RES 91023 - Laserfiche WebLink

In 1986, the General Plan Circulation Element modified the Foothill Road lane width between Muirwood South and Bernal Avenue to a three lane configuration (two lanes plus turn lane); the lane width from Stoneridge Drive to Muirwood South was retained as four lanes, divided. The General Plan does not contain any street widths; it simply designates lanes and specifies that streets meet the City's design standards. The General Plan describes the Foothill Road corridor as a high quality, rural character area. It also designates Foothill Road as a major part of the City's bicycle network. The City is in the process of completing a soundwall and pedestrian/bike path along the developed, medium density eastern side of the roadway. The sidewalk here "meanders," in places monolithic with the roadway, in places separated by a narrow planter. The landscaping along this eastern, developed side has been redone to eliminate the prior species which were of an urban character and to replace them with trees and shrubs more indigenous and in keeping with the street's rural character. Overhead power lines unlikely to be undergrounded in the near future limit the height and spread of the trees along this portion of the road. Aliqnment Study Because the City has been receiving development applications along this portion of Foothill Road, the time was ripe for preparing a new alignment study based on today's sensibilities with regards to Foothill Road and the 1986 General Plan lane configurations. The City hired MacKay and Somps, civil engineers, to assist staff in preparing an alignment study. This work has be~n completed and is before the City decision-making bodies for review. The Foothill Road alignment study is one of several studies which are, to a more or less extent, interrelated. The City has completed a Sphere of Influence andAnnexation Feasibility Study of those lands above the 670 ft. elevation contour westerly of Foothill Road. Development and access determinations can affect Foothill Road's design, but those decisions are not expected until completion of a citizens' committee review. The City recently adopted a corridor overlay district setting development standards along the western edge of Foothill Road. And the City has contracted with Cordoza Dilallo Harrington to prepare a conceptual landscape plan for Foothill Road which would achieve the "rural character" goal. The annexation feasibility study, overlay district, and alignment study (in process) were reviewed by the Planning Commission and City Council at a joint study session on April 2, 1990. That meeting was dominated by discussion of the Pleasanton Ridge issues, with little comment on the proposed alignment for Foothill Road. Neighborhood Meeting On Thursday, July 19', 1990, staff met with neighbors abutting Foothill Road to show them the draft plan, including the individual SR91:52 4