14.295.100 Level-of-Service Requirements and Concurrency Determinations.
A. The Department shall make a concurrency determination for each development application to ensure that the development will not impact an arterial unit where the level-of-service is below the adopted level-of-service standard or will not cause the level-of-service on an arterial unit to fall below the adopted level-of-service standard, unless improvements are programmed and funding identified which would remedy the deficiency within six (6) years. The approval authority shall not approve any development that is not deemed concurrent under this section.
1. The Department shall make a concurrency determination upon receipt of a development’s pre-application submittal. The determination may change based upon revisions in the application. Any change in the development after approval will be resubmitted to the City Engineer, and the development will be reevaluated for concurrency purposes.
2. The concurrency determination shall expire if the development for which the concurrency is reserved is not applied for within one hundred twenty (120) days of the concurrency determination. This determination is a prerequisite for a complete development application. The expiration date of the concurrency determination for a filed development application shall be six (6) years after the date of the determination, except where the application is later withdrawn or approval is allowed to lapse.
3. Building permits for a development must be issued prior to expiration of the concurrency determination for the development, except when the development is a residential subdivision or short subdivision in which case the subdivision or short subdivision must be recorded prior to expiration of the concurrency determination for the development, and except where no building permit will be associated with a conditional use permit, in which case the conditional use permit must be issued prior to expiration of the concurrency determination. No additional concurrency determination shall apply to residential dwellings within a subdivision or short subdivisions recorded in compliance with this section.
4. If the concurrency determination expires prior to building permit issuance, except when the development is a residential subdivision or short subdivision, then prior to the recording of the subdivision or short subdivision, and except where no building permit will be associated with a conditional use permit, then prior to issuance of the conditional use permit, the City Engineer shall at the request of the developer consider evidence that conditions have not significantly changed and make a new concurrency determination in accordance with this section.
5. Building permit applications for development within a recorded development plan, non-residential subdivision or short subdivision, for which a concurrency determination has been made in accordance with this section shall be deemed concurrent; provided, that the concurrency determination has not expired, the building permit will not cause the approved traffic generation of the prior approval to be exceeded, there is no change in points of access, and mitigation required pursuant to the recorded development plan, non-residential subdivision or short subdivision approval is performed as a condition of building permit issuance.
B. In determining whether or not to deem a proposed development as concurrent, the Department shall analyze likely street system impacts on arterial units based on the size and location of the development.
1. A development shall be deemed concurrent for the period prior to the expiration date of the concurrency determination for the development.
2. A development’s forecasted trip generation at full occupancy shall be the basis for determining the impacts of the development on the street system. The City will accept valid data from a traffic study prepared under this chapter.
C. A concurrency determination made for a proposed development under this section will evaluate the development’s impacts on any intersections or arterial units in arrears. If a development which generates seven (7) or more p.m. peak-hour trips, or a nonresidential development which generates five (5) or more p.m. peak-hour trips, is proposed to affect an intersection or arterial unit in arrears, then the development may only be deemed concurrent based on a trip distribution analysis to determine the impacts of the development. Impacts shall be determined based on each of the following:
1. If the trip distribution analysis indicates that the development will not place three (3) or more p.m. peak-hour trips on any intersection or arterial units in arrears, then the development shall be deemed concurrent.
2. If the trip distribution analysis indicates that the development will place three (3) or more p.m. peak-hour trips on any intersection or arterial unit in arrears, then the development shall not be deemed concurrent except where the development is deemed concurrent in accordance with the options under SMC 14.295.100(E).
D. Any residential development that generates less than seven (7) p.m. peak-hour trips or any nonresidential development that generates less than five (5) p.m. peak-hour trips shall be considered to have only minor impact on City arterials for purposes of a concurrency determination on impacts to level-of-service on intersections and arterial units and shall accordingly be deemed concurrent.
E. Any development not deemed concurrent shall have options available to enable the development to be deemed concurrent as follows:
1. A development which meets the Department’s criteria for transit compatibility, in accordance with the City Engineer’s policy and procedure for transit compatibility, shall be deemed concurrent if the impacted intersection or arterial unit in arrears meets the criteria for transit supportive design in accordance with the City Engineer’s policy and procedure for transit compatibility, and if the level-of-service on the impacted intersection or arterial unit in arrears meets the City’s adopted LOS standards, and provided that the development can be deemed concurrent in accordance with all other provisions of this section.
2. A development may modify its proposal to lessen its impacts on the street system in such a way as to allow the City to deem the development concurrent under this section.
3. The City may deem such development concurrent based upon a written proposal signed by the proponent of the development and attached to the City Engineer’s recommendation under SMC 14.295.050(B), and referenced in the concurrency determination, as a condition of approval.
a. Such proposal may include conditions which would defer construction of all or identified subsequent phases of a development until such time as the City has made or programmed capacity improvements which would remedy any intersection or arterial units in arrears.
b. Such proposals may include conditions which would defer construction of all or identified subsequent phases of a development until such time as the developer constructs capacity improvements which would remedy any intersection or arterial units in arrears.
i. If a developer chooses to mitigate the development’s impact by constructing off-site street improvements, the developer must investigate the impact, identify improvements, and offer a construction plan to the City Engineer for construction of the off-site improvements. Construction of improvements shall be in accordance with the City’s engineering design and development standards.
ii. In cases where two (2) or more developers have agreed to fully fund a certain improvement, the proportionate sharing of the cost shall be on any basis that the developers agree among themselves would be equitable. Under such an arrangement, the terms of the agreement shall be binding on each development as conditions of approval.
iii. Any developer who chooses to mitigate a development’s impact by constructing off-site improvements may propose to the City that a joint public/private partnership be established to jointly fund and/or construct the proposed improvements. The City Engineer will determine whether or not such a partnership is to be established.
iv. Construction of capacity improvements under this section must be complete or under contract prior to the issuance of any building permits and must be complete prior to approval for occupancy or final inspection; provided that where no building permit will be associated with a change in occupancy, then construction of improvements is required as a precondition to approval.
F. Adopted Level-of-Service.
1. The level of service for intersections shall be LOS E or better.
2. The Transportation Element may designate intersections that are exempt from the level-of-service standard set forth in this subsection. (Ord. 2290, 2016; Ord. 2391, 2020)