In this chapter: (a) Ridesharing: (1) Means commuting in a motor vehicle as a group of two (2) or more individuals; and (2) Includes carpooling, vanpooling, and transit ridership. (b) Assessed real property value means the property tax assessed value of that portion of an office development designated for office use.

(a) Establishment. Share-a-ride districts shall be established at locations within the county where large concentrations of employment provide opportunities for a large number of new ridesharing arrangements. (b) Composition. (1) Each district shall be an employment center that has a minimum of two million (2,000,000) gross square feet of existing office space within a one-half square mile area. (2) All land in the general vicinity of the area under paragraph (1) of this subsection that is zoned or recommended in the appropriate master plan for commercial or industrial use shall be included in the district. (c) Initial districts. The initial share-a-ride districts are the areas encompassed by the approved and adopted sector plans for: (1) The Silver Spring Central Business District and vicinity; and (2) The Bethesda Central Business District. (d) Additional districts. (1) The county executive may establish additional share-a-ride districts. (2) Any person may petition the county executive to establish additional share-a-ride districts.

(a) Establishment. Share-a-ride outreach areas shall be established at locations other than share-a-ride districts where concentrations of employment provide opportunities for a significant number of new ridesharing arrangements. (b) Composition. Each share-a-ride outreach area shall: (1) Be an employment center that has a minimum of two hundred thousand (200,000) gross square feet of existing office space within a one-quarter square mile area; or (2) A residential area with at least five thousand (5,000) existing dwelling units. (c) Authority to establish. (1) The county executive may establish share-a-ride outreach areas. (2) Any person may petition the county executive to establish a share-a-ride outreach area.

(a) Establishment. The county executive shall establish a share-a-ride program. (b) Purpose. The share-a-ride program is to provide personalized ridesharing services by: (1) Promoting and assisting in initiation and maintenance of new ridesharing arrangements; (2) Providing a continuous effort to identify potential carpoolers, vanpoolers, and transit riders; (3) Providing a personalized system to match applicants into carpools and vanpools; (4) Providing continuous follow-up contacts to modify unsatisfactory arrangements and rematch individuals whose circumstances and requirements have changed; (5) Soliciting the cooperative support of employers and property owners in encouraging ridesharing; and (6) Promoting incentives to ridesharing, such as preferential carpool spaces, subsidized vans, and discounted transit passes.

(a) In share-a-ride districts or share-a-ride outreach areas. Under Section 6.2.3.G.2 of Chapter 59, an office development in a share-a-ride district or share-a-ride outreach area may obtain a reduction in its minimum parking requirements if the office development participates in: (1) The share-a-ride program; or (2) Provides private ridesharing incentives. (b) In other areas. Under Section 6.2.3.I of Chapter 59, an office development not in a share-a-ride district or a share-a-ride outreach area may obtain a reduction in its minimum parking requirements if the office development undertakes other adjustments to vehicle parking.

(a) Establishment. There is a ridesharing account within the mass transit facilities fund to: (1) Implement personalized ridesharing services under section 42A-4(b) of this chapter for any office or residential development making payments for share-a-ride services; and (2) Monitor and enforce ridesharing incentives provided by the owner or lessee of an office development. (b) Payments required; initial schedule. (1) The owner of an office development shall make an annual payment into the ridesharing account of fifteen cents ($0.15) for each one hundred dollars ($100.00) of assessed real property value if the office development: (i) Is in a share-a-ride district; (ii) Participates in the share-a-ride program; and (iii) Obtains reduced parking requirements under section 59-E-3.31(a)(1) of this Code. (2) The owner of an office development shall make an annual payment into the ridesharing account of twenty cents ($0.20) for each one hundred dollars ($100.00) of assessed real property value if the office development: (i) Is in a share-a-ride outreach area; (ii) Participates in the share-a-ride program; and (iii) Obtains reduced parking requirements under section 59-E-3.31(b)(1) of this Code. (3) The owner of an office development shall make an annual payment into the ridesharing account of up to ten cents ($0.10) for each one hundred dollars ($100.00) of assessed real property value if the office development: (i) Implements private ridesharing incentives; and (ii) Obtains reduced parking requirements under section 59-E-3.31(a)(2), (b)(2), or (c) of this Code.

(a) Failure to satisfy conditions. The owner of an office development may not fail to satisfy any of the conditions under section 59-E-3.31 of this Code that permitted a reduction in parking requirements. (b) Penalty under section 59-E-3.31. If an owner of an office development violates subsection (a) of this section, the owner is liable for a penalty under section 59-E-3.31 of this Code. (c) Penalty payment; initial schedule. If an owner is required to make a payment to the ridesharing account as a penalty under section 59-E-3.31 of this Code, the payment shall be made under the following schedule: (1) The owner shall pay an annual penalty of thirty cents ($0.30) for each one hundred dollars ($100.00) of assessed real property value if the office development: (i) Is in a share-a-ride district; and (ii) Agreed to participate in the share-a-ride program under section 59-E- 3.31(a)(1) of this Code. (2) The owner shall pay an annual penalty of forty cents ($0.40) for each one hundred dollars ($100.00) of assessed real property value if the office development: (i) Is in a share-a-ride outreach area; and (ii) Agreed to participate in the share-a-ride program under section 59-E- 3.31(b)(1) of this Code. (3) The owner shall pay an annual penalty of up to thirty cents ($0.30) for each one hundred dollars ($100.00) of assessed real property value if the office development: (i) Is in a share-a-ride district; and (ii) Agreed to implement private ridesharing incentives under section 59-E- 3.31(a)(2) of this Code. (4) The owner shall pay an annual penalty of up to forty cents ($0.40) for each one hundred dollars ($100.00) of assessed real property value if the office development: (i) Is in a share-a-ride outreach area; and (ii) Agreed to implement private ridesharing incentives under section 59-E- 3.31(b)(2) of this Code.

(a) Before a building permit for a facility that has been constructed with planned participation in the share-a-ride program under this Chapter is issued, the Director or the Planning Board must require the owner of an office development to execute an agreement that is binding on that owner as well as all subsequent owners of the office development. (b) The agreement must provide: (1) for the participation of the owner or subsequent owners in the share-a-ride program; and (2) that if the owner or a subsequent owner fails to comply with the terms of the agreement, the owner or the subsequent owner will be liable for the penalties under this Chapter. (c) The owner of the office development must record the agreement in the County land records.

(a) The county executive may adopt regulations, under method (2) of section 2A-15 of this Code, to decrease by no more than fifty (50) percent or increase by no more than one hundred (100) percent: (1) The initial schedule of payments under section 42A-6(b); and (2) The initial penalty payment schedule under section 42A-7(c). (b) The county executive may adopt regulations, under method (2) of section 2A-15 of this Code, to implement this chapter.

(a) (1) A traffic mitigation agreement that is required to be executed with the County under Article IV of Chapter 8 as a prerequisite to the issuance of a building permit must meet the requirements of this section. (2) The purpose of a traffic mitigation agreement is to reduce single occupancy vehicle traffic from a proposed development in order to reduce potential congestion, promote traffic safety and pedestrian access, and reduce air and noise pollution. (3) A traffic mitigation agreement executed under this section is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other transportation requirement imposed on the applicant under law. (4) A traffic mitigation agreement executed under this Section is not intended to satisfy the requirements of the Growth Policy for exceeding staging ceiling limitations. Until the County Council adopts specific traffic mitigation or commuting goals in the Growth Policy, the goal of a traffic mitigation agreement must be to have the percentage of non-driver trips employees make during the peak period equal the percentage of home-based work trips non-drivers make in the policy area. The mitigation agreement should consider proximity to Metro and other relevant factors listed in subsection (e). The percentage of non-driver trips the employees make during the peak period must not be lower than 15 percent or the percentage of home-based work trips using transit, whichever is greater. The percentage must not be higher than 35 percent. In determining the appropriate percentage of home-based work trips for non-drivers under this paragraph, the Department of Transportation must use data of commuting patterns from the most recent census update. (5) A traffic mitigation agreement executed as part of site plan review satisfies the requirements of this section. The Department of Transportation should review and comment on each agreement. (6) The Department of Transportation must submit each proposed traffic mitigation agreement to the Planning Department for review and comment. (b) The permit applicant and the Department of Transportation must execute a traffic mitigation agreement before a building permit is issued. If the applicant is not the owner of the property subject to the permit application, each owner of the property must also execute the traffic mitigation agreement if the agreement requires that owner to take any action. A traffic mitigation agreement executed by an owner must apply to all successors in interest to the owner of the property during the term of the agreement. The owner must record the executed agreement in the County land records. (c) A traffic mitigation agreement must include the appointment of a transportation coordinator for the development. (d) A traffic mitigation agreement may include: (1) limitations on parking spaces to the minimum permitted under the zoning ordinance after allowance of available credits for ridesharing programs, shared parking, proximity to Metro, and similar factors; (2) peak period parking charges, including charging employees for parking at commercial rates; (3) participation in an area personalized ridesharing program, if available, including promotional efforts with tenants and employees; (4) preferential parking requirements for carpools and vanpools, and the installation of one or more bus shelters; (5) provision of transit or vanpool subsidies for employees; (6) provision for emergency rides home for carpoolers and vanpoolers; and (7) similar measures to reduce single occupancy vehicle traffic from the development. (e) In determining reasonable and otherwise appropriate provisions of a traffic mitigation agreement, the Director of Transportation must consider, among other relevant factors: (1) the type, density, and physical layout of the development; (2) probable peak hour trip generation rates at the proposed development; (3) occupancy projections, including the types of employers, the demographic composition of the workforce, and the work hours of employees, if known; (4) proposed parking at the development, as shown in the application for the building permit; (5) the degree to which public transit is available and its frequency of service; (6) parking policies established for the policy area; (7) experience of similar developments or employers in undertaking similar traffic mitigation measures; and (8) location of the development within a transportation management district, share- a-ride district or outreach area, or in proximity to a voluntary transportation management association or other developments where owners or employers are willing to cooperate in joint traffic mitigation measures. (f) Administration of this section should be accomplished in conjunction with existing public and private transportation management efforts. (g) (1) A traffic mitigation agreement may require adequate financial security assurances, including bonds, letters of credit, or similar guarantees; (2) A traffic mitigation agreement must: (i) be made binding on future tenants; and (ii) provide for liquidated damages, specific performance, or other remedies, as appropriate.