DATE: 12/04/2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Community Services Department
2024-189
REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBJECT:
VICE MAYOR STEINER’S REQUEST FOR THE CITY COUNCIL TO CONSIDER THE
INSTALLATION OF AUTOMATED TIMED GATES AT THE ENTRANCES TO THE
SIERRA BELLA PARK PARKING LOT
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
This staff report asks the City Council to provide direction on Vice Mayor Steiner’s request to consider the installation of automated timed gates at the entrances to the parking lot at Sierra Bella Park to provide additional security and prohibit afterhours activity in the park.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council provide direction on the installation of an automated timed gate system at the entrances to the Sierra Bella Park Parking lot.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY:
Vice Mayor Steiner submitted a future agenda item request to consider the installation of automated timed gates at the entrances to the parking lot at Sierra Bella Park to provide additional security and prohibit afterhours activities in the park. This request is based on a number of reports from residents to the Police Department non-emergency line for people loitering or sleeping in their vehicles inside the park, after curfew hours, on a regular basis.
ANALYSIS:
Sierra Bella Park is located on a small plateau off of Sierra Bella Drive. The location makes it difficult to view the areas of the park from Sierra Bella Drive. A city contractor, Security Defense, currently secures the restrooms at Sierra Bella Park each night, and the Park Rangers provide patrol services until 8:00 p.m. There is also an active camera monitoring the parking lot areas at this site.
Automated times gates could be installed to close at scheduled times and allow for cars parked inside the closed gates to leave after hours by using a traffic loop to signal the gate to open. The cost of the gates, actuators, traffic loop, electrical run, and installation is estimated to cost approximately $30,000.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact of Council considering this item. If council directs staff to install the gates, a budget appropriation would be considered later in a separate Council action.
ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS:
This action is exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the Guidelines for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that a project is exempt from CEQA if the activity is covered by the commonsense exemption that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. Where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment, the activity is not subject to CEQA. This action seeks direction from the Council regarding installing timed automated gates at the Sierra Bella Park parking lot. Therefore, no environmental analysis is required.
PREPARED BY: MOSES CORTEZ, FACILITIES, PARKS, AND TRAILS MANAGER REVIEWED BY: DONNA FINCH, COMMUNITY SERVICES DIRECTOR
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Exhibit 1 – Future Agenda Item Request