Years-long project moving forward
Council approves site plan review for roundabout design review
The Lindsay City Council approved Tuesday a site plan review for the Hermosa/westwood Roundabout Design Review.
Councilmember Esteban Velasquez said he is happy the project is progressing.
“Twelve years in the making and we are moving forward,” Velasquez said.
The project, which proposes to construct a roundabout that is 110 feet in diameter at the intersection of Hermosa Street and Westwood Avenue, has been ongoing since 2006 when the city’s school district and local parents filed complaints saying the intersection is too dangerous for residents to cross.
The purpose and need of the project is to increase pedestrian and vehicle safety before and after school, increase pedestrian safety all year, reduce vehicle speeds and reduce vehicle emissions.
City Manager Bill Zigler said he and city staff have conducted several outreach meetings related to the project at Jefferson Elementary School, the Lindsay Wellness Center, Lindsay Senior Center, and at Lindsay Healthy Start where they gathered feedback and provided attendees with invaluable information on the project and on roundabouts in general.
As far as landscape for the project, Zigler said because the city is on a very limited budget, the goal was to go with drought tolerant.
Lindsay resident Trudy Wischemann voiced her disapproval of the roundabout design plan during the public hearing portion of the meeting.
“I don’t like the way it narrows it down, it seems like you have made it [roundabout] as small as possible,” Wischemann said. “We already have one of those.”
On Feb. 28, 2017, city staff presented the Hermosa/westwood Roundabout project concept plan for council’s approval, and on Sept. 26, 2017, council awarded the project to Omnimeans through the RFQ process, said Assistant City Planner Brian Spaunhurst.
On Feb. 13, 2018, Spaunhurst said council approved a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the roundabout project through Resolution 18-01. Per this Resolution, Spaunhurst said staff requested comments from the public as well as direction from council regarding the final site plan of the project.
Spaunhurst said city staff has reviewed the proposed site plan designs and has reported the following findings:
The site plan is in conformance with ADA requirements.
The site plan is in substantial conformance with the Concept Plan approved on Feb. 28, 2017.
The landscape portion of the plan is in conformance with the California Model Landscape Ordinance.
Besides the public hearing, all other aspects of the plan adhere to the requirements of Resolution 18-01 pertaining to CEQA.