Planning Commission Staff Report
Report Prepared by: Michael Wegley, P.E., Interim City Engineer
Title
SUBJECT: Annual Review of the Five-Year (2024-2029) Capital Improvement Program (CIP), Determination of Whether the Individual Projects are Consistent with the General Plan Maps, Policies, and Principles and Recommendation to the City Council Regarding the Consistency with the Merced Vision 2030 General Plan
ACTION Adopt a finding that the CIP is consistent with the General Plan
SUMMARY
A function of the Planning Commission is the annual review of the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). The CIP is a list of the physical improvements the City plans on funding and constructing over the next five years. The Planning Commission’s role is to determine whether the individual projects are consistent with the General Plan maps, policies, and principles. The Draft Project List for the 2024-2025 Capital Improvement Program document is provided at Attachment A with the entire 2024-2029 CIP provided at Attachment B. Please note that the budget numbers are still being finalized so they are subject to change prior to City Council consideration.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission recommend to the City Council that the Draft Five-Year Capital Improvement Program is consistent with the “Merced Vision 2030 General Plan” and related master plans.
Body
DISCUSSION
Background
The CIP is part of the budget scheduled to be adopted by the City Council on June 17, 2024. The Planning Commission needs to make a finding on General Plan compliance prior to the Council taking action.
What is a Capital Improvement Program (CIP)?
The Draft Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a list of physical improvements that the department heads and City Manager believe the City should fund and build during the five- year period covered by the program. Projects are considered in light of the General Plan, Public Facility Financing Plan, the City’s overall priorities, the expressed needs of citizens, the merits of each specific project, financial constraints, and Federal and State restrictions on the use of inter-governmental funds.
Department heads try to minimize expenditures by priority and coordinating projects whenever possible. Also, City Staff tries to minimize the City’s share of construction costs whenever feasible through Federal, State, or County participation.
The CIP is one of the best devices for implementing the General Plan and other goals and policies of Merced. It can be effective for guiding development, particularly in relation to urban expansion policies.
Benefits of Capital Improvement Programming
• Implements the City’s General Plan (particularly the circulation, land use, and public facilities elements)
• Encourages early review of priorities
• Provides opportunities for coordination among projects with respect to location, function, and timing
• Utilizes public input to assist with sites for needed projects and where advance acquisition should occur
• Provides for long-range financial planning
Role of the Planning Commission
Ultimately, the City Council is responsible for selection of the Capital Improvement Program projects and their prioritization. The Planning Commission’s role is to determine whether the projects are consistent with the General Plan text, maps, and policies. The Commission should limit itself to this; however, feel free to suggest deleting, modifying, or adding projects. The Commission is not asked to prioritize the projects.
General Plan Consistency
The General Plan is a document that looks ahead 20 years or more and establishes broad policies relating to growth. Although the General Plan identifies major infrastructure needs, such as major roadways, sewer trunk lines, new fire and police stations, etc., the General Plan does NOT contain a comprehensive detailed list of projects that the City will build over the life of the plan. Therefore, one would not find most of the projects listed in the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) specifically mentioned in the General Plan.
Roadway projects are an example of a typical CIP project. These projects are consistent with the General Plan Circulation Element or are depicted on the Circulation Map. The same nexus is found in the case for new fire stations and parks, which are discussed in the Public Facilities and Open Space Chapters. Other examples are the location of individual traffic signals, generally not included in the General Plan, but does NOT conflict with any adopted policies, text, or maps in the General Plan. Improvements or upgrades to existing facilities, which are prevalent throughout the CIP, would be viewed in the same manner.
The General Plan has many policies, however, which are supported through the implementation of the proposed CIP projects. Examples include:
• T 1.2 - Coordinate circulation and transportation planning with pertinent regional, state and federal agencies
• T 1.4 - Promote traffic safety for all modes of transportation
• T 2.6 - Maintain and expand the community’s existing bicycle circulation system
• T 2.7 - Maintain a pedestrian friendly environment
• T 3.4 - Reduce rail system impacts on circulation in the urban area
• P 1.1 - Provide adequate public infrastructure and municipal services to meet the needs of future development
• P 1.2 - Utilize existing infrastructure and public service capacities to the maximum extent possible and provide for the logical, timely, and economically efficient extension of infrastructure and services
• P 2.1 - Maintain and enhance public protection facilities, equipment, and personnel to the maximum extent feasible within the resource constraints of the City to serve the City’s needs
• P-3 Water - Ensure that adequate water supply can be provided within the City’s service area, concurrent with service expansion and population growth
• P-4 Wastewater - Provide adequate wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal capacity for existing and projected future needs
• P-5 - Provide effective storm drainage facilities for future development
• P-6 -Establish programs to recover recyclable materials and energy from solid waste generated within the City
• OS 1.5 a - Preserve and enhance water quality
• OS 3.1 - Provide high quality park and open space facilities to serve the needs of a growing population
• OS 3.2 - Maintain and expand the City’s bikeway and trail system
• OS 3.3 - Maintain the City’s existing high-quality open space facilities
• S 3.2a - Maintain essential services in the event of flooding or dam failure
• S 4.2 - Maintain a reasonable level of accessibility and infrastructure support for fire suppression, disaster, and other emergency services
City staff has reviewed the list of CIP projects against the policies, text, and maps in the Merced Vision 2030 General Plan. It has been determined that the projects are consistent and do not conflict with any parts of the General Plan. Based upon these findings, the Planning staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt a finding of General Plan consistency for the Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan (Attachment A). The version provided to the City Council as part of the budget will include final cost estimates and allocated amounts for each budget year for FY 2024-25 (the amounts shown currently are draft and subject to change).
ATTACHMENTS
A. City of Merced 2024-2025 Capital Improvement Program
B. City of Merced 5-Year Capital Improvement Program (2024-2029)