CLEARLAKE, Calif. – The Clearlake City Council postponed a decision Thursday in considering a proposal to designate Pomo Road as a one-way street between Lakeshore Drive and Arrowhead Road, but moved forward with approving the final reading of a medical marijuana cultivation ordinance.
The proposal Pomo Road proposal is to be revisited at the time of the city's midyear budget review, expected to take place in February 2014.
The council concluded more time is needed to collect and review information regarding associated impacts and results of mitigation measures that have been put in place.
The consensus to postpone was reached following a public hearing that included comments from residents of Pomo Road and the surrounding area, many of whom said they supported the proposal but expressed greater concern for excessive speed on the road.
“Sounds like speed is more the issue,” Mayor Joyce Overton said. “I don't see how a one-way street is going to fix this, after hearing everything. It's not going to fix the (speeding problem).”
Pomo Road is located in the northern area of Clearlake. It provides a direct route from Lakeshore Drive – the city's main thoroughfare – to Pomo School, which is accessed through a five-way stop that crosses Arrowhead Road.
A recent reconfiguration of school bus routes resulting in increased pedestrian traffic prompted the proposal by way of public concern regarding the safety of children walking to and from school.
Concern about school bus traffic on the narrow roadway also persists. Mitigation measures to divert school buses from Pomo Road are in place; however, City Manager Joan Phillipe said there has not been sufficient time since the beginning of the school year to evaluate the results.
Phillipe said according to a report prepared by Phil Dow, traffic engineer for the Area Planning Council, usual indicators of traffic volume and accidents do not rise to the level of mandating a change.
There is nothing to indicate making Pomo Road one-way is out of the question, however, Phillipe said concern has been expressed by public safety and public works staff that such a designation may result in increased speeds.
Pomo Road resident Joanna McKinley said she recently moved to the area and recognized the danger associated with the roadway immediately.
She said she supported the proposed designation but, if not possible, “would request at least a speed bump” be installed.
“It's not just the traffic and the kids, it's the speed,” she said, later adding, “It would be safer for the (children) if there was one car instead of two (on the roadway).”
McKinley's husband, Doug, who spoke later in the discussion, said he often hears vehicles “at full throttle hitting that hill” from Lakeshore Drive.
“The speed is what worries me. Speed on that blind hill is a recipe for disaster,” he said.
Joanna McKinley claimed she has witnessed school buses traveling as fast as 45 miles per hour up the road. “They still do use it daily, city buses, too,” she said.
Another resident of the road said she has also seen school buses “fly up the hill.”
Phillipe said Konocti Unified School District bus drivers have been directed against using Pomo Road; however, it is possible substitute bus drivers may be unaware. She said the Konocti Unified transportation department will be contacted to ensure all bus drivers are aware of the directive.
City Engineer Bob Galusha said the city does not have an established policy addressing requests for the installation of speed bumps.
He said while there is a potential for hazard, and enforcement would be an issue because of limited police availability, staff could research the suggestion.
Dow said there often are liabilities associated with the installation of speed bumps and that they are typically used in “very residential” areas.
Fred Moeller, who also resides on Pomo Road, questioned the enforceability of maintaining single-direction traffic flow, specifically by vehicles accessing the road from connecting side-streets. Overton and Dow said typical one-way traffic signage would be used.
Rick Brindle, who lives in the area of a connecting street, opened the discussion to impacts likely to result from a redirection of traffic. “Other streets can't handle the additional traffic,” he said.
Brindle said he supported the idea of speed bumps. He said the believed making the street one-way would “make people drive faster.”
Overton said she wanted more information regarding possible impacts to roads likely to be used as alternate routes – for example, Arrowhead Road, which, according to Galusha, currently accommodates nearly 10 times the traffic that Pomo Road does.
Dow said while a problem obviously exists with Pomo Road, there are no findings that mandate a change. “What we have is a solution while looking for a problem,” he said. “There is a problem, everyone knows it, but there is no evidence.”
Designating the street as one-way is estimated at a proposed cost of about $8,000, not including staffing and engineer costs.
In other council news, the second reading of the city's medical marijuana cultivation ordinance was conducted.
The ordinance, which is modeled on the cultivation ordinance adopted by the Lake County Board of Supervisors, prohibits commercial grows, grows on vacant lots and puts limitations on the number of plants allowed. With Thursday's approval, the ordinance is to become effective Jan. 1, 2014.
The ordinance prohibits cultivation within 600 feet of a school or licensed child day care center. The number of plants allowed is connected to parcel size, allowing no more than six plants on parcels smaller than a half acre and as many as 48 plants on properties 40 acres or larger.
Processing of marijuana is to be limited to the amount of plants that can be grown on a given parcel.
Grows on vacant lots are prohibited as is cultivation in mobile home parks – unless management has designated a specific garden area. Cultivation on multifamily and apartment properties also is prohibited.
The ordinance also establishes setback and screening requirements.
It is the city's intent to enforce the ordinance based on legitimate and verified complaints.
The council continued an item requesting a three-month extension of a temporary building moratorium on Lakeshore Drive.
The extension was recommended by the Clearlake Planning Commission, which made the request in order to conduct a workshop to further address design guidelines submitted by the Clearlake Vision Task Force. The item is expected to return to the council at its Oct. 10 meeting.
In addressing questions from the public and the council, Phillipe said current construction activity at the Shell gas station on Lakeshore Drive was approved and permitted by the planning commission well before the moratorium was put in place.
A request for temporary closure of Golf Avenue between Lakeshore Drive and Ballpark Avenue on Oct. 31 for the purpose of conducting a Halloween event called “Trunk 'n' Treat” was approved.
Event coordinators will be holding a planning meeting, 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 30, at Lake County Youth Service center on Golf Avenue. Anyone wishing to contribute to the event is encouraged to attend.
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