[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 75 (Thursday, April 18, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16339-16340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-07812]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Federal Transit Administration
[Docket No. FTA-2019-0002]
Joint Development: Proposed Updated Circular
AGENCY: Federal Transit Administration (FTA), DOT.
ACTION: Notice of availability of update to joint development circular
and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has placed in the
docket and on its website proposed changes to an existing Circular
(7050.1A) on joint development projects using FTA funds or FTA-funded
property. The purpose of these proposed changes is to increase
flexibility for project sponsors to pursue joint development projects,
reduce FTA oversight of joint development agreements negotiated between
project sponsors and their partners, streamline FTA's project
eligibility review process, and clarify prior guidance in FTA Circular
7050.1A: FTA Guidance on Joint Development. If proposed changes are
approved, the revised document will be renumbered as Circular 7050.1B:
FTA Guidance on Joint Development. By this notice, FTA seeks public
comment on proposed changes, which are at pages III-6, VI-1, VI-2, VI-
4, VI-5, and VI-6 of the Circular.
DATES: Comments must be submitted by June 3, 2019. Late filed comments
will be considered to the extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Please submit your comments by only one of the following
methods, identifying your submission by DOT Docket Number FTA-2019-
0002. All electronic submissions must be made to the U.S. Government
electronic site at http://www.regulations.gov.
Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov and
follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
[[Page 16340]]
Mail: Docket Management Facility: U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building, Ground Floor,
Room W12-140, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140,
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern time,
Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays.
Fax: 202-493-2251.
Instructions: You must include the agency name (Federal Transit
Administration) and Docket number (FTA-2019-0002) for this notice at
the beginning of each submission of your comments. Submit two copies of
your comments if you submit them by mail. For confirmation that FTA
received your comments, include a self-addressed stamped postcard. All
comments received will be posted without change to www.regulations.gov
including any personal information provided and will be available to
internet users. You may review DOT's complete Privacy Act Statement
published in the Federal Register on April 11, 2000 (65 FR 19477) or
http://DocketsInfo.dot.gov.
Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents and
comments received, go to www.regulations.gov at any time or to the U.S.
Department of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Docket
Operations, M-30, West Building Ground Floor, Room W12-140, Washington,
DC 20590 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For policy guidance questions, Daniel
Schned, Office of Budget and Policy, Federal Transit Administration,
1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Room E52-314, Washington, DC 20590, phone:
(202) 366-1652, or email, [email protected]. For legal questions,
Kathryn Loster, Office of Chief Counsel, 200 West Adams Street, Suite
320, Chicago, IL 60606, phone: (312) 353-3869; or email:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice provides a summary of the
proposed changes to Circular 7050.1A. The Circular itself is not
included in this notice; instead, an electronic version may be found on
FTA's website at www.transit.dot.gov, and in the docket at
www.regulations.gov. Paper copies of the Circular may be obtained by
contacting FTA's Administrative Services Help Desk at (202) 366-4865.
Table of Contents
I. Overview
II. Proposed changes to Circular 7050.1A
A. Fair Share of Revenue
B. Submission and Review Process
I. Overview
The proposed changes to Circular 7050.1A regarding joint
development affect: (1) The minimum threshold for the statutory ``fair
share of revenue'' requirement; and (2) the submission and review
process for FTA-assisted joint development projects.
II. Proposed Changes to Circular 7050.1A
A. Fair Share of Revenue
Section 5302(3)(G)(iii) of title 49, United States Code, requires
FTA-assisted joint development projects to provide a ``fair share of
revenue that will be used for public transportation.'' Prior to the
October 1, 2014 effective date of Circular 7050.1A, FTA generally
deferred to a project sponsor's assessment of a ``fair share'' of
revenue, and did not require any specific amount of revenue for transit
from a joint development project. FTA defined ``fair share of revenue''
in Circular 7050.1A to incorporate a minimum threshold that a joint
development project must produce revenue for transit purposes that at
least equals the federal government's initial investment in the joint
development project. (79 FR 50,728; 50,731-32).
Over time, FTA has found that defining a fair share of revenue
minimum threshold unnecessarily limits the pool of potential projects
by reducing flexibility for project sponsors and their partners to
determine what amounts to a fair share of revenue. Accordingly, FTA
proposes to no longer define a minimum revenue threshold, or set a
monetary requirement from a joint development project for transit
purposes.
Although FTA proposes to allow the amount and form of revenue
received by the project sponsor to be negotiated between the joint
development parties, consistent with Circular 7050.1A, the project
sponsor must continue to report to FTA the amount and source of the
revenue it will receive, and the revenue must be used for transit
purposes.
B. Submission and Review Process
Circular 7050.1A prescribes a process by which project proposals
are submitted to FTA for review. Currently, formal project proposals
must include: (1) A completed project request form that contains
pertinent information about the joint development project, including
how the eligibility criteria are to be satisfied, (2) all proposed
agreements between the project sponsor and project partners, (3) an
executed certificate of compliance, and (4) two forms identifying other
required and supplemental documentation, including a baseline market
analysis to demonstrate a good faith effort to provide a fair share of
revenue to the project sponsor.
FTA proposes to update the project request form to reflect the
changes described in Section (A) above. The revised project request
form will be published on FTA's website at www.transit.dot.gov/jointdevelopment.
FTA has also determined that elimination of the fair share of
revenue minimum threshold makes the submission of a baseline market
analysis and certificate of compliance unnecessary. Accordingly, FTA
proposes to no longer require project sponsors to submit either
document. FTA encourages project sponsors to conduct baseline market
analyses to better understand current market conditions and evaluate
the viability of joint development projects.
The proposed changes will streamline the review of FTA-assisted
joint development projects by reducing the amount of paperwork that
project sponsors must prepare and FTA must review.
FTA recommends that interested stakeholders review the proposed
changes to the Circular carefully and provide comment on any impacts
these proposed changes may have on future joint development projects.
K. Jane Williams,
Acting Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2019-07812 Filed 4-17-19; 8:45 am]
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