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2018/12/17 Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Minutes RpN"'ZER?'"A Rk 9 7,..‘" 1 ` Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) rA1:-rF40. Meeting Minutes 5:30 PM, Monday, December 17, 2018 Rohnert Park City Hall, Conference Room 2A 130 Avram Avenue, Rohnert Park, California 94928 Members Present: Creighton Bell X Gary Gutierrez X Tim Hensel X Shirley Johnson X Katie Musick X Non-Voting Participants: Vin Hoagland, Sonoma County Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, District 3 Representative; Jeff Beiswenger, Planning Manager, City of Rohnert Park; Eydie Tacata, Management Analyst, City of Rohnert Park 1. Call to Order Chair Katie Musick called the meeting to order at 5:33 PM. 2. Introductions Chair Musick commenced self-introductions. 3. Public Comments Vin Hoagland relayed to the Committee that on eastbound Rohnert Park Expressway,just west of the intersection with Petaluma Hill Road, the bike lane remains to the right of the dedicated vehicular right-turn lane. Furthermore, there is no bike lane for left turns onto Petaluma Hill Road. Ideally, there would be a bike lane to the left of the dedicated right-turn lane. Eydie Tacata, staff to the Committee, said that she would inquire about this, as the road was recently widened and it may still be in the warranty period before the City of Rohnert Park accepts the new road. 4. Consideration of Approval of Minutes of October 22, 2018 Committee Member Creighton Bell moved to approve meeting minutes of October 22, 2018; the motion was seconded by Committee Member Gutierrez and approved by a vote count of 4 ayes (Bell, Gutierrez, Hensel, Musick), 0 nays, 1 abstention(Johnson), 0 absences. 5. Rohnert Park General Plan Update: Transportation White Paper Planning Manager Jeff Beiswenger gave the Committee an overview of the 2040 Rohnert Park General Plan update. He presented an excerpted version of a slide presentation previously given to the City Council, and he and the Committee discussed the various topics as follows: • Status of Existinttg Conditions White Papers A series of white papers has been completed, which documents existing conditions in the areas of Economics, Land Use, Transportation, Climate Change, and Environmental Justice. Committee Member Gary Gutierrez asked how housing is being considered in the General Plan update. Mr. Beiswenger said that within the current Urban Growth Boundary, the General Plan has designated enough residential land uses for a population of up to 52,000. In terms of creating housing, Rohnert Park currently leads in production among Sonoma County jurisdictions. Rohnert Park Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee December 17,2018 Meeting Minutes • General Plan Update project timeline and community engagement The project timeline has 7 phases: (1) Project Initiation, (2) Existing Conditions, (3) Visioning& Issues, (4)Alternatives, (5) General Plan Draft, (6)Program EIR, and(7) General Plan Adoption. Phase 2, the documentation of existing conditions, has just been completed. Committee Member Bell noted that there are about 3 years left before the expected time to adopt the General Plan. Mr. Beiswenger also briefly touched on outreach strategies such as"EngagementHQ"; online and e-mail surveys; General Plan activities at events such as the Farmers Markets, Founders Day, and the upcoming"I Heart Rohnert Park" event; and public workshops and meetings. • Economics Existing Conditions Mr. Beiswenger reviewed a slide on housing development capacity. Committee Member Gutierrez asked if the General Plan discusses housing needs for the aging population. Mr. Beiswenger said that the General Plan does considers changing demographics, and the housing market is also responding; as an example,the University District builders offer"age-targetted living"ttthaat. Committee Member Shirley Johnson mentioned that there were initiatives in other cities to actively consider the needs of differently-abled community members in planning. Mr. Beiswenger reviewed a slide on existing and future retail space demand. There was brief discussion about types of retail and whether hospitality is included. Mr. Beiswenger reviewed a slide on non-residential land supply(i.e. vacant acres) vs. future demand for non-residential land uses. Committee Member Bell asked whether"vacant acres" included vacant buildings. Mr. Beiswenger noted that there are a lot of communities looking at converting land uses to revitalize underutilized areas, for example,rezoning land with old shopping centers, to land uses that allow health care instead. He reviewed a Market Observations slide summarizing the potential land use shifts that may be in the General Plan update. Mr. Beiswenger reviewed several slides on Rohnert Park commute patterns and the economic sectors employing people who commute out of Rohnert Park. • Land Use and Community Design Mr. Beiswenger reviewed several slides on the General Plan planning area, the Urban Growth Boundary and its upcoming renewal on the ballot in 2020. There was brief discussion of Community Separator land west of Highway 101. Mr. Beiswenger reviewed several slides on current land uses west of Highway 101; Downtown Rohnert Park, which is covered by a Priority Development Area Plan and the Station Center Planned Development; and current land uses and development on the east side, including University District, Southeast Specific Plan and SOMO Village. Committee Member Johnson asked whether wildfire hazards are considered in the General Plan. Mr. Beiswenger said that this is considered in the General Plan chapter on Hazards, in the Public Safety Element, and in a separate Local Hazard Mitigation Plan that is required by the General Plan. There were also slides acknowledging the existence of California Tiger Salamander habitat, as well as Sonoma State University and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria being potential significant influences on General Plan policies. • Transportation Mr. Beiswenger showed several slides of existing transportation conditions graphs and modeling. He said that transportation is "undergoing disruptive change" and that the graphs suggest this uncertainty. There was discussion about emerging trends such shared and autonomous vehicles, Rohnert Park Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee December 17,2018 Meeting Minutes their impact on parking(i.e. less needed), on road and freeway capacity(i.e. more needed), and on transit(i.e. impact unknown). Mr. Beiswenger also showed a slide on existing mode-split, comparing Rohnert Park commute mode-split(i.e. drive alone, carpool, transit, walk,bike, and work from home) with that of the greater Bay Area. There was brief discussion on vehicle-miles travelled (VMT) as the metric for CEQA and that new developments need to meet certain targets. Mr. Beiswenger summarized that the General Plan goals and policies for transportation need to be flexible to be able to address future uncertainty. 6. Station Avenue Transportation Demand Management Plan Mr. Beiswenger reviewed the Station Avenue Final Development Plan with the Committee. There was discussion about the slip street off Rohnert Park Expressway, which will be oriented toward the SMART station entrance and parking lot. The slip street will have a protected bike lane, as will the segment of State Farm Drive along the Station Avenue development. Committee Member Johnson asked if all of the trees on the property will be removed. Mr. Beiswenger said that a tree permit was issued which required a tree removal plan. The developer has indicated that they would like to keep as many of the trees as possible,but also acknowledged that most of the cottonwoods need to be removed as many are dead. Many of the redwoods will be kept. Mr. Beiswenger explained the mix of office and retail uses, which will be primarily restaurants. The retail/restaurant uses need the office employees to be viable, but the environmental study indicated that the number of evening trips would exceed the level-of-service (LOS) deemed to be acceptable in the area. For this reason,Transportation Demand Management(TDM)measures are required. Mr. Beiswenger reviewed the various TDM measures. Site amenities to improve walkability include wide sidewalks, pedestrian-oriented lighting, curb extensions/bulb-outs. Ample bike parking will be provided throughout the site. Showers and clothes lockers will be provided in office tenant spaces. The project's programming will include offering car-share and ride-share services to commercial and residential users, supported by designated waiting areas to reduce congestion in the area. There was additional discussion among the meeting participants about residential over commercial ground floor developments in the past. There was also discussion about market competition between Station Avenue and SOMO Village. Mr. Beiswenger said that the two developments actually see a potential synergy between them with a connection along the SMART Multi-Use Path and the Copeland Creek path. The TDM encourages connection to the Multi-Use Path. Committee Member Bell asked if diagonal back-in parking-- which is safer for bicyclists sharing the road --was still in the site design. Mr. Beiswenger replied that there is diagonal parking, but it is front-in. However, the protected bike lane should keep bicyclists separate from cars backing out. Chair Musick asked if there were going to be"fun"bike racks, and Committee Member Bell mentioned possibility of artist-designed racks. He also asked about bicycle parking security. Mr. Beiswenger confirmed that these are all proposed by the developer and included in their TDM plan. 7. Staff and Committee Member Updates on Previous Matters Ms. Tacata reported on the SMART Access Bike Share Program, and that a Request for Proposals (RFP) to bike share vendors is being developed by the Marin and Sonoma partners. The RFP is expected to go out in late January or early February. Committee Member Gutierrez asked if scooter share was part of the program. Ms. Tacata replied that the MTC grant was only for bike share,but the RFP would leave it open for vendors to propose additional micro-mobility solutions such as scooters if they like. Rohnert Park Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee December 17,2018 Meeting Minutes 8. New Matters for Future Consideration Committee Member Bell asked whether the City was looking into clarifying where bicycles, scooters and other mobility devices are allowed to travel, and Committee Member Johnson added wheelchairs are among those, although she believed that wheelchairs were allowed anywhere. Committee Member Bell said that the Committee has tried to take up the issue of bicycling on the sidewalk several times, and he wondered whether this was now the time to try again. Chair Musick suggested that with the General Plan update setting policies addressing the changing transportation scene, an update to the Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan might be the way to tackle that issue. Committee Member Johnson said she is interested in a site visit and discussion on pedestrian safety in the area of the Five Creeks development on the west side of town. She is particularly interested in the mid-block crossings along Labath Avenue. Committee Member Gutierrez mentioned the Wilfred Avenue crossing issue brought up by a citizen at a recent meeting. Chair Musick suggested that the Committee should start looking at the pedestrian and bicycle issues on the west side of Rohnert Park in the coming year. 9. Adjournment The Committee adjourned the meeting at 7:23 PM. Eydie Tacata, Recording Secretary Katie Musick, Chair Rohnert Park Bicycle and Rohnert Park Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee Pedestrian Advisory Committee