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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/23/93 BAKERSFIELD MEMORANDUM April 23, 1993 TO' HONORABLE. MAYOR AND CITY COUNC~ T-~ FROM: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER SUBJECT' GENERAL INFORMATION 1. Attached, you will find a letter from LAFCO responding to our complaint list previously sent to them. We met with them this week. The resolution of our problems will have to come from political and/or legal sources. Their administration is dominated by entrenched, biased and unthoughtful bureaucracy. Their staff may oppose island annexations, our Sphere of Influence change, and anything else related to growth. 2. There are Minutes enclosed from a Citizens' Parks and Recreation Committee meeting. Spearheaded by one or two people, they are promoting becoming an independent jurisdiction outside Council's influence. They would be much like some special districts we deal with. Apparently, they are in the process of formally requesting a Council Committee review this question. The staff does not think it is a good idea, at all, but it will, apparently, come to you for formal review. 3. You will find enclosed a letter from Cox Cable in which they consent to increasing the franchise fee from 3% to 5%. We are proceeding with contact with the other company to see how they react. 4. You will find a map enclosed that we received from the County this week. It shows the West Beltway Plan. It appears that they have come to the realization that most developers will gift land for an established line and they seem to be moving ahead in a positive manner to adopt a line and get developer donations where they can. The alignment they propose is the Barton-Ashman alignment, for those of you familiar with that. 5. With regard to the Gate Fee issue, the County indicated to us that they would not honor any kind of discount in rates for illegal dumping and that they would, in essence, take under advisement, with a short time reference for responding, the issues of creating a JPA to facilitate universal collection in island areas and the issue of requiring commercial collection of County businesses. The Budget and Finance Committee, to whom you delegated the responsibility to respond for you, met and a letter of opposition, as well as a presentation, are being prepared.-. It will be a clearly stated letter of opposition. It will not, however, make it a life or death issue, as there are other intergovernmental relationship$~"~hich could be at risk. HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL April 23, 1993 Page -2- 6. I have been given the Civil Service List of three candidates for the Assistant City Manager opening. I plan to bring that to conclusion over the next two and one-half weeks, or so. All of the final three are from outside of Kern County. 7. In response to a Council Referral, another copy of the delayed Capital Improvements list from the Gas Tax Fund is enclosed. Most of these will reappear in the new budget proposal. 8. We are undertaking a project, in-house; to prepare Case Sheets on all of the island and related annexations to analyze potential revenues, costs of providing service, and special conditions which would allow us to understand what concerns there are present from past annexation efforts. We will compile the information in an attempt to bring forward potential revised priorities on how to approach these in the future. 9. Enclosed you will find a report on the California Avenue improvement project which was delayed earlier by the City Council. We have already done about everything we can do to use Gas Tax money to substitute for other General Funds. The safety record and potential to improve traffic flow means it should go through. 10. The site plan for the development of the GET bus facility at Valley Plaza (adjacent to Wible Road) has been approved by the Site Plan Committee. 11. Rio Bravo Cycle Complex - The Chairperson of the Citizens' Parks and Recreation Committee has encouraged the applicant to ask for reconsideration. It is too late - they must reapply. 12. Enclosed is a Status Report on 1992-93 Revenue from Transportation Impact Fees. AT.alb Attachments cc: Department Heads City Clerk LOCAL' AGENCY FORMATION COMMI'SSIOI~ 2700 M STREET, SUITE 302 · BAKERSFIELD, CA 9330! ' (~ April 14, 1993 Alan Tandy City Manager City of Bakersfield 1501 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield~ CA 93301 Dear Mr. Tandy: Thank you for your letters of March 5 and April 1, 1993. As I have told you before, I am always available to discuss relations and improve cooperation. I look forward to our meeting on April 22nd as an important opportunity to do just that!' Attached to your letter of April 1, 1993, is a selectively incomplete and highly opinionated interpretation of history. I hope that in our meetings we will be able to focus on the future and on solutions, rather than to continually dredge through the past. Unfortunately I have been advised that because the attachments to your letter of April 1, 1993, represent a written record, that I should respOnd to set the record straight. First it is important to say that .with very few exceptions City of Bakersfield 'appliCations 'for c :T? ~.~^:.,:^a~g.h. er annexation or modification of the sphere of influence have been approved at their first heating by LAFCO, The reason is a combination of tWo things. The Commission has shown a continuing interest in cooperation with all the cities in the County, and Bakersfield annexations ;$ ;,,~:~ ,'~ Jatve usually included the proper'planning homework. By homework I mean that prior to annexation, in almost every case, the City has insured the proposal has a General Plan designatiOn reflecting its intended development (usually urban) and these annexations have been pre-zoned to a consistent urban land use. - Now to fill in the history about the exceptions: ~ Haley No. 1 What was not'clear from your letter is that the Commission held two extended hearings on this proposal. The.first was on March 21st, the second was on April 28th. At those hearings the W~LIIAM A. TURPIN EXECU~lv'E OFt~ICF-R Alan Tandy .Page 2 04/14/93 City Manager · residents were intensely critical of the City's annexation process. They told of the waste and inefficiency of duplicate public notice mailings, of inaccurate registered voter counting by City staff, of whOle blocks which were simply missed in the notice attempt, and of misinformation given to a store owner by City staff about City regulations concerning a pre-existing non- conforming use. It is fair to say that the theme of two extended hearings was that because of staff mistakes, the people at the hearings did not trust the City and were therefore opposed, to the annexation. At the second Commission hearing, the only City representative stood up and said "The Commission should acknowledge the significant protest to subject annexation as indicated by' the number of protestors present at this hearing".. From this perspective in time, people may argue what' the City meant by that statement. On that night everyone in the room understood that the City had given· up on this annexation. I think it is accurate to say the Commission understood their action that night to be without City of Bakersfield oPpoSition. Columbus No. 1 The Commission held three extended hearings On this annexation proposal. 'May 26th, June 9th, and June 23rd. The public did not find the same fault with City staff at this hearing. This time the City .staff and one Councilman/Commissioner made it clear that their wish was .that.the Commission approve this proposal, so that opposition could be counted at the protest hearing by the City. Nevertheless, for 'various reasons, everyone present was opposed to the annexation · prOposal. I think it is accurate to say that the reason that this annexation was not sent On was that in spite of repeated requests by the Commission, no support for this annexation was shown. The Chairman of the Commission asked repeatedly· if. anyone at the hearing was in favor of annexation.. The Commission asked if there were results of the pre-annexation survey to indicate support, but none were presented. In both Haley No. 1 hearings, and at all three Columbus No. 1 hearings, at the beginning ·of the night, LAFCO staff repeated the 'recommendation that the proposals be. approved and Sent on . to the City. Buena Vista No. 5 The summary is accurate. The Executive Officer recommended approval and the Commission approved. There were interim steps as described. The reason for the stePs is because this was one-of the rare proposals by ·the City without proPer' homework. Both the General Plan designations and pre-zoning for this area were in conflict with ·the development plan. In spite of these serious flaws, the Executive Officer and the Commission went along with the City and apProVed the request by the City. Alan Tandy ~ Page 3 04/14/93 City Manager Kern River No. 10 As City staff has pointed out quite frequently, LAFCO does not have the statutory authority to mandate urban designations, so of course it is wrong to say that they did. LAFCO does. have the responsibility to consider both the General Plan designation and the pre-zoning of a proposal for either annexation or sphere of influence amendment. Government Code Section 56377 gives LAFCO special problems approving either annexation or sphere of influence proposals proposed with agricultural General Plan designations or pre-zoning. Sphere of Influence No. 1,93 The City has not submitted this proposal yet. It is inaccurate to say that LAFCO staff has made any recommendation for a proposal,not received. LAFCO staff has submitted a request that the City stop the inappropriate assumption of CEQA duties for LAFCO. City of Shafter The City of Shafter's approach to the annexation of agricultural land was very different than that of the City of Bakersfield. They started by asking what would be needed to preserve agriculture within the City and still annex it. After asking, the City of Shafter proceeded with a Community Visions Project, an Agricultural Element of their General Plan, and a General Plan amendment and pre-zoning of the proposed annexation. None of this planning work-was labeled costly and premature study by the City of Shafter. California City This City is not surrounded by prime agricultural· land; they proposed more than 4,000 acres of detachment as part-of their annexation and solved the only objection to this annexation with the citizens of Wonder ACres. In short, the facts of the California City annexation are materially different. Sphere of Influence The only sphere of Influence amendment allowed to go to hearing by the City of Bakersfield in recent times, accOmpanied the 2010 Plan Update and was approvedbY LAFCO as requested. It simply is not true that LAFCO has been Uncooperative or that a sphere of influence should be for a planning period of between 3000 and 600 years. It is true that City 'staff gave the McAllister .Ranch proponents very bad advice to seek annexation without first doing General Plan work. McAllister Ranch officials formed their own opin. ion of dealing with the City without help or influence from LAFCO. It is unprofessional-to impugn LAFCO about West Alan Tandy Page 4 .04)14/93 City Manager · ~. Rosedale when the City's anemic proposals in the area have ail been approved as submitted by LAFCO. NOn-Agricultural Pre.zoning LAFCO has a statutory responsibility to consider the pre-zoning of each annexation proposal.. LAFCO aiso must discourage the premature annexation of prime agricultural land. Within the framework given by the law, it is agreed that it is in the Community's best interest to coordinate appropriate approvais.of development. Time Taken by LAFCO The City of Bakersfield and the County of Kern go through a new property tax exchange. negotiation process and adopt property tax exchange agreement resolutions for each annexation proposal. I have recommended a master property tax exchange agreement to both City and County representatives. I have provided cOpies of sample .agreements as .a starting point. I continue to recommend that approach. If approved, this agreement, would save between 6 weeks and two months on each annexation application. All of this time would be saved between application and hearing. I believe that it is unprofessional to complain about unreasonable delays before the City has even attempted solutions that are available exclusively to the County and the, City and not possible for LAFCO. LAFCO Strategy As has been noted above, LAFCO has supported almost every single annexation to the City of' Bakersfield. West Rosedale, if it is a problem as suggested in the letter, is not caused by LAFCO stumbling blocks. If McAllister Ranch is a stumbling block or failure, it is suggested that perhaps the. City should look .within for the source. Sincerely, William A. Turpin Executive Officer WAT:jb CITIZENS'. PARKS AND RECREATION COMMITTEE Meeting March 30, 1993 MINUTES PRESENT: Mary Sawyer, Leonard Schroeder, Delbert Murray, Jack Goldsmith ABSENT: 'Anthony Eterno, Melissa .Jolley, Geri Spencer STAFF PRESENT: Lee Andersen, Alan..Shaw, Jim Ledoux~ Tim Ruiz, Marguerite Smith I. The meeting was called to order at 12:08 pm by Chairperson Mary Sawyer. II. & It was moved by Jack Goldsmith, 'seconded by Deibert Murray III. that the minutes of the February 9, and reconvened meet.lng of February 17, be approved, with one correction. Motion carried. IV. New Business 1. Reorganization of Citizens' Committee to status of Commission - Deputy City Attorney'Alan Shaw advised the Committee on 'what action to take regarding having the status changed to that of a commission. He stated that the Committee should address a letter, to the City Council or City Manager with their request to be heard. 2.. Rio Bravo cycle Complex ~ Dave Ginn, 1223 Washington Street and Dave Rogers, 330 Chestnut Street, made a presentation on the proposed Rio Bravo Cycle Complex. The gentlemen felt that the Council had received some incorrect information regarding their proposal, and they wanted the issue to be brought back before the Council. 3. Council Referral #11495, Brunni - Recreational programs (softball) - This item was discussed under old business. V. Old Business 1. Discussion of citY's decision to vacate MUnicipal Sports Complex (Mesa Marin)-.Several members of the public made statements regarding the City's softball program. Those speaking included Frank Collins, owner of the Mesa Marin Softball Complex; Marion Collins, owner of the Mesa Marin Raceway; Dave Seidlitz, U.S.~S.S.A..Commissioner; and Bob Chapel, Deputy A.S.~A. Commissioner. The feeling of the speakers was that -2- with the City moving out of the Complex,~ the ability to host major tournaments would be lost, thereby hurting ~the City economically. They also felt that the Complex could be run privately if the City would drop softball completely. 2. Disposition of used playground equipment - Deputy ,City Attorney Alan Shaw informed the committee of the particulars involved in the disposition of used- Playground e~uipment. Mr. Shaw said that there was'no formal mechanism in place to Sell or donate equipment and that most of the equipment was salvaged for usable parts. This item was discussed before items II and III .prior to ~the seating of a quorum. VI. public Statements - Bob Chapel, Frank Collins, and Dave Seidlitz made additional comments regarding softball in general and the City's softball program in particular. VII. Committee Statements - Items to be placed on the next agenda were determined. VIII. The meeting was adjourned at. 1:35 pm. Cox Cable Bakersfield Apdl 13, 1993 Alan Tanay City Manager. I,501 Truxtun Avenue Bakersfield, California 93301 Dear Alan:'. I appreciate YOu coming by to discuss the possibility of raising the cable franchise fee from 3% to 5% in July. As we discussed, lam amenable to that as long os we work together to properly communicate the change to our customers and give them 30 days notice in advance of the increase. In order to properly notify our customers for a July t increase, we would have to include a message on the billing statements on May 19th. Second, I have enclosed an analYSis on the increased reVenue the City will get from increasing the franchise fee from 3% to 5% as you requested. Please call me if I can provide you with more information. Sincerely, Jill Campbell ':£,~,~: ~,~A~/.,a~- Vice President/ General Manager :~' ~'~ ~ :": "'"'~ enclosure FRANCHISE FEE ANALYSIS ESTIMATED REvENUEs FOR 1993 $7,630,000' FRANCHISE FEE AT 3% $228,900 ESTIMATED REVENUES JULY - DEC. 1993 3,840,800 ADDITIONAL 1993 FRANCHISE FEE IF INCREASED TO 5% JULY 1, 1993 76,800 TOTAL FRANCHISE FEE AFTER INCREASE .$305,700 : ...... ,,0 ' ..... ,~ ..... .~-~-~--;~ ~ j ~ '~~ r ' ....... : .... ,a~ -,~,~ ................ ~ ............. ~ ~ - ~ ~ ...... ~ T ~o ~ . , , ,Z _.. ,~ ~ ~ +~ ~ · , -? ~.o--;.-,~,~ ........... "~ - I I ~~ -~ ~-~ ~ ~. q _ : , ' ~ ~ ~ '~ ~' "" ', ~ ' · .k ' ' ~:;; ~ ' ';~ ~ ~ '~ · ~ , ~ ~ ~ ' ~ .~ : , '~ : g .- ~ , ~ la . ]~ ~ '~ . ~i~'~.~ .... " ~ / i/ FAP- ~1~ ~ . · ~ . . ,-.- ~o ~ . ~ ; - ' . ., . 16 ,~. ' ~, .": ,.: :J ~ . - -- ". ' -· ~' '- ' F. '/ ~F::~' :~:'-~:-': :: ~ .... '= ' .............. i--~ ............ x ' ~::~.. ,~ ~t~ . ~ ' .~ ~<.'1 ! ,~ a ,ive~ Z" ~,~p, n, ~. o~' ~,' ~~, /11 ~.l I J / ~ ~ ~ 'j,,: tIJ X11S?.4 ~ l l S35 II  I III (( ~ Il' r I i [~u ~ ~ ' 'II I II ~. ::-::~ ---- ...... - , / ~ t i BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM TO: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER ~v~~ FROM: ED W. SCHULZ, PUBLIC WORKS~~v~ DATE: APRIL 19, 1993 SUBJECT: 1992-93 FISCAL YEAR DEFERRED C.I.P. PROJECTS COUNCIL REFERRAL #11665 At the April 14 Council meeting, a councilmember requested a list of the projects which were deferred from fiscal year 1992-93 to fiscal year 1993-94 due to General' Fund revenue shortfall. Attached is the list of the projects for City Council distribution. D10 Attachment CITY ~ANAGER 19 A?R 95 4___~~ 5t3 .. B A K E R S F I E L D x PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT, MEMORANDUM TO: ALAN TANDY, CITY MANAGER ~ FROM: ED W. SCHULZ, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR DATE: JANUARY 15, 1993 SUBJECT: ESTIMATED REVENUE SHORTFALL/BUDGET ALTERNATIVES FOR FISCAL YEAR 1992-93 As we recently discussed, the revenue picture for the remainder of this fiscal year indicates a substantial shortfall for our General Fund. To address a portion of this problem, I have submitted a prioritized list of Capital Improvement Projects that could be deferred and rebudgeted in the next fiscal year. Some of the projects are complete and savings have been realized, but most of the projects are not in the design stage yet and therefore cOuld readily be deferred without having incurred any expense. The attached list of projects labeled CATEGORY I are the projects Which could reasonably be deferred and rebudgeted. The Gas Tax , which is assigned to these projects (approximately $1,100,000) would then be available to fund a portion of our operations costs which are eligible for Gas Tax funding, but which currently are supported by the General Fund. I am therefore on this~date requesting ~taff to suspend all work on the above uncompleted projects for the remainder of this fiscal year and to rebudget the same as a high priority in Fiscal Year ]993-94. \ D9 REVENUE. 93 Attach. I 81004 FLASHING BEACON - PACHECO RD~AT GREENFIELD JR.HIGH GT $25,000.00 $11,486.08 $1,259.90 $12,254.0~2 2 81016 UPGRADE SIGNAL - CASTRO LANE & MING AVENUE GT $25,000.00 $1,419.67 $23,580.33 3 81018 UPGRADE SIGNAL - 'F' STREET &TRUXTUN AVENUE .GT $120,000.00 $7,530.02 $112,469.98 4 81019 UPGRADE SIGNAL - OAK STREET & CHESTER LANE GT $120,000.00 $7,530.02 $112,469.98 5 81020 UPGRADE SIGNAL - PLANZ ROAD & WIBLE ROAD GT $.50,000.00 $1,633.17 $48,366.83 $340,000.00 $11,486.08 $19,372.78 $309,141'..14 TOTAL TRAFFIC SIGNAL PROJECTS ELIGIBLE FOR DEFERRAL $309,141.14 dwh:gt92 ~19-Apr-93 I 743 73008 COFFEE ROAD RESURFACING - STOCKDALE HWY TO WESTFIELD 6T 743 73004 CHESTER AVENUE RESURFACING - ICI. CANAL TO MING GT $17,~00.00 $1,448.69 $16,153.31 9-16-92 UnencumDe?ed~ balance available 743 73031 KERN RIVER FWY RT-OF--WAY WEST OF RENFRO ROAD GT . $01,500.00 $01,500.00 Payment due by November 25~- 1993 743 83018 COFFEE ROAD & TRUXTUN AVE.BRIDGE.APPROAGHES.~ A.E.& K.R. CANAL GT $50,000,00 $50,000.00 P~61ect will nl t be done. 743 83016 CHANNELIZATION - STOCKDALE MEDIAN NARROWING, ASHE TO GOSFORD GT $45,000.00 $45,000.00 Rebudget pn ect, will need more funds. 743 83028 HUGHES LANE EXTENSION - MING TO BELLE TERRACE GT $125,000.00' · ' $125,000.00 Co-operat~ project with County. 743 87201 MONTALVO DRIVE STORM DRAIN - EUSO CT. TO KROLL WAY GT $30,000.00 $30,000.00 Additional fu~ ds may be required. 743 83054 WATrS DRIVE RESURFACING - UNION TO MADISON GT $86,000.00 $41.52 $85,958.48 PS&E appro ed by Council 11-4-92 743 83034 MANNING STREET RESURFACING -; MING TO LaHAINA GT $15,000.00 $15,000.00 743 83050 TAYLOR STREET RESURFACING - DEMARET TO BELLE TERRACE GT $33,000.00 $282.00 $32,738.00 743 83021 DEMARET STREET RESURFACING - NEW STINE TO TAYLOR GT $11,000.00 $11,000.00 743 83030 HUNTER AVENUE RESURFACING - TAYLOR TO LANSING GT $11,000.00 . $11,000.00 743 83043 PLANZ ROAD OVEFICROSSING - DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENTS GT $58,000.00 $58,000.00 743 87202 STOCKDALE HWY STORM DRAIN EXTENSION AT MONTCLAIR GT $48,000.00 $4~,000.00 ' 743' 83058 WIDEN INTERSECTION - STOCKDALE AT CAUF(PHASE 2 & 3) GT $100,000.00 $100,000.00 Apprmsai in,,Pr°Ce"~ 754 88502 WIBLE ROAD LANDSCAPING - NORTH OF PANAMA lANE GT $75,000.00 $75,000.00 Design complete 754 78501 EAST TRUXTUN LANDSCAPING GT $5,000.00 $5,000.00 TOTAL PFIOJECTS FUNDED WITH GAS TAX ONLY $878,616.80 $80,192.82 $0.00 $798,423.98 ~ ~ .~, o~ ,,dwh:gtg3only 15-Jm1-93 1 CITY COUNCIL REFERRAL MEETING ~OF:. 04/14/93 REFERRED TO: P, UB~I© WORKS' E:'scHuLz '.. TTEX~: R~:,L ....D.-. ~ 1665 Status. ACTION TAKEN BY C'0UNCIL:. SALVAGG.I0 REf~UESTED STAFF (Pw} PR'OV!DE Hi?! WITH A ~ ~ OF ' ~ nA~ ARE . ,~ISi ... GAS TAX PROJECTS ~ FROZEN BACKUP YfATERIAL AT~.ACHED: NO .DATE FORWARDED BY CITY CLER[{: 04/!5/93 R, ESPOND BY: 04/26/93 fC~) ..... ~ T E S T A C~%LIFORNIA AVENUE CORRIDOR STUDY STOCKD~%LE HIGHW/%Y TO RE]%L RO~%D Prepared by: City of Bakersfield public Works Department Traffic Engineering Division March 1993 Submitted by: ~4tephe~45. Walke~, Traffic Engineer R.C.E. 32300 R.T.E. 1191 ~BSTRACT The city of Bakersfield Public Works Department is proposing to improve California Avenue between Stockdale Highway and Real Road.~ The improvements consist of resurfacing the roadway and recOnStructing the existing medians to current standards. In addition, traffic signal interconnect conduit will be installed within the median. This will allow, direct communication between~ traffic signals and provide better consistency~of traffic flow. The study indicates a'benefit cost ratio of 3.67.may be realized with construction of the proposed improvements. In addition, the improvements will reduce accident numbers, provide better operation. of traffic flow, insure coordination of traffic signals, provide a positive barrier between opposing traffic flows, facilitate the installation of mandated bike lanes and provide better night-time visibility of lane delineation during inclement weather° CALIFORNIA AVENUE CORRIDOR STUDY 'STOCKDALE HIGHWAY TO REAL ROAD Purpose of Study The city of Bakersfield Public Works Department is proposing to improve California Avenue between Stockdale Highway and Real Road. The improvements consist of resurfacing the roadway and reconstructing the existing medians to current standards. In addition, :traffic signal interconnect conduit will be installed within the median. This will allow direct communication between traffic signals and provide better consistency of traffic flow. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how the proposed improvements will decrease accident numbers, improve traffic flow and operations and provide positive barriers as access control along the corridor. Introduction California Avenue between Stockdale Highway and Real Road is one of the most vital transportation corridors within the city based on traffic volume alone. Currently, this corridor is a six lane divided arterial and carries approximately 33,000 vehicles each day. 'There are nine traffic signals along the corridor which are synchronized through a time based system. (The time based synchronization system relies on individual time clocks at. each signal controller whichmust be manually checked by field crews for accuracy). The corridor serves various uses including multi-family residential, office buildings and commercial shopping centers. The corridor also serves as a conduit for commuters traveling from southwest Bakersfield to the Downtown area. California Avenue was originally built as a standard four lane secondary arterial as defined in the CalTrans Design Manual. This standard utilized an 18 foot wide median, two 12 foot lanes in each direction and a 10 foot parking lane on each side 'of the roadway. Because of traffic demand, an additional 'lane in each direction was added. Since the original'roadway was not designed for'three lanes in each direction, the lanes were installed in Sub-standard widths. California- Avenue has been resurfaced since its initial construction'. The proposed resurfacing project will be the second such asphalt cap which will render the existing median less noticeable and reduce the effect of a positive barrier. This report contains.a study of the California Avenue corridor from Stockdale HighwaY to Real Road which included the following: 1. A review and analysis of traffic accidents within the corridor from January 1,..1990 to December 31, 1992. (Three years) 2. Traffic v°lumes. 3'. Traffic operations. · 4. Traffic signal coOrdination and arterial progression. 5. Proposed improvements. 6. Conclusions andrecommendations. Accident Histor~ A review of accident history along the corridor was perfOrmed for a three year period from January 1, 1990 to December '31, 1992. During this period, over 300 accidents were recorded at or near the twelve intersections along the corridor. Out of' the over 300 accidents reported, 114 accidents were attributed to the corridor itself. The remainder of accidents occurred on either the side streets or were completely intersection related and therefore not- included in this portion of the study. Following is a summary of the 114 attributable accidents by severity: INTERSECTION NAME PROP. DAMAGE INJURY FATAL TOTAL Stockdale Hwy 14 1 0 1'5 Business Cntr Dr 10 4 0 14 Lennox Ave 5 2 0 __ 7 Office Cntr Dr 0 O 0 0 Mohawk Ave 12 6 0 18 w. commerce Cntr Dr 0 0 0 0 Marella Wy. 1 ~0 0 1 Easton Dr (West) 4 i 0 5 Mervyn's P1 6 2 0 8 Chester Ln 15 6 0 21 Easton Dr (East). ' ' 4 1 0 5 Real Rd 11 , 9 0 20 Totals 82 32 0 114 It should be noted the only intersections which experience no accidents during the study period were Office Center Drive and.WeSt Commerce Center Drive. Each of these intersections have fully controlled access which allows only right turns onto California Avenue. TraE£ic Volumes Table 1 below indicates traffic volumes along theCorridor for the past three years: TABLE 11' ROADWAY SEGMENT 1992 VOL 1991 VOL 1990 VOL Stockdale Hwy to Mohawk Ave 30,875 39,050' 36,650 Mohawk Ave to Easton Dr 27,950 29,225 29,425 Easton Dr to Real Rd 38,425 3.7,550 39,825 Accident Rates Table 2 below indicates accident rates in accidents per milliOn vehicle miles (Acc/MVM): TABLE Z ROADWAY SEGMENT LENGTH (mi) AVG VOL ~ATE Stockdale Hwy.to Mohawk Ave 0.5 35,500 2.3 Mohawk Ave to Easton Dr 1.0 28,900 '0.4 Easton Df.to Real Rd 0.6 38,600 2.2 Totals 2.1 33,200' 1.5 *Indicates weighted average of volumes and lengths. The above accident rates were compared with the accident rate on a similar arterial with standard lane widths. The arterial~used for comparison was Gosford Road between Ming Avenue and Stockdale Highway. This arterial has an average daily traffic volume of 31,700 which is very similar to that.of California Avenue. Based on the same study period, there were 21 identified accidents along the Gosford Road corridor which yielded an accident rate of 0.6 Acc/MVM. Accident Costs state publications have determined costs associated with accidents based on accident severity.~ Table 3 below summarizes these costs: Table 3 FATAL ACCIDENT $120,000 INJURY ACCIDENT $ 5,400 PROPERTY DAMAGE $ 1,700 · "1992 Traffic Volumes" Published by the City of Bakersfield "1980 Accident Data On California State Highways'" Published by CalTrans Based on the numbers and severity of accidents along the corridor, the cost per year in acCidents alone is approximately $104,000. If the roadway segments which experience high accidents rates were improved to current standards, accident rates should, approach the rate derived for Gosford Road. If this were done, accident numbers would be reduced by approximately 24 each year (18 property damage and 6 injury). This would yield a savings of approximately $63,000 per year. Factoring this over a 20 year period (the average design life of a project) would yield a net savings of $1,260,000. 'Traffic Operations " Many factors affect traffic operations along major urban'arterials. Some of these factors include number and spacing of traffic signals, signal timing and coordination, number of lanes, width of lanes, length of left turn storage areas, traffic mix including percentage of trucks, buses and other heavy vehicles and driver .behavior. " Currently, the California Avenue corridor consists of six lanes ,. which are sub-standard in width. As indicated in the introduction, the existing six lanes were retrofitted on a roadway which was originally designed for four lanes. In addition, the Circulation' Element of the 2010 General Plan indicates bike lanes are slated for installation on California Avenue between Stockdale Highway and Marella Way. This installation will further reduce lane widths due t'o the minimum width required for a bike lanes. The roadway was resUrfaced once since its original construction and is slated for resurfacing again this fiscal year. In an effort to maintain the current height of the median, existing pavement must be remove and hauled from the site prior to the new surface being constructed. If this were not done, the existing median would tend ~ to be buried by the roadway surface and reduce the effect-of a positive barrier between opposing directions of traffic flow. This process will add substantial cost to the resurfacing project. From an operational viewpoint, a positive barrier such as 'full height median curb is necessary to help channelize traffic and reduce the tendency for traffic to traverse the median area. ReconstruCting the medians will maintain a positive barrier (better than exists today due to prior resurfacing) and reduce the cost of the proposed resurfacing project. Currently, the westbound left turn .storage lane at Easton Drive (west) needs to be lengthened. Westbound traffic-spills into the number one lane of California Avenue which forces through traffic to make sudden lane changes or stops. The results of these sudden movements are increased accidents of the rear end and sideswipe types, As indicated in the accident rates above, the segment between Easton Drive (west) and ~Real Road is above the published average and may be attributable to the lack of necessary left turn storage length. Additionally, we are proposing to install a northbound to westbound left turn lane for access onto Office Center Drive. This installation will allow prohibition of "U" turns at Mohawk Avenue which will make the intersection of California-Avenue and Mohawk Avenue operate much more 'efficiently. Although improved traffic operations can not be quantified as to a direct benefit, the additional quality in traffic flow obtained .yields indirect benefits such as reduced accident numbers, reduced delay and travel time and reduced auto emissions. Traffic Signal Coordination and &rterial Progression California Avenue between Stockdale'Highway and Oak Street 'is part of' a coordinated traffic.signal System. This system was first established in the early 1980's and was further refined through a State grant in 1987. The original system consisted of onlY those signals on California AVenue. The System was expanded in 1990 through another State grant to include Stockdale Highway from California Avenue to Oak Street and Oak Street from Stockdale Highway to 24th Street. There are now a total of 23 signals in coordination within this system as shown on figure'1. Of those 23. signals, only'a few are linked with hard wire communication. The' remaining signals rely on time based coordination which is simply individual synchronized time clocks. Although time based coordination provides a relatively good system, individual time clocks inherently "drift". This "drift" tends to bring signal systems out of'sequence disrupting coordination. In- order to correct 'this "drift", city maintenance crews must check time clocks on a regular basis which adds cost to the maintenance program. In an effort to eliminate the inherent.problems associated with time'based coordination, we had proposed to hard wire all signals algng the California Avenue corridor. When this project is complete, it will no longer be necessary to Check individual time clocks since they will automatically be updated by the master controller. .. We currently have a line item budgeted for this project and are proposing its installation with the proposed median reconstruction, project. By including the hard wiring communication with the median reconstruction project, much of the cost to trench will be saved by placing new conduit adjacent, to new median curb. We estimate this will save approximately $25,000 from the cost of installing hard wire communication asa lone prOject. Proposed Improvements The proposed improvements along the corridor include the following: 1. Reconstructing the medians from 18 feet in width to 14 feet in width. These new medians will also be placed. CITY OF BAKERSFIELD SYSTEM DIAC4:iAM ) 24TH,STREET  18TH STREET ~ ~ ~ zW~. ~ ~(~~TRUXTUN AVE ~ Z Z ~ ~ - . ~ i ~CALIFDRNIA AVE ~STREET CHESTER LANE ND SCALE CTR DR ~ ~ ~ s FIGURE1 such thatthey will be at full height upon~resurfacing of the roadway. In addition, the westbound left turn storage lane at Easton Drive (west) will be lengthened and a new left turn storage lane added for Office Center Drive. This will also allow lanes to be ~laCed at standard.widths upon resurfacing. 2. Installing hard wire commUnication between all signals along the corridor.' This will allow full time monitoring capabilities of allsignals along the corridor as well as insuring time clocks are synchronized electronically. 3. ~Upgrading the landscape and hardscape within the median to current standards. 'This will also provide a more aesthetic look to the California Avenue corridor which is considered a showcase thoroughfare within the city. 4.. ResurfaCing the'roadway.~ 5. Restriping the roadway which will include bike lanes from Stockdale Highway to Marella Way and installation of reflectorized raised pavement markers.'. The reflectorized raised pavement markers will provide much better night- time visibility of lane delineation especially in inclement weather. These improvements will reduce accident numbers, provide~.better operation of traffic flow, insure coordination of traffic signals, provide- a positive .barrier between opposing traffic flows,-- facilitate the installation of mandated bike lanes and provide better night-time visibility of lane delineation during inclement weather. In addition, these improvements will raise the existing elevation of the median while maintaining the same elevation of the curb and gutter, This~will create a~slightly steeper cross slope, which willl aid in drainage. Stormwater will essentially be channeled into a narrower area which will allow it to move along the street at increased velocities. The end results will be more efficent runoff, less pavement area exposed to standing· water, fewer vehicles in contact with standing Water and longer pavement life. ConClusions and Recommendation The estimated project cost to reconstruct the median and install hard wire communications along the corridor is $350,000. Taking into account a design life savings of $1,260,000 from accident c6sts and the $25,000 savings by installing the hard wire communications with the project yields a net savings of $1,285,000. Applying this benefit to the cost of the project produces a benefit/cost ratio of 3.67. This benefit/cost ratio together with the indirect benefits indicated above makes this a very viable 'project. · Based~on the above information, IT IS'RECOMMENDED'THE IMPROVEMENTS AS OUTLINED IN THIS REPORT BE CONSTRUCTED. As stated previously, these improvements will reduce accident numbers, provide better operation of traffic flow, insure Coordination of traffic signals, provide a positive barrier between opposing traffic flows, facilitate the installation of mandated bike lanes and provide better night-time visibility of lane delineation during inclement weather. MEMORANDUM April 22, 1993 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS ~ FROM: ALAN TANDY, City Manager ~,~'/ / SUBJECT: Correspondence - Rio Bravo Cycle Complex '~/ You have received a request from Mr. David Ginn to reconsider Conditional Use Permit #5440 which you denied on March 3, 1993. This was a proposal to establish a motorcross/motorcycle track in an abandoned gravel and borrow site northeast of the China Grade Landfill. Mr. Ginn claims that some important facts about environmental impacts were incorrectly stated at your hearing. He does not list the facts or what the mistakes were. You may, upon a motion and majority vote, decide to reconsider this case. However, such reconsideration would have to be done as a public hearing after renotification to all the property owners and the applicant. . It is recommended that you direct staff to notify Mr. Ginn that if he wishes a rehearing of his application that he may file another application for consideration. This would involve a filing fee of $800 to cover the costs of public notice, staff reports and time required to rehear the case. The applicant could set forth his facts in the context of a full proposal. Others who might be interested in the case would have the same new information available to determine if they wished to support or oppose the project. Due process would be ensured. Id M5440 BAKERSFIELD PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM April 19, 1993 TO: ED W. SCHULZ, PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR FROM: DARNELL HAYNES, BUSINESS MANAGER ~ SUBJECT: STATUS REPORT - 1992-93 REVENUE FROM TRANSPORTATION IMPACT FEES Revenues collected year-to-date from Transportation Impact Fees are $2,416,026. This amount represents roughly 80.5% of the estimated revenue. Of the amount collected, $200,000 was collected from Riverlakes Ranch for traffic mitigation and $19,800 represents interest earned on the cash balance in the fund. I have asked the Finance Department to transfer $1,285,400 from the Transportation Impact revenue collected to reimburse the Gas Tax Fund for funds previously expended on freeway right-of-way. Listed below is the status of the Transportation Development Fund at April 15, 1993. Should you have any questions I~ am available to discuss this matter at your convenience. Interest on Investments $ 19,816.00 Traffic Impact Fees $2,196,210.30 Contributions & Donations $ 200,000.00 Total Revenue collected to date $2,416,026.30 Less: Transfer to Gas Tax Fund $1,285,400.00 Total Revenue remaining $1,130,626.30 cc: F. Kloepper M. Shaw 21 APR 95 :.5_~ 67 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS SUPERVISORS SUE PICKETT ROY ASHBURN OlMrlct No~ I Clerk of Boll~ o! Supe~leors BEN AUSTIN DiMrlct No. 2 Kern County Adminietratlve Center PAULINE-LARWOOD District No. 3 1115 Truxtun Avenue, 5th Floor KENNETH W. PETERSON ' Dlstrlct'No. 4 B-,kersfleld, California 93301 MARY K. SHELL .. District No. 5 Telephone (805)861-2167 April 19, 1993 The Honorable Dan McCorquodale California State Senate · State Capitol Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Senator M~C_ ~orquodale:. The Kern County Board of Supervisors opposes SB 875, your legislation to establish a regional transportation commission, as an unnecessary measure which would impose an entire new layer of bureaucracy upon citizens of the San Joaquin Valley. Not only would your proposed valleywide transportation commission add to the cost of government, it would usurp funds and authority from existing local councils of government {COGS) Which now plan transportation in valley counties. Several-San Joaquin Valley COGs, including the Kern Council of Governments, have already begun a bonaflde regional transportation planning effort which would be co-opted 'by a regional transportation commission. Kern COG and its sister agencies in the San Joaquin Valley will begin coordinating the preparation of long range plans and air quality plans for mobile source emission reduction in conjunction with Caltrans and the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District. Awork plan has been developed to jointly address a regional traffic model, a long range transportation plan, a federal transportation improvement program, congestion management, transportation control measures, commuter assistance and air quality issues. Our Board has always sought to uphold local control and cooperative, grassroots-based regional efforts. The transportation commission created by SB 875 would remove local citizens' authority over transporation planning to the hands of a costly central bureaucracy. We object to such a scheme, and we strongly oppose SB 875. Roy Ashbum, Chairman Kern County Board of Supervisors RA'~fli\sb875.1eg cc: Kern Council of Governments ~City of Bake~Sheld C~liforni~'Sidte Association of Counties Richard Ritts MEMORANDUM April 21, 1993 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND' COUNCILMEMBERS FROM: JUDY SKOUSEN, Chief Assistant City Attorney -~ SUBJECT: EX. PARTE COMMUNICATIONS REGARDING QUASI-JUDICIAL AND LEGISLATIVE MATTERS Hearings before the city council can be divided into two groups: quasi-judicial and legislative matters. Quasi-judicial proceedings are those requiring the application of a general law which already exists to a specific interest. A matter is quasi-judicial when the council is required to hold a public hearing, consider the evidence presented at the hearing and then approve or disapprove the matter, making written 'findings in support of its determination. Examples of these are conditional use permits, subdivision maps and other matters under the subdivision map act, development agreements and modifications. Legislative matters, on the other hand, involve the formulation of a rule or law to be applied in all future cases. Examples of such matters are most zone changes, general plan amendments, specific plans and ordinances. It is important to note, however, that an action has been held to be quasi-judicial when it requires an agency to apply a general rule to a specific property interest, such as a zone change affecting a single piece of property. The fact that an agency holds hearings and takes evidence in reaching its decision does not alone make the final action quasi-judicial; however, in many instances, such procedures are necessary to ensure procedural due process is afforded to an individual in a particular proceeding. Once it is determined that a proceeding is quasi- judicial or legislative, the level of ex parte communications or councilmember involvement that is legally permissible can be determined. If a project is of a quasi-judicial naturei then involvement in the development approval process, such as directing (or actions tantamount to directing), staff regarding a specific .Memo to Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers Re: Ex Parte'Communications Regarding Quasi-Judicial and LegislativeMatters April 21, 1993 Page 2 project, including requests to alter or change staff recommenda- tions or comments on CEQA documents, would impermissibly violate a party's due process rights. Additionally, councilmember communications with outside groups, such as developers, special interest or citizen groups, community planning groups and other interested citizens regarding a project that will later.come before the council for final approval, may also interfere with the fair hearing required for a quasi-judicial project. If, however, a councilmeF~er does .receive information outside the hearing process, he or she must disClose, all evidence received outside of the hearing considered in reaching adecision on the record. This includes trips to view a site and any communi- cations outside of the hearing regarding the project. Such disclosure permits the public to hear' and rebut any evidence relied upon for the decision, and creates a record to support the decision. Due process requires that, for quasi-judicial projects, the councilmembers be impartial, non-involved~decision makers. Participation in thedevelopment approval processor communications outside of the hearing Process can disqualify a councilmembers' vote, result in a reversal of the action or subject the city to liability for violation of a citizen's constitutional rights. If, on the other hand, a project is truly of a legislative'nature, fewer due process safeguards are necessary.. Decisions.may. be.made based on evidence gathered outside of the hearing process,, and councilmember discussions of the matters with parties and other interested individuals prior to the decision will not present a danger of tainting the proceeding. Councilmembers may even take and state a Position on the .matter.prior to the hearing. It.is absolutely necessary in such situations., however, that the matter be determined to be purely legislative, in nature to .ensure' that there will be no violation of a citizen's due process rights. If any question'exists as to whether a project is legislative or quasi-judicial, it is always most prudent to treat it as.a quasi-judicial matter and avoid such discussions or pre- hearing positions. Several other memorandums concerning this topic have been issued by this office and are available in my office for review: 1. By the City Attorney of San Diego, dated jUne 15, 1990, entitled "City Council Guidelines on Ex Parte Communications by Councilmembers"; Memo to Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers Re: Ex. Parte Ccmmnu~ications Regarding'Quasi-Judicial and Legislative Matters April 21, 1993 Page 3 2. By Laura C. Marino, dated February' 11, 1991, entitled "Ex Parte .~,Communications .with Councilmembers Regarding Adjudicatory Matters"; 3. Memo by City of Gardena. City Attorney entitled "Ex Parte Communication With~ and 'Receipt of Evidence by City Councils or Other Municipal Agencies Outside the Record of an Administrative. Hearing" .lundated); LCM/meg/rb OPINION\ DUEPROC.MEM cc: Attorney Opinion File