Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN 2003 0409 CC SPCMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL Moorpark, California April 9, 2003 A Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Moorpark was held on April 9, 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 6:45 p.m. John Wozniak, Allegiance. 2. ROLL CALL: Present: former Councilmember, led the Pledge of Councilmembers Harper, Mikos, Millhouse, Parvin, and Mayor Hunter. Staff Present: Steven Kueny, City Manager; Hugh Riley, Assistant City Manager; Ken Gilbert, Public Works Director; Walter Brown, City Engineer; David Bobardt, Planning Manager; Scott Wolfe, Principal Planner; Deborah Traffenstedt, Assistant to City Manager /City Clerk; and Maureen Benson, Deputy City Clerk. 3. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. 4. PRESENTATION /ACTION /DISCUSSION: A. Consider a Public Workshop to Discuss Potential Alignments for State Route 23 North of New Los Angeles Avenue. Staff Recommendation: 1) Open and close a public workshop; and 2) Direct staff as appropriate. Mr. Bobardt gave the staff report. He introduced Samia Maximous from the Ventura County Transportation Commission and Mel Hodges from Caltrans, as available for questions. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Bobardt stated that the D Street Alternative is worthy of Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 2 April 9, 2003 further study to come up with a cost estimate; a bridge over the flood control channel would be needed for the D Street Alternative; an additional option for consideration would be D Street /State Route (SR) -118 right of way across to Spring Road and then north to connect to Walnut Canyon Road. John Wozniak, a Moorpark resident and former Councilmember, stated that the impacts to Spring Road are of major concern to that neighborhood; in 1998, the Morrison - Fountainwood- Agoura project (in the Moorpark Highlands Specific Plan No. 2 area) was approved with the stipulation that no trucks would be allowed on Spring Road; moving the trucks from one neighborhood street to another, does not solve the problem; he concurred with Councilmember Millhouse's suggestion for the Hybrid Alternative (D Street /Alternative No. 4), placing the trucks north of the city; he encouraged Councilmember Millhouse, who chairs the Ventura County Transportation Commission, to continue his efforts to get an alignment in the State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP); and in this way, some progress will be made to fix this problem, not just move it. In response to Councilmember Mikos, Mr. Wozniak clarified that he was proposing use of the SR -118 corridor and part of Spring Road within Specific Plan No. 2, for use by trucks, not Spring Road south of Specific Plan No. 2. In response to Mayor Hunter, Mr. Bobardt summarized the key topography issue for the Hybrid Alternative to be the steep grade from Princeton Avenue west to the SR -23 bypass reservation, which is immediately west of the houses along College Heights Drive. Councilmember Harper stated that he does not like any of the alternatives that use Spring Road to funnel trucks north /south; it does not make sense to take the well - designed Morrison Ranch Moorpark Highlands Community (in Specific Plan No. 2) and then immediately divert gravel trucks to their doorstep; if the D Street Alternative can be done at any reasonable cost, it comes the closest to alleviating the quarry truck traffic problem, but does nothing for east /west truck traffic through the City, which is a much larger Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Paae 3 April 9, 2003 problem; the D Street Alternative may be the best way of dealing with truck traffic, unless it is totally out of the city's ability to fund, even with County and State assistance; and he supports staff's desire to further study D Street. Councilmember Millhouse stated that direction should be given to staff to study two or three of the alternatives to get price estimates; the City needs to identify a project to get it into the system to be considered by the VCTC and then the STIP; and he stated the D Street Alternative has the downside of going behind some existing houses, but that those residents were aware of the identified corridor for SR -23. He also stated it is important not to miss this window of opportunity to select two or three projects, scope out the cost, and decide which one to recommend for the STIP and promote to the VCTC. Councilmember Mikos stated that she had previously been concerned with the approximately $23.9 million dollar alternative through Crawford Canyon and then extending along the west side of Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park and through a section of farmland to Broadway, because discussion indicated the City would be funding the project. She stated when the right -of- way for SR -23 was proposed in the early 1980's to be located along the edge of Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park, and the main entrance to that Park was supposed to be at Broadway, she felt it made sense. She stated she still feels that it is the best alignment, but does not feel the City should pay for a temporary roadway, not built to Caltrans' specifications, when Caltrans and the State are supposed to be responsible. She concurred it was worth looking at whether the project could be included in the STIP and that the City should look at more than one alternative. She stated she does not prefer any of the alternatives that go around Campus Park. She stated that all of the options, except for the Grimes Canyon Road option, either go around the perimeter or right through the Pardee development in Specific Plan No. 2. She stated she would like to hear from Caltrans, VCTC, or Councilmember Millhouse on what to expect of the STIP process, and how long before something would happen, and that the Council needs to think about what to do in the interim. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 4 April 9, 2003 Mr. Kueny suggested questions be directed to the representative from Caltrans, especially regarding concerns expressed about the route through the habitat conservation area connecting to D Street or Crawford Canyon. He went on to summarize the following options for the Council to direct staff to study further: • Alternate No. 5, utilizing D Street, running along the easterly side of Specific Plan 2 and continuing north to a Broadway extension. • Hybrid Alternative identified by Councilmember Millhouse, which would take the route from Spring Road south through the Pardee development (in Specific Plan No. 2 area) and then connect to the D Street Alternative through use of the SR -118 bypass corridor. • An option reducing Spring Road to only two -lanes and then constructing two -lanes for the SR -23 bypass option along the east side of the Pardee project (in Specific Plan No. 2 area) and connecting the SR -23 bypass roadway to Broadway and D Street. • Re -visit the freeway -to- freeway (SR -23 to SR -118) connection as described in the Charles Abbott Associates report from several years ago, to see if better cost projections can be formulated. • Provide more specific information about the STIP process since it is important to get into it quickly. This will require more realistic cost estimates, an identified project, and identification of more specific environmental concerns. Councilmember Parvin confirmed, as a resident of the Campus Park area, that she knew many years ago of the plan for the route to pass by that location and hopes the residents of that area are watching the meeting on television and will want to participate in the process. She requested that in the future, staff provide elevations and maps of all the alternatives for ease of distinction. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 5 April 9, 2003 Councilmember Mikos suggested that an additional exhibit be provided using different colors to differentiate the alignments from each other. She stated she is in favor of Mr. Kueny's suggestion to re -visit the freeway -to- freeway connection, which would eliminate the need for D Street. Councilmember Harper stated that he is in favor of looking at all of the alternatives and acknowledged that the report needs to find a realistic way of paying for any of the alternatives. Councilmember Millhouse stated that Mr. Kueny's suggestions were excellent and that he did not know when cities will be asked to submit projects for the STIP. CONSENSUS: It was the consensus of the Council to accept Mr. Kueny's recommendation to study: 1) The two D Street alternatives; 2) The freeway -to- freeway connection; 3) Reducing Spring Road within Specific Plan No. 2 area to two lanes and then constructing a two -lane roadway within the SR -23 bypass corridor; 4) Connecting the SR -23 bypass roadway to an extension of Broadway; and 5) To direct staff to provide specific information about the STIP process, which will require realistic cost estimates, an identified project, and identification of specific environmental concerns. Jim Bizzelle, Director of Community Development for Pardee Homes, 1320 Flynn Road, Camarillo, stated that they do not oppose any of the alignments and just want the Council to direct staff to allow their project to move forward for review of the Modification to their tract map and for Residential Planned Development (RPD) Permit approval. Mayor Hunter cautioned that since the Tract Map Modification and RPD Permit are not on the agenda, it would not be possible to direct staff at this time. Mr. Kueny stated that the City is not holding up any processing of the Pardee project relative to this decision; there are some issues regarding one condition of the map that requires the applicant to either pay a fee or to do the actual grading for the State highway corridors; at some point in time the Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 6 April 9, 2003 Council may have to make a judgment call, such as to tell Pardee to go ahead and grade the SR -23 right -of- way so that they can balance the dirt into their project area, whether that road gets built or not, at least a decision has been made to do it now rather than later and at greater expense; and that this decision regarding grading does not have to be made this evening. Mr. Bizzelle stated that Pardee would prefer to pay the in -lieu fees versus grade the highway corridors. Samia Maximous, from the Ventura County Transportation Commission, clarified the STIP and VCTC project process. She stated that now is the window of opportunity to submit projects to the VCTC to be eligible for the project list; letters from VCTC, requesting project submissions for state highways, will be mailed out in July to cities in Ventura County; the list will be prioritized by VCTC, which just needs a general description and targeted dollar amount for the project; the list is then forwarded to the State for the STIP; STIP projects are not financially constrained and are viewed on their merit, in regard to how much congestion is eliminated; the STIP is more structured and requires a project document, which goes through certain studies in order to get on their list; funding availability is generally $15 -20 million dollars each STIP cycle; currently there is no advance funding as the State is behind in funding even with the current STIP list; and perhaps, in the next few years, as the economy improves, it will be of benefit to already have a project on the STIP list. In response to Council questions, Ms. Maximous stated that this is a very new process to the VCTC and not all criteria have been developed for prioritizing; one of many variables for consideration would be how much congestion is removed by any alternative route; Senate Bill 45 makes VCTC the funding agency holding and disbursing the funds, rather than Caltrans; STIP is only one resource for funding; and there may also be other Federal truck programs or grants available. Mel Hodges, from Caltrans, stated that 75% of all funds coming into Los Angeles and Ventura Counties go Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 7 April 9, 2003 to either the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in Los Angeles or the VCTC in Ventura County for regional funding; 250 of the funds go to Caltrans for inter - regional funding; once VCTC has identified projects and established a list, they will work with Caltrans; Caltrans will do a Feasibility Study and prepare a Project Study Report (PSR), which is required prior to receipt of any STIP funding; the PSR includes the scope, cost, schedule, and resources needed for the project; depending on the size and complexity of a project, a minimum of at least one year is needed to develop the PSR; a Feasibility Study may need to be done, since the city's proposal involves a state highway realignment; it is important to work with Caltrans to make sure all state highway standards are met; the current funding cycle for STIP 2004 has already passed; and the next cycle is for 2006. In response to questions from Council, Mr. Hodges stated that the 25% funding Caltrans gets to use on inter - regional projects would be allocated to roadway connections to major urban centers; VCTC and Caltrans would have to make the determination whether a project is inter - regional; through the PSR, it may be possible to have shared funding; Walnut Canyon Road does not currently meet Caltrans standards, but all future state routes must meet the current standards; acceptable non - standards may apply where there are environmental impacts, extreme cost, or right -of -way issues; even a temporary roadway with a life expectancy of ten years, which is considered to be part of the state highway system, would have to meet the current Caltrans standards; Caltrans standards are available on the internet; and he will provide staff with a contact phone number for Caltrans' Advanced Planning and Feasibility Studies Unit. Councilmember Mikos asked staff, when looking at the interim roadway for the freeway -to- freeway alternative, to take into consideration the entrance to the park so it is not impaired for the trail connection from the Pardee development to Happy Camp Canyon Regional Park. Mr. Kueny asked Council if they wished to waive rules to hear from late speakers. Minutes of the City Council Moorpark, California Page 8 April 9, 2003 CONSENSUS: It was the consensus of the Council to waive rules to hear from late speakers. Cathy Aiwazian, a Moorpark resident, stated that she encourages the Council to look at the Pardee project as it was originally approved without truck traffic on Spring Road. David Schwabauer, a Moorpark resident, asked if the connection to Broadway could be designed to avoid bisecting his agricultural property. He also asked that he and other property owners outside the city, in the affected area, be notified of any future hearings on this matter. Mayor Hunter asked staff to make sure to notice those affected property owners. S. ADJOURNMENT: MOTION: Councilmember seconded a motion to unanimous voice vote. ATTEST: Deborah S. Traffenste t City Clerk Harper F Thy moved and Councilmember Mikos by