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HomeMy WebLinkAbout109-Att. 6 - Staff Report for Planning Commission Meeting - September 8, 2010.pdfAttachment 6 REPORT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION Application No.: GPA10-0001 – Circulation and Scenic Highway Element Update & Negative Declaration Subject: Update to the General Plan Circulation and Scenic Highway Element and the Open Space and Conservation Element trails map Location: Citywide Applicant: City of Saratoga Staff Planner: Michael Fossati, Assistant Planner Meeting Date: September 8, 2010 Department Head: John F. Livingstone, AICP, Community Development Director RECOMMENDED ACTION: Recommend approval to the City Council of a Negative Declaration and a General Plan Circulation and Scenic Highway Element (Circulation Element), including a conforming amendment to the Open Space and Conservation Element trails map. REPORT SUMMARY: City staff has prepared a draft update of the Circulation Element of the City’s General Plan. This is a policy document that acts as a long-range traffic management plan. It was previously updated in 2000. The update is intended to assess existing traffic conditions and develop goals and policies to address any changed conditions. The update also allows the City to address any new California legal requirements pertaining to circulation elements. An Initial Study and subsequent Negative Declaration have been prepared for this project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidelines. The initial study concluded that the Circulation Element update will not result in significant adverse impacts on the environment. The update to the Circulation Element includes the following: • Updates to descriptive information regarding transportation policy. • Clarification of existing policies. • Changes to the bicycle facilities maps to reclassify or remove certain existing bike routes. • Identify new bike routes, bike lanes, and bike trails. • Demonstrate future bike routes and conceptual alignments of proposed future bike trails. The update also includes a conforming map amendment to the City’s Open Space and Conservation Element (Open Space Element). This amendment will create consistent trail maps between the Circulation Element and Open Space Element. The update will not result in physical changes or new Sept. 8, 2010 Planning Commission Meeting – Circulation and Scenic Highway Element 2 construction of roadways, routes, lanes, or trails within the City. BACKGROUND: On October 15, 2008, the City Council considered amendments to the Circulation Element of the City of Saratoga’s General Plan. The amendments addressed bicycle safety concerns within the City. The Council accepted public testimony and directed staff to consult further with the Pedestrian, Equestrian, and Bicycle Trails Advisory Committee (PEBTAC) to explore alternatives to address those concerns. PEBTAC held several meetings to discuss the matter and recommended an updated Bicycle Map Facilities for council to review. At the April 15, 2009 City Council meeting, the council determined that an update to the Bicycle Facilities Map within the Circulation Element necessary. The update includes the following changes: • Removing Class III facility designations on Big Basin Way, Mount Eden Road, and portions of Pierce Road. • Adding Class III bicycle facilities onto Miller Avenue, 4th Street, Elva Avenue, Saraview Drive, Surrey Lane, Arroyo DeArguello, and Wardell Road. • Adding proposed Class I bicycle facilities along portions of Congress Springs Road (SR 9) and Pierce Road. • Adding proposed Class III bicycle facilities along portions of Big Basin Way (SR 9 ) and Pierce Road. The Bicycle Facilities Map is located in the Circulation Element as Figure C-5. Since the Bicycle Facilities Map within the Circulation Element needed to be updated, and the existing Circulation Element is 10 years old, the council directed staff to update the Circulation Element. OPEN SPACE/CONSERVATION ELEMENT UPDATE: A major component of a General Plan Element update is to ensure that other elements within the General Plan are in conformance. Staff determined that the trails map located in the Open Space Element were different than the trails map within the Circulation Element. It was demonstrated that trail facilities in the Open Space trails map were either misrepresented or in different locations than the trail facilities in the Circulation Element trails map. Staff brought both trails maps to the PEBTAC to verify that the location of trail facilities on the maps were consistent with actual trail facilities. Once the trail locations were confirmed, Staff worked with PEBTAC to verify that both the Circulation Element trails map and the Open Space trails map were identical with one another. The updated trails maps for the Circulation and Open Space Elements are included as Attachment 3 and 4. ENVIRONMETAL REVIEW: Environmental review was completed in the form of an Initial Study and it was determined that the proposed adoption of the Circulation Element would not result in potential significant impacts on the environment and a Negative Declaration was prepared. A notice of intent to adopt a negative Sept. 8, 2010 Planning Commission Meeting – Circulation and Scenic Highway Element 3 declaration and Circulation Element was published in the Saratoga News and the 30 day comment period took place between July 26, 2010 and August 26, 2010. Staff has not received any comments directly relating to the environmental review. ADVERTISING, NOTICING AND PUBLIC COMMENT: The public participation component of the Circulation Element is described on page 2-3 of the Circulation Element. A notice of the Circulation Element update and the Negative Declaration was sent to all adjoining jurisdictions, all regional traffic management agencies, all tribal agencies and school districts within the City’s jurisdiction, the Santa Clara County Recorder’s office and the State Clearinghouse. Staff received comments from outside agencies (City of Campbell, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Agency, and Caltrans) and one comment from PEBTAC. Those comments and responses have been included as Attachment 5. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Resolution to adopt an Initial Study/Negative Declaration with the following attachment: a. Initial Study/Negative Declaration (without Attachment A, included below as Attachment 2a) 2. Resolution to adopt the Circulation and Scenic Highway Element with the following attachment: a. Draft Circulation and Scenic Highway Element 3. Trails Map – Circulation and Scenic Highway Element 4. Trails Map – Open Space and Conservation Element 5. Matrix of Summary Responses from Public Comments a. E-mail from City of Campbell b. E-mail from PEBTAC c. Letter from VTA d. Letter from Caltrans