SEC. 169. TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT PROGRAM.
Sections 169 through 169.6 (hereafter referred to collectively as “Section 169”) set forth the requirements of the Transportation Demand Management Program (TDM Program).
(Added by Ord. 34-17, File No. 160925, App. 2/17/2017, Eff. 3/19/2017)
SEC. 169.1. FINDINGS.
(a) According to Plan Bay Area 2040, the long-range integrated transportation and land-use/housing strategy for the San Francisco Bay Area through 2040 adopted in 2013 by the
Association of Bay Area Governments and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco is expected to grow by approximately 191,000 jobs and 102,000 households from
2010 to 2040.
(b) This growth will generate an increased demand for transportation infrastructure and services on an already constrained transportation system. One of the challenges posed by this
growth is the increased number of single occupancy vehicle trips, and the pressures they add to San Francisco’s limited public streets and rights-of-way, contributing to congestion, transit
delays, and public health and safety concerns caused by motorized vehicles, air pollution, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and noise, thereby negatively impacting the quality of life in the
City.
(c) The Transportation Sustainability Program, or TSP, is aimed at accommodating this new growth while minimizing its impact on San Francisco’s transportation system. It is a joint
effort of the Mayor’s Office, the Planning Department, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency that has spanned many
years and has involved a robust process of public outreach and discussion. The TSP includes three separate but related policy initiatives: the Transportation Sustainability Fee (TSF); the
modernization of San Francisco’s environmental review process under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA); and the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Program.
(1) The first component, the TSF, seeks to fund transportation improvements to support new growth by charging a development impact fee on new development. The City approved
the TSF in 2015 with the enactment of Ordinance No. 200-15 (Board of Supervisors File No. 150790).
(2) The second component, the modernization of the environmental review process under CEQA, has been shepherded by the State under Senate Bill 743 (Stats. 2013. C. 386, now
codified in Public Resources Code Section 21099). SB 743 required the Office of Planning and Research (OPR) to develop new guidelines to replace the existing transportation review
standard, focused on automobile delay, with new criteria that “promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity
of land uses.” OPR recommended a replacement metric of Vehicle Miles Traveled, or VMT, that is, the amount and distance of automobile travel attributable to a project. The Planning
Commission unanimously approved a Resolution adopting changes consistent with implementation of SB 743, including the use of Vehicle Miles Traveled as the metric for calculating
transportation-related environmental impacts, at its hearing on March 3, 2016 (Planning Commission Resolution No. 19579).
(3) The third component creates the TDM Program, detailed in Section 169. The TDM Program seeks to promote sustainable travel modes by requiring new development projects to
incorporate design features, incentives, and tools that support transit, ride-sharing, walking, and bicycle riding for the residents, tenants, employees, and visitors of their projects.
(d) State and regional governments have enacted many laws and policy initiatives that promote the same sustainable transportation goals the TDM Program seeks to advance. For
instance, at the state level, the Congestion Management Law, Gov. Code Section 65088, establishes that to reduce the state’s traffic congestion crisis and “keep California moving,” it is
important to build transit-oriented development, revitalize the state’s cities, and promote all forms of transportation. Assembly Bill 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006