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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREDvujovich-labarreb4July 15, 201 0 Dear Mayor Romero and San Luis Obispo City Council Members , RED FILE - MEETING AGEND A DATEOe /0 ITEM #f fr 41 ?C~°Y &.41FYic . 'COUNCIL DD DI RD-e c rimot I-'F`IN Di pQ-AGA 'lss~r`~ry,4z .I f E CHIE F DArroPNEY C W DI M LEFKOMItl fn- POCKS CH F11OPTHE A D S S t M C DI Ar?tB -1TIL O I7~tc C!rHP GRI P i NG~J .flai c ,Ccuvec L %[ T'f 41 &There are four major reasons to support the Prado Road Initiative and to prevent this small portion of road from being built on the Damon-Garcia Sports Fields property, adjacent t o the South Hills Open Space . —c.d.oz.lc The initiative will facilitate a logical alternative route that would actually improve curren t traffic circulation problems, provide for health and safety, boost tourism and business an d help to leave a positive legacy for the next generation . This initiative process came about as a last resort .Members of our group have worked for over ten years with various Council members and City officials in different capacities, an d still feel that our vision has been ignored . As evidence, I have attached past correspondence, letters and e—mails to illustrate this point . (Attachment A : Pages 1-9) Our group has many more on file . Some people find one of the most interesting pieces of information on Page 3 — a portion of an EIR where you , Mayo r Romero encouraged then - City Council members to align this extension of Prado Road t o Tank Farm Road and to not go through the Damon-Garcia Sports Fields and South Hill s Open Space in May 2002 . There is also an e-mail (Attachment A : Page 7) to constituent Alan Thomas in 2006, where you, Mayor Romero, responded that you were "unaware" tha t a road was ever going to go through the Damon-Garcia Sports Fields . In brief, and with all due respect, it is this lack of clear communication, years of frustratio n and a better vision that have caused this initiative . After hours of research and also guidance from an environmental attorney, this initiative wa s created by Mike Sullivan, Bill Wilson and me . We were able to successfully get this initiative before City voters thanks to dozens of enthusiastic individuals who circulated the petitions and over 3,700 people who signed ou r petitions . On July 20, 2010, you will have the option to adopt this initiative into law, rather than have i t proceed to the November 2010 election. It is my sincere hope that that is your choice . If you as a City Council choose to have the initiative go onto the ballot in November 2010 , citizens will decide whether they want to support a future San Luis Obispo that resembles a sprawling Los Angeles or a San Luis Obispo that has a healthy, small-town ambiance, a n improved circulation plan, soccer fields and adjacent open space for recreation . Although the importance of the Prado Road extension has been highlighted in the report tha t City staff prepared, I ask that you reexamine the data with an educated ear and eye . I alsoRECEIVED JUL152~10 1 SLO CITY CLERK think it is critical that this road be staked out even in the simplest form, to demonstrate th e impacts to the playing fields, the serenity of the open space and the reality that this extensio n will actually impede traffic in the area . I also ask that you review information from the expert traffic engineer and instructor Eugen e Jud sent under separate cover and on Attachment A : Page 1 prior to the July 20, 2010 Cit y Council meeting and for you to ask him questions at the meeting, when he will present hi s findings . As elected officials, I also encourage you to direct Mr . Bochum to answer some of th e questions that he was unable to do for me in a recent e-mail . (Attachment A : Page 10) Yo u could ask him to answer these questions and to help stake this project out for the public t o view as soon as possible . Our City's woefully outdated circulation plan does not take into consideration th e tremendous amount of construction that has been given the green light during the past decad e west of Highway 101, including Target, Costco, and Home Depot . Many wonder why we no t have an improved Los Osos Valley Road interchange now given all of this approved development. As for the eastern part of our City, we need a circulation element that includes a widene d Tank Farm Road for our industrial and commercial route, Buckley Road as our enhance d circulator route, and Santa Fe Road realigned to connect the two . These changes, along wit h alternative public transportation, walking and Class-1 bike paths will all work to support ne w environmental mandates . These improvements alone will boost property values and tourism and protect the environment . The small portion of Prado Road from the future Margarita Development can be directe d south and connect to Tank Farm at the Santa Fe intersection, instead of bisecting the Damon - Garcia Sports Fields and adjacent South Hills Open Space . Traffic will flow more efficiently and the fields and open space will be saved . This recommendation is highlighted in the basic maps Attachment A : Pages 11-14 . On Tuesday evening when this matter officially comes before the City Council, I hope to hav e time to show you the enhanced maps of the extension of Prado Road going down to Tan k Farm and a map that shows how this area will look when we reclaim the 4 .5 acres originally purchased for recreation adjacent to the South Hills Open Space . The Prado Road Initiative staff report states that there have been many Environmenta l Impact Reports (EIR) completed on parts of Prado Road . However, the major concern I still have about the way Prado Road is being dealt with is that as a whole project - it i s being illegally segmented according to CEQA . Portions of Prado Road appear tangent t o the Dalidio property, the Margarita Plan, the Airport Plan and the Damon-Garcia Sports Fields . What has bothered me for years is that, according to CEQA, if a City knows it ha s a project, like Prado Road from Madonna to Broad Street, it is supposed to present that project in its entirety and study the cumulative effects of the entire project in a comprehensive EIR. 2 Although I have brought this up more than once over the years, no one on the Cit y Council has responded to this illegality. Please call for an EIR that studies Prado Road a s it is currently proposed in City documents. More than one myth will be exposed' as to th e need for this extension of Prado Road on Damon-Garcia Sports Fields property .A comprehensive EIR will also help to safely redirect traffic to Tank Farm Road at a n improved Santa Fe Road . It would be prudent to know what can and cannot be mitigated before additiona l commercial or residential construction is approved and/or built along the proposed four - lane truck route . An EIR of this nature would adequately reveal the flaws in proposing a four- lane truc k route through a new residential neighborhood, like in the Margarita Plan, it would als o expose the risks of putting a four-lane elevated truck route adjacent to soccer fields wit h young children and soccer balls . The EIR would expose the health risks of emission s from cars and diesel trucks while they idle at the proposed intersection and new signal a t Broad Street and Prado Road since traffic will be backed up on Prado Road, waiting t o turn left or right and traffic will back up on Broad, waiting to turn onto Prado Road . The other fact that would be exposed is that currently on paper, this four-lane truc k highway would go west, across the foothills, through a neighborhood with roundabout s and end up at Highway 101 where currently there exists a one-lane on-ramp onto th e highway near the classic Sunset Drive-In and the soon to be expanded Prado Day Center . Again, a comprehensive EIR has never been completed and although Prado Road i s referred to in multiple area specific plans there is not a comprehensive EIR of Prad o Road from Madonna to Broad Street . Also, as a taxpayer, I would like a complete explanation of who exactly is going to pa y for this four-lane truck highway . In regard to protecting the health and safety of citizens, local soccer parents and player s have applauded our efforts. They feel that the outcome of this initiative will best provid e for a healthy, safe environment for young and old alike. Constituents do not want th e noise, fumes and visual blight of another four-lane truck highway running perpendicula r to four-lane Broad Street, which already borders the fields on one side . The staff repor t states that several sports fields have a major highway adjacent to them, but they do no t highlight that the Prado Road extension would actually sandwich athletes between four - lane Broad Street and four-lane Prado Road. That configuration is simply a recipe fo r disaster . Also, parents in particular do not want their children to use the propose d pedestrian tunnel underneath the four-lane truck route to go from the fields to the ope n space and Margarita development . Constituents also want to reclaim the 4.5 acres of land for sports fields that is currentl y cordoned off from public use, land that was originally part of the 23 .5 acres that were purchased for $2 million from the Damon-Garcia family . 3 In Attachment A : Page 8, Bill Wilson in October of 2004 shows that the action ite m approved by the City Council was specifically for a Purchase and Sales agreement t o acquire 23 .5 acre portion of the Damon-Garcia Ranch at a cost of $2,000,000 for th e purpose of constructing sports fields . The motion was carried 5 :0 . As a reminder, the original bond for the purchase of the property was so exact that th e Army Corp of Engineers held the construction of the Damon-Garcia Sports Fields up fo r nearly 14 months. The staff there wanted to be sure that no portion of the Prado Road wa s built. Once the Army Corps was satisfied, construction on the fields was started, an d finished in record time. The entire community was ecstatic to have this park- like settin g to recreate, adjacent to the South Hills Open space . Later, when some citizens began to wonder why part of the sports field's acreage was no t developed, they questioned City officials, including Mayor Romero . Many people wer e told "not to worry", that it was just a "paper road" and that it would not be built on . Again, this is the frustration that eventually fueled this initiative . The current staff report also states that the area we want to reclaim will have no clear us e for recreation . I completely disagree with that statement and would be happy to have a design team meet with you as early as September 30, 2010 with drawings for potentia l recreational uses and a budget for the construction. Additionally, I would volunteer to help to fundraise for this public, emerald gem!, The staff report also states that Prado Road will simply dead end at the on the west bac k side of the Damon-Garcia Sports Fields. That area will most certainly become an area fo r increased parking and provide access to the fields from the west side of the tur f As a teacher for three decades, I am also concerned in the days of a struggling economy , childhood obesity and asthma, that we protect our soccer fields so that people young an d old, with varying degrees of fitness, can have a park-like setting to actually safely pla y soccer or simply enjoy the outdoors . As the recent World Cup fever and drama attested, soccer is embraced by many as i t allows individuals from a wide variety of socio-economic backgrounds and differen t body types, genders, religions, ethnicities and athletic abilities to play together . Most business professionals will support this initiative as tourism will increase an d businesses will net the profits. Not only will people come here for soccer tournaments , but the resulting open space, walking, running and bike trails will thrill tri-athletes, do g walkers and nature lovers of all levels of fitness . The other magnet for tourism will be the preservation of the visible 5,000-year-ol d Chumash archaeological site that borders the sports fields and open space . This site i s actually in the path of the proposed four-lane truck route . 4 Our group is not about "no growth" ; we are for "smart growth." It is absurd to put a four - lane highway adjacent to the fields on land that was originally purchased for recreatio n and to ask children to use a pedestrian walkway beneath that same elevated, four-lan e truck highway for ingress and egress . We also believe it is not "smart growth" to put a four-lane truck route with its planned roundabouts through a new neighborhood of 1,00 0 homes and a fourth traffic light on Broad Street in a zone that is less than a mile in length . Additionally, our initiative dovetails perfectly with the widely publicized 2010 Chambe r of Commerce core values and goals . As the Chamber aims to "keep San Luis Obispo one of the world's greatest places to liv e and work, protect air quality, scenic beauty, open space , unique character and sense o f community and to help businesses understand and embrace diversity and have San Lui s Obispo grow in a manner consistent with protecting community character and quality o f life ." Our initiative also perfectly reflects City goals and attributes . From the City website i t states under our City's economic health that, " a vibrant economy depends on the healt h of its community, including its social and physical environment . San Luis Obispo enjoy s a superior quality of life by investing heavily in its economic, social, and environmenta l health." The City website also states that, "With the charm of a small town, clean air, low crim e rates, excellent schools, and no major traffic problems, San Luis Obispo is an invitin g city that promotes a healthy lifestyle" and that "San Luis Obispo's air quality is at o r below the California standard for acceptable ozone levels every day of the year ." The website also asserts that residents of San Luis Obispo can find many ways to enjo y the outdoors : walking, running, tennis, golf, surfing, horseback riding, hiking, cycling , and even birding . By supporting this initiative you can acknowledge that we can take pause and provide a n improved infrastructure that is safe, healthy and logical for our award-winning City . As one of the proponents of this initiative I know that this is a "grass roots" movemen t that is going to change the course of our City and I am asking you to be unafraid t o support the logical alternative route now . The passage of this initiative will be a "win-win" solution for the growing pains of Sa n Luis Obispo and will terminate the Prado Road extension, now commonly referred to a s "the road to nowhere" by many residents . Although this initiative simply extracts a small portion of Prado Road from bisecting th e Damon-Garcia Sports Fields and South Hills Open Space it will improve a woefully outdated circulation plan, boost tourism and local business, support health and safety an d protect the integrity of and enhance the Damon-Garcia Sports Fields and South Hill s Open Space . 5 Please feel free to contact me anytime to discuss my concerns and/or to meet me at th e Damon-Garcia Sports Fields for an onsite look at my concerns and to view the viabl e alternatives . Sincerely , MilIVujovh h-La Barre 650 Skyline Driv e San Luis Obispo, California 9340 5 Cell: 805-441-5818 6 Attachment A From : Mila Vujovich-La Barr e 14 pages total 7 Initiative would alter only a small part of planned routes . In your Editor's Note (June 17)you said the initiative proposed for the November ballot to prevent Prado Road from being extended adjacent to the Damon- Garcia sports fields in San Luis Obisp o might scuttle the city's Prado Road Plan altogether and housing development alongwith it. Sounds dramatic ! In reality, only the eastern fifth of th eroadonyourmapwould be realigned ,turned to a southerly direction to lea ddirectly into Tank Farm Road . This wa sone of the alternatives studied before .According to the Environmental Impac tReport of 2003, a resident wrote : "An alternative ... would be to extend Prado Rd .in a SE direction from theMargarita Area to connect to Tank Farm . Rd~...,and thereafter use TankFarm Road as the arterial access .This alternative would eliminate theneed to construct Prado Road, initiative would improve traffi c circulation The story about the SLO city Prado Road initiative ("Not in my sports field ." June 17)` lacked accurate information. It stated Prado Road would extend "throug h a portion of the South Hills Open Spaceand alongside the Damon Garcia SportsFields." Actually, the proposed four-lane, truck route highway and a major, ne w bridge would be within the boundaries o f Damon-Garcia Sports Fields park,taking- away "abont,foux and a half acres that were originally purchased for sports and recreation . The story claims, "City growth depend s on whether Prado Road becomes the majo r link between the east and west section sof the municipality," That 's opinion,notfact. The current circulationplan woul d actually be enhanced byeliminating th e _proposed short 0.4-mile branch of Prad a Road through the sports fields and ope n space. Traffic would-flow easily throug h • the southern alignment of Prado Road connecting to Tank Farm Road at Santa ,_ Fe. Esteemed civil engineer Eugene Jud calculates that if the initiative passes , future east-west traffic-carrying capacity in southern SLO would be more than , adequate . Circa 1960, the city had plans for a highway connecting Foothill Boulevard to Madonna Road, passing through land now known as Laguna Lake Park. The road , was later denied by a forward-thinkin g city council that wanted to preserve th e valuable, parkland and open space. The city grew and flourished,and a park was saved . The Prado Road initiative will improve current traffic circulation problems , provide for citizens' health and safety , preserve accessibility to the Sout h Hills Open Space, and boost tourism a n business . Bugnns Judy P.B. Fellow Institute of 1 Transportation Engineer s San Luis Obispo approximatelymile-of the Prado Rd . extension to Broad St .,would create less environmental damage, would eliminat e the conflicts with the Damon-Garci a sports fields and eliminate the need fo r an additional signalized intersection o n •Broad St.Traffic movements- (particularly trucks)can be better accommodated ...In my view this alternative is clearly superior to any alternatives :„.Dave Romero,Former ' Council Member-.'! These wise words by Romero,who is now the mayor, are the basis of the initiative. The road project as currently planned would lead to higher construction costs due to th e much: disputed pedestrian tunnel (think o f _the potential for Crime). The official projec t has to cross a creek leading to a complicate d procedure with the Corps of Engineers . The initiative avoids the above issues, but allow s full building development—practicall y identical to existing plans . City development and business would not suffer from the initiative. On the contrary, livability an d landprices in the Margarita Area would go up because most trucks would be move d to four-lane Tank Farm Road and to Buckley Road.The initiative offers the same east-west - average daily traffic capacity invehicle s (ADT)as the current plan, namely a total of 64,000 vehicles,if Prado, Tank Far m and Buckley Roads are added together (eight lanes). This is three times more than today's traffic . There will be no unsolvabl etraffic jams by realigning a small part o f Prado Road . Dave Romero himself wrote in May 2002 that the Prado Road to Tank Fann Road alternative "is clearly superior to any of th e other alternatives." Romero stated that this alternative wa s ideal and kept Prado Road out of the Damon-Garcia Sports Fields . This is what our initiative now propose. * This is the document and comment that Eugene Jud referred to in his New Times Letter to the Editor 6/201 0 VOLUME 1: Responses to Comments State. Clearinghouse #200005106 2 Prepared for : City of San Luis Obispo. Community Development Departmen t 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo, CA 9340 1 Contact:Mike Draze :805/781-7274 Prepared by : Jones &Stokes 2600 V .Street Sacramento, CA 95818-191 4 Contact:Maggie Townle y 916/737-3000 September 200 3 Final Program Environmental Impact Repor t for the Airport Area and Margarita Area Specific Plans and Related Facilities .Maste r Plans Responses to Comments by Dave Romer o Response to Comment 17-1 :The comment is noted . The City will consider revisions to it s URL as part of the sphere of influence study being conducted by LAFCO and the City . Although the AASP could include land outside the URL, and does include part of this area i n Alternative 3, the City would not include this much development potential within the AASP unti l the issue of the URL is resolved . Response to Comment 17-2 : The comment is noted . The alternative road alignments wer e discussed early during the public scoping process for the project and its alternatives . As a resul t of that process, the three project alternatives described in the draft EIR were chosen as the mos t appropriate . The elimination of a signal on Broad Street is part of Alternative 1, whereas th e southeast direction and connection of Prado Road to Tank Farm Road is somewhat mirrored by Alternative 2. Response to Comment 17-3 : The comment is noted . The project involves connecting Buckley Road to South Higuera Street . However, traffic modeling predicts that the traffic generated .by development in the Airport or Margarita Areas will not be sufficient to warrant classifying an d building the road as an urban arterial . Therefore, there is no need to require right-of-way dedication or acquisition at this time. Response to Comment 17-4 :A two-lane Tank Farm Road has carrying capacity sufficient t o accommodate traffic needs in the area shown for open space . The lack of turning movement s and side friction allows the roadway to function at acceptable levels of service . The roadwa y also is located along wetland and critical habitat areas,and should be designed to minimize th e effects of additional right-of-way acquisitions and other effects on those areas . The two-lan e configuration with bike lanes is considered the widest practicable solution in this area . Buckley Road is no longer considered an arterial road . Given the low volumes of traffic that would be generated by the AASP and MASP, the City now proposes that Buckley Road remai n in its current configuration—only the extension (from Vachel to Higuera Street) is proposed as a new road requiring a new configuration .This segment of Buckley Road is proposed to have two travel lanes and two bicycle lanes only . See revised Figure 3D-1 in Volume II for the correc t depiction of Buckley Road . Response to Comment 17-5 : The comment is noted. Caltrans has expressed no interest i n Price Canyon Road as a new segment of Highway 227 . Caltrans is in the process of developin g a Major Investment Study for the highway from its intersection with Broad and South Streets t o its intersection with Price Canyon Road. This study will determine what improvements will b e needed in the long term . However, the study will not analyze alternative alignments for th e highway inside the city limits . Volume I: Responses to Comments on the Draft EIRChapter 2 . Responses to Written Comments on the Draft EI R September 2003 Final Program Environmental Impact Reportfor the Airport Area and Margarita Area Specific Plans and Related Facilities Master Plans 2-55 CITY OF SANWISOBISPO i COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Letter 1 8 May 0, 2002 City Planning Commissio n Dear Commissioners . I as concerned with . the environmental Impact Report before yo u tonight because there is very little information on the Demo n -Garcia sports complex .. Pages 311-9 and 3R-10, talk about policies specific to Recreation.but never go into anything of importance regarding the sport s complex . That sports . complex is one of Ma cities leading projects . How come there is no inclusion of this project end the impacts i n this =AT 18-1 3J17 Wltse"J (644 S 0.144.1 .6A DEC , S,L .O .93yo(g ill i1sd+;s conern s voted to 7'°"d Chati atl,r occasiens . Windows Live Hotmail Print Message Page 1 of 3 81%gal il'li ,MQOI‘l Arcifetnel on mext rd From :rosemary wilvert (rwilvert@sbcglobal .net).• Sent: Fri 7/02/10 10 :25 PM La 4 s le.- To :Alan Thomas (ajt2002@pacbell .net); Mila Vujovich (milavu@hotmail .com ) Wanted to mention too that your points are right on ! Rosemary Original Message From :Alan Thoma s To :Rosemary Wilvert ; Mila Vujovic h Sent :Friday, July 02, 2010 6 :58 P M Subject :Fw: Re : Don't split Damon Garci a Hi Rosemary and Mila , I found an email exchange I had with Dave Romero back in 2006 . Thought you might be interested . Not sure if my line of reasoning at the time is part of the current counter-argument strategy . In any case, they can't really say there weren't objections on the record . Have a safe holiday , Alan --- On Fri, 6/16/06, Alan Thomas <ajt2002@pacbell.net>wrote : From : Alan Thomas <ajt2002@pacbell .net > Subject : Re : Don't split Damon Garci a To: "Dave Romero" <dromero@slocity .org > Date : Friday, June 16, 2006, 3 :21 P M Mayor Romero, Thank you for your response . I went to City Hall yesterday to review the latest planning map s regarding the location of the Prado Road extension . It does appear that Prado Road is planne d to be routed through a land parcel originally designated as recreation/open space in the Damo n Garcia master plan . The road would go just north of the fields, but definitely through the comple x as originally drawn up. I think this area should be left as part of the recreation complex. For on e thing, this area could be used for more parking, which is deparately needed on that side of th e fields. I also walked around the fields yesterday and noticed that the proposed Prado Road extensio n would be perilously close to the actual fields because the South Hills begin to rise up right there . Again, parking on that side of the fields would be much more beneficial . In addition, putting Prado Road just north of Damon Garcia would create a new t-intersection an d stop light at Broad Street just a few hundred yards north of the Industrial Way stoplight, which i s less than a quarter mile from the Tank Farm stoplight . So there will be three stoplights in quic k succession on Broad street in that area . Not good for traffic flow . Re : Re : Don't split Damon Garci a http ://bl 145w .blul 45 .mail .live .comlmail/PrintShell.aspx?type=message&cpids=71 fa92ff-86 . .. 7/3/2010 Windows Live Hotmail Print Message Page 2 of 3 Not being one just to complain, I offer a few ideas : 1.Re-route Prado Road to meet with Santa Fe at Tank Farm . A stop light and new intersection ar e desparately needed at that location . This would provide the outlet road necessary for the ne w Margarita development without negatively impacting Damon Garcia and the Broad street traffi c flow . You could also extend a 2 lane access road/bike path from the Margarita development to th e new Damon Garcia parking area just for the purpose of getting to the fields from that side of town . 2.Ask city staff to review this issue one more time . I'm sure the Public Works people at the cit y and county could work together to find a better alternative to what's currently planned . I would be glad to talk or meet with you if you think it would be helpful. I am not part of an y "group", just a concerned SLO citizen who wants to keep SLO one the best towns on earth . Thanks, MgXy/Dr t j'$ r`s,ni a r f'►30Z:)4,to ca bCa.na.ci c,ansfi fu g 41a.n 'rgtom Dave Romero <dromero@slocity.org>wrote : At no time has the city ever considered extending Prado Road through the Damon-Garci a fields. Mayor Dave > > > Alan Thomas 06/12/06 09 :17PM > >> Dear Mayor Romero, I can't believe that extending Prado Road through the Damon Garcia fields is even bein g considerd! What are you thinking ? There are better alternatives proposed by the transportation experts at Cal Poly that yo u should really consider. It looks to me that SLO city planning is being hijacked by some people who don't have th e best interests of SLO citizens and its children at heart . But that's your job, isn't it ? This is an issue that is going to get the people energized . So stop thinking with you r pocketbook and do the right thing . Respectfully , Alan Thoma s 544-242 7 Alan Thoma s 1680 Encino Ct 544-242 7 http ://bl145w .blu145 .mail .live .com/mail/PrintShell .aspx?type=message&cpids=71 fa92ff-86 . .. 7/3/2010 October 11, 2004 Mayor Romero and City Council Member s 990 Palm Stree t San Luis Obispo, Calif . 9340 1 Regarding : Margarita Specific Plan, EIR, and Damo n Garcia Sports Complex Dear Council Members , All I have experienced with the Damon-Garcia Sports Complex project is alot o f broken promises, wasted money, and poor planning . Allen Settle and John Ewan were on the Bond Board when the first series o f bonds for the Damon-Garcia sports fields purchase were written . The original bon d description for the sports fields included 25 acres,4 baseball fields,4 soccer fields, an d nomentionofa road .Staff and council always say everyone knew about the road , then how come it wasn't disclosed in the original 1999 revenue bond description ? How come we didn't get 4 baseball fields and 4 soccer fields ? Years ago, I came to the City Council with 1500 signatures in support o f purchasing all turf fields . Allen Settle you were running for mayor at the time . You eve n promised that you would take Prado Rd to Tank Farm Rd . You didn't keep you r promise . Think twice now because you and John Ewan will both up for re-election nex t round and your going to be faced with the realities of a poorly planned sports complex . A project both of you helped deliver . A project that sports undersized playing field s wedged between mosquito infested creeks, and 8 lanes of highway road . Through the years, I've had Mike McCluskey tell me how the staff studied Prad o Rd for years and to be quiet and to trust them because the northern alignment was th e best . Staff wanted the northern alignment and planned how to get it . They planne d even before they selected a site selection committee . Staff failed in their trust an d responsibility to inform the site selection committee about their hidden agenda . Prad o Road, was a 4 lane state highway not a "meandering little road". At every plannin g meeting I was told not to worry about that little road . They never talked about State Hwy 227, a truck route, with anticipated 30,000 trips per day, some transporting jet fuel . AG'eMoved by Romero/Ewan to 1)adopt Resolution No . 894 1 approving a Purchase and Sales Agreement to acquire a .23 .5 acre portion of the Damon-Garcia Ranch at a cost of $2,000,000 for th e purpose of constructing sports fields . 2) Authorize the Mayor to sign the Purchase and Sales Agreement ; motion carried 5 :0 . pg 2 I listened to Ken Hampian tell the council that they couldn't stake out the road fo rthe public to visivalize because the fields would be damaged . I walked the fields with head ground keepers for other sports complex fields and they say that the fields ar e ready to use . Staff just doesn't want me or anyone else out there to see their 8 millio n dollar mistake . I am still requesting from Council, the direction to have staff stake ou tthe road and lay out the fields . Let the people see what they got for their money . Recently, I have watched staff and council move the alignment of Prado Rd around and around . Now they are slashing out a majority of the open space park tha t was planned near the sports complex . I have watched in disbelief as staff moves th e neighborhood park out and moved in high density housing . In his recent undated letter, Paul LeSage states "we can only squeeze in thre e 70x110 fields ." I want to see the fields staked out just to see how that is going to work . Paul LaSage says there is not enough room on the west side of the field for another 7 0x 110 field . If that is true, then the city didn't buy enough land for the 4th field . Tal k about poor planning . You bought enough for Prado Rd and not enough for the kids . I always said it was the road first and kids second . For years now I have watched the city tie Prado Rd to emotionally charge d projects . Prado Rd is part of the sports complex project, who would say no to the kids ? Prado Rd is part of the Margarita project, who would say no to housing ? Prado Rd is part of the Marketplace project, who would say no to Macy's or Target ? Prado Rd was a part of the Orcutt project, who would say no to housing ? Prado Rd was part of some Industrial Way/Sacramento Dr projects, thank goodness th elatter two were violently rejected by the community . I am still against segmenting Prado Rd into all these projects because it ha s never been studied on it's own merit . The 6 lane interchange and the northerl y alignment impacts were not studied in the 1994 Environmental Impact Report . Th enortherly alignment was only adopted in 2000 . The interchange still has not bee n adopted . The cumulative city wide effects of Prado Rd, from beginning to end, hav enever been studied as a single project .There is no EIR with that title (Prado Rd) an d no EIR that is exclusive to Prado Road (from a 4-15-04 letter written to me by Joh nMandeville). I would like for the city to produce those 25 acres,4 baseball fields, and 4 socce rfields, with no road . In the beginning staff sold me on the project and someone sold th ebonds on the same project, so produce it . I amoot against growth and development and I want more housing just lik eeveryone else . But I am strongly against the poor planning that produced-atferio r sports complex wedged between mosquito infested creeks, and 8 lanes of highwa yroad. Bill Wilson, 1690 Southwood Dr. SLO, Ca . 93401 From :Mila Vujovich-LaBarre [mailto :milavu@hotmail.com] Sent :Tuesday, July 06, 2010 6 :42 PM To : Bochum, Ti m Subject:FW : Questions to Tim Bochu m Hi Tim - If possible, before Thursday morning please address the items/questions below . Please provid e information about the following and please have this information available for the SLO Chambe r audience on Thursday morning : 1)Development of traffic volumes in representative streets of the city in the last 5 years , including your conclusions . 2)A comparison of development of public transit passengers would be helpful too . 3)What future solutions were studied for the intersection of Broad Street and Tank Farm Road?For example dual-lane roundabout, widening, solutions with a road underpass, etc . 4) The area around this intersection, including the airport, is extremely underdeveloped when i t comes to public transportation . Cal Poly students studied bus rapid transit and light rai l from Cal Poly to downtown, to the airport,and farther, all the way to Santa Maria in 2007 . Note that the mass transit committee to my knowledge asked that such studies b e incorporated by the consultant in the upcoming North Area Regional Facility (NARF) planning . Generally, what influence would consistent transportation demand management (TDM)hav e on the future traffic volumes? Is this reflected in your traffic model ? 5)Is a description of your new traffic model and the assumptions that support it available ? 6)Are there exact figures about the relief that Prado Road through the sports fields provides t o the intersection of Tank Farm an d Broad Street ? 7) According to the model, what percentage of the Prado Road traffic turns left and wha t percentage turns right when arriving at Broad St ? 8)I noted the new illustration of the Prado Road intersection on your website . Could yo u please enhance this illustration with cars and trucks on both Prado Road and Broa d Street, the traffic light masts and the children on the sports fields ? 9)Would you be available to give interested parties an on site tour of Prado Road and the proposed intersection at Broad Street, including the cultural heritage in the open space ?10)Are you able to stake the road out in the near future to give constituents a clear pictur e of the Prado Road extention through the Damon-Garcia Sports Fields and South Hills Ope n Space ? 11)May we park four semi trucks at the site of the proposed four-lane truck route for on e week at the beginning of soccer season or mark the road with dark plastic from now unti l November 2, 2010 so that constituents can get a visual image of the proposed road? We woul d supply an information board to explain the purpose of the plastic and the initiative . Thanks for your prompt consideration and written response . Sincerely , Mila Vujovich-La Barr e milavu_@hotmail .com Circulation Element [2006 ] FRE EWA Y ....■..■r RE RouTE 'moo ammo A RTERIA L LE6FN o "I 0 .~~.v , 1 4 8 Current Circulation . Element - City o f San Luis Obisp o Average daily traffic (ADT), vehicles in the future C, D = Levels of service a t . intersection s Based on traffic mode l Fehr & Peers, 200 0 Comments 1. Prado Road throug h sports field area would only need t o be 2 lanes for the projected 14,00 0 vehicles. 2. All intersection s function at acceptabl e levels of service . Sports Field Initiative [2010 ] LE6EN 0 erssawamrs FRE EWA Y REG,ROUT E ....+ARTERIA L *Kisag,COLLECTO R Especially Kerosen e Trucks to Airpor t 2® and gi O ptimum asing Possible For advantages , disadvantages,and traffic capacities, see separate notes . A Proposed Circulatio n through Initiative, Average daily traffic (ADT), vehicles in the future C, D = Levels of service at intersections Estimates based on traffic model Fehr & Peers, 200 0 Comments 1 . Prado Road onl y needs 2 lanes from Empress Street eastward ..r ►2. The critica l intersection o f Tank Farm Road and Broad Stree t can function with approximately 28,000 vehicle s per day o n Tank Farm Road — probably better than Santa Rosa and Foothill Blvd . today. Multiple measures ar e possible to achiev e this level of service . There appears to b e land available fo r improved traffi c design.