HomeMy WebLinkAboutAGENDA REPORT 1995 0705 CC REG ITEM 11DTO:
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A G E N D A R E P O R T
C I T Y OF M O O R PAR K
The Honorable City Council
Jaime Aguilera, Director of Co■munity Developmefid"'
Deborah S. Traffenstedt, Senior Planner -5>g--r
June 29, 1995 (CC feting of 7 -5 -95)
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SUBJECT: CONSIDER F[B13HER STUDY OF A Ft�iIi1L RLY ALIG�lP
FOR THE FUTURE EXTENSION OF STATE ROUTE 118 (SR -118) AND
RELATED CIRCULATION ALTERNATIVES
At a joint City Council /Planning Commission workshop on May 24,
1995, the feasibility of a northerly alignment for the future
extension of the State Route 118 (SR -118) freeway was discussed.
At that workshop meeting, the City Council directed staff to
schedule further Council discussion of options and a staff
recommendation.
Discussion
Prior to any action by the City to initiate an amendment of the
City's General Plan Circulation Element, staff recommends that the
feasibility of a northerly alignment be further studied. Initially,
staff recommends that one or more meetings be arranged, to discuss
feasibility and County and regional issues, and include the
following County and City staff (or designated representatives):
County Planning Director, Public Works Agency Director, Supervisor
Mikels, the Mayor (or a Council Casmtittee), City Manager, City
Engineer, and the Director of Community Development. In addition,
it may be appropriate to invite Caltrans staff.
Following the initial meeting(s), staff would then schedule a
subsequent discussion/ action item on the City Council's agenda,
with a recommendation regarding whether or not the City should
consider funding a new alignment study for SR -118, to be completed
by a qualified consultant. That alignment study could be funded by
the Citywide Traffic Mitigation Fund (21), the current balance of
which is approximately $650,000.
A northerly alignment study for SR -118 would provide information on
the feasibility and estimated costs for construction and right -of-
way acquisition. For example, the study would include analysis of
the most feasible alignment based on existing land use, topographic
constraints, cut and fill requirements, and right -of -way
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The Honorable City Council
June 29, 1995
Page 2
acquisition. The City could opt to have Caltrans do the study;
however, the alignment study completed by Caltrans in 1994 for the
SR -118 extension (for the alignment shown in the City's Circulation
Element) took several years to complete, and cost information has
not yet been provided by Caltrans for that alignment study.
If the City Council's determination is that no revision of the
City's General Plan Circulation Element (pertaining to the SR -118
extension) should be studied, then Option 1, as discussed below,
would be applicable. If the Council's determination is that a
northerly alignment for SR -118 merits further study, then Option 2,
as discussed below, would be applicable.
Option 1
NO revision to the City Circulation Blem ent - The adopted aligm ent
for the SR -118 extension mould not be revised. Projects will be
required to dedicate right -of -way for all roadways shown on Figure
2 in the Circulation Element. Roadways providing direct access to
a development project will be constructed as a condition of
approval for that project. The SR -118 and SR -23 Bypass arterial
roadways will be constructed as part of a Citywide Traffic
Mitigation /Capital Improvement Program, at the time they are
required to maintain adequate level of service on existing roadways
(such as Los Angeles Avenue and Moorpark Avenue /Walnut Canyon
Road).
Option No. 1 would not require additional study beyond the
completion of the Citywide Traffic Mitigation Fee /Capital
Improvement Program that is already under way. The City's current
Circulation Element includes the construction of a six -lane City
arterial roadway, referred to as the SR -118 Bypass, which is
planned to be constructed by the year 2010, to allow General Plan
buildout. If General Plan buildout is allowed to occur without
construction of the SR -118 Bypass, the Level of Service on Los
Angeles Avenue would be adversely impacted (i.e., Level of Service
C, or the current Level of Service if less than "C ", would not be
maintained for all intersections).
The City's current Circulation Element also includes the
construction of a four -lane arterial roadway, referred to as the
SR -23 Bypass, which is assumed to be constructed by the year 2010,
to allow General Plan buildout. As discussed in the draft Traffic
Study for the Hidden Creek Ranch Specific Plan (Specific Plan No.
8) , and as discussed at the May 24 City Council /Planning Commission
Workshop, there are other roadway construction and improvement
options available that would allow the construction of the SR -23
Bypass to be deferred. Such options include the northerly
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The Honorable City Council
June 29, 1995
Page 3
extension of Spring Road; a roadway across Happy Camp Canyon
Regional Park, to connect with the Hidden Creek Ranch circulation
system; the construction of a new roadway between Broadway and the
easterly terminus of Campus Park Drive, and improvements to the
Collins Drive and Campus Park Drive intersection.
V; . ' '
Initiate an an m A - of the City Circulation Element - A northsrly
alignment for the SR -118 extension and other circulation
alternatives would be studied). A traffic study and preliminary
alignment study are recommended prior to the actual initiation of
a General Plan amendment. The traffic study will analyze whether
any new roadway or roadway improvements are required if the SR -118
Bypass arterial is removed from the City Circulation Element and
replaced with a future freeway to be located north of the City at
an undetermined time. The number of lanes planned for the SR -23
Bypass arterial, through Specific Plan Area No. 2, may need to be
increased with the northerly SR -118 alignment alternative (since
SR's 118 and 23 would be coincident through the Specific Plan No.
2 area). A new City east -west roadway may still be required, to
relieve congestion on Los Angeles Avenue.
Option No. 2 would require that additional money be budgeted for
staff time to process a General Plan amendment, administer a
contract for preparation of an environmental clearance document,
and for consultant preparation of a traffic study and an
environmental clearance document (the proposed project would
probably require an environmental impact report (EIR) or a
Subsequent EIR to the General Plan Update EIR).
The County Board of Supervisors would need to support a northerly
alignment of SR -118, in order for right -of -way protection to occur.
Opposition can be expected from existing County residents and
property owners, who may be concerned that their property values
would be negatively impacted by adoption of a new freeway
alignment.
Amendment of the City's General Plan Circulation Element would be
just the first step in the process to relocate the future alignment
for SR -118. The County General Plan would also need to be amended,
support from the Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC)
would probably need to be obtained, and eventually Caltrans would
need to complete its own studies and environmental clearance
document to adopt a new alignment for SR -118 and allow construction
of a future freeway. (Based on prior comments from the Caltrans
Project Studies Branch Chief, it is staff's understanding that the
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Honorable City Council
June 26, 1995
Page 4
alignment for SR -118 through Moorpark is an "adopted alignment ",
and that any new alignment would require California Transportation
Commission approval.)
Initiating an amendment of the City's Circulation Element would not
require any delay in the processing of Specific Plans Nos. 1 and 2,
if alternative land use and circulation alternatives are analyzed
for those Specific Plan areas, to allow for any change to the
alignment or right -of -way dedication requirements for SR's 118 and
23. The actual approval of Specific Plans Nos. 1 and 2, as well as
the processing of future subdivision maps for those two specific
plan areas, may need to be delayed; however, it also may be
possible to structure a development agreement that covers all
contingencies, based on any required change to the alignment or
right -of -way dedication requirements for SR's 118 and 23.
If it is the City Council's preference that Option 2 receive
further consideration, then staff recommends that the Council
authorize staff and the Mayor to meet with County and other agency
staff, as previously discussed, and obtain consultant estimates for
preparation of a traffic study, future freeway alignment study
(including estimated construction and right -of -way acquisition
costs), and the appropriate environmental clearance document for a
General Plan Circulation Element amendment. Staff would then
reschedule this item for a subsequent City Council meeting, to
discuss the results of the meeting(s) with other agency staff and
representatives and the estimated alignment and traffic study costs
and completion time estimates.
Recommendation
Direct the Mayor and staff to meet with identified County officials
regarding a potential northerly alignment for the extension of SR-
118 and related circulation alternatives.
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