G\T Y OF
PISMO BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
A�syoBt Agenda Item #12.13
Meeting Date: October 1, 2024
TITLE:
Closure of Dead-End Portion of Ridge Road to Vehicular Traffic RECOMMENDATION:
Direct staff to begin the process of vacating a portion of Ridge Road pursuant to Streets & Highways Code Section 8320.
DISCUSSION:
In November 2014, the voters of the City of Pismo Beach approved Measure H-14, which amended the City's General Plan in a number of regards, specifically with reference to development in Planning Area R. Planning Area R consists of a number of parcels currently outside the city limits, but within the City's sphere of influence. Measure H-14 placed a limit on the size of parcels within Planning Area R, and it further limited the types into the City at some point. Measure H-14 also removed references in the City's Land Use and Circulation elements of the General Plan to an inland arterial road running from Price Canyon Road to Oak Park Boulevard, as well as references to the extension of Highland Drive and Ventana Road to the inland arterial. Since the inland arterial and connections to the inland arterial are no longer included as part of the City's General Plan, the roads that ended at the city limits, Rancho Pismo Drive, Highland Drive, Ventana Drive, and Morgan Drive, were no longer needed for vehicular traffic into Planning Area R and were closed pursuant to City Council Resolution R-2018-093, which is available in the Access Pismo public records portal at pismobeach.org/accesspismo'.
At the time the City closed those roads, there was some discussion at the staff level about closing Ridge Road from Panorama Drive to the City limit line as well, but unlike the four portions of roads noted above, there are currently a number of homes within Pismo Beach that take access from Ridge Road. However, beyond the driveways at 250 Ridge Road and 251 Ridge Road, there is no longer any need for the portion of Ridge Road to the city limit to be maintained for public use.
With that said, however, the owners of APN 079-261-001 currently access the property, which lies in the county, through Ridge Road, and the City accesses its water tank facilities along an easement in the county that is accessible from the end of Ridge Road.
Under Vehicle Code Section 21101, a city council may adopt a resolution closing streets under its control to vehicular traffic upon a finding that such streets are no longer needed for vehicular traffic. However, closure of the portion of Ridge Road in question is not possible under Section 21101, as the owners of APN 079-261-001 would still need to use ' Full URL:
https://accesspismo.pismobeach.org/WebLink/DocView.aspx?id=204309&dbid=0&repo=Laserfiche Council Agenda 10-1-2024 12.13-1
Ridge Road to access their property. Therefore, staff has been exploring vacating a portion of Ridge Road under the Streets & Highways Code.
Under the street vacation process, the City would give up its right-of-way over the underlying property, and the property would revert to the owner. The City must first refer the proposed vacation to the Planning Commission pursuant to Government Code Section 65402 for a determination of consistency with the City's General Plan.
In the case of Ridge Road, the City's right-of-way was dedicated at two different times.
The southern lateral half of Ridge Road was dedicated to the City as part of Tract 1233 in 1985, and the City accepted the streets on that tract map in 1986 under Resolution R- 86-114. The northern lateral half of Ridge Road was dedicated to the City as part of Tract 1204 in 1984, which the City accepted in 1988 via Resolution R-88-07. The configuration of the cul-de-sac and adjacent parcels is depicted in Figure 1 below. Parcel lines shown in this figure are for illustration only, and are not precise survey lines.
Figure 1. Ridge Road Cul-de-Sac
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As part of this process, staff would approach the property owner at 250 Ridge Road to request two things: (1) a perpetual easement in favor of APN 079-261-001 to allow the Mankins family to continue across the formerly public portion of Ridge Road from the City's remaining right-of-way on Ridge Road to the edge of the their property, and (2) a one-foot no access easement in favor of the City across the property that is subject only to the Mankins easement noted in (1). This would permit the City to prevent any through Council Agenda 10-1-2024 12.113-2
traffic on to the City's right-of-way beyond the portion vacated in favor of 250 Ridge Road on the north half of Ridge Road. The City would offer to draft the necessary documents to effectuate these actions.
Staff would also approach the property owner at 250 Ridge Road to request a similar no- access easement in favor of the City over a portion of that property beyond the end of the current cul-de-sac. Since that property extends beyond the end of cul-de-sac, vacating that half of Ridge Road would be unnecessary.
The process outlined above is significantly more complicated than the street closure procedures previously undertaken for other streets in the city, mainly because of the need to maintain access for the owners of APN 079-261-001, and for access to the City's water facilities outside the City limits. However, the end result would be the same: closure of the portion of Ridge Road no longer needed for public access.
Alternatives
The Council could elect to not close the portion of Ridge Road in question. Should property in the county develop in the future, Ridge Road might be used to access that area as a public street.
Conclusion and Recommendation
Staff recommends that the Council direct staff to begin the process of vacating a portion of the northern lateral half of Ridge Road and associated actions as noted above, including referral of the matter to the Planning Commission for consideration of a consistency determination under the General Plan. If Council approves this recommendation, staff will return to the Council following Planning Commission action on this matter with a resolution initiating the street vacation process along with associated documents reflecting the easements requested from the property owners at 250 and 251 Ridge Road.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No significant fiscal impact is anticipated from the closure of Ridge Road at its terminus, as it is not used currently for public vehicular through traffic. Only the City and the owners of APN 079-261-001 currently use the access at the end of Ridge Road. There are currently gates both for the Mankins access and the City's access that would remain.
There will be some minor expense associated with drafting and recording of various documents to effectuate the street vacation and easement reservations that is expected to be within existing budgeted authority.
ATTACHMENTS:
None.
Submitted by:
Dave Fleishman, City Attorney
City Manager Approval: .
Council Agenda 10-1-2024 12.113-3