Chapter 20.04
TRANSPORTATION FACILITIES CONCURRENCY ORDINANCE
Sections:
20.04.010 Authority and purpose.
20.04.030 Concurrency application.
20.04.050 Granting concurrency.
20.04.060 Capacity reservation certificate.
20.04.070 Certificate of concurrency.
20.04.080 Denial of concurrency.
20.04.090 Exemptions from concurrency.
20.04.120 Intergovernmental coordination.
20.04.130 Relationship to SEPA.
20.04.140 Administrative appeals.
20.04.010 Authority and purpose.
1. The ordinance codified in this chapter adopts a concurrency management system for transportation facilities as required by RCW 36.70A.070(6)(e).
2. It is the purpose of this ordinance to:
a. Provide adequate levels of service on transportation facilities for existing use as well as new development in unincorporated Kitsap County;
b. Provide adequate transportation facilities that achieve and maintain county standards for levels of service as provided in the Comprehensive Plan, as amended; and
c. Ensure that county level of service standards are achieved concurrently with development as required by the Growth Management Act.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§1.0)), 1998)
20.04.020 Definitions.
1. “Adequate transportation facilities” means transportation facilities which have the capacity to serve development without decreasing the county’s established level of service standards.
2. “Average daily traffic” means the amount, in vehicles per day, of traffic accommodated on a roadway averaged over a full year to the twenty-four-hour day period.
3. “Calculated level of service” (or “LOS”), as referred to in the Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan, means a forecast level of service that includes existing traffic, ambient traffic growth. traffic that is expected to be generated by previously approved developments based on department of community development records, and the traffic anticipated from the subject development and other proposed developments.
4. “Capacity” means the maximum rate of flow that can be accommodated by a given traffic facility under prevailing conditions, and is expressed in average daily traffic terms. The calculation of capacity will be done according to the most recent edition of the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM), or by alternative methods approved by the director of public works.
5. “Concurrency inquiry certificate” (or “CIC”) is the document issued by the department of public works, describing availability of capacity on the county transportation facilities specific to the proposed development or permit. Any available capacity is not reserved by such CIC.
6. “Capacity reservation certificate” (or “CRC”) is the document issued by the department of public works, confirming availability and reserving development capacity on the county transportation facilities specific to the proposed development or permit.
7. “Certificate of concurrency” (or “CC”) is the final document issued by the department of public works, confirming availability and reserving development capacity on the county’s transportation facilities specific to the proposed development or permit.
8. “Committed road network” (or “CRN”) means the system of transportation facilities used to calculate the level of service relative to a development proposal. It includes existing transportation facilities and proposed facilities which are fully funded for construction in the most currently adopted six-year TIP or for which voluntary financial commitments have been secured.
The CRN includes:
a. County roads;
b. State highways and freeways;
c. Ferry routes and terminals;
d. Bus routes;
e. Park and ride lot locations;
f. High occupancy vehicle exclusive lanes.
Projects to be provided by the state, cities or other jurisdictions may become part of the committed road network upon decision of the director of public works.
The director of public works may make adjustments to the committed road network for corrections, updates, and modifications concerning costs; revenue sources; acceptance of facilities pursuant to dedications which are consistent with the adopted Comprehensive Plan; or the date of construction (scheduled for completion within the six-year period) of any facility enumerated in the transportation improvement program (TIP).
9. “Concurrency” means that adequate transportation improvements or strategies needed to maintain the county level of service standards are in place at the time of development or that a financial commitment is in place to provide the improvements or strategies within six years, according to RCW 36.70A.070(6).
10. “Concurrency test” means the determination of a proposed development’s impact on transportation facilities by a comparison of the level of service (LOS) of the affected roadways after testing for the impact of the proposed development, to the level of service standard which is set for those affected roadways. For purposes of concurrency determination, the analysis of LOS adequacy will only be applied to the committed road network in rural areas and urban areas under the county’s jurisdiction, and to all other transportation facilities with which the county has interest according to an executed interlocal agreement with the controlling jurisdiction or agency.
11. “Concurrency management system zone” (or “CMSZ”) means the geographic area the extent of which is defined by, and proportional to, the effect of the proposed development. The CMSZ will be an aggregate of the Kitsap traffic analysis zones (KTAZ) within which the maximum impact of the proposed development is expressed.
12. “Development” means specified improvements or changes in use of land, designed or intended to permit a use of land which will contain more dwelling units or buildings than the existing use of the land, or to otherwise change the use of the land or buildings/improvements on the land in a manner that will increase the amount of vehicle traffic generated by the existing use of the land, and that requires a development permit from Kitsap County.
13. “Development approval” means any order, permit or other official action of the county granting, or granting with conditions, an application for development which authorizes the commencement of development activity.
14. “Development units” means the proposed quantity of development measured by dwelling units for residential development and square feet for specific nonresidential use categories, upon which are based the calculations of level of service for the determination of concurrency.
15. “DCD” means the Kitsap County department of community development or its successor agency.
16. “DPW” means the Kitsap County department of public works or its successor agency.
17. “Financial commitment” consists of the following:
1. Revenue designated in the most currently adopted TIP for transportation facilities or strategies comprising the committed road network. Projects to be used in defining the committed road network shall represent those projects that are identified as funded for construction in the six years of the transportation improvement program (TIP);
2. Revenue from federal or state grants for which the county has received notice of approval; and
3. Revenue that is assured by an applicant in a form approved by the county in a voluntary agreement, such as a road improvement district (RID).
18. “Interlocal agreement” means an executed legal instrument structuring binding relationships between political entities as defined by Chapter 39.34 RCW.
19. “Kitsap traffic analysis zone” (or “KTAZ”) means geographic areas defined according to census tract boundaries that contain approximately equivalent population which is the basis for the operation of the geographic information system based traffic impact analysis computer program.
20. “Level of service” (or “LOS”) means a measure of adequacy as defined by WAC 365-195-210.
21. “Reservation” or “reserve” means development units that are set aside in the county’s concurrency records in a manner that assigns the units to the applicant and prevents the same units being assigned to any other applicant.
The units will be recorded on the capacity reservation certificate and/or the certificate of concurrency provided to the applicant, and also in the records maintained by public works. No units are reserved under the concurrency inquiry application.
22. “SEPA” means the State Environmental Policy Act (Chapter 43.21 RCW) as implemented by Kitsap County.*
* Editor’s Note: See Ch. 18.04 of this code.
23. “Transportation facilities” means all principal arterials, minor arterials, major collectors, and collectors (functional class numbers 06, 07, 14, 16, 17) in unincorporated Kitsap County as defined by the county’s functional classification map, incorporated herein by this reference. Transportation facilities include any such facility owned, operated or administered by the State of Washington and its political subdivisions related to air, water, or land transportation.
24. “Transportation improvement program” (or “TIP”) means the expenditures programmed by Kitsap County for capital purposes over the next six-year period in the TIP pursuant to RCW 36.81.121. The financial plan underlying the adopted TIP identifies all applicable and available revenue sources, and the plan forecasts these revenues through the six-year period with reasonable assurance that such funds will be timely put to such ends. The county commissioners should seek public input into the project prioritization process as it relates to concurrency of transportation facilities to the TIP.
25. “Transportation strategies” means transportation demand management strategies and other techniques or programs that reduce single-occupant vehicle commute travel and that are approved by the DPW. Strategies may include but are not limited to vanpooling, carpooling, and public transit, signalization, and channelization.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 2.0)), 1998)
20.04.030 Concurrency application.
1. A completed capacity reservation certificate must be submitted with the first development permit application.
2. Applications for concurrency inquiry certificates, capacity reservation certificates, and certificates of concurrency shall be submitted to the department of public works on forms provided by that department, along with the application fee.
3. Concurrency Inquiry Certificate. An applicant may inquire whether or not concurrent facilities exist without an accompanying request for a development permit. A fee will be charged for such concurrency test and any available capacity cannot be reserved and will not be guaranteed.
4. Building permit applications shall require a certificate of concurrency unless a certificate of concurrency already exists with the subject parcel of land.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 3.0)), 1998)
20.04.040 Concurrency test.
1. The concurrency test shall be performed only for the specific property, uses, densities and intensities based on information provided by the applicant. Changes to the uses, densities, and intensities that create additional impacts on transportation facilities shall be subject to an additional concurrency test. For commercial and non-residential development, the county’s records will indicate the land use types and square footage reserved for each land use tested for concurrency. If development units are temporarily reserved until a development is issued a certificate of concurrency, then those units will not be allocated to any subsequent request until that time.
2. The county shall perform a concurrency test for each application for a concurrency inquiry certificate, capacity reservation certificate, or certificate of concurrency.
3. Concurrency tests will be conducted on a first-come, first-served basis. The county shall conduct the concurrency test first for the earliest completed application received by the DPW. Subsequent applications will be tested in the order that the DPW receives completed applications.
4. In conducting the concurrency test, the county shall use standard trip generation rates, such as those reported by the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual, 5th Edition.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 4.0)), 1998)
20.04.050 Granting concurrency.
The county shall not issue a certificate of concurrency unless there are adequate transportation facilities to meet the level of service standards set forth in the Comprehensive Plan for existing and approved uses, taking into account the cumulative effects of prior concurrency certificates, and the impacts of the proposed development.
The county shall use a two-step process in granting concurrency for a proposed development:
1. Step One. If the level of service is equal to or better than the adopted LOS standard in the CMSZ, the concurrency test is passed, and the applicant shall be issued a capacity reservation certificate. Step one is required unless the application is for a single residential building permit, for which only step two is required.
2. Step Two. Upon the development permit approval, a certificate of concurrency shall be issued.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 5.0)), 1998)
20.04.060 Capacity reservation certificate.
1. The capacity reservation certificate (CRC) shall be prepared and issued by the department of public works. The concurrency inquiry certificate (CIC) will use the same form as the CRC.
Upon passing the concurrency test, a capacity reservation certificate is issued.
The capacity reservation certificate must include at least the following information:
a. The location or other description of the property on which the development is proposed;
b. The number of development units and specific uses, densities, and intensities that were tested for concurrency and approved;
c. The type of development approval for which the certificate of concurrency is issued;
d. An effective date.
2. Upon issuance of a capacity reservation certificate, the county shall reserve development units and transportation facility capacity on behalf of the applicant and indicate the reservation on the certificate. The concurrency inquiry certificate cannot reserve development units or transportation facility capacity.
3. The capacity reservation certificate expires upon the issuance of a certificate of concurrency; or, if the development application is withdrawn; or, within ninety days of the effective date of the capacity reservation certificate unless the development application has been certified complete.
4. An extension of a capacity reservation certificate shall be granted by the director of public works for an appropriate time period only upon a showing of extraordinary circumstances and that substantial hardship would occur to the applicant without the extension.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 6.0)), 1998)
20.04.070 Certificate of concurrency.
The certificate of concurrency (CC) is issued to supplant the capacity reservation certificate at the time of development approval. The certificate of concurrency is issued upon approval of the development proposal.
1. The information contained on the certificate of concurrency shall include the following:
a. The location or other description of the property on which the development is proposed;
b. The number of development units and specific uses, densities, and intensities that were tested for concurrency and approved;
c. The type of development approval for which the certificate of concurrency is issued;
d. An effective date; and
e. An expiration date.
2. A certificate of concurrency can be extended to remain in effect for the life of each subsequent development approval for the same parcel, as long as the applicant obtains the subsequent development approval prior to the expiration of the earlier development approval. The CC is extended by requesting a new issuance from DPW with an updated expiration date, for which there shall be an administrative fee charged. If the development approval does not have an expiration date, the certificate of concurrency shall be valid for five years from the date of issuance.
3. No development shall be required to hold more than one valid certificate of concurrency, unless the applicant or subsequent owner proposes changes or modifications to the property location, density, intensity, or land use that creates additional impacts on transportation facilities.
4. A certificate of concurrency runs with the land and is valid only for subsequent development approvals for the same parcel, and to new owners of the original parcel for which it was issued.
5. A certificate of concurrency cannot be transferred to a different parcel and shall be limited to uses and intensities for which it was originally issued.
6. Upon annexation of any development, the provisions for the capacity reservation certificate and the certificate of concurrency shall be enforced by any interlocal agreement the county may have with the annexing jurisdiction.
7. A certificate of concurrency may be voluntarily surrendered by the holder of the certificate.
8. Upon issuance of a certificate of concurrency, the county generally will be bound by its terms for the life of the certificate, but only after the applicant provides assurances, in a form acceptable to the county, that guarantee the applicant’s proportionate share in the capital improvements required to maintain concurrency. The county is not bound, however, when special conditions occur, such as a change in the law or a change in the calculated LOS due to a change in circumstances or a change in information forming the basis for the calculated LOS.
9. The determination of concurrency shall be final at the time of development approval. The issue of concurrency may be raised as part of the review process for the development application for which the certificate of concurrency was issued.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 7.0)), 1998)
20.04.080 Denial of concurrency.
If the level of service falls below the adopted standards, the concurrency test is not passed, and the applicant shall select one of the following options:
1. Accept the denial of an application for a certificate of concurrency in which case the application will be determined to be technically incomplete; or
2. Accept a ninety-day reservation of transportation facilities that are available, and within the same ninety-day period amend the application to reduce the need for transportation facilities to the capacity that is available, or voluntarily arrange, by a financial commitment or instrument approved by the director of DPW, to implement the transportation facilities or strategies needed to achieve concurrency.
a. The ninety-day period shall begin no later than fourteen days after issuance of the notification of denial of the certificate of concurrency as required under this chapter.
b. Reduction of the need for transportation facilities may be achieved through one or a combination of the following:
i. Reducing the size of the development;
ii. Reducing trip generation by decreasing the original proposed development;
iii. Phasing of the development to match future transportation facility construction; or
iv. Providing transportation strategies, when the department determines that such strategies will be reasonably sufficient as to reduce traffic to a level which meets the concurrency standard or threshold.
3. Appeal the denial of the application for a certificate of concurrency, pursuant to the provisions of Section 20.04.140. The county shall reserve any available development units during the appeal. Acceptance of the ninety-day period shall not impair the applicant’s future right to a formal appeal at a later time.
4. If a development that is consistent with the zoning provided in the Comprehensive Plan fails the concurrency test, there should be a feedback loop from concurrency testing to zoning. DPW will notify DCD, and a determination may be made as to whether the underlying zoning appears appropriate in the given area, and will consider the feasibility of providing increased area capacity, consistent with the projected six-year transportation funding.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 8.0)), 1998)
20.04.090 Exemptions from concurrency.
The following shall be exempt from the provisions of this chapter:
1. Development for which impact fees were collected under the 1992 Impact Fee Ordinance (Ordinance 143 (1992), codified as Chapter 4.108 of this code) prior to the effective date of this chapter so long as the original proposal has not been modified.
2. Renewals of previously issued, unexpired permits.
3. Phases of projects that were disclosed by the applicant and subject to a concurrency test as part of the original application (i.e., phased development), provided that a certificate of concurrency was issued for the expansion or subsequent phase.
4. Development applications for development which creates no additional impact on any transportation facility; such development includes but is not limited to:
a. Any addition or accessory structure to a residence with no change in use or increase in the number of dwelling units;
b. Interior renovations with no change in use or increase in the number of dwelling units;
c. Interior completion of a structure for uses(s) with the same or less intensity as the existing use or a previously approved use;
d. Replacement structure with no change in use or increase in the number of dwelling units;
e. Temporary construction trailers;
f. Driveway resurfacing, or parking lot paving;
g. Reroofing structures;
h. Demolitions.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 9.0)), 1998)
20.04.100 Annual update.
1. Levels of service shall be monitored and the traffic model for the county shall be updated at least once per year throughout the comprehensive plan process. The monitoring and update process shall include determination of traffic volumes, approval of additional development, completion of previously approved development, improvements to transportation facilities, and the effect of transportation strategies.
2. In order to monitor the cumulative effect of exempt development approvals on the level of service of transportation facilities, the county shall include the impacts of exempt development approvals in all relevant concurrency monitoring records.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 10.0)), 1998)
20.04.110 LOS Standards.
The level of service standards are described and contained in the Kitsap County Comprehensive Plan Parts I & II, namely the Land Use Plan Transportation Appendix and the Capital Facilities Plan, wherein LOS is thoroughly described.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 11.0)), 1998)
20.04.120 Intergovernmental coordination.
The county shall pursue establishing agreements, or continue existing agreements with other local governments, agencies, jurisdictions, and the State of Washington to coordinate the imposition of LOS standards, impact fees and other mitigation requirements for transportation concurrency. Existing agreements shall continue in force until modified or terminated.
1. The county shall apply transportation standards, fees and mitigation requirements to development in its jurisdiction that impacts other local governments, agencies, jurisdictions, and the State of Washington if interlocal agreements are in place at the time of the concurrency test. Development approvals by the county may include conditions and mitigations that may be imposed on behalf of, and implemented by other local governments, agencies, jurisdictions, and the State of Washington.
2. The county may receive impact fees or other mitigations based on or as a result of development proposed in other jurisdictions that impact the county. The county may agree to accept and implement conditions and mitigations that are imposed by other jurisdictions on development in their jurisdiction pursuant to interlocal agreements, urban growth management agreements, or other agreements in place.
3. No fees or mitigations for transportation facilities of other agencies will be required by the county unless an agreement has been executed between the county and the affected agency. The agreement shall specify the fee schedule and level of service standards to be used by the county and the affected agency, which standards shall be consistent with the county’s comprehensive plan and, if different than the standards adopted pursuant to this chapter, shall be adopted by subsequent ordinance.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 12.0)), 1998)
20.04.130 Relationship to SEPA.
A determination of concurrency shall be an administrative action of Kitsap County that is categorically exempt from the State Environmental Policy Act. However, this does not mean or imply that the development proposal itself is exempt from SEPA review, regardless of its exempt status under this chapter.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 13.0)), 1998)
20.04.140 Administrative appeals.
1. The applicant may appeal the results of the concurrency test on any of the following grounds:
a. A technical error;
b. The applicant provided alternative data or a traffic mitigation plan that was rejected by the county.
2. Procedures. Appeals of a concurrency test shall be made according to the process set forth in the Kitsap County Land Use and Development Procedures Ordinance (Title 21 of this code), as now or hereafter amended, for the appeal of administrative decisions.
(Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 14.0)), 1998)
20.04.150 Fees.
1. The fees charged for conducting the concurrency test requirements of the concurrency inquiry certificate, capacity reservation certificate, or certificate of concurrency shall be as specified in Chapter 21.10.
2. Development by municipal, county, state, and federal governments, and special districts (as that term is defined in state law) are exempt from the certificate of concurrency application fee.
(Ord. 291 (2002) § 16, 2002: Ord. 218 (1998) § 2 (Exh. A (§ 15.0)), 1998)