Paso Robles City Council meeting highlights from Oct. 29
–Highlights from the Paso Robles City Council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2019, as submitted by the City of Paso Robles, are as follows.
The city council took the following actions:
Received an update on capital projects. Two key projects were recently completed; the parking lot at 13th St. and Spring Street is now open for use by the public, and the 2018-19 Annual Slurry Seal project is also complete. Construction is underway on the Main West Water Tank; the floor has been installed and construction will take roughly one year. Work is expected to begin on Union Road Improvements near Barney Schwartz Park in the next few weeks. Staff also provided an overview on planning and community outreach efforts leading up to the recently completed Pedestrian Improvements Project at 13th Street from Pine to Park.
Approved an agreement with the Wallace Group to prepare final design of Golden Hill and Union Road intersection improvements. The Circulation Element has identified the need to install traffic flow improvements at the intersection of Golden Hill Road and Union Road. Through preliminary design efforts, it was determined that the construction of a single-lane roundabout at Golden Hill Road and Union Road can best serve the needs of the city projected to 2032 future peak volume. The contract will be for an amount not to exceed $428,848. Funds are included in the adopted capital improvement budget.
Approved an agreement with MIG, Inc. to prepare a General Plan housing element update. California requires that cities adequately plan to meet the housing needs of everyone in the community. Cities meet this requirement by adopting housing plans as part of their General Plan. The city must prepare a Housing Element for the 2019-2028 reporting period to be reviewed and certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by December 2020. After a request for proposals and selection process, staff selected MIG, Inc. as the most qualified team to facilitate the preparation of the Housing Element Update and the associated public input. The City of Atascadero has also selected MIG, Inc. for their Housing Element Update and coordination with Atascadero may provide cost savings and regional synergies to address unmet housing needs. The Paso Robles agreement is for an amount not to exceed $98,405.
Adopted an urgency ordinance to enact a temporary Housing Element moratorium on the conversion of multi-family residential housing properties with five or more units to non-residential uses. The ordinance applies to the R-3, R-4, R-5, TC-1, TC-2, T-3, and T-4 Zoning Districts. The city is now beginning the process of updating its Housing Element for the 2019-2028 reporting period which must be reviewed and certified by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) by December 2020. The city will face a challenge in meeting housing production requirements from the state for the next Housing Element cycle, and existing constraints on housing supply as evidenced by very low vacancy rates in the rental market, for example. Losing existing housing stock during the Housing Element update is a risk that was mitigated by the adoption of the temporary moratorium. It is in effect for 45 days and may be extended for up to one year with subsequent council approval.
Considered updated Community Facilities District goals and policies. The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982 permits cities to establish a Community Facilities District (CFD), which allows for financing the construction of public infrastructure and certain services. The CFD imposes a special tax on future property owners within the CFD boundary through an annual special tax levy collected on the property tax bill. The goal of a CFD is to ensure that new development fully funds the costs it imposes on the city and that it funds improvements in a timely fashion to accommodate the expected growth. Prior to the city establishing any CFD financing districts, a “Local Goals, and Policy” document must be approved to establishes special tax parameters for any new CFD. The CFD local goals and policies establish a set of guidelines for the formation and administration of CFDs. The underlying principles behind the proposed policies include public interest and benefit, fairness to current and future property owners, avoidance of future failure of the project, protection of the city’s financial position, and reimbursement to the city of its incurred expenses. The council asked for additional time to study the proposed goals and policies before adoption.
Adopted the 2019 Wastewater Collection System Master Plan. The master plan is a guide to sewer projects needed to accommodate anticipated population growth and replace old sewer system assets that have reached the end of their useful life. The plan includes a variety of sewer capital improvement projects to be completed over the next 30 years, with emphasis on roughly the next 10 years. These projects are estimated to cumulatively cost $66 million (in today’s dollars). Approximately $13 million are growth-related projects expected to be funded by new development and sewer connection fees. The remaining $53 million are maintenance, repair and replacement projects to be funded by rates. The master plan list of recommended projects and cost estimates will be the basis of the wastewater capital improvement program. The council would authorize individual projects through the budget process.
This represents just a subset of the total actions by the council. The full agenda can be found at https://www.prcity.com/agendacenter and the audio from the meeting can be found at https://www.prcity.com/AgendaCenter/City-Council-2. The minutes will be available as part of the packet for the city council’s next regular meeting.
The next city council meeting takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019 at 6:30 p.m. in the Library Conference Center at 1000 Spring Street.
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