For City Council Meeting [May 28, 2019]
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
APPROVAL: Sean Grayson, Interim City Administrator
FROM: Robb Steel, Assist. CA/Development Services Director
Title
Request City Council to Conduct a Public Hearing to Extend Interim Urgency Ordinance No. 1608 from June 8, 2019 to June 7, 2020 by adopting Interim Urgency Ordinance No. 1618 entitled “AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIALTO, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM TO PROHIBIT TRUCK TRAFFIC ON AYALA DRIVE BETWEEN THE I-210 FREEWAY AND BASELINE ROAD WITHIN THE RENAISSANCE SPECIFIC PLAN OF THE CITY OF RIALTO” Reading by Title only and Declaring the Urgency Thereof.
(ACTION)
Body
BACKGROUND:
On June 12, 2018, the City Council adopted urgency Ordinance No. 1602 (City Council Report No.18-476) to establish a moratorium on inter-city truck traffic on Ayala Drive between the I-210 freeway and Baseline Road in the Renaissance Specific Plan. Section 65858(a) of the California Government Code allows the City Council to adopt an urgency interim ordinance prohibiting any use that may conflict with a contemplated general plan, specific plan, or zoning proposal, which is under study or intended for study to protect the public safety, health and welfare. Adoption of an urgency interim ordinance requires a four-fifths vote of the City Council. The City Council extended the moratorium by adoption of urgency Ordinance No. 1608 on July 24, 2018. This urgency Ordinance will expire on June 8, 2019.
On April 25, 2018, the Economic Development Committee (EDC) discussed the truck routes in the City and in the Renaissance Specific Plan (EDC Report #18-392). Because of the increase in truck activity on streets not designated as truck routes, the City requires a comprehensive study of truck traffic patterns to support goods movement and ensure that access along retail corridors remains unfettered. To accommodate the large volumes of truck traffic associated with goods movement, ensure appropriate road construction and maintenance, and protect residential neighborhoods, the City designates certain arterials as truck routes. Exhibit 4.5 of the General Plan illustrates those truck routes.
ANALYSIS/DISCUSSION:
Urgency Ordinance No. 1608 expires on June 8, 2019. The City must assess traffic patterns, evaluate solutions and determine the most appropriate routes for truck traffic in partnership with residents and business owners. A comprehensive process ensures that traffic problems do not move from one street onto another. An update requires several months of preparatory tasks such as stakeholder and citizen surveys, traffic counts, data analytics and field checks prior to making a recommendation to the Transportation Commission and City Council.
As part of this process, the City will also designate Foothill Blvd. as a truck route. This street used to be a state highway, and all state highways serve as truck routes. Since responsibility for this street has been transferred to the City, it is appropriate to formally designate it as a truck route.
The City Council has also established a moratorium on the construction and alteration of roadway median island improvements on Riverside Avenue between the I-10 Freeway and the southernmost border of the City (Ordinance No. 1609). Both matters will require amendments to the Circulation Element of the General Plan. Staff is proposing to combine these matters into a single project for efficiency. The general process is outlined below:
General Plan Circulation and Truck Route Update
Action Plan
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July 2019 |
Issue RFP to update Circulation Element of the General Plan and Select Consultant |
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August 2019 |
Define scope of modifications and draft CEQA documentation |
|
September 2019 |
Meet with stakeholders/community members |
|
October 2019 |
Draft required documents |
|
November 2019 |
EDC Transportation Commission review |
|
December 2019 |
Public Review Period; community meeting |
|
January 2020 |
Transportation Commission review |
|
February 2020 |
Planning Commission review |
|
March 2020 |
City Council review |
The City must issue a report at least 10 days before the expiration of this Moratorium extension outlining actions that have been taken since the moratorium was adopted. The Council must use this information to determine whether conditions continue to exist to justify a final extension to the Moratorium.
Since urgency Ordinance No. 1608 was adopted, the City has taken the following actions:
The Public Works Department posted signs at the following locations to redirect truck traffic:
1. West side of Ayala Drive, South of the E/B I-210 off-ramp;
2. SWC of Ayala and Renaissance Parkway;
3. SWC of Scholl Way and Ayala Drive;
4. NWC of Baseline Road and Ayala Drive;
5. NEC of Baseline Road and Ayala Drive;
6. SWC of Baseline Road and Cedar Avenue; and
7. SEC of Baseline Road and Cedar Avenue.
The signs will remain posted until the City revises and adopts the new Truck Routes.
The Community Development Department has retained a consultant to prepare the RFP to modify the City’s truck routes and the Circulation Element. The consultant has reviewed truck routes in surrounding communities, as well as General Plan policies addressing movement of goods through those communities.
Given the preparatory timeframe, the City Council must extend the urgency ordinance. Per State law, the urgency ordinance may only be extended for an additional 12 months. The City Council may extend the ordinance after holding a noticed public hearing and approving the extension by a four-fifths vote of its members. The City published notice in the San Bernardino Sun in accordance with Section 65090 of the Government Code.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
The proposed action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15378, a Project does not include:
1. The creation of government funding mechanisms or other government fiscal activities, which do not involve any commitment to any specific project, which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment.
2. Organizational or administrative activities of governments that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment.
GENERAL PLAN CONSISTENCY:
The proposed moratorium is consistent with the following guiding principles, goals and objectives contained in the General Plan:
Guiding Principals
• Essential community services and amenities must meet the needs and desires of our families.
• Rialto shall attract high-quality new development and improve its physical environment.
• The quality and standards of our streetscapes and public spaces will reflect the high quality new development we require.
• Infrastructure keeps pace with our growth.
Goal 4-10: Provide a circulation system that supports Rialto’s position as a logistics hub.
Policy 4-10.1: Designate and enforce truck routes for use by commercial trucking as part of the project approval process.
Policy 4-10.2: Coordinate truck routes with adjacent jurisdictions.
Policy 4-10.3: Develop appropriate noise mitigation along truck routes to minimize noise impacts on nearby sensitive land uses.
Policy 4-10.4: Encourage the development of adequate on-site loading areas to minimize interference of truck loading activities with efficient traffic circulation on adjacent roadways.
Policy 4-10.5: Work with appropriate law enforcement agencies to regulate speed on Riverside Avenue to minimize conflicts between high-speed private vehicles and lower-speed truck traffic.
Goal 3-6: Require that all developed areas within Rialto are adequately served with essential public services and infrastructure.
Policy 3-6.3: Require an increasing level of public safety infrastructure and service capability tied to population increase and increasing service demand.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney reviewed and approved the staff report and Ordinance.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Operating Budget Impact:
The moratorium will not impact the City’s operating budget. However, the long-term impact of truck traffic on non-designated truck routes may increase calls for service to address safety concerns associated with the interaction of high-speed vehicles and slow speed trucks.
Capital Budget Impact:
There is no immediate capital budget impact caused by the moratorium. Capital expenditures to repair the structural integrity of streets absorbing the weight of heavy truck traffic may occur.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council Conduct a Public Hearing to Extend Urgency Ordinance No. 1602 (Exhibit A) by Urgency Ordinance No. XXXX entitled “AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RIALTO, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING A TEMPORARY MORATORIUM TO PROHIBIT TRUCK TRAFFIC ON AYALA DRIVE BETWEEN THE I210 FREEWAY AND BASELINE ROAD WITHIN THE RENAISSANCE SPECIFIC PLAN OF THE CITY OF RIALTO” from June 8, 2019 to June 7, 2020.