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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 14 Proposed Amendments to the City's Engineering Design Standards and Procedures Manual AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 12/3/2012 Meeting Type: Regular Meeting Staff Contact/Dept.: Ken Vogeney/ DPW Staff Phone No: 541-736-1026 Estimated Time: 05 Minutes S P R I N G F I E L D C I T Y C O U N C I L Council Goals: Maintain and Improve Infrastructure and Facilities ITEM TITLE: PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE CITY’S ENGINEERING DESIGN STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES MANUAL ACTION REQUESTED: Conduct a public hearing and adopt/not adopt the following resolution: A RESOLUTION ADOPTING AMENDMENTS TO THE ENGINEERING DESIGN STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD ISSUE STATEMENT: Staff has developed several new design standards for public infrastructure to incorporate into Springfield’s Engineering Design Standards and Procedures Manual for use with implementing the updated Glenwood Refinement Plan. In addition, staff proposes numerous other updates that address current practice and other needs. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Resolution 2. Memorandum Concerning Sidewalk Standards DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT: Updates are proposed in the following Chapters of the Manual: Chapter 1 – Streets and Sidewalks Chapter 3 – Stormwater Quality Chapter 4 – Stormwater Capacity Chapter 5 – Traffic Standards Chapter 6 – Landscape Vegetation Chapter 8 – Erosion and Sediment Control Plan Design Chapter 13 – City Contract Projects Staff has prepared a summary of the proposed updates by chapter and has posted the summary and the proposed changes on the City’s website at http://www.springfield- or.gov/Engineering_Design_Standards_Manual_Summary_Table.htm. Staff presented the proposed updates to the Council during their work session on October 15, 2012. Per Council’s requests at that meeting, staff added references to Chapter 6 where someone could see the various plant species in the Street Tree and Vegetation Lists. Staff also deleted proposed changes to Section 1.02.11 Sidewalks, in response to some concerns from Council. As a result, adoption of the resolution will retain the sidewalk standards from the current version of the Manual. This topic is discussed in more detail in Attachment 2. On October 17, staff sent an email invitation to 50 members of the engineering and development community, including the members of the Joint Work Team and the Development Advisory Committee, asking for their comments on the proposed updates. In addition, links were added on other pages of the City’s website to direct interested members of the public to the page with the proposed updates. To date, we have received no responses or requests to modify the proposed updates. Staff recommends that Council conduct a public hearing and then adopt the proposed resolution. ATTACHMENT 1 - 1 ATTACHMENT 1 - 2 M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield 11/29/2012 Page 1 ATTACHMENT 2 - 1 M E M O R A N D U M City of Springfield Date: 11/16/2012 To: Gino Grimaldi From: Ken Vogeney, City Engineer Len Goodwin, DPW Director Subject: Sidewalk Design Standards in the Engineering Design Standards and Procedures Manual On October 15, 2012, staff presented to Council at work session proposed amendments to the City’s Engineering Design Standards and Procedures Manual. During the discussion of the proposed changes to require all new sidewalk construction to be setback sidewalks, Council expressed concern over how this provision would be implemented. Council suggested that the text be revised to be similar to the text for using wood poles for City street lights. Although staff revised the text, Council remained concerned as the revisions did not give clear guidance on sidewalk design for infill, redevelopment, or unimproved streets with developed lots, and particularly regarding right-of-way width or dedication, and potential impacts on the required minimum setbacks for buildings from the right-of-way. Council requested at their regular meeting on November 5 that the sidewalk design topic be brought back to them for further discussion at work session. There are several other activities now ongoing which may have impact on sidewalk standards. These include the Transportation System Plan update and compliance with new guidance expected from the United States Access Board concerning standards for applying the Americans with Disabilities Act in the public right-of- way, and a separate project for a comprehensive review of the City’s street standards. This project is scheduled to begin after the first of the year. Since sidewalk placement and design affects the use and configuration of the public right-of-way, addressing the Council’s concerns about sidewalk design at this time may have unintended consequences in the broader context of street design standards, resulting in further revisions to these same design standards. Accordingly, staff believes that we can best address the Council’s concerns as part of the comprehensive street standards review. As such, the proposed revisions to Section 1.02.11 of the Manual discussed on October 15 have been removed and the current text from the 2006 version of the Manual will be retained for now. This text can be viewed on the website at the following link: http://www.springfield-or.gov/Engineering_Design_Standards_Manual_Summary_Table.htm and viewing the final version of Chapter 1, Streets and Sidewalks.