Planning Commission Regular Meeting

Detailed briefing

Planning Commission Regular Meeting — September 19, 2024 ATTENDEES: Planning commissioners, Department of Public Works head Lucas Mandery, the city attorney, the police chief and participating residents. • The commission reviewed changes proposed around State Street, East Bluff and M-119. DPW said the project began with deteriorated pavement on State Street and expanded to include replacement of a water main installed in 1955, new storm drains, improved intersection visibility and conduit for possible future underground utilities. • Two traffic concepts were discussed: making East Bluff one-way near the intersection or retaining two-way traffic with a narrower approach. Mandery said the one-way option would provide the greatest visibility improvement, while the two-way design would still provide a substantial improvement. • Public comments largely favored keeping East Bluff two-way. Residents cited inconvenience, traffic being redirected to Summit Street, additional signs and the lack of crash data clearly tied to East Bluff. One resident supported two-way traffic with a right-turn-only restriction when leaving East Bluff; others opposed turn restrictions. • The police chief reported 18 crashes at or near the intersection since 2004. Twelve were attributed to slippery roadway conditions, two involved deer, and only one was described as involving the East Bluff visibility issue. Speakers stressed that near misses are not reflected in crash reports. • Commissioners reached an informal consensus to recommend narrowing State Street, keeping East Bluff two-way, narrowing or realigning its approach, improving the grassy-area grading and sightlines, and widening the tight turning radius. They did not reach a recommendation on making the East Bluff exit right-turn-only. Commissioners also asked that the cost of extending concrete farther uphill, where asphalt has deformed, be examined. • The city attorney said Planning Commission approval was not legally required because the project does not open, widen or extend a street. A pending motion was withdrawn, but the commission’s consensus will be provided to City Council. The commission later passed a roll-call motion to enter closed session for legal advice concerning zoning issues related to the pending zoning-code referendum. The transcript does not provide the closed-session outcome. Worth watching: 1. City Council’s final choice between the two-way design and any turn restriction. 2. The cost comparison for extending concrete farther uphill. 3. Whether intersection changes address runoff and visibility without shifting traffic problems elsewhere. Upcoming: The agenda’s next-meeting date was corrected to October 17. Why it matters: The project combines aging infrastructure work with traffic-safety and neighborhood-access decisions at a difficult intersection.

Agenda items

• 2 · Approval of Minutesdiscussed
• 5A · Project Review and Recommendation — State St. and E Bluffdiscussed
• 5B · Closed Session — City Attorney Review of Zoning Code Ballot Proposaldiscussed
• 5C · Discussion — Zoning Code Ballot Proposaldiscussed

No open public follow-ups are linked to this meeting yet.

Related issues

• Zoning / Land Usediscussed