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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-19-2022 ATC Agenda PacketCity of San Luis Obispo, Agenda, Planning Commission Agenda ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE May 19, 2022 6:00 p.m. REGULAR MEETING Council Hearing Room 990 Palm Street San Luis Obispo CA The City has returned to in-person meetings. Virtual participation will not be supported. For those in attendance, masks are strongly recommended. PUBLIC COMMENT: Public Comment during the meeting: If you would like to provide public comment during the meeting you must attend in person. Public Comment prior to the meeting can be submitted in the following ways: • Mail or Email Public Comment ➢ Received by 3pm on the day of meeting - Can be submitted via email to advisorybodies@slocity.org or U.S. Mail to City Clerk at: 990 Palm St., San Luis Obispo, CA 93401. ➢ Emails sent after 3pm on the day of meeting – Can be submitted via email to advisorybodies@slocity.org and will be archived/distributed to members of the committee the day after the meeting. Emails will not be read aloud at the meeting. • Verbal Public Comment ➢ Received by 3pm on the day of the meeting - Call (805) 781-7164; state and spell your name, the agenda item number you are calling about and leave your comment. The verbal comments must be limited to 3 minutes. All voicemails will be forwarded to committee members and saved as Agenda Correspondence. Voicemails will not be played during the meeting. ➢ During the meeting – You must attend the meeting in person All comments submitted will be placed into the administrative record of the meeting. If you have questions, contact the office of the City Clerk at cityclerk@slocity.org or (805) 781- 7100. MISSION: The purpose of the Active Transportation Committee (ATC) is to provide oversight and policy direction on matters related to bicycle and pedestrian transportation in San Luis Obispo Active Transportation Committee Agenda May 19, 2022 Page 2 and its relationship to bicycling and walking outside the City. CALL TO ORDER: Chair Russell Mills ROLL CALL : Committee Members Lea Brooks, Timothy Jouet, Francine Levin, Russell Mills (chair), Kimmie Nguyen, Jonathan Roberts, Nathan Stong OATH OF OFFICE: Lea Brooks, Francine Levin, Kimmie Nguyen PUBLIC COMMENT: At this time, people may address the Committee about items not on the agenda. Persons wishing to speak should come forward and state their name and address. Comments are limited to three minutes per person. Items raised at this time are generally referred to staff and, if action by the Committee is necessary, may be scheduled for a future meeting. CONSIDERATION OF MINUTES 1. Minutes of the Regular Meeting on March 17, 2022 ACTION ITEMS 2. OFFICER ELECTIONS (FUKUSHIMA – 20 MINUTES) The committee chairperson and vice-chairperson play an important role in committee meetings. The chairperson’s main role is to provide the advisory body with group direction and to set the tone for meetings. The Chair must balance being strong enough to move the meeting along and democratic enough to involve all members in the meeting. Article 3 of the Active Transportation Committee Bylaws states: “The officers will consist of a Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson who will be elected annually at a regular Committee meeting in each calendar year. The Chairperson will preside over all meetings of the Committee and perform such duties as directed by the Committee. The Vice-Chairperson will serve in the absence or incapacity of the Chairperson.” The Advisory Body Handbook provides additional information about the role and responsibilities of the chair and vice chair. See Attachment 2 from the Handbook for an excerpt of the traits of an effective chairperson. Additional officer duties include writing quarterly progress reports, representing the ATC at the Mayor’s quarterly luncheon, and representing the Committee at relevant Advisory Body and City Council meetings. The term of office is for one year. No person shall serve in the office of chairperson or vice chairperson for more than two consecutive terms. Active Transportation Committee Agenda May 19, 2022 Page 3 Selection Process: As with all actions of the Committee, each nomination must get a motion, and a second. Then, the Committee will vote on each person in the order they are nominated. Staff Recommendation: The Committee should select a Chairperson and a Vice-Chairperson to preside for the next year. Attachment 2: Advisory Body Handbook Excerpt 3. PERMANENT PARKLET PROGRAM (FUKUSHIMA – 60 MINUTES) See staff report in the agenda packet. COMMENT AND DISCUSSION 4. Committee Member Updates (5 minutes) 5. Staff Updates (5 minutes) a. South Higuera Complete Streets Project Grant Application b. 1101 Monterey Street Development Sidewalk Widening c. Agenda Forecast ADJOURNMENT The next Regular Meeting of the Active Transportation Commi ttee is scheduled for Thursday , July 21 , 20 22, at 6:00 p.m. ATTACHMENTS 1. DRAFT Minutes of the March 17, 2022 Rescheduled Meeting 2. Advisory Body Handbook Excerpt The City of San Luis Obispo wishes to make all of its public meetings accessible to the public. Upon request, this agenda will be made available in appropriate alternative formats to persons with disabilities. Any person with a disability who requires a modification or accommodation in order to participate in a meeting should direct such requ est to the City Clerk’s Office at (805) 781-7100 at least 48 hours before the meeting, if possible. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (805) 781-7107. Agenda related writings and documents are available online or for public inspection at the Public Works Department, 919 Palm Street, SLO. Meeting audio recordings can be found at the following web address: https://opengov.slocity.org/WebLink/Browse.aspx?id=60965&dbid=0&repo=CityClerk Minutes – Active Transportation Committee Meeting of March 17, 2022 Page 1 Minutes - DRAFT ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE Thursday, March 17, 2022 1 Regular Meeting of the Active Transportation Committee 2 3 CALL TO ORDER 4 5 A Regular Meeting of the San Luis Obispo Active Transportation Committee was called to order 6 on Thursday, March 17, 2022 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Hearing Room located at 990 Palm 7 Street, San Luis Obispo, California, by Chair Mills. 8 9 ROLL CALL 10 11 Present: Committee Members Donette Dunaway, Timothy Jouet, Briana Martenies (vice-12 chair), Russell Mills (chair), Jonathan Roberts, and Nathan Stong 13 14 Absent: None 15 16 Staff: Adam Fukushima, Lareina Gamboa, Justin Wong, Luke Schwartz 17 18 PUBLIC COMMENT ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA 19 Myron Amerine 20 21 --End of Public Comment-- 22 23 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 24 25 1.Review Minutes of the Active Transportation Committee Meeting of February 16, 202226 and February 24, 2022:27 28 ACTION: UPON MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER DUNAWAY, SECONDED BY 29 COMMITTEE MEMBER ROBERTS, CARRIED 6-0, to approve the Minutes of the Active 30 Transportation Committee Meeting of February 16, 2022 and February 24, 2022, with the 31 corrections. 32 33 Public Comment 34 None. 35 36 --End of Public Comment-- 37 38 BUSINESS ITEM 39 40 2.2022 Pedestrian Crossing Improvements41 City Staff member Wong gave a presentation and responded to committee questions in regards42 to the 2022 Pedestrian Crossing Improvements.43 Attachment 1, Page 1 of 2 Minutes – Active Transportation Committee Meeting of March 17, 2022 Page 2 44 (Due to a declared conflict of interest due to property she owns in the area, Committee Member 45 Dunaway recused herself at 6:21 p.m. and left the room) 46 47 ACTION: UPON MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER ROBERTS, SECONDED BY 48 COMMITTEE MEMBER JOUET, CARRIED 5-0, to recommend staff’s recommendation for 49 the Johnson and Sydney intersection with the inclusion of the ATC comments during 50 deliberation with the ATC’s preference that the road diet occur as soon as possible. 51 52 (Committee member Dunaway returned to the room at 6:55 p.m. to resume 53 participation with the meeting) 54 55 ACTION: UPON MOTION BY COMMITTEE MEMBER DUNAWAY, SECONDED BY 56 COMMITTEE MEMBER ROBERTS, CARRIED 5-1, to recommend the City to follow the 57 staff recommendation, with the addition of pursuing additional grant funding to construct a 58 pedestrian hybrid crossing beacon at King/South streets as soon as possible. 59 60 Public Comment 61 Lea Brooks 62 Myron Amerine 63 Jeff Spevack 64 Francine Levin 65 Kristina Gee 66 Jake Minnick 67 Helene Finger 68 69 --End of Public Comment-- 70 71 COMMENT AND DISCUSSION 72 3. Committee Member Updates 73 4. Staff Updates 74 a. SLO Outdoor Dining Plan 75 b. New ATC Committee Members 76 c. Agenda Forecast 77 78 ADJOURNMENT 79 80 The meeting was adjourned at 7:38 p.m. The next Regular Active Transportation Committee 81 meeting is scheduled for Thursday, May 19, 2022 at 6:00 p.m., in the City Council Hearing Room, 82 990 Palm Street, San Luis Obispo, California. 83 84 85 APPROVED BY THE ACTIVE TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE: XX/XX/2022 86 87 Attachment 1, Page 2 of 2 Advisory Body Handbook September 21, 2021 City of San Luis Obispo 27 | P a g e F. Communicate Effectively Advisory body members serve as a communications link between the community, staff, and City Council. You provide a channel for citizen expression. Not only is it important for you to listen carefully to others, but you also need to be able to communicate effectively what you are hearin g and thinking. 1.Take notes to remind yourself of questions you want to ask or important comments you wish to make. 2.Be direct, open, and forthright. 3.Provide rationale for opinions or recommendations. 4.Stay on topic. 5.Take your charge seriously but maintain composure and keep your sense of humor. 6.When speaking to the public and/or press, be sure you are representing the majority views of your individual advisory body. Personal opinions should be clearly identified as such. 7.Speak clearly and be sure people can hear you. 8.If you wish to communicate using electronic mail (email), use the tool wisely. It is easy to unintentionally violate the Brown Act, so certain caution must be exercised when using email. (See Section 4 C, Common Questions about the Brown Act.) G. Special Tips for the Chairperson The chairperson’s main role is to provide the advisory body with group direction and to set the tone for meetings. The Chair must balance being strong enough to move the meeting along and democratic enough to involve all members in the meeting. The effective chairperson: Remembers to explain the public participation process to the audience. (For example: “The commission will hear first from staff who will present the staff report. Commission questions to staff will follow and then the floor will be open to the public, who may comment on the matter. Following public comment, the matter will come back to the commission for our deliberation and action.”) 1.Announces each item before discussion begins. 2.Is even-handed and fair to all participants. 3.Observes specified time limits. 4.Protects commissioners and staff from verbal attacks. 5.Solicits opinions, feelings, and positions from all members. 6.Encourages the generation of alternative solutions. Attachment 2, Page 1 of 2 Advisory Body Handbook September 21, 2021 City of San Luis Obispo 28 | P a g e 7.Protects new thoughts from being rejected prior to fair evaluation. 8.Discourages finger pointing and blame-orientated statements or questions. 9.Keeps the discussion focused on the issue. 10.Delays evaluation and analysis of alternatives until all are on the table. 11.Guides the process of screening alternatives and selecting the solution. 12.Attempts to obtain consensus. 13.Moves the meeting along and does not let the advisory body drift off the subject at hand. H. Managing Difficult Meetings Here are some additional tips for managing any meeting, but particularly the difficult ones: 1.Encourage the designation of a spokesperson for any groups. 2.Ask staff to make sure there are plenty of extra agendas and staff reports. 3.Establish and announce rules before the meeting begins. 4.Introduce each item and possible actions. 5.Try not to waste time on routine items. 6.Encourage speakers to address the advisory body and not the audience. 7.Discourage clapping and shouting. 8.Use recesses to help diffuse hostility. 9.Adhere to speaker time limits. 10.If you don’t already, use speaker slips/cards. 11.Make sure that all advisory body members are addressing each other, through you, and not the audience. 12.Consider continuing an item for further discussion if it appears consensus may not be reached. Attachment 2, Page 2 of 2 City of San Luis Obispo, Agenda, Planning Commission Active Transportation Committee AGENDA REPORT ITEM 3 DATE: May 19, 2022 FROM: Adam Fukushima, Active Transportation Manager SUBJECT: Permanent Parklet Program Recommendation: Review and comment on the draft Outdoor Dining Guide as it relates to bicycle and pedestrian transportation to help guide the adoption of a permanent parklet program. Background Parklets have been a prominent feature of the economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year the City Council directed staff to draft an ordinance, transitioning the temporary pilot to a permanent program incorporating lessons learned, public feedback as well as other elements that make the program sustainable on a permanent basis. This includes establishing a fee, an updated permitting process, operating policies, and design requirements as well as opportunities for creative designs that reflect the beauty of the local streetscape. The permanent program also provides opportunities for non-profit and community organizations to construct parklets for community benefit. Consideration of a permanent parklet program fulfills the Active Transportation Plan Design Policy 5.14: “5.14 If supported by the City Council, the City should create a formal parklet program to facilitate and encourage the development of parklets at appropriate locations to the satisfaction of the City Public Works and Community Development Departments” (Design Guidelines, page 17) To help communicate the new program to prospective applicants, the City has put together a draft Outdoor Dining Guide, which incorporates the proposed parklet program with the already existing Sidewalk Café and “Tables and Chairs” programs. The Guide is available for public review until May 29th. An Open City Hall page has also been created for this project, where the community can find information about the proposed parklet program, provide feedback as well as view feedback of other community members. Active Transportation Committee Agenda Item 3, March 17, 2022 Page 2 Discussion While many aspects of the proposed parklet program are outside of the purview of the Active Transportation Committee’s focus on bicycle and pedestrian transportation, the public review period provides an opportunity for the ATC to provide input on aspects of the Outdoor Dining Guide which are within the committee’s purview. Of particular interest to the ATC purview are the parklet design guidelines and operating requirements. Parklet Design Guidelines The parklet design standards as it pertains to active transportation was developed based on a number of sources including existing parklet design guidelines in the Active Transportation Plan, parklet design guidance from Caltrans, NACTO, other cities with parklet programs, and lessons learned from the pilot parklet program in San Luis Obispo. These design standards include speed limits and requirements for side and roadway buffer elements, vertical elements, the parklet surface, and bike parking unless otherwise approved by the Public Works Director. • Eligible Streets: To minimize conflicts between parklet users and passing traffic, parklets are only eligible on streets with a posted speed limit of 25 mph or less with on-street parking. • Side Buffer Elements: To increase visibility and minimize head-on conflicts with passing vehicles, a parklet will be required to provide a minimum 3-foot buffer (4- foot preferred) on the side where traffic is approaching including a heavy barrier (or weighted planter box) that is minimum 6 feet wide, 32 inches high, able to resist a force of at least 500 lbs. To enhance visibility, reflective flex posts are required at the outside corners of the parklet area. • Roadway Buffer Elements: To minimize conflicts with vehicular and bicycle traffic, parklet structures must maintain at least a 1-foot buffer along the roadway between the adjacent auto lane or bike lane. In addition, a minimum 10-foot-wide auto lane or 5-foot-wide bike lane must be retained adjacent to the parklet. Planters may be placed in the 1-foot buffer area but may not be higher than 30 inches in height so that conflicts with the handlebars of passing bicycle riders are minimized. • Setbacks: Parklets shall not be located within 10 feet of a driveway, pedestrian ramp, or within 15 feet of an intersection unless approved by the Public Works Director. • Vertical Elements: Parklets must have a continuous vertical barrier along the side adjacent to the travel lane that has a height of 42 inches maximum and able to withstand a force of 250 lbs. • Surface/Decking: To comply with City and Americans with Disabilities Act standards for sidewalk grades, the surface must maintain a cross slope of no more than 2 percent as well as be non-slip and weather resilient. • Bike Parking: During the pilot program, on-street bicycle parking has been incorporated into many of the parklet locations that occupy two or more parking spaces and staff is recommending that this practice continue. It is recommended that bike parking is located on the side facing away from opposing traffic, but some flexibility will be necessary if there are conflicts with nearby driveways, intersections, or other concerns that are site specific. Active Transportation Committee Agenda Item 3, March 17, 2022 Page 3 Operating Requirements Operating requirements for parklets have been developed on similar guidance to the design standards and include ensuring a path of travel for pedestrians, requirements for maintenance and activity. • Path of Travel for Pedestrians: A minimum width for path of travel on the sidewalk ensures that pedestrians are able to walk through a parklet area without encountering friction with tables, chairs, and other dining features. Prior to the pandemic, the City standard was a minimum of 8-foot width. During the pandemic, the City was willing to relax that requirement to the federal ADA minimum standard of 4-foot width in order to support economic recovery as much as possible. However, moving forward to a permanent parklet program, staff is recommending a minimum width of 6 feet. In addition, no host stations, cleaning equipment carts, or other dining features will be allowed in the public right-of-way without approval by the Community Development Director. • Maintenance: As part of the parklet permit, applicants will be required to keep the area under, around, and on the parklet free of debris and cleaned on a regular basis. • Activity: Public input has reflected a desire to ensure parklets are not sitting idle and therefore staff is studying what the appropriate minimum activation period is that balances both the public’s desire for maximum activity as well as the needs of businesses who are still struggling with staffing issues. Staff is currently recommending a minimum use of 4 hours per day, 5 days per week and welcomes input on this recommendation. Next Steps The public review period for the draft Outdoor Dining Plan is open until May 29th. Until then members of the community can provide feedback on the Open City Hall page. In addition, a public workshop will be held on May 26th (5:30p.m.-6:30p.m.) at the City/County Library. Following review and input from the ATC as well as the public, an ordinance will be drafted for consideration by the City Council on July 5th (1st reading) and July 19th (2nd reading). Following adoption of the ordinance, a transition period will be necessary for current parklets to be permitted under the new program requirements. Pending Council approval, staff is recommending that permits be required by January 1, 2023 for parklet owners who desire to continue past the pilot program period. Recommendation: Review and comment on the draft Outdoor Dining Guide as it relates to bicycle and pedestrian transportation to help guide the adoption of a permanent parklet program.