Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: James C. Porter, Director of Public Works
Subject: Certification of the Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration, for the Middlefield Road Improvement Project [County Project No. OD420, Project File No. E4931]
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution certifying the Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration, dated August 2018, for the Middlefield Road Improvement Project.
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BACKGROUND:
On November 5, 2002, your Board approved Phase II of the Middlefield Road Underground Utility District, which included Middlefield Road from Fifth Avenue to MacArthur Avenue. Phase I of the Middlefield Road Underground Utility District from the Atherton Town Limit to Fifth Avenue was completed in 2002. Placing overhead utility lines underground was identified as a high priority and supported by the North Fair Oaks Community Council before the Underground Districts were formed.
In November of 2011, your Board adopted the North Fair Oaks Community Plan (Plan). A major component of that Plan is the improvement of Middlefield Road between Pacific Avenue and Fifth Avenue to create a more attractive street with improved pedestrian and bicycle amenities. Subsequently, on July 9, 2013 your Board approved funding (approximately $12.5M of Measure K funding over four years) for the Middlefield Road Improvement Project in the North Fair Oaks area from Pacific Avenue to Fifth Avenue coupled with improvements to the South County Health Clinic (and Redwood Junction) Entrance and Intersection Improvements.
On October 21, 2014 the North Fair Oaks Community Council (Council) presented your Board with recommendations regarding the improvements of Middlefield Road between Pacific Avenue and Fifth Avenue and requested that the County proceed with the next steps for the Middlefield Road Improvement Project. The Council’s recommendations included improving Middlefield Road with: three traffic lanes; parallel parking; bike lanes; and sidewalks wide enough to accommodate amenities such as benches and other seating, landscaping, street and pedestrian lighting, trash and recycling receptacles, street art, and public spaces. Your Board accepted the Council’s recommendations at your October 21, 2014 Board meeting.
On April 11, 2017, your Board adopted Resolution No. 075113 and approved the following four design element recommendations of the Council for the Middlefield Road Improvement Project: buffered bike lanes, 35-foot tree spacing, bulb-outs at intersections, and 12-foot sidewalk widths.
DISCUSSION:
The Middlefield Road Improvement Project (Project) involves repaving and reconfiguring Middlefield Road from a four-lane (two travel lanes in each direction) to a three-lane roadway that consists of one travel lane in each direction with a center left turn lane. The proposed improvements are along an approximately 2,900-foot stretch of Middlefield Road from south of Douglas Avenue at the north end of the Project, to north of Sixth Avenue at the south end of the Project.
The Project consists of the following components: roadway improvements including a new traffic signal system near the Fair Oaks Clinic, pedestrian and bicycle improvements, utility undergrounding, sanitary sewer replacement work, public WIFI along the Project corridor, and replacing the existing streetlights with a new streetlight system. The roadway improvements would reconfigure Middlefield Road between Pacific Avenue and Fifth Avenue from a four-lane roadway to a three-lane roadway (one travel lane in each direction with a center left turn lane) with parallel parking, bike lanes, and wider sidewalks. The wider sidewalks would be constructed to accommodate street amenities, such as benches, trees and landscaping, streetlights, trash receptacles, street art, public spaces, and low-impact development for stormwater management.
Utility undergrounding work would remove the existing utility poles and overhead utility wires between MacArthur Avenue and Fifth Avenue and relocate the wires to underground joint utility trenches, generally in the new southbound travel lane of Middlefield Road. Sanitary sewer replacement work includes replacing the existing sewer lines between Douglas Avenue and Sixth Avenue as part of the Fair Oaks Sewer Maintenance District’s planned capital improvement work.
The Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) for the Project has been completed and identified potential adverse effects during construction. Those effects will be reduced to less-than-significant levels through the implementation of specific mitigation measures as identified in the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) pursuant to Section 21081.6 of the California Public Resources Code. A 30-day review period was completed in compliance with the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), comments were received, and responses to all comments have been prepared.
The certification of the IS/MND and the adoption of the MMRP as conditions of project approval will ensure compliance with all CEQA requirements. The IS/MND is available for review at:
https://publicworks.smcgov.org/sites/publicworks.smcgov.org/files/20180813_Middlefield_PublicDraft_ForWeb.pdf
A hard copy of the IS/MND is available for review in the Department of Public Works. The responses to the comments received on the IS/MND are attached as Exhibit “A” to the Resolution and the MMRP is attached as Exhibit “B” to the Resolution.
County Counsel has reviewed and approved the resolution as to form.
Approval of this action contributes to the Shared Vision 2025 outcome of a Livable Community by constructing a more attractive street with improvements to pedestrian and bicycle amenities through the implementation of mitigation measures to reduce any potential adverse effects to less-than-significant levels.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact associated with certifying the IS/MND. As stated, Measure K funding was previously budgeted for construction of the Project. This funding will be reevaluated as cost estimates for the Project are finalized.
There is no impact to the General Fund.