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HomeMy WebLinkAbout26 - Road Closure at Pelican Hills Road SouthCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. 26 January 10, 2006 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Public Works Department Richard Edmonston 949 - 644 -3311 rdmonston@city.newport-beach.ca.us SUBJECT: PELICAN HILLS RESORT— PROPOSED ROAD CLOSURE AT PELICAN HILL ROAD SOUTH RECOMMENDATION: Direct staff to issue a Temporary Street Closure Permit to close Pelican Hill Road South during portions of the construction of the Pelican Hills Resort. DISCUSSION: Staff has received a request, copy attached, from The Irvine Company seeking approval to close the road known as Pelican Hill Road South during portions of the construction of the Pelican Hills Resort. Construction projects do not normally include the closure of a public street, but this project is unusual in several key aspects. The Resort project includes the construction of a bridge over this roadway, which will require the road to be closed during times the falsework is being erected and again when it is removed. The road would also need to be closed during key times of construction such as during pile installation and concrete pours. The project also includes moving approximately a quarter million cubic yards of soil from one side of the road to the other. This would require the use of flaggers to control traffic during truck crossings, which could occur several times per minute. The Irvine Company estimates there will be over 30,000 crossings of the road by heavy equipment during the earth moving portion of construction. Residents of the Pelican Crest and Pelican Hill areas may be inconvenienced by the closure. Currently they can take Pelican Hill Road South down to Newport Coast Drive if they are trying to reach Pacific Coast Highway. With the requested closure, these residents will have to use Pelican Hill Road North to reach Newport Coast Drive as can be seen on the attached Vicinity Map. Pelican Hills Resort — Proposed Road Closure at Pelican Hill Road South January 10, 2006 Page 2 The proposed closure has been discussed with the Fire and Police Departments. The Fire Department indicated that the closure would not likely affect primary response times for equipment stationed in Newport Coast or Newport Center, but could delay supplemental units coming from Corona del Mar or Laguna Beach. The closure will be done in a manner that will provide 24 hour emergency access and hydrants with adequate water pressure will be maintained in the construction area. Police patrols are by beat assignment so units responding to emergency calls can literally be anywhere in the general area of the event. Emergency response times in the Pelican Hill neighborhood could be minimally impacted if the responding police units were in the southern portion of their beat at the time of the call, such as in area of Coast Highway and Newport Coast. Staff recommends approval of the closure based upon the safety benefits that will result from eliminating conflicts between heavy construction equipment and public traffic. If the road is not closed, the construction will require periodic complete closures as well as numerous temporary closures for the earthmoving equipment. Environmental Review: Categorically Exempt under Chapter 3, Article 19, Section 15301, Class 1(c) of Title 14, California Code of Regulations. This exemption is for the operation of existing facilities. The closure will expedite the larger Resort project which will reduce those construction impacts, it will be temporary, and it will enhance public safety with minimal impact on emergency response times. Prepared by: Richard Edmonston, P.E. Development and Transportation Services Manager Attachment: Vicinity Map Si ihmittprl hv- sy� THE IRVINE COMPANY December 22, 2005 Rich Edmonston Traffic Engineer City of Newport Beach 3300 Newport Blvd. Newport Beach, CA 92660 Dear Rich: Re: Pelican Hill Resort Construction Project Proposed Road Closure — Pelican Hill Road South Public Works Department City of a L =e,. r This letter is submitted by way of formal request to temporarily close Pelican Hill Road South due to ongoing construction operations and related public safety concerns. You will be aware that we have been under construction for three months now. During that tithe, we have received three formal complaints from local Home Owner's Associations and others regarding the use of Pelican Hill Road North for construction traffic access. While every effort is presently being made to obviate the need for Pelican Hill Road North access, this is still required for delivery of larger plant (eg scrapers) due to turning restrictions. Moreover, we are becoming increasingly concerned from a public safetly perspective with the speeds traveled along Pelican Hill Road South — this, despite speed restriction and construction hazard signage. The closure of Pelican Hill Road South would allow all deliveries to access and egress the site from the south. Additionally, we now have the benefit of the calculated dirt haul details for Sukut's proposed mass grading effort — these are summarized as follows: Upper Villas to Lower Villas 13,400 street crossings 60 crossings per hour for 28 days Upper Villas to Guest Suites 5,800 round trips along Pelican Hill Road South 25 trips per hour for 30 days Golf Club to Guest Suites 15,200 street crossings 50 crossings per hour for 40 days 550 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach. California 92660 -7011 • (949) 720 -2000 In January 2006, we will commence mass grading operations simultaneously at all four construction sites. Our effort has been to delimit any requirement for import or export of dirt for environmental and safety reasons, Bence the entire project is designed as a `balanced' site. This, however, provides the need for considerable haulage of dirt between respective sites. We are extremely concerned that once this haulage begins in earnest, and despite our best traffic management efforts, there is a very real risk of public traffic accidents given the apparent propensity to speed along Pelican Hill Road. On a final and related note, we are, as you know, seeking permission to encroach into the street for various components of our project infrastructure, including the proposed bridge. The bridge will be under construction for around one year, during much of which it will be necessary to close sections of Pelican Hill Road and divert traffic. This inconvenience to the public will persist for several months. In summary, we submit that the closure of Pelican Hill Road South provides for: • A safer construction site and dramatically decreased risk of public accident • Zero project- related construction traffic along Pelican Hill Road North • Reduced public frustration due to street diversions and wait times • A more expeditious construction schedule We can talk more fully subsequently as to how long the temporary road closure need persist. Grading operations will be complete in the summer of 2006, when we transition into vertical construction until the fall of 2008. We are seeking closure until summer 2006 at this time, whereafter we can jointly review the need for a continued closure or otherwise when we are better - equipped to discuss vertical construction needs. Our engineers are presently drafting street closure plans, which will detail closure and diversion signage; fencing and access plans for construction and emergency response crews; and other related issues. These will be submitted to your staff for review shortly. Meanwhile, we would respectfully request that the contents of this letter be approved at the forthcoming City Council Meeting on January 10`h. Sincerely,, Chris Marsh Vice President Commercial Property Development Investment Properties Group CM/