HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-10-24; Response To Resident's Public Comment at 9/24/24 City Council Meeting (Districts - All); Calderwood, ChristieTo the members of the:
CITY COUNCIL
Date~CA V CCV CM~✓ocM(3)jL
October 24, 2024
Council Memorandum
To:
From:
Via:
Honorable Mayor Blackburn and Members of the City Council
Christie Calderwood, Chief of Police~
{city of
Carlsbad
Memo ID# 2024077
Re:
Geoff Patnoe, Acting City Manager \.____lS¾"
Response To Resident's Public Comment at 9/24/24 City Council Meeting (Districts -All)
This memorandum outlines the actions taken by city staff in relation to resident Teresa Barnes'
public comment at the City Council meeting on September 24, 2024.
Background:
On September 24, 2024, during public comment at the City Council meeting, resident Teresa
Barnes advised that she was recently driving on El Camino Real near the new Marja Acres
development, when she observed two people on an e-bike in the fast lane. She also observed a
man on a bike near Cannon Road and El Camino Real, who came over into her lane. She was
concerned that both of these observations were safety issues. Ms. Barnes relayed that when she
observed the two people on the e-bicycle in the 55 mph lane on El Camino Real, she observed a
white police volunteer vehicle nearby.
Ms. Barnes also advised that she had broken her ankle while visiting Poinsettia Dog Park after
getting knocked over by another person's dog. She was requesting that the park be changed and
mentioned that the Encinitas dog park had concrete.
Ms. Barnes requested to have a response as to what city leadership was going to do with the
information that she shared with Council Member Burkholder and Mayor Blackburn in relation to
"hearing loss for safety."
City Staff's Response to Ms. Barnes:
Police Department:
• Immediately after Ms. Barnes' public comment, Police Chief Christie Calderwood met
with Ms. Barnes outside of the Council Chambers to address her concerns regarding the
bicyclists and the police volunteer vehicle. Chief Calderwood advised Ms. Barnes that the
Police Department is consistently conducting education and enforcement for bicyclists
within the city. The Police Chief discussed the partnership with the school districts to
provide classes for juvenile riders desiring to ride their bikes to school in an effort to
capture a large population of juvenile bike riders. It was requested of Ms. Barnes to call
the non-emergency number at the Police Department, if she observes reckless riding so
that an officer can respond to address with the appropriate enforcement action. Ms.
Police Department
Administration
2560 Orion Way I Carlsbad, CA 92010 I 442-339-2100
Council Memo -Response to Resident's Public Comment at 9/24/24 Council Meeting
October 24, 2024
Page 2
Barnes was also informed that the white volunteer police vehicles are driven by the
Senior Volunteer Patrol at the Police Department, however these volunteers do not have
police powers and therefore would not have been able to detain the two people she
observed on thee-bike or issue them a citation. During the conversation with Ms. Barnes,
she also advised the Police Chief that she was concerned about an RV parking in her
neighborhood for long periods of time and sometimes blocking the sidewalk and/or
negatively impacting the street sweeping schedule. Ms. Barnes was encouraged to call
the Police Department immediately when she observed these issues, so they could be
addressed. The Police Chief added the non-emergency phone number for the Police
Department into Ms. Barnes contact list on her phone, at Ms. Barnes' request.
Parks and Recreation Department:
• On July 29, 2024, Parks & Recreation staff received an email message from Ms. Barnes,
originally sent to the City Council Members on July 26, 2024, which addressed a few
different matters, including her suggestions for alterations to the Poinsettia Dog Park. In
particular, she suggested that staff discontinue the use of fence posts with points to block
off turf restoration areas in the dog park. In addition, she suggested replacing the
concrete bench seat walls with an interior sidewalk to expand human access to the dog
park. Ms. Barnes noted that she had been struck from behind by a large labrador
retriever after she had turned away to speak with another patron at the dog park. The
impact caused a fracture of her right ankle in three places.
• On July 30, 2024, Parks & Recreation staff called Ms. Barnes to discuss the dog park
matters. Staff thanked Ms. Barnes for her suggestions and advised they would be further
reviewed for potential application. Staff agreed with the suggestion to discontinue use of
fence posts with points to block off turf restoration areas and commenced the use of
fence posts with blunt ends. Staff did not, however, agree with the suggestion to replace
the concrete seat walls with an interior sidewalk, as there was already substantial area for
human access on both sides of the dog park. The installation of an interior sidewalk would
also significantly reduce the very limited square footage of turf within the dog park.
• In regard to Ms. Barnes public comment related to Poinsettia Dog Park, including her
suggestion for an alteration specific to extending a sidewalk from the concrete entries,
Parks & Recreation staff subsequently assessed the entries. Parks and Recreation staff
determined that a small segment of decomposed granite path could be added to the
entries without significant reduction to the square footage of turf within the dog park. On
October 1, 2024, Parks & Recreation staff called Ms. Barnes to inform her of that
determination, and the expectation for the corresponding project to be complete by the
end of this year.
Council Memo -Response to Resident's Public Comment at 9/24/24 Council Meeting
October 24, 2024
Page 3
Human Resources:
• Sarah Sanders, Safety & Compliance Officer, will contact Ms. Barnes to continue the
discussion regarding the information provided on hearing loss safety. Sarah will
collaborate with Risk Management and other city departments, as needed, regarding this
item.
cc: Geoff Patnoe, Assistant City Manager
Cindie McMahon, City Attorney
Kyle Lancaster, Parks and Recreation Director
Laura Rocha, Deputy City Manager, Administrative Services
Judy Von Kalinowski, Human Resources Director