Chuck Gillette stated that our cart was before our horse on this because we took it to City Council forgetting that it is an element of the General Plan, so Planning Commission needs to review it first and have a Public Hearing. So Council has approved the impact fees based on this proposed study, but if you want to tweak some things, nothing will affect the Capital Facilities Plan. We want any comments and suggestions that will make this plan a little bit better. This gets done every five years. City Council has already seen it and we did a work session a year ago where they have already provided feedback. Council only approved impact fees based on the proposed improvements, but they cannot approve the plan until the Planning Commission has recommended it. The things that were updated were the traffic counts, accident data and population projections. There is a regional traffic demand model prepared by the MPO, we update that information in the study. Revision of important figures, which is really maps and cross-sections and then there is the transportation improvement plan. We counted 22 intersections. 2020 data for population history is 8600+/-. We won't get census data until September. Land use data has been updated. Every time you change the land use plan, that updates these calculations that helps determine what future buildout calculations are going to be. Right now we have 3700 housing units and 7500 housing units at buildout. 2.6 units per household is about 18000 people. If we stay at 120 units per year which is our average over the last 12 years which had good and bad years and we are looking at hitting buildout about 2060. Accident data has had no fatalities. We have had some serious accidents, but we don't see any patterns that says we need to do something about any streets due to fatalities. The two fatalities we did have were on Hwy 91. That is why this Hwy 91 project is so important. Roundabouts prevent more serious accidents, but may actually increase accidents but they are generally fender benders. The average delay in a roundabout is less than a signal. We updated the transportation demand model but no real changes there to point out. We have added more information in the active transportation in terms of cycling and walking. It may need to be its own separate document someday. We put some language in there about wall design to help push it forward into the code but then we changed the code and it almost didn't need to be in the transportation plan. Commissioner Doug Clifford inquired so all collectors will have walls? Chuck Gillette stated yes unless a home fronts it. That is not very common on collector streets or arterial streets. We do allow pedestrian gates. If you don't like that in there, we can suggest taking it out. It hasn't been a big problem for us honestly. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated mainly it is just that they are tracking through the landscaping there, if they have a gate. Chuck Gillette stated we have language in there about adding conduit for communications and corridor preservation has been updated. Regarding level of service, an A is underutilized, operating at a level way below its capacity. C usually means close to capacity, D means full capacity, and E and F means failing and heading into gridlock. So they need a traffic signal or a roundabout in those intersections on Hwy 91. The plans shows roundabouts at 600 West, 400 West, 200 West and Main Street. We are not planning on building them yet. Hwy 91 has been relinquished to the City and we are responsible for it. The State owns the right-of-way and could take it back someday if they wanted to. Commissioner Doug Clifford inquired what is the speed limit? Chuck Gillette stated 40 mph to 50 mph. We may take the whole thing to 40 mph. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated these are better than stop lights. Commissioner Doug Clifford stated it seems like a lot of roundabouts. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated semis need a wider lane on the outside lane and if they are pinched together, they take both lanes. Trucks are 105 ft long. Chuck Gillette stated our active transportation plan map is our old trail map shows where we are putting shared-use trails. This is Figure 11. One thing that the map does show that he hasn't removed for this presentation is on Puerto Drive we had a neighborhood meeting and that one of things that came out of that meeting is that we do not have room for a shared-use trail there. The residents don't want it. Instead we have bike lanes and looking at funding to put in sidewalk. A shared-use trail is a 10-foot trail. UDOT called them Dedicated Pedestrian Facilities. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated that we may want to change the one that goes through SITLA to the Graf piece and move it so it connects up to Kwavasa. It would have to cross the wash there. Commissioner Doug Clifford stated he would suggest Ivins Reservoir connect from somewhere other than the main road. Chuck Gillette stated we'd have to acquire a right-of-way. When a developer develops they will have to put it in because it is on our map. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated that trails are hard to define until there is a subdivision with it. Chuck Gillette stated this one is already there as an undeveloped trail should so maybe we should show it as a developed trail if someone tries to develop there. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated he would want to switch them around because the undeveloped trail goes to nowhere. The Transportation Master Plan map has some minor edits. On the SunTran route nothing changed there. Intersections are shown on Figure 18. The model shows we don't put them in unless they are really needed. The model indicates the intersection of Pioneer Parkway and Old Hwy 91 may not require it, however we need to still reserve the right-of-way. We will preserve right-of-way at all the roundabouts. Intelligent Transportation System includes a map that shows where corridors want to get conduit in the ground. We will be putting conduit on Highway 91 as part of our project. Potential locations for future cameras. Cross-sections we will have two travel lanes and two bike lanes both sides, but only trying to get funding to put sidewalk on one side. Major collector street parking and minor arterial center street show nothing new there. Minor arterial for west Center Street where we convert to three lanes once we get past 200 West to 6600 West and a four-lane section in the same amount of pavement, if we ever get that much traffic. The Western Corridor shows a five-lane section. On Old Hwy 91 10A cross-section we are going to build with federal money and widen shoulders and the trail on the north side. The three lane section is what developers will be required to put in and a five lane section if we ever need it. Major collector landscaped median in a rural zone, this is cross-section 11A. This is the Kwavasa cross-section. The model does show potential that some day we may need more than three lanes provide so we do have extra right-of-way for that. Two versions, Kwavasa Drive south of Center Street and one north of Center Street. It is a major collector now, but may someday become a minor arterial. Figures 11A, B and C and 12A goes to minor arterial. We are building it right now as a major collector. The 0 to 5 year Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) shows that these are the projects we are working on. Hwy 91 projects we have enough funding to do. Public Works yard relocation is part of the plan because we need to be collecting impact fees for that. Chip-seal access road will also need to be built to get to the new Public Works yard. Kayenta Parkway and Kwavasa Drive we have put a roundabout in next years' budget for $100k roundabout at that intersection. This is based on participation from Terry Marten. 400 West gap-fill is a project we have been trying to do for some time. We are ready to do that next year and it is in the plan. 400 West to 200 South to 200 West to 300 South. It needs to get it widened. He has been trying to get the trail done but can't seem to get all the property owners to agree to a trail. We just need to get curb and gutter in and get it done. On Puerto Drive if we can get some grants we will spend another $100k there. We talked about mini-roundabouts at Puerto Drive and 400 South. 6 to 10 year plan has the Western Corridor. Connection at Snow Canyon Parkway to Gap Canyon Parkway, what used to be called Plantation Drive. We may need to contribute money to help that project go. It is like a 30 million dollar project. He doesn't know how it will get funded. We can't give more than a million dollars and it kind of helps Santa Clara, but it carries our traffic. It helps access to the BLM property project. Western Corridor from 200 East to 400 East. We have gotten some funding to help that get built. We also have some developer projects that may help that get built. It is north of Desert Rose. We may need to put in a section of that. We may need some trail underpasses at some point. Old Hwy 91 at the Western Corridor if that ever gets built we would probably do it at the same time. Also potential funding for an underpass at Center Street and Snow Canyon Drive. He is concerned about those projects because he thinks they need to be convenient to use in order to consider funding them because they are so expensive. They're not if you have to walk an extra block to use them and ADA can't get to them. Black Desert may be interested in funding an underpass that connects their resort to Tuacahn. There is a location where it may work out well but would require acquiring some property from Red Mountain Spa to make it work out for a pedestrian underpass, if Red Mountain Spa would be willing to see us some of their parking Lot. It may be beneficial for them as well. Another project is adding landscape medians to Old Hwy 91, a roundabout at 400 East and Center Street, and when they develop is when they need the roundabout. The long range 11 to 20 year transportation improvement plan Old Hwy 91, Kwavasa to Pioneer Parkway if we have to go to five lanes, and Western Corridor. Kwavasa drive widening to five lanes if needed. Other signals and roundabout if needed, safety gap fill and streetscapes. Commissioner Lance Anderson wants to recommend that lowering power lines be added. Chairman Jeff Loris arrived around 6:15 pm and stated he has no conflicts. He opened the Public Hearing. Hearing no comments, Chairman Jeff Loris closed the Public Hearing.
Commissioner Lance Anderson recommended adding dropping power lines along Hwy 91. Dale Coulam stated it requires permission from the owners of those power lines to do that. Right now we don't have that so if we show it in the Transportation Master Plan it would have to have that caveat that it is in property owners' control. Chairman Jeff Loris stated he was told the power lines are too large to bury. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated the lines on north side can be dropped. The lines on the south side at the time could not be dropped because the voltage was too high but since then, they talked about dropping the voltage to allow them to drop the lines. Chuck Gillette stated that the City of St George does not want us to drop the lines. They want to increase the voltage and they are not in an easement where they can increase the voltage so Ivins City may say no they can't increase the voltage and they could also say no we can't lower it. We are in a bit of a dilemma there. The south side is owned by Rocky Mountain Power and has been a higher voltage line before, but they are updating that substation and may reduce the voltage of that line. Then developers would be required to lower lines under the ground at that point, but the substation improvements haven't been made yet. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated it is a prescriptive easement so they can only do what they are doing now, they can't increase their use. As a community member, he would be against them increasing their use. We have been trying to beautify the City for years and that is our main corridor. It is an issue because we rely on them for a lot of things. Chuck Gillette stated he asked them why they may want to raise the voltage. They just built the treatment plant up in Gunlock and they haven't raised the voltage for that. They said what if Shivwits develops because that is on the City of St George. They have an agreement with City of St George to use their power as he understands it. Commissioner Bryan Pack stated it doesn't hurt to put this into our plan. Chuck Gillette stated getting it into the plan is just one step. Getting the funds is another step. We couldn't even collect impact fees. Dale Coulam stated we can't collect fees to lower power lines. On that basis we can't extract money from developers to put it in when right now it is an impossibility. If circumstances change, you could put it in with a caveat and then amend the impact fee study to incorporate it, but we don't have permission and they are actively denying permission. Commissioner Bryan Pack stated that neither party can force the other to do anything different than what is being done now. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated we would hope they would support us through our easement that goes through our City. Dale Coulam stated yes we hope to negotiate that. Commissioner Bryan Pack stated he felt he needed to disclose at this time that he works for the City of St George. Chuck Gillette stated he is not sure impact fees could be justified because there is no need to lower the power lines. If it is going to be funded, it would not be through impact fees, but some other way. If it was our power grid serving our City we could. We are not allowed to correct existing deficiencies. Commissioner Bryan Pack stated he is in favor of dropping power lines with a caveat to the fullest extent we can. Commissioner Doug Clifford stated the best thing is to move them if we can. Commissioner Bob Morris stated put it in and if it can happen it will happen. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated that if the need isn't pushed to some level, it never gets done. We need to put it in there, but also keep the pressure on. Chuck Gillette stated that one thing that is pressing now is that Vista School is building that addition and there is some right-of-way they need to acquire, and Mr. Tien that owns the property next door has agreed to provide that right-of-way once we get this Transportation Master Plan approved. Dale Coulam stated when we remove that street he will provide the right-of-way on Park Avenue. Chuck Gillette stated so we will add to the 5 year plan lowering the power lines. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated if we can get landowners to give up 30 ft without acquisition that may be a way to save some money for this. Chuck Gillette stated we don't have the funds so even being given the land doesn't help us at this point. Figure 11 we were going to change the trail that goes from Hwy 91 up to Kwavasa through the wash from a brown line to a red line. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated he would like to talk to Terry Marten first because that is his property. Chuck Gillette stated we will move it forward, but he wants to leave that brown line trail because it is important. Brown lines are existing trails. The red line is following Sage Way where the water line and a future road. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated take it out. There is no connection through Sage Way and it is private property. Chuck Gillette stated we wouldn't build it until it developed. Commissioner Bryan Pack stated he would be inclined to leave it in. Chuck Gillette stated there is a section that is undeveloped and may be hard to get it in after the fact because homeowners are protective. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated that he used to be a trail person but people think they are entitled and own the property and can do whatever they want. Commissioner Lance Anderson stated that regarding future gates coming out of people's backyards when people use them there is no trail and it is landscaped so they walk through the landscape to get to the trail. There should be a path to the trail.
MOTION: Commissioner Bryan Pack moved to approve recommendation of the amended Transportation Master Plan, as an element of the Ivins City General Plan with the addition to the five year plan lowering the power lines along Hwy 91 to the extent that we can, and with the caveat that owners control that and to include paths between gates and paths to the trails delineated and graveled.
SECOND: Commissioner Bob Morris
VOTE: The motion carried unanimously.
| Chairman Jeff Loris |
AYE |
| Commissioner Bryan Pack |
AYE |
| Commissioner Lance Anderson |
AYE |
| Commissioner Bob Morris |
AYE |
| Commissioner Doug Clifford |
AYE |