HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-04-14 Ordinance 4784follows:
ORDINANCE NO. 4784
ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO
ALTO DECLARING COUNCIL POLICY TO IMPLEMENT THE
CHARLESTON ROAD CORRIDOR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT AND
SAFETY STUDY BEFORE PERMITTING ADDITIONAL
TRAFFIC GENERATING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN THE
CHARLESTON ROAD CORRIDOR AND DECLARING THE
URGENCY THEREOF
The Council of the City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as
SECTION 1. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS. The Council finds and
declares as follows:
A. The Charleston Road Corridor comprises Charleston
and Arastradero Roads, from Miranda Avenue to Fabian Way.
B. The 1998-2010 Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan
("Comprehensive Plan") designates this corridor as a residential
arterial because it carries large volumes of through-traffic but
also has residential uses on both sides of the street.
C. The Comprehensive Plan states that the City's
objective for residential arterials is to address the desires of
residents of these streets who would like to have slower speeds,
safer conditions for bicycles and pedestrians, and aesthetic
improvements.
D. The Comprehensive plan states that this must be
done economically and without appreciably reducing traffic
capacity or diverting traffic onto local neighborhood streets.
Examples of improvements are "boulevard II treatments (landscaped
medians and planting strips), gateway features, and traffic
signal changes. In addition, improved alternate transportation
modes are supported.
E. In December 2000, the City received a report
entitled, Charleston Road Corridor Traffic Management and Safety
Study. This City-commissioned report identified several
findings and recommendations including:
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The real and perceived unsafe conditions on
Charleston Road that compromise bicyclist safety;
The real and perceived unsafe conditions for
pedestrians crossing Charleston Road; and
Traffic diversion and speeding through
residential streets to avoid Charleston Road.
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F. The Charleston Road Corridor is a unique
transportation corridor in the City of Palo Alto because of the
concentration of school, recreational and other public assembly
facilities on or immediately adjacent to the corridor. These
facilities include Gunn Senior High School, Terman Park, Terman
Park Library, Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School, Fairmeadow
Elementary School, Achieve School, Challenger School, Juana
Briones Elementary School, Juana Briones Park, Hoover Elementary
School, Robles Park, Mitchell Park, Mitchell Park Library,
Mitchell Park Community Center, Cubberley Community Center, Mid-
Peninsula Jewish Community Day School, and the new Terman Middle
School to be re-opened in the Fall of 2003. Moreover, while it
is located just outside the current Charleston Corridor between
San Antonio Road and Fabian Way, the relocated Jewish Community
Center will create a major new community center and housing use
when it is developed on the former Sun Microsystems site. These
facilities serve a large segment of Palo Alto's youth population
and therefore require safe pedestrian and bicycle access.
G. The Charleston Corridor is also unique in that
school commuters must cross several major intersections, such as
the state-controlled EI Camino Real (SR 82), Alma Street,
Middlefield Road, and an at-grade CalTrain rail crossing.
H. The Charleston Road Corridor Traffic Management
and Safety Study further recognized that the corridor could be
classified as a "school corridor." "School corridor" would be a
new, specialized form of residential arterial with special
criteria and policies to address minimum levels of accommodation
for pedestrians and bicyclists, including bike lanes and bike
lane widths, sidewalks and sidewalk widths, minimum and maximum
distance between safe crossings of the corridor, crosswalk
design, pedestrian median refuges, and signal timing to
accommodate bicycles and pedestrians.
I. The 2003 Status Report: Comprehensive Plan
Implementation Plan indicates that the Charleston Corridor
residential arterial measures described in the Comprehensive
Plan have not been completed.
J. The City Council wishes to pursue implementation
of the Comprehensive Plan and Charleston Road Corridor Traffic
Management and Safety Study before additional new development
exacerbates existing unsafe traffic conditions.
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K. The City Council hereby finds and determines that
it is necessary for the preservation of the public health,
safety, and welfare to implement the Charleston Road Corridor
Traffic Management and Safety Study before permitting additional
traffic generating development projects in the Charleston Road
Corridor.
L. The Ci ty Council hereby finds and declares that
this Ordinance is necessary as an emergency measure because
pending and reasonably anticipated development applications will
cause serious, irreversible degradation to traffic conditions in
the Charleston road Corridor. This degradation will cause
immediate threats to the safety of school children and
pedestrian and bicycle commuters. Moreover, existing vehicular
traffic conditions will be substantially worsened.
SECTION 2. RESTRICTIONS ON DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS.
No residential or non-residential application for a
discretionary or ministerial development permit of any kind
shall be formally considered, heard, or approved by the City or
any officer, employee, board or commission of the City, if, in
the sole judgment of the Director of Planning and Community
Environment, such application or permit, or any part of the
development contemplated by such application or permit, will be:
1) Located with 440 yards of the Charleston Corridor or, located
within 880 yards of the Charleston Corridor on Alma Streeti and
2) result in the addition of one or more residential dwelling
units or more than 250 non-residential square feet to the
conditions existing on April 14, 2003. Singly developed single
family dwellings and duplexes shall be exempt. Nothing in this
ordinance shall be construed to preclude development project
preliminary review. The Director of Planning and Community
Environment may prepare implementing guidelines for this
ordinance, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney.
SECTION 3. IMPLEMENTATION PERIOD. Section 2 of this
ordinance shall be effective during the implementation of the
Charleston Road Corridor Traffic Management and Safety Study,
commencing immediately upon adoption of this ordinance and
concluding on the earlier of the expiration of the ninth month
(9th ) following the effective date, or the completion of
implementation of the Charleston Road Corridor Traffic
Management and Safety Study, as determined by the Director of
Planning and Community Environment.
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SECTION 4. ADMINISTRATIVE REMEDIES. Any residential or
non-residential applicant aggrieved by this ordinance shall,
before seeking any judicial or other relief and within thirty
{30} days of initial notification that this ordinance affects
their application, petition the Director of Planning and
Community Development for modification of, or relief from, this
ordinance. Such petition shall be in writing with a complete
description of the facts and reasons upon which modification or
relief is requested. Within sixty (60) days thereafter, the
Director of Planning and Community Environment shall forward to
the City Council his or her recommendations on the petition.
The City Council may take appropriate action on such petition by
resolution or as otherwise advised by the City Attorney. The
City Council's action shall be deemed a legislative act.
SECTION 5. EXPEDITED IMPLEMENTATION. The City Manager
is hereby directed to take all actions necessary to carry out
this ordinance in an expedited manner, including but not limited
to entering into professional service or consulting contracts
without formal or informal bidding, as authorized by the
municipal code. This ordinance shall not be construed to
authorize any expenditure in excess of existing municipal code
authority. The City Manager shall return this matter to the
City Council within sixty (60) days, and sooner if possible, in
order to confirm the land use assumptions to be used, and to
seek such other policy direction as may be necessary or
desirable.
SECTION 6. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS.. The City Council
has determined that it can be seen with certainty that there is
no possibility that this ordinance may have a significant effect
on the environment. This ordinance is exempt from the
provisions of CEQA as a regulatory measure taken to assure the
maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the
environment. The Director of Planning and Community Environment
is directed to cause filing and posting of appropriate notices
of exemption as required by law.
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SECTION 7. This ordinance shall be effective
immediately upon its adoption as an emergency measure necessary
to protect the public peace, health, and safety.
INTRODUCED: April 14, 2003
PASSED: April 14, 2003
AYES: BEECHAM, BURCH, FREEMAN, KISHIMOTO, KLEINBERG, LYTLE,
MORTON, MOSSAR, OJAKIAN
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTENTIONS:
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Planning and
Community Environment