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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-10-27; Planning Commission; MinutesPLANNING COMMISSION Minutes Oct. 27, 2022, 5 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: 1 p.m. City Council Chamber 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad. CA 92008 ROLL CALL: Commissioners Stine, Lafferty, Meenes, Merz, and Sabellico. Absent: Commissioners Luna and Kamenjarin. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Commissioner Meenes led the Pledge of Allegiance. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: None. PUBLIC COMMENT: None. PUBLIC HEARINGS: 1. PRESENTATION ON THE SAFER STREETS TOGETHER PLAN Provide feedback to staff regarding various options in the Safer Streets Together Plan for staff to present to City Council. ACTION TYPE: Discussion STAFF RECOMMENDATION: Receive report and provide direction PLANNER: N/A . ENGINEER: Tom Frank Assistant Community Development . Director Mike Strong introduced the item and announced that there were five public correspondences that were received, distributed to the Commissioners and published on the city's website. He then introduced City Man~ger Scott Chadwick and Transportation Director Tom Frank to provide a PowerPoint presentation (on file in the Office of the Clerk). City Manager Chadwick explained staff is making a recommendation to receive the report regarding our Safer Streets Together Plan and to provide feedback to staff related to the proposal. He further explained that the City Council has asked for input from the Planning Commission and Traffic & Mobility Commission to determine what additional· actions should be considered during our traffic safety emergency. City Manager Chadwick provided a timeline overview, highlighting the following: • On Aug. 23, 2022, the City of Carlsbad declared a local emergency on traffic safety. • On Aug. 30, 2022, the City Council ratified and appropriated $2 million of unspent funds from previous fiscal year budget. • On Sept. 23, 2022, staff drafted a Safter Streets Together Plan options for the public as well as City Council to review. • On Sept. 27, 2022, staff presented to City Council the options for their review and approved all the items in Option A and referred the actions in Options B and C to the Traffic & Mobility Commission and Planning Commission for input. Oct. 27, 2022 Planning Commission Special Meeting Page 2 • On Oct. 3, 2022, staff presented to the Traffic & Mobility Commission with options and focused on engineering and infrastructure elements. • On Oct. 18, 2022, City Council voted to extend the local emergency. City Manager Chadwick explained the Emergency Declaration and staff's overall approach on traffic and safety. He explained that Vision Zero is a strategy to eliminate traffic fatalities and severe injuries and is a nationwide movement. He added that staff is working on a sustainability mobility plan which will establish timelines and that Engineering staff will be reviewing citywide speed limits that need to be lowered based on Assembly Bill 43. City Manager Chadwick explained that staff is working on upgrading pedestrian traffic signals to provide more time for people to cross the street. He further explained that staff has identified 30 signals, has selected 22 intersections for thi5 upgrade and is in the process of selecting 8 more. He added that staff is proposing traffic calming strategies along Tamarack between Skyline Road and Adams Street with speed cushions as well as restriping east and west arterial corridors to balance all modes of travel. In response to Commissioner Meenes' inquiry of how Assembly Bill 43 is changing the way staff establishes speed limits, Transportation Director Frank explained that it allows the city flexibility to not have to base the speed limit on the 85 percentile rule. In response to Commissioner Lafferty's inquiry, Police Chief Mickey Williams explained the City's Diversion Program. He added that the City Council approved a change to the City's municipal code regard ing e-bikes, making it easier for police officers to enforce the law. He explained that the in-house Diversion Program is available to anyone who is cited for their first-time violation. He added that this program allows them to take either an in-person or online course to teach them best practices on how to operate mobility devices safely and after completing the course, their fine is waived in-lieu of going to court. In response to Commissioner Lafferty's inquiry asking if only bike rider violators are taking this course, Police Chief Williams responded that the City does not have a Diversion Program for vehicles but that there are opportunities for education for those individuals with vehicle code violations through the court system. In response to Chair Stine's inquiry if staff has noticed an increase of accidents particularly with e-bikes at the local schools on peak times, Chief Innovation Officer David Graham responded that the data the city has is from a five-year collision map and hot spots have been identified. He added that staff has looked at school sites and there was not a specific increase around schools. He further added that staff will continue to track that data. In response to Commissioner Lafferty's concern on the increase of bicycle use on the arterial roadways, Transportation Director Frank confirmed that there are alternates routes being considered and that there is an extensive trail system throughout the city to provide safe separated pathways. In response to Commission·er Lafferty's inquiry if the placement of message boards are helping and what the data is, Communication and Engagement Director Kristina Ray explained that this cannot be measured in isolation. Oct. 27, 2022 Planning Commission Special Meeting Page 3 Chair Stine opened the duly noticed public hearing at 1:25 p.m. Hearing no one wishing to speak, Chair Stine closed duly noticed public hearing at 1:26 p.m. Motion by Commissioner Sabellico, seconded by Commissioner Meenes, to support the City Manager's recommendation and the direction of the City Council, supportive of the three E's (Education, Engineering, and Enforcement), and supporting Options B & C minus the city funding school buses, focusing on hot spots for traffic collisions, emphasizing on engineering and strategy, and review ideas from the bike coalition. Motion carried, 5/0/2 (Commissioners Luna and Kamenjarin absent). PLANNING COMMISSION MEMBER REPORTS: Commissioner Lafferty reported that the Historic Preservation Committee meeting has been rescheduled to Nov. 9, 2022. Chair Stine reported that the next Growth Management Committee meeting will be held on Nov. 30, 2022. He added that he anticipates the Committee will have recommendations for the City Council in the Spring. Chair Stine announced Assistant City Attorney Ron Kemp has been promoted to Senior Assistant City Attorney. CITY PLANNER REPORT: Assistant Community Development Director Strong reported that the next Regular Planning Commission Meeting will be held on Nov. 16, 2022. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT: None. ADJOURNMENT: Chair Stine adjourned the duly noticed meeting at 3:11 p.m. Michele Hardy Secretary