Road Facilities / Traffic Impact Analysis

Adequate Road Facilities/Traffic Impact Analysis under Chapter 22.21

22.02.010 - Purpose.

A. The purposes of testing for and certification of Adequate Public Facilities are to:

Assure that development and redevelopment occurs in concert with the Capital Improvement Program and will enable the City to provide adequate public facilities in a timely manner and achieve the growth objectives of the Comprehensive Plan as defined in Title 21.
Assure that proposed development protects the public health and safety, promotes the general welfare of the community, and conserves the environment.
Assure that proposed development fits harmoniously into the fabric of the community.
Encourage new development to occur in areas of the City where public facilities are being provided.

B. Adequacy standards should be achievable within a six-year time-frame and the annual Capital Improvement Program should be based on a community facilities plan that insures that existing deficiencies are corrected within that time-frame.

22.21 - Traffic Impact Analyses

Review Criteria and Certification for Adequate Roadways

Responsibility:

The Director of Transportation shall be responsible for review and assessment of a proposed project with regard to the adequacy of roadways.

Goal:

The goal of adequate roadways is to ensure that the proposed projects contribute to and are served by adequate roadways.

Exceptions:

There are no exceptions to the criteria listed below.

Traffic impact analyses.

Applicability.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this title, a traffic impact analysis for a proposed project shall be required if:

The proposed development and/or additions to existing structure is expected to generate two hundred fifty daily trips or more based upon trip generation rates published in the latest edition of the Trip Generation Manual, published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE); or
There are current traffic problems or issues in the project area, e.g. high traffic accident frequency; or
The proposed entrances and exits from the site are too close to an intersection.

Procedures for the preparation of traffic impact analyses

The traffic impact analysis will be prepared based upon a uniform scope of work and methodology for traffic impact analyses entitled Policies and Guidelines for Traffic Impact Analysis for Proposed Development in the City of Annapolis maintained by the Department of Planning and Zoning.

The traffic impact analysis will be performed under the oversight of the Department of Planning and Zoning as follows:

Upon a determination that a development will require a Traffic Impact Analysis, the applicant will be notified of such.
The Department of Planning and Zoning will prepare a scope of services for the traffic impact analysis and solicit a cost estimate(s) from a competent consulting firm(s) for the preparation of the analysis.
The applicant will remit to the Department of Planning and Zoning sufficient funds for the completion of the analysis plus an administrative fee not to exceed ten percent of the projected cost of the analysis. If the completion of the analysis exceeds the funds applicant remitted to the Department of Planning and Zoning, the Department may withhold approval until full payment is remitted.
The Department of Planning and Zoning will contract directly with the consulting firm and oversee the preparation of the traffic impact analysis.
All traffic analysis results will be incorporated into any Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance considerations.
The Department of Planning and Zoning shall be a party to all communications between the project developer and the consultant performing the Traffic Impact Analysis. Should communication occur, to which the Department of Planning and Zoning is not a party, the consultant may not be utilized again by the City of Annapolis, or the Department may, at its sole discretion, stop the Analysis and re-initiate a Traffic Impact Analysis with an alternative consultant at applicant expense.

Standards:

Improvements are required if the roadway, the intersection and/or a particular movement will operate below LOS D or worse with the proposed development. Under this condition, the roadway and/or intersection improvements shall bring the level-of-service to at least LOS D.

Improvements will be required if the roadway and/or intersection will operate at LOS E or F for the horizon year(s) without the proposed development, and will be even worse with the proposed development. In this case, the proposed mitigation shall aim to maintain the same level of delay and ensure safety.

Mitigation measures are outlined in the Policies and Guidelines, and may include "any roadway and/or intersection capacity improvements except grade separation of the roadways and ramps within the intersection or improvements to through lanes of intermediate arterials and higher classified roads."

Additional Applied Standards:

The adequacy of total traffic conditions are considered in light of the proposed project.

Signalized Intersection: Improvements are required if the roadway, the intersection and/or a particular movement are currently operating at a LOS of D or better and will operate below LOS D with the proposed development. Under this condition, the roadway and/or intersection improvements shall bring the level-of-service to at least LOS D. Improvements are also required if the roadway and/or intersection will operate at LOS E or F for the horizon year(s) without the proposed development, and will be even worse with the proposed development. In this case, the proposed mitigation shall aim to maintain the same level of delay and ensure safety.

Unsignalized Intersection: Same as above, however, mitigation can include improving the v/c ratio to a level of 0.85 or below. If v/c ratio is lower than 0.85 and added delay less than 10 seconds, other mitigation may not be required.

Queueing at the study intersections does not exceed available storage or impact adjacent intersections,

22.28.010 - Opportunity to mitigate.

An applicant whose proposed project is subject to denial or delay under this title shall be given an opportunity to provide infrastructure funds, to improve facilities directly, or to donate necessary facilities in order to allow for approval of the applicant’s application under this title for a Certificate for Adequate Public Facilities.
The forms and levels of mitigation required of an applicant shall be roughly proportionate to the projected impact of the proposed project upon the facility or facilities and shall be determined by the Director of Planning and Zoning in consultation with the other departments responsible for the applicable facilities as outlined in Section 22.28.010.
For a school facility, mitigation consists of the construction or funding of improvements by a developer that increase capacity of the school facility which, at the time of application, is below the minimum standard in the impact area so that the capacity of the facility in the scheduled completion year is equal to, or greater than, it would have been had the development not been constructed. A mitigation plan with physical improvements may be secured by bond, letter of credit or other security acceptable to the City and shall be provided under an agreement with the Board of Education to construct school facilities, including contract schools. The developer shall submit a cost estimate to establish the value of construction offered in mitigation in conformance with City specifications. Capital improvements to any portion of the developer’s property or project, pursuant to a school capacity mitigation agreement, shall be made available and shall provide school capacity to allow approval of preliminary subdivision plan applications that are filed within six years of the date of the school capacity mitigation agreement.

22.28.020- Process.

Mitigation consists of the construction or funding of improvements to onsite or offsite public facilities by an applicant that increase capacity or safety on each public facility that is below the minimum standard so that the capacity or safety of the facility after mitigation will be equal to or greater than if the proposed project had not been developed.
To determine the appropriate forms and levels of mitigation, an applicant shall consult with the department responsible for review and assessment of each facility that would be deemed inadequate. Once the applicant and the department agree upon the forms and levels of mitigation that will offset the impact of the project upon the facility, the applicant shall enter into a mitigation plan on terms and conditions acceptable to the Department of Planning and Zoning in consultation with the Office of Law. The mitigation plan shall require the applicant to provide the mitigation agreed upon and in return the Department of Planning and Zoning shall determine that the facility or facilities will be adequate for the project.
If a department finds that a facility is or would be inadequate as a result of more than one proposed project, the department may apportion the responsibility and cost of mitigation among all contributing projects, which apportionment shall be reflected in the applicable mitigation plans.
Each mitigation plan shall be approved by the Director of Planning and Zoning as well as the department responsible for the facility for which the mitigation plan approval is sought. If a facility would be inadequate for a project, and if the project and the applicant are unable to agree upon acceptable forms and levels of mitigation for the facility such that no mitigation plan is entered into by the applicant, the department shall determine that the facility is inadequate to support the project and shall forward a written copy of such findings and explanation to the Director of Planning and Zoning.