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CC 2013-08-27_10.a. Police Station Upgrade Project - Prkg LotTO: FROM: SUBJECT: DATE: MEMORANDUM CITY COUNCIL ~v TERESA MCCLISH, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR CONSIDERATION OF PARKING LOT CONFIGURATION FOR THE POLICE STATION UPGRADE PROJECT LOCATED AT 200 NORTH HALCYON ROAD (MINOR USE PERMIT CASE NO. 13-005) AND NORTH HALCYON ROAD WIDENING AUGUST 27, 2013 RECOMMENDATION: It is recommenc;ted that the City Council: 1) approve the revised parking configuration option for the Police Station Upgrade project; and 2) direct staff to not include the widening of North Halcyon Road in the Police Station Upgrade project. IMPACT ON FINANCIAL AND PERSONNEL RESOURCES: The preliminary cost estimate for design and construction of the Police Station Upgrade project is $975,000, not including offsite improvements. If widening of North Halcyon Road along the project frontage is considered, the preliminary cost estimate is increased $52,000 which would be paid out of the Transportation Fund. BACKGROUND: At the April 13, 2013 meeting, the City Council approved a two phase plan to address the Police Station facility needs. The first phase is to remodel the existing building to address the highest priority immediate facility needs. The second phase is to expand or construct a new facility in the future when long-term needs and financial resources are determined. The Council also approved the Purchase and Sale Agreement for the acquisition of the property at 270 North Halcyon Road and directed staff to prepare alternatives and recommendations regarding expansion of employee parking. On July 9, 2013, three parking lot options were presented. Option I maintained all of the · Eucalyptus trees on site. Option II removed some of the trees. Option Ill removed all of the trees. The Council directed staff to prepare a parking lot design that integrated the two largest and healthiest Eucalyptus trees on site. The Council also requested that more information be provided regarding options for widening North Halcyon Road in order to determine whether to include partial widening in the Police Station Upgrade project. Item 10.a. - Page 1 CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 27, 2013 CONTINUED CONSIDERATION OF PARKING LOT CONFIGURATION FOR THE POLICE STATION PROJECT PAGE2 ANALYSIS OF ISSUES: Employee parking will be expanded by utilizing the adjacent property acquired from the VCA Animal Hospital. However, the configuration of the site does not enable the City to meet all of the projected need for spaces. The goal is to be able to store all employee and Police Department vehicles and equipment on site. Many vehicles are now parked on the street and at the Public Works Corporation Yard. The Council approved a modified Option II for the parking lot alternatives presented at the July 9, 2013 meeting, which removed one additional tree. This option has been designed with the goal of maximizing parking around the two preserved trees, which is shown in Attachment I. It was expected that the number of spaces gained from the additional tree removed could make the total close to the parking spaces provided by Option Ill, but this was not possible due to measures needed to protect the existing trees. Staff met with Dave Ragen of the Tree Guild to confirm the health of the selected trees to remain, and both trees are considered viable. In order to reduce impacts to the trees during construction, several mitigation measures were recommended to protect the root system in the site design and during construction, including the following: • Precise measurement of the tree drip line; • Protection of the root system including stump grind to level and leave in place near preserved trees; • Leave chips and spread under tree for mulch; • Hand trench 2 ft. in drip line perimeter for Rena tree; • Remove dead branches; • Thin branches on side of lean for Rena tree; • Thin and remove crossing branches on Halcyon tree; and • Widen pervious area near trees. The site plan was modified to provide additional space near the trees and pervious pavement/pavers. Although precise measurements of the drip line and an evaluation of the root system prior to construction may necessitate some minor plan revisions, it appears the forty-one (41) parking spaces included in Option II will be maintained. However, it does continue to provide five (5) fewer spaces in the updated site plan compared to Option Ill as a result of retaining two (2) Eucalyptus trees on the site. This leaves the plan eight (8) employee parking spaces short of the number projected to meet the Police Department's needs of forty-nine (49) spaces. Item 10.a. - Page 2 CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 27, 2013 CONTINUED CONSIDERATION OF PARKING LOT CONFIGURATION FOR THE POLICE STATION PROJECT PAGE3 A subsequent correspondence received from Dave Ragen is also attached for Council's review and consideration. It presents supplemental information and an option involving tree removal. The site plan depicts the shaded area for the covered parking area that is recommended to protect vehicles and a schematic of a typical structure is represented. The Architectural Review Committee is scheduled to review the landscape plan, fencing, covered parking and elevation for the remodel at their September meeting. The City's long range plans include the widening of North Halcyon Road in order to better accommodate forecasted traffic volumes. The existing 80 ft. right-of-way currently consists of two 6 ft. sidewalks, two 12 ft. travel lanes and two 8 ft. parking lanes for a majority of the property frontage. Portions of North Halcyon Road, including a portion of the Police Station frontage have been improved on the east side an additional 8 ft. The site plan indicates the future curb face and right-of-way lines. Per Council's direction, staff has requested the City's traffic consultant to prepare updated traffic data on Halcyon Road, which is under development. Initial study of the North Halcyon corridor indicates that a three-lane configuration with a center turn lane and either Class II bike lanes or one parking lane would meet circulation and capacity needs. However, staff does not believe completion of the traffic data is necessary to make a decision on widening of Halcyon Road for two reasons. First, the need for widening of North Halcyon Road is related to a design deficiency that is somewhat independent of traffic volumes. One of the northbound lanes drops at East Grand Avenue, creating a conflict by forcing vehicles into the right turn lane. Second, widening of the full length of Halcyon Road is not anticipated for many years under any traffic volume scenario due to costs and unavailability of right-of-way in other restricted segments. Feedback is sought if Council would like to change its prior direction regarding the traffic analysis. The project improvements will require replacement of sidewalk, and new street trees are proposed. The trees will likely be mature by the time the widening is completed. Widening of this segment was proposed at this time largely to prevent the same scenario the Council is currently facing, which would be the decision whether to remove mature trees to make the necessary improvements at that time. As a result, staff has requested the architect to present an alternative parking lot and sidewalk design to avoid this problem, which is attached for consideration and recommended. The current plan places the new street trees along Halcyon Road behind the back of the sidewalk for the expanded right of way. Therefore, the trees will not have to be replaced when the expanded right of way is constructed in the future. It is recommended that the project not include widening at this time since the proposed design precludes the need for street tree removal in the future. Widening at this time Item 10.a. - Page 3 CITY COUNCIL AUGUST 27, 2013 CONTINUED CONSIDERATION OF PARKING LOT CONFIGURATION FOR THE POLICE STATION PROJECT PAGE4 would require substantial additional cost, and no significant benefit would be gained until constraints are removed in other areas of the corridor. ALTERNATIVES: The following alternatives are provided for the Council's consideration: 1. Approve the recommended parking lot design and direct staff not to include widening of North Halcyon Road in the project; 2. Direct staff to include widening of North Halcyon Road in the project; 3. Modify the parking lot design option to include removal of all trees in order to increase parking spaces; 4. Delay the decision on widening of North Halcyon Road until updated traffic data is provided; or 5. Provide direction to Staff. ADVANTAGES: Proceeding with the recommended option will increase parking while also preserving some of the mature trees and minimizing impacts to new street trees on the project site. DISADVANTAGES: The recommended design option results in a projected deficiency of eight employee parking spaces. Proceeding with the design without widening North Halcyon Road would necessitate additional work and disruption in future years that may be more efficiently completed at this time. Maintaining the Eucalyptus tree on the west side of the property may cause future damage to the new sidewalk. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: In accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines, staff has reviewed the proposed project and determined that it is categorically exempt per Section 15301 of the Guidelines relating to repair and minor alteration for existing facilities, and Section 15332 relating to in-fill development projects. PUBLIC NOTIFICATION AND COMMENTS: The agenda was posted in front of the City Hall on Thursday, August 22, 2013 and on the City's website on Friday, August 23, 2013. Attachments: 1. Recommended Site Layout 2. August 20, 2013 Dave Ragen Correspondence Item 10.a. - Page 4 RELOCATE G~"!E ..-~--1,...---..-_... ...... TRUCK PARKING ---+-+--\-\ 22' x 50' METAL BUILDING STRUCTURE ON CONCRETE PAO · (5) ROLL-UP DOORS IBI GROUP ARCHITECTURE PLANNING EX ISTING FACE OF CURB ---~ NEW STREET TREE, CLEAR OF FUTl!RE ROW ,~· -_--~ FUTURE FACE OF CURB __....- NEW SLIDING GATE ~ DEMO ANO RESURFACE ,,,-· (E) PARKING LOT ,/ (E) EUCALYPTUS TREE TO REMAIN WITH PERVIOUS- PAVEMENT BELOW DRIP LINE FUTURE BACK OF SIDEWALK FUTURE PoLICE MEMORIAL _.PARK AREA+/-3,000 SO . FT . NEW STREET TREE '---NEW SECURE STAFF VEHICLE PARKING LOT COVERED PARKING UNDER _., EUCALYPTUS TREES (E) EUCALYPTUS TREE TO REMAIN WITH PERVIOUS PAVEMENT BELOW DRIP LINE NEW STREET TREE ......__ ___ RELOCATE/REPLACE NATURAL GAS GENERATOR IQuercus agrttolla/COAST LIVE OAK 24" Box 1Pis1achla chinensls/CHINESE PISTACHE 24" Box Trislania oonferta/BRISBANE BOX 24" Box SECURE PARKING SUMMARY CITY VEHICLES PATROL CARS STANDAR D SPACES TRUCK SPACES (LARGE) TRAILER STORAGE COMMAND POST TRAILER STAFF VEH ICLES STANDARD SPACES ACCESSIBLE PARKING CODE REO'O, BASED ON STAFF PARKING REO'O 10 12 2 5 1 18 VEH ICLES 1 TOTAL PARKING REQ'O; § PARKING PROVIDED 10 11 1 5 1 12 SITE PLAN C ITYOFARROYO GRA ND E• _Lb_z Q 1 A-:-:R=-:R::-::O~Y;::O:--:G:-::R::-7A"':':N::".DE=-=Po::-:L-:-:IC::-::E:-:S:::::T:-:-AT=1-=o:-:-N-:-A=:oo::-:1=n-=077NfT=E=:N..,..,A-:-N=T-:-:IM""'P:-::R""'O.,...,V""EM""'E""'N""'T,....--------------·/l/I--_,. ____ ~. 11145.000 0 20' 40' 80' 08/27/13 ATTACHMENT 1 Item 10.a. - Page 5 ATTACHMENT 2 Teresa McClish From: dragan [dragan @directv.net] Sent: Tuesday, August 20, 2013 1:24 PM To: Teresa McClish Subject: Saved trees at Police parking area Hello Teresa I was under the impression saving the 2 large Eucalyptus was a done deal but I wanted to pass along my thoughts on another option. Removal may be the best alternative in the long run. The root zones on the two Eucalyptus we talked about saving are currently impacted by the street, sidewalk and parking lot. Removal of the asphalt in the existing parking lot, soil excavation, addition of base material and compaction will damage additional roots. The current area available for gas and water exchange will be reduced with the installation of the new parking. The trees may be able to survive with the measures we discussed. However, removal of these existing trees and replacement with trees appropriate for this location should result in a greater number of trees in the new parking area, there will be room for more parking spaces and the potential hazard of limb failure would be eliminated. Please give me a call if you have any questions. Dave Ragan ISA Certified Arborist WE-0345A 1