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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-10-26; City Council; 12449; Village Transit Station Design & Site PlansC”Y OF CARLSBAD - AGEN-I BILL P 4 Ad&,%% TITLE: PRESENTATION OF FINAL (BEVISED) VILLAGE TRANSIT . STATION DESIGN AND SITE PLANS BY NORTH COUNTY DEPT. HD.&?% MTG. 10/26/93 TRANSIT DISTIUCT AND THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO CITY ATT de DEPT. RED. CITY MGRii RECOMMENDED ACTION: Allow North County Transit District (NCTD) and the County of San Diego to make a formal presentation regarding the final Village Transit Station Design and Site Plans and accept public comments. It will be requested that the City Council and Housing and Redevelopment Commission take final action to approve/disapprove the Station Design and Site Plans at the meeting of November 2, 1993. ITEM EXPLANATION: On February 20, 1990, the Carlsbad City Council approved an agreement with the North County Transit District (NCTD) and the County of San Diego for construction and operation of a Commuter Rail/Transit Station on the north side of Grand Avenue between State Street and Washington Street. Following approval of this agreement, staff of the various cooperating agencies began work on the project which included negotiations for the railroad right-of-way, relocation activities and station design work. Negotiations with Santa Fe Railway Company are now complete and NCTD has assumed control of the property. For over two years, City Staff has worked with NCTD and the County to develop a station design which meets the needs of the commuters and fits into the character of the Village. The station has undergone major redesign to be more compatible with the Village Redevelopment Area and to maintain consistency with the draft Master Plan for the area. Staff believes that the final Village Transit Station Design and Site Plans are acceptable as submitted and reflect the efforts by NCTD/County to address most of the concerns expressed by the City’s Project Review Team, which included staff members of the Engineering, Planning, Police, Fire, Water and Housing and Redevelopment Departments. The proposed Transit Station will include a bus transfer area, short term (2 hour) and long term (all day) parking of 150 spaces total, public restrooms, information booth, on-site security, and approximately six (6) small retail suites (10’ X 10’) for transit-related goods and services. NCTD has indicated that they will work with the City to identify appropriate uses for the retail spaces. Staff has met with NCTD and the County a number of times to discuss design issues on the new station. In our opinion, we have identified only two (2) issues which remain outstanding at this time: 0 CITY-WIDE TRAILS SYSTEM. The City Council accepted the city-wide trails system in September, 1992. The approved system includes a bike trail along the west side of the railroad right-of-way. City staff expressed concern that provisions for a bike trail have not been incorporated into the final plans for the station. Per NCTD staff, the Board has not yet accepted or endorsed development of the city- wide and/or regional trails system on their property. Therefore, NCTD is not able at this time to incorporate a “segment” of the trail into their existing plan for the new Village Transit Station. According to NCTD staff, once the entire trails system has been developed and their agency’s concerns (i.e., liability, access, etc. ) are addressed, every effort will be made to cooperate with the City and incorporate the trail system into the .’ . AGENDA BILL ,. /a, qy 7 PAGE 2 I new station. Although this issue is outstanding from city staff’s perspective, NCTD does not believe this is a transit station issue and should not be part of the plan at this time. However, NCTD also does not believe that they have proposed a plan which precludes the integration of the trail system at some future date, if approved by their Board. 0 SOUNJNNOISE AND VISUAL IMPACT OF BUSES. City staff believes that there may be a negative noise and visual impact on residential properties on Washington as a result of the bus transfer center to be located on the west side of the railroad tracks. NCTD/County staff has indicated that they will provide information from their environmental consultant confirming that the buses will not have a significant impact on the residents based on their studies. If NCTDKounty is unable to provide the consultant’s confirmation, it is staffs recommendation that some type of action be taken by NCTD/County to mitigate the noise/visual impact on residential properties in close proximity to the station. As an additional note, City Engineering Staff believes that it is important for NCTDKounty to investigate sections of the road surrounding the station, specifically on Washington and in the alley between State and Washington, to ensure that they are adequate to handle the bus/truck traffic related to the Transit Station. NCTDKounty staff do not believe this action is necessary because there has been no previous problems identified based on current traffic patterns. A public workshop was held on Monday, October 18, 1993 from 6:00pm to 7:3Opm at the Carlsbad Senior Center to present the final Village Station Design and Site Plan and accept public comments from interested/concerned citizens. NCTD staff presented their plans and identified some of the changes which have been made based on discussions with city staff. The main issues/concerns identified during the workshop were as follows: 0 The amount of traffic to be generated by the location of the Transit Station at the Grand Avenue site. The “pros and cons” of this issue were discussed. 0 Access to businesses located adjacent to the Transit Station (i.e., lawnmower shop on State Street). Staff indicated that they would work with the property owners to resolve access issues, if possible. 0 The impact of traffic on Beech Street and the cul-de-sac arrangement resulting from one way traffic (north bound only) proposed for Washington Street. It was agreed that appropriate signage was necessary to inform the public about the new traffic patterns. a Noise impact from Trains and Buses on residents along Washington Street. This was discussed but no desired action was indicated clearly by the workshop attendees. 0 Use of the parking lot was discussed for general information purposes. Attendees appeared to be satisfied with the proposed parking arrangement. As in the past, there was also general discussion regarding appropriateness of the site for the Transit Station and the impact (positive and negative) that the participants felt the Station would have on the Village Area. The audience included citizens who were both in favor and opposed AGENDA BILL: ) a, L/ y 9 PAGE 3 I to the proposed station. In total, staff counted approximately 25 citizens in attendance at the subject workshop. In light of the jurisdictional issues and timing limitations for processing the station plans, it is City Staffs recommendation that NCTD/County assume complete responsibility for construction and operation of the Village Transit Station without the issuance of permits by the City. Staff does not believe that it is necessary nor feasible, from a timing/process standpoint, for the City to issue any discretionary or building permits for the station. County staff will conduct building inspections and issue the certificate of occupancy for all related buildings. On November 2, 1993, the City Council and Housing and Redevelopment Commission will be asked to approve/disapprove the Village Station Design and Site Plans as submitted by NCTD and the County. FISCAL IMPACT: The proposed Village Transit Station at Grand Avenue represents an approximately $2.1 million investment by.NCTD in the Redevelopment Area. Except for Council and Staff time involved in working as a member of the project review team, no City funding is required for the station. EXHIBITS: Copies of the final (revised) Village Transit Station Design and Site Plans will be presented by NCTDKounty to the City Council during the subject presentation.