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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009/06/23 - Minutes - SpecialJune 23, 2009 CITY OF RANCHO CUCAMONGA CITY COUNCIL MINUTES FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT MINUTES REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY MINUTES Special Meeting A. CALL TO ORDER A special meeting of the Rancho Cucamonga City Council/Fire Protection DistricURedevelopmentRgency was held on Tuesday, June 23, 2009, in the Cultural Center Celebration Hall North located at 12505 Cultural Center Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, California 91739. Mayor/Chairman/President Donald J. Kurth, M.D. called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. Present were Councilmembers/Boardmembers/Agencymembers: Rex Gutierrez, Sam Spagnolo, Mayor Pro TemNice PresidentNice Chairman L. Dennis Michael; and Mayor/PresidenUChairman Donald J. Kurth. Councilmember/Boardmember/Agencymember Diane Williams arrived at 5:42 p.m. Also present were: Jack Lam, Ciry Manager/Executive Director; Pamela Easter, Assistant City Manager; John Gillison, Deputy City Manager/Administrative Services; Mark Steuer, Director Engineering Services/City Engineer, Jon Gillespie, Traffic Engineer and Debra L. McKay, Assistant City Clerk/Records Manager. B. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS 61. Ed Dietl indicated that he would support a gate if there were no other viable solutions. He expressed concerns with emergency access if a gate was installed. 62. John Lyons referred to today's newspaper article which indicated that a gate would cost $450,000. If a gate is placed, he suggested that an assessment district be formed to pay for it as well as for the maintenance of the streets inside the gated community. 63. David Sweede stated that a gate would be problematic unless there was a special assessment. The Red Hill area is unique and traffic is a result of progress. He inquired if it was illegal for golf carts to drive on the street. B4. Jim Moffatt pointed out that the recent survey showed that a majority of the residents did not want a gate. He indicated that the placement of stop signs and speed humps was more than fair and noted that the traffic count showed a lot less traffic that previously found. B5. Bill Hanlon stated that a survey was taken and a majority indicated that they opposed a gate. Consequently, the gate should not be placed. 86. Georgia Kuettle opposed the closure of the street and expressed concerns with the impact that a gate would have on emergency vehicles. If residents want a gate, it should be placed on their street. 67. Kathleen Schmidt indicated that she opposed the gate due to concerns with emergency access. Also, as Valle Vista Elementary School is located in the community, she noted that some of this traffic is due to people taking their children to and from this school. She preferred stop signs and speed bumps and suggested additional traffic enforcement in the area. Redevelopment Agency, Fire Protection District, City Council Minutes June 23, 2009 -Page 1 of 5 B8. Judy Holdridge stated that she opposed the gate and expressed a concern with the expense 89. Daryl Smothers noted that short cuts exist and expressed concerns with the safety of Alta Cuesta. He noted that Ontario airport is planning to move the entrance/exit to Grove Avenue and referenced the impact that this move will have to the area. Mr. Smothers noted that stop signs, speed bumps and increased traffic enforcement doesn't work and supported the placement of a gate. 810. Roger Rapp opposed the placement of a gate and expressed concerns with access to the medical facility. B11. Burt Court indicated that he has driven all of the streets and did not see a traffic problem. He was opposed to the placement of a gate. 812. Gail Marlow-Dickey noted that the committee that was formed to address the traffic concerns in this area did not come to a solution lightly. A petition proposing the closure of Red Hill Country Club Drive was circulated in 2008 and did receive overwhelming support. She expressed concerns with speeding, disregard for stop signs, tailgating and street racing and noted that a very dangerous situation has been created in this area. Mrs. Marlow-Dickey supported the placement of a gate to address these concerns. 613. Marlin Dickey stated that the committee was formed in August 2007 after the second public workshop. He noted that the streets are narrow, cut-through traffic is a major problem and that safety is the issue. 90%of the tickets generated are to people who do not live on Red Hill. A gate is the easiest solution to the cut-through traffic. Mr. Dickey noted that the staff report identifies the eight available options in the order preferred by the committee. 614. Luis Mata distributed traffic control information to the City Council. For instance, he noted that oversized reflectors could be placed on the street to force drivers to stay on their side of the road. White reflectors could be placed on the blind turns to keep drivers from driving too fast. Mr. Mato spoke in opposition to the placement of a gate. 815. Jeff Masters supported the gate if it stops the cut-through traffic. If a gate is not possible, he supported other options such as speed bumps. He stressed that something needed to be done to address the traffic problem. 616. Michael Ramos noted that the speeding and traffic was terrible when this matter was first raised. Stop signs are not working. While Mr. Ramos initially supported a gate, he has reconsidered and requested that other solutions (speed humps, increased enforcement) be considered. 617. Charles Lay opposed the placement of a gate due to concerns with emergency response time, cost and convenience. He spoke in support of speed bumps and stop signs. B18. Bruce Zwissler suggested that additional stop signs and speed humps be considered. 619. Andree Mahoney was opposed to installing a gate. B20. Jason Alarmo suggested that left turns be restricted from Foothill Boulevard and Base Line Road. He pointed out that the solution will not satisfy everyone but noted that something needs to be done. Mr. Alarmo also supported the placement of signs and increased law enforcement. B21. Bob Jones noted that there is not an easy solution, as traffic solutions on one street would negatively impact others. He suggested aone-way street for a time to see if this would resolve the problem. Mr. Jones noted that there are a lot of vehicles and impaired drivers at the country club. B22. Jack Lieberman stated that it would be ridiculous to place gates on Alta Cuesta, Carnelian and Foothill Boulevard. He urged the City Council to consider the needs of the entire City. Redevelopment Agency, Fire Protection District, City Council Minutes June 23, 2009 -Page 2 of 5 B23. Gail Sanchez spoke in opposition to installing a gate. She suggested that left hand turns from Foothill Boulevard and Base Line Road be regulated during rush hour to control the traffic. Perhaps a left hand turn arrow could be installed. 624. Alex Cooke expressed concerns with speed, noise and safety. He noted that the goal with any traffic management plan is to divert traffic from residential streets to collectors. While Mr. Cooke is supportive of the gate, he recognizes that most people have not spoken in support of one. Therefore, he supported other traffc control measures to address this problem. B25. Edmund Walske stated his opposition to the placement of a gate. 826. Arthur Baldwin supported the placement of a gate. If this option is not possible, he suggested that cameras be placed to ensure compliance with stop signs. C.' ITEM OF DISCUSSION UPDATE AND DISCUSSION ON TRAFFIC IN THE RED HILL NEIGHBORHOOD Jon Gillespie, Traffic Engineer, presented the staff report. Information presented to the City Council and the audience included a timeline of Red Hill meetings and workshops and an analysis of the Red Hill area (showing Alta Cuesta as the only North-South route between Campus and Carnelian). Mr. Gillespie indicated that a petition was submitted on June 12, 2008 which contained 455 signatures supporting the closure of Red Hill Country Club Drive. He indicated that the City Council authorized a second Red Hill Traffic Study on July 16, 2008. Discussed with the City Council and the audience were the Origin and Destination Study, a Level of Service Analysis, the Travel Time and Delay Study, a review of accident history and a traffic volume study. It was noted that on April 1, 2009 the City Council authorized a second Red Hill Traffic Survey. This resulted in 401 surveys being returned with 59.4% being opposed to closure of Red Hill Country Club Drive and 40.6% in support. Mr. Gillespie discussed the options available to the City as well as the pros and cons of each option. The pros and cons of closing Red Hill Country Club Drive were discussed. This is not preferred by residents and would cost approximately $100,000 for one gate and $300,000 for three gates. An Environmental Impact Report would be needed at a cost of $100,000. He addressed the placement of a raised median on Foothill Boulevard, which would eliminate the majority of northbound cut-through traffic and save the Ciry about $350,000. However, the median would create an inconvenience to residents and there would be no left turn access for the Magic Lamp and the Red Hill Gas station. Mr. Gillespie discussed an option to install medians on Foothill Boulevard and Base Line Road to prevent left- turns. Araised median on Base Line Road would impact Valley Vista Elementary School traffic and is not recommended by staff. Also discussed were the pros and cons of speed humps (which are supported by 63% of residents) and their possible locations. A maze of cul-de-sacs could be created but this would divert traffic to other streets and may impact emergency response times. Mr. Gillespie also discussed the increased enforcement of traffic regulations (64% of residents support) but noted that the Police Department has a finite amount of resources. Lastly, he noted that there is an option to do nothing which is supported by 21 % of the residents surveyed. In conclusion, Mr. Gillespie recommended the installation of all-way stop signs at the following intersections: Red Hill Country Club Drive at Valle Vista, Red Hill Country Club Drive at Chula Vista, Camino Predera at Calle Corazo and Buena Vista at Calle Casino. In response to Mayor Pro Tem Michael, Mr. Gillespie believed that a license was needed to drive a golf carton the street. Mayor Pro Tem Michael stressed that fire trucks and ambulances do travel to the area from the south. While he supports the placement of a gate, Mayor Pro Tem Michael noted that there is too much division in the community to place one. He requested that the audience indicate by raising their hands if they would support the placement of a speed hump in front of their home. About 10-15 hands were raised. Redevelopment Agency, Fire Protection District, City Council Minutes June 23, 2009 -Page 3 of 5 Councilmember Williams noted that the meeting was scheduled in this room rather than Valley Vista Elementary School as school is out of session and a large fee would have been incurred. In response to the comments about raising funds with ticket revenue, Councilmember Williams indicated that the State takes a large portion of the revenue raised. Councilmember Gutierrez indicated that the matter needs to be resolved. He noted that the problem was not as extreme as initially thought but concurred that Alta Cuesta had a traffic problem. Councilmember Gutierrez did not see the needed consensus in the neighborhood to install a gate. He would like to explore other options. Councilmember Spagnolo stated that he has seen gates installed in the past and indicated that they were ultimately removed or not used due to emergency access concerns. Councilmember Williams concurred with the need to ensure emergency access. Mayor Kurth agreed that a solution must be found. He did not support the placement of a gate due to concerns with emergency access and the lack of a clear consensus. MOTION: Moved by Michael, seconded by Gutierrez to not install a gate. Motion carried 5-0. In response to Councilmember Spagnolo, Mr. Gillespie outlined the staff recommendation to install four all- way stop signs. In response to Councilmember Williams, he expected that the stop signs will help the situation but will not solve the problem. Councilmember Gutierrez indicated his support of stop signs and the continued aggressive traffic enforcement on Alta Cuesta. He noted that the residents on Alta Cuesta should decide if they would like to experiment with speed humps. For the record, Councilmember Gutierrez indicated that he would support such measures if the people most affected by them agreed with them. Councilmember Spagnolo reported that he had investigated the use of cameras to monitor the traffc at stop signs. Another city has tried this and this practice has been found to be unconstitutional. Mayor Pro Tem Michael concurred with the placement of the all-way stop signs. He suggested that residents on each street be contacted to determine if they supported speed bumps in front of their home. Also, residents should be contacted to determine if they support the option to install a median on Foothill Boulevard. In response to Councilmember Gutierrez, Mayor Pro Tem Michael noted that such a median would not be a barrier to emergency vehicles. In response to Councilmember Williams, Mark Steuer, Director of Engineering Services/City Engineer, indicated that the project at Foothill likely would be started in 2010. Discussion was held. MOTION: Moved by Spagnolo, seconded by Williams to move forward with the initial study's recommendation and install the all-way stop signs at the four locations recommended by staff. Motion carried 5-0. In response to Councilmember Gutierrez, Jack Lam, City Manager, indicated that direction on traffic enforcement does not need to be included in the recommendation. He noted that the Police Department patrols these streets just like the other streets in the City. It was noted that there would be a grace period in enforcement to allow drivers to become accustomed to the stop signs. Councilmember Gutierrez requested that a staff report be prepared on the viability of speed humps and speed bumps. MOTION: Moved by Michael, seconded by Gutierrez to direct staff to prepare a report on the viable traffic calming measures for that area. Motion carried 5-0. In response to the City Council, Jack Lam, City Manager, indicated that a report could be brought back at a regular City Council meeting in about 45 days. Councilmember Gutierrez thanked the Dickey family for their hard work in bringing this concern and possible solutions to the City Council. Redevelopment Agency, Fire Protection District, City Council Minutes June 23, 2009 -Page 4 of 5 Councilmember Spagnolo recognized that this was a diffcult process and encouraged the community members to work together for a common solution. Mayor Pro Tem Michael appreciated the opportunity to participate in this open and inclusionary process Councilmember Williams hoped that the community would become stronger as a result of this matter. She expected that the planned work on Foothill Boulevard will help alleviate the traffic concerns even further. Councilmember Williams encouraged members of audience to contact staff if they were willing to place a speed bump in front of their home. Mayor Kurth noted the need to work on these problematic issues until the best solution is found for all involved. He thanked everyone for attending the meeting and helping to solve the problem. D. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned 8:00 p.m. Res ctfully~s/ubmitted, ~. ~ !/~f De ra L. McKay, M C Ass font City Clerk/Records Manager Approved: July 15, 2009 Redevelopment Agency, Fire Protection District, City Council Minutes June 23, 2009 -Page 5 of 5