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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4027_CCv0001.pdf RESOLUTION NO. 4027 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF REDLANDS URGING THE SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT BOARD TO ADOPT REGULATION 6 WHICH REQUIRES MAJOR EMPLOYERS IN THE SOUTH COAST AIR BASIN TO OFFER RIDESHARING INCENTIVES TO THEIR EMPLOYEES WHEREAS, the South Coast Air Basin suffers from the most severe air pollution problems in the United States; and WHEREAS, air pollution causes significant health and economic costs to our society; and WHEREAS, more than 50 percent of the Basin's air contaminants come from motor vehicles; and WHEREAS, we are currently moving through a critical period in which the prob- lems of air pollution, fuel costs and traffic congestion require us to re-evaluate our driving habits; and WHEREAS, improved traffic flow and actual vehicular reductions can cause a measurable effect on air quality; and WHEREAS, ridesharing is one of the most effective means to achieve actual vehicular reductions; and WHEREAS, ridesharing enables individuals to reduce gas consumption, avoid traffic congestion, help reduce air pollution, and save from $500.00 to $2 ,000.00 annually in commuting costs; and WHEREAS, ridesharing allows employers to benefit from measurable increases in employee productivity due to less absenteeism and lateness; and WHEREAS, demand for costly parking facilities and employee parking subsidies are reduced when sufficient numbers of people share rides to work; and WHEREAS, without ridesharing measures, future air pollution controls necessary to comply with the federal Clean Air Act will be imposed exclusively on large and small industrial stationary sources; and WHEREAS, Regulation 6 is a newly proposed regulation now under consideration by the South Coast Air Quality Management District which requires major employers in the South Coast Air Basin to offer ridesharing incentives to their employees; and WHEREAS, the City of Redlands recognizes the need for Regulation 6 in order to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Redlands hereby supports the concept of Regulation 6, and urges the Sout'� Coast Air Quality :Management District Board to adopt this Regulation. ADOPTED, SIGNED AND APPROVED this 15th day of January, 1985. ATTEST: Mayor of the City of Redlands City Clerk �' COMMUNICATIONS (Continued) The Coalition for Clean Air is encouraging a resolution be adopted showing Council's support for car pooling. By consensus a resolution will be drafted for future action. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Ordinance No. 1856, an ordinance amending Ordinance No. 1000 by adopting Amendment No. 169 relating to Landscaping, Fences and Walls, and Solar Collector and Storage Tank Ordinance Installation, was given its second reading of the title by City No. 1856 Clerk Poyzer, and on motion of Councilman Martinez, seconded by Councilman Larsen, further reading of the ordinance was Solar unanimously waived. Ordinance No. 1856, an ordinance of the Collectors City of Redlands adopting Amendment No. 169 to Ordinance No. 1000, was adopted on motion of Councilman Larsen, seconded by Councilman Martinez, by the following vote: AYES: Councilmembers DeMirjyn, Martinez, Larsen; Mayor Beswick NOES: Councilman Johnson ABSENT: None Mr. Doug Ayres, president of Management Services Institute, thanked the City staff for their assistance in the preparation of a cost control system report. He briefly reviewed his report Cost and suggested that study sessions be scheduled for a more Control indepth approach. Councilman Johnson noted the record should System reflect receipt, but not acceptance, of this report and that it Report should be referred to staff for scheduling a workshop at which time Mr. Ayres had better be ready to defend his recommendations as support was absent in the report. Councilman Martinez expressed a desire to meet with Mr. Ayres on an individual basis. Councilman Larsen thought this report could be used as a tool for a guide and suggested the Finance Committee look at it before scheduling a workshop. NEW BUSINESS Public Works Director Donnelly presented Ordinance No. 1859, an ordinance of the City Council amending Chapter 67 of the Redlands Ordinance Code by adding Article 690 relating to Interstate Trucks. Mr. Donnelly explained that the 1982 Ordinance Federal Surface Transportation Assistance Act required states No. 1859 to allow larger trucks on a system of highways to be designated by the Secretary of Transportation, and to allow Interstate reasonable access off this designated system to terminals and Trucks services. Assembly Bill 866 is the State legislation implementing the truck size provisions of the Federal Surface Transportation Act and deals with access to the Federally designated system by the interstate trucks. Caltrans and the affected local agencies have the responsibility to determine access routes from the designated system to services and terminals. Although December 18, 1984 Page nine - COAUTION FOR CLEAN AIR 309 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 312 Santa Monica, CA 90401 (213) 451-0651 28 December 19, 1984 City Clerk ' s Office City of Redlands P.O. Box 280 Redlands, CA 92373 Dear City Clerk: Enclosed is the sampie resolution for Regulation 6 that you requested. Coalition For Clean lair ReITI@ bef? w%14 ~� ti a +_ WHEREAS, the South Coast Air Basin suffers from the most severe air pollution problems in the United States ; and WHEREAS, air pollution causes significant health and economic costs to our society ; and WHEREAS, more than 50% of the Basin' s air contaminants come from motor vehicles ; and WHEREAS, we are currently moving through a critical period in which the problems of air pollution , fuel costs and traffic congestion require us to re—evaluate our driving habits ; and WHEREAS; improved traffic flow and actual vehicular reductions can cause a measurable effect on air quality ; and WHEREAS, ridesharing is one of the most effective means to achieve actual vehicular reductions ; and WHEREAS, ridesharing enables individuals to reduce gas consumption, avoid traffic congestion, help reduce air pollution, and save from $500 to $2, 000 annually in commuting costs ; and WHEREAS , ridesharing allows employers to benefit from measurable increases in employee productivity due to less absenteeism and lateness ; and WHEREAS, demand for costly parking facilities and employee parking subsidies are reduced when sufficient numbers of people share rides to work; and WHEREAS , ..without ridesharing measures , future air pollution controls necessary to comply with the federal Clean Air Act will be imposed exclusively on large and small industrial stationary sources ; and WHEREAS, Regulation 6 is a newly proposed regulation now under consideration by the South Coast Air Quality Management District which requires major employers in the South Coast Air Basin to offer ridesharing incentives to their employees ; and WHEREAS , the City of recognizes the need for Regulation 6 in order to ease traffic congestion and improve air quality : NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City of hereby supports the concept of Regulation 6 , and urges the South Coast Air Quality Management District Board to adopt this Regulation . COALITION FOR CLEAN AIR XC: Councilmembers 309 Santa Monica Blvd., Suite 212 Santa Monica, CA 90401 (213)451-0651 p 2 H Mayor Carole Beswick December 14, 19£34 Safety Hall 212 Brookside Ave . , P. O. Box 280 Redlands , CA . 92373 Dear Mayor Beswick , Enclosed please find some information on Regulation 6. I would like to speak with you at your earliest convenience about this newly proposed regulation being considered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District ( SCAQMD) . Regulation 6 would require major employers in the South Coast Air Basin to offer ridesharing incentives to their employees . It offers corporations complete flexibility in formulating an incentive plan that will work best for them, and allows employees the choice of whether or not to rideshare . We realize that many people cannot rideshare for a variety of reasons . We merely want to encourage those who can to do so. Regulation 6 is in the process of being formulated at this time, and I would appreciate your input as to what you like or dislike about the regulation , as well as what you would like to see considered in its formulation . My goal is to rally support for a regulation that is acceptable to everyone. You may be interested to know that the Claremont City Council has unanimously approved a resolution in support of Regulation 6 in concept , such as the sample resolution you will. find herein. The enclosed report should give you an idea of how the concept of Regulation 6 came about . The target figures stated in the report are not necessarily final , but were merely in the original draft . Extensive research data now being compiled by SCAQMD, as well as input from individuals such as yourself will help us to formulate a final draft which is more sympathetic to the needs of varying geographic locations within the basin. I will be in contact with you soon, or please feel free to contact me at your convenience . I look forward to speaking with you . Sincerely , Russ Tafoya Transportation Specialist �111�f11�f? low Controlling Air Pollution Through Indirect Source Strategies: Regulation 6 Coalition For Clean Air 309 Santa Monica Blvd. , Suite 212 Santa Monica, CA. 90401 (213) 451-0651 The 1984 Olympics left Southern Californians not only with a bit of history and memories , but a few lessons learned as well . The Olympics transportation success was no accident . Extensive research and planning by government agencies , private companies , and citizens created new hope for commuters in the L. A . basin, and rightfully so . Flex hours , ridesharing, and the 4/10 work-week all contributed to what came as a complete surprise . Despite the influx of 630, 000 visitors , air quality was better than expected , and traffic congestion was at a minimum . It is commonly recognized in the South Coast Air Basin that 55% of the air pollution stems from mobile sources . By the year 2000, - a mere 16 years hence - 46% will continue to be from mobile sources . Moreover , the total vehicle fleet is expanding . In 1976 the Department of Motor Vehicles reports 6 . 1 million motor vehicles were registered in the 4-county region of Los Angeles , Orange , Riverside , and San Bernardino counties . In 1980 , 6. 9 million vehicles were counted , a 200,000 per year vehicle increase . Likewise, vehicle miles traveled in the South Coast Air Basin are increasing. In 1976 it is estimated that motorists drove 180 million vehicle miles/day . In 1980 , that figure rose to 221 million vehicle miles/day . The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) , a regional planning association covering five counties (Los Angeles , Orange , Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino) , addresses the issue of vehicular congestion in its transportation plan . It predicts that within the next sixteen years , an anticipated 3 . 2 million more people will be residents of the region, bringing the area ' s population to 14 . 75 million . If no Olympics-type action is taken , related auto congestion will cause a 36% average increase in commute time and increase the number of congested freeway miles from the current figure of 190 to 509 , covering fully one third of the total system. Average commuter speed will slip from 30 mph ( 1980) to 19mph ( 2000) . Morning peak hour vehicle-miles-traveled are expected to increase only 27% while the number of vehicle-hours-traveled will more than double . The cost for that congestion , considering the man-hours lost and extra energy consumed , is $48 billion during the 1980-2000 year period . Merely building more freeways is not considered a viable plan due to the extraordinary costs involved , as well as the utter lack of additional space . Even if many additional miles of freeway lanes were to be added , there is no guarantee that the system would not be quickly filled to capacity , with city streets then serving to bottleneck freeway access . 1 - The currently planned rapid transit system is anticipated to help reduce some future congestion , but the question remains as to how many people will have convenient access to the system, and how quickly it will be extensive enough to serve any substantial portion of the population. Certainly in the long term (40 to 50 years) , this area must develop a transportation system which will serve the needs of the regional population . But until that comes about , the outlook for the current regional system (freeways) is grim, with a related air pollution burden that must be considered . The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) , the agency responsible for local air pollution control , is considering the last of the short-term hydrocarbon control measures listed in the Air Quality Management Plan (AQMP) . These measures are considered the last of the less expensive, more efficient steps toward ozone control . Still , the attainment of the ozone standard cannot be predicted by the year 2000. Controlling air pollution in itself is a complex, frustrating task. Ozone , the most serious pollutant we face , can only be reduced by controlling emissions of hydrocarbons (HC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) . In January , 1984, the SCAQMD considered the first of the NOx control strategies , with a price tag of almost $8, 000 per ton of NOx reduction. That rule , like many of the HC controls fell short of the AQMP predictions . As a result , additional new control strategies must be considered . The problem is that the possibilities for NOx reductions from stationary sources are extremely limited . According to Jeb Stuart , SCAQMD Executive Officer , after the refinery boiler and heater controls , the AQMP offers no additional major reductions for NOx . The only possibility would be an appeal to revise the settlement between Southern California Edison and the Air Resources Board , to bring about still further reductions of NOx from power plants at an as yet uncalculated cost to that industry . Critics claim it is patently unfair that the "pound of fleshy' for clean air be extracted from stationary sources , ignoring what might be gained from mobile sources . The SCAQMD Technical Committee has been exploring the status of mobile source controls. In 1977 , the District established a Stage 2 Emergency Episode plan which included a regulation requiring corporations of 100 or more employees per shift at any one site to designate a "rideshare 2 coordinator" . This person was to devise an employee ridesharing plan, and notify employees when second or third stage alerts were anticipated. Employees could then carpool or take the bus to work , thus alleviating the pollution burden of excess vehicles during critically smoggy periods . These measures were to be enforced by limiting the number of vehicles admitted to company parking lots . This rule was considered a failure , as could have been expected , for various reasons . Rideshare coordinators were , by and large , employees hired for other tasks , with no training in devising ridesharing programs , promoting ridesharing benefits among employees , or developing ridesharing incentives on a corporate level . Notices advising ridesharing were given the afternoon before an expected alert , often late in the day , allowing little opportunity for employees to link up with each other . This was particularly critical as no ridesharing patterns were encouraged, since second-stage alerts occurred only sporadically . Thus , since the employee may not have had enough time to cope with altenative arrangements (dropping off children to day care or school , advance grocery shopping , etc . ) the employee was less likely to be willing to rideshare , seeking the solution of merely beating other employees to the company parking lot . Those who did not arrive in time to be admitted under the "vehicle quota" simply spilled over into city streets and other business parking facilities , causing great local distress . As this event occurred only a few times per year, local agencies and governments were at a loss to establish street parking controls which may have been unnecessary on all but the smoggiest days . In 1982 , the SCAQMD Board amended the Stage 2 Emergency Episode Plan to its present state . It merely requires companies of 100 or more employees per shift per site to submit ridesharing plans to the District , to have emergency notification equipment in working order and to notify employees of the need to rideshare the next day . Posting a sign is considered adequate. Not one vehicle need to be reduced ! . Obviously , even fewer people choose to rideshare with this version of the rule , compared to the prior version . Moreover , until 1984, the District had allowed the companies ' ridesharing plans to fall into disrepair . Only one District employee was assigned to the task of reviewing the plans of the 3 , 000 -- 4 , 000 companies affected . That same District employee was responsible for the SCAQMD employee ridesharing plan, as well . 3 With the advent of the Olympics , there was concern that increased traffic congestion and energy requirements would result in high pollution levels . A transportation specialist was hired for the SCAQMD Planning Department and systematic review of ridesharing information was undertaken . All affected firms were notified to update their ridesharing programs. Still , those ridesharing measures were expected to be implemented only in anticipation of severe (Stage 2 or 3) pollution alerts . The District has no legal authority under the Emergency Episode Plan (Regulation 7) to implement ridesharing for smog conditions other than the emergency level . That is not the case, however , if ridesharing regulations are approached from another perspective. Legal precedent has been established (NRDC v . EPA, 475 F. 2d 968 D.C. Cir . ( 1973) ) to allow the SCAQMD to require control of vehicular sources of air pollution as an "indirect source" of emmisions . This legal authority has been affirmed on the state level by the California Attorney General (Vol . 56 , Ops. Atty . Ge . 531 ( 1973) ) . Consequently , the SCAQMD has been exploring the possibility of proposing "Regulation 6" which would require major employers (possibly 700 or more employees) to offer employees "incentives" to rideshare . Incentives could include , but are not limited to , carpool parking subsidies , subsidized bus passes , adjusted work hours for ridesharers, subsidized vanpools , preferential parking spaces for carpools , or direct cash payment in lieu of parking subsidy . The goal of the regulation is to achieve a specified minimum vehicle occupancy of commuters to the employment site . A minimum of 1 . 5 has been proposed as a guideline . That means 33% of total employees must be included in the ridesharing plan. Of the 813 major employers which would be affected by this regulation , some already meet or exceed those requirements . ARCO, for example , shows 65% of the affected site employees rideshare . Seiko Corporation claims a 60% rate . The commitment of those companies is more than altruistic . It is claimed that employees saving money through ridesharing are less pressed to demand higher wages , experience less absenteeism, a better on—time record , and an increased sense of personal relationships with other employees . Companies can benefit financially in other ways . A downtown Los Angeles law firm was in the practice of paying for staff parking , as is typical . When the monthly parking cost surpassed $100, the firm changed its perquisite to free bus passes (worth $20 per month) . Today , 100% of 4 the firm' s staff ride the bus at a savings of $80 per month per employee to the firm. Even if that firm had offered a direct cash payment of $30 per month and free parking (worth $100) to carpoolers , two staff members riding in the same car would have cost the firm a total of $160 per month, at a savings of $20 per employee , per month. Three employees riding together would save the company $1320 per year over three employees commuting separately . Land developers , too , are seeking alternatives to expensive parking requirements which sometimes require a one-to-one ratio of parking space to total building space . Los Angeles City has responded by establishing a "parking management ordinance" which would allow new building projects to construct fewer than the required number of parking spaces, provided some reliable method of vehicle reduction ( ridesharing) could be established for the building ' s occupants . Safeguards in this ordinance are spelled out and subject to approval as well as enforcement . Using this ordinance , Prudential Life Insurance Company of America , Western Headquarters , located in Thousand Oaks , saved $800, 000 in reduced construction costs , as it was allowed to delete 173 parking spaces from the final construction plans . However , UCLA plans the construction of another parking structure at a cost of $20 ,000 per parking space . This amounts to a cost of $150 per month to the University for a space which is rented to students and faculty for $ 15 per month ! The question remains as to why anyone would proceed to build such parking structures when more economical alternatives exist . Unfortunately , trying something new does not always come easily . Innovative corporations , such as ARCO, Hughes , TRW, and Fluor , have been quick to recognize hard and fast financial and other benefits of ridesharing . Too many other corporations are slower to adopt these new methods , and historically , government agencies have been the slowest of all . Los Angeles City maintains several downtown surface parking lots as well as underground parking at City Hall , City Hall East , Parker Center , and at the Department of Water and Power . Three thousand city employees pay $5 per month to rent a parking space in these facilities - a price unchanged since 1963 . If L. A . City would offer its employees $30 per month cash and raise the employee cost of parking to $35 per month , some employees could continue to expend the additional $5 per month for parking . But others would choose to "pocket" the $35 and rideshare . Preferential parking for carpoolers could offer further 5 incentive for city employees to rideshare . Los Angeles City could then rent the newly released parking spaces to non-employees , which in turn , would generate income for the city to counter-balance the employee ridesharing cash payments . It would also help alleviate the severe congestion and parking shortage in the Central City area . If this effort were successful enough, one or more of the surface sites could be leased or sold for alternative private development . Thus , even more income would be generated for the city . Many City Council Members are supportive of this approach, but find themselves hamstrung by a complex and slow bureaucracy . Timing is an important element as there is the need to negotiate such benefits with employees at appropriate contract renewal dates . Should the SCAQMD pass such a regulation , it would ensure that employers offer such incentive programs in their negotiotions with employee groups. It thus could be implemented with a minimum of stress . Los Angeles City is not the only government agency which would benefit from such a regulation. Los Angeles County is in a similar position , being primarily located in the Central City area , and being obligated to maintain several parking structures as well as surface lots. The federal government , however , does not suffer those problems . Because national policies discourage free federal employee parking, those working in the downtown Los Angles area pay for their own parking spaces . Of those , 40% drive to work alone, compared to county employees , who enjoy free parking , of which 72% drive to work alone . - How can ridesharing improve air quality? The proposed Regulation 6 , which would affect 813 major corporations , would reduce NOx by 8 . 05 tons per day , CO by 57.33 tons per day , and HC by 4. 55 tons per day . Additionally , the Olympics experience has shown that the removal of a small percentage of peak hour vehicles can result in a major impact on reducing commuter traffic congestion and the resultant increased emissions generated by stop-and-go conditions . According to an SCAQMD study , a 3% peak traffic volume reduction during the Olympics resulted in one-half the number of smog alerts which would normally be expected in the San Bernardino area under comparable meteorological conditions . However , contributing to the peak traffic reduction were flexible work hours and some plant closures - a condition that is unlikely to be duplicated under normal circumstances . 6 Clearly , not everyone can - or would want to - rideshare. Many people work irregular hours , live in inconvenient locations , or need their vehicles during their work shifts for employment-related tasks . But there is a moderate range of people who do travel to work on a daily basis at regular times. Those are prime ridesharing candidates who must be offered incentives to consider the alternatives to the single-occupant vehicle . It has been suggested that strictly voluntary measures are "the only way to go" . A 1983 study on employee commute patterns at the area' s major ridesharing agency , Commuter Computer , effectively refutes this theory . Certainly no company ' s employees could be more familiar with the benefits of ridesharing. However , Commuter Computer provided free parking at a subsidy of $57. 50 per month per space. Only 17% of Commuter Computer ' s employees participated in ridesharing . When Commuter Computer removed all parking subsidies for solo-driving employees , 58% of Commuter Computer ' s employees were ridesharing within four months ! Commuter Computer surveyed the companies they serve with a variety of questions . In trying to discover the reasons as to why companies sought Commuter Computer ' s carpool matching services , the majority responded that they were doing so because they were required by SCAQMD ' s Emergency Episode Regulation to develope a ridesharing plan . Obviously, the combination of stick and carrot is the most effective approach. In summary , the benefits to be gained by the implementation of Regulation 6 are substantial . Current study results show that the combination of incentives and regulations will work to increase ridesharing . If we are ever able to gain control of our traffic congestion/air pollution problems we must gather support for this new idea in the widest possible terms . 7 r � EDITORIAL ; E80-34 "FREE-FLOWING FREEWAYS: A ?ROVE% REALITI"' Remember those good old days when you could drive Los Angeles streets and freeways withcut bumper-to- bumper traffic". Well, those good old days aren't so far gone, . . . only about a month. During the Olympic Games, traffic E D I T O R I A L was amazingly light despite thousands of Southland visitors. That's because businesses had staggered work hours and people were car-pooling or riding public transportation. With the Summer Games gone, most people fell back into old habit patterns -- and we again have clogged freeways and frayed nerves. Kaec.ry .!,;,,:,., �,�;��r; :,,1.,,,.,,,5 A 1984 update of driving facts and figural has ;:-.bhr .':res: &f._;i ,5rq •1:F,.e+n?,1 py 7! -lPr.-,,,}.,nr vnd just been issued by the Motor Vehicle Xanufacturers ^,is K •J,n ; y:ur ,r-i qj Association. It 's loaded with charts and statistics. - .r5 r:;r rr;,ac.;t F: •� r.; One chart breaks down the transportation Tod_ Ycople 10.3 'A' use to pet to rwork. In California, mcre than two-thirds E1,!,=",' ?,r •r,r of workers drive alone in their own. cars. _bout 17% use car pools, and less than 6% use public transportatic That's only about U more than walk to wor"-c. Actually,- the figure of two-thirds of the peop;v driving alone is about average For many states. 3ut since about one--tenth of all the Nation's cars a-_ in California, . . .and -ost of them in the south and, . . . that adds up to those bumper-to-bumper Graffis jams . If we dant to get back to Tree-Fl-wing free�.ays, we'd better gec back co car pools, public transoo rcatior and staggered working :ours_ That 's a lesson we should have Learned erom the 1984 Olympic Games. I'm Tam 'Ian Aaburg. The above editorial was telecast on September 5. 5. '7 and 8. L984.