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Home My WebLink About22488 - RESOLUTIONS - 5/27/2009 RESOLUTION NO. 22488 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING AND ORDERING THE FILING OF A MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION FOR THE BELARDO ROAD BRIDGE AND ROADWAY PROJECT, CP 87-49. WHEREAS, On May 18, 2001, the City of Palm Springs ("City") and the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians ("Tribe") submitted a joint application to the Federal Highway Administration ("FHWA") for Federal Public Lands Highway-Discretionary ("PLH-D") funds to construct the Belardo Road Bridge and Roadway Project, City Project No. 87- 49 ("Project"); and WHEREAS, the Project would construct a two-lane bridge on Belardo Road over the Tahquitz Creek Channel; connect the noncontiguous sections of Belardo Road between Mesquite Avenue and Sunny Dunes Road; widen the roadway as necessary from just west of South Palm Canyon Drive to just north of Sunny Dunes Road to create a uniform roadway width; make additional improvements to Belardo Road and to the intersections with the following roads: Sunny Dunes Road, Mesquite Avenue, and Morongo Road; construct a new access road to the Tahquitz Canyon Tribal Interpretive Center; and various pedestrian and trail improvements; and WHEREAS, the Project is consistent with the Circulation Element of the 2007 Palm Springs General Plan Update, which identifies the extension of Belardo Road from Ramon Road to South Palm Canyon Drive as a 2-lane collector; and WHEREAS, the Project is listed on the Southern California Association of Governments ("SCAG") 2008 Regional Transportation Improvement Program ("RTIP") as Project ID# RIV000103, approved by the Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration on November 17, 2008; and WHEREAS, the Project implements the goals and policies of the General Plan; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"), Division 13 of the Public Resources Code of the State of California, beginning with §21000 (hereinafter "Act"), an Initial Study was prepared; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 21152 of the Act, on December 12, 2008, a Notice of Intent to Adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration and Availability of Initial Study/Environmental Assessment, and Notice of Opportunity for Public Hearing, was filed with the Riverside County Clerk; and Resolution No. 22488 Page 2 WHEREAS, the Mitigated Negative Declaration ("MND") and Initial Study/Environmental Assessment ("IS/EA") was circulated for public comment from December 12, 2008 through January 12, 2009; and WHEREAS, by the close of the public comment period on January 12, 2009, there were no requests for a Public Hearing submitted in response to the Notice of Opportunity for Public Hearing; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 15202 of the CEQA Guidelines, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, Article 13 'Review and Evaluation of EIRs and Negative Declarations", CEQA does not require formal hearings at any stage of the environmental review process, and public comments may be restricted to written communications; and WHEREAS, the IS/EA prepared for this project has concluded, and following public review, it has been determined that the Project would not have a significant effect on the environment with the adoption of avoidance and mitigation measures identified in the MND; and WHEREAS, the City Council has carefully reviewed and considered all of the evidence presented in connection with the Project, including, but not limited to, the staff report, the IS/EA and MND, and all written and oral testimony presented. THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1: The above recitals are all true and correct. Section 2: The City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, is hereby designated the custodian of the documents and other materials which constitute the record of proceedings upon which the City Council has based its decision. The custodian of the documents is located at 3200 E. Tahquitz Canyon Way, Palm Springs, California. Section 3: Pursuant to Section 15063 of the CEQA Guidelines, a Mitigated Negative Declaration ("MND") of environmental impact was prepared and circulated for a 30-day public review period ending on January 12, 2009- The Mitigated Negative Declaration adequately analyzes the general environmental setting of the Project, its potentially significant environmental impacts, and the alternatives and mitigation measures related to each potentially significant environmental impact for the proposed project, and has determined that there are no potentially significant impacts associated with the Project. Section 4: The Project implements the following goals and policies of the General Plan: Goal CR1: Establish and maintain an efficient, interconnected circulation system that accommodates vehicular travel, walking, bicycling, public transit, and other forms of transportation. Resolution No. 22488 Page 3 Goal C112: Establish improved levels of service for efficient traffic flow and provide a safe circulation system. As stated in the Project's Statement of Purpose of Need, the Project would accomplish the following purpose: • Provide regional roadway access to the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Interpretive Cultural Center and Tahquitz Creek Scenic Park and generate economic development of the surrounding Indian Lands; • Complete the extension of Belardo Road, connecting Indian lands and Tahquitz Canyon to downtown Palm Springs. Policy CR2.2: Make street improvements at problem intersections and bottleneck locations to improve specific traffic operations and safety, with all such improvements to be considered selectively on the basis of specific studies of the affected intersection and streets, and the impacts on the surrounding area and on pedestrian activity. As stated in the Project's Statement of Need, the Project would resolve the following issues: • Design Inadequacies. The existing roadway is substandard in several aspects, the most significant of which is the missing gap between Sunny Dunes Road and Mesquite Avenue due to the lack of crossing for Tahquitz Creek; • Safety Deficiencies. The lack of crossing at Tahquitz Creek forces additional traffic into the Palm Canyon Drive intersections with Sunny Dunes Road, Mesquite Avenue, and Morongo Road. The majority of this additional intersection traffic makes turning movements. • Capacity Deficiencies. The capacity of the roadway is limited by its inconsistent width and its lack of a crossing at Tahquitz Creek. Traffic is forced to divert through the intersection at Palm Canyon Drive resulting in far less capacity than if traffic were permitted directly between Ramon Road and the southerly intersection with South Palm Canyon Drive. Section 5: The City Council has carefully reviewed and considered all of the evidence presented in connection with the Project, including, but not limited to, the staff report, the Initial Study and public comments received, the proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration, the proposed Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, and all written and oral testimony presented. The City Council further finds that on the basis of the entire Project record, there is no substantial evidence that the Project will have a significant effect on the environment and that the Mitigated Negative Declaration reflects the City's independent judgment and analysis. Resolution No. 22488 Page 4 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that based upon the foregoing, and pursuant to Section 15074 of the CEQA Guidelines, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3, Article 6 "Negative Declaration Process", the City Council adopts and orders the filing of a Mitigated Negative Declaration, and approves the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Belardo Road Bridge and Roadway Project, City Project No. 87-49. ADOPTED this 27th day of May, 2009. David H. Ready, C!ty__AAariag r ATTEST: mes Thompson, City Clerk GERTIF[CATION STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss. CITY OF PALM SPRINGS ) I, JAMES THOMPSON, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, hereby certify that Resolution No. 22488 is a full, true and correct copy, and was duly adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Palm Springs on the 27t'' day of May, 2009, by the following vote: AYES: Councilmember Foat, Councilmember Hutcheson, Councilmember Weigel, Mayor Pro Tern Mills, and Mayor Pougnet. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. ABSTAIN: None. mes Thompson, City Clerk c1oZ0o ity of Palm Springs, California 1 _