CA Review CKM
Meeting Date:
To:
From:
Staff Contact:
[email protected], 442-339-2819
Subject:
the Intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive District:
Recommended Action
Adopt Ordinance No. CS-517 amending Sections 10.28.090 and 10.28.590 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code to establish all-way stop control at the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive.
Executive Summary
The recommended action adopts Ordinance No. CS-517 amending Sections 10.28.090 and
10.28.590 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code to establish all-way stop control at the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive.
Explanation & Analysis
Ordinance No. CS-517 was introduced and first read at the City Council Meeting held on June 23, 2026. On a motion by Mayor Pro Tem Bhat-Patel, seconded by Council Member Acosta, the City Council voted 4/0/1 (Burkholder – Abstain) to introduce Ordinance No. CS-517 amending Sections 10.28.090 and 10.28.590 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code to establish all-way stop control at the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive.
Staff evaluated the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive for all-way stop signs in response to requests from the community and as part of the city’s ongoing efforts to improve traffic safety.
The evaluation was conducted in accordance with the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which serves as the standard and guidance document for traffic control devices installed in the State of California, including traffic signs, road surface markings and traffic signals.
Based on this analysis, the intersection satisfies the criteria for all-way stop consideration.
This second reading allows the City Council to adopt the ordinance.
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Fiscal Analysis
The total estimated cost to implement all-way stop control at the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive is approximately $30,000. Sufficient funds are available in the Traffic Engineering Operating Budget to cover the proposed work.
Estimated cost breakdown
Intersection and associated beacons crosswalk Total
Tamarack Avenue and
Sunnyhill Drive $7,000 $3,000 $20,000 $30,000
Next Steps
The Assistant City Clerk will have the ordinance, or a summary of the ordinance, published in a newspaper of general circulation within 15 days following adoption of the ordinance. The ordinance will be effective 30 days following its adoption.
After the ordinance goes into effect, staff will move forward with the installation of stop signs and associated pavement markings at the intersection. High-visibility crosswalk markings will be installed along with the all-way stop control. The existing rapid flashing beacons as well as the raised crosswalk on Tamarack Avenue near Sunnyhill Drive will be removed concurrently with the installation of all-way stop control.
Environmental Evaluation
The proposed action to establish all-way stop control, install associated roadway striping, remove the existing rapid flashing beacons and the raised crosswalk is categorically exempt from environmental review under California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, Guidelines Section 15301(c) because it involves the maintenance, repair or minor alteration of existing facilities with negligible or no expansion of the existing or former use. This exemption covers changes in traffic and parking regulations, including installation and replacement of related signs where such changes do not establish a higher speed limit along a significant portion of the street and will not result in more than a negligible increase in use of the street. No exceptions to the categorical exemption as set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 or Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 19.04.070(C) apply.
The proposed action is also exempt from the requirements of a minor coastal development permit and coastal development permit because the proposed action is to establish all-way stop control. Activities of public utilities as specified in the repair, maintenance, and utility hookup exclusion adopted by the Coastal Commission, including but not limited to miscellaneous traffic safety projects, are exempt in accordance with Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 21.201.060.B.11. A permit issued by the city for a development which is categorically excluded or exempt from the coastal development permit requirements is exempt from the notice and hearing requirements of Carlsbad Municipal Code Chapter 21.201.
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The proposed action to adopt an ordinance amending Sections 10.28.090 and 10.28.590 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code to establish all-way stop control at the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive is also exempt from environmental review under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15378(b)(5) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment.
Exhibit
1.Ordinance No. CS-517
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Exhibit 1
ORDINANCE NO. CS-517.
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTIONS 10.28.090 and 10.28.590 OF THE
CARLSBAD MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH ALL-WAY STOP CONTROL AT
THE INTERSECTION OF TAMARACK AVENUE AND SUNNYHILL DRIVE WHEREAS, pursuant to Article XI, Section 5 of the California Constitution, and Government Code Section 37100, the City Council may pass ordinances not in conflict with the Constitution and the laws of the State of California or the United States; and
WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad, California is a charter city, duly organized under the California Constitution, the Charter of the City of Carlsbad, and the laws of the State of California; and WHEREAS, Vehicle Code Section 21100 delegates the authority to local authorities to regulate traffic by means of official traffic control devices meeting the requirements of Vehicle Code Section 21400; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to protect the public safety and welfare of persons and property within the City of Carlsbad; and
WHEREAS, staff evaluated the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive for having stop signs in all directions in response to requests from the community and as part of the city’s ongoing efforts to improve traffic safety; and
WHEREAS, staff determined that the proposed all-way stop meets the requirements of the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, would improve safety, and therefore warrants the establishment of all-way stop control at the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive; and
WHEREAS, existing rectangular rapid flashing beacons and the raised crosswalk on Tamarack Avenue near Sunnyhill Drive will be removed with the establishment of all-way stop control; and WHEREAS, on May 4, 2026, staff presented the recommendations to the Traffic Safety & Mobility Commission; and
WHEREAS, the Commission did not support staff’s recommendation to install all-way stop control at the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive; and WHEREAS, there are sufficient funds in the Traffic Engineering operating budget to implement the all-way stop control and related improvements.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, ordains as follows:
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1. That the above recitations are true and correct.
2. That the City Council has determined that the proposed action to establish all-way stop control, install associated roadway striping, remove Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons and the raised crosswalk are categorically exempt from environmental review under California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA, Guidelines Section 15301(c) because it involves the maintenance, repair or minor alteration of existing facilities with negligible or no expansion of the existing or former use. This exemption covers changes in traffic and parking regulations, including installation and replacement of signs in connection therewith, where such changes do not establish a higher speed limit along a significant portion of the street and will not result in more than a negligible increase in use of the street. No exceptions to the categorical exemption as set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 or Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 19.04.070(C) apply.
3. That the City Council has determined that the proposed action is exempt from the requirements of a minor coastal development permit and coastal development permit because the proposed action is to establish all-way stop control. Activities of public utilities as specified in the repair, maintenance, and utility hookup exclusion adopted by the Coastal Commission, including but not limited to miscellaneous traffic safety projects, are exempt in accordance with Carlsbad Municipal Code Section
21.201.060.B.11. A permit issued by the city for a development which is categorically excluded or exempt from the coastal development permit requirements is exempt from the notice and hearing requirements of Carlsbad Municipal Code Chapter 21.201.
4. That the City Council has determined that the proposed action to adopt an ordinance amending Title 10, Chapter 10.28, Sections 090 and 590 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code to establish all-way stop control at the intersection of Tamarack Avenue and Sunnyhill Drive is also exempt from environmental review under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15061(b)(3) and 15378(b)(5) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the proposed action may have a significant effect on the environment.
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5. Title 10, Chapter 28, Section 090 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:
§ 10.28.090 Tamarack Avenue
Drivers shall stop where the following described streets intersect Tamarack Avenue:
Adams Street
Garfield Street
Jefferson Street
Pio Pico Street
Palisades Drive
Skyline Drive
Levee Drive
Knollwood Drive
Strata Drive (east)
Sunnyhill Drive
6. Title 10, Chapter 28, Section 590 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code is amended to read as follows:
§ 10.28.590 Sunnyhill Drive
Drivers shall stop where the following described streets intersect Sunnyhill Drive:
Alder Avenue
Monroe Street
Tamarack Avenue
EFFECTIVE DATE: This ordinance shall be effective thirty days after its adoption and the City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this ordinance and cause the full text of the ordinance, or a summary of the ordinance prepared by the City Attorney to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Carlsbad within fifteen days after its adoption.
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INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ at a Regular Meeting of the Carlsbad City Council on the 23rd day of June, 2026, and thereafter
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad on the 7th day of July, 2026, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Blackburn, Bhat-Patel, Acosta, Shin.
NAYS: None.
ABSTAIN: Burkholder.
ABSENT: None.
APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY:
_________________________________
CINDIE K. McMAHON, City Attorney
_______________________________________
KEITH BLACKBURN, Mayor
_______________________________________
SHERRY FREISINGER, City Clerk
(SEAL)
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