The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About1998.0317.TCWSM.Minutes TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS MINUTES OF THE WORK STUDY SESSION OF THE FOUNTAIN HILLS TOWN COUNCIL MARCH 17, 1998 A public meeting of the Fountain Hills Town Council was convened and called to order by Mayor Miles at 6:30 P.M., Tuesday, March 17, 1998, in the Fountain Hills Town Hall Conference Room , located at 16836 E.Palisades Blvd.,Building C,Fountain Hills,Arizona. In attendance were Mayor Miles, Vice Mayor Wiggishoff, Councilmen Poma, O'Brien, Apps, and Mower. Councilman Lawrence was absent. Also in attendance were Town Clerk Cassie Hansen, Town Manager Paul Nordin, Town Attorney Bill Farrell, Town Engineer Randy Harrel and Ken Martinez,Marshals Dept. AGENDA ITEM #1 — DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED TRAFFIC DEVICE/ CALMING POLICY. NO ACTION WILL BE TAKEN. Town Manager Nordin referred to the March 13th memo from Mr. Harrel wherein additional proposed guidelines for a traffic device calming policy were presented as a result of staff discussions. The elimination of the petition requirement for 51% of the residents in an area was recommended to allow for a more citizen-friendly approach to traffic problems. He said neighborhood meetings could be scheduled as required under Level 1 or 2. He stated the stringent requirements of a 75% resident participation in Levels 3 and 4 would remain. He stated tito staff had agreed that one lot would equal one vote in determining a resultant action in a neighborhood. Also the requirement to contact 90% of those in an affected area was possibly too strict and could possibly be reduced. He said the Town Engineer would determine the affected area on a case by case basis. The determination of what the Town's participation in the financial aspect of the process would be to quantify what "neighborhood wants" were against "neighborhood needs" and that criteria should be established to result in the Town's participation when a traffic control "need" was decided. He said the all-way stop sign issues had not been addressed. With regard to the speed hump issues, it was suggested to change the definition as to how many signatures would be required, changing it from the four adjacent residences to the owners of lots within 50' of the hump placement by unanimous owner agreement. The final determination of the steepness of the grade of a speed hump was needed. He referred to a chart that had been drafted which depicted the results of a survey taken from Valley communities as to procedures and policies in traffic devices. Under the Process, discussion on the reducing or eliminating of the 51% of the residents in order to petition for the initial citizen complaint procedure would require a language change. Vice Mayor Wiggishoff stated the neighborhood action request forms were to be eliminated in Level 1 and 2 to allow citizens to give staff an opportunity to evaluate traffic problems without calling for a neighborhood meeting. Point "B" would need to be re-written, Point C,D,E and F were to be eliminated because they would not be needed. The next discussion was to determine whether to count the votes with a one-lot, one-vote guideline. The Council agreed with this guideline because it was similar to owners of lots in an improvement district. Councilman O'Brien stated the requirement to contact a minimum of 90% Loy of all affected persons who used the streets would be hard to measure. The Council agreed to eliminate the 90% requirement. , Town Council Meeting 3/17/98 Page 1 of 3 Town Engineer Randy Harrel would determine the affected area of a traffic problem and this determination would remain with staff. He said the Scottsdale policy was defined as all residences on a subject street plus three dwelling units on intersecting streets either side of the subject street. Mr. Harrel said his discretion would need to be used based upon the location of the problem. The Council agreed. The payment for traffic devices in Levels 3 and 4 was discussed. The cost for a speed hump at the present time was $1,200, which included installation. The distinction between a "need" and a "want" would determine who would be responsible for payment. Mr. Nordin stated some rational criteria could be developed to determine a "need" or a "want". Mr. Harrel suggested matters could be handled on a case by case basis with the Council being informed of staff decisions. Councilman Poma said he preferred the engineering staff to make the decisions in traffic needs and wants. Vice Mayor Wiggishoff stated she thought it was the community's responsibility to assure tolerable levels of speeds on Town streets based upon the severity of a problem. Different levels of participation would need to be determined in the resolution of landscaping expenses. Councilman O'Brien stated if neighborhoods desired more landscaping than had been determined as standard, then the neighborhoods should be responsible for those expenses. The installation of all-way stop sign policy was not addressed in the draft policy and it was decided to leave it out of the policy entirely. Regarding the approval of residents for installation of a speed bump, it was suggested that the approval of owners within 50' of the location was the best determination. The Council agreed. The steep grade criteria was considered as locations with 8% to 10% grade according to Mr. Harrel *4•11) Councilman O'Brien objected to setting the 85% median the same as the speed limit because the standard distribution of numbers of drivers would exceed the speed limit and would call for measures to be taken. He suggested to make a five mile per hour difference. Vice Mayor Wiggishoff pointed out that tolerable ranges were established in the determination for speeding on Town streets. Mr. Harrel stated a minimum criteria had been developed to determine a problem but variable levels would be a judgment call. Councilman O'Brien suggested that if the speed limit was at 25 mph,the 85th percentile should be at 30 mph. Mr. Harrel stated most cities set a minimum of 500 vehicles per day to determine whether a problem existed and that he had adjusted that minimum to 300 vehicles per day. Councilman O'Brien suggested that a maximum number be set rather than a minimum number of vehicles. Mr. Nordin agreed to make that change. He said the speed humps should be 3 1/2" in height and 12' wide as a standard. The humps that had been installed were being studied on a trial basis. It was suggested the changes be made to the policy and the revised policy be distributed to the Council for approval at the second Council meeting in April. AGENDA ITEM#2—ADJOURNMENT. Councilman Mower MOVED to adjourn the meeting. Councilman Poma SECONDED the motion, which CARRIED unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. Town Council Meeting 3/17/98 Page 2 of 3 TOWN OF FOUNTAIN HILLS By: Je Miles, or A I hST: �v )k-i-Uvvd, Cassie B.Hansen,Town Clerk PREPARED BY: , Linda D.Lemmen,Administrative Assistant CERTIFICATION I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Regular Session Meeting held by the Town Council of Fountain Hills on the 17th day of March, 1998. I further certify that the meeting was duly called and that a quorum was present. DATED this 2nd day of April, 1998. 'LL-714-71-A-1 Cassie B.Hansen,Town Clerk L Town Council Meeting 3/17/98 Page 3 of 3