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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/23/1987 - Adjourned City Council Meeting11 1 11 ADJOURNED MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF COSTA MESA February 23, 1987 The City Council of the City.of Costa Mesa, California, met in adjourned regular session February 23, 1987, at 7:00 p.m., in the multi-purpose room, Bear Street School, 3100 Bear Street, Costa Mesa. The meeting was duly and regularly ordered adjourned from the regular meeting of February 17, 1987, and copies of the Notice of Adjourn- ment and the Agenda were posted as required by law. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor. ROLL CALL COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT: Hall, Wheeler, Hornbuckle, Buffa. Vice Mayor Amburgey arrived at 7:10 p.m. COUNCIL MEMBERS ABSENT: None OFFICIALS PRESENT: City Manager, Public Services Director, City Clerk I-405 Freeway The Mayor opened the Town Hall meeting by explaining Access Study that the I-405 Freeway Access Study was initiated a year ago at.the request of the City and developers in the north end of Costa Mesa. It is being funded by develop- ment fees. The cost of the study is approximately $200,000.00,to 'identify all those needs required.to accommodate the traffic to the year 2010. The Mayor introduced Jerry Wood, IWA Engineers, who gave a presentation on the I-405 Access Study. Mr. Wood referred to maps and diagrams on display in the room. The basic study was to analyze the I-405 Freeway corridor within the City of Costa Mesa and was later enlarged to the area from Brookhurst Street, Fountain Valley, to MacArthur Boulevard,,Irvine. Meetings are presently taking place weekly with Caltrans, the State agency which must approve freeway alterations. Technical Advisory A Technical Advisory Committee was formed which meets Committee twice monthly and is made up of 15-20 people: Costa Mesa Transportation Services Engineer, Rock Miller; various other agencies of the City of Costa Mesa; the four major developers of the vacant land in north Costa Mesa; and two Traffic Commissioners: Elsie Deeter and Bob Hammond; and representatives from the City of Santa Ana. The major intersections, numbering about 50, were analyzed, and the study was directed to three major areas: freeway, capacity, or enough lanes; interchanges, or the ramps; and analyzing the arterial highway system. Alternatives A, B, Alternative "A" includes 10-15 various projects and and C main line freeway improvements. One project in "A" is Park Center Drive crossing over the I-405 Freeway; Alternative "B" is without the Park Center Drive over - crossing. There is the flyover for north -bound traffic on Bristol Street at Anton Boulevard; Alternative "C" includes a Bear Street interchange which is estimated to cost $15 to $20 million. There are minor differences among the three alternatives but none very significant. There are problems with the freeway system that are regional in nature. For the system to work smoothly in Costa Mesa, other Orange County agencies responsible must also be interested in helping with freeway improve- ments. 41 5 The Transportation Corridor Agency is interested in completing the 73 Freeway down to the 5 Freeway. Costa Mesa is a member of this Agency. If there were no freeway improvements made to the year 2010, and developments were allowed to grow, the level of traffic movement would be very poor. The study shows that all improvements, freeway, arterial highway, and local streets have to be done to have satisfactory traffic circulation in Costa Mesa. These improvements have been identified in the study. Construction costs for the three alternatives range from $55 to $70 million, depending on which alternative is implemented. After Caltrans' conceptual approval has been obtained, an environmental document will be pre- pared; public hearings will be held; and, in the mean- while, the City will be developing financial plans. Once this is completed, design and building can begin. It will probably take from 10 to 15 years and is to be built in phases. RECESS The Mayor declared a 10 -minute recess for the purpose of allowing the audience to examine the maps and displays and to form questions for later in the meeting. The meeting reconvened at 7:55,p.m. Mr. Wood, in answer to a question, stated that there was no connection planned over the Santa Ana River, between Gisler and Garfield Avenues. The local street improve- ments have been determined, but costs have not been estimated by IWA Engineers. Costa Mesa's staff have estimated the costs to be between $10 to $20 million, which makes the estimate of the freeway and local street improvements in the range of $75 to $95 million. Costa Mesa's staff is investigating raising $80 to $100 million to fund the improvements. A question and'.answer session was held. Peter Similuk, 3107 Cassia Avenue, Costa Mesa, expressed concern about the heavy traffic already present on the local streets. Bruce Garlich,`3401 Wimbledon Way, Costa Mesa, president of Wimbledon Village Homeowners Association, asked ques- tions. The Mayor responded regarding traffic, phasing of street construction, and phasing of growth and how it can be accdated.- He spoke about raising funds to do the work by the creation of an assessment district. John DeWitt, 2000 Balearic Drive, Costa Mesa, President, Mesa Verde Homeowners Association, was told that resi- dential property would be excluded from the proposed assessment district. Mr. DeWitt asked if the consultant had used the ultimate build out with the expected traffic increases. He was told the County's traffic projections for'the year 2010 had been used, including all of the expected increases in development of Orange County. This.was integrated with Costa Mesa's projected figures. Mr. DeWitt spoke about an increasing traffic problem in the Mesa Verde area and asked for a study of that area. The Mayor conducted a question and answer session with those in attendance. He explained that if the developers in the north end of Costa Mesa wish to develop their property, they must agree to pay the assessment for traffic circulation improvements. No taxpayer dollars -will be used for the improvements. 1 1 Paul Wilkinson, of Linscott, Law, and Greenspan, explained that "level of service" is the relative measure of driver satisfaction: "A" is a free flow condition; "B" and "C" very good; "D" is acceptable; "E" is.unsatisfactory; and "F" is gridlock. The Director of Public Services said it is anticipated a consultant will begin a study of all intersections in four.to six weeks. Baker Street from Harbor Boule- vard to Bristol Street will also be.studied. The Mayor emphasized that there is no plan to extend Gisler Avenue over the Santa Ana River. Michael Nutter, 3469 Plumeria Place, Costa Mesa, asked how many trip ends a day would the Home Ranch Project generate. Terry Austin said, using the area of north Costa Mesa and'south Santa Ana projected to the year �. 2010, the trip generation amounts to an increase of ....about 70 percent. The precise figures for proposed projects could be obtained; however, they were not available tonight. Doug Yates, Treasurer of Mesa Action, asked everyone to be aware of everyone's property rights. Jerry Wood emphasized that STIP, the State Transporta- tion.Improvement Program, was hundreds of millions of dollars short to implement.,the projects that are already planned, and that did not include any of the projects being discussed. Mr. Wood'said_that sound attenuation walls would be recommended and included in the study. Council Member Wheeler said -it. -was assumed that the San Joaquin Hills Corridor was going to be built; however, there is a case pending in the California Supreme Court to allow the people.in the City of:Irvine to vote to approve the freeway,_and there is a.'chance that the voters won't approve.the ;freeway. "If the cities do participate, it will cover only half of the funding, no other source was identified for the funding of the other half. Another problem is the assumption that the area will be built to maximum capacity. Underlying that are some problems that go along with development: increase in police and fire services, parks upkeep, higher hous- ing costs because of_increased employment being gener- ated, and air pollution, which are all indirect costs. Council Member Hornbuckle thanked the audience for their interest and said the City has already begun to imple- ment some of the recommendations from the Technical Advisory Committee. At the Council meeting of Febru- ary 17, 1987, it was decided to hire a transportation consultant to help monitor some of the projects through the State. Council Member Buffa thanked the audience for attending the meeting. He said tonight's meeting was a convenient starting point for traffic circulation in the north end of Costa Mesa, and he does have high interest in the surface street improvements. He said we are beginning to look at the larger approach to the problem and recognize that,any change made in one spot can cause a reaction in another spot, so it becomes critical when considering a one hundred -mile stretch. Vice Mayor Amburgey commented that he was pleased to seethe large turnout at tonight's meeting and to hear the supportive and concerned comments expressed. The traffic circulation problem is a regional one, and the way Costa Mesa is attempting to solve it in this area may became a model for nearby ccamunities who also will attempt to solve traffic problems in their areas. City Manager Allan Roeder said that when the City Council took action to pursue the I-405 Access,Study, they also adopted a public review process and directed staff, in conjuration with consultants, to prepare a Specific Plan for the north end of Costa Mesa. The Specific Plan is a companion document to the transpor- tation improvements.• It is expected to be completed the latter part of March or first part of April, 1987. We will have another Town Hall meeting at this point and attempt to integrate land use with transportation. ADJOURMENT The Mayor declared the m ing adj urned at 9 10 p Mayor of the Ci of Costa Mesa ATTEST: City Clerk of the City of Cost esa f