Committee approves updated TDM ordinance, mobility trust fund and fee updates to fund alternatives to driving

The Budget and Finance Committee voted to approve updates to the city—s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) rules, including a proposal to create a mobility trust fund and revised fees intended to support transportation alternatives and operations.

Herlinda Nazarian of the Department of Transportation presented the ordinance updates, explaining the TDM rules are part of the city—s 2035 implementation plan and that the mobility trust fund would be used to subsidize projects that reduce long vehicle trips, invest in shared street operations, transit service and intelligent systems.

Why it matters: The ordinance sets updated fees and a funding mechanism to invest in alternatives to driving and to cover updated review costs. Staff said the ordinance includes a mechanism for annual updates to reflect inflation and salary changes so fees remain aligned with implementation costs.

Key details - Applicability: The ordinance applies to larger projects above thresholds described in the draft (staff cited 2,500 square feet as a common threshold for coverage; single‑family homes typically are not subject to TDM review). - Review timelines: Department staff estimated reviews can be as quick as a day for small projects and four to eight weeks for larger, more complex developments. - Funding use: The mobility trust fund will be used to prioritize projects that fill gaps in local multimodal infrastructure and to support operations such as transit service, shared lanes and intelligent corridor technology.

Vote: The committee recorded a five‑to‑zero vote to approve the department—s recommendations and the updated ordinance language; the transcript cites councilmembers voting yes and the item passing as presented.

Ending: The department will proceed with implementation of the ordinance and the mobility investment program and will use the fund criteria and scoring to select investments.