CHAPTER 61 - LOT AND SITE DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL PROCEDURES

61.520 TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDIES:

The intent of this section is to provide the information necessary to allow decision-makers to assess the transportation implications of site-generated traffic associated with a proposed development. The goal is to address the transportation-related issues associated with development proposals that may be of concern to neighboring residents, business owners and property owners, and to provide a basis for negotiation regarding improvements and funding participation in conjunction with an application for development. The isolated and cumulative impact of proposed development needs to be understood in relation to the existing and proposed capacity of the street system, to ensure that traffic congestion will be maintained at reasonable levels so as not to hinder the passage of public safety vehicles, degrade the quality of life, or contribute to hazardous traffic conditions. This section establishes requirements for the analysis and evaluation of transportation impacts associated with proposed developments.

61.521

Purpose: The purpose of the Traffic Impact Study is to identify the impacts on capacity, level of service and safety which are likely to be created by a proposed development. Traffic studies should identify what improvements, if any, are needed to:

ensure safe ingress to and egress from a site;
maintain adequate street capacity on public streets serving the development;
ensure safe and reasonable traffic operating conditions on streets and at intersections in the vicinity of a proposed development;
avoid creation of or mitigate existing hazardous traffic conditions;
minimize the impact of non-residential traffic on residential neighborhoods in the community; and
protect the substantial public investment in the existing street system.

61.522

Types of Studies: Traffic Impact Studies may be required at several stages in the development process. No application for development will be accepted without an appropriate traffic study unless a waiver has been obtained from the City Engineer. The types of traffic studies required under the ordinance are:

A Rezoning Traffic Analysis will be required for certain Rezoning and Land Use Plan amendment requests. The purpose of these studies will be to evaluate whether adequate transportation capacity exists or will be available within a reasonable time period to safely and conveniently accommodate proposed uses permitted under the requested land use or zoning classification. For purposes of this subsection, the Analysis shall address those standards listed at Section 61.526 (1), (3) and (4), assuming the area is fully developed.
A Traffic Impact Report will be required for certain permitted and Conditional Uses, Land Subdivisions and General Development Plans exceeding specific trip generation thresholds. The purpose of a Traffic Impact Report will be to supplement the rezoning traffic analysis as necessary to:
1. evaluate traffic operations and impacts at site access points under projected traffic loads;
2. evaluate the impact of site-generated traffic on affected intersections in the vicinity of the development site;
3. evaluate the impact of site-generated traffic on the quality of traffic flow on public streets located in the vicinity of the site;
4. evaluate the impact of the proposed development on residential streets in the vicinity of the site;
5. ensure that site access and other improvements needed to mitigate the traffic impact of the development meet commonly accepted engineering design standards and access management criteria;
6. ensure that adequate facilities for pedestrians, transit users and bicyclists have been provided;
7. identify transportation infrastructure needs and related costs created by the development.
All Land Subdivisions and General Development Plans which do not require a Traffic Impact Report will be required to complete a Traffic Design Analysis. The purpose of a Traffic Design Analysis will be to:
1. ensure that the proposed street layout is consistent with the Public Roadway Design Standards of Section 64.220;
2. ensure the proper design and spacing of site access points and identify where limitations on access should be established;
3. ensure that potential safety problems have been properly evaluated and addressed;
4. ensure that internal circulation patterns will not interfere with traffic flow on existing public streets;
5. ensure that appropriate facilities for pedestrians, transit users and bicyclists have been provided in plans for the development; and
6. identify the transportation infrastructure needs and related costs created by the development.

61.523

Applicability: Traffic Impact Studies shall be required for any Land Use Plan Amendment, amendment to the Zoning Map, Land Subdivision Permit, Conditional Use Permit, Zoning Certificate, General Development Plan or Site Planning Permit under the following described conditions:

A Rezoning Traffic Analysis shall be required for:
1. A proposed rezoning that could generate 100 or more directional trips during the peak hour or at least 1000 more trips per day than the most intensive use that could be developed under existing zoning; or
2. A proposed rezoning on a site located along, or which has the potential to take access within 500 feet of, a corridor identified as a freeway or expressway on the Thoroughfare Plan; or
3. A proposed amendment to the Land Use Plan involving more than one acre which would permit uses generating higher traffic than the existing Land Use Plan designation.
4. Proposed development for a 3.5-acre or larger site that is zoned B-4, M-1 or M-2.
Where a Rezoning Traffic Analysis is required, the time deadline provision of Minn. Stat. Section 15.99 begins after the Zoning Administrator determines the Analysis is complete and satisfies the requirements of this ordinance. If the Zoning Administrator determines the Analysis is not complete or does not satisfy the requirements of this ordinance, notice of such determination and the reasons supporting it must be provided to the applicant within ten business days of the receipt of the analysis.
A Traffic Impact Report shall be required when a proposed conditional use, subdivision, general development plan, or site development plan is:
1. Of a land use type which has an average trip generation rate of 125 trips per acre per day or greater, according to most current versions of the ITE Trip Generation Informational Report or comparable research data published by a public agency or institution, and which will generate, based on the size of the development, a 750 or more average daily trips; or
2. Designed so as to concentrate 1,500 or more average daily trips through a single access point; or
3. Designed so that it utilizes an at-grade access opening onto an existing or proposed freeway or expressway as indicated on the adopted Thoroughfare Plan.
4. For property zoned B-4, M-1, or M-2 consisting of 3.6 acres or more.
Traffic Design Analysis shall be required for any Land Subdivision or General Development Plan for which a Traffic Impact Report is not required. Studies completed at an early stage of development may need to be updated to include more detail as development plans become more specific or approval actions result in the reformulation of plans. As part of the review for determining whether a development application is complete, proposals for which an earlier traffic analysis study has been completed will be reviewed to insure consistency with previous approvals or to identify the need for revision or refinement of previously completed studies.

61.524

Waiver: The requirements of these Sections 61.520 through 61.529 for a Traffic Impact Study shall be waived by the City Engineer when it is the City Engineer determines that such report is not necessary to determine needed road improvements or that no unsafe or hazardous conditions will be created by the development as proposed. Developments in the Central Development Core District which are not required to provide on‑site off‑street parking are exempt from the requirements of these sections 61.520 through 61.529.

61.525

Preparation: The applicant may choose to have a traffic study prepared by a qualified professional with experience in the preparation of such analysis, or may choose to have the Zoning Administrator prepare a report once the development application is submitted. Where the applicant chooses to have the Zoning Administrator prepare the study, the time frame for the Zoning Administrator to render a decision in the Type I or Type II Review Procedure, or to prepare a report for the designated hearing body in the Type III Review Procedure, shall be extended by 45 days to permit time to prepare the study. The applicant shall be responsible for the costs of preparation of the traffic study incurred by the Zoning Administrator, as identified in Section 60.175.

61.526

Traffic Service Standards: The standards for traffic service that shall be used to evaluate the findings of traffic impact studies are:

Capacity: A volume to capacity (V/C) ratio of 0.80 shall not be consistently exceeded on any freeway or expressway as designated on the Thoroughfare Plan and a V/C ratio of 0.90 shall not be consistently exceeded on any arterial or collector street as designated on the Thoroughfare Plan. Consistently means that the V/C ratios are exceeded based on average daily peak hour traffic counts, projections or estimates.
Level of Service : For corridors including mainline, merging areas and ramp junctions, a Level of Service C shall be maintained on any expressway, freeway or arterial and a Level of Service D on any other designated non-local street on the Thoroughfare Plan. At all intersections, a Level of Service C shall be maintained on any arterial or higher order street and a Level of Service D on any other non‑residential street. Individual movements within any intersection shall be maintained at or above a Level of Service E. Where the existing Level of Service is below these standards, a traffic impact study shall identify those improvements needed to maintain the existing level of service, and what additional improvements would be needed to raise the level of service to the standards indicated.
Number of Access Points: The number of access points provided shall be the minimum needed to provide adequate access capacity for the site. Evidence of Level of Service F operations for individual public street movements at access locations is a primary indication of the need for additional access points. However, the spacing and geometric design of all access points shall be consistent with the access management criteria of Section 64.140.
Residential StreetImpact: Average Daily Traffic (ADT) on residential streets shall be within the ranges spelled out in the Thoroughfare Plan for the class of street involved. No non-residential development shall increase the traffic on a residential street with at least 300 average daily trips by more than 25%, and shall contribute no more than 20% of the traffic on any street segment providing residential access.
Traffic Flow and Progression: The location of new traffic signals or proposed changes to cycle lengths or timing patterns of existing signals to meet Level of Service standards shall not interfere with the goal of achieving adequate traffic progression on major public streets in the vicinity of the development;
Vehicle Storage: The capacity of storage bays and auxiliary lanes for turning traffic shall be adequate to insure turning traffic will not interfere with through traffic flows on any public street; and
Internal Circulation: On-site vehicle circulation and parking patterns shall be designed so as not to interfere with the flow of traffic on any public street and shall accommodate all anticipated types of site traffic.
Safety: Access points shall be designed to provide for adequate sight distance and appropriate facilities to accommodate acceleration and deceleration of site traffic. Where traffic from the proposed development will impact any location with an incidence of high accident frequency, defined as one of the 5 to 10 highest accident locations in the area, the accident history should be evaluated and a determination made that the proposed site access or additional site traffic will not further aggravate the situation. It is understood that the correction of an existing off-site safety deficiency is not typically the responsibility of the developer.

61.527

Contents: A Traffic Rezoning Analysis or Traffic Impact Report shall contain information addressing the factors listed below. For a Traffic Design Analysis, the City Engineer, the ROCOG Transportation planner and the traffic engineer(s) of the applicable road authority shall be consulted to establish the scope of the study. In general, the Traffic Design Analysis should address the standards of Section 61.522(3).

Site Description: The report shall contain illustrations and narrative that describe the characteristics of the site and adjacent land uses as well as expected development in the vicinity which will influence future traffic conditions. For a Rezoning Traffic Analysis, a description of potential uses and traffic generation to be evaluated shall be provided. For a Traffic Impact Report, a description of the proposed development including access plans, staging plans and an indication of land use and intensity, shall be provided.
Study Area: The report shall identify the geographic area under study and identify the roadway segments, critical intersections and access points to be analyzed. The focus shall be on intersections and access points adjacent to the site. Roadways or intersections within ½ mile of the site, where at least 5 percent of the existing peak hour capacity will be composed of trips generated by the proposed development shall be included in the analysis.
Existing Traffic Conditions: The report shall contain a summary of the data utilized in the study and an analysis of existing traffic conditions, including:
1. traffic count and turning movement information, including the source of and date when traffic count information was collected;
2. correction factors that were used to convert collected traffic data into representative design hour traffic volumes;
3. roadway characteristics, including the design configuration of existing or proposed roadways, existing traffic control measures (speed limits, traffic signals, etc.) and existing driveways and turning movement conflicts in the vicinity of the site; and
4. identification of the existing Level of Service for roadways and intersections without project development traffic using methods documented in the Special Report 209: Highway Capacity Manual, published by the Transportation Research Board, or comparable accepted methods of evaluation. Level of Service should be calculated for the weekday peak hour and, in the case of uses generating high levels of weekend traffic, the Saturday peak hour.
Horizon Year(s) and Background Traffic Growth: The report shall identify the horizon year(s) that were analyzed in the study, the background traffic growth factors for each horizon year, and the method and assumptions used to develop the background traffic growth. Unless otherwise approved by the City Engineer, the impact of development shall be analyzed for the year after the development is completed and 10 years after the development is completed.
Time Periods to be Analyzed: For each defined horizon year, specific time periods are to be analyzed. For most land uses, this time period will be the weekday peak hours. However, certain uses, such as major retail centers, schools or recreational uses, will have characteristic peak hours different than that found for adjacent streets, and these unique peak hours may need to be analyzed to determine factors such as proper site access and turn lane storage requirements. The City Engineer shall be consulted for determination of what peak hours are to be studied.
Trip Generation, Reduction and Distribution: The report shall summarize the projected peak hour and average daily generation for the proposed development and illustrate the projected distribution of trips to and from the site and should identify the basis of the trip generation, reduction and distribution factors used in the study.
Traffic Assignment: The report shall identify projected design hour traffic volumes for roadway segments, intersections or driveways in the study area, with and without the proposed development, for the horizon year(s) of the study.
Impact Analysis: The report shall address the impact of projected horizon year(s) traffic volumes relative to each of the applicable traffic service standards listed in Section 61.526 and shall identify the methodology utilized to evaluate the impact. The weekday peak hour impact shall be evaluated as well as the Saturday peak hour for those uses exhibiting high levels of weekend traffic generation.
Mitigation/Alternatives: In situations where the traffic level of service standards are exceeded, the report shall evaluate each of the following alternatives for achieving the traffic service standards listed in Section 61.526:
1. identify where additional right of way is needed to implement mitigation strategies;
2. identify suggested phasing of improvements where needed to maintain compliance with traffic service standards; and
3. identify the anticipated cost of recommended improvements.

61.528

Process for the Review and Preparation of a Traffic Impact Study: This section provides an outline of the steps to be included in the preparation and review of a Traffic Impact Study:

The City Engineer and Zoning Administrator shall be consulted for assistance in determining whether a traffic impact study needs to be prepared for a proposed development application;
The City Engineer and Zoning Administrator shall meet with applicants to identify study issues, assumptions, horizon years and time periods to be analyzed, analysis procedures, available sources of data, past and related studies, report requirements and other topics relevant to study requirements;
Following initial completion of a traffic impact study report, it shall be submitted to the Zoning Administrator for distribution to the staff of all roadway jurisdictions involved in the construction and maintenance of public roadways serving the development;
Within ten working days, staff shall complete an initial review to determine the completeness of the study and shall provide a written summary to the applicant outlining the need for any supplemental study or analysis to adequately address the Traffic Service Standards of Section 61.526 and the purposes listed in Section 61.522. A meeting to discuss the contents and findings of the study and the need for additional study may be requested by the applicant;
Following a determination that the technical analysis is complete, staff shall prepare a report outlining recommendations that have been developed to address the findings and conclusions included in the study regarding the proposed development’s access needs and impacts on the transportation system. Depending on the type of traffic study, presentation of recommendations to the Planning Commission and/or City Council may proceed as follows:
1. For a Traffic Rezoning Analysis, staff recommendations will be presented as part of staff report to the Planning Commission and City Council as part of the proceedings on a rezoning or land use plan application;
2. For a Traffic Impact Report, a separate report will be forwarded to the City Council for consideration of the recommendations;
3. For a Traffic Design Analysis, staff recommendations will be presented as part of the staff report to the Planning Commission or City Council for any Land Subdivision or General Development Plan.
Negotiations based on the conclusions and finding resulting from the traffic study shall be held with the City Council. A Development Agreement, detailing the applicant’s responsibilities and the City’s responsibilities for implementing identified mitigation measures, shall be prepared following the negotiations for action by both parties.

61.529 Report Findings:

If staff finds that the proposed development will not meet applicable service level standards, staff shall recommend one or more of the following actions by the public or the applicant:
1. Reduce the size, scale, scope or density of the development to reduce traffic generation;
2. Divide the project into phases and authorize only one phase at a time until traffic capacity is adequate for the next phase of development;
3. Dedicate right-of-way for street improvements;
4. Construct new streets;
5. Expand the capacity of existing streets;
6. Redesign ingress and egress to the project to reduce traffic conflicts;
7. Alter the use and type of development to reduce peak hour traffic;
8. Reduce background (existing) traffic;
9. Eliminate the potential for additional traffic generation from undeveloped properties in the vicinity of the proposed development;
10. Integrate design components (e.g., pedestrian and bicycle paths or transit improvements) to reduce vehicular trip generation;
11. Implement traffic demand management strategies (e.g. car or van pool programs, flex time, staggered work hours, tele-commuting, etc.) to reduce vehicular trip generation;
12. Recommend denial of the application for development for which the traffic study is submitted.
The Planning Commission may recommend, and the City Council may adopt by 5/7ths vote, a statement of principle partially or fully exempting a project from meeting the Traffic Service Standards of Section 61.526, where it finds that the social and/or economic benefits of the project outweigh the adverse impacts of the project.
The City Council may, by 5/7ths vote, temporarily exempt certain street locations from some or all of the Traffic Service Standards of 61.526, owing to special circumstances that make it undesirable or not feasible to provide further capacity improvements at these locations. These special circumstances may include a finding that there would be significant negative fiscal, economic, social or environmental impact from further construction, or that a significant portion of the traffic is generated by development outside the control of the city. However, where these conditions exist, the City will make every effort to design alternate improvements, and development projects affecting these areas may be required to implement traffic demand management programs and other measures to reduce the impact on these locations as much as possible.

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Page Last Modified On: Tuesday, November 08, 2005