TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Steve Powers, City Manager
FROM: Peter Fernandez, PE, Public Works Director
SUBJECT:
title
Salem Transportation System Plan Amendment for Greencrest Street NE
Ward(s): 6
Councilor(s):Hoy
Neighborhood(s): East Lancaster NA
Result Area(s): Safe, Reliable, and Efficient Infrastructure
end
ISSUE:
Shall the City Council conduct first reading of Ordinance Bill No. 18-19 to initiate a legislative land use proceeding to amend the Salem Transportation System Plan to shift the alignment of the proposed Greencrest Street NE extension and refer this matter to Planning Commission for a public hearing?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Conduct first reading of Ordinance Bill No. 18-19 to initiate a legislative land use proceeding to amend the Salem Transportation System Plan to shift the alignment of the proposed Greencrest Street NE extension and refer this matter to Planning Commission for a public hearing.
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SUMMARY:
Greencrest Street NE is a north-south collector street that connects Center Street NE with Auburn Road NE west of Cordon Road NE. The Salem Transportation System Plan (Salem TSP) calls for Greencrest Street NE to be extended south of Auburn Road NE to connect to State Street opposite Cougar Court SE. Based on a request from the developer, staff is recommending that the alignment of Greencrest Street NE be shifted east approximately 585 feet to connect to State Street opposite Oakmont Court SE (see Attachment 1). Owing to the length of the shift in the street alignment, an amendment to the Salem TSP is required. Ordinance Bill 18-19 amending the Salem TSP is provided as Attachments 2 and 3.
FACTS AND FINDINGS:
The property through which the proposed Greencrest Street NE extension runs is primarily owned by Pictsweet Co. The site was previously a mushroom plant. The property has been rezoned for residential and commercial use. East Park LLC (Developer) submitted an application to the City for developing the property that includes the proposed Greencrest Street NE extension.
As part of the development proposal, the Developer has requested that the proposed extension of Greencrest Street NE be realigned so that it connects to State Street opposite Oakmont Court SE, which is approximately 585 feet east of the original connection at Cougar Court SE. The reasons for this request are discussed in two memoranda from Transight Consulting, LLC, dated August 1 and October 11, 2019 (see Attachments 4 and 5). The memoranda support shifting the alignment opposite Oakmont Court for the following reasons:
• The current alignment opposite Cougar Court SE is only 200 feet east of the driveway that serves a 46-unit manufactured home park. In the future, a new traffic signal is planned on State Street at Greencrest Street NE. If the location remains in the current TSP alignment, the eastbound traffic queues would block this driveway. Blocking access to a street or driveway can negatively impact circulation and operation of the transportation system. Realigning Greencrest Street NE to connect to State Street opposite Oakmont Court SE eliminates this conflict.
• Greencrest Street NE can better serve the higher-intensity commercial portion of the site and prevent cut-through traffic through the new neighborhoods with a location adjacent to the commercial development and across from Oakmont Court.
• Multimodal benefits are provided with signalization at 49th Avenue SE, as it most closely links the neighborhoods to the south with the commercial area.
The Street System Element of the Salem TSP outlines a comprehensive system of streets and highways that serve the mobility and multimodal travel needs of the Salem Urban Area. Greencrest Street NE is identified on Map 3-1, Street Plan, as a north-south collector street that connects Center Street NE to Auburn Road NE west of Cordon Road NE. The Street Plan identifies Greencrest Street NE as a future collector street from Auburn Road NE to State Street NE. A project to extend Greencrest Street NE from Auburn Street NE to State Street is included in the Street System Element. This project is shown on Maps 3-5 and 3-7 and listed in Table 3-6 as a medium priority project. In the text, the project is mistakenly listed as a low priority project. The proposed amendment would correct this discrepancy between the text, maps, and table. At the time the project was first included in the Salem TSP, the project to extend Greencrest Street NE was outside City limits. The land surrounding this proposed street extension has since been annexed to the City limits. The alignment for the street extension appears on the following maps in the Salem TSP:
3-1: Street Plan
3-5: Street Improvement Projects
3-7: Street Improvement Projects - Northeast Salem
7-2: Bicycle Network - Northeast Salem
7-3: Bicycle Network - Southeast Salem
8-4: Pedestrian Network - Northeast Salem
8-5: Pedestrian Network - Southeast Salem
8-9: Pedestrian Project Prioritization - Northeast Salem
8-10: Pedestrian Project Prioritization - Southeast Salem
The Salem TSP, Street System Element Policy 4.5, allows alignments of future streets to shift up to 200 feet from the adopted alignment. The development has requested that the alignment be shifted approximately 585 feet, which is greater than 200 feet, thereby requiring an amendment to the Salem TSP.
Policy 4.5 Deviation of Future Street Alignments
Between its intersections with arterial and collector streets, the location of a street right-of-way can be varied up to 200 feet on either side of the planned roadway centerline as identified in the Salem Transportation System Plan with the approval of the Public Works Director. Deviations greater than 200 feet shall require an amendment to the Salem Transportation System Plan.
Per Salem Revised Code (SRC) 64.015, the Salem TSP is a component of the comprehensive plan. Comprehensive plan amendments are either major or minor.
SRC 64.020(b) Major comprehensive plan amendment. A major comprehensive plan amendment is any amendment to the comprehensive plan that involves the creation, revision, or implementation of broad public policy generally affecting more than one property owner or affecting a large number of individual properties.
SRC 64.020(c) Minor comprehensive plan amendment. A minor comprehensive plan amendment is:
(1) Any amendment other than a major comprehensive plan amendment; and
(2) Any amendment that is necessary to comply with an order, directive, or recommendation of a governmental body responsible for administering state land use law, or to comply with an order of a court having jurisdiction over litigation involving state land use law. As used in this section, the term “governmental body responsible for administering state land use law” includes, but is not limited to, the Land Use Board of Appeals, the Land Conservation and Development Commission, and the Department of Land Conservation and Development.
The proposed amendment would include the following changes to the Salem TSP:
• Street System Element
o Amend maps 3-1, 3-5, and 3-7 to reflect the shift in alignment for Greencrest Street NE;
o Northeast Salem Projects: move text describing the Greencrest Street NE Extension project from low priority projects (page 3-41) to the section, “New Streets and Extensions of Existing Streets (Medium Priority)” on page 3-40.
o Delete the reference to Marion County associated with the Greencrest Street NE Extension project in text and in Table 3-6, Medium Priority Street Improvement Projects.
• Bicycle System Element
o Amend maps 7-2 and 7-3 to reflect the shift in alignment for Greencrest Street NE;
• Pedestrian System Element
o Amend maps 8-4, 8-5, 8-9, and 8-10 to reflect the shift in alignment for Greencrest Street NE.
The proposed amendment meets the definition of a minor comprehensive plan amendment because it does not involve creation, revision, or implementation of broad public policy generally affecting more than one property owner or affecting a large number of individual properties. According to SRC 64.020, a minor comprehensive plan amendment can be initiated by staff. Notice of the proposed amendment will be provided pursuant to SRC 300.1110.
Substantive Findings:
SRC 64.020(f)(2) establishes the criteria under which a minor comprehensive plan amendment may be made:
(A) The amendment does not significantly change or amend key principles or policies in the comprehensive plan;
Finding: The Salem TSP, Street System Element, Policy 1.5, System of Collector Streets, states, “The City’s street system shall contain a network of collector streets that serve to connect local traffic to and from the arterial street system.” According to the Salem TSP, Street System Element Table 3-1, City of Salem Street Classification and Basic Design Guidelines, a collector street primarily distributes traffic between neighborhoods, activity centers, and the arterial street system. Secondarily, a collector provides property access. The realignment of the proposed Greencrest Street NE extension does not change its function as a north-south collector street. It will continue to distribute traffic between neighborhoods, activity centers, and the arterial street system while also providing property access. For these reasons, the amendment satisfies this criterion.
(B) The amendment does not require substantial changes to plan language to maintain internal plan consistency;
Finding: The amendment calls for connecting Greencrest Street NE to State Street opposite Oakmont Court SE, which is approximately 585 feet east of the original alignment that connected to State Street opposite Cougar Court SE. The Salem TSP, Street System Element, Policy 4.5 states that any deviation of over 200 feet for a planned roadway shall require an amendment to the Salem TSP. As realigned, the extension of Greencrest Street NE will continue to serve as a north-south collector between Auburn Road NE and State Street, east of Cordon Road SE. For these reasons, the amendment satisfies this criterion.
(C) The amendment does not require significant factual or policy analysis;
Finding: The Greencrest Street NE extension would perform the same function in the new alignment as it would in the alignment currently called for in the Salem TSP and satisfies Comprehensive Transportation Policies 5 and 6:
Policy 5. The vehicle, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian circulation systems shall be designed to connect major population and employment centers in the Salem Urban Area, as well as provide access to local neighborhood residential, shopping, schools, and other activity centers.
Policy 6. The provision of transportation facilities and services shall reflect and support land use designations and development patterns as identified in the Salem Area Comprehensive Plan. The design and implementation of transportation facilities and services shall be based on serving current and future travel demand, residential densities, retail, and employment centers.
Because the Greencrest Street NE extension would perform the same function in the new alignment, the amendment satisfies this criterion.
(D) The amendment is in the public interest of the public health, safety, and welfare of the City;
Finding: Comprehensive Transportation Policy 15, Transportation Safety, states:
Local governments within the Salem Urban Area shall make as a high priority the planning, design, construction, and operation of a safe transportation system for all modes of travel including minimizing conflicts between different travel modes.
The new alignment behaves in the same manner as the previous alignment and does not interfere with the public health, safety, or welfare of the City. The amendment is consistent with the Salem TSP and satisfies this criterion.
(E) The amendment conforms to the applicable statewide planning goals and applicable administrative rules adopted by the Department of Land Conservation and Development.
Finding: The Salem TSP has been acknowledged by the Department of Land Conservation and Development. The realigned Greencrest Street NE extension continues to conform to the standards and policies set within the Salem TSP, and thus all applicable goals and administrative rules adopted by the Department of Land Conservation and Development. The amendment satisfies this criterion.
Robert D. Chandler, PhD, PE
Assistant Public Works Director
Attachments:
1. Greencrest Vicinity Map
2. Ordinance Bill No. 18-19
3. Exhibit 1 of Ordinance Bill No. 18-19
4. Memorandum dated August 1, 2019, Pictsweet Greencrest Street Alignment, Transight Consulting, LLC
5. Memorandum dated October 11, 2019, Greencrest Street Alignment, Transight Consulting, LLC