16.16.100 Requests for exemptions/adjustments/modifications of CTR requirements.
A. Exemptions. An affected employer may request the city to grant an exemption from CTR program requirements or penalties for a particular worksite. The employer must demonstrate that it would experience undue hardship in complying with the requirements of this chapter as a result of the characteristics of its business, its work force, or its location(s). An exemption may be granted if and only if the affected employer demonstrates that it faces extraordinary circumstances, such as bankruptcy, and is unable to implement any measures that could reduce the proportion of SOV trips and VMT per employee. Exemptions may be granted by the city at any time based on written notice provided by the affected employer. The notice should clearly explain the conditions for which the affected employer is seeking an exemption from the requirements of the CTR program. Requests must be made in writing by certified mail or delivery, return receipt. The city shall review annually all employers receiving exemptions, and shall determine whether the exemption will continue to be in effect during the following program year.
B. Goal Modification. Any affected employer may request an affected employee adjustment and/or a modification of program goals. Grounds for granting modification are limited to the following:
1. Affected Employee Adjustment. Specific employees or groups of employees who are required to drive alone to work as a condition of employment may be exempted from a worksite’s CTR program. Exemptions may also be granted for employees who work variable shifts throughout the year and who do not rotate as a group to identical shifts. The city will use criteria set forth in the CTR Task Force Guidelines and this chapter to assess the validity of employee exemptions requests.
If the employer provides documentation indicating how many employees meet either of these conditions, the applicable goals will not be changed, but the employees who fall into these categories will not be included in the calculations of proportion of SOV trips and VMT per employee used to determine the employer’s progress toward program goals.
2. An affected employer demonstrates that its worksite is contiguous with a CTR zone boundary and that the worksite conditions affecting alternative commute options are similar to those for employers in the adjoining CTR zone. Under this condition, the employer’s worksite may be made subject to the same goals for VMT per employee and proportion of SOV trips as employers in the adjoining CTR zone.
(Employers may only request a modification based on conditions 1 and 2 above within three months after being notified that they are subject to this chapter.)
3. Unanticipated conditions, such as unavailability of alternative commute modes due to factors related to the worksite, an employer’s work force, or characteristics of the business that are beyond the employer’s control.
4. Relocation of a worksite to another CTR zone. Requests for goal modification based on this condition may be made at any time.
5. An affected employer may request that the city modify its CTR program goals. Such requests shall be filed in writing at least sixty days prior to the date the worksite is required to submit its program description and annual report. The goal modification request must clearly explain why the worksite is unable to achieve the applicable goal. The employer must also demonstrate that it has implemented all the elements contained in its approved CTR program at the worksite. The city will review and grant or deny requests for goal modifications in accordance with procedures and criteria identified in the CTR Task Force Guidelines and this chapter. An employer may not request a modification of the applicable goals until one year after the city’s approval of its initial program description.
All requests for modification of CTR program goals must be made in writing by certified mail or delivery, return receipt.
C. Modification of CTR Program Elements. If an employer wants to change a particular aspect of its CTR program during the period of time between annual reporting dates, the employer must contact the city.
D. Extensions. An employer may request additional time to submit a CTR program or CTR annual progress report, or to implement or modify a program. Such requests shall be made in writing before the due date for which the extension is being requested. Requests for extensions must be made prior to the due date anytime a program submission is going to be more than one week late. Extensions not to exceed ninety days shall be considered for reasonable causes. Employers will be limited to a total of ninety allowed extension days per year. Extensions shall not exempt an employer from any responsibility in meeting program goals. Extensions granted due to delays or difficulties with any program element(s) shall not be cause for discontinuing or failing to implement other program elements. An employer’s annual reporting date shall not be adjusted permanently as a result of these extensions. An employer’s annual reporting date may be extended at the discretion of the public works director. (Ord. 860 § 9, 1998; Ord. 729 § 10, 1993).