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Adopt updated Road Improvement Standards and Land Development Requirements for the Department of Resource Management
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Published Notice Required? Yes _____ No __ X __
Public Hearing Required? Yes _____ No __X___
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Resource Management recommends that the Board of Supervisors adopt the updated Road Improvement Standards and Land Development Requirements for the Department of Resource Management.
SUMMARY:
On February 28, 2006, the Board adopted the current version of the Road Improvement Standards and Land Development Requirements (Standards) that are used by the Department of Resource Management for development within unincorporated Solano County. The Standards provide a design supplement for Solano County Code Chapter 26 (Subdivision Ordinance) and Chapter 28 (Zoning Regulations). Generally, the Standards establish design standards and conditions for public roads, private roads, drainage systems, roadway infrastructure and land surveying requirements, as well as provide references to State laws and other statutory regulations that guide infrastructure design and traffic management.
The existing Standards are outdated and require updates due to changes in laws, codes, development trends, new construction technologies, and safety standards. The updated Road Improvement Standards and Land Development Requirements incorporate necessary changes to bring the County’s development requirements into consistency with current standards (Attachment A - Updated Standards) (Attachment B - Redlines). The expanded List of Appendices section of the Standards (Attachment C) provides specific design criteria and various templates that assist the development community. These updated Standards follow accepted standards and practices of professional engineering and land surveying. Adoption of the attached Standards by the Board will assist the Department and development community in delivery of safe, sustainable and economical projects within modern standards. The County’s Engineer of Record will sign and stamp the Standards, upon adoption by the Board.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The costs associated with preparing the agenda item are nominal and absorbed by the Department’s FY2024/25 Working Budget. There is no impact to the General Fund.
DISCUSSION:
The Department solicited input on the Standards from a variety of sources between 2021 through 2023 to seek feedback and additional recommendations on broader development topics. The Department received comments from private parties, community interest groups and public agencies as summarized below:
1) Agricultural Advisory Committee and agricultural community:
a. Need broader shoulders and rights-of-way to create space for agricultural haul trucks;
b. Consider gravel road allowance for agriculturally zoned properties;
2) Department of Resource Management, Planning Division:
a. Need Vehicle-Miles-Travelled (VMT) thresholds for California Environmental Quality Act consideration;
b. Need private road standards for current fire safety requirements;
3) Local civil engineering community:
a. Request removal of the chip seal requirement for small private roads as the roads do not perform well and require costly drainage improvements;
b. Need updated drainage standards;
c. Need updated sidewalk design template;
d. Need updated striping standards for substandard road widths;
e. Need general updates to match current State codes and current engineering requirements;
4) Local development and contracting communities:
a. Request removal of the chip seal requirement for small private roads as the roads do not perform well and require costly drainage improvements;
b. Consider flexibility and/or lighter road standards (gravel roads) for agriculturally zoned development;
c. Need updated trench backfill template;
d. Need updated sidewalk design template;
e. Need landscaping standards;
f. Need general updates to match current State codes and current engineering requirements;
5) Local fire districts: Need reference to State Fire Code for special fire hazard areas;
6) Local land surveyor community: Need general updates to match current State codes and current land surveyor requirements;
7) Solano County Planning Commission: Need private road maintenance agreement requirements for use permit activities;
8) Solano Transportation Authority, Bicycle Advisory Committee: Need broader shoulders and rights-of-way to create space for alternative modes of transportation; and,
9) Solano Transportation Authority, Pedestrian Advisory Committee: Need updated sidewalks and crossings in the County’s urbanized areas (typically around Vallejo).
From the broader input, the Department generated a summary list of these topics, solicited input from the Board’s former Land Use and Transportation Committee, and received general concurrence to move forward with the updates. Using the input and various comments, the Department has prepared the proposed updated Standards which include the following changes:
1) Updated format, definitions, and statutory reference sections in line with the existing County Code format.
2) Removal of the chip seal requirement for private roads;
a. Allowed to use gravel standard for smaller private roads with 5 or less parcels;
3) Reference to the State’s CalFire Code for private roads in special fire hazard areas.
4) Update to Road Maintenance Agreements over existing Private Roads.
a. Establishes the following language for conditioning use permit activities on existing private roads:
For applications of development (new or changes to) on existing parcels where primary access is provided through a Private Road shared by other parcels, the applicant shall be conditioned to pay its fair share of the Private Road maintenance costs in proportion to the additional use made under the application as defined by California Civil Code 845, as amended from time to time.
The Director of Resource Management may waive this standard if one of the following conditions apply:
i) An existing recorded Private Road Maintenance agreement over the Private Road in question exists
ii) Circumstances of the application require that the Director condition the application to execute a Private Road Maintenance Agreement with all parcel owners. The Maintenance Agreement shall be submitted to the Director for review and approval prior to recording.
b. The above noted language was heard by and recommended to proceed by the Planning Commission on March 20, 2025.
5) Creation of the Appendix for supplementary requirements to be a part of the Standards;
a. Clear Recovery Zone requirements;
b. Vehicle-Miles-Traveled requirements;
c. Drainage sizing requirements;
d. Standard details;
e. The implementation of a Document Adoption and Notice of Update page to track updates as Standards and Appendix items change.
With the new Standards format, Department staff plan to return to the Board with greater frequency to ensure Standards align with development trends and remain up to date.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board could choose to not adopt the updated Road Improvement Standards and Land Development Requirements. This is not recommended since the existing Standards are outdated and do not provide adequate design, code and guidance for development within the unincorporated County.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Department staff have broadly solicited input from other agencies, including the cities of Fairfield, Rio Vista and Vacaville, Suisun and Vacaville Fire Protection Districts, and Solano Transportation Authority.
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION