San Diego City Council Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Meeting - October 2, 2019
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San Diego City Council Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Meeting - October 2, 2019
The committee met on October 2, 2019, at 10:00 AM. The meeting began with technical difficulties affecting the staff table microphone. The agenda included non-agenda public comments, approval of minutes, a consent agenda item, a discussion on the proposed city response to the grand jury report on electric scooters, and an informational update on development impact fees, the parks master plan, and SB 743 implementation.
Consent Calendar
- The committee approved the meeting minutes from July 24, 2019, by unanimous voice vote (motion by Mr. Kate, second by Ms. Moreno).
- A consent agenda item (details not specified) was approved unanimously after a public comment from Martha Welch (motion by Mr. Kate, second by Ms. Moreno).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Non-Agenda Public Comments:
- Martha Welch (MTS rider) expressed concerns about missing benches at bus stops, lack of restrooms, changes to bus routes (e.g., Route 11), and non-union drivers on downtown buses, urging MTS to restore union drivers and facilities.
- Andy Hanshaw (San Diego Bike Coalition) thanked the city for building a connected protected bike network, encouraged acceleration of the downtown bike plan, noted the absence of e-bikes after Uber/Jump left, and promoted the upcoming "Clos Diaz" (possibly "CicloSDias") open streets event on October 27, 2019, from 10 AM to 3 PM.
- Public Comments on Agenda Item (Grand Jury Response):
- Tisha Colver (representing Uber/Jump) requested a factual correction to the proposed grand jury response, stating that Uber/Jump did not cite excessive regulation as the reason for leaving San Diego; rather, they cited a need for more sensible regulations linking supply to utilization and emphasized enforcement issues.
- Jonathan Freeman (Safe Walkways) criticized the city's response to the grand jury findings, arguing that the new ordinance is unenforceable, enforcement is ineffective, and injuries from scooters are increasing. He urged the committee to address misparking, nighttime usage, and lack of enforcement against users. He also noted that the city receives significant permit fees but underfunds enforcement.
- Ali Farage (disability advocate) stated that scooters continue to create ADA access barriers and safety hazards, citing personal experiences of being hit by scooters and tripping over them. He requested minimum sound standards and tactile identification on scooters for visually impaired individuals.
Discussion Items
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Presentation on Proposed Response to Grand Jury Report: Electric Scooters: Innovation or Disruption?
- Lisa Byrne (IBA office) presented the proposed response to the County Grand Jury report (issued June 20, 2019) which contained five findings and three recommendations directed at the City Council. The IBA proposed partial disagreement with four findings and agreement with one (Finding 3: reckless use resulting in death and injuries). For recommendations, the committee responded that they had been implemented (e.g., shared mobility device ordinance, insurance requirements, corrals, impoundments, enforcement efforts). Byrne highlighted that the city has installed 265 scooter corrals downtown, plans 130–140 in uptown, and over 200 in beach communities. Enforcement actions include impoundments during Comic-Con (2,500 vehicles), administrative citations, and a notice of intent to revoke a permit for Lime. The committee will receive a six-month update on the ordinance at the October 23, 2019 meeting.
- Committee Discussion: Mr. Kate moved to approve the proposed response with an amendment to the section quoting Uber/Jump's statement, incorporating Uber/Jump's clarification. The motion was seconded by Vice Chair Ward and passed unanimously.
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Informational Update on Development Impact Fee (DIF) Program Evaluation, Parks Master Plan, and SB 743 Implementation
- Tom Tomlinson (Assistant Director, Planning Department) presented on the DIF program evaluation by consultant KMA, which recommended shifting from 45 community-level fees to a citywide fee by asset type (parks, transportation, libraries, fire), moving to a single methodology (instead of separate DIF and FBA), and using VMT (Vehicle Miles Traveled) instead of ADT for non-residential fees. The goal is to create a framework plan within 60–90 days.
- Heidi (name not specified; Planning Department) presented on SB 743 implementation, which replaces Level of Service with VMT as the CEQA threshold. The city proposes a 15% per capita reduction below region-wide VMT, with a fee for development in non-urban areas to fund active transportation in urban TPAs. For the Parks Master Plan, the city is moving away from the 2.8 acres per 1,000 population standard toward a more urban, value-based approach, focusing on improving existing parks and expanding access to regional resources.
- Committee Questions: Mr. Kate asked about allocation of citywide fee funds (Council will prioritize through CIP), potential trade-offs for outlying communities, and whether fees could be used for services (no, only capital). Ms. Moreno asked about timeline (target completion of all Nexus studies by November 2020) and requested that the Parks Master Plan be heard at the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee. She also requested a follow-up briefing in January 2020 on the framework plan.
Key Outcomes
- The committee approved the proposed city response to the grand jury report on electric scooters, with an amendment to incorporate Uber/Jump's factual correction (unanimous voice vote).
- The informational update on DIF, parks, and SB 743 was received; no motion required. Staff will return with a framework plan in January 2020 and a more detailed update thereafter.
Meeting Transcript
I want to thank uh uh everybody who is in the audience or watching us on City TV, and I'd like to point out that we're having some technical difficulties with the microphone at the staff table, which seems to be a recurring theme this week. I've already submitted a get it done request. And uh so all of our presenters are gonna be speaking from the uh the public put uh comment podium over there uh today. So let's get started as always with non agenda. We have two uh members of the public wishing and comment on an item not on our agenda, starting with Martha Welch, and then moving to Andy Hamshaw, who needs some penmanship lessons. Martha. Good afternoon, Martha Welch. MTS has lack of benches. Ninth Street, uh they moved construction. It's gone now. They haven't moved it back with benches, they haven't moved me back. It's been a week over. And they didn't move it back. Also, the scholar um college station used to have benches on the south side. There used to be three of them, now there's only two of them. It went away about a month ago. Now on Cedar and Fifth used to have a cover uh cover with the schedule, it's gone also. Now on Broadway, by park, they put hoops instead of benches. Now nine fifth and six on Broadway, Rapid and the regular box, they used to be benches on fifth, but they're gone. Six never had benches. But they should have benches for both of those stations. They don't have that. It used to be union. But the nine oh one, five and two have non-union drivers on, and they go downtown. That's not right. I stand with the union. That's not right. That that was the rule. It got changed, and that's not right. I I work with I like the union very much. And that's not right. You should have union um drivers on the MTS drivers on those buses that go downtown. That's that's was always the rule downtown was union, and now it's it's been corrupted. And so this goes on all the time with MTS. They change the buses like the eleven. Used to be a nice long trip, and now it goes nowhere, stops by, it doesn't make me 12, which took over itself, it just stopped by Ralph's, and that's all it does. And people miss the the 11 belief they do. And the nine two nine, you they used to be uh the goal college, now it's off off the on the street by um uh by Greyhound. This is what they do here. They change the bus steps, they change the buses a lot. They want people to ride the bus, but they change the buses all the time, and it makes it hard for people. It makes it hard for people to ride the bus because they don't make it easy with benches and of course lack of bathrooms. We don't have bathrooms. If we have any bathrooms, it's private and it's one stall. Thank you, Ms. Welch. Mr. Good afternoon. Uh Andy Hanshaw with the bike coalition and happy to report that I did ride uh transit today and thank MTS for free transit day. So uh start with that.
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