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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/16/1981M I N U T E S ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16,-1981 - 12:10 P.M. COUNCIL HEARING ROOM, CITY HALL, 990 PALM STREET -SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA STUDY SESSION ROLL CALL Councilmembers Present: GlennaDeane Dovey, Ron Dunin, Robert Griffin, Allen' Settle, and Mayor Melanie C. Billig Absent: None City Staff Present: Bill Hanley, Interim Administrative Officer; Pamela Voges, City Clerk; Henry Engen, Community Development Director; Dave Romero, Public Services Director; Wayne Peterson, City Engineer; Terry Sanville, Senior Planner E -1. STATE WATER RESOURCES CONTROL BOARD Henry Engen, Community Development Director, stated that on Thursday he had received a call from Jim Nicholson, Project Engineer from the State Water Resources Control Board, asking if the City of San Luis Obispo would be interested in changing some of the language as a part of the appeal. The language he was referring to would provide that the.City provide services to some of the problem areas outside of the City and within the urban reserve area. Mayor Billig questioned what the boundaries and what areas would be delineated that the state was referring to. Councilman Dunin questioned if the problem areas were those problems from the past or were they referring to those in the future. Councilwoman Dovey also questioned what the boundaries would be. After brief discussion it was agreed that staff members, George Thacher and Henry Engen, and two Councilmembers (Councilman Griffin and either Councilman Settle or Mayor Billig) would meet with representatives from the Water Quality Control Board to discuss this possible change. 1. CIRCULATION ELEMENT Council considered the draft Circulation Element of the City's General Plan (continued from 7/14/81, 8/10/81 and 9/22/81). Terry Sanville, Senior Planner, stated that on September 22 the City Council talked about the draft Circulation Element focusing on the questions listed in the discussion guide provided on pages 31 through 34 of the Council report. The Council had completed their action on the questions in the discussion guide and began reviewing specific street projects listed in the appendix of the draft Circulation Element. He recommended that Council resume their review of the specific street projects beginning with project 4 on page 83 of the Circulation Element FJ 1 City Council Minutes November 16, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 2 appendix. There were also other issues raised in the planning staff report that should be addressed. APPENDIX A - DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR STREET PROJECTS 3. Council reconsidered Higuera- Pismo -High Street Intersection Mayor Billig confirmed with the Councilmembers that their prior intent was to allow Buchon Street to go to a two -way street on a six -month trial basis with report back from staff within six months. Upon question, Wayne Peterson stated that the trial period would probably not begin before the first of year as property owners would have to be notified, etc. Terry Sanville explained the proposed High, Higuera, Pismo, Beebee area modification would have to be redesigned if Buchon changes to a two -way street. Upon general consensus, Council requested that staff come back with the redesign after final action had been taken on the Buchon project. Upon question, Dave Romero, Public Services Director, affirmed that no further changes would be made to Buchon Street after six months, only report back to Council. Councilman Dunin stated he was concerned as to the amount.of.money this project would cost. 4. Downtown Intersection Improvements Terry Sanville explained that the traffic congestion was heavy in the downtown and there appeared to be need for some of the key streets in the central business district to work better. Staff was recommending that the radii of curbs at selected locations should be increased to allow for cars to make easier right -hand turns. Also, 100 ft. of curbside parking should be removed on the right side of major inter- section approaches. This had also been a recommendation from the Wilbur Smith report. Dave Romero, Public Services Director, stated that he did not feel it was necessary to have 100 ft. of curbside parking removed and enlarged radius provided at every intersection. He drew a diagram showing that the enlarged radius would severely narrow the:pedestria -,area at inter- sections. He felt it would be better to use a 20 ft. radius wherever practical rather than at those intersections shown. Councilwoman Dovey suggested that this corner not be shown as a part of the downtown streets as it is further away then what is normally considered downtown. She felt it might be worthwhile to wait until the truck routes were established before making a decision. Mayor Billig agreed with comments made by Councilwoman Dovey and suggested waiting until staff brought back the report on the truck routes. Terry Sanville suggested the Council make a general statement within the Circulation Element and that staff bring back, as a part of the work program, identification of three strategies: 1) The need to provide smoother right turns; 2) bulbed -out intersections; 3) locations of those sites most feasible. Councilman Settle agreed to go with staff recommendations. Councilwoman Dovey re- emphasized that the Circulation Element was only a general policy plan and not cast in concrete. Terry Sanville explained the transportation projects are the most important design to be used as a guide for people to know what the City City Council Minutes November 16, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 3 intends to do at some point later down the road. He felt these goals were needed, but he suggested that throughout the document. the words may consider could be used. Councilman Griffin agreed that it was important to have a clear strategy but would also want it understood that this was a "may consider" and not "firm commitment ". Upon general consensus staff was directed to report back on the three areas as outlined by Terry Sanville. 1 Councilman Dunin wanted to be sure that both engineering and planning departments evaluate and have agreement between them before this comes back to the City Council. He felt that the Council was beginning to get into too much detail. Councilman Griffin would like to see the recommended solutions tie back in with the goals and objectives. 5. MARSH STREET BRIDGE The recommended solution was that the Marsh Street Bridge over the creek be replaced. When it is replaced, the creek should be slightly widened in the area to handle water from the 100 -year storm (50 yr. for San Luis Creek and 100 yr. for Stenner Creek). Cal Trans should be responsible for the project. The project does not include a major redesign of the Marsh Street interchange. Wayne Peterson, City Engineer, gave a brief status report on where Cal Trans was on this project. He stated the State was looking at two alternatives: 1) raising the existing bridge, or 2) modify the existing creek westerly and building a new bridge. Upon general consensus City Council agreed to go ahead with bridge replacement and some flood control but not specified yet due to Nolte and creek policies being incomplete. 6. LOS OSOS VALLEY ROAD EXTENSION The Problem Statement reads,- "It is inconvenient to drive from the Laguna neighborhood to the South Higuera Street area. There is only one direct crossing of the freeway at Madonna Road. Los Osos Valley Road does not connect with Higuera Street. Because of the missing link, it takes fire trucks from Station #4 at Los Osos Road and Madonna Road more than 4 minutes to reach housing and commercial areas on South Higuera Street south of Prado Road. Recommended Solution: A bridge should be built over San Luis Creek to connect the two parts of Los Osos Valley Road. Part of the freeway interchange will also have to be redesigned. Wayne Peterson, City Engineer, explained that the City would handle the crossing of Los Osos over the creek to the Cal Trans right -of -way and then Cal Trans would continue with it from that point. Terry Sanville explained that the extension would allow fire response time to be ,increased. Also from a general circulation standpoint,'the Prado Road area and Higuera Commerce Park would have an increased access to Highway 101. He felt that this intersection would provide a more convenient entrance and exit to the city. The neighborhood was con- cerned,-not only with the amount of traffic, but the type of traffic in this area. Councilman Settle agreed but suggested reversing the problem statement to put the last sentence first, stressing the importance of the emer- gency vehicles as opposed to the inconvenience of driving from the Laguna neighborhood to the South Higuera Street area. City Council Minutes November 16, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 4 Upon question, Wayne Peterson explained that the State is using the Federal guidelines for EIR, which are very inclusive. He explained that the state's negative declarations were very similar to what the City's EIR covers. Mayor Billig stated she would like to see EIR material as soon as possible on this project. She suggested leaving the project as is and considering this project later down the line, knowing that there would be an EIR and plenty of opportunities to discuss this later. She would agree to have the problem statement clarified. There was much discus- sion on whether recommended solutions should include the word should be, may be, will be, etc. After considerable discussion and upon general consensus, to include an opening statement that would cover "based upon the environmental impact ". Upon general consensus the Council agreed to reword the problem state - ment.as recommended by Councilman Settle with the emphasis on the last sentence being first, and the recommended solution to read, " A bridge should be j641 f considered over San Luis Creek to connect the two parts of Los Osos Valley Road. Part of the freeway interchange will also have to be redesigned." 1:25 p.m. Councilman Settle left the meeting. 7. ORCUTT ROAD OVERPASS Problem Statement: Cars.cross the railroad tracks at Orcutt Road on numerous occasions, a train is stopped on the tracks and blocks traffic. Orcutt Road is one of the two streets that connect.the Johnson neighbor- hood with the rest of the City. When it is blocked by a train, fire trucks from Station #3 on Laurel Lane cannot get to the southern part of the City.. Proposed Solution: An overpass should be built across the railroad tracks on Orcutt Road. Terry Sanville explained that this project hasn't happened because of lack of funds. He stated that it was a low- priority item. Wayne Peterson then explained that the Council would be having a public hearing in the near future on the setback ordinance, which would allow for right -of -way needs. Councilwoman Dovey suggested that the statement "cars cross the railroad tracks at Orcutt Road" be left out and insert the words after "Johnson neighborhood with the rest of the City and once in a while when it is blocked by a train,..." Mayor Billig explained that she had been talking with Southern Pacific representatives in an effort to get the PUC to move this project up as a_ higher priority. 8. TANK FARM ROAD EXTENSION Terry Sanville suggested that this project, as it is already tentatively approved through the Edna -Islay Specific Plan, be reworded so that the Circulation Element reads the same. Upon general consensus the Council agreed to reword it-to tie in with the Edna -Islay Specific Plan tentative decision. 9. MONTEREY STREET WIDENING Terry Sanville explained that the recommended solution - includes a minimum widening of five feet. He felt that this would help for traffic control and would suggest restricting parking on this street. City Council Minutes November 16, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 5 Dave Romero stated that he was in agreement with planning staff and that the street should ultimately be widened. Traffic continues to increase, therefore, the City should be providing some help for this.area in the future. Mayor Billig stated she would prefer to see street design that would allow for more traffic but would also have.a pedestrian orientation due to the tourists in upper Monterey. There was considerable discussion at this point. Councilman Griffin suggested that the recommended solution be, amended to read, "Should Monterey Street become overloaded, it should be widened in the future between Santa Rosa Street and the freeway. This will increase traffic capacity in this corridor. Preliminary plans show the future right -of -way for Monterey Street as 80 feet. Further design studies may change the width." Upon general consensus the Council agreed with'the recommended rewording by Councilman Griffin. 10. SANTA ROSA STREET WIDENING Mayor Billig stated that the Council had received today a copy of a letter from Rob Rossi who was concerned with the removal of parking on Santa Rosa Street as he felt it would increase the traffic speed creat- ing a freeway atmosphere due to wide lanes and no parked automobiles on the street sides. He was requesting that Council reconsider allowing parking to be left along Santa.Rosa Street. Terry Sanville explained that based on projections in County Wilbur Smith project, etc., the changes were warranted and.t with item #11 for the design of freeway interchange at Santa Street, would be able to accommodate it. This would require of some buildings. The minimal widening project would be an attempt to help alleviate the problem. 1 plans, the pis, coupled Rosa . the removal 1 initial Dave Romero stated his opinion that a widening of Santa Rosa north of U.S. 101 would not solve the problem since most of the traffic conges- tion was caused by the traffic signals on the street. He felt that the recommended solution was an interim solution only, not permanent. He also was not sure that this was a City problem, but rather a State problem.- In either case neither agency has the money to go ahead with improvements for many years. Mayor Billig felt that a statement might be added that would recognize that this should be shown as a shared responsibility between the City and the State. Councilman Dunin cautioned that this be handled very delicately, as we made the State mad originally when the City went against the suggested bypass. Dave Romero stated that as a practical matter, he felt that the City lost its chance 14 or 15 years ago when it disapproved the Highway 1 bypass. Bill Hanley, Interim Administrative Officer, suggested that with another 2�2 billion dollars being generated by the additional gas tax, etc., over the next five years, it might be possible that the State would still be thinking in terms of reinvestigating the bypass solution. He felt that given the new economic financing, this project might be worthwhile. Terry Sanville cautioned that he did not feel that any clear statement of intent should be based on financial impact, but rather traffic circulation. He felt that the bypass would never be cost - effective compared to benefit ratio. City Council Minutes November.16, 1981 — 12:10 p.m. Page 6 Councilwoman Dovey felt that the real problem was getting in and out of the driveways on Santa Rosa and suggested that the side streets be used for ingress and egress, and tourist use, rather than office use, be encouraged on Santa Rosa Street. Mayor Billig asked the question what do we want fronting the major arterial streets? Councilman Dunin felt that Councilwoman Dovey's approach would destroy existing businesses. Upon general consensus Council agreed with recommended solution. Dave Romero, Public Services Director, reported that with regard to Rob Rossi's letter, the property owners and residents had been notified in April of 1981. At the public hearings'at that time, the =e had been no public input. He stated that the contractor is now ready to put in the permanent striping. Staff felt that the present design would be better and safer. Mayor Billig explained that this kind of letter was the kind that the Council will be faced over and over again in the future, and she wanted them to be aware of it. Henry Engen, Community Development Director,.reminded the Council, too, that the Police Chief agreed strongly with staff's position. Mayor Billig suggested that staff be directed to write a letter to Rob Rossi explaining why the City was doing this project. Council discussed the pros and cons on what was more important, thru lanes or parking. 1 12. SANTA BARBARA STREET - SANTA.ROSA STREET CONNECTION This item was removed from the draft. 13. MADONNA ROAD WIDENING Councilwoman Dovey questioned why the trees had been removed on the City's property fronting Calle Joaquin and Madonna by the new Post Office site. After brief discussion staff was directed to- indestigate the . tree- femoval and report back to Council. After brief discussion Council reworded the recommended solution to read, "Madonna Road J��JJ4 may be widened between the freeway inter - dhange bridge and Oceanaire Drive should it become overloaded. This would allow six lanes for future traffic. Madonna Road would remain a 4 -lane street between Oceanaire Drive and Los Osos Valley Road. 14. DOWNTOWN BYPASS ROUTE This item was discussed at a previous meeting. 15. SOUTH STREET- BISHOP STREET CONNECTION Terry Sanville explained that the recommended solution would be that the City may want to extend South Street over the railroad tracks to connect with Bishop Street. The City has already selected a preliminary align- ment. It would be a 2 -lane road with bike lanes. There was considerable discussion on the chances of this project ever being completed. It was a low priority item because of the cost versus benefit ratio and the small traffic flows anticipated. After brief discussion and upon general consensus, this item was deleted from the draft. City Council Minutes November 16, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 7 Dave Romero cautioned the Council that if this connection is removed from the plan, the City is closing off its option to ever construct the improvement. I .. 2:40 p.m. Councilman Settle returned to the meeting. 16. DOWNTOWN STREET CLOSURES Problem. Statement: There is a need to improve pedestrian circulation in the central business district. This should make the downtown a nicer place to shop and visit. Closing some streets may achieve this goal. However, if a significant amount of new development happens downtown and the City continues to grow, all the downtown streets may be needed to handle traffic. Recommended Solution: In the future, the City may consider closing non - essential streets in the downtown. Candidate streets include: 1) Morro Street between Monterey and Palm, 2) Monterey Street between Osos and Chorro, 3) Broad Street between Monterey and Higuera, 4) Monterey between Broad and Nipomo Streets. Dave Romero, Public Services Director, stated that the possible closure of Morro between Monterey and Palm would block a primary access to the proposed parking structure. Councilwoman Dovey suggested it could provide a private drive to the parking structure. Councilman Settle suggested that this could be done on a trial basis with no commitment at this time. Mayor Billig suggested using planters as the barricades to see how possible street closures might work on an experimental basis before we commit to something permanent. Councilman Dunin was concerned about what would happen to the traffic if these streets were closed. These people needed some place to go. Councilman Settle suggested removing the parking on both sides of the street, but leaving the traffic go through. Dave Romero suggested adding additional possible street closures, such as: 5) Broad Street between Monterey and Palm Streets; and 6) Garden Street between Marsh and Higuera. Wayne Peterson, City Engineer, suggested adding item 7) Morro Street between Monterey and Higuera Streets. Councilman Dunin suggested that a copy of these proposed street closures be sent to the Downtown Business Improvement Area'and Chamber of Commerce for their information. 17. FREEWAY INTERCHANGE MODIFICATIONS Problem Statement: The Highway 101 freeway divides the City of San Luis Obispo in two. It was built in 1954. Many of the on and off -ramps do not meet today's design standards; some of the interchanges are to close together and require drivers to make dangerous weaving movements. Recommended Solution: The City should ask Cal Trans to consider redesigning the freeway ramp system in the San Luis Obispo area. Two projects had already been mentioned.in the report (Santa Rosa Street and Los Osos Road interchanges). Other interchanges that need to be studied include: 1) Prado Road, 2) Madonna Road, 3) Marsh Street, 4) Broad Street, 5) Osos Street and 6) Monterey Street. Dave Romero, Public Services Director, suggested that Cal Trans consider all interchanges. Wayne Peterson, City Engineer, agreed. 1 1 City Council Minutes November 16, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 8 Upon brief discussion and general consensus, Council agreed that all on and off -ramps be looked at. 2:50 p.m. Mayor Billig declared a recess. 3:00 p.m. City Council reconvened, Councilman Griffin absent. Mayor Billig then outlined other key concerns that the Council should address relating to the Circulation Element: 1) direct staff to avoid access to major arterial streets wherever possible; 2) the Circulation Element be consistent with the subdivision ordinance in all possible areas; 3) City to work with the County to develop uniform street stan- dards within the urban reserves; 4) develop a transportation work program to be looked at once a year to determine the bus needs, street needs, anything from the Public Works Department, to be used as an overall planning tool. Terry Sanville then went over the Transportation Work Program outlined on pages 16 and 17 of the Circulation Element City Council Report. With regard to bicycle routes, Councilman Dunin cautioned that staff approach this carefully. He stated he was not against bike lanes but there were numerous situations that bike lanes are counter - productive because of the accidents they create. He felt it was imperative that there be strong cooperation between the Planning and Engineering staff. 3:05 p.m. Councilman settle left the meeting. Wayne Peterson, City Engineer, stated.that with regard to bike paths, he felt feelings that class 2 were okay for arterial streets, but he would not recommend class 1; and he felt that class 3 was worthless. Terry Sanville explained that he doesn't see the possibility of putting separated bike paths in existing development. The issue comes up for ' new developments. He also felt there were certain problems inherent with the class 2, especially if the bike paths are put to the left of the parking on the street. He felt that this was an extremely dangerous situation. 3:15 p.m. Councilman Griffin returned to the meeting. Mayor Billig also raised the issue of a centralized bus terminal and suggestions were made as to appropriate places that staff might inves- tigate. Upon general consensus staff was directed to look at alternatives and report back to the City Council with a preliminary report within 60 to 90 days. Mayor Billig also brought up the issue of official setbacks. Terry Sanville outlined on page 20 and 21 of the City Council Report, item "c" and item "d ", policies for establishing official setback lines and monitoring traffic conditions. After brief discussion Council generally agreed to approve staff's recommended wording with minor amendments as follows: d. Monitoring Traffic Conditions "The Circulation Element promotes the per capita reduction and auto- ' mobile use. However, if the City's population continues to grow and people continue to use cars as much as they do presently, some parts of the community street system may have to change." On page 21, strike in the second paragraph the words "(generally priority groups 2 and 3) ". Mayor Billig then raised the issue of collector streets in residential neighborhoods and whether they should or should not be used as arterial streets. City Council Minutes November 16, 1981 - 12:10 p.m. Page 9 Upon general consensus Council agreed that they should be used to help disperse traffic. The City Council then began discussing goals and objectives. Councilwoman Dovey submitted a list of six suggested goals for the Circulation Element. The Council agreed they would want to avoid arterial streets traversing the residential areas, keeping them quiet and safety orientated and, further, to encourage multi -modes of trans- portation. After brief discussion it was generally agreed that all Councilmembers would give the Mayor their individual concerns and list of goals that they felt important. She in turn, would get together with staff to synthesize all concerns. Councilwoman Dovey to work.with Terry Sanville on setting up.goals and general policy statements. 4:00 p.m. Mayor Billig adjourned.the meeting to Closed Session to discuss Litigation and Personnel Matters. 5:10 p.m. City Council reconvened. There being no further business to come before the Council, Mayor Billig adjourned the meeting. //Pamela Vo es, C Clerk APPROVED BY COUNCIL: 12/15/81 1 `1