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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 030287 - Special MtngM tNG ZV 8 7 AGENDA J ITEM /t (MINUTES APPROVED BY COUNCIL, AS WRITTEN, 3/24/87) ATASCADERO CITY COUNCIL MINUTES Special Meeting - March 2, 1987 Atascadero Administration Building The special meeting of the Atascadero City Council was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Mackey, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL Present: Councilmembers Borgeson, Handshy, Molina, Norris and Mayor Mackey Absent: None STAFF Mike Shelton, City Manager; Bud McHale, Police Chief; Henry Engen, Community Development Director; Paul Sensibaugh, Public Works Direc- tor; Boyd Sharitz, City Clerk; Cindy Wilkins, Deputy City Clerk Councilwoman Borgeson noted that she will be voting this Thursday, 3/5/87 (as Atascadero's representative to the San Luis Obispo Area Coordinating Council (SLOACC)), on funding priorities for State Trans- portation Improvement Project Funds for which Atascadero is competing with the other cities in the County. Due to the impact of Atasca- dero's improvement ptoject - the redesign of Hwy. 41 and replacement bridge over the Salinas River - public testimony is requested as well as Council advice. A. 1987 Programmed State Transportation Improvement Projects (STIP) Draft Preliminary STIP Emphasizing Project 0170G, Highway 41 Re- placement Bridge over Salinas River and Redesign of Highway 41 between Highway 101 to 0.6 Miles East of the Salinas River (pro- grammed for 1989-90 in Atascadero) (Page AB -11) B. 1987 Unprogrammed STIP Projects - Emphasizing Project Priority #1 - Additional $2 Million Funding Toward Project 0170G (Listed above) (Page AB -8) Mr. Shelton, City Manager, introduced Ron DeCarli, SLOACC Program Mgr., and Gary Arthurs, Hwy. 41 Project Mgr. for CalTrans, Dist. 5. Mr. Sensibaugh, Pub. Works Director, gave a brief overview of the Hwy. 41 issue Mr. DeCarli, SLOACC, made a presentation regarding financial issues involved in the project, reviewing its history as well as actions/ milestones yet to be attained. He noted there will be a document sub- sequent to CalTrans's current draft 5 -year CIP (called PSTIP) which 1 7i t will include SLOACC comments) in May Transp. Commission is anticipated to 0 for public hearings; the CA approve the 5 -year CIP in June. Mr. Arthurs, CalTrans, discussed the alternative considerations and the environmental impact considerations involved in the project. He noted that any money allocated would, at this point in time, allow for the opportunity to look at an alternative other than replacing the bridge in its current location. No alternative has been selected, but the EIR has focused on Alt. A and bridge replacement since the feder- al monies allocated are for bridge replacement, which may be in its existing or adopted route location only. The Negative Declaration for the project is expected to come out in May; it will be circulated both locally and through various public agencies to assure compliance with environmental laws, and a public hearing will be held here in Atasca- dero. He emphasized no decision will be made by CalTrans as to which alternative has been selected until that time. Public Comment Sarah Gronstrand, resident, asked Mr. Arthurs, since E.G. Lewis had laid out the streets of Atascadero and the City qualifies for applica- tion as a historical City, does this mean the Federal govt. takes care of the streets? Mr. Arthur responded that this enables the City to qualify for registration in the Federal register as a historical site. He also noted this requires additional work (by CalTrans) in the en- vironmental process to assure protection of any historical elements. Barbara Reiter, 10150 San Marcos, requested consideration of rerouting Hwy. 41 (so as not to impact residential), from the its intersection with Hwy. 101, north along Hwy. 101 to Paso Robles and out Hwy. 46 east; she also requested that the use of $7.5 million be put into Hwy. 101 improvements through Atascadero, especially the northbound offramp to Hwy. 41. Pete Bunosar, resident on Magdalena Ave., seconded the comments of the previous speaker. Ken Roberts, 5325 Mercedes, spoke in opposition to this project. Dave Baker, Exec. Director, N. Co. Contractors Assn., expressed the association's support of Alt. A. and staff recommendations, compli- menting City staff for their research on this project. Robert Nimmo, 7375 Bella Vista, representing the 460 members of the Chamber of Commerce, spoke in support of Alt. A, noting Chamber sup- port was first expressed in 1969 and again, by letter, dated June 18, 1984, primarily for the reasons expressed in the Gen. Plan. Lon Allen, as a resident, spoke in support of endorsement of Alt. A as orobosed by CalTrans. Gary Hoskins, 5140 Mercedes (corner Mercedes & Cemetery Rd.), spoke in opposition to Alt. A due to impact to neighborhood environment. 2 • Ray Jensen, 6655 Country Club Dr., new logical bypass would be along Curbaril narrowest point, including construction C. resident in Atas., proposed the Rd., crossing the river at its of the necessary bridge. Mark Jensen, resident, questioned the amount of through traffic from Morro Bay to east of Atas., feeling the traffic doesn't justify the need for this route realignment; Mr. Arthurs responded that traffic counts from 1986 indicated 2,600 cars per day crossed the existing bridge. (Mr. Sensibaugh added that the ADT for the entire project ranges from 26,000 at ECR to 2,600 at the bridge.) Al Gustafson, 9305 Curbaril (14 -yr. resident), spoke in favor of Alt. A, noting observance of increase in traffic in subject area. Sharon Morin, 20 -yr. resident, homeowner & businesswoman, spoke in favor of Alt. A in interest of reducing congestion in the Lewis Ave. School vicinity, to eliminate the narrow underpass on Capistrano and to eliminate the deficient Salinas River bridge at Curbaril Ave. Elizabeth Putnam, who resides on Capistrano at Cemetery Dr., spoke in support of Alt. A, agreeing with the comments of Mr. Nimmo (above). Carol Harter, representing Dr. Avina on behalf of the AUSD, expressed support of realignment of Hwy. 41, primarily for student safety con- cerns. Mike Hull (?), resident on Mercedes Ave., spoke in opposition to Alt. A, would like to see the project reevaluated but is in favor of devel- oping a bridge across the Salinas River. Doug Filipponi, 5995 River Rd., spoke in support of Alt. A, thanking CalTrans for continuing to consider this project. Richard Shannon, 4820 Obispo, spoke in support of Alt. A. Kirk Pearson, representing the BIA, presented a petition bearing the signatures of members of the executive committee for the BIA expres- sing their support of Alt. A; he also presented a downtown plan for Atascadero, noting the BIA feels the realignment (as well as a Lewis Ave. bridge) is an integral part of downtown redevelopment. Jerry Clay, 7285 Sycamore Rd., spoke in support of Alt. A, agreeing with the reported number of vehicles crossing the bridge daily. Brad Davis, 4470 Sycamore, spoke in support of Alt. A, noting the op- portunity at hand in CalTrans funding this development and expressing pedestrian safety concerns. Herb LaPrade, 6480 Santa Ynez, resident since 1948, spoke in support of Alt. A. Dave Hamilton, resident on So. River Rd., spoke in support of Alt. A, noting the ongoing development on the east side of the river which is increasing the amount of traffic flow using the existing bridge. 4 3 0 Chris Jesperson, So. River Rd. resident for 32 yrs., spoke in support of Alt. A, noting his observance of traffic increase and noting the availability of CalTrans funding for this project. Dave Davis, property owner on ECR residing in the El Pomar area (for approx. 17 yrs.), spoke in support of Alt. A due to pedestrian safety concerns, concurring with bridge traffic figures cited by CalTrans. He strongly urges development of the realignment before a pedestrian is killed. Irene Bishop, resident on Serena Rd., asked APD Chief McHale what im- pact the proposed realignment would have on the new police facility; Chief McHale responded that it is seen as a benefit which would en- hance response to downtown as well as other areas of the City. On that note, Ms. Bishop spoke in support of Alt. A. Jay DeCou, 9200 Pino Solo, spoke in support of Alt. A, noting the num- ber of DeCou Lumber delivery trucks utilizing the existing bridge and noting the need for good east/west traffic access. Jerry Bond, 8725 Atascadero Ave., spoke in favor of Alt. A. Eric Michielssen, 5300 Aguila, noted the repeated reaffirmations in the (1967, 1977 and 1980) GP reviews of the need for a new Hwy. 41 route; he spoke in favor of Alt. A in the interest of the greatest benefit to the City as a whole. Grigger Jones, resident, spoke in support of Alt. A, noting the costs proposed to be absorbed by CalTrans; he quoted from Pg. 122 of the GP to highlight some previous concerns addressed regarding the need for realignment. Arthur Reiter, 10150 San Marcos Rd., spoke in support of researching an alternative to the proposed favored route, urging the Council to keep the future in perspective. Ned Thompson, resident, spoke in favor of Alt. A. John McNeil, resident, questioned the non -consideration of Alt. D; Mr. Sensibaugh discussed other alternative routes shown on the map, noting the main factors in favoring Alt. A over Alt. D are cost and area impact, noting that approx. 70-90% of the right of way has been ac- quired. Mike Arrambide, resident, spoke in favor of Alt. A, noting he has tal- lied that 4:1 of those who have spoken tonight favor Alt. A. John Cole, 8710 Sierra Vista, spoke in support of Alt. A, noting the inevitability of growth in Atascadero. Mildred Copelan, 8610 Portola and 33 -yr. resident, spoke in support of Alt. A, based on the historical background of the research that has been put into this issue. 4 Doug Lewis, resident, asked how long the proposed bridge would be; Mr. Arthurs responded (from memory) approx. 2,000 ft. (Mr. DeCarli later responded the bridge will be 1,200 ft.) Don Messer, resident, spoke in favor of Alt. A noting the length of time this issue has been debated. William Collins, 4205 River Rd., spoke in support of the proposed realignment (which will front his property for approx. 1/4 mi. after extending across the river), noting the growth he has observed in the area east of Atascadero since 1959 which supports the bridge traffic flow figures cited by CalTrans. Mark Buscher, 5105 Magdalena (corner at Mercedes Ave.), expressed op- position to Alt. A due to the impact it will have on his property. Glen Lewis, resident, spoke in support of Alt. A, due to pedestrian safety concerns - who are primarily students - and citing the costs to be absorbed by CalTrans. Dave Davis spoke again, asking CalTrans representatives if bike lanes are proposed along Alt. A; Mr. Arthurs responded no, but the road will have 8' shoulders. Mr. Davis asked if the bridge will have walkways; Mr. Arthurs responded that the demand is not seen at this time, and they are not planned for but could be added should pedestrian demand develop. Mr. DeCarli further responded by noting the total width of the proposed roadway (401: two 12' travel lanes w/8' shoulders; Mr. Arthurs later noted the first approx. 1000 ft. (starting at ECR) will be four lanes, narrowing to two.) Mr. DeCarli responded to concerns raised by some as to alternatives for funds, and he reviewed project priorities. He reiterated that the funds cannot be traded for other improvements and can only be used for bridge replacement. Discussion came back to Council, with each member expressing favor for Alt. A and citing his/her reasons. Councilwoman Borgeson, at the re- quest of a member of the audience, stated that she will be voting yes on Alt. A and for bridge replacement at this Thursday's SLOACC meet- ing, on the basis of public testimony heard tonight as well as the direction expressed by fellow Councilmembers. COUNCIL RECESSED FOR BREAK AT 9:22 P.M. MAYOR MACKEY CALLED MEETING BACK TO ORDER AT 9:38 P.M. C. Unmet Public Transit Need #5 - Transit Service Proposal between Templeton and Atascadero or Paso Robles for Senior Citizens (Page C-4 to C-7) Mr. Sensibaugh, Pub. Works Director, gave staff report. Mr. DeCarli reviewed SLOACC staff recommendations (report included in Fit 5 0 q* Council discussion ensued, and Council consensus was to concur with staff recommendations (The Senior Bus solution as it's a no cost op- tion) . Mr. DeCarli noted an increase in local transportation funds (LTF) to be received by the City of Atascadero, as well as additional State transit assistance funds (STF), totaling $457,439. These combined monies fund the DAR system and the City's contribution to the regional handicapped system, and the remaining funds are for street and road purposes. Mr. DeCarli urged the City to become a voting member on the governing board of the No. Coast Transit System, since the City is funding a portion of that program. Council concurred to bring this issue back as an agenda item. MEETING ADJOURNED AT 10:00 P.M. MINUTES RECORDED BY: BOYEr C. SHARITZ, CiEy Clerk MINUTES PREPARED BY: CINDY WILKINS, Deputy City Clerk 6 N