HomeMy WebLinkAboutA001 - Council Action Form dated November 24, 2015 ITEM # 38
DATE 11-24-15
COUNCIL ACTION FORM
SUBJECT: SUBDrIVSION CODE TEXT AMENDMENTS REFERENCING BIKEWAYS
BACKGROUND:
The City of Ames utilizes the Subdivision Code in Chapter 23 of the Ames Municipal
Code to define the development requirements for both subdividing of land and
standards for public infrastructure improvements. The Subdivision Code specifies what
types of improvements are required to conform to City standards and it has references
to the specifications for improvements. The City also relies on the standards included in
Chapter 23 for implementation of its missing infrastructure requirements for site plan
review that were recently adopted in Chapter 22 Streets and Sidewalks.
The City's bicycle facility standards are included as requirements for Bikeways
referenced under the street improvement requirements of Section 23.403 (15). These
Chapter 23 requirements need to be updated to reflect the most current bicycle facility
improvement planning for the City. City Council initiated a text amendment to update
bicycle facility references on October 13, 2015.
The Subdivision Code includes a broad definition of bicycle facilities under the term
Bikeway. Bikeways include any bike path separated from highway, street, or alley for
bicycle use and any bike lane that is part of a highway, street, alley or any other public
way reserved and marked for bicycle use. Section 23.403 (15) specifies when Bikeways
are to be required of project:
Bikeways: A bicycle path shall be constructed in an area to be subdivided in
order to conform with the Bicycle Route Master Plan adopted by the City Council.
The dimensions and construction specifications of any such bicycle path shall be
determined by the number and type of users and location and purpose of the
bicycle path.
The primary need for this text amendment is to update the reference for bicycle
planning in addition to Route Master Plans. The City now uses the Ames Area
Metropolitan Organization (MPO) Long Range Transportation Plan to identify many of
its transportation infrastructure needs, including pedestrian and bicycle improvements.
The Plan is a federally mandated plan for the planning and programming of
transportation funding for infrastructure improvements within the MPO planning area,
which includes Ames, Gilbert, and immediately surrounding county areas. The Plan
includes an assessment of existing conditions, public input on needs, and uses
reasonable growth projections based on the input of the City of Ames Planning Division
to formulate an analysis of the corresponding transportation needs.
Federal rules require an update of the Transportation Plan every five years. The Ames
Mobility 2040 plan was recently adopted and went into effect on October 12, 2015. The
complete plan can be viewed at this link. For reference, staff has included relevant
Figures (maps) from pages 207 and 208 of the Ames Area MPO Mobility 2040 Long
Range Transportation Plan for reference. As the Long Range Transportation Plan is
updated in the future, such changes will be automatically incorporated by reference into
the Subdivision Code without future text amendments to specific diagrams or maps of
the plan.
To update our coordination of transportation planning with infrastructure requirements,
staff is proposing a text amendment to revise the references in Section 23.201 and
23.403 as follows:
(4) Bikeway: A public way designed to be used for bicycling. "Bikeway" shall include:
any Bicycle P,-M Facility, including a path or shard use path, which is a public way
separated from any highway, street or alley and designed for the use of bicycles; and
any Bike Lane, which is a portion of a highway, street, alley or other public way
reserved and marked for the exclusive use of bicycles.
(15) Bikeways: A bicycle pa## facilit shall be constructed in an area to be subdivided
in order to conform to existing facilities adiacent to the site, with the a Bicycle Route
Master Plan adopted by the City Council or for a bicycle facility shown in the Ames
Area MPO's most current transportation plan maps for On-Street and for Off-
Street facilities. The reservation of area, dimensions, and construction specifications
of any such bicycle facilit shall be determined by the number and type of users and
location, context, and purpose of the bicycle facility.
The Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-0 on November 4, 2015 in support of the
text amendment.
ALTERNATIVES:
1. The City Council can adopt on first reading the ordinance amending bicycle plan and
bikeway references described above.
2. The City Council can direct staff to make changes to the language and return to
Council with a draft ordinance.
3. The City Council can decline to adopt the proposed amendments.
MANAGER'S RECOMMENDED ACTION:
The proposed amendments update the City's references to its planned on-street and
off-street bicycle infrastructure. This is necessary to keep the Subdivision Code
infrastructure requirements clear and up to date with the most current planned facilities
that are reflected in the Ames Area MPO Long Range Transportation Plan.
Therefore, it is the recommendation of the City Manger that the City Council act in
accordance with Alternative #1.
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ATTACHMENT A
TRANSPORTATION PLAN PAGES 207 TO 208
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