DECRETO 350 DE 1989 ANTECEDENTES

In the U.S., Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) are responsible for preparing regional transportation plans and allocating federal funding through a Transportation Improvement

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Program (TIP). In both metropolitan regions, the MPOs have utilized the criteria for selecting transportation projects as an incentive for adopting principles in the regional vision plans. In the Denver metropolitan area, implementation of the regional Metro Vision plan has been supported by incentives built into the TIP funding allocation process. Under Metro Vision 2020, up to 20% of the TIP funding criteria were designated to local government compliance with Metro Vision plan and its urban growth boundaries (Margerum, 2005b). This process has been amended several times, and the TIP allocation under the Metro Vision 2035 plan included both qualitative assessment and scoring bonuses for projects that met conditions such as: developing an urban center or town center, increasing population density, and jurisdiction is a signatory to the Mile High Compact. The changes in the regional TIP policy related specifically to centers is summarized below in Table 6-17. Data from DRCOG also highlights that many of the funded TIP projects received points under the urban center funding criteria (see Table 6-18).

Table 6-16: Denver Area TIP Policy Criteria Related to Centers

TIP

Cycle Project Criteria Points Related to Centers Definitions and Characteristics 2008-

2013 • • 6 points: serving Denver Central Business District (CBD) 5 points: serving fixed guideway transit station • 3 points: serving other urban center

• 0 points: not serving an urban center 14 Points Total (14% of total possible points)

• Project directly serving (touching) or indirectly linked

• Proximity varies by mode type (ped, bike, bus, roadway) 2012-

2017 • • 6 points: urban center within ¼ mile of a rapid transit station 5 points: urban center served by transit with ≤15 min headways • 4 points: urban center served by transit with ≤30 min headways • 2 points: All other urban centers or rapid transit station that is

not an urban center

• 0 points: not in proximity to urban center or rapid transit station 17 Points Total (17% of total possible points)

• Rapid transit station= stations identified in constrainted Metro Vision RTP

• Serving=physically touching • Proximity varies by mode type

(ped, bike, bus, roadway) 2016-

2021 • • 5 points: within .25 miles of an urban center or rural town center 5 points: if project demonstrates three of the following– o Located within an urban center or rural town center served

by transit ≤ 30 min combined peak service headways o Located in urban or rural town center where community

has implemented mixed use zoning or development plans o Located in urban or rural town center where community

has adopted parking management strategies. o Located in urban or rural town center with community

commitment to preserve or develop affordable housing o Proposed project is identified in an adopted Urban Center

Master Plan or Station Area Master Plan. 10 Points Total (10% of total possible points)

• Centers defined in adopted Metro Vision 2035

• Parking management strategies must minimize negative effects on urban center development and multimodal access

• Affordable housing defined by households earning 0-60% of AMI and/or for-sale units for households earning 0-80% of AMI

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Table 6-17: Denver Area Allocation of Funding in Relation to Urban Center (UC) Criteria

Projects Submitted Projects Selected Funding Allocation TIP Cycle Total #

submitted receiving Total # UC points

Total #

submitted receiving Total # UC points Total Allocated 000’s Allocated to UC projects ‘000s Percent to UC projects 2008-2013 74 50 51 41 $99,287 $78,082 78.64% 2012-2017 115 83 28 26 $87,489 $81,144 92.75% 2016-2021 135 66 47 33 $174,822 $135,817 77.69% UC = Urban Center

Allocated Funding = total funding for project; not just direct urban center expenditures Source: Denver Regional Council of Governments, 2016

In addition to the TIP funding criteria, DRCOG has grant programs that help cities plan for developing station areas and urban centers. In its first four years, funding was limited only to station-area master planning. In 2011, the DRCOG Board of Directors expanded the program to include urban centers and committed additional funding. Since 2007, DRCOG has provided over $6.3 million in funding to support 43 station-area master planning studies (Source: Urban

Center/Station Area Master Planning Grant Program background summary prepared by DRCOG staff, April 2016).

A survey of individuals involved in regional transportation and land use decision making in the Denver region asked them to evaluate its effect on land use decisions across the region. The survey found a mixed response to the impact of the regional plans (n=39):

• 36% of respondents said it very insignificant or insignificant • 38% said it was neither significant or insignificant

• 26% indicated it was significant or very significant (Margerum, Brody, Parker and McEwen, 2011).

In our interviews with planners for this study, most indicated that grant funding was a relatively low motivating factor in terms of its influence on local planning or elected officials’ decisions about adopting centers. Other factors were more important for leading cities to adopt the centers concept and to create a truly mixed-use center. However, once adopted grants for station-area planning were important for many cities to speed up the implementation of planning and development work.

In the Salt Lake City region, the 2015-2040 Regional Transportation Plan incorporated criteria that rewarded projects that served centers identified in Wasatch Choice. This was the first time that this has been included in the TIP policy criteria, and it is too soon to determine the impact this has had on local government support for centers.

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Table 6-18: Salt Lake City Area TIP Policy Criteria Related to Centers TIP

Cycle Project Criteria Points Related to Centers Definitions and Characteristics 2011-

2040 No points allocated specifically to centers 2015-

2040 • • 5 points: connections to Wasatch Choice centers 5 points: Access or connections to infill areas and/or redevelopment areas

10 Points Total (10% of total possible points)

• Five points to project within ¾ mile to a Wasatch Choice 2040 center,

• Five points to projects within three-quarter mile of an infill or redevelopment area

Source: Wasatch Front Regional Council, 2016