R930-3-8. Public Involvement

  (1) As part of the final design phase of projects, the Department needs to establish whether property owners and residents are in favor of noise abatement measures. This process involves sending ballots to the following groups so they can indicate their preference for or against noise abatement measures:

  (a) All benefited receptors (property owners and residents/renters). A benefited receptor is one that would receive a reduction of 5 dBA or more as a result of noise abatement; and

  (b) Receptors that border or are directly adjacent to the end of a proposed noise wall that are not, by definition, benefited by the wall.

  (2) The number of votes is established as follows:

  (a) Owner occupied residences: The owner will have 1 vote.

  (b) Rental homes, multi-family residences and apartments: The owner will have 1 vote per unit and the resident/renter will have 1 vote for the unit.

  (c) Day care centers, hospitals, libraries, medical facilities, parks, picnic areas, places of worship, playgrounds, public meeting rooms, public or nonprofit institutional structures: The owner will have 1 vote.

  (d) Commercial/industrial businesses: The owner will have 1 vote for the unit and, if applicable, the tenant will have 1 vote for the unit.

  (e) Mobile home parks: The mobile home owner will have 1 vote. The lot owner, if different than the home owner, will have 1 vote.

  (3) Properties owned by UDOT - It is the policy of UDOT to abstain from voting as a receptor and these votes will not be calculated in the denominator of total votes described in assessing ballots.

  (4) Assessing ballots - When votes are counted, property owners' votes will receive a multiplier factor of 5 compared to residents (non-owners) factor of 1.

  (a) Noise abatement will only be recommended if 75 percent of votes counted, favor noise abatement. The denominator used to calculate this percentage will equal the total number of votes. In addition, at least 75 percent of the total number of completed ballots must be returned to adequately assess if noise abatement measures are desired. If less than 75 percent of ballots are returned after balloting efforts are completed, then noise abatement measures will be deemed not reasonable.

  (b) Ballots sent by mail are deemed by the Department as "due diligence" in notifying the affected property owners and residents/renters of possible noise mitigation measures in their area. Ballots will be sent by regular mail to each property owner of record and each residing household/resident. Each ballot will include a deadline for return to the Department. For ballots sent but not received by the deadline, a second ballot will be sent by Registered Mail to those who have not returned a ballot.

  (c) If the voting process results in a decision not to construct noise abatement, the area will not be considered for noise abatement unless a future transportation project falls under the guidelines of a Type I Project.