3.813 Alternate Calculations.
(1) If an applicant does not want to use the trip generation rates as established by the City for determining the Street SDC or Street utility fee, the applicant may request an independent traffic study to determine the proposed development’s trip generation rate. The following process applies to both the Street SDC and Street utility fee except where noted.
(2) Anytime prior to the issuance of the required permit, an applicant may elect to use the Alternate Fee Calculation method of determining the trip generation rate for the type of development proposed. This election must be by written application to the City Engineer and must be accompanied with payment of the Street SDC fee using the standard methodology and values found in Table 3.1.
(3) If the developer or customer elects to use the Alternate Fee Calculation and if the trip-generation rates resulting from the independent traffic study are at least twenty-five (25) percent higher or lower than the trip-generation rates found in Table 3.1, Table of Values for Determining Attributable New Travel for the appropriate category-of-use for Street SDC fee, or Table 4.1, ITE Bundles and Formulas for Determining Trip-Ends for the Street utility fee, then the values generated by the independent traffic study shall be used to compute the fee. If the study rates are within 25% of the values in the City’s tables, then the City’s values shall be used.
(4) In order to be used to calculate the Street SDC for a proposed development or Street utility fee using the Alternate Fee Calculation method, the independent traffic study must meet the following standards unless the City’s Traffic Engineer modifies them because of unique circumstances:
(a) The completed study must be stamped by either a licensed traffic engineer or a licensed civil engineer qualified to conduct traffic studies, who has been approved by the City’s Traffic Engineer prior to beginning the study. If a civil engineer is selected, a signed and stamped statement of qualifications signifying their ability to perform such studies shall be required. The City’s approval shall not be unreasonably withheld.
(b) All calculations shall be based on the average weekday traffic on the adjacent street for a general type of development similar to the proposed, and not on the average weekday traffic on the development site itself. The purpose of the study is to determine what a typical development like the one proposed will generate in trips after it has become an established entity in the community. Traffic counts shall be at least 12-hour counts.
(c) A minimum of five local sites with comparable land use shall be used for the study and approved by the City’s Traffic Engineer. If, in the sole discretion of the City’s Traffic Engineer, there are insufficient local sites, the Traffic Engineer will consider alternate sites within the states of Idaho, Oregon or Washington. The sites shall all have land uses that are of comparable general description to that of the proposed development when it is completed and in use.
(d) The traffic study shall be designed in accordance with the methodology described in the Institute of Transportation Engineers Trip Generation Manual, current edition.
(e) The request to use the alternate calculation shall include a detailed description and drawing of the proposed development site, a description and drawing of each sampling site, a description of why these sites are representative of the impact likely to be generated by the proposed development and such other information as may be required by the City’s Traffic Engineer.
(f) The completed report of the study shall be in a form approved by the City’s Traffic Engineer and upon its completion shall be submitted to the City’s Traffic Engineer for approval.
(5) The City’s Traffic Engineer may approve, approve with conditions or reject the trip generation rate calculated in the report prepared under paragraph 4 above. The City Traffic Engineer shall approve the report if it conforms to generally accepted principles of traffic engineering. Upon approval, the trip rate for the proposed development shall be used to calculate the Street SDC except as described in paragraph 3 above. In the event that the Alternate Calculation results in a Street SDC which is less than that derived from the standard calculation, upon approval of the Alternate Calculation by the City Traffic Engineer, the City shall refund to the applicant the excess Street SDC collected, or reduce the amount the applicant agreed to pay. If the approved Alternate Calculation results in a Street SDC greater than the standard calculation, the applicant shall pay the difference to the City. In the event the applicant fails to promptly pay the difference to the City, the City may suspend the permit for the development or take other collection action until payment is made. In the event the Alternative Calculation results in a revised street utility fee, refunds or additional charges shall be made in accordance with Section 4.1205, Adjustment of Bills for Billing Error.