Protecting and Preserving Freight Corridors and Facilities

Presentation to Baltimore Industrial Group

Lisa Loftus-OtwayCenter for Transportation Research

The University of Texas at Austin

February 14, 2011

Why has this issue arisen?• Freight Growth past 20 years

– Increases in port, truck and train activity close to residential areas

• Population Growth and Residential development–Often close to freight corridors and facilities

•Land on the periphery–Infill policies and gentrification of old industrial areas

•Odd parcels close to freight activity

• Environmental Justice– Community awareness has grown

Why plan for freight?• Freight = Jobs and revenue• Freight growth – “Getting Me My Stuff”

– On average 42 tons of freight worth $39,000 was delivered to EVERY PERSON in U.S. in 2007

– Distance involved in transporting this freight, is an average of 11,000 ton-miles for every person in U.S.

– This is equal to carrying almost one ton of freight between the North Pole and the South Pole for every man, woman, and child in the United States, or almost two tons between LA and Rotterdam

• 2007 US Commodity Flow Survey Data

Why Act Now?• U.S. is projected to continue

to grow rapidly– Continuing shift in where

people live—are migrating to megapolitan areas where freight system congestion exists

• We will still need ‘stuff’• Regional visioning

movement - opportunity to plan for freight

Encroachment: What’s the problem?

Physical ‘encroachment’ onto freight property

Source: Chuck Burnell North Carolina Railroad

Source: The Impact Project , June 2009http://hydra.usc.edu/scehsc/pdfs/D-1-3%20Trade%20Health%20Environment.pdf

Residential land uses adjacent to freight uses

Source: Mileski et al, “Texas Transportation Institute, August, 2010.

For rail major issues is trespass

• Children crossing UP line in Anaheim CA to get to Ball Jr High School

Source: Jon Waide FRA Region 7 Law Enforcement Liaison Officer

Why Does Land Use Planning Matter to Freight?• Land use planning and approvals lead to

projects that:– Block or otherwise impact freight corridors– Put incompatible uses near, or encroaching on,

freight corridors or facilities– Reduce industrial land available near freight

facilities (e.g., ports)• Freight facilities often require land use

approvals

How close is close?Heights Boulevard, Houston, Tx. Fence 3.5 feet and foundation 8.5 feet from near rail

Source: Carolyn Cook - FRA

8.5 feet

Built to ‘usual’ standards - No soundproofing vibration mitigation

Source: Dale Hill – Union Pacific

Source: Carolyn Cook - FRA

Unit facing us: listed at $350kUnit behind is closer to rail listed at $380k

How the developer can impact the issue• Cheney WA – request for variance Jan 2010

– Reduction in lot size, where zoning immediately north of site is ‘industrial’ and 2 freight rail lines run.

• Notice of application was sent to all property owners and residents within 300 feet of subject site

– No responses were received• Per code: proposal shall be integrated with surrounding

land uses and minimize any negative impact resulting from the development

– Findings: The subject site is located at the intersection of X Road and X Street. Northwest is a railroad right of way. All other surrounding sites are vacant. The proposed development does not alter or interfere with the railroad right of way. Therefore the criteria is met.

BNSF

UP

Zoned

multi-

family

residential

Wetland mitigation will take place here

Sidewalks being built on Alki St3 unit property already built – facing Alki St Sole development access road will lead into Alki St

Zoned industrial

Costs to Cure: Chicago O’Hare – FAA Airport Improvement Program

• Sound Insulation Program– 6,950 homes insulated

• 1,000 homes in construction• 1,000 homes in design

– 116 schools insulated• 3 schools in construction• 1 school in design

• $550 million cost– 20% match by localities

• New Program 2010 sound insulation expanded to multi-owner buildingsSource: Chicago O’Hare Noise Compatibility Commission 2010 Brochure.

Why Don’t Local Governments Protect Freight Needs?• Residents (voters) don’t like

impacts of freight• Benefits of freight are too

removed and poorly understood– Each local government only sees a

piece of the system• State enabling acts don’t include

freight as a required planning element

• Often little tax benefit to local government

• Perceived as something that is not the local government’s issue

• Freight providers sometimes viewed as bullies

• Planning degrees don’t provide freight education

• Few available tools regarding how to plan for freight

• Freight stakeholders often aren’t involved in land use planning and visioning processes

• MPOs & local governments don’t have resources to devote to freight

Land Use Authority in America

Local governments hold most land use authority—this is where most land use decisions are made

States hold land use authority and have delegated much of it to local governments

Constitution acknowledges states have reserved land use authorityUS Constitution

States

Counties Cities

To Successfully Impact Land Use Decisions, You Must Think About Land Use Authority This Way:

Cities & Counties

States

Federal Government

The Land Use Planning System Itself is Fragmented• Numerous cities and counties have legal

jurisdiction• In response, during the last twenty years the

regional visioning movement, launched with Envision Utah, has sought to address the fragmentation

• Freight has not been included in a significant way in either the fragmented legal system or the regionalism movement

Two Worlds That Need to Come Together

Land Use Planning Freight

• The Goal:• Long-range land use planning

that:– Treats freight as a system– Protects and preserves the

freight system – Permits future expansion of,

and efficiency improvements to, the freight system

– Mitigates for proximity/encroachment issues

Website www.envisionfreight.com & guide are intended to facilitate this process

Our Proposed Systematic Approach to Get Freight Needs Recognized in Local Planning • Amend state enabling acts to make freight planning required in

comprehensive plans• Include freight in regional visions

– Freight stakeholders need to get involved in regional and local comprehensive planning processes

• Plan for freight in local comprehensive plans– Planners and elected officials need to invite freight stakeholders to the

table• Incorporate MPO long-range plans into local comprehensive

plans• Create zoning ordinances that prescribe design criteria for

freight-compatible development

Corridor preservation strategiesPlanning and Regulations

Property Acquisition

Collaborative Approaches

Mitigation Measures

Corridor Plans

Freight InventoriesOfficial Maps

Comprehensive Plans

Zoning Standards

Grade Crossing Management

Gate/Yard Management

Bottleneck Identification

Industrial Zone Protection

Fee Simple Purchase

Advance Acquisition

Purchase of Development Rights

Options to Purchase

Land Swaps

Protective Condemnation

Interim Use

Access Rights Leasehold Interests

Informal Negotiations

Intergovernmental Coordination

Public Private Partnerships

Transportation Authorities

Public Involvement

Multi-jurisdictional Agreements

Public Outreach & Education

Development Permitting

Transfer of Development Rights

Interim Uses

Buffer Regions

Sound Walls/Track Treatment/Yard Re-

alignment

Zoning Measures

Public Outreach & Education

Freight Relocation

Zoning: Cluster zoning• Allow denser development without encroaching closer to ROW

Ashton Woods Townhomes, Austin, Tx

How we’d have developed this site!!

Zoning: Setbacks• Required distances within which development is

not permitted without a variance

Source: Williams, K. Managing Corridor Development: A Municipal Handbook, October 1996

Setback from freight line

Zoning: Overlay zones

Lot orientation and lot depths

Deeper lot depth Non access easementBetter development orientationLow utilized rooms placed closer to freight facility

Changing building layoutPlace under-utilized rooms closer to the freight facility

Creates space through which noise and vibration diminishes

Mitigation for new residential development

Source: Railway Proximity Website: Research Report: Proximity Guidelines and Best Practices. November 2006. Available at: http://www.proximityissues.ca/english/MaterialsContent/2006_Guidelines_eng.pdf

Don’t zone (or allow development) like this!Wichita KS – Via Christi Medical Center (Kansas’s only head trauma center & class 1 Trauma center) layout looked just like this until the grade crossing was removed when railway line was raised and a bridge was placed here

Another “Don’t zone!” example• March 2010 – Washington Utilities

and Transportation Commission approved funding $38,844, to put fencing beside Longview Elementary School in Moses Lake

• Columbia Basin Railroad’s tracks run parallel to the school’s playground. 400 students attend the elementary school and over half of the students live across the tracks from the school

• Students cross the tracks at this location as a short-cut to school

• The fencing will discourage unsafe activity on and around the railroad tracks in the vicinity of the school

Notice process• Cities/Counties provide details to freight groups for permit requests around

facilities– Process for City applications for site plan approval, zoning variances, or other City

Development office applications concerning property within 500 feet of our Rail ROW:– X gets a notice, hands it to Y, who reviews to see if this warrants a notice. (Someone

putting up a fence would not, for example.)– Z fills out the form letters to the applicant and the property owner using the contact info

from the City’s development site:– The letter is signed by the Real Estate Manager.– Z sends contact info to the Community Involvement team, with a request to be notified

after the phone call to the applicant has been made.– Z sends the letter(s), return receipt requested, to both the applicant and the owner, and

sends a cc to the City staff person listed on the application, and then sends internal cc’s to Legal and Community Involvement .

– Z enters the info into the log of Development Notices.– And then we are done, unless the applicant or property owner responds to the letter. If so,

we answer questions that essentially repeat the information in the letter.– The paper copies should go back to the Real Estate Manager’s files.

Owner notification letter• Date• Name• Address• City, State, ZIP• • • Dear Applicant:• • I am writing to you with reference to the Notice of _________________________________ Case # ________________ sent to [ x ] by the[ y ] . We

received this notice because our rail tracks are within 500 feet of the property as shown in the notice.• • [ x ] runs freight service on these tracks, and is required to continue to do so as a matter of federal law. In the near future, we will be operating passenger

rail service during weekday morning and evening peak hours. With the start of passenger rail service, we will shift freight rail service to other times, particularly the hours after the last passenger train has run.

• • We want you to be aware of the freight service; the freight trains generate some noise as they move through. At most urban street crossings, we are

providing upgraded signal systems with crossing arms to block the roadway. This allows the City of Austin the ability to apply for a “quiet zone” meaning that the train will not blow its horn, under normal operations, as it moves through the street crossing within the passenger rail service corridor.

• • Capital Metro strives to provide the community with the best passenger and freight service possible. We also try to be sure that all of our neighbors are

aware of both our present and possible future operations. We wanted to be sure that you were aware of the nearby existence of the tracks, and of the potential for freight service through evening and overnight hours.

• • Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you.• • Manager, Real Estate • Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority• • cc: Owner• Listed City Staff,

Mitigation: Issues and costs• Freight entities are becoming involved• Rail Relocation

– Alameda $2.4bn• Sound Barriers

– Noise and vibration are subjective issue– Limited efficacy blocking low frequency noise and vibration

• Anaheim CA – BNSF Route – Close to SR 90/91 – 100 + trains a day– 3.44 miles of sound wall $13m cost (2007)

• Yorba Linda has increased sound and vibration• Built berm to offset “bounce effect” from wall - cost $2.8m (2008)

LA Gold Line Sound BarrierSource: Phil Hooser – Industrial Acoustics Group

Collaborate• Collaboration is one way to achieve success when

a corridor crosses multiple jurisdictions– Compromise will be required

– Utah Transit Agency interlocal agreement (62 jurisdictions)- everyone gave up a little land-use control but in the long-run this is leading to greater certainty, has streamlined permitting and it is easier to work with developers

• Need public outreach/education program on the importance of planning around corridors to ensure ‘quality of life’

Questions?

Lisa Loftus-OtwayCenter for Transportation Research

University of Texas at Austinloftusotway@mail.utexas.edu

512 232 3072