Title 24 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT (TSM)

Chapter 24.01 TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT

24.01.010 FINDINGS.

(a) There has been a significant increase in traffic in the Cities and surrounding region, and this trend is anticipated to continue in the future.

(b) Recent and future development and redevelopment within the City and surrounding region will lead to increased traffic in the area.

(c) Transportation Systems Management (TSM) programs have been shown to be capable of reducing vehicle trips and increasing vehicle occupancy rates, and can be effective in reducing the need for increasing gasoline taxes and costly major road improvements.

(d) Decreasing the number of vehicular trips, both absolutely and within peak traffic period, will help alleviate traffic congestion, energy consumption, and noise levels and will assist in improving and maintaining air quality. These improvements will contribute to making the City an attractive and convenient place to live, work, visit and do business, and will help employers recruit and retain a qualified work force.

(e) Cooperation with and the coordination of TSM programs with nearby cities and other local agencies with transportation roles and participation in a Joint Powers Authority with some or all of these agencies will assist the City in the goals and objectives of this chapter.

(f) Adoption of this TSM ordinance is one component of implementing a comprehensive approach to reducing traffic problems that should be supported by complementary land use policies and transportation and transit improvements.

(g) Adoption of this TSM ordinance will promote public health, safety, economic vitality, mitigate the effects of traffic congestion including associated noise and air quality impacts on the environment, and support the general welfare, both within the City and region.

(h) The goals and objectives of this chapter are consistent with this City's General Plan.

(i) Participation of private and public employers, complex operators, employer organizations, and employee organizations (as said terms are hereinafter defined) is critical to the successful implementation of this TSM ordinance.

(j) In adopting the ordinance codified in this chapter, it is the intention of the City Council that employers and complex operators who act diligently and in good faith to comply with its provisions shall not be penalized for lack of participation of employees or tenants in commute alternatives, and shall not be held accountable for the achievement of a participation rate by employees or tenants.

(k) This chapter will implement provisions of that certain "Joint Powers Agreement establishing that Inter-City Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Authority", a joint exercise of powers agreement entered pursuant to the provisions of Government code Section 6500 et seq., of which Authority this City is a member.

(l) Since the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's (BAAQMD) Regulation 13, Rule 1 is the current trip-reduction regulation with which employers must comply and the local jurisdictions within San Mateo County did not elect to accept delegation of the Rule, the provisions in this chapter are intended to assist employers in achieving their trip-reduction goals as stipulated in the Rule.

(m) This chapter exempts worksites subject to the requirements of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's Regulation 13, Rule 1 from any and all requirements of the Local TSM Ordinance which was set forth prior to July 1, 1994.

24.01.020 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.

(a) Goals. The goals of this chapter are to:

(1) Assure that all existing and future employers and complexes participate in mitigating traffic problems by implementing TSM measures.

(2) Encourage coordination and consistency between public agencies and the private sector in planning and implementing transportation programs.

(3) Increase public awareness and encourage more use of alternatives to commuting by single occupant vehicles.

(4) Reduce traffic impacts within the City and the region by reducing the number of automobile trips, daily parking demand, and total vehicle miles per person traveled that would otherwise be generated by commuting.

(b) Objectives.

(1) To participate in an inter-city authority that works in partnership with employers to promote programs and services that help employers achieve their trip reduction goals in an effort to improve air quality and reduce traffic congestion in the region.

(2) To facilitate the achievement of vehicle to employee ratio (VER) standards by public and private employers subject to Regulation 13, Rule 1, a regional employer-based trip-reduction mandate effective in San Mateo County beginning July 1, 1994.

(3) To encourage and facilitate participation by employers with 25-99 employees in promoting commute alternatives to their employees.

24.01.030 DEFINITIONS.

As used in this chapter, the following words and phrases have the meanings respectively ascribed thereto in this section:

(a) "Alternative Work Hours Program" shall mean any system for shifting the work day of an employee so that the work day starts or ends outside of the peak periods. Such programs include but are not limited to: (i) compressed work weeks; (ii) staggered work hours involving a shift in the set work hours of employees at the work place; and (iii) flexible hours involving individually determining work hours within guidelines established by the employer.

(b) "Carpool" shall mean a motor vehicle occupied by two (2) or more employees commuting together.

(d) "Complex" shall mean any multi-tenant, non-residential building or group of buildings that houses employees. A complex may have more than one but not necessarily all of the following characteristics:

(1) It is known by a common name;

(2) It is governed by a common set of covenants, conditions, and restrictions;

(3) It was approved, or is to be approved, as an entity by the City;

(4) It is covered by a single subdivision or parcel map;

(5) It is operated by a single management;

(6) It shares common parking.

(e) "Employee" shall mean any person hired by an employer for work at the work place, working 20 hours or more per week on a regular full-time basis, including independent contractors, but excluding field construction workers, field personnel, seasonal/temporary employees (working less than 90 days consecutively) and volunteers.

(f) "Employer" shall mean any public or private employer, including the City, who has a permanent place of business in the City. "Employer" shall not include contractors or other business entities with no permanent place of business in the City.

(g) "Joint Powers Authority" shall mean that agency created under the "Joint Powers Agreement Establishing the Inter-City Transportation Systems Management (TSM) Authority".

(h) "Inter-City Agreement" shall mean the agreement approved by the City and one or more other cities to establish an organization and procedures for governing a joint TSM program.

(i) "Peak Traffic Periods", "Peak Hour", and "Peak Periods" shall mean the periods of highest traffic volume and congestion which are from 6:00 am to 10:00 am and 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm Monday through Friday inclusively. A peak period trip shall mean an employee commute trip to or from a work place when the employee's work day begins or ends within a peak period.

(j) "Public Transit" shall mean publicly provided transportation, usually either by bus or rail.

(k) "Ridesharing" shall mean the transportation of persons in a motor vehicle for commute purposes where the driver is not employed for that purpose. The term includes arrangements known as carpools and vanpools.

(l) "Single Occupant Vehicle" shall mean a vehicle occupied by one employee.

(m) "Sponsor" shall mean the owner(s) or developer(s) or manager(s) of a commercial development project or complex.

(n) "Telecommuting" shall mean a system of working at home or at an off-site, non-home telecommute facility for the full work day on a regular basis at least one day per week.

(o) "Transportation Systems Management" (TSM) shall mean a program to improve the movement of persons through better and more efficient use of the existing transportation system.

(p) "TSM Trip-Reduction Program" shall mean a group of measures developed and implemented by an employer to provide transportation information, commute alternatives assistance and incentives to employees.

(q) "TSM Board of Directors" shall mean the group responsible for policy direction of the TSM organization, with membership and responsibilities as defined in the Inter-City Agreement. Responsibilities also include the general direction of the TSM Coordinator and program as set forth in the Inter-City Agreement.

(r) "Vanpool" shall mean a van occupied by seven (7) or fifteen (15) employees (of the same or multiple employers) including the driver who travel together during the majority of their individual commute distance.

(s) "Work Site" shall mean any real property, real or personal, which is being operated, utilized maintained, or owned by an employer as part of an identifiable enterprise. All property on contiguous, adjacent, or proximate sites separated only by a private or public roadway or other private or public right-of-way, served by a common circulation or access system, and not separated by an impassable barrier to bicycles or pedestrian travel such as a freeway or flood control channel is included as part of the work site.

(t) "Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC)" shall mean a person, who could be an employee or an employer or sponsor, designated to implement a TSM Trip-Reduction Program and to carry out any other requirements of this chapter at a work place.

24.01.040 TSM COORDINATOR.

The TSM Coordinator shall be employed by the Joint Powers Authority and shall serve as staff in administering the TSM provisions of this chapter as provided in the Inter-City Agreement. Duties shall include, but are not limited to, assisting employers in carrying out TSM responsibilities, providing commute alternatives assistance, preparing summary reports, and developing incentives for employer participation in the TSM program.

24.01.050 TSM REQUIREMENTS.

(a) Each employer within San Mateo County subject to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District's (BAAQMD) Regulation 13, Rule 1 (regional employer-based trip-reduction rule) shall conform to the employer based trip-reduction program requirements established and enforced by the BAAQMD.

(b) Each employer of 25 or more employees, and every sponsor of 25 or more employees, is encouraged to distribute to its employees on a regular basis, commute alternatives information on ridesharing, transit, bicycling, etc.; and participate when possible in programs, sponsored by the Joint Powers Authority, that may contribute to the reduction of single occupant vehicle commute trips.

Chapter 24.03 COUNTY TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT

24.03.010 COUNTY TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM MANAGEMENT—TSM—ADOPTION AUTHORIZED.

It is hereby declared to be the policy of the City of San Mateo that the County of San Mateo Transportation System Management (TSM) should apply in the City of San Mateo. The Transportation System Management Plan shall be adopted by the Council by resolution and amended by resolution from time to time to conform to the plan of the County as it may be amended from time to time. In the event that the County plan conflicts in whole or in part with Chapter 24.01, the County plan shall be governing and shall prevail.