SPECIAL
SAFETY ADVISORY AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE
A Special Safety Advisory and Transportation Committee Meeting was held on December 1, 2008, at 4:30 p.m. with Chairman Leary presiding. Mrs. Russell, Mr. Slavin, Mr. Link (arrived at 4:35 p.m.), and Mr. Davis were present. Council President Hogan and Mr. Ruane were also present.
AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS
Mrs. Russell moved for approval of the agenda, seconded by Mr. Davis and unanimously carried.
Request for Waiver from Land Subdivision Regulations - Lot Frontage - College Business Park: Parcel B
Members were provided a waiver request to allow the creation of a lot without public street frontage for Parcel B within the College Business Park (part of 1221 College Park Drive), located north of College Road and east of College Park Drive, adjacent to the railroad corridor. The proposed parcel configuration to subdivide Parcel B does not result in the lot having frontage on a public street; therefore, the applicant has requested a waiver under the provisions of Article VII - Special Provisions, A - Variance and Waiver, of the Land Subdivision Regulations.
Mrs. Melson-Williams, City Principal Planner, explained that the developer has requested the subdivision of a property within the College Business Park known as Parcel B into two lots consisting of 4.6580+/- acres (B1) and 0.7942+/- acres (B2), which totals 34,596 S.F. of land. This would allow each building to be located on an individual lot: the existing building on Parcel B1 and the proposed building on Parcel B2. With regards to the Minor Subdivision Plan, she stated that the proposed parcels are in compliance with the lot requirements of the Zoning Ordinance. The two lots, as proposed, will exceed the 10,000 S.F. minimum lot area and comply with the setbacks and floor area ratio. The lot coverage percentage must be calculated for each parcel to confirm that the maximum of 70% is not exceeded. She noted that the overall Parcel B post-development plan proposed a lot coverage of 62%; it appears that each parcel, B1 and B2, will continue to comply with the lot coverage maximum.
Mrs. Melson-Williams advised members that, in accordance with Article VI Subdivision - General Requirements and Design Standards, Section E - Lots, of the Land Subdivision Regulations, Item 5 requires "All lots in a subdivision shall have frontage on a public street." She stated that access to Parcel B2 would be via a 24 foot wide cross access easement through the existing parking lot of Building 1 (Parcel B1) from College Park Drive. She noted that College Park Drive is a private street (as approved by City Council in 1993) and is subject to an established association for its care and maintenance by all properties taking access from it. A copy of the Record Plan and the associated Site Plan were provided to members for informational purposes.
Staff recommended approval of the waiver request to create a lot (Parcel B2) without public street frontage, recognizing the development of this area as a business park. The business park concept already established includes cross access links between properties, shared stormwater management
facilities, other easements, and an association responsible for the maintenance of the private street
(College Park Drive). In order to achieve any street frontage for Parcel B2 as a lot for a single building, an odd property line configuration resulting in a lack of compliance with lot width requirements, potential setback issues, and subdividing a parking lot would be the result. The configuration for Parcel B2, as presented with the waiver of lot frontage, is the better option for clarity.
The Planning Commission recommended approval of the waiver to allow the creation of a lot (Parcel B2) without public street frontage.
Mrs. Russell moved to recommend approval of the Planning Commission’s recommendation, seconded by Mr. Davis and unanimously carried.
Recommendations from the Route 8 Study (including a new connector between Kenton Road and Independence Boulevard)
Members were provided the Executive Summary of the Delaware 8 Concept Plan and Operations Study. Mr. James Galvin of the Dover MPO reviewed a Presentation (Attachment #1) which included recommendations with regards to the preferred alternative for the Delaware 8 Corridor. In addition, he reviewed a map depicting the proposed roadway (Attachment #2). Mr. Galvin indicated that the next steps would be to begin implementation of the recommendations, include elements of the Plan in the long range Regional Transportation Plan, and to include appropriate elements in the shorter range Transportation Improvement Plan.
Responding to Mr. Davis, Ms. Wieczorek, Director of the Dover/Kent County MPO, reiterated that the presentation consists of a Concept Plan only at this time. As a result, no rights-of-ways have been acquired for any of the projects, nor have the projects been included on DelDOT’s list of “things to do” yet; however, it is hoped that this plan can be considered along with the City’s Comprehensive Plan. As an example, she explained that if there is a development being proposed which includes a section of the right-of-way that would be necessary for the Delaware 8 Corridor, that section could be designated as such. She stated that any lands needed for the connectors are proposed to be acquired when development or re-development occurs.
Mr. Ruane relayed the importance of knowing if there are any incompatibility issues between some of the elements of the Delaware 8 Corridor and the City’s Comprehensive Plan.
Responding to Mr. Ruane, Mr. Galvin noted that the draft Regional Transportation Plan, which is the next item to be reviewed by members, takes these projects beyond 2030 for implementation; therefore, there is no need for the City to reconsider their prioritization of transportation improvement projects.
Mr. Link moved to recommend acceptance of the Report and that it be referred to staff for further review, seconded by Mr. Slavin and unanimously carried.
Draft Regional Transportation Plan Update
Ms. Wieczorek, Director of Dover/Kent County MPO, reviewed a Presentation of the Regional Transportation Plan Update (Attachment #3). She reviewed the proposed priority funding/cost evaluation for the Dover/Kent County MPO 2008 Regional Transportation Plan Update, which was provided to members. Referring to the 2007 US Route 13 Circulation Study (see map on last page of the presentation), she stated that the Study is not complete; however, she felt confident that there should be adequate funding available for this project.
Ms. Wieczorek advised members that the draft Regional Transportation Plan is currently being distributed to the MPO committees for their review. She stated that the required 30-day public comment period will begin by the end of December/beginning of January and that it is anticipated that the Plan will be adopted during their meeting scheduled for January 27, 2009, at which time copies will be made available for anyone. She offered to return to the committee to review the final draft of the plan.
Responding to Mr. Ruane, Ms. Wieczorek was confident that all the City’s prioritized projects were included in the plan.
For clarification, Ms. Wieczorek explained that the last column in the proposed priority funding/costs for the 2008 Regional Transportation Plan entitled “Cumm. Cost After 2014” represents a total of all projects. She explained that this total was necessary in order to determine when the available funds would be depleted.
Update on State Council Transportation Hearing of 9/16/2008 (Councilman Leary)
Mr. Leary advised members that he attended the Delaware Capital Transportation Program (CTP) Public Hearing held on September 16, 2008. The hearing was to provide an opportunity to review the current CTP and suggest transportation projects and/or services to be considered for the proposed CTP for Fiscal Years 2010-2015. He advised members that there are some grant monies available for “Safe Routes to School”, “Safe Walking/Bicycling”, and the Highway Safety Improvement Program. He stated that when requesting funds, there are priorities for consideration of projects, which he suggested that staff should focus on, such as: resolving a safety problem, addressing congestion issues, solving pavement problems, addressing air quality, or analyzing traffic problems.
With regards to the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), Ms. Wieczorek stated that it is a Federally mandated and guided program in terms of what projects are eligible for funding. The crash data is examined to determine if a location meets certain criteria (safety severity), and if so, it would become a part of the HSIP. She stated that the “Safe Routes to School” Program has available funding for infrastructure improvements and noted that the school district has to be “on board” for the program and a plan established before any money can be allocated for any infrastructure improvement. Similarly to the Transportation Enhancement Program, she stated that there is a consultant available to work with the school system to develop a plan and identify the infrastructure improvements that are required. Ms. Wieczorek advised members that there is a limited amount of funding available; however, should the Capital School District be interested, they should act as soon as possible since there have not been many school districts that have become involved. This type of program is a reimbursable grant and requires a 20% match.
No further action was taken concerning this matter.
Mr. Link moved for adjournment, seconded by Mr. Davis and unanimously carried.
Meeting Adjourned at 5:32 P.M.
Respectfully submitted,
Thomas J. Leary
Chairman
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Attachments (Attached to original and file copy)
Attachment #1 - Delaware 8 Concept Plan and Operations Study Presentation
Attachment #2 - Map Depicting the Proposed Delaware 8 Corridor
Attachment #3 - Presentation of the Regional Transportation Plan Update