ARTICLE IV. ADEQUATE PUBLIC FACILITIES REGULATIONS

A Traffic Impact Study (TIS) may be required to evaluate the effect a proposed development will have on the County’s existing traffic system and may require specific improvements to mitigate the impact on public roads with the approval of NCDOT or applicable municipality.

1. Requirement Thresholds. A TIS is required for any proposed development that meets any of the following requirement thresholds:
   
   1. Any residential subdivision proposing 100 or more lots/units.
   2. Any residential or nonresidential development proposed to generate an average daily traffic count of 1,000 plus vehicles per day or 100 plus trips during peak traffic hour. This traffic count must be based on the latest version of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual.
   3. Any expansion or change to an existing or proposed residential or nonresidential development that would generate an additional 1,000 plus vehicles per day or 100 plus trips during peak traffic hour. This traffic count must be based on the latest version of the Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) Trip Generation Manual.

Notwithstanding the above, a TIS shall not be required if the property to be developed has been the subject of a TIS within the previous three (3) years and the projected trip generation of the newly proposed development is equal to or less than the previous TIS preformed and the trip distribution has not significantly changed.

2. Traffic Impact Study (TIS) Guidelines.
   
   1. Any TIS, whether required or voluntarily, must be prepared by a licensed engineer and submitted as part, or as a condition, of the master plan approval or site plan approval. Prior to conducting the TIS, the developer must meet with County Staff, the Technical Review Committee, and NCDOT to identify certain assumptions that shall be addressed in the TIS.
   2. An executive summary shall be provided with the TIS outlining the following: (1) detailed description of the proposed development, (2) number of access points proposed and studied, (3) existing and future Level of Service (LOS) for studied intersections and road segments including the LOS at the time of build-out, (4) existing traffic counts for road(s) and intersection(s) studied and dates/times counts were conducted, (5) AM and PM Peak Hour Trips, (6) Average Daily Trips created by the development at build-out, (7) Existing Traffic Accident Counts, and (8) any recommended improvements.
   3. The TIS shall address the: (1) proposed land use, (2) site access and site distances at all proposed access points, (3) impacts on the transportation system from the proposed development, and (4) physical improvements or enforceable management strategies to mitigate negative impacts.
   4. The TIS shall take into consideration proposed/planned NCDOT roadway improvement projects as identified on the Metropolitan Transportation Improvement Program (MTIP), State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), the French Broad River Metropolitan Planning Organization Long Range Plan, and the Comprehensive Transportation Plan.
   5. The TIS shall identify the improvements necessary to maintain Level of Service (LOS) D for roads and intersections as defined in the Highway Capacity Manual.
   6. Recommended improvements within the TIS shall take into account the Traffic Impact Study Improvement Requirements listed in §42-136 (Traffic Impact Study) (C).
3. Traffic Impact Study (TIS) Improvement Requirements. The approving authority for all subdivisions requiring a TIS may require additional mitigation standards or offsite improvements provided when improvements are acceptable by NCDOT or applicable municipality. However, a TIS shall not be utilized as a means for the County to require the party developing the property to make needed transportation improvements remote from and not affected by the property for which the TIS is submitted, nor shall identified deficiencies in LOS automatically preclude approval of the proposed development.
   
   1. Left Turn Lane, Right Turn Lane, and/or Right Turn Taper: Based on requirements of the NCDOT Policy on Street and Driveway Access to North Carolina Highways or other NCDOT standards.
   2. Additional Right-of-Way: If a subject development falls along a road projected to be widened by NCDOT or an adopted County plan, additional right-of-way along the development’s road frontage shall be dedicated as deemed acceptable by NCDOT.
   3. Offsite Improvements: If a road segment or intersection is currently performing at LOS-D or better and is projected to perform at LOS-E or F at the time of build-out, improvements must be made to maintain the road segment or intersection at LOS-D. If a road segment or intersection is currently performing at LOS-E or F and is projected to continue to perform at LOS-E or F at the time of build-out, the TIS shall demonstrate how an LOS-D could be achieved and also specify what improvements must be made to ensure that the road segment or intersection is not degraded any further than the current levels. The County may require improvements be made to preserve the existing LOS.
   4. Other Necessary Improvements: Additional improvements may be required based on the TIS recommendations related to topographic/environmental conditions, sight distance, street offsets, conflicting movements, existing traffic accident counts, circulation, and other potential traffic issues resulting from the proposed development. Additionally, the approving authority may determine that additional improvements are necessary to ensure the safety and welfare of the County’s citizens and travelers.

An Emergency Services Impact Report (ESIR) may be required to evaluate the public safety of a proposed development and the effect it will have on the County’s existing Fire and Emergency Medical Services (EMS). The report and requirements are in addition to those requirements and review of the internal design of the development. An ESIR shall be required for subdivisions proposing one-hundred lots/units or more, or subdivisions proposing more than 50 units located more than five (5) road miles from a fire station and shall be submitted as part of master plan approval.

1. Proximity and Impact to Existing Services. Residential and nonresidential subdivisions shall provide documentation to identify if a proposed development or portion thereof is outside of a Fire Insurance District or is more than five (5) road miles from an existing fire station. The developer shall also provide documentation identifying the response time to the nearest existing EMS station based on an average 35 miles per hour. The ESIR shall state the location of the EMS substation, the response time in minutes, the route from the proposed development including road names and classifications, number of passing areas and posted speed limits, and the method of calculation.
2. Fire Suppression Water Supply. Residential and nonresidential subdivisions shall provide documentation to identify water resources for fire suppression. The developer shall also provide documentation identifying the type of water source (static or pressurized), number and spacing of hydrants, capacity, flow rate in gallons per minute, and static and residual pressures.
3. Based on the findings of the ESIR and the recommendation of County Staff or the approving authority, a proposed development may be required to be built at a maximum density of one (1) unit per three (3) acres. However, the developer may volunteer to provide emergency equipment, vehicles, land and/or facilities to the County to serve the development in order to waive the density reduction, provided the County decides the site is appropriate for a new fire or EMS substation.