportation system.
210 (4) "Certificate of transportation concurrency" is the final document issued by Whatcom County,
211 confirming availability and reserving capacity on the County's transportation facilities specific to the
212 proposed development or development permit.
213 (5) "Committed transportation system" means the system of transportation facilities used to
214 calculate the level of service relative to a development proposal. It includes existing transportation
215 facilities and proposed facilities which are fully funded for construction in the most currently adopted
216 Six -Year Transportation Improvement Program or for which voluntary financial commitments have
217 been secured in an amount sufficient to complete the particular facility improvement. The County
218 may make adjustments to the committed transportation system for corrections, updates, and
219 modifications concerning costs, revenue sources, acceptance of facilities pursuant to dedications
220 consistent with the adopted comprehensive plan, or the date of construction (scheduled for
221 completion within the six -year period) of any facility enumerated in the Six -Year Transportation
222 Improvement Program. The committed transportation system includes:
223 (a) County roads;
224 (b) State highways and freeways within the County;
225 (c) Bus routes;
226 (d) Park and ride lot locations;
227 (e) Trails, pathways, or other non - motorized transportation facilities;
228 (f) High occupancy vehicle exclusive lanes; and
229 (g) Projects to be provided by the State, cities or other jurisdictions may become part of the
230 committed transportation system upon decision of the County.
231 (6) "Concurrency" means that adequate transportation facilities are in place at the time of
232 development or that a financial commitment is in place to complete the improvements or strategies
233 needed for adequate transportation facilities within six years.
234 (7) "Concurrency evaluation" means the process to determine if a proposed development's impact
235 on transportation facilities meets the County's level of service standards set for those affected
236 roadways, as defined in this ordinance.
237 (8) "Determination of concurrency" means a determination by the director based on a concurrency
238 evaluation that shows that the development's impacts on the transportation system wetkldwill not
239 result in the level of service of a transportation facility falling below the adopted level of service
240 standard for the facility.
241 (9) "Department" means the planning and development services department of Whatcom County.
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242 (10) "Development a4ggmit" means any order, permit or other official action of the County
243 granting, or granting with conditions, an application for development as defined by WCC 20.97.099
244 which authorizes the commencement of development activity.
245 (11) "Development units" means the proposed quantity of development measured by dwelling
246 units for residential development and square feet for specific nonresidential use categories, which are
247 the basis of the calculations of level of service for the determination of concurrency.
248 (12) "Director" means the planning and development services director, or his/her designee.
249 (13) "Financial commitment" consists of the following:
250 (a) Revenue designated in the most currently adopted Six -Year Transportation Improvement
251 Program for transportation facilities or strategies comprising the committed transportation system.
252 Projects to be used in defining the committed transportation system shall represent those projects that
253 are identified as funded for construction in the six years of the Six -Year Transportation Improvement
254 Program;
255 (b) Revenue from federal or state grants for which the County has received notice of approval;
256 and
257 (c) Revenue that is assured by an applicant in a form approved by the County in a voluntary
258 agreement.
259 (14) "Forecast peak hour traffic volume" means a forecast PM peak hour traffic volume that
260 includes existing traffic, ambient traffic growth, traffic from other future development projects that
261 were applied for prior to the subject development application based on Whatcom County records, and
262 the traffic anticipated from the subject development.
263 (15) "Growth Management Act" means the Washington State Growth Management Act (RCW
264 36.70A) and any adopted amendments.
265 (16) "Impacted transportation facility" includes any transportation facility which is impacted by
266 five (5) or more peak hour project trips in one direction.
267 (17) "ITE trip generation manual" means the manual prepared by the Institute of Transportation
268 Engineers, latest edition, for the purpose of assigning numbers of vehicle trips associated with various
269 land uses.
270 (18) "Level of service standard" means the transportation Ievel of service standard as adopted in
271 the Whatcom County Comprehensive Plan based on the ratio of forecast peak hour traffic volumes to
272 capacity.
273 (19) "Mitigation" means transportation demand management strategies and/or facility
274 improvements constructed or financed by a developer whichs°wrns a degraded f eility level o
275 ser-vi e fe the stand -a for- the f r.44 dully offsets the subject development's impacts to a facility so
276 that a) the level of service for a transportation facility with a pre - existing level of service deficiency is
277 not further degraded, or b) the level of service for a transportation facility without a pre-existin g level
278 of service deficiency is not reduced below the approved level of service.
279 (20) "Peak hour project trips" means the traffic estimated by a traffic engineer to be generated by a
280 proposed development during the one -hour weekday afternoon period during which the greatest
281 volume of traffic uses the road system.
282 (2 1) "Peak hour traffic" means traffic volumes during the one -hour weekday afternoon period
283 during which the greatest volume of traffic uses the road system, as identified separately for each
284 segment of a transportation facility.
285 (22) "PM peak hour" means the one -hour weekday afternoon period during which the greatest
286 volume of traffic uses the road system, as identified separately for each segment of a transportation
287 facility.
288 (23) "SEPA" means the State Environmental Policy Act (RCW 43.21) as implemented by
289 Whatcom County.
290 (24) "Service provider" means the jurisdictions, department or agency responsible for providing
291 the facility.
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292 (25) "Six -Year Transportation Improvement Program" means the expenditures programmed by the
293 County for capital purposes over the next six -year period in the Six -Year Transportation
294 Improvement Program pursuant to RCW 35.77.010.
295 (26) "Traffic engineer" means an engineer licensed in the State of Washington qualified to
296 perform traffic impact analyses.
297 (27) "Transportation facilities" means all principal arterials, minor arterials, collector arterials,
298 major collectors, and minor collectors in Whatcom County as defined in Whatcom County
299 Development Standards Chapter 5 "Road Standards ", incorporated herein by this reference.
300 (28) Transportation strategies" means transportation demand management strategies and other
301 techniques or programs that reduce single- occupant vehicle commute travel or improve the capacity
302 of a transportation facility and that are approved by the director. Strategies may include but are not
303 limited to vanpooling, carpooling, public transit, access management, signalization and
304 channelization.
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