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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 28 Alternative Review for the Main Street Safety ProjectAGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: Meeting Type: Staff Contact/Dept.: Staff Phone No: Estimated Time: 6/20/2022 Regular Meeting Kristina Kraaz/CAO 541-744-4061 10 Minutes SPRINGFIELD Council Goals: Maintain and Improve CITY COUNCIL Infrastructure and Facilities ITEM TITLE: ALTERNATIVE REVIEW FOR THE MAIN STREET SAFETY PROJECT ACTION Adopt/not adopt the following Resolution: REQUESTED: PROVIDING AN ALTERNATIVE REVIEW PROCESS FOR THE MAIN STREET SAFETY PROJECT AS PERMITTED IN SPRINGFIELD DEVELOPMENT CODE FOR METRO PLAN AMENDMENTS ISSUE The City Attorney's Office recommends the City Council approve a Resolution STATEMENT: defining an alternative review process for the Main Street Safety Project planning phase. The purpose of this Resolution is to provide a timeline and process for development of an Alternative Plan for Main Street that is not the Facility Plan recommended by the Springfield Planning Commission. The Springfield Development Code provides a specific process for review and approval of Metro Plan amendments, which is applicable to adoption of the Main Street Facility Plan, but allows the City Council to approve an alternative process. ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Proposed Resolution DISCUSSION/ The review process for adopting a transportation plan for the Main Street corridor FINANCIAL requires following the hearing process in SDC 5.14-130, which includes a Planning IMPACT: Commission hearing and recommendation followed by City Council hearing on that recommendation, and the City Council to approve, not approve, or conditionally approve the plan. However, the City Council may approve an alternative to this review process or timeline under SDC 5.14-130(I). On February 15, 2022, the Springfield Planning Commission held a public hearing on the draft Main Street Facility Plan and recommended the City Council adopt the Facility Plan by a split vote 4-3 on April 5, 2022. Through the Planning Commission public hearing process and in comments to the City Council subsequently, there has been significant community interest and concerns with the draft Main Street Facility Plan as it was presented to the Planning Commission. In addition, the Facility Plan was based upon safety data that has not been updated to reflect safety improvements to the corridor made by the City and Oregon Department of Transportation since 2016. For these reasons, the City Council has expressed interest in deviating the from the normal review and hearing process to allow the Council to develop an Alternative Plan, rather than moving forward to a public hearing on the Facility Plan as recommended by the Planning Commission. The proposed Resolution establishes an approximate timeline for development of the Alternative Plan and City Council hearing over the next 9 months. It also directs the City Manager to prepare a new Community Engagement Plan to guide City staff in soliciting public feedback in developing the draft Alternative Plan. {00024667:2} CITY OF SPRINGFIELD, OREGON RESOLUTION NO. PROVIDING AN ALTERNATIVE REVIEW PROCESS FOR THE MAIN STREET SAFETY PROJECT AS PERMITTED IN SPRINGFIELD DEVELOPMENT CODE FOR METRO PLAN AMENDMENTS WHEREAS, throughout Springfield's history, Main Street (Oregon Highway 126 and 126-13) has been the heart of the community and serves as an important business center and local and regional transportation and transit corridor; WHEREAS, in 2018, the City of Springfield and the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) formally launched the planning phase of the Main Street Safety Project for the purpose of engaging the community to develop and adopt a Facility Plan for Main Street from 201h Street to 72nd Street that builds upon prior work by the City and ODOT to study safety issues in the Main Street corridor; WHEREAS, the purpose of the Main Street Safety Project is to select infrastructure solutions that will make Main Street safer for people walking, biking, driving, and taking transit, while also providing for the movement of goods and people, supporting the economic viability of the corridor, accommodating current bus service and future transit solutions, and complementing traffic safety education and enforcement; WHEREAS, the Springfield Planning Commission adopted a Community Engagement Plan for the purpose of obtaining public feedback about the Main Street Safety Project on September 5, 2018, with the Planning Commission acting in its role as the Committee for Citizen Involvement under the City's acknowledged Citizen Involvement Plan implementing statewide planning goal 1, but subsequently many community engagement activities were hampered by the unexpected and unprecedented global coronavirus pandemic; WHEREAS, a draft Main Street Facility Plan was made available for public review in September 2021, proposing a significant scope of safety improvements primarily consisting of raised medians and roundabouts, affecting the over five miles of the Main Street corridor from 20th Street to 72nd Street; WHEREAS, in January 2022 the Development and Public Works Department Community Development Division Director initiated the adoption of the Main Street Facility Plan with corresponding amendments to the Springfield Development Code and Metro Plan as provided under SDC 5.6-105 for refinement plans and SDC 5.14-125 for Metro Plan amendments; WHEREAS, the Springfield Planning Commission held a properly noticed public hearing on the Main Street Facility Plan on February 15, 2022, and received a significant number of written comments and oral testimony regarding the draft Plan indicating significant community interest and concerns with the draft Facility Plan; WHEREAS, the Springfield Planning Commission voted 4 to 3 to recommend approval of the Main Street Facility Plan to the City Council, although members in the majority and minority of the Planning Commission expressed their desire the City Council would explore further options than those provided in the draft Facility Plan; {00024651:3 } WHEREAS, the draft Main Street Facility Plan is based upon safety data from 2016 and earlier, prior to installation of other corridor safety improvements by the City and ODOT, including but not limited to improved LED lighting, installation of Rapid Flashing Beacon pedestrian crossings, and traffic signal enhancements, and thus the safety data in the record does not fully account for these improvements; WHEREAS, the City Council does not support adoption of the draft Facility Plan as recommended by the Planning Commission and finds it in the public interest to direct preparation of an Alternative Plan for Main Street that better addresses the community concerns reflected in the record up to the date of this Resolution; WHEREAS, the applicable approval process under SDC 5.14-130 requires the City Council to hold a public hearing upon being forwarded the Planning Commission recommendation, and then to adopt, not adopt, or conditionally adopt the proposed amendment by Ordinance; WHREAS, SDC 5.14-130(I) also permits the City Council to establish an alternative approval process other than the process specified elsewhere in SDC 5.14-130; and WHEREAS, the City Council provided direction to the City Manager at work sessions on June 6 and 13, 2022 to develop an Alternative Plan that simplifies and narrows the scope of the plan, reflects a data driven approach to safety improvements, provides support for businesses, and clarifies the plan requirements for the Springfield community generally and additional work sessions are planned for fall 2022, WHEREAS, the City Council provided direction to the City Manager at work session on June 20, 2022 regarding additional community engagement activities to be conducted to inform the City Council's development of an Alternative Plan for Main Street, NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMON COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SPRINGFIELD: Section 1: The City Council hereby establishes an alternative approval process for a transportation facility plan for Main Street as follows: A. Over the next nine months, the City Council will develop an Alternative Plan for Main Street and will hold a duly noticed public hearing on the Alternative Plan for Main Street upon completion of the Alternative Plan. This timeline may be further adjusted based upon approval by the City Council. Adjustments and amendments may be made to the Alternative Plan following the public hearing based on community input and concerns. B. The City Council will not proceed to a public hearing on the Facility Plan as recommended by the Springfield Planning Commission by Order dated April 5, 2022. The Alternative Plan will not be presented to the Planning Commission for recommendation. C. The Alternative Plan for Main Street will present a vision for Main Street that simplifies and narrows the scope of the plan, reflecting a data driven approach to safety improvements, support for businesses, and clarity of the plan requirements for the Springfield community generally. The Alternative Plan will be based upon information in the record of the Main Street Safety Project at the time of Alternative Plan development, which includes information in the record of the Planning Commission hearing on the Facility and submitted into the City Council record subsequent to the Planning Commission recommendation. {00024651:3; D. The City Manager, or her designee, is directed to prepare a Supplemental Community Engagement Plan for subsequent approval by the Planning Commission in their role as Committee for Citizen Involvement. The Supplemental Community Engagement Plan must be consistent with this Resolution. Section 2: This Resolution will take effect upon adoption by the Council. ADOPTED by the Common Council of the City of Springfield this 20th day of June, 2022, by a vote of for and against. ATTEST: City Recorder {00024651:3;