MYTHS/MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT UPTOWN REVITALIZATION EFFORTS
We are wasting money in the Uptown area when the City has many other more important needs:
Over the last seven years, the City has constructed, or is currently constructing/funding, about $95M in infrastructure improvements including a $20M Interchange, $12M in Yucaipa Boulevard and Oak Glen Road Improvements, another $7.5M in new bridges, $2.5M in Alley/sidewalk improvements, $15M in drainage improvements, $4M in park improvements, and $750,000 on the Senior and Teen Center facilities, primarily as a result of grant funding, partnerships, and the Development Impact Fee Program. In addition, the City partnered with Crafton Hills College in the planning, acquisition and development of a $10+M world class aquatics facility. The City also built the Community Park, Community Center, and City Hall during the preceding three years. In addition, Yucaipa has the most aggressive Pavement Management Program in San Bernardino County. The estimated $5M Uptown Streetscape Project is simply the City Council’s next priority investment in infrastructure for the community.
This project will cost the general resident taxpayer:
This project is funded with Redevelopment Agency bonds. There is no cost or risk to the General Fund. The bonds are paid from tax increment only generated from the properties/businesses in the Redevelopment area and their taxes are not being increased one cent to repay the bonds.
The narrowing of the streets and roundabouts will result in it taking me longer to go through the Uptown area:
According to the studies, the average time to get from 3rd Street to Bryant Street today is 1min. 40sec; the estimated time to go the same distance under the same conditions after the streetscape project is installed is between 1min 52sec and 2min 10sec, an increase of between 12sec and 30sec.
All of the bypass traffic around the Uptown area created by the Project will back-up traffic on nearby streets:
The traffic studies show that there will be some bypass traffic in the area but the levels of service for the streets in the vicinity will remain LOS C or better (which is good in Traffic Engineering language). In addition, staff has been directed by City Council to proceed with the design of miscellaneous intersections along E Street parallel to the Uptown and the conceptual design for the extension of Second Street to Oak Glen Road.
Why isn’t the City working on the condition of the buildings in the Uptown instead of the infrastructure?
The City is doing both. The City Council has already approved a Development Agreement for funding a Senior Housing Project and Community Garden on one property that has stood idle for over twenty years. In addition, staff has been directed to acquire and develop certain public parking area(s) and to return to Council with a Specific Plan Update that it is believed will encourage new development in the Uptown area.
This whole project is simply a plan foisted on the Community by an idealistic consultant, or certain staff members, or even certain Councilmembers:
The current plan represents the culmination of years of effort, starting with the development of the original Specific Plan with input from many sources; the Property/Business Improvement District (PBID) process and construction of the California Street Improvements; and the PBID, engineering study and conceptual design process for the Yucaipa Boulevard Streetscape Project that by itself included two years of neighborhood meetings, City Council Study Sessions, and numerous individual meetings with property owners and business owners. The city reached out to the Community yet again with the recent meeting held on November 9th, and staff will be presenting additional ideas from the public attending the meeting to the City Council for consideration.