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RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL OF A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT AND THE CITY OF STOCKTON BICYCLE MASTER PLAN UPDATE
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RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a Resolution to approve the following:
1. Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Program;
2. General Plan Amendment; and
3. City of Stockton Bicycle Master Plan Update.
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Summary
The existing 2007 City of Stockton Bicycle Master Plan was developed and adopted by the City Council as a part of the 2035 General Plan Update on December 11, 2007. Since its adoption, this plan has been difficult to implement so an update to the plan became necessary. The City Public Works Department secured grant funding for the preparation of a substantial update to the City of Stockton Bicycle Master Plan. Public Works hired Fehr and Peers, a bicycle planning consultant, to help perform the update that would result in implementable bicycle projects. Over the course of almost two years, Public Works staff and its consulting team performed extensive public engagement and conducted a comprehensive planning effort, utilizing a variety of new bicycle planning tools and innovative design concepts. The proposed Bicycle Master Plan update is the result (Attachment A - Bicycle Master Plan). This Bicycle Master Plan is considered a supporting planning document that informs the General Plan. An amendment to the 2035 General Plan is recommended to incorporate textual revisions into Chapter 8, Transportation & Circulation Element and a new citywide bicycle circulation network map.
DISCUSSION
Background
The existing 2007 City of Stockton Bicycle Master Plan (BMP) was developed and adopted by the City Council as a part of the 2035 General Plan Update on December 11, 2007. The purpose of the BMP is to provide a planned comprehensive system of bicycle facilities throughout the City of Stockton to be implemented over a duration of time as City growth occurs. However, few projects have been implemented since 2007 due to an inability to construct facilities that connect with existing bicycle facilities and challenges with public acceptance of the planned bikeway improvements. It is Planning staff’s opinion that the 2007 Bicycle Master Plan was overshadowed by the 2035 General Plan update planning efforts and likely didn’t receive the focused attention and community input necessary to achieve an implementable plan. Of the few projects that were constructed, these bicycle facilities do not accommodate users of all ages and abilities and many of the projects are disjointed.
The Public Works Department was awarded competitive grant monies through the Active Transportation Program administered by the State of California to perform a significant overhaul of the existing 2007 City of Stockton Bicycle Master Plan (BMP). In July 2015, the Public Works department hired Fehr & Peers, a firm with expertise in bicycle planning, to perform extensive public engagement and conduct a comprehensive planning effort, utilizing a variety of new bicycle planning tools and innovative design concepts.
Public Works Department staff and its consulting team collected bicycling data and safety statistics, conducted user surveys, performed field reviews and evaluations of the citywide transportation network and other background research to establish the existing conditions. Extensive public outreach was conducted and public input was received which helped guide the preparation of an overall planned bicycle network for the City of Stockton. A steering committee consisting of community representatives was formed to help guide and inform the planning process. This effort was also guided by a new “vision” that was established early on with input from the community engagement process for what bicycling in Stockton should look like. The following is the vision statement: “The Stockton Bicycle Master Plan seeks to implement a vibrant, safe, and supportive bicycle network that connects residents in every neighborhood with desirable places to ride for any trip purpose. The Bicycle Master Plan should be the catalyst for starting a cultural shift toward cycling in Stockton by effectively marketing cycling as a healthy, active transportation option and through funding supportive educational programs to reach people of all ages and abilities”.
On August 10, 2017, a Study Session with the Planning Commission was held to provide an informational overview of the BMP update. The Public Works Department and its consultant team gave a presentation on the key components in the Plan and responded to questions from the Commissioners.
On October 12, 2017, the Planning Commission held a Public Hearing to consider a recommendation on the project for City Council. A representative from the San Joaquin Bike Coalition spoke in support of the project and commended staff for the extensive public outreach and open process used to develop the BMP. There was No other public comments were received. Staff responded to some questions posed by the Planning Commission, however the general consensus of the Planning Commission was supportive for the project. The Planning Commission approved staff’s recommendation for Council’s approval and the item was approved
Present Situation
Staff is recommending approval of the proposed BMP Update and a General Plan Amendment to incorporate textual revisions into the Transportation & Circulation Element and a new bicycle circulation map that provides for a citywide backbone network (Attachment B - General Plan Amendment - Redline Version).
The proposed BMP is divided into 10 chapters. The first three chapters provide overviews of the BMP structure, community engagement process carried out, and existing conditions for bicycling in Stockton today. Chapter 4 provides an overview of the community’s established “vision” statement and priority principles for the development and implementation of the BMP. The common thread is for the plan to provide for a new citywide bicycle network that serves all ages and abilities and provides for equitable resources and investment throughout all parts of Stockton. Newly proposed bicycle planning and improvement design tools are presented to accomplish the overall vision.
Chapters 5-8 are based on the following four main community-developed goals that were derived from public engagement:
• Enhanced Citywide Connectivity
• Safety First for All Users
• Mode Shift and Access
• Education and Support Programs
Each of these chapters explores the challenging issues and proposed solutions for achieving the specific community goals. In addition, descriptions and fact sheets are provided for the four highest priority projects that are expected to achieve each specific goal. The purpose of this format is to allow for ease of inserting this information into funding request proposals.
Chapters 9 and 10 provide an overview of project implementation, funding strategies and a process for plan evaluation which are highlighted below:
• Approximately 245 miles of new bicycle facilities as the backbone network.
• Overall plan cost of approximately $309 million.
• Prioritization list of 67 backbone network improvement projects
• Federal, State, and local funding sources available for project implementation.
• Performance metrics for evaluating project implementation of community goals.
This BMP is considered a supporting planning document that informs the General Plan. The existing 2035 General Plan contains goals and supporting policies for bicycling in Chapter 8, the Transportation & Circulation Element. Staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend approval of a General Plan Amendment to incorporate textual revision to enhance goals and policies and incorporate a new bicycle circulation network map (see Proposed Resolution).
Since the City is currently in the process of updating its General Plan, all components of the recommended outcome of the BMP update will be used and incorporated into the General Plan update process.
Environmental Review
The proposed BMP update is considered a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The City of Stockton prepared an Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the BMP update project. In accordance with CEQA, the IS/MND was circulated for a 30-day public review period which ended on August 23, 2017. The comment period was also advertised in The Record newspaper and a notice of availability was sent to regulatory agencies, State Clearinghouse, associations, and project stakeholders.
Staff received written comments from 14 individuals/agencies on the public draft IS/MND for the project during the public review period. Comment letters and response to comments are provided in the Initial Study as an appendix. The comments raised do not change the environmental determination made in the Initial Study. The Community Development Director has determined that the adoption of the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring Program are appropriate actions under CEQA (Attachment C - Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration).
Attachment A - Bicycle Master Plan Update
Attachment B - General Plan Amendment - Redline Version
Attachment C - Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration
This Staff Report was prepared by Planning Manager Mike McDowell, 937-8690; michael.mcdowell@stocktonca.gov