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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/23/1998,~~~A K E R S F I E L D KevinMcDermott, Chair .~n Tandy,~i~ ~ager Randy Rowles Staff: Dolores B.//leubner Patricia M. Smith AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Wednesday, April 23, 1998 12:15 p.m. City Manager's Conference Room 1. ROLL CALL Call to Order at 12:30 p.m. Present: Councilmembers Kevin McDermott, Chair; Randy Rowles Absent: Councilmember Patricia M. Smith 2. APPROVAL OF MARCH 4, 1998 MINUTES Approved as submitted. 3. PRESENTATIONS 4. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None 5. DEFERRED BUSINESS A. FREEWAY UPDATE Staff gave a brief update on the status of the Kern River Freeway Funding. The project is up for review before the California Transportation Commission for inclusion in the State Transportation Improvement Program. Staff also provided a status on the reauthorization of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). B. SPHERE OF INFLUENCE AMENDMENT Staff gave a presentation on the proposal to increase the City's sphere of influence (SOl). A sphere of influence is a buffer between urban and rural land and defines the planning APPROVI~I) AS S~I~I) ~ 17, 1998 FILl C[ PY URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Thursday, April 23,1998 Page -2- boundary in which urban growth is anticipated to occur. The proposal to expand the SOl is needed since the City limits are either right up to the current SOl boundary or are quickly approaching the boundary. The Planning Commission, at its December meeting, reviewed the proposal and based on the objections of property owners, agreed to exclude the McAIlister Ranch and the Pacificana specific plan areas. Since that time the owners of Sunland Nurseries have also objected to being included in the expanded SOl, so staff is also recommending removing them. Staff's current proposal is to maintain a SOl boundary that creates a minimum one-mile buffer between urban and rural and to include all of the new and anticipated development area in the Northwest. Bill Turpin, Executive Director of LAFCO, made a presentation explaining LAFCO's involvement in the SOl expansion process and the policies, procedures and objectives that LAFCO uses to evaluate proposals. He stressed the need for ag land protection policies and methods in the General Plan in order to bring ag land into the City's SOl. The Committee thought it would be better to plan ahead for the transition of ag land which is in the direct path of urban growth, and develop ag policies for those areas that are not. Mr. Turpin offered his assistance in developing the policies. Staff was directed to work on this issue. The Committee supported staff's recommended SOl expansion and forwarded it to the City Council for hearing on May 6. 6. NEW BUSINESS A. ANNEXATION PROCESS The City Manager gave a report on measures which staff is proposing for improving and expanding the current annexation information program. He indicated that the City's effort is the most extensive one ever undertaken to inform residents about annexation and get them involved. He proposed that all protest hearings would be individually noticed, there would be no bundling of non-contiguous areas, and that an informal forum would be held prior to filing the annexation to get further input. In addition, staff would be developing an issue of Borderline which detailed the annexation process. Public comments were taken from residents of a recently annexed area and proposed annexation areas regarding their concerns about the process. The Committee recommended several additional changes including expanding the hotline to include options for several recorded messages to get information about upcoming meetings, dates and events. Also recommended was holding City services faires in potential annexation areas to give residents the opportunity to talk one-on-one with City staff about various services and issues. Staff was also directed to change the tracking system used for surveys and to hold more small meetings in each area so that each resident has an opportunity to attend one. The Committee will be making a report to Council on the recommended changes and enhancements. URBAN DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Thursday, April 23,1998 Page -3- B. ENCROACHMENT PERMITS The Public Works Director did a demonstration of various sidewalk widths and the impact of sidewalk encroachments with different widths. Staff presented a list of other cities and comparisons of their encroachment policies and sidewalk requirements. Currently there are areas of Bakersfield's downtown where the sidewalk is as narrow as 4.5 feet. The ideal standard according to CalTrans is 10 feet, however, that may not always be practical. Staff would recommend a compromise of 6 feet. In addition, they would recommend that encroachment onto the public sidewalk be temporary so that it can be moved in case of emergency or when repairs are needed. Representatives of the Downtown Business Association indicated that they would like to encourage more outside activities in downtown and would like to see only 5 feet as a required sidewalk width. The Committee discussed the various options for sidewalk requirements and types of encroachments. Police also expressed concerns that encroachment permit requests were often for bars and taverns and that allowing drinking outside, encouraged problems with alcohol on public streets. The Committee agreed to an annual permit process with a $10 annual renewal fee. The structures should be temporary and the City should maintain its right to require their removal if needed. Also agreed on was a minimum 6 feet (from curb to property) sidewalk width. The Committee directed staff to begin working on revising the current process to include these changes. The C-1 zoning issue and the drinking in public right- of-way issue was referred back to staff for additional review. C. VESTING RIGHTS After discussion, it was agreed that the vesting rights issue should be tabled to the May meeting D. CLEANUP LEGISLATION Staff made a brief presentation on the.nature of the cleanup items which simply bring the Municipal Code into compliance with what the actual practice of the City and/or with State or Federal requirements. After discussion, all items were recommended to Council for approval with the exception of the C-1 zoning issue which was tabled to the May meeting. 7. ADJOURNMENT Adjourned at 3:30 p.m. cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council DBT:jp S:\Dolores\udmin42398