CITY OF GROVER BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item No. 8
Placement: Business
Meeting Date: February 10, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
FROM: Matthew Bronson, City Manager
PREPARED BY: Greg Ray, City Engineer/Public Works Director Erin Wiggin, CIP Manager
SUBJECT: Street Repair Update
RECOMMENDATION
Receive an update on the status of street maintenance and rehabilitation efforts including on private streets south of Farroll Road and provide direction to staff on the next Measure K-14 project to begin construction along with the timing of the North 4th Street improvement project.
BACKGROUND
The City Council has identified Community Infrastructure as one of its multi-year City goals. This goal focuses on long-range planning and the upkeep of well-maintained infrastructure, including city streets. The City is responsible for maintaining approximately 45 centerline miles of streets, which includes nearly 10 million square feet of pavement, and uses pavement management software to evaluate the condition of the streets and strategically plan and prioritize street maintenance.
Since 2014, major maintenance or rehabilitation projects on residential streets has been completed using voter-approved Measure K-14 bond proceeds. The City is approaching the 11th year of this Measure K-14 program which provides up to $48 million in bond funds for repair of residential streets with an estimated timeframe of 25 years. Work on the remainder of city streets, which are generally arterial streets referred to as “major streets,” including 4th Street, Oak Park Boulevard, El Camino Real, West Grand Avenue, Farroll Road and The Pike, is not funded by Measure K-14 but rather by other sources including the General Fund, Gas Tax funds allocated by the State, Local Transportation Funds (LTF) allocated by the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments (SLOCOG), and outside grants.
In summer 2025, the City engaged a consultant to evaluate the condition of the City’s streets after 10 years of the Measure K-14 bond measure work. The streets are evaluated and rated on a scale of 0-100 using a number called the Pavement Condition Index or PCI. The City’s target PCI is 65. The table on the following page shows the Condition Category and the corresponding PCI range for both Measure K-14 and major streets from 2025 as compared to 2014 before the Measure K-14 bond measure was passed:
Staff Report: Street Repair Update Page 2
February 10, 2026
The overall PCI rating for all City streets is now 69 compared with 39 in 2014. Approximately 75% of City streets are classified as excellent/good/fair compared with 34% in 2014. Only 24% of streets now are classified as poor/failed compared with 65% in 2014. Below is a breakdown of these conditions for the Measure K-14 streets in particular:
The overall PCI rating for the Measure K-14 residential streets is 73. Once all of the Measure K14 projects are completed, the PCI for these streets will be 80. Approximately 81% of these streets are now classified as excellent/good/fair with only 18% now classified as poor/failed.
Measure K-14 Projects
Staff would first note that while there has been significant progress in repairing local streets in the Measure K-14 program, there is still substantial work to fully repair all of these streets. To date, the City has completed maintenance or rehabilitation of nearly 320 city blocks, which represents over 70 percent of the streets included in the Measure K-14 program. Construction of the most recent Measure K-14 project was completed in August 2025 on Capital Improvement Program (CIP) 2295-18, which was a surface treatment of over 80 blocks throughout the city. In general, the City is on a cycle of completing about one Measure K-14 project per fiscal year to continue the progress in improving residential streets.
In terms of current status of projects, bid documents have been prepared for the next Measure K14 street repair project (CIP 2295-17) which is estimated to cost $2.4 million and includes rehabilitation of 13 blocks including portions of N. 9th (which also includes construction of a storm Staff Report: Street Repair Update Page 3
February 10, 2026
drain), N. 11th and 12th Streets along with Brighton and Ramona Avenues. A map of this project scope is shown in Attachment 2. Construction on this project has been put on hold since 2024 with the delay in related sewer upgrade work on affected streets due to lack of sufficient funding in the Wastewater Fund. This has now been resolved with the new sewer rate structure and the sewer upgrade work is currently underway with an estimated completion in July which would then enable the CIP Project 2295-17 street repair project to begin.
However, given the past delay, Council directed staff in January 2025 to proceed with the design for the next street project CIP 2295-19. This is a larger project (28 blocks) estimated to cost $3.1 million and includes portions of Brighton and Ramona Avenues along with N. 2nd, N. 5th, N. 6th, and N. 7th Streets. Project design is almost complete and construction could start in July in place of CIP Project 2295-17. Staff is seeking direction from the Council in deciding which Measure K14 project should proceed first with the second project beginning afterwards in 2027.
Beyond these two specific projects, Attachment 1 shows all the Measure K-14 projects that have been completed and the remaining residential streets to repair in the Measure K-14 program. Staff believes the remaining projects could be completed by 2032, which is ahead of the original program completion date of 2040. Approximately $13 million in available funding remains from the $48 million bond funding with five more projects (including the two mentioned above) planned to address all residential streets. Staff anticipates coming to the Council this fall to approve the issuance of a $5 million bond to continue funding Measure K-14 projects.
As shared previously with the Council, staff is forecasting a funding shortage of $3-4 million to fully complete the programmed Measure K-14 projects by 2032 given inflation in recent years along with escalating construction costs. Additional funding to complete these projects would need to come from other sources including potentially the General Fund. No immediate action on this long-term funding gap is needed as there is sufficient funding for more immediate projects though staff will continue to engage the Council over time in ways to address this funding gap in completing all residential street repairs.
Upon completion of all Measure K-14 projects, the estimated cost to maintain residential streets in good condition (PCI value of 65 or better) is $2 million per year. The City has begun programming maintenance of previously rehabilitated Measure K-14 funded streets in the CIP starting in FY 2026-27 with a recurring annual maintenance project funded by the General Fund (CIP 2250-1), but these allocations are only $50,000 for FY 2026-27 and FY 2027-28 before increasing to potentially $230,000 beginning in FY 2028-29. Additional projects and ongoing funding will need to be included in annual budgets in future years as a lack of maintenance funding would reduce the PCI to 49 in less than 10 years.
Lastly, the City’s sidewalk infill public/private partnership program has been available for property owner participation on streets where Measure K-14 projects are being completed. With this program, the City will fund half of the cost to construct concrete sidewalk, curb, and gutter improvements. As a result of this program, the number of property owners funding sidewalk improvements has increased from 1-2 per project to an average of 4-5 per project. The City’s contribution is funded with an annual budget allocation of $50,000 and is projected to resume in FY 2026-27.
Major Streets Projects
Improvements to major arterial streets have been historically limited due to lack of resources for these repairs. However, in recent years, the City has received additional general revenues including cannabis tax revenues and increased sales tax revenues first through the approval of Measure X-06 in 2006 and then Measure F-20 in 2020. As a result, the Council previously Staff Report: Street Repair Update Page 4
February 10, 2026
allocated additional General Fund revenue for major streets projects with a priority on streets that are heavily used or located with numerous businesses and residents. Two major streets that have been improved in recent years have been South Oak Park Boulevard between West Grand Avenue and Mentone Avenue and West Grand Avenue between 8th and 4th Streets. The West Grand Avenue project was completed in June 2025 and included pavement rehabilitation, landscaped medians, sidewalk and crosswalk improvements, street trees, and installation of storm drains on this section of the city’s main commercial corridor.
At this time, only one major street project is currently funded in the City’s CIP (North 4th Street from West Grand Avenue to Ocean View Avenue) given direction from the Council to focus future General Fund resources on local street maintenance needs. North 4th Street is one of the primary thoroughfares to and from the city and repair work is recommended to be done relatively soon in order to do a lighter maintenance “grind and overlay” project compared with a more costly and extensive full depth rehabilitation. This project, estimated to cost approximately $2 million with $1.1 million in funding from the General Fund, was intended to be done this fiscal year. However, given the current project workload, staff is not able to carry out the North 4th Street project at this time and recommends deferring this project to FY 2026-27 which would still be timely to do this repair work before a more costly rehabilitation was needed. Staff is seeking Council direction on this recommendation.
Overall, there is a total of over $20 million in unfunded major street improvement needs for segments of West Grand Avenue, South Oak Park Boulevard, South 4th Street, Farroll Road, The Pike, and El Camino Real along with an estimated $500,000 in annual maintenance costs for all major streets. $9 million of this need alone is for South 4th Street south of Highland Way to the City limit given the condition of the street and underlying drainage issues from adjacent properties.
This street section has historically been lightly traveled given the proximity to Highway 1 and 13th Street and has been closed to through traffic since early 2023 given storm damage. Repairing this street section requires a complex redesign to address the challenges with flooding and debris.
Staff has applied for a Sustainable Communities grant for planning and design for a complete streets project for South 4th Street which would include drainage improvements, repaving, construction of a protected bike lane, and streetlights.
Streets South of Farroll Road
Lastly, staff wanted to review with the Council the ownership status of streets south of Farroll Road following an initial Council discussion on this topic in January 2025. The Council has previously provided direction to include the streets south of Farroll Road as part of the Measure K-14 street program. However, the program’s list of street projects has these streets south of Farroll Road in the last set of projects due to concerns regarding existing easements, dedications and ownership of streets in the area between private property owners and the City. Staff has conducted a thorough analysis of the City’s vested interest in the roads south of Farroll Road.
While these roads were initially reserved for developers and their successors in interest according to the applicable 1926 resubdivision map of the area, identified as the Pismo Beach Gardens on the original subdivision map, the City has established significant vested rights through its longterm maintenance and improvement activities on these roads.
Support of the City’s vested rights is found in California Civil Code § 1009(d), which provides that a governmental entity can acquire vested rights in private land through public improvement and maintenance. The statute specifically states that when a governmental entity uses private lands through the expenditure of public funds on visible improvements and conducts maintenance related to public use in a manner where the owner knows or should know of such use, these actions confer upon the governmental entity a vested right to continue such use after five years, Staff Report: Street Repair Update Page 5
February 10, 2026
provided the owner neither gives express permission nor takes steps to prohibit such use. These rights include “any public use reasonably related to the purposes of such improvement.” The City has firmly established these vested rights through its historical construction of the roads, ongoing improvements to the road infrastructure, and regular maintenance activities, all funded through public expenditure. These activities clearly meet the statutory requirements as they constitute visible improvements and maintenance related to public use. The long-term nature of these activities, extending well beyond the five-year statutory period, has solidified these rights.
The City's vested rights in these roadways, while substantial, are limited to the existing established road footprint and do not constitute ownership of the underlying property. These rights encompass basic road maintenance, traffic and parking regulation, street lighting installation and maintenance, drainage system implementation, and other standard street-related improvements necessary for public safety and convenience. While the City may utilize these roads for additional public infrastructure that could be considered "reasonably related to the purposes of such improvement," the determination of what constitutes a reasonable use is not definitive. The potential scope may include underground utilities such as water lines, sewer connections, storm drainage systems, electrical conduits, and telecommunications infrastructure, as well as surface improvements like sidewalks, pedestrian facilities, bicycle lanes, street lighting, and traffic calming measures. These uses may be considered reasonable as they relate to the road's primary purpose of providing public transportation infrastructure and align with modern street requirements. Given the private ownership, the City could not expand beyond the established roadway footprint and any improvements must remain within these physical constraints.
Given the City's extensive history of maintaining and improving these roads, staff has concluded that the City has established vested rights in the Pismo Beach Gardens roads and that these rights provide the City with the sufficient authority to continue maintaining and improving these roads as part of the larger street improvement program. Staff believes that pursuing additional actions to secure property ownership could involve substantial use of City staff time and legal resources that would not produce demonstrative benefits to the City beyond the benefits under the current vested rights.
FISCAL IMPACT
There are no immediate funding impacts to this staff report. Staff would note that a potential countywide sales tax measure from the San Luis Obispo Council of Governments for the November 2026 election, could generate additional annual funding to the City for transportation projects over 30 years starting at approximately $865,000 in the first year if the measure was approved by voters. Such funding would supplement the City’s existing funding for transportation projects and help address funding shortfalls for local streets, major streets, or other transportation improvements at the discretion of the Council.
Multi-Year Goals
☐ Public Safety and Community Services ☐ Economic Development and Housing ☐ Community Infrastructure ☐ Financial and Organization Sustainability Council Priorities
☐ Water & Wastewater Infrastructure ☐ Community Engagement Staff Report: Street Repair Update
February 10, 2026
ALTERNATIVES
The Council has the following alternatives to consider:
1. Receive an update on the status of street maintenance and rehabilitation efforts including on private streets south of Farroll Road and provide direction to staff on the next Measure K-14 project to begin construction along with the timing of the North 4th Street improvement project; or
2. Provide alternative direction to staff.
PUBLIC NOTIFICATION
The agenda was posted in accordance with the Brown Act.
ATTACHMENTS
1. Map of Measure K-14 Street Projects
2. CIP Project 2295-17 Map
3. CIP Project 2295-19 Map
4. List of Future Measure K-14 Street Projects
Completed Projects
2295-1 thru 2295-16 & 2295-18
Current Projects
2295-17 and 2295-19
(2295-17 project delayed due to sewer work delay)
Future Projects
2295-20 – 2295-24
(projects identified, not yet scheduled)
Map Rev 01/13/2026
Attachment 1
Project #2295-17
Project identified by City Council 8/23/2021
Design and Construction schedule TBD
STREET LIST:
Alma Court
Brighton Avenue, N. 10th Street to N. 13th Street
Ramona Avenue, N. 16th Street to Oak Park Boulevard
North 9th Street, West Grand Avenue to Atlantic City Avenue North 11th Street, West Grand Avenue to Ramona Avenue
North 12th Street, West Grand Avenue to Ramona, Brighton to Newport Attachment 2
Project #2295-19
Design Starting May 2025 & Construction schedule TBD
STREET LIST:
Brighton Avenue, Front Street to Beckett
Brighton Avenue, N. 2nd to N. 4th Street
Brighton Avenue, N. 4th Street to N. 8th Street
Ramona Avenue, Front Street to N. 3rd Street
Ramona Avenue, N. 4th Street to N. 8th Street
North 2nd Street, Park View Avenue to Ocean View Avenue North 2nd Street, West Grand Avenue to Ramona Avenue
North 5th Street, West Grand Avenue to Saratoga Avenue
North 6th Street, West Grand Avenue to Atlantic City Avenue North 6th Street, Park View Avenue to Ocean View Avenue North 7th Street, Brighton Avenue to Atlantic City Avenue Attachment 3
Project #2295-20
Rockaway Avenue, South 2nd Street to South 8th Street
South 5th Street, West Grand Avenue to Seabright Avenue South 5th Street, Trouville Avenue to Farroll Road
South 6th Street, West Grand Avenue to Rockaway Avenue
South 6th Street, Longbranch Avenue to Seabright Avenue Project #2295-22
Barca Street
Calvin Court
Griffin Street
Huber Street
Huston Street
Leoni Drive
Project #2295-21
Baden Avenue, South 10th Street to South 16th Street
Nice Avenue, South 13th Street to cul-de-sac
Hermosa Court
Huntington Avenue
Rockaway Avenue, South 8th Street to South 11th Street
South 9th Street, Longbranch Avenue to Mentone Avenue
South 11th Street, Mentone Avenue to Nice Avenue
South 11th Street, Baden Avenue to Farroll Road
South 12th Street, Seabright Avenue to Farroll Road
Future Projects List:
Attachment 4