Attachment 3 ATTACHMENT 3
Traffic Impact Fee Implementation Instructions
How are traffic impact fees determined?
Traffic impact fees are required if a proposed development project causes a net increase in new
daily vehicle trips. Town staff estimates the daily vehicle trips generated by the proposed
development and estimates the trip credits for the existing use in accordance with Town’s
traffic impact policy.
The number of vehicle trips per day is estimated based on the size of the development and the
applicable trip generation rates. The Town’s traffic impact policy refers to the trip generation
rates in the ITE (Institute of Transportation Engineers) Trip Generation Manual, a standard
application by traffic planning and engineering practitioners.
In accordance with Town’s existing traffic impact policy, trip credits must be allowed for an
existing use or, if the property is vacant, the most recent use.
A simple example is demolishing an existing house and constructing two houses. With trip
credit for one existing house, the proposed development would be required to pay the traffic
impact fees for the daily trips generated by one house.
Another simple example is vacating an existing general office use and re -occupying it with
medical office use in the same space. A medical office has a higher daily trip generation rate
and therefore, would be required to pay traffic impact fees for the net increase in daily trips,
even though size of existing and proposed uses is the same.
A little more complicated example is changing use in existing shopping center without changing
building size. Almost all uses in an existing shopping center are considered to have the same
trip generation rates, i.e. the “shopping center” trip generation rates. In most cases, no traffic
impact fees are triggered for changing uses in a shopping center. However, if a new use moving
into an existing shopping center is a higher trip generator, such as fast food restaurants and
banks, Town staff would apply the higher trip generation rates resulting in traffic impact fees.
Town staff reviews trip generation rates for individual uses as applicable in accordance with
Town’s traffic impact policy.
Revised March 13, 2017