Burbank Municipal Code Div. 8 Transportation Demand Management

A significant number of the work trips projected in the Burbank Center will be accommodated not by increasing the capacity of the street system, but by reducing the demand for additional street capacity through Transportation Demand Management (TDM). TDM is defined as “measures designed to reduce peak-hour vehicle trips, including ridesharing, carpooling, work hour changes, and use of public transportation.”

The purposes of requiring TDM efforts to reduce employee dependency on single occupancy automobile transit and the related impacts, are as follows.

A. Minimize private vehicle peak-hour commute trips from new and existing employer development.

B. Reduce the traffic impacts within the community and region with a reduction in the number of vehicles and total vehicle miles traveled.

C. Reduce the vehicular emissions, energy use and ambient noise levels by a reduction in the number of vehicular trips, total vehicle miles traveled, and traffic congestion through a decrease in peak-hour commute trips, as well as maintain a level of service (LOS) D or better on streets, arterials and highways.

D. Minimize the percentage of employees traveling to and from work at the same time and during peak-hour schedules by encouraging modified work schedules.

E. Promote or increase work-related transit use, ridesharing, and bicycling to minimize parking needs and to keep critical intersections from severe overload.

F. Decrease the governmental economic costs of transportation improvements.

G. Maximize the use of commute modes other than single occupancy vehicle through use of TDM, transportation systems management (TSM), and transportation facilities development (new and existing).

H. To assist employers in meeting the requirements of Rule 2202 of the Air Quality Management District (AQMD) and any subsequent federal, state or regional requirements, which mandate a diversion of employee dependency on the automobile. [Added by Ord. No. 3467, eff. 7/19/97.]

Transportation Demand Management programs are largely implemented through the combined effort of members in an area-wide non-profit transportation management organization (“TMO”), a proactive organization formed so that employers, building owners, local government representatives and others can work together and collectively establish policies, programs and services to address local transportation problems. All developments and employers subject to the trip reduction requirements of this Plan shall be members of a non-profit TMO. The TMO would provide:

Promotion of shuttle service

Metrolink ticket and pass sales

Computerized rideshare matching services

Vanpool coordination

Guaranteed ride home program

Rule 2202 compliance assistance

The TMO shall work with its membership to achieve the trip reduction goals of this plan. The TMO shall report to the Community Development Director at least annually on the status of the programs and strategies of the TMO and its membership, and on p.m. peak-hour trip generation for all employees and developments subject to the TDM goals of this Plan, all to the satisfaction of the Director of Community Development. In addition to reporting the results of the trip reduction efforts of individual employers, the TMO shall report cumulative p.m. peak-hour trip generation for all employers and development subject to the TDM requirements of this plan to the satisfaction of the Director of Community Development.

Multi-family residential dwelling unit owners shall not be included in a TMO, unless units are contained within a mixed-use commercial residential project, in which the commercial development is subject to the TDM requirements of this plan. [Added by Ord. No. 3467, eff. 7/19/97.]

The following paragraphs describe some of the transportation management strategies which may be used by the TMO and Burbank Center developers and firms located within the Burbank Center Plan area to reduce peak-hour commute trips as required by this plan.

A. FLEX TIME AND MODIFIED WORK SCHEDULES.

Employers in the Burbank Center may set up programs to modify work schedules that require commuter travel between 7:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. An analysis of office requirements should be undertaken to determine what staff functions are best served before 8:00 a.m. and those that are needed after 5:00 p.m. to handle deliveries, late mail-outs, contact with the public, etc.

B. VANPOOL PROGRAMS.

Employers located within the Burbank Center Plan area, with possible assistance from the TMO, can implement vanpool programs. Van procurement, vanpool matching, and vanpool fare subsidies are all examples of incentives and services employers could offer employees in their vanpool programs.

C. CARPOOLS.

Employers may actively foster and monitor carpool formation. To encourage carpooling among its employees, the employer could provide matching information, free parking or preferential parking locations and other incentives to its employees who carpool. The TMO can also assist employers in this effort. All employers who operate a carpool program shall report program results to the TMO for its annual report to the City.

D. TRANSIT RIDERSHIP AND BUS OPERATIONS.

Employers and/or the TMO may choose to promote programs to increase public transportation ridership. Such programs can include: transit route and schedule information, individual route planning and on-site transit pass sales.

Employers may also provide transit shelters or actual shuttle connections to various public transportation centers to make commuting by public transportation more convenient.

E. SATELLITE PARKING.

Employers and/or the TMO may choose to provide required parking outside of the Burbank Center at satellite locations linked to the Burbank Center by a reliable shuttle service. The Community Development Director will process applications for satellite parking according to procedures prepared by the Director. The Director’s decision shall be appealable according to the provisions of the Development Review section of the Burbank Municipal Code.

The land costs to create satellite parking lots and structures could pose a significant hurdle to the use of this option. Consequently, a portion of the transportation fees charged to future development may assist in the funding of land acquisitions at transit centers in Burbank’s downtown and in the Golden State project area in order to assist those employers who can assign their employees to park at these locations and take the shuttle around the Burbank Center.

F. NON-VEHICULAR COMMUTING.

Employers may encourage their employees to walk or bicycle to work by providing secure bike storage facilities, showers, lockers and offering monetary and other incentives for those non-vehicular means of commuting. Such other incentives include bicycle safety seminars, helmets, bicycle lights, free bicycle maintenance checks, and bicycle magazine subscriptions.

G. PARKING MANAGEMENT.

Parking management includes various strategies in which parking policies and management are used as an incentive to rideshare or disincentive to commute alone. One of the simplest strategies is to provide carpools and vanpools with the most desirable parking spaces at a reduced rate or for free. A more comprehensive parking management plan, however, might discourage driving alone through relatively high parking fees. Furthermore, instead of directly subsidizing parking costs, employers could offer an equivalent cash incentive if employees use another form of commuting, such as carpooling, vanpooling or public transportation.

Reductions in the amount of on-site parking required by Code may be permitted through the Conditional Use Permit process, with the applicant demonstrating sufficient vehicle trip reduction measures incorporated into the project to justify a decrease in required on-site parking including the use of satellite parking as discussed above.

H. MERCHANT TRANSIT INCENTIVES.

Burbank Center merchants can offer merchandise discounts, parking validation, transit coupons, valet parking for ridesharers, secure bike parking or other incentives to customers who arrive by public transportation, in carpools, vanpools or by non-vehicular modes.

I. TELECOMMUTING.

Burbank Center Plan area employers can institute telecommuting programs which allow certain employees to work at home or from off-site work centers at least one (1) or two (2) days a week. The Southern California Air Quality Management Plan proposes that telecommuting even one (1) or two (2) days a week could account for significant work trip reductions in the near future. [Added by Ord. No. 3467, eff. 7/19/97.]

As of July 1, 1998, firms employing more than 25 employees shall report to the TMO at least once per year the efforts made to reduce P.M. peak employee trips and the actual reduction achieved. For the purpose of the Burbank Center Plan, PM peak hour is from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The goal for all firms of 25 or more employees shall be a 2.2 percent reduction from the base rate in the peak hour employee trips by the year 2015. The base rate is the generation rate which corresponds with the appropriate land use in the City’s Development Fee Ordinance. Applicants may also propose base trip generation rates using the procedure found in BMC 10-1-2221. [Added by Ord. No. 3467, eff. 7/19/97.]

The goal of the Burbank Center Plan is for new developments containing one (1) or more firms with 25 or more employees to achieve a reduction in peak hour (4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.) trip generation required of pre-overlay zone development in the year the building is occupied. For example, ten (10) years after adoption of the Overlay Zone, existing firms should have reduced peak hour trips by 2.2 percent annually for a total peak hour trip reduction of 22 percent. Therefore, any new development of a 25-employee or greater firm must achieve a peak hour reduction in employee trip generation 22 percent lower than the base rates in the first year of occupancy. Thereafter, these new developments shall achieve the average 2.2 percent annual employee trip reduction in order to meet the 38 percent reduction goal by the year 2015. [Added by Ord. No. 3467, eff. 7/19/97.]

Firms which employ fewer than 25 employees which are located in a single development owned and occupied by firms with over 25 employees will be considered as part of the larger firm and subject to the trip reduction and reporting requirements of this plan.

Buildings receiving a building permit after the effective date of this plan shall be subject to the same trip reduction and reporting requirements as any firm of 25 or more people. [Added by Ord. No. 3467, eff. 7/19/97.]

All employers or developments subject to the requirements of this plan should have an on-site, trained transportation coordinator. This coordinator will be responsible for implementing all trip reduction efforts. [Added by Ord. No. 3467, eff. 7/19/97.]