14.295.100 Level-of-service requirements and concurrency determinations.
A. The City Engineer shall make a concurrency determination for each development application to ensure that the development will not impact any street or arterial unit where the level-of-service is below the adopted level-of-service standard or, as determined by the City Engineer, will not cause the level-of-service to fall below the adopted standard. If improvements are programmed and funding identified which would remedy the deficiency within six years of the development approval, the application may be determined concurrent. The approval authority shall not approve any development that is not deemed concurrent under this section.
1. The City Engineer shall make a concurrency determination during review of a proposed development. Any change increasing traffic impacts in the development after approval will be resubmitted to the City Engineer, and the development will be reevaluated for concurrency purposes.
2. The expiration date of the concurrency determination for a development application shall be six years after the date of the determination, or sooner if the application is withdrawn or approval is allowed to lapse.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. No additional concurrency determination shall apply to residential dwellings within a subdivision or short subdivisions recorded in compliance with this section.
4. If an issued concurrency determination expires pursuant to the timelines below, then at the request of the applicant the City Engineer shall consider evidence that conditions have not significantly changed and make a new concurrency determination according to this section.
a. For a building permit not associated with a residential subdivision: prior to building permit issuance.
b. For a residential subdivision: prior to recording of the final plat map.
c. For a conditional use permit with no building permits: prior to conditional use permit approval.
5. Building permit applications for development within a site development plan or binding site plan, 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 site development plan or binding site plan approval is completed as a condition of building permit issuance.
B. In determining whether or not a proposed development is concurrent, the City Engineer shall analyze likely street system impacts 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, streets, or arterial units in arrears. If a development which generates seven or more p.m. peak-hour trips, or a nonresidential development which generates five or more p.m. peak-hour trips, is proposed to affect an intersection, street, 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 or more p.m. peak-hour trips on any intersection, street, 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 or more p.m. peak-hour trips on any intersection, street, 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 subsection (E) of this section.
D. Any residential development that generates less than seven p.m. peak-hour trips or any nonresidential development that generates less than five 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, streets, 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, street, 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, street, 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, street, 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, street, 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 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; Ord. 2466, 2023)