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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-06-11; City Council; Resolution 2024-125RESOLUTION NO. 2024-125 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING REMOVAL OF THE GROWTH MANAGEMENT PLAN VEHICULAR LEVEL OF SERVICE DEFICIENCY DECLARATION FOR THE STREET FACILITY OF COLLEGE BOULEVARD AND PALOMAR AIRPORT ROAD AND THE ASSOCIATED PROJECT NO. 6028 FROM THE CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM, REVISING THE SCOPE OF WORK OF THE MELROSE DRIVE AND PALOMAR AIRPORT ROAD IMPROVEMENTS, CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM PROJECT NO. 6034 AND ADOPTING RELATED CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT FINDINGS WHEREAS, the fiscal year, or FY, 2017-18 Annual Growth Management Plan Monitoring Report identified the following two street facilities as not meeting the level of service D performance standard and that roadway improvements and/or exemptions from the performance standard can fully address the deficiencies on southbound College Boulevard from Aston Avenue to Palomar Airport Road, and southbound Melrose Drive from Vista city limits to Palomar Airport Road; and WHEREAS, the southbound segment of College Boulevard, extending from Aston Avenue to Palomar Airport Road, was previously determined to be deficient by the City Council on Dec. 17, 2019, as part of the FY 2017-18 Growth Management Plan Monitoring Report, Resolution No. 2019-270; and WHEREAS, in response to this deficiency, the City Council directed staff to expedite the roadway improvements under existing Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6028 to address the identified level of service performance standard deficiency; and WHEREAS, the southbound segment of College Boulevard between Aston Avenue and Palomar Airport Road has consistently maintained an acceptable level of service during both the morning, or AM, and afternoon, or PM, peak hours for the last three annual monitoring cycles; therefore, construction of the previously identified Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6028 is no longer necessary; and WHEREAS, on Dec. 17, 2019, the City Council determined southbound Melrose Drive from Vista city limits to Palomar Airport Road to be deficient, built-out and exempt from the level of service performance standard for the vehicle mode of travel under General Plan Mobility Element Policy 3-P .9 (d), as the construction of the existing Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6034 will only partially address the level of service deficiency and additional roadway improvements to fully address the deficiency would require more than three through travel lanes in each direction, such that future development which adds vehicle traffic to these exempt street facilities shall implement Traffic Demand Management and Transportation System Management strategies in accordance with General Plan Mobility Element Policy 3-P.11; and WHEREAS, a notice of public hearing was published on May 31, 2024; and WHEREAS, staff recommend revising the scope of Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6034 to (1) ensure appropriate lane widths of 11 feet that optimally balance the mobility requirements of the roadway and (2) to adjust the efficiency of traffic signal timing at the intersection of Melrose Drive and Palomar Airport Road , including improvements to right-turn overlaps; and WHEREAS, the intersection level of service analysis shows that the intersection of Melrose Drive and Palomar Airport Road currently operates at level of service E during the AM peak hour and level of service D during the PM peak hour; and WHEREAS, with implementation ofthe original Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6034, the intersection would still operate at a deficient level of service E during the AM peak hour and level of service D during the PM peak hour, with traffic delay improving by less than one second in each peak hour; and WHEREAS, the revised Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6034 will reduce funding requirements by eliminating the need for roadway widening; and WHEREAS, the proposed revisions to Project No. 6034 align with General Plan Mobility Element Policy 3-P.9 and the core values of the Carlsbad Community Vision. Not widening the southbound Melrose Drive approach to Palomar Airport Road will significantly enhance mobility and connectivity for pedestrians and bicyclists by maintaining shorter crossing distances and reducing their exposure to vehicles; and WHEREAS, additionally, keeping the road narrower helps control vehicle speeds, improves visibility of pedestrians and cyclists, and enhances overall safety and ease of crossing the intersection, and this approach promotes a safer and more pedestrian-friendly environment; and WHEREAS, instead, the project can be accomplished with roadway restriping and signal timing changes, which can be implemented more quickly and at a lower cost; and WHEREAS, as discussed in Resolution No. 2019-270, the city previously determined that: 1) exempting street facilities and intersections from the Growth Management Plan circulation level of service D vehicle performance standard is a subsequent activity of the General Plan Mobility Element for which Programmatic Environmental Impact Report, or program EIR, 13-02 was prepared; 2) a notice for the activity has been given, which includes statements that this activity is within the scope of the program approved earlier, and that program EIR 13-02 adequately describes the activity for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, Section 15168{c)(2) and (e); 3) that the proposal to exempt certain sections of El Camino Real and College Boulevard has no new significant environmental effect that was not analyzed as ·significant in program EIR 13-02; and 4) none of the circumstances requiring a subsequent or a supplemental EIR under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15162 or 15163 exist. This action to remove a project from the Capital Improvement Program and revise the scope of work of another Capital Improvement Program project does not constitute a project within the meaning of CEQA under Public Resources Code Section 21065 in that it has no potential to cause either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. The city further finds that such actions are subject to CEQA exemptions, including but not limited to the commonsense exemption under CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3). The city further finds that there is no reasonable possibility that these modifications will have a significant effect on the environment due to unusual circumstances, and further finds that there are no usual circumstances. Numerous roadways have 11-foot through lanes including Palomar Airport Road, College Boulevard and El Camino Real. Public agencies routinely adjust signal timing such as when the city adjusted signal timing during the local traffic safety emergency in 2022-2023 or recently at the intersection of El Camino Real and La Costa Avenue where the traffic signal timing was changed to allow eastbound left turns and straight-through movements to happen together. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, as follows: 1. That the above recitations are true and correct and incorporated herein by reference. 2. That the City Council hereby rescinds the deficiency declaration at southbound College Boulevard, extending from Aston Avenue to Palomar Airport Road, contained in Resolution No. 2019-270, as well as any subsequent findings. While formal rescission allows the city to better track vehicular level of service conditions, the City Council finds that the city's policies and regulations, including but not limited to Proposition E, Section (A)(2), Mobility Element Policy 3-P.9 and Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 21.90.130{d), do not require formal rescission of such deficiency declarations where the factual information contained in the annual monitoring reports indicates vehicular level of service conditions meet the criteria identified in Mobility Element Policy 3-P.4. 3. That the City Council hereby removes Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6028, the College Boulevard and Palomar Airport Road Improvements, from the city's Capital Improvement Program, as the southbound segment of College Boulevard between Aston Avenue and Palomar Airport Road ha s consistently maintained an acceptable level of service during both the AM and PM peak hours for the last three annual monitoring cycles and construction of the previously identified Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6028 is no longer necessary. 3. That the City Council authorizes revising the project scope of work of Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6034, the Melrose Drive and Palomar Airport Road Improvements, (1) to reduce the existing travel lane widths to 11-foot-wide-lanes to best balance the mobility needs of the roadway and (2) adjust traffic signal timing improvements including right-turn overlap at the eastbound approach of Palomar Airport Road to improve operations at the intersection. Consistent with existing authority, city staff may modify these signal timing improvements without subsequent City Council action. 4. That the revised Capital Improvement Program Project No. 6034 will reduce funding requirements by eliminating the need for roadway widening and improve the level of service from the existing condition.