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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1993-04-27 - AGENDA REPORTS - VALENCIA BOULEVARD (2)AGENDA REPORT City Manager Approval_ Item to be presented by: NEW BUSINESS Lynn M. Harris DATE: April 27,1993' SUBJECT: Valencia. Boulevard / Soledad Canyon Road Name Change DEPARTMENT: Community Development BACKGROUND On March 22,1993, the Community Development Department presented a feasibility study (attached) to the City Management Services Department studying the adoption of a,unified name for the Valencia Boulevard / Soledad Canyon Road corridor for Its entire length across the City. Goal 1.5 within the Circulation Element In the General Plan encourages "consistent through -street names." Of the five key roadways. within the City that have two separate names, the most prominent corridor is Valencia Boulevard / Soledad Canyon Road because it is the main artery - through the City, linking the communities of.Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, and Valencia. .As part of the report, staff recommends that a comprehensive public participation process be conducted to Identify possible Impacts and raise community awareness. By reaching out to the community, a decision can be developed that will have the support of the various affected groups, Including residents, merchants, property owners, service organizations, and neighborhood groups. This process could help identify the. benefits and Impacts of the proposal. To Initiate the discussion, staff prepared the feasibility report after preliminary discussions with various governmental agencies, Including the PostOffice,-'and the County Sheriff and Fire Departments. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the Council direct staff to: Implement a public participation program regarding the proposal to have a unified street name for the Valencia Boulevard / Soledad Canyon Road corridor. ATTACHMENTS: Feasibility Report dated March, 1993 counciNoadwyapv A r- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - UNIFYING THE NAME OF , VALENCIA.BOULEVARD/ SOLEDAD CANYON ROAD FEASIBILITY REPORT Prepared By: City of Santa Clarita i Community Development Department i Planning Division i March, 1993 i ------------------ - ------ - ------ ...+ FEASIBILITY REPORT FOR UNIFYING THE NAME OF VALENCIA BOULEVARD\SOLEDAD CANYON ROAD MARCH 22, 1993 SUMMARY PROS 1. A unified name for the City's most prominent roadway. 2. A consistent link between eastern and western communities of the City. 3. A unified name would assist with centralizing the Valley Center area. 4. A name which Includes "Santa Clarita" would Increase the visibility of the City. .5. Long term benefits would Improve the transportation of goods, especially those within the future downtown area. 6. A unified name would assist with localizing future projects on this roadway. CONS Impact on services (e.g., Post Office). 2. Impact on businesses (advertising, stationery, transportation of goods). 3. Cost of new street signs within the City and along the freeways. 4. Cost In changing maps. 5. Other cities have had difficulties adapting to a change In street names. 6. Creating a new familiarity to the street. 7. A change In names may eliminate a historical link to the past. 8. Abolishes a social boundary Identified by the United States Post Office zip code system at the Bouquet Canyon junction between the communities of Valencia and Saugus. INTRODUCTION The General Plan identified a need to establish consistent through -street names within the City limits: Goal 1.5 within the Circulation Element of the General Plan encourages "consistent through - street names". The City's most Important east - west thoroughfare, Soledad Canyon Road \ Valencia Boulevard changes names at the most critical intersection In the City, Bouquet Canyon Road junction. This report studies the feasibility of giving this thoroughfare a unified name for Its entire length. II. BACKGROUND There are presently five key roadways within the City which have two separate names. They are the following: 1)Valencla Blvd. \ Soledad Canyon Road 2)0rchard Village Road \ Valley Street 3)San Fernando Road 1 Bouquet Canyon Road 4)Magic Mountain Parkway \ San Fernando Road 5)Tournament Road \ Rockwell Canyon Road Perhaps the most prominent roadway is Valencia Boulevard \ Soledad Canyon Road which Is the City's major east -west corridor. Valencia Boulevard is situated between 1.5 and Bouquet Canyon Road. The remainder of the roadway within the City limits Is designated as Soledad Canyon Road. This roadway Is generally characterized as having three driving lanes In each direction, minimal on - street parking, landscaped medians, and bicycle lanes. The roadway provides circulation to the Valencia Town Center; City Hall (present and future); the auto mall, which contributes a large portion of revenue taxes to the City through new car sales; the Valencia Corporate Center which contains approximately 300,000 square feet of office area and has approvals for another 200,000 square feet; the Metrolink Station; Saugus Speedway; and College of the Canyons. This roadway is bordered by commercial uses, vacant land, portions of the Santa Clara River, and other residential uses which Include ten mobile home parks and two multiple family residential projects. THE FUTURE The future City Hail site is situated within the City's "Valley Center' overlay that Is designated within the General Plan. Soledad Canyon Road and Valencia Boulevard provide the main access to this area. This Valley Center concept is intended to create a valley Identity and unity the community by designing a central core of the Santa Clarlta Valley. This overlay is to permit and encourage master planing at a more detailed level than the General Plan by providing for wide range i* valley -wide activities. The "downtown" area is the only area within the City that allows for higher Intensity for both residential and commercial office uses. This also allows maintenance of lower profile, less Intensive uses In the surrounding communities. The intent of fostering higher density Is to create a City Identity. The Valley Center will have uses of a regional or City-wide basis. Examples which reflect this Idea are the City's acquisition of the City Hall site and the recent construction of the Metrolink station. These examples Illustrate that the City of Santa Clarita has focused on creating a "downtown area". In the future, the Valencia Boulevard \ Soledad Canyon roadway will take on even a more critical identity In the City. In March, 1993, plans are being reviewed by the City which would create additional development along this corridor. These plans Include the Valencia Company's North Hills Project, a proposal of over 1,500 mixed residential units located near the Rockwell Canyon Road Intersection. Another proposal Includes the Porta Bella Project Specific Pian which Includes a mixed use development of commercial and residential uses on approximately 980 acres. The future City Hall and Civic Center will have Its main access off of this roadway. The Civic Center will Include community oriented uses such as a library and amphitheater. The Saugus Speedway Is an existing use along this roadway which attracts people from within and outside the community. IV. ANALYSIS . There are three options to unify the name of this roadway: 1) Name the whole roadway Valencia Boulevard. 2) Name the whole roadway Soledad Canyon Road. 3) Provide a new name for the whole roadway (e.g., "Santa Clarha Boulevard"). A name such as "Santa Clarha Boulevard" or "Santa Clarita Parkway" would be recognized by the many travelers along Interstate 5 and Highway 14. This is the only road which links both highways and the communities of Valencia, Saugus, and Canyon Country. This is another way to acquaint everyone with the City and Increase the City's Image and identification In conjunction with strengthening the marketing efforts here. On State Route 14 there are two "Soledad Canyon Road" exit signs, one of which Is located in the County. Renaming the City portion of the street would alleviate this confusing situation. Renaming the street through the whole valley would retain the duplicated exit signs. To unity these names, staff has noted possible Impacts upon community services. Staff has contacted the following entities and has solicited their preliminary comments: (SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT) The Sheriff's Department Indicated that this would not create a negative Impact to their services. Their concerns are associated with citizens who may have a difficult time Identifying a whole new name. (POST OFFICE) The postmaster In Valencia Indicated that a name change would not have a significant impact if there were no changes to.address numbers. This Is not expected since there are no duplicate numbers along this segment of the corridor. However, a transition period to familiarize mail carriers would still be required. Services may be affected during this stage. Any proposed change in address numbers would Impact this transition period. Presently, the change In street names has created a natural border by separating zip codes at the Bouquet Canyon Road junction. (FIRE DEPARTMENT) The Fire Department Indicates that a unified street name would not create significant Impacts to their services. However, if new addresses were Issued, they did Indicate that all address numbers should be Increased to a minimum of eight Inches In height. (CITY GENERAL SERVICES) The City's General Services Division does not believe that a significant Impact would be created. Impacts would Include a change of all stationery material, automobile registrations, and 2 correspondence. An Implementation process would be necessary to ease the transition. Changes In stationery material would require a modification of printing plates. Other City costs would include the Installation of new street signs. A minimum cost per sign (not including the Illuminated signs attached to signals) is approximately $50.00. Revisions to the City's bus schedules will need to be made. Presently, all bus routes (7) travel this roadway to the Metrolink Station. (CALTRANS) Should the roadway take on a different name, necessary Improvements would Include changing direction signs on Interstate 5 and Highway 14. (OTHER PARTIES OF INTEREST) City records indicate that there are over 220 property addresses along this roadway with over 500. businesses being Impacted with a change of address. Impacts would Include stationery supplies, advertisements, and the transportation of goods. Map makers would need to make revisions to minimize the Impacts to the transportation of goods. To re -familiarize the whole community may take some time. Problems could arise reflecting opposition from businesses located on either segment of the road. These businesses have established their own separate identity from the other businesses because of their. location. Business districts In other Cities have been fighting to establish their own identities by creating their own street names. A recent example is Compton Boulevard In the communities of Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Los Angeles County, Gardena, Los Angeles City, Compton, Paramount, and Bellflower. This street changes its name three times within this area. These changes have made certain business districts content while others have felt they have been unduly Impacted. Another example of a name change occurred when the City of Los Angeles renamed a major thoroughfare Martin Luther King Boulevard from Santa Barbara Avenue in the early eighties. This change met adverse reactions from the business communities who were forced to absorb the financial Impacts associated by the added business costs which Included delay In transportation and advertising changes. Other resentment was created by the historical segment of the community who wanted to maintain the street name because of Its link to the past. One of the main landholders In the Valencia Boulevard area is the Newhall Land and Fanning Company who has had a role In the creation of this roadway when it created the Master Plan for Valencia. All parties of Interest should be consulted prior to any formal City action. Newhall Land and Farming, the Chamber of Commerce, and other interested parties have not been consulted. IV. -CONCLUSION It appears. that a unified Identity to this roadway Is supported In the General Plan through the Circulation and Land Use elements. The future downtown area will rely on Soledad Canyon Road. Its Intersection with Bouquet Canyon Road has a level of service of an "F" • Failure (tremendous delays with Increasing queue lengths). This emphasizes the amount of vehicular traffic that this roadway carries and, therefore the position of this road as the main artery through the City, connecting the Valencia, Newhall, Saugus and Canyon Country communities. With the downtown area situated In the middle of the City, It appears practical to have a consistent name lead to this area from the eastern and western portions of the community. High Intensity development within 3. the Valley Center area will create additional traffic for goods and services. Therefore, a single roadway name from 1-5 and Highway 14 may be more practical In the long tens. Short term Impacts to the community would be associated with the necessary adaption of services (post office). Input from the merchants will need to be solicited In order to properly assess the feasibility of this Idea. Additional long tern Impacts Include the effect upon the existing communities and their established Identities. Businesses who have established their Image based on this roadway will have to adjust to maintain their customers, especially those who are from outside the area. The Valencia Town Center has Invested a large amount of money on the grand opening campaign which promotes customers visiting the mall from outside the area. "Automobile row' advertises heavily out of the Santa Clarlta Valley to attract customers relying on easy access. A public education campaign would be necessary to Inform the citizenry of a name change to minimize confusion and reduce Impacts to customers patronizing businesses along the roadway. Given all these concerns, the .Implementation of a single name for this roadway would require a comprehensive citizen participation process In order to spread awareness of the potential long -tens benefits. sur« "rdwyle. Castaic Junction it Valencia Placerita Canyon �)V yon ntry Id Sand San Gabriel Mountz. SOLEDAD CANYON RD VALENCIA BLVD