Update: The Board approved this “groundbreaking” legislation on February 8, 2017.
San Francisco’s very cool plan to help relive congestion by requiring developers to implement strategies to reduce car trips in their new developments finally heads to a board vote next week, after languishing for two years.
Developers would need to reduce car trips from their developments by selecting from a menu of 66 methods to reduce car trips. Each method is assigned a certain number of points, and each project would have to achieve a certain number of points required by the program, which is based on the number of parking spaces included in the project.
The different methods could be modified over time by the Planning Commission. The single largest point-earner would be to reduce parking. Other methods include such things as adding lockers and showers, a grocery store and car-share spaces.
The Planning Department is vowing to enforce the requirements by visiting the development before anyone moves, monitoring the site routinely and conducting an audit every three years. Enforcement would be funded through program fees. A developer must pay an initial fee of $6,000 and an annual fee of $1,000.
Jason Henderson of the Hayes Valley Neighborhood Association said, “We cautiously endorse the Transportation Demand Management program,” but he noted that he thought The City was being “too generous on parking.”