Council Study Session

MINUTES CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION CITY OF MONTEREY Wednesday, January 30, 2013 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. COUNCIL CHAMBER, FEW MEMORIAL HALL OF RECORDS MONTEREY, CALIFORNIA Councilmembers Present: Councilmembers Downey, Haffa, Selfridge, Sollecito, Della Sala Absent: None City Staff Assistant City Manager, City Attorney, Deputy City Manager, Plans & Public Present: Works, Police Chief, Community Services/Library Director, Chief of Planning, Engineering, and Environmental Compliance, Principal Planners, City Engineer, Traffic Engineer, Senior Assistant City Clerk CALL TO ORDER - Joint Meeting with Planning Commission - Chair Leon Garden, Vice Chair Willard McCone, Commissioner Paul W Davis. Commissioner Ralph Widmar, Commissioner David Stocker, Commissioner Hansen Reed, Commissioner Luis Osorio Mayor Della Sala called the meeting to order at 4:04 p.m. and Senior Assistant City Clerk Raynor did a roll call, noting that all Councilmembers and Planning Commissioners were present with the exception of Commissioner McCrone. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Della Sala opened public comment on items not on the agenda. Joseph Headley from the Monterey Yacht Club introduced Chris Martin. Mr. Martin described an upcoming rowing race from Monterey to Hawaii, asking for support for Monterey to become the Ocean Rowing North America home base. Mayor Della Sala, seeing no more requests to speak, closed public comment. STUDY SESSION 1. Receive Report and Discuss the City's Draft Multi-Modal Mobility Plan and How it Will Implement the City's General Plan Circulation Element (Plans & Public Works - 803-12) Action: Report Received; Discussed Principal Planner Caraker introduced the item, providing background on the City's bicycle plan and how it fits into the General Plan and Specific Plans. She noted the City received a grant to fund preparation of the Multi-Modal Mobility Plan. She introduced Brian Ray from Kittleson and Associates. Mr. Ray shared a variety of national trends used for measuring circulation performance and tools that the City can use to evaluate circulation performance. Mr. Ray talked about Complete Streets Legislation. He stated complete streets matter because, as envisioned, levels of service would encompass level of service for cars, pedestrians, and bicycles, that is, all forms of street traffic. Mr. Ray depicted how automobile high-use streets could be paralleled by other streets that would accommodate more of the pedestrian and bicycle traffic. He emphasized that the goal is to attain a transit-pedestrian-bike friendly street network. Mr. Ray showed how, using tools to predict improved safety, one corridor could be modified to meet multimodal service. He stated that using these tools reduces down a long list of potential solutions to only those solutions that are safe and effective, noting these tools help the City quantify trade-offs in choices and select those that most address community values. City Council Minutes Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Transportation Planner Green presented the Monterey on the Move draft plan, asking for Council and Planning Commission feedback. She stressed one purpose of the plan is to determine other ways to improve capacity on City streets, noting that in Monterey there is no ability to widen most streets. Planner Green stated the draft plan replaces the Bicycle Plan adopted in 2009 and enables the City to apply for more State and Federal grant funding for projects. In her presentation Planner Green depicted how bicycle and pedestrian projects could improve capacity within the City. She described how a Hawthorne-Private Bolio route could increase access to Old Town from New Monterey. Planner Green gave a brief overview of the outreach mechanisms used during the creation of the draft plan and stressed that outreach will continue as the plan goes to the Planning Commission and Council for approval. She concluded her presentation stating the plan includes a requirement for regular collection of data in order to determine the effectiveness of projects. Councilmember Haffa commended staff, stating this is an impressive plan that makes pedestrians feel like a priority in certain places. Councilmember Sollecito agreed with that statement, but noted projects that require water may not be possible until the City's water problem is resolved. In response to questions about the Del Monte and Washington intersection, Planner Green clarified that a single tool would not be used for an entire street and instead stressed that a variety of tools and projects are envisioned to address specific intersections along a single street. In response to Councilmember Downey's question about Ms. Green said grants may be available from CalTrans, Safe Routes to School, and possibly the Neighborhood Improvement Program Committee. Councilmember Selfridge stated the City needs to prioritize projects, suggesting Del Monte at Washington be a high priority. Mayor Della Sala asked staff to see if funding may be possible from the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District. Planning Commission Chair Garden asked about the Hawthorne-Private Bolio connection and Planner Green clarified that as envisioned this would only be for bicycles and not for vehicular traffic. Commissioner Osorio stated the draft plan fits well with all the specific plans that are currently in process. Mayor Della Sala opened the item for public comment. Nelson Vega expressed concern that the Monterey Commercial Property Owners Association (MCPOA) had not been contacted during public outreach and cautioned the Council to ensure projects or changes do not negatively impact businesses within the City. Having no more requests to speak, Mayor Della Sala closed public comment. Planner Green responded to the question of outreach, noting that she did speak and receive feedback from several businesses on an individual basis and stressed that as the plan moves forward MCPOA will be included. Commissioner Stocker stated the General Plan was publicly debated in 2005 and this draft plan has had a lot of public input. Councilmember Sollecito stressed that Monterey is a small city with small streets that cannot be widened. He stressed this is why a multi-modal plan is so important, stating there simply is no other alternative and that staff as done a good job. Councilmember Haffa asked staff to share the positive impacts this plan should have with local businesses. Mayor Della Sala noted the next step is for the plan to go before the Planning Commission for approval. He closed saying the City Council wants the City to be more pedestrian friendly and to attract more pedestrians. 2 City Council Minutes Wednesday, January 30, 2013 ADJOURNMENT Having no more business before the Monterey City Council, Mayor Della Sala adjourned the meeting at 5:27 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, Approved, Catherine A. Raynor Chuck Della Sala Senior Assistant City Clerk Mayor 3