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§5-6 Traffic Impact Studies Model Land Use Management Code §5-6 TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDIES §5-6-1 PURPOSE AND INTENT Understanding the demands placed on the community's transportation network by development is an important dimension of assessing the overall impacts of development. All development generates traffic, and it may generate enough traffic to create congestion and thus require the community to invest more capital funds into the transportation network in the form of new roads, traffic signals and intersection improvements. Traffic congestion results in a number of problems, including economic costs due to delayed travel times, air pollution and accidents. By requiring traffic impact studies for proposed developments meeting certain thresholds, the county [city] will be better able to determine the transportation demands of development proposals and provide for reduction of adverse impacts on the transportation system. §5-6-2 OBJECTIVES The County [City] finds that requiring a traffic impact study for proposed developments that meet certain thresholds will help to achieve the following objectives: (a) Forecast additional traffic associated with new development, based on accepted practices. (b) Determine the improvements that are necessary to accommodate the new development. (c) Allow the local government to assess the impacts that a proposed development may have and assist the local government in making decisions regarding development proposals. (d) Help to ensure safe and reasonable traffic conditions on streets after the development is complete. (e) Reduce the negative impacts created by developments by helping to ensure that the transportation network can accommodate the development. (f) Protect the substantial public investment in the street system. (g) Provide information relevant to comprehensive planning, transportation planning, transit planning and the provision of programs and facilities for traffic safety, road improvements, transportation demand management, pedestrian access and other transportation system considerations. §5-6-3 SHORT TITLE This Ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the Traffic Impact Study Ordinance. §5-6-4 DEFINITIONS Discretionary development proposal: Any application for a change of land use intensity district, preliminary plat, conditional use permit or certificate of appropriateness. For purposes of this ordinance, a determination of applicability shall be made at the first discretionary development proposal encountered. [See Commentaryl P154