MEETING DATE: January 19, 2023
PROJECT: Downtown Manteca Transit Center Connectivity and Enhancement Plan
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt Resolution No. 1620 recommending that the City Council find the project to be exempt from CEQA and adopt the Downtown Manteca Transit Center Connectivity and Enhancement Plan.
PROJECT LOCATION
The project area is located in Downtown Manteca, centered on the downtown commercial core, the transit center, and Manteca High School (see Figure 1).
Figure 1: Project Area
Project Description & ANALYSIS
The Downtown Manteca Transit Center Connectivity and Enhancement Plan (Plan) is a planning document that identifies steps needed to fully integrate the Manteca Transit Center with the historic downtown area, including Manteca High School. The Plan is funded through a Caltrans Sustainable Communities grant awarded to the City of Manteca, the Local Government Commission (LGC), and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Stockton (CCDS). Through the RFP process, the City selected the firm CivicWell to prepare the Plan. CivicWell then partnered with the firm Fehr & Peers to do the technical analysis for the Plan.
A Stakeholder Committee made up of community members and local agencies was established by CCDS. The Stakeholder Committee had several smaller meetings as well as several larger general community meetings, to help inform the Plan. As a result of committee work, public meetings, and coordination with other agencies, a draft Plan has been prepared that identifies potential improvements that can be made to facilitate safer travel for all modes of transportation in the Downtown Core area to and from the Manteca Transit Center. Special emphasis was paid to ensuring safer access to the high school. The improvements have been prioritized and potential funding sources identified so that as funding opportunities present themselves in the future, the recommended improvements can be accomplished in a prioritized order.
Adoption of the Plan by the City will provide a competitive advantage in future grant applications to fund construction of the recommended improvements. It will also help the City prioritize capital improvement projects in the area.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Pursuant to Section 15262 Feasibility and Planning Studies, this planning effort is exempt from CEQA review. This CEQA exemption allows projects involving only the feasibility or planning studies for possible future actions which the agency has not approved, adopted, or funded, to be exempt from environmental review as future environmental review will be conducted prior the actual approval, adoption, or funding of the described projects. This plan identifies the feasibility of potential improvements to the multi-modal transportation network in the City, but does not commit the City to any specific course of action or project, or authorize any funding for a project. As subsequent construction projects move forward, site specific CEQA analysis will be conducted.
Report prepared by: Scott Speer, Associate Planner
Attachments:
Planning Commission Resolution No. 1620
1a. Exhibit A - Draft Downtown Manteca Transit Center Connectivity and Enhancement Plan.
Reviewed by:
____/s/__________________________________ __ 1/11/23 ___ Lea C. Simvoulakis, Development Services Deputy Director Date ATTACHMENT 3
City of Manteca Planning Commission ATTACHMENT 3
AGENDA REPORT