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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 2003 0108 CC SPCMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL Moorpark, California January 8, 2003 A Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Moorpark was held on January 8, 2003, in the Community Center of said City located at 799 Moorpark Avenue, Moorpark, California. 1. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Hunter called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmembers Harper, Mikos, Millhouse, Parvin, and Mayor Hunter. Staff Present: Steven Kueny, City Manager; Hugh Riley, Assistant City Manager; Ken Gilbert, Public Works Director; Barry Hogan, Community Development Director; Walter Brown, City Engineer; Captain Richard Diaz, Sheriff's Department; Dave Bobardt, Planning Manager; Deborah Traffenstedt, Assistant to City Manager /City Clerk; and Maureen Benson, Deputy City Clerk. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT: A. Gerald Goldstein, a Moorpark resident, spoke about the recent fires threatening homes in Malibu and the importance of requiring tile roofing material for new homes in the City Moorpark. 4. PRESENTATION /ACTION /DISCUSSION: A. Consider Potential Intersection Modifications at Moorpark Road and Tierra Rejada Road. Staff Recommendation: Direct staff as deemed appropriate. Mr. Kueny gave a verbal report on the history of the intersection at Moorpark and Tierra Rejada Roads, dating back to 1996, when the County of Ventura and the City of Moorpark installed a temporary signal pending a decision on the Moorpark Road Realignment Project. He stated that a review of the Environmental Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Paae 2 January 8, 2003 Impact Report and the Traffic Study for this intersection indicates that it was determined that traffic in and out of this intersection would be insignificant if one of the other alternative routes was selected. Mr. Kueny stated that after researching this issue further, staff has provided four options for the intersection: 1) move forward with the current Agreement with the County to close the median and remove the traffic signal; 2) leave the intersection signalized as it is and modify the Agreement; 3) leave the intersection as is with left turns for both current directions, but without a traffic signal; or 4) a compromise to allow left turns west to south bound only with no traffic signal. Mr. Kueny stated that in discussions with County staff and contingent upon the County's concurrence, the traffic signal can remain as it is, granted that the modification to the agreement would come at no additional cost to the City and the County continues to pay the one -third cost of the signal maintenance. He stated that the city's current obligation is to pay two- thirds of the cost of the signal maintenance, which he estimated to be $5,000 - $10,000 per year, while the cost of new signal is approximately $150,000. Mr. Kueny stated that the recommendation is to leave the signal as is. Jarrod DeGonia, representing Supervisor Judy Mikels, read a statement from the Supervisor in support of maintaining the intersection in its current condition to prevent the erosion of the customer base for the businesses located along Moorpark Road and to avoid increasing the volume of traffic using Miller Parkway. Rick Brecunier, spoke on behalf of the business owners and residents along Moorpark Road and thanked the Council for holding the special meeting to allow discussion on this issue. He stated that his objections to the proposal remain unchanged since the last meeting; the residents and businesses have had little time to organize opposition to the proposal due to lack of notice to the community regarding the change in the intersection; to further add to their discomfort they have been notified that there will be Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 3 January 8, 2003 a change in their street name, creating the extra cost of changing the address on all business forms; the greenbelt was imposed on the property owners by the County and the passage of S.O.A.R. with little regard to the cost to the landowners; and ultimately he would like to have the intersection left in its current condition and observe the results over a one -year period of time. James Brown, a Moorpark resident, concurred with Mr. Brecunier's remarks and reminded the Council of the tragic accidents, which occurred at this intersection when there was no left turn signal. Jonathan Friedman, landowner of Cornell Ranch, which is comprised of a new home area along Read Road at the 23 freeway, stated that without the left turn capability at Moorpark Road, an additional 100 left turns per day would be taken at the Miller Parkway intersection by new homeowners trying to reach his development. He concurred with the Mr. Brecunier and Mr. Brown's comments to keep the intersection as is. Dave Lorenzen, a Moorpark resident, stated that he opposes the removal of the signal light and described a serious accident he was involved in prior to the light's installation. He stated that he concurs with staff's recommendation to leave the intersection in its current configuration, and that the need to maintain access to the farms will preserve one of Moorpark's biggest attractions. James Barker, a partner in Tierra Rejada Family Farms, concurred with the previous comments in regard to leaving the intersection signalized. In response to Councilmember Mikos, Mr. Kueny stated that the County does not need any of the signal parts from the existing signal light for the current project; the City of Moorpark will not owe a signal to the County in the future; the County will be saving the construction costs of reconfiguring the median at Moorpark Road; the City and County will continue to share the maintenance costs; and the time required to gain the concurrence of the Board of Supervisors, which is needed to change the requirements of the Agreement, should not impact the project. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 4 January 8, 2003 Butch Britt, from the County of Ventura, concurred with Mr. Kueny's remarks and assured the Council that the City of Moorpark will not owe the County a traffic signal. He also stated that Supervisor Mikels has already indicated her support to modify the Agreement in order to maintain the intersection. In response to Councilmember Harper, Mr. Kueny stated that staff reviewed the County's EIR and Traffic Study and staff is projecting that the four -way intersection at Moorpark Road and the current intersection will operate at service level C or better. In response to Councilmember Harper, Mr. Gilbert stated that the timing for the signals is already programmed "on- demand "; further analysis will need to be done to determine a new program based on the revised traffic volumes; and re- timing of the signals should allow operation at level C or better. Mayor Hunter stated that it is reasonable to conclude that the traffic signal will operate like other traffic signals in the City. Mr. Gilbert stated that the signal can be programmed to conform in any way necessary. Councilmember Millhouse stated that he wants to remind the public that once Miller Parkway opens, traffic will be restricted to turning only left or right since the residents on Miller Parkway did not want traffic cutting through their neighborhood. Councilmember Mikos commented that it is unfortunate that the County did not just reconstruct existing Moorpark Road, so that cars would go past all the existing businesses, which is what the city of Moorpark argued for and lost. She stated she is glad that there do not seem to be any impediments to retaining the traffic signal and the intersection in their current condition. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 5 January 8, 2003 Councilmember Parvin stated it should not be necessary to revisit this intersection in a year, as suggested by Mr. Brecunier, unless other issues become apparent. MOTION: Mayor Hunter moved and Councilmember Millhouse seconded a motion to direct staff to work with the County of Ventura to amend the existing Agreement to leave the intersection at Moorpark Road and Tierra Rejada Road unchanged so that it will continue to be signalized and have left turn capability. The motion passed by unanimous voice vote. S. CLOSED SESSION: Mr. Kueny announced that the City Council would be going into closed session for discussion of Item S.C. MOTION: Councilmember Millhouse moved and Councilmember Harper seconded a motion to adjourn to closed session for a discussion of Item S.C. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. The time was 5:45 p.m. C. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR (Pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8) Property: APN 511 -0- 050 -080, Moorpark, CA 93021 Agency Negotiator: Steven Kueny, City Manager Negotiation Parties: The City of Moorpark and Monte Louis Abbath Under Negotiation: Price and terms of payment Present in closed session were Councilmembers Harper, Mikos, Millhouse, Parvin, and Mayor Hunter; Steven Kueny, City Manager; Hugh Riley, Assistant City Manager; and Deborah Traffenstedt, Assistant to City Manager /City Clerk. The Council reconvened into open session at 5:58 p.m. Mr. Kueny stated that Item S.C. was discussed and that there was no action to report. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 6 January 8, 2003 6. ADJOURNMENT: Mayor Hunter adjourned t ATTEST: Deborah S. Traffenst t City Clerk