City Council - Regular Meeting

Having reached the hour of 05:30, I'm calling the 02/10/2026 Modesto City Council meeting to order and ask the city clerk to call the roll.

Council member Scoutia Brayton?

Here.

Council member Alvarez? Here. Council member Ricky?

Here.

Council member Bavaro? Here. Vice mayor Williams?

Here.

Council member Wright?

Here. And mayor Zwolland? Here. Will everyone please rise for the pledge of allegiance followed by the invocation from pastor Mark Kreger from Modesto Covenant Church.

Let's bow together in prayer. Heavenly Father, we gather today. We pause now as we come together to recognize your presence. Lord, you are with us, and in humility, we recognize our need for you. God, you are our help in ages past and our hope for years to come. Lord God, as citizens, we recognize that you've placed before us governing authorities, and we pray now for our city, our various levels of city officials and workers, and specifically for our city council before us today. We ask, Lord, that you generously give them wisdom as they make decisions. Lord,

give

them a sense of the needs of the people of our city. Give them a thirst for what is right and just. Lord, also give them the ability to work together. Help them to find harmony even when there is honest disagreement. And Lord, for each of them, we we pray that you would give them personal peace and joy in their lives. Lord, we pray for the agenda set before our city council today. Lord, give them your direction as they consider what would most benefit those of us who live and work in our wonderful city of Modesto. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. Thank you very much. Does the city clerk have any announcements?

Yes, mayor. Just a reminder, public comment is three minutes. There are speaker cards at the entrance of the chambers. In addition, written public comment was received and that was forwarded to the council.

Thank you. Do any of the council members have any conflicts of interest? Seeing none, will the city attorney please report out on closed session?

Yes, mayor. The council met in closed session today to discuss items related to, litigation and property negotiations. No reportable action was taken.

Thank you. Next on the agenda is public comment. Public comment tonight is in person only. Zoom remains available for viewing and work for worldly translation. Thank you for joining us.

The City Council meetings are a place where everyone is encouraged to share insights, listen and participate in the decision making process that benefits our community. To ensure a fair and respectful environment, the mayor is responsible for maintaining order and decorum as outlined in the city charter and the rules of decorum posted at the entrance of the chamber. I ask that we are all respectful of all members of the public, presenters and council members. Anyone who disrupts the meeting may be asked to leave. I appreciate your cooperation as we discuss key issues and make decisions that affect our city.

We will now open public comment for items not on the council agenda and each person has three minutes to speak. I will read, the speaker cards, names in the order that I received them. And the first is Danielle Morgart.

Good evening, mayor, vice mayor, and council members. My name is Danielle Morgart. I'm from the office of assemblyman Juan Alanis here tonight to provide legislative update. So far, assemblyman Alanis has introduced eight bills. Just this week, two were introduced, which were a B1765. This would be a fee waiver for disabled veteran license plates and a B1814. Expands field sobriety test training for peace officers assigned to traffic enforcement duties. As always, if there's any questions or concerns regarding legislation or need assistance with state agents, please do not hesitate to reach out to our office. Thank you.

You're welcome. Next is Lucas.

Hello, mayor and council. I have a letter for you guys in regards to a potential change to our waste management system. This is to cover items that are not conventionally recycled within our streams. My name is Lucas Amareza Modesto. I am writing to respectfully request the city's review and consideration of a contract with TerraCycle.

I would like to do this as a pilot program to see how it will play out in our city. I acknowledge that the city must abide by state and federal regulations, budget, and any established procurement standards. However, I believe this matter is worth evaluating because of recent complaints of blight in the area. Though this pilot program would help remove any unwanted garbage from our transportation infrastructure. It also helps reduce carbon emissions by a large amount.

You can confidently say a Terracycle program within Modesto will not eliminate most plastic waste by weight, but it would capture a significant portion of the city's nonresectable plastic packaging, which currently has no viable recycling pathway. This makes Modesto a beneficial city in which the program will operate if approved. In regards to the issue, I am requesting that the city reviews the proposed action and it complies with state, federal, and municipal regulations. Additionally, the city shall evaluate or a public discussion would be most appropriate. I appreciate the city for what they do to balance innovation with accountability and understand that not every proposal is feasible for a city.

Thank you for your time and continued service to the community. I would like to ask for any guidance, public resources or for next steps you can share in regards to this matter. Thank you.

Thank you. Next, Julian Phillips.

Good evening, mayor, members of the council. My name is Julian Phillips, and I'm here on behalf of senator Alvarado Gill with some updates from our office. The most, pressing legislative priority that our office has been receiving many calls about is AB fourteen twenty one, which would extend the, study for a per mile tax on our citizens. This has since moved over to the senate, and the senator has published a statement, regarding her opposition to this bill. Some of our activities in the district, last week, we held two meet and greets, one in Salida, another one in Riverbank.

And then coming up, I also have mobile office hours here in Modesto. I will be at the law Library on February 26 from 10AM to noon to assist any of our constituents who need help with state agencies. And then I'm also hoping to host mobile office hours here in March in advance of your meeting, to help any members of the public that attend. Thank you so much.

You're welcome. Thank you. Next is Sebastian Jones, and I have a comment to read. All right. Mr. Jones, before you start speaking, it is my understanding that you have requested an accommodation. We are sorry to learn that you're having difficulties communicating with us. Accordingly, after going through the accommodation process with the city as required by law, you will be provided five minutes for your public comment. Welcome.

Alright. I feel good today. Thank you, mayor and my fellow city councilman. You all guys know my subject and what I believe in. I showed you some pictures. Listen. First of all, I have to say this. Mister Jones had made some changes. I know sometime I speak and get out because people do things to me, inspect me to lay down. I don't.

But I wanna ask you for forgiveness if I offended anybody because I believe in God. And I want you guys to understand what mister Jones is trying to accomplish. When we get the new soccer field or the new baseball field, I would like for my greater love of Modesto to be the first to have two statue of two known leaders, Cedar Jarvis and Doctor King. You know Doctor King means a lot. I have no silver or no gold, but I do have a mouthpiece.

I didn't ask to get in this year into fifteen or so years. I had the opportunity to stand with the original leaders and preachers. And I figured that's what it was. They, in a way, elected me to be divorced because they're gonna be going home. I didn't notice.

But let's look at those pictures. Not only one, but two. Look at them. That's gonna be fantastic. But what I need is I need a coalition and the people to stand.

There's billions of dollars like I spoke and try to tell people there's billions of dollars standing for doctor King. If you come up with something, the federal government tap in to that funds just like they tapped in by the park the same year the park lost temporarily. But after they got the name, they couldn't leave out doctor King. So that's why, I guess, we make a little history. We got two parks under construction.

Work with me, city council. Let's put a lot of things to the side. I gathered over 5,000 signatures signature. That didn't work. But the old city council, they thought about it. They said, mister Jones ain't gonna give in. That's true. You know? As long as I got breath, I got a chance. Let's put whatever you may have with me.

Let's throw it away in God's name. If you believe in God, then you understand what mister Jones trying to establish. And then you guys will go down in history. Can you say twenty, thirty years you have your name upon the doctor King, upon the Cesar Chavez? And when you're going on, your children's children would take and say, that's my papa.

Yes. He was part of this statue. So I praise God. Because, you know, when you guys out there, I show y'all love. Think about it. I never disrespect you in the public. I hug you like nothing's going on. Because what I believe, stay right here in this chamber. Once again, Mayor. I thank you. God bless us all.

Thank you. Is there anyone else that would like to speak under public comment for items not on the agenda? Welcome.

Hello, Mayor of City Council. My name is Harlan Dib, and I'm a resident of Modesto. I wanted to commend the city council on a couple of things. One is the recent award for Jenny's Place and all the work that's happening at Jenny's Place. I just wanted to say thank you to council for your role in that. I also wanted to thank counsel for your role in helping to build and create Hope Works, the new United Way and Gospel Mission project. The ribbon cutting for Hope Works is this Friday, the thirteenth in the morning. I hope to see most of you there. Again, I'm very grateful for that. Something I wanted to bring to council's attention, any people listening in the community, is a recent resolution passed by Stockton City Council.

Most of you have probably heard about this. It passed on January 13. It's called the Compassionate City Resolution. It's different than a Sanctuary City Resolution. Sanctuary California was designated as a sanctuary state in 2017.

The sanctuary city resolutions just restate California law, basically. The compassionate city resolution is a step below a sanctuary city resolution. It doesn't create any new policies, but it does restate city policy to talk about how the city protects immigrants. Like, when you call 911, your immigration status isn't gonna be reported. That's city policy, but it's something that a lot of the community is not aware of.

Other things in the resolution, it protects federal it protects federal law. It respects federal law. It respects the role of ICE agents, but it says things like, no individual shall be held in custody solely for civil immigration hold. Again, that's city policy already, but this restatement is a big deal. It's important, and it's happening in cities across the state. It's happening in Union City. It's happened in Stock Ton. I'm doing more research about where it's happening right now, but this is a live issue and something Modesto, I think, needs to be aware of and potentially get behind. Our communities are terrified right now. Our students are walking out in record numbers.

There's a lot happening in our city. There's a call for protection of immigrant communities, and I think this is a very powerful way for the city to come out and make a statement on behalf of immigration of immigrant communities and restate the policies that already exist. Again, these are not new policies. This is a restatement of policy, and it's something that is going a long way in other cities. Stockton passed this unanimously.

Stockton's excuse me. I'm almost out of time. Stockton City Council is contentious. They're more contentious than this body, but they have been able to come together around this compassionate city's resolution. So I urge you to look at it. I will drop an email to everybody with the information. Please take a look. Thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you. Anyone else under public comment for items not on tonight's agenda? All right. Next on the agenda is consent items. An item may be removed Excuse me. Oh, I'm sorry. Please.

I'm sorry, Sue. Is there still time for public comment? Sure. Okay. Great. Thank you.

Oh, you're welcome. I

have a gift for all of you, if that's okay. It's walnuts from my farm. Hello, Jeremiah. Haven't seen you in a while. Would that be okay if I

Sure. You

don't have to take them if you want.

Oh, well, that's okay. Why don't we just keep them there, and then we'll distribute them later. Thank you.

They're my family farm. Okay. You want you want yeah. They're pretty good. You're welcome. I hope you enjoy them. My family's been in Wood Colonies since nineteen o five, and that's a farm. There's a little on the front of it, there's a little thing that explains the family farm and everything. That's something that my grandfather my great grandfather helped my grandfather purchase. So I'm here to talk about Wood Colony.

There was article in the paper a couple weeks ago about Wood Colony, and is there gonna be a fight between Wood Colony or whatever? And I'm here to hopefully maybe clear some things up. The book that I understand that you guys have access to or have, at least that's what the city planners told me that you have, that's where I'm gonna get all my information from about Wood Colony. What is Wood Colony? I think a lot of people wanna know what Wood Colony is, and I think there's been some misinformation, whatever you wanna call it, where different people try to say what it is. I made some notes, so I'm gonna try to follow them. What do I have? Three minutes, Sue?

Yes. One minute. Okay. Thirty seven seconds.

I'm moving. I'm moving. Alright. I'll try to go. So originally, Wood Colony was Wood Track, which started in in with the 1,760 acres. That's what the city now is saying, or the planners, I should say, is saying what Wood Colony is. Unfortunately, there's a lot of things in the book besides the map that is taken from the book that explains that Wood Colony is that's just the beginning. That's just the start of Wood Colony. That's the map that is in the book where I believe the original 1760 acres they used came from. So some comments on Page 53, water in the canal in 1904.

Mister Shoemake and mister McHenry bought the 1,700 acres. The book says, quote unquote, this was the beginning of Wood Colony, those 1,760 acres. Didn't say this was the end. It didn't say it was it was anything else. Just the beginning. When the beginning is something, that means there's more to come. So what I would say to that is the 760 acres is Wood Colony, but there's more to it than that. It talks, in that page 54 about Woodland Avenue, Kansas Avenue. It also says in that page 54, the name spread beyond the 1,760 acres. Also says Wood Calling was in the transition period.

On page 55, it says in nineteen o three, land was plotted out in twenty, thirty, and 40 acres. 56, Will Gish was bill busy building their house. Well, Will Gish lived on the North Side Of Beckwith, and the barn is still standing there. And it's on the North Side of the canal. So I don't know if you guys know I'm not gonna get through all this. I'm gonna have come back and do this Alright. Well, I'm glad to have come. I have I have more information on that, but I would suggest maybe you look at the book. There's a lot more to what it talks about Wood Colony and what the author, Lowell Beechler, suggests Wood Colony is, which 1,760 acres is just the beginning. Please enjoy the walnuts on the

Thank you. Thank you.

Nice to see you again, Sue.

Good to

see you.

Farm though. Where do I farm?

I used to live in

All right. Excuse me. Order in the room, please. Go ahead.

Kevin McLarty, District 1. I wanted to thank Patrick Crowley. I wanted to thank Patrick Crowley from the city for the two parking spaces that are dedicated to observers who want to observe planes taking off and landing at the Modesto Airport. And also the bench, the nice bench that was installed there. Tesla has leased out the entire parking space, the entire parking lot.

And I had called and complained about the fact that Tesla has an entire parking lot and there's no nowhere that anybody can park. And mister Crowley was nice enough to reserve two two parking spaces for people to come and observe the planes and also a bench. And I I felt that was very nice, and it goes to show that city employees and leaders can be responsive to citizens. All you have to do is be nice and call and present your case, and they do listen. And so I'm very grateful for that.

And I wanted to ask a question of the mayor. I wanted to know, is there ever any way that a person doing public comments can make a presentation that could be shown on the screen?

We have not done that. Historically, it's public comment time, but not presentation time.

Okay. So, how would somebody doing public comments show something that they want all of the council members to Yeah.

Okay. It's also not question and answer time during public comment because this is not on the agenda. So we have to abide by what's on the agenda. It's your opportunity to speak on things that are not on the agenda or give your comments. Okay. I will have the city manager respond to the comment regarding placing something on the screen.

Okay. Thank you. We don't allow outside individuals

to place things on the screen due to security concerns. You're more

than welcome to make copies and pass them out to the council oftentimes. Okay. Thank you.

You're welcome. Any other members of the public to speak on items not on the agenda? All right. Seeing none at this time. Next on the agenda is consent items. An item may be removed from consent and discussed at the request of a member of the public or council member. Is there anyone on the council that would like a consent item removed for further discussion? Seeing none, is there anyone in the public that would like an item removed from consent for further discussion or comment? Seeing none at this time, will the city clerk please read the consent items?

Yes, mayor. Item one, consider approving the minutes for the 01/27/2026 council meeting. Item two, consider approving the revised 2026 City Council Liaison Committee assignments. Item three, consider approving the recommended budget adjustments to fiscal year twenty twenty five, twenty twenty six annual operating and CIP budgets. Item four, consider accepting the Sonoma trunk extension and lift station and Sylvan Water main upgrade project as complete, releasing securities, releasing payments totaling $8,253,657 to Mozingo Construction Incorporated of Oakdale, California and authorizing the city clerk to file a notice of completion.

Item five, consider approving a first amendment to the existing on call agreements for construction inspection services to extend the term of the agreement through 06/30/2027 and increase the existing total amount of a $149,000 to a not to exceed $300,000 for each of the three consultants. Item six, consider accepting the monthly investment report for October 2025. Item seven, consider accepting the audited financial statements and various audit reports for fiscal year twenty twenty four, twenty twenty five audited by external auditor Vasquez and Company, LLP, for the city's annual comprehensive financial report, 13 community facility districts, Measure H, single audit and various joint power agencies. Item eight, consider approving a memorandum of understanding with Yosemite Community College District for development and use of the Classroom Portable 101 located at 1220 Fire Science Lane.

Alright. May I have a motion to approve the consent calendar?

So moved.

So moved. Alright. Moved by council member Wright. Do I have a second?

Second.

Second by council member Bavaro. Will the clerk please call the roll for the side for the consent calendar?

Council member Scuthia Brayton. Aye. Council member Alvarez. Aye. Council member Ricky. Aye. Council member Bavaro.

Aye.

Vice mayor Williams. Aye. Council member Wright. Aye. And mayor Zwolland.

Aye. Motion carries unanimously. Next on the agenda is council comments and reports. Are there any council members that have comments and reports? Vice mayor Williams.

Thank you, mayor. Just Saturday, the MJC along with the Modesto Peace Life Center had the MLK event. Their keynote speaker was doctor Shabazz. Doctor Shabazz is the one of the six daughters of Malcolm x, an individual who was killed many years ago, 1965. And she spoke about that experience, spoke to spoke about his their experience as a individual individuals in the community that did a lot for the African American people at that particular time.

It was very positively done. Very appreciative of her spending her time here in Modesto. Also, a past recipient well, excuse me, a recipient of the MLK Legacy Award went to one of our friends who has worked with the Modesto City Schools. She was the first African American to ever be well, first African American to be in the school system. Johnson, missus Johnson was a devout individual who cared about all citizens of Modesto, and she is in Los Angeles now with her daughter in her days of retirement, and we miss her.

However, there was another recipient last year, Gladys Williams. Some of you may know Gladys Williams who served on MTA, past president, NAACP, and a very, very strong advocate for the city of Modesto, passed away in November 27. Their service is going to be February 20, February 20 at 11:00 at 825 7th Street. It's Revival Church. That's where that will be.

And some of you may know her. I said that so that folks can get that information because she was very well known and very, very liked in our community. And that's Gladys Williams who passed away. And Odessa Johnson was one who was for the MLK Legacy Award winner recipient. Thank you, mayor. That's it.

Council member Ricky.

Thanks, mayor. Mhmm. Thanks to a state grant, Mural Alley off 10th And J Street is gonna improve a really struggling area in the heart of downtown Modesto. It's my hope that in addition to the wonderful art and improved atmosphere that the city finds safe solutions with the fire department to create some event areas in the space. Developing culture is critical, and Modesto needs more spaces for people to gather, sample food, listen to music, and celebrate art.

And I'm looking to the city to do their part there. Did you know that there's a neighborhood being built in Modesto that remembers the firefighters who protected us? I wanna thank Doctor Horton, our Modesto firefighters, and the city of Modesto for putting together a neighborhood that memorializes firefighters who dedicated their lives protecting our community. This neighborhood is gonna be special, it's just another way we'll never forget the contributions of firefighters in Modesto. Finally, several months ago, MID voted to stop investigating alleged water abuse issues that actually involved a board member.

Surprisingly, that board member also voted against his own investigation. At the January, California's Fair Political Practices Commission agreed to look into possible issues with that vote. Transparency and impartiality matters in government. I'm hopeful this situation will be resolved in a way that benefits the people of our community. Thank you, mayor.

Uh-huh. Councilmember Scoutier Brayton.

Thank you, mayor. Since our last gathering for council meeting I had the opportunity to accompany the mayor in the ribbon cutting of the new Kaiser Medical Facility on Dale in my District 1 and it's a medical facility focusing on adult and pediatric care It also has a pharmacy and it's a lovely facility It employs 300, almost 400 employees just in that one new building It got me thinking Modesto has always been a medical hub and I always been appreciated for that I have been attending many ribbon cuttings for medical centers. Just a couple weeks ago we attended the ribbon cutting for the Memorial Cancer Center. That is a $380,000,000 build. It's a center that's employing over five hundred-six 100 employees and it's just bringing immense benefits to our community.

Aside from those two huge builds, I've attended several walk throughs and openings of smaller medical facilities. All of them reinforcing: number one, the need we have in our area for medical services affordable medical services but then again reinforcing the fact that Modesto is a great place to build such medical centers we have the need and we have the space and the support for such businesses again they offer us job opportunities for our community they offer us a greater economy and overall it just makes it a great place to have these types of centers I'm grateful for the medical centers being built here I'm grateful for the men and women who are medical professionals to provide the services that help keep our patients, our families and our overall community healthy I hope it keeps going and again I'm delighted that we are strengthening our focus on health care and providing a greater service in that area for our community. That's it. Thank you.

Uh-huh. Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. I left off a couple of things. First of all, we're very proud to have had have three more officers that were sworn in just a a week or so ago. And so congratulate congratulations to them. And then I had the awesome opportunity to go to a quilt show that happens every two years in the city of Modesto.

And the mayor usually attends that. And I don't know how in the world she's able to pick out one quilt out of 200 quilts that are made throughout this community. Incredible. It took me two hours, but I was determined to make sure to get the right one and then, of course, have the mindset of our mayor to make sure that I I was she was happy with it as well. And so we did choose one.

The gal who did win that had never won anything when it came to the quilts in her life, and she started crying. So she wanted to say thank you to the mayor and the city Modesto for putting that on. It happened at the the car museum. It was incredibly it was a two day event, But 200 quilts, not including all the other quilt type and other booths that were there. It was a well ran show, and we were glad to have it in the city of Modesto. Thank you, Mara. That's it. You're

Any other comments? All right. Have a few comments. There was two Police Academy graduations recently. And I was able to attend one that was in Stockton with Council Member Wright.

And today, four of our new Modesto Police Department officers and staff came by on their tour of City hall, and I was able to greet them along with there was probably 12 new employees total from utilities and public works and all throughout the city. So it was great to meet with them personally one on one. I chose to attend the Stanislaus State President's Spring twenty twenty six welcome address, And it's always refreshing to spend time with young people and to be in that environment. Stanley State is an absolutely beautiful, beautiful place. It was it's absolutely gorgeous.

The feeling was exciting. There's lots of anticipation with spring coming for the students. And our Stanislaus State President, Britt Rios Ellis, did a beautiful job, as well as her administrative staff, to welcome everyone for the spring. I also attended City Ministry Network, which is a group that meets the first Thursdays of every month at 7AM. So if you can imagine this, dozens of residents in the city of Modesto meet at that time of the morning to discuss all the different topics of things that we're working on in our community, mostly in our city and county.

And this last time was our own Mary Ann Cannon gave a report on the community foundation and what's happening. So it's another moment in time in Modesto where residents show up. And as council member Ricky mentioned, gathering places in Mural Alley, It it's just pretty inspiring to see how many people show up in all the community activities that we have. And upcoming, if you're interested in any, is our Colorado Rouse groundbreaking for some really exciting infrastructure projects. That's tomorrow with the county, and then our HopeWorks ribbon cutting.

Modesto Night to Shine is coming up on Friday, and Marriage at the Mansions. And our Dryden Clubhouse groundbreaking is coming up on February 17. So lots to look forward to and great things happening in Modesto. Vice Mayor Williams, round three.

So sorry. Round three. You know, it's first of all, it's Black History Month and there are a lot of events circled around that, and I wanted to make sure that that got out because we won't be meeting until after some of these events take place. So this coming weekend from the twelfth to the fourteenth at the Gallo Center, Sankofa is celebrating their thirteenth year, the first African American theater company in the city of Modesto, and it's called Perilous Victorious. It's gonna be held again at the Gallo Center from this Friday till Sunday.

So get your tickets and support them for that. It's also on the twenty eighth at the senior center, a black history program. Of course, there may be a donation for that, and that starts at 05:00 on the twenty eighth, the February supporting and celebrating Black History Month. And I this is my that's my final and final announcement. So thank you very much and bless you.

Mhmm. Alright. Any other comments from council members at this time? Alright. Seeing none, does the city manager have any comments or reports?

Gonna go

He was enjoying something. I

I could go again if you want. I'm sorry.

Don't know.

Onward. Next on the agenda is hearings. Item nine, hearing to consider approval of an amendment to the circulation element of the Modesto urban area general plan and approval of specific plan amendment number six to the street hierarchy diagram of the Tivoli specific plan to reclassify Oakdale Road between Scenic Drive and Claritina Avenue, and Claritina Avenue between McHenry Avenue and Claus Road from six lane principal arterial streets to four lane principal arterial streets together with text amendments to chapter nine of the Tivoli specific plan relative to major specific plan amendment policies. And we will have a staff report from Jessica Hill, our director of economic and community develop development. Welcome.

Great. Thank you, mayor city council. So for a little bit of background, the Tivoli specific plan was approved by council in 2008. And, during that period of time, it was anticipated that Oakdale Road and Claritina Avenue would both be six lane expressways. But, as developments now occurring, staff began looking at the circulation plan and recognized some deficiencies and changes that have taken place since approval in 2008.

So, some of the changes were increased capacity of roadways into Modesto. And, some of those key changes were Clarabelle Road to the north was reclassified and built to a six lane expressway from McHenry Avenue to Oakdale Road. And additionally, phase one segment of North County corridor will extend east from Oakdale Road, creating a major expressway east to west across Modesto. While we also then looked at our current facilities on both of those main corridors. So, when we look at Oakdale Road, North Of Scenic Drive, the corridors built out to four or five lanes and existing development currently serves as constraints to build those out any further.

Claritina Avenue East Of McHenry is likewise constrained by the existing development and utility facilities by Hetch Hetchy and PG and E. So what we did is the city of Modesto initiated the Oakdale Claritina traffic analysis with Kittleson and Associates to evaluate the necessity of a six lane classification at Oakdale and Clarantina. Again, it was there to determine if the six lane configurations were necessary or if the transportation needs could be met in that area with a smaller footprint and roundabout designs as proposed in the Tivoli specific plan. So on 07/02/2025, the study had the technical details and insights for the reclassification analysis. So the study itself reviewed volumes of traffic through Oakdale Road and Claritina segments as shown in blue on the map above.

They analyzed each intersection to determine what infrastructure would be recommended to support the flow of traffic, And then confirm transitioning Oakdale Road and Claritina Avenue to four lane configurations supplemented by strategic roundabouts not only helped meet the needs of future demand, but outperforms what was originally planned in the six lane facility and overall reduced delays. So two lane roundabouts with a bypass lane were recommended at Oakdale and Bridgewood, Oakdale and Merle, Oakdale and Claritina, Claritina And A Street, and Claritina And Roselle. So there are two amendments we're looking to bring forward tonight. One is a proposed amendment to the general plan. As you see in those areas outlined in green, Oakdale Road, from a six lane facility to a four lane facility from Scenic to Clarabelle, and then Claritina Avenue from a six lane facility to a four lane arterial street from McHenry to Claus.

We're also looking to amend our Tivoli specific plan. So again, they're currently identified as principal arterial streets and looking to change them to principal arterial but only at the four lane capacity. And then the other update to the five roundabouts to reflect or to the five intersections I previously talked about to reflect roundabouts instead of traffic signals. The second thing we're looking to move forward with today is our Tivoli specific plan was originally approved by ordinance and is the only specific plan within the city that is approved in that manner. So what we're proposing to remain consistency with the rest of our specific plans is any amendments to the specific plans, we are looking to adopt them by resolution instead of ordinance.

And then also looking to reaffirm the two prior amendments we had and we adopted by resolution to affirm that resolutions is that correct path. So there was environmental review done on this project and it was under the common sense exemption. And then staff provided or provided and prepared the notice of exemption twenty twenty five dash 25 for this project. We did receive a comment from Hetch Hetchy Water and Power requiring that any future development shall trigger a submission of an application to that entity. This specific action tonight does not require any action for this item because no development is being proposed.

However, there is a condition of approval that will add to all future development projects along Claritina to advise them of that potential need and application to the Hetch Hetchy Water and Power. So before you today, I do have three separate resolutions and I'm happy to answer any questions.

Okay.

Council Member Bavaro.

Thank you, Mayor. So right now, it was proposed that we have six lanes, three

That is correct.

Going north and south. And that's a pretty congested area as it is right now. By reducing it to from six to four, does this study show that the congestion is going to be eliminated still? I mean

So the study proposed it would it would reduce congestion. And so what I also wanna make sure that for consideration of everyone is right now in Oakdale, north of Sylvan, it is only a two it it is only a one one way facility on each side. And so the proposal would still ensure that it it develops into a four lane facility. It just wouldn't develop into a full six lane facility. So improvements are going to happen on these two streets, just not ultimately six lanes, it'll be ultimately four lanes.

That's correct.

I guess my concern here is the congestion with traffic, with having new development going in that area. How is that going to be mitigated?

Yes. So that's exactly what the study analyzed and so the what's shown on the the map here showing the different areas that were studied and what we did was we looked at the existing conditions and the future conditions. So, this is full build out of the city to the 2046 for the general plan. Looking at how each of these intersections function. And the congestion really is measured not in the segments of the roadway, but at the intersections. Those are the constraints. So if we built what was currently in the general plan, six lanes and six lanes at Oakdale and Claritina with dual left turn hands. It would be the largest intersection in the city of Modesto by a large margin. In looking at that intersection, the forecast to operate as a signal today, that intersection would operate at a level service f, f for failed. So a to f.

A being basically free flow, f being significant congestion with over two to three minute wait times in addition to the normal cycle. So a normal cycle gonna be a couple minutes. You're talking about going to wait two to three to four cycles before you would get through that intersection. By putting in roundabouts at that intersection and these other intersections, it provides for better efficiency in a movement of a larger volumes of traffic through those intersections during those peak hours, AM and PM to provide for a much more efficient functioning roadway. Important to note those roundabouts all include bypass lanes.

So similar to what we have today at Coffey And Claritina, where there is a bypass lane if you're going eastbound to southbound, each of those intersections would have bypass lanes in all four directions, which significantly increases the capacity intersection. With the study, we project the level of service at this intersection. The the primary one, Oakdale, Claritina, would be level of service c. So a two step increase versus the proposed signalized intersection.

So what actually triggered this study? I mean, you know, we had planned out six lanes. What triggered your department to seek out a consultant to reanalyze the traffic flow?

So we

were What generated that?

Yes. So we were hoping to do it as part of the general plan. That would have been the natural evolution as this would be an amendment the general plan. The hope was to be the general plan. However, we're starting to get significant development pressure with the Tivoli, area starting to move forward and conversations about, hey, what does the ultimate improvements look like? What are we building at each of these intersections? That prompted the conversation, hey. Do we have enough information to make this as part of the general plan, knowing that the general plan is not gonna be here till 2027? And the pressure we're seeing, we need to move forward sooner rather than wait for the general plan.

So if I understand you correctly, then we're gonna have, like, five roundabouts in that In

the second yeah. So as shown on the screen there, the at Coffey and and Claritina, that would be an upgraded roundabout. And then as you go east, you'd have a roundabout there. Thank you, Scotty. And then south at Mabel, and then at Bridgewood. It was studied for Sylvan and and Oakdale. That would operate better, but that one is a very complex situation. It's not one we are recommended at any time, any in the short term. It would it operates better, but it's already at a very complicated level of service at that intersection. So, again, it was studied, but we're not recommending that at this point in time.

Okay. So it's all going to be based around the the traffic flow is going to be based on the roundabouts to keep having the flow. And if we have three lanes rather than two lanes, can't do a roundabout.

Correct.

Okay. So that's the reason why we went from

three So to and again, the roundabout design with two lanes and those bypass lanes, it functions as three, but it's specific to the locations, and it provides a better footprint for it to flow between those areas.

Do you

know how what the traffic count would be when those in that area is fully developed?

Well, counts are by direction and locations. I don't have those memorized. But just for context, right, the largest intersection currently within the city of Modesto is Orangeburg slash Briggsmore and Sisk. That averages about 50,000 cars a day. This intersection will be in that range of magnitude.

Okay. Thank you. Welcome.

Vice mayor Williams.

Thank you, mayor. Toby, on the you answered some of those already as far as the roundabouts helping the traffic flow versus the lights because you're at a light and then they don't make it to the light and all the rest of that.

South Side.

Right. And then so on the North Side, it's still open and undeveloped to some degree, some development there, some farms. So are there easements to be able to get into some of those, say, there's a business that pulls in or builds on Claritina or even I know the houses of Tivoli is going to be off of Oakdale and Claritina all the way up to Claribel, somewhat up to Claribel. So are there any streets that's going to go into in between, let's say, Stanford and Claritina?

You mean Sylvan.

Sylvan. I'm sorry. Yes. Sylvan and Claritina to where they can actually turn off into or is is there a proposed up further up, Scotty, right right across where Claritina goes across and then there's another is there

I'm sorry.

Streets in there getting into that?

Are you referring to East Of Oakdale or West Of Oakdale?

Where Scotty has that his

cursor East.

Of the east. Okay.

East Of Oakdale is the Tivoli specific plan.

Right. But there's streets that go into that, or is that all are gonna be a wall all the way all the way down?

So along Claritina, the Southwest Corner I'm sorry. So along Claritina, it's the Southwest Corner Of Oakdale and Claritina.

Uh-huh.

Sorry. Southeast Corner. Get my directions. Southeast Corner. Undeveloped land currently, currently, ag. That, for this typically specific plan, is commercially zoned. So that area would be commercial on the corner. As you head east, that would be residential, and there would be a wall on the the the back of those houses on on Claritina. But the commercial would not have a wall.

Okay. So the last point, is there gonna be a medium medium in between there, or is

it an arterial That is the community standard for principal arterial includes a median.

Yes. Okay. Is that a, like, a medium of two foot, four foot? What are we talking

The city standard is a 16 foot median. Across? 16 feet wide concrete edge curbs with landscaping in the middle.

That's the

standard for a principal arterial.

Alright. Thank you.

David Wright, Council Member Wright.

Thank you, mayor. You know, Toby, this is a great plan. Those streets, go down two or three times a day, And they are congested especially at Sylvan when you're heading north. I've been pushing for roundabouts in that area ever since I've been on the council. The roundabouts on Roselle worked fantastic, know.

And they have a high school right there. It does get backed up in the mornings a little bit on the high school, but it does move smoothly, lot better than it would be if there was lights here right now. So I I think this is a great plan. It's gonna really help the flow of the traffic. I do have a a concern between Claritina and Clarabelle.

I know with the the new bypass that's going in, the county is putting a light there probably closer to you keep moving on me here. And I know eventually there'll be an overpass. Correct. But the light is the light going to trigger backup on those roundabouts because there is a lot of traffic that goes north and south along Oakdale Road. And I'm concerned is the light going to cause some backup on those roundabouts?

It'll just slow people from getting to Riverbank. We don't want them to go that way.

Well, I understand that. As far as I'm concerned,

we

need to just put a block walk across there and keep people from going to Riverbank.

Costco? Yes. So ultimately, the construction of the North County Corridor and the ultimate improvements there will be an overpass. And again, right now, the traffic we're seeing along Oakdale is exacerbated by the closure of Roselle. So right now, with Roselle closed, while they're building the North County Corridor, you're seeing traffic being pushed in either direction. People are choosing Claus or Oakdale, and that's putting more pressure on both of those roadways and and others. You know, ultimately, traffic is is like water. Right? It finds the path of least resistance. And once the North County Corridor is in and functioning, you will start to see that meter out.

Is there a potential for some backup? Likely a little bit, but those movements on and off the North County Corridor really comes down to how the signals are timed and scheduled, and we'll be coordinating that with Riverbank to ensure smooth travel through there. There there will likely be some level, you know, during peak hours Mhmm. But for the most part, we we don't anticipate major delays in that area.

Okay. Fantastic. And then my last comment for Sylvan Avenue there at Oakdale. There is a lot of traffic accidents here, and there's some fatal traffic accidents here. I think a roundabout would really help eliminate a lot of accidents in that area. And I know it's going to be a while before that happens, but and that's a big project because that is a well traveled intersection right there. So good luck on that one.

Council Vice Mayor Williams, your name is still did you have another question?

No, ma'am.

Thank you. Okay. I have a couple of questions. Claritina will go east all the way to Claus Road. So that would just be like north of our Lit Road area, our station there, correct,

it

looks Our utility. Utility. Utilities place. So it goes across terminal to get to Claus. Is there rail? Rail?

There is.

There's a railroad there. Correct? How how is that going to work?

Yes. So ultimately, as part of the general plan, we will be looking at the connectivity of, Claus Road as it comes up. Currently, the Claus Road connection, as it goes north before it hits the railroad tracks, it veers west to connect over to Roselle at the North County Corridor. So, that is the current plan. We will be looking at that connectivity because the draft general plan does anticipate some additional development east of the railroad tracks, that will likely dictate what the circulation element is there as you go east of the railroad tracks.

And that would dictate what the extension of, Claritina as it goes that direction as part of the general plan. All right. So this effort is really focused on what we have within our city limits today, primarily focused around the areas of the Tivoli specific plan as well as the planning for the Tivoli North Pacific plan, which is North Of Claritina, East Of Oakdale.

Okay. So, it may not go all the way to it would depend or we don't know where the north Correct.

So, how it connects will be determined as part of the circulation element of the general plan.

Okay. My next question is, have we been collaborating with Stan RTA and the bus system

through

this? Is there any allowance for drop offs of people that want to connect with our bus routes?

Yes. So as part of this effort, the bus routes were analyzed as part of the study to ensure that their needs were met as part of the traffic study. So that was incorporated into this. As part of both of those planning efforts for the Tivoli and Tivoli North Pacific Plan, we do coordinate with STAN RTA to make sure that the bus service, especially as I mentioned, commercial development to ensure that there's commercial access for those areas.

All right. Do we know if there'll be turnouts planned as Yes. Part of

So one of the important to note about the four lane facility is the inclusion of acceleration and deceleration lanes. So as you're coming in and out of a commercial area specifically, you have the ability to get up to speed or out off the roadway that allows for the better capacity that we mentioned and how this really works. And the same would be with bus turnouts to ensure that it's adequate.

Okay. Thank you very much. Those are my questions. Any other questions from council members at this time? All right, we will open this item up to the public. Is there anyone that would like to speak regarding item nine on the agenda tonight? Right.

I have a couple of questions. I'm trying to picture this and I'm wondering what will happen to the bike lanes. And also, how will bicyclists navigate a roundabout? I'm trying to picture bicyclists in a roundabout, and somehow I'm not able to picture that. And then my other question, I'm trying to remember what it was now.

Oh,

yes. I wanted to know about detours. When you're doing roadwork on one of the roundabouts and you've got 50,000 cars a day going through the roundabout and that roundabout is closed because roadwork, Obviously, you're going to detour that traffic somewhere else. Where do you detour 50,000 cars to? I mean, are you going to detour it to another roundabout somewhere else?

Or are you going to detour it to a two lane road? I mean, what kind of congestion are you going to have on those occasions when you have to detour traffic? And what kind of a problem is that going to produce with cars backing up and so forth? Thank you.

You're welcome. All right. Would someone please address bike lanes, if that's part of this, and bikes and roundabouts, how that's handled in detour management.

Yes. Thank you, mayor. So primarily for the the bike lane facilities, what we are moving towards is getting the bikes off of the roadway. So in in technical speak, class two bike lanes were those that were on roadway, where you were sharing the lanes with traffic. And really, especially in this area, we're moving to class one facilities, which is where the bike lanes are separated from the traffic, I.

E. Up on the curb, where you've got at least 12 feet of pathway so you can do two directional bike paths and you're separated and not riding with the traffic. And in those circumstances, when you get to the intersections, we have them cross similar to the pedestrian where they're separated from the traffic and minimize those crossing distance. Perfect illustration here, right? If we had the six lane facility and you have to cross six lanes of traffic, what takes longer time at an intersection is the pedestrian movement.

It's a long time to cross six lanes of traffic with two left turn lanes. With the roundabouts, what we're able to do is move the crossing a little south of the intersection to cross where it's two lanes in each direction. And then with the center median, they're able to cross a shorter distance much safer and much more effectively. So that's how it's incorporated into the overall project and the design for those roundabouts. In terms of detour management, so construction activity during construction obviously is one thing.

We're always looking for the path of least resistance and where traffic is trying to get to and where it's trying to go to and designing those roundabouts and those detours accordingly. So it really is on a case by case basis, what aspect, what portion of the roadway is being worked on, and where's the best movement of the traffic. So it is every project has a traffic control plan that is designed and built specifically around which activity is happening. And it in most circumstances, that traffic control plan is going to change four or five times during the course of the construction to reflect the different construction activities.

Great. Thank you very much. Any other members of the public that would like to speak regarding Item nine at this time? Welcome.

Good evening.

The question I have is between McHenry and Coffey. Will there be a lane to the residents and to be able to turn left into our homes? That's pretty much it.

Okay. And you're referring to Claritina?

Claritina, yes.

Between McHenry and

and Coffee, yes. Because currently we have, for us some time we're sitting there for twenty, thirty minutes to turn and so with being a highway now almost that's gonna create even more. So for us we would have to go to roundabout and then come back and get into our homes.

All right. Let me see what we can find out. Thank you.

So the area between, McHenry and Coffey, on quarantine, again, that was planned as a six lane expressway in the original plan. So the the homes along that south side are all back lot walls, and there is one roadway connection. There is anticipated that at that existing roadway connection, that's where an additional roundabout will be placed with future development to the north. In terms of the access, that would provide the access for that the properties that access there to the South. The area to the North of Claritina, that would be subject to future development. There is current interest from the development community in that area as well, and that's where we would accommodate at that intersection for ultimate roundabout construction. And I can follow-up with the resident as well.

Okay. That'd be great, I think, to explain specifically that area. Thank you. Any other members of the public that would like to speak regarding Item nine? All right. Seeing none at this time, I will close. I did not formally open the public hearing. I apologize for that. I think I made it clear. I will close public comments And any comments from council members? Council Member Wright.

Thank you, Mayor. I've been pushing for this for a long time since I was elected. That is an area that really needs a lot of work and I'm happy to see that we're going to be putting some roundabouts in there really help with our traffic. My hats off to our engineering department and our economic department on a great plan in my opinion. Thank you very much.

All right. Councilmember Scudia Brayton.

Thank you, Mayor. I also wish to express gratitude to staff for working on this plan. I also take that path quite often and these new improvements for public safety are just wonderful. So looking forward to the construction and that being opened up and made available, it's really going to make a lot of people's driving experience in that area much, much more pleasant. So thank you all for making it happen.

All right. Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. Also, would like to thank the staff for putting this together. Portion of that from McHenry to Coffey and a little bit further on is is in the district that I serve and right up to the district where district councilman Wright serves. And it does look like it's you know, you're out of town. It's not really a part of the city of Modesto. So I'm looking forward to that looking like it's a part of Modesto and then that it flows like it needs to. So thank you again, staff for your hard work.

My only comment is we have made such tremendous strides in Modesto regarding crime statistics and so many positive movements. One area that we need a lot of work on is traffic safety. And this is one more step to decreasing the number of severe injuries from car crashes. They're not even called accidents anymore. They're car crashes.

Most of them are preventable. And this is one step closer to making that happen in this community. We have to do everything that we can to decrease our auto versus pedestrian crashes and our motor vehicle crashes, which far happen far too often. And slowing down, taking a little bit more time, a tad bit of inconvenience, if it saves lives, in the end is so worth it. So I appreciate the work that's been done in this effort, and that we have moved forward full steam ahead to do everything that we can to work on our traffic safety.

And our police department's doing the same thing. And we are providing all resources to make that happen, whether it's technology, streets, roads, patrol, all hands on deck to address that. So I'm really grateful for this. So at this time, I will read the three different resolutions. We'll have three separate votes.

I have a resolution approving an amendment to the circulation element of the Modesto urban area general plan to change the designation of Oakdale Road between Scenic Drive and Clarabelle Avenue from six lane Principal Arterial Street to four lane Arterial Street and to change the designation of Claritina Avenue between McHenry Avenue and Claus Road from six lane Principal Arterial Street to four lane arterial street. Do I have a motion?

Motion.

Motion by vice mayor Williams, second

by council member Wright. Will the clerk please call the roll? Council member Scudia Breachen? Aye. Council member Alvarez? Aye. Council member Ricky? Aye. Council member Bavaro? Aye. Vice mayor Williams? Aye. Council member Wright? Aye. And mayors Wellen?

Aye. Carries unanimously. I have a resolution finding that the following subsequent project is exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to section one five zero six one b three of the CEQA guidelines amendment to the circulation element of the Modesto urban area general plan to change the designation of Oakdale Road between Scenic Drive and Clarabelle Road from six lane principal arterial street to four lane arterial street and to change the designation of Claritina Avenue between McHenry Avenue and Claus Road from six lane principal arterial street to four lane arterial street, together with specific plan amendment number six to the Tivoli specific plan to amend the chapter three street hierarchy diagram to change the classification of Oakdale Road and Claritina Avenue from six lane arterial streets to four lane arterial streets, and to amend text in chapter nine relative to specific plan administration and to reaffirm prior mayor major amendments to the specific plan adopted by city council resolution. Do I have a motion?

Motion to approve.

Okay. Motion by council member Wright and seconded by council member Escudia Brayton. Is that correct? Council member Escudia Brayton?

Sure.

Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council member Scuthia Brayton? Aye. Council member Alvarez? Aye. Council member Ricky?

Aye.

Council member Bavaro? Aye. Vice mayor Williams? Aye. Council member Wright? Aye. And mayors Welland?

Aye. Carries unanimously. I have a motion introducing and waiving the first reading of an ordinance approving Tivoli specific plan amendment number six to amend the chapter three street hierarchy diagram to change the classification of Oakdale Road and Claritin Avenue from six lane arterial streets to four lane arterial streets, and to amend text in chapter nine relative to specific plan administration and to reaffirm prior major amendments to the Tivoli specific plan adopted by city council resolution. Do I have a motion?

So moved.

Moved by council member Bavaro. Second. Seconded by council member Alvarez. Will clerk please call the roll?

Council member Scoutier Brayton? Aye. Council member Alvarez? Aye. Council member Ricky? Aye. Council member Bavaro?

Aye.

Vice mayor Williams? Aye. Council member Wright? Aye. And mayor Swollen?

Aye. Carries unanimously. Thank you very much. Are there any matters too late for the agenda? Seeing none, I'm calling this meeting of the city council to be adjourned.