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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/14/20071'1 .~ B A K E R S F I E L D w t- Zack Scrivner, Chair Staff: Rhonda Smiley Harold Hanson For: Alan Tandy, City Manager Ken Weir AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Thursday, June 14, 2007 - 1:00 p.m. City Manager's Conference Room -Suite 201 1501 Truxtun Avenue, Bakersfield CA The meeting was called to order at 1:06:47 PM 1. ROLL CALL Committee members present: Councilmember Zack Scrivner; Chair Councilmembers Harold Hanson and Ken Weir Staff present: City Manager Alan Tandy; Assistant City Manager John W. Stinson; Assistant City Manager Christine Butterfield; Management Assistant Rick Kirkwood; Public Information Officer Rhonda Smiley; City Attorney Virginia Gennaro; Associate Attorney Michael Richards; Intern Joseph Ahuna; Public Works Director Raul Rojas; Development Services Director Stan Grady; Civil Engineer Ted Wright; Assistant Public Works Director Jack LaRochelle; Others present: Greg Iger, Citizen; Dianne Hardesty, Bakersfield Californian; Will Winn, Kern Transportation Foundation; Paul Newberry; Adrian Moore, Reason Foundation; Michael Turnipseed, Kern County Tax Payers Association; Kevin Burton, Young Wooldridge; Tracey Leach, Providence Consulting; Bob Decker, McMillin Land Development; Dave Dmohowski, Premier Planning Group; Chris Clark, Parsons-TRIP; Cassie Daniel, Homebuilders Association; Roger McIntosh, McIntosh & Associates; Lorraine Unger, Sierra Club; Arthur Unger, Human Rights Watch; 2. ADOPT MAY 3, 2007 AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT Adopted as submitted. 3. PUBLIC STATEMENTS None Planning and Development Committee June 14, 2007 Page 2 4. NEW BUSINESS A. Discussion regarding the proposed Joint City/County Open Space Advisory Committee -Tandy / Smiley Staff was requested to present a report to the Planning and Development Committee based on a proposal made to the City by the County to consider participation in an Open Space Advisory Committee. The Committee's purpose is to explore opportunities for acquiring open space resources for the benefit of the community. It would include a representative from the Board of Supervisors, City Council, staff from City and County Planning and Parks departments, as well as those from special interest groups. Public Information Officer Rhonda Smiley gave an overview of the following two processes that are currently in place, and factor in very closely with the County's request: 1. The Bakersfield Metropolitan General Plan -This plan outlines the guidelines and policies for determining and implementing open space elements. The City and County are working together to update the General Plan. In cooperation with The Greater Bakersfield Vision 2020 Committee, four community workshops were facilitated and a comprehensive web survey was developed to solicit community feedback. 2. The Recreation and Parks Master Plan -The City is working on an update of this plan to include current and future needs assessments for park land. Community input was obtained through meetings, workshops, and a citywide phone survey to identify park and recreational amenities required and utilized by local residents. Results will be incorporated into the updated Recreation and Parks Master Plan, referred to the Community Services Committee, and then forwarded to City Council for further action. City Manager Alan Tandy added that during the comprehensive telephone survey of the City's constituency, 80% of respondents rated the City's parks planning as "very good" or "excellent". Will Winn of Kern County Transportation, expressed concern and skepticism regarding the City's plan. Mr. Winn also stated that the City does not allow enough public input in the process and planning of open space issues. Adrian Moore of the Reason Foundation affirmed that the Planning and Development Committee June 14, 2007 Page 3 General Plan is an open participatory process for addressing open space issues. However, in his opinion, the formation of a special committee would dominate the process and discourage public participation. Mike Turnipseed of Kern County Tax Payers Association commented that although there has been rapid growth in population and housing within the last few years, Kern County has the highest amount of irrigated, harvested farmland in nearly 20 years of crops within the current system. Lorraine Unger of the Sierra Club commended staff on their analysis but reiterated previous comments that the formation of the Open Space Advisory Committee would not be necessary. Committee member Ken Weir motioned to decline participation in the Open Space Advisory Committee. The motion was second by all ayes from committee members. B. Discussion regarding the Joint Emergency Transportation Task Force -Tandy Committee Chair Scrivner asked that staff provide insight on the current intergovernmental transportation issues, specifically the Thomas Road Improvement Program (TRIP). City Manager Tandy gave an overview of the TRIP process and explained that the City, County, CalTrans, and management consultant, Parsons, jointly carry out the implementation of $630 million, plus a $110 million local match of the Thomas Road Improvement Program. Public Works Director Raul Rojas added that the TRIP program is implementing the Alternate 15 Proposal which was a two year, $2 million regional planning effort by Kern County of Governments (Kern COG), the City and the County. Committee members discussed the County's proposed Task Force and agreed that the formation of an Advisory Committee for the Joint Emergency Task Force would create an exclusionary nature and hinder public participation. Committee member Harold Hanson would like to see the County and City develop an action plan to help keep focused on the issues. Committee member Hanson suggested that the Committee respond to the County as soon as possible. Upon review of the County's proposal regarding the formation of an Emergency Transportation Funding Task Force, Committee members agreed to the following: 1. Staff should perform support functions and should not be members of the Advisory Committee. Planning and Development Committee June 14, 2007 Page 4 2. Instead of creating a formal Advisory Committee by appointing specific groups to formally participate, invite all citizens with interest in the issues to attend, allowing equal status for all and not excluding anyone. 3. Meetings should be scheduled "as needed", rather than by set meeting dates. 4. City and County staff should schedule and allocate the time for all agenda items, in order to keep the meeting duration reasonable and to keep them on schedule. 5. The word "Emergency" to be removed from the title, revising it to "Transportation Funding Task Force". 6. The purpose of the Task Force is to identify funding sources for projects, rather than to "author a transportation plan". 7. Evening times are necessary, not only because City Councilmembers have day jobs, but because it would also allow members of the public to attend sessions. A 6:00 p.m. start time is preferred for those reasons. 5. COMMITTEE COMMENTS None 7. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 2:23:03 PM cc: Honorable Mayor and City Council members