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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORDINANCES - 04191994 - 94-27 1. 72 ORDINANCE NO. 94-27 AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNTY OF CONTRA COSTA REQUIRING TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT The Board of Supervisors of the County of Contra Costa does ordain as follows: section 2. Purpose: This ordinance is enacted by the County of Contra Costa for the following purposes: (a) To improve ambient air quality by reducing air pollutant emissions that result from vehicle commute trips to work sites with one hundred (100) or more employees located within the County of Contra Costa; (b) To promote and encourage the use of alternatives to commuting by single occupant vehicle among Contra Costa County residents and individuals working in the County of Contra Costa; (c) To support local and regional efforts to relieve traffic congestion in and around the County of Contra Costa, thereby reducing noise, pollution and energy consumption. (d) To facilitate local implementation Regulation 13 of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. (e) To implement the requirement of the Contra Costa Transportation Authority that employment complexes with 100 or more employees develop trip reduction programs. section 2. Applicability: This ordinance applies to all public and private employers with one hundred (100) or more employees at a work site and all complexes with one hundred (100) or more non-retail employees housed therein. If an employer has one hundred (100) or more employees but no single work site with one hundred (100) or more employees, this ordinance does not apply to that employer. For purposes of determining the applicability of this ordinance, the number of employees at a work site or a complex is determined as the maximum number of employees reporting to that work site or complex on any single week day Monday through Friday during the current calendar year. section 3. Definitions: For the purposes of this ordinance the following words and phrases shall have the meaning shown unless the context requires otherwise: (a) Average vehicle Ridership (AVR) : means the number of employees who start work at a work site during the peak period divided by the number of vehicles those employees use to arrive at February 10, 1994 94-27 the work site, averaged over the survey week as calculated pursuant to this ordinance. (b) Carpool: means a vehicle occupied by two (2) to six (6) people traveling together between their residence and their work site or destination for the majority of the total trip distance. Employees who work for different employers, as well as non-employed people, are included within this definition as long as they are in the vehicle for the majority of the total trip distance. (c) Commute Trip: means the trip made by an employee from home to the work site. The commute trip may include stops between home and the work site. (d) Complex: means any multi-tenant building or group of buildings located on a single parcel or group of contiguous parcels under common ownership or common management with a total of one hundred (100) or more non-retail employees working at the building or group of buildings. (e) Compressed Work Week: means a regular full-time schedule which eliminates at least one round-trip commute trip (both home-to-work and work-to-home) at least once every two (2) weeks. Examples include, but are not limited to working three twelve-hour days (3/36) or four ten-hour days (4/40) within a one week period; or eight nine-hour days and one eight-hour day (9/80) within a two week period. (f) Employee: means any person conducting work activity for an employer twenty (20) or more hours per week on a regular or full-time or part-time basis, including independent contractors, but excluding field construction workers, field personnel, seasonal/temporary employees, and volunteers. (g) Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) : means an employee, other individual, or entity appointed by an employer or complex to develop, market, administer, and monitor the Employer Trip Reduction Program or Employer Trip Reduction Plan on a full or part-time basis. (h) Employee Transportation survey: means a County-approved questionnaire distributed by employers and complexes to employees designed to provide sufficient information to calculate AVR or VER for the work site pursuant to Section 4 and S. (i) Employer: means any person(s) , trust, firm, business, joint stock company, corporation, partnership, association, . non-profit agency or corporation, educational institution, city, county, school district, hospital or health care facility, federal ORDINANCE NO. 94- 27 February 10, 1994 —2— a ' or state government department, agency, or district, or any other special purpose public agency or district which has any natural person in service. A city, county, or city and county is a single employer for purposes of this ordinance, not individual departments or agencies of the city, county, or city and county. Individual departments or agencies of the State of California and the federal government are separate employers for purposes of this ordinance. Employer includes for-profit, not-for-profit and non-profit enterprises. Several subsidiaries or units that occupy the same work site and report to one common governing board or governing entity or that function as one corporate unit are considered to be one employer. The term shall not included employers with no permanent work site within the County. (j) Employer Trip Reduction Plan: means a document describing in detail the Employer Trip Reduction Program, including an implementation schedule, and all the elements listed in Section 12 which is submitted to the County for review and approval pursuant to Sections 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16. (k) Employer Trip Reduction Program: means a group of measures developed and implemented by an employer that are designed to provide transportation information, assistance, and incentives to employees. The purpose of such measures is to reduce the number of motor vehicles driven to the work site by increasing AVR or decreasing VER, and to achieve and maintain the performance objectives listed in Section 4. An employer Trip Reduction Program may include, but is not limited to measures which promote carpools, vanpools, public transit, compressed work weeks, telecommuting, bicycling and walking to the work site. (1) Field Construction Worker: means an employee who reports for work to a temporary field construction site. (m) Field Personnel: Employees who spend 20% or less of their work-time at the work site and who do not report to the work site during the peak period for pickup and dispatch of an employer-provided vehicle. (n) Independent Contractor: means an individual who enters into a direct written contract or agreement with an employer to perform certain services. The period of the contract or agreement is at least ninety (90) continuous days or is open-ended. (o) Non-retail Employees: means an employee not employed in a retail business use. (p) Peak Period: means the time from 6:00 a.m. through 10:00 a.m. Monday through Friday inclusive. ORDINANCE NO. 94- 27 February 10, 1994 —3— (q) Seasonal/Temporary Employee: means an employee who works for the employer for less than 90 continuous days .(three months) within a calendar year. (r) Single-Occupant Vehicle: means a vehicle occupied by one employee. (s) Survey Week: means a regular five day Monday through Friday (inclusive) work-week. The survey week for work sites with Saturday and Sunday work schedules will include only those work days Monday through Friday. The survey week cannot contain a federal, state, or local holiday, regardless of whether the holiday is observed by the employer. A survey week means a week meeting the above criteria selected by the County during January through May, or September through November for the employee transportation surveys required by Section 9 of this ordinance. The survey week cannot be Rideshare Week or contain any other rideshare or transit promotional event. (t) TDM Program Manager: means an employee of a regional transportation agency (TRANSPAC, Tri-Delta Transit, Southwest Area Transportation Committee, or West Contra Costa Transportation Advisory Committee) hired to administer the regional TDM program. (u) Telecommuting: means a system of working at home or at an off-site, non-home telecommute facility for the full work day on a regular basis of at least one day -per week. (v) Transportation Management Association: means an organization through which developers, property managers, employers, and/or local jurisdictions cooperate in designing, implementing, and assessing Employer Trip Reduction Programs or other transportation demand or system management programs and measures. (w) Vanpool: means a vehicle occupied by seven (7) to fifteen (15) employees including the driver who commute together to work for the majority of their individual commute trip distance. Employees who work for different employers are included within this definition as long as they are in the vehicle for the majority of their individual trip distance. (x) Vehicle: means a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, except the following: 1) a device moved exclusively by human power, 2) a device used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks, 3) buses used for public or private transit. Examples of vehicles include, but are not limited to, passenger cars, motorcycles, vans, and pickup trucks. ORDINANCE NO. 94- 27 February 10, 1996 —4— 1 (y) Vehicle Employee Ratio (VER) : means the number of ° vehicles used by employees who start work at a work site during the peak period divided by the number of those employees averaged over the survey week as calculated pursuant to this ordinance. (z) Volunteer: means an individual who does not receive any wages, salary, or other form of remuneration (other than reimbursement for expenses) from the employer for services provided. (aa) Work Activity: means any activity for which an employee receives remuneration from an employer. Telecommuting is a work activity. (bb) Work Site:. means any property, real or personal, which is being operated, utilized, maintained, or owned by an employer as part of an identifiable enterprise. All such 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 bicycle or pedestrian travel such as a freeway or flood control channel is included as part of the work site. If two or more employers each have one hundred (100) or more employees at a single work site, then that work site is considered a separate work site for each employer. Section 4. Performance objectives: Employers having work sites with one hundred (100) or more employees and complexes shall implement Trip Reduction Programs having the collective effect of achieving VER reductions, or AVR increases in accordance with the following schedule: Reporting Year VER Objective Avg Objective 1994 .87 1.15 1995 .83 1.20 1996 .80 1.25 1997 .77 1.30 1998 .74 1.35 1999 .74 1.35 Section S. Registration: Each employer with one hundred (100) or more employees at a single work site and each complex within the County shall register with the County within thirty (30) days of adoption of this ordinance. An employer who becomes subject to this ordinance subsequent to its adoption due to an increase in the number of employees or the establishment of a new or expanded work site, shall register with the County within ninety (90) days after becoming subject to this ordinance. ORDINANCE NO. 94- 27 February 10, 1994 -5- Employer registration and registration of complexes shall include the following information: Name and mailing address of the employer, or owner or manager of the complex; separate identification of each work site subject to this ordinance including street address; the name and telephone number of the designated Employee Transportation Coordinator for each work site or complex; and the total number of employees at each work site or complex. Section 6. Employee Notification: An employer with one hundred (100) or more employees, and the owner or manager of a complex shall facilitate the participation of employees and employee organizations in the development of Employer Trip Reduction Programs and Employer Trip Reduction Plans by providing the following information to its employees at the times specified below: (a) Information explaining the requirements and applicability of this rule to the complex, or employer and its work site(s) prior to or at the time of registration pursuant to Section 5. (b) The content and implementation schedule of the Employer Trip Reduction Program required by Section 10 during its development. (c) The content, implementation schedule, and availability of the Employer Trip Reduction Plan required by Section 11, as applicable, at least thirty (30) days prior to the submittal of the Employer Trip Reduction Plan to the County. (d) Notification may be provided through employee bulletins, notices posted on bulletin boards, articles in any newsletter generally circulated or provided to employees, or any other reasonable means to assure that employees have adequate opportunity to participate in the development of trip reduction programs and measures, and are informed about the full range of trip reduction programs and measures available at the work site. . (e) The notice shall identify the Employee Transportation Coordinator within the organization to whom comments and suggestions can be submitted and questions addressed. section 7. Exemption: An employer with one hundred (100) or more employees or a complex may request an exemption from the requirements of this ordinance on the basis of one of the following provisions: (a) Employee Minimum Level: A work site of one hundred (100) or more employees or a complex where less than fifty (50) of ORDINANCE NO. 94- 27 February 10, 1994 —6— the employees normally start work during the peak period may be g exempt from all requirements of this ordinance except for registration as required pursuant to Section 5 of this ordinance. (b) Performance Objective Achieved: A work site or complex that meets the 1999 performance objective for VER or AVR stated in Section 4 of this ordinance is exempt from all other requirements of this ordinance except for the following: 1. A work site or complex that meets the 1999 performance objective for VER or AVR stated in Section 4 of this ordinance must submit to the County a listing of the measures or reasons for achieving the 1999 performance objectives; 2. A work site or complex that meets the 1999 performance objective for VER or AVR stated in Section 4 of this ordinance must demonstrate continued achievement of the 1999 performance objectives by conducting an employee transportation survey pursuant to Section 9 of this ordinance once every three years. A work site or complex that does not continue to demonstrate achievement of the 1999 performance objectives pursuant to Section 4 of this ordinance no longer qualifies for the exemption provided by this section and becomes subject to the requirements of this ordinance at that time. (c) Construction Site: A construction site is exempt from the requirements of this ordinance. For the purposes of this section, 1) "construction" means the on-site fabrication, erection, or installation of a physical structure such as a building, roadway, bridge, etc. , and 2) "site" has the same meaning as "work site. " (d) Each request for an exemption must be made in writing to the County. Section S. Employee Transportation Coordinator (ETC) : Each employer, and owner or manager of a complex subject to this ordinance must designate one or more Employee Transportation Coordinators as specified below: (a) Each employer and owner or manager shall appoint an Employee Transportation Coordinator for each affected complex or work site. An employer with multiple affected work sites within the County may appoint one ETC for more than one work site even if the work sites are not situated at adjacent locations. (b) Each Employee Transportation Coordinator must complete a training program certified by the Bay Area Air Quality Management ORDINANCE NO. 94-2Z February 10, 1994 -7- District within nine (9) months of the date this ordinance becomes 1 effective, or within six (6) months of appointment when appointed after the initial nine (9)-months time frame. (c) The employer or owner or manager may apply to the County for a waiver from the training requirement of this section when an ETC has one or more years of experience in trip reduction or equivalent skills. Section 9. Employee Transportation Surveys: Each affected employer of one hundred (100) or more employees and each owner or manager of a complex must conduct employee transportation surveys as specified in this section to establish whether the performance objectives listed in Section 4 of this ordinance have been achieved. The transportation survey shall be as specified by the County and shall be submitted to the County to calculate VER or AVR, determine compliance with performance objectives, and to establish employee commute patterns. (a) Employee transportation surveys shall be conducted annually unless a work site demonstrates that a future year performance objective has already been achieved. A work site that has so demonstrated is required to conduct a survey every other year as long as future year performance objectives continue to be achieved. (b) Employee transportation surveys shall be conducted, and VER or AVR calculated, in a manner consistent with procedures in effect at the time that the survey is conducted pursuant to Section 13-1-602 of Regulation 13 Rule 1 promulgated by the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. (c) Employers with one hundred (100) or more employees at a work site and complexes which become subject to this ordinance subsequent to its adoption due to an increase in the number of employees or the establishment of a new or expanded work site shall conduct an employee transportation survey during the same week and on the same schedule as the rest of the employers and complexes. (d) Employee transportation surveys must be conducted during a "survey week" as defined in Subsection 3 (t) of this ordinance. The employer shall not offer any special incentives or disincentives in addition to its regular trip reduction program during the survey week. Section 10. Employer Trip Reduction Program: Employers with one hundred (100) or more employees at a work site and owners or managers of complexes shall develop and implement Employer Trip Reduction Programs. Implementation shall occur within six (6) ORDINANCE NO. 94- 27 February 10, 1994 —8— months following the completion of the survey week for the first employee transportation survey conducted pursuant to Section 9 of this ordinance. Section 11. Requirement to Submit Employer Trip Reduction Plan: An employer with one hundred (100) or more employees at a work site or an owner or manager of a complex not achieving the performance objectives established in Section 4 of this ordinance for the applicable year must prepare an Employer Trip Reduction Plan for that work site. The plan shall be submitted to the County within one. hundred and twenty (120) days following the determination by the County that the performance objective was not achieved. An employer may submit a consolidated plan that covers multiple work sites. The determination that the performance objective has not been achieved shall be based on information received through the employee transportation surveys taken as specified in Section 9 of this ordinance. The plan shall be submitted by the highest ranking responsible official of the employer at the work site or each work site when a consolidated plan is submitted. Section 12. Employer Trip Reduction Plan Content: The Employer Trip Reduction Plan shall contain the following: (a) Employer registration information as required pursuant to Section 5 of this ordinance; (b) A detailed description and inventory of measures contained in the Employer Trip Reduction Program, including a list of specific reduction measures already implemented; (c) A description, schedule, and commitment to implement additional or enhanced measures, including reasonable, feasible, and cost effective trip reduction measures that can be expected to bring about significant progress toward achievement of the performance objectives; (d) A discussion of the progress achieved to date and an analysis of why the Employer Trip Reduction Program did not achieve the performance objective including special issues, circumstances, or conditions at the work site; (e) A budget indicating all current and projected expenditures for the Employer Trip Reduction Program. Section 13. Criteria for Approval of Employer Trip Reduction Plans: The County shall consider for approval Employer Trip Reduction Plans that include reasonable, feasible, and cost effective trip reduction measures that can be expected to bring about significant progress toward achievement of the performance ORDINANCE NO. 94- 27 February 10, 1994 —9— objectives given the constraints of the work site, the nature of the work activity, and the geographical distribution of employees relative to the work site. Alternatively, the County shall consider for approval an alternative emission reduction program which demonstrates that: (a) the measures included in such program will achieve emission reductions equal to or greater than those that would have been realized if the performance objectives were achieved; and (b) the alternative measures are not required by any other federal, state, or local control measure or regulatory requirement. Such an alternative emission reduction program shall include an update or progress monitoring report to be submitted at least once every two (2) years. Section 14. Revised plan: The County shall designate a County TDM Coordinator which may be the Regional TDM Program Manager to initially act on Employer Trip Reduction Plans. The Coordinator shall disapprove any plan that does not meet the approval criteria specified in Section 13 of this ordinance. An employer shall revise any disapproved plan and resubmit the plan to the Coordinator within ninety (90) days following notification of disapproval. If the revised plan is subsequently disapproved, the employer will have one further opportunity to revise and resubmit a plan within ninety (90) days following the second notification of disapproval. If this resubmission is also disapproved, it shall be considered a final disapproval. Final disapproval is a violation of this ordinance and the employer shall be subject to penalty. An employer shall revise and resubmit its Employer Trip Reduction Plan within ninety (90) days of a final determination by an agency or court with jurisdiction to make such determination that an element of an approved Employer Trip Reduction Plan violates any provision of law. Section 15. Appeal of Plan Disapproval: An employer, or an owner or manager may appeal a plan disapproval made by the Coordinator pursuant to Section 14 of this ordinance. Said appeal shall be made to the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors according to the following procedures: (a) The employer shall submit a written Notice of Appeal to the County within thirty (30) days following the determination of Plan disapproval; (b) The Board of Supervisors shall hear the appeal at an appropriate time; (c) The Board of Supervisors shall issue its decision on the ORDINANCE NO. 94- 27 February 10, 1994 —10— appeal within thirty (30) days following the close of the hearing; (d) The due date for revised Employer Trip Reduction Plans pursuant to Section 14 will be suspended during the appeal process authorized by this section. Section 16. Plan Update: An employer and owner or manager shall update its Employer Trip Reduction Plan every year after plan approval until such time as the performance objectives are achieved. Section 17. Violations: It shall be a violation of this ordinance for: (a) An employer with 100 or more employees at a work site or an owner or manager of a complex to fail to register a work site or complex pursuant to Section 5 of this ordinance; (b) An employer with 100 or more employees at a work site or an owner or manager of a complex to fail to notify employees pursuant to Section 6 of this ordinance. (c) An employer with 100 or more employees at a work site or an owner or manager of a complex to fail to appoint an Employee Transportation Coordinator pursuant to Section 8 of this ordinance; (d) An employer with 100 or more employees at a work site or an owner or manager of a complex to fail to conduct employee transportation surveys pursuant to Section 9 of this ordinance; (e) An employer with 100 or more employees at a work site or an owner or manager of a complex to fail to implement an Employer Trip Reduction Program pursuant to Section 10 of this ordinance; (f) An employer with 100 or more employees at a work site or an owner or manager of a complex to fail to submit an Employer Trip Reduction Plan, revised Plan or Plan update pursuant to Sections 11, 12, 14 and 16 of this ordinance; . (g) An employer with 100 or more employees at a work site or an owner or manager of a complex to have an Employer Trip Reduction Plan which is given final disapproval as defined in Section 14 of this ordinance. (h) An employer with 100 or more employees at a work site or an owner or manager of a complex to fail to implement a Trip Reduction Plan pursuant to Sections 11 and 12 of this ordinance. ORDINANCE NO. 94-27 February 10, 1994 —11— 1 Section IS. Penalty for Violations: Each violation listed in Section 17 of this ordinance is punishable by a fine not exceeding: (a) One hundred dollars ($100) for the first violation; (b) Two hundred dollars ($200) for a second violation of the same provision within one (1) year; (c) Five hundred ($500) dollars for each additional violation of the same provision within one (1) year. Every day any violation of this ordinance shall continue shall constitute a separate offense. In addition to the penalties provided by this ordinance, this ordinance may be enforced by a civil action authorized by the Board of Supervisors directly against the act, omission or condition, or for damages therefor. Section 19. Fees: Fees for the administration, implementation and enforcement of this ordinance may be established from time to time by the Board of Supervisors by ordinance or resolution. Section 20. Effective Date: This ordinance becomes effective 30 days after passage, and within 15 days after passage shall be published once with the names of the Supervisors voting for and against it in the CONTRA COSTA TIMES , a newspaper published in this County. PASSED on April 19 , 1994 , by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Smith, De Saulnier, Torlakson and Bishop NOES: None ABSENT: Supervisor Powers ABSTAIN: None ATTEST: PHIL BATCHELOR, /JXVC4" Clerk of the Board of Supervisors Bo rd Chair an Co y A istrator [SEAL] xA LTF:Ii. ORDINANCE NO. 94- 27 febm ary 10, 1994 —12— i