::: COMMUNITY NEWS

John Merchant

John Merchant, president of the Community Services District board of directors, addressed the Elk Grove Unified School District board about plans for a new elementary school just outside Rancho Murieta.

Caltrans joins RMA and CSD calling for pedestrian and bike access to school

Published Tuesday, May 17, 2005

The Rancho Murieta Association and the Community Services District boards agree that the proposed elementary school on Stonehouse Road should be planned for pedestrian and bicycle access. The two groups have taken what CSD President John Merchant called the unprecedented action of submitting a joint letter to the Elk Grove Unified School District stating that position.

CSD Director Mary Brennan described the letter as “very bland” but agreed that it made the point about access.

By contrast, the California Department of Transportation submitted comments that were anything but bland.

Caltrans' four-page letter makes the following comments:

  • The chosen Stonehouse Road school site “is a poor site from a pedestrian and bicycle travel option.”
  • A change in the speed limit on Highway 16 and grading changes at the intersection of 16 and Stonehouse would be necessary “to address the high speed, the lack of sight distance for motorists near the proposed school site access, and the problematic increase in side road traffic.”
  • The school district should consider other sites for the school, including a site within Rancho Murieta.
  • Restrictions that could be imposed by the EGUSD would be insufficient “to keep children out of harm’s way” at the intersection of Highway 16 and Stonehouse Road.
  • The environmental document does not indicate what agency will enforce the non-access limitations and “be legally responsible in case of an accident.”
  • The estimate of the number of trips the school would generate is “understated.”
  • A full environmental impact report may be necessary for the project, instead of the mitigated negative declaration that’s proposed.
  • Any work performed within the Highway 16 right-of-way would require an encroachment permit from Caltrans and be subject to conditions set forth by Caltrans.

Caltrans and the RMA and CSD directors were reacting to the assertion in the environmental document that access to the school will be by vehicle only. The document says that, although the Elk Grove Unified School District is eliminating bus service for neighborhood schools in urban and suburban areas, it's being continued in rural areas along busy roads that don't have improved shoulders and sidewalks.

At the school board meeting Monday night, the action item on the environmental document for the project was deleted from the agenda and rescheduled for the June 7 school board meeting, but the public hearing on the document was held as scheduled.

Merchant, who had been authorized to speak at the public hearing on behalf of the CSD, told the school board that the community supports the school and wants to work with the district to address the access issue. He was the only member of the public to address the board.

School board president Chet Madison Sr., board member Brian Myers, who represents Rancho Murieta, and Constantine I. Baranoff, assistant superintendent of the school district, expressed support for the school and a willingness to work with the community for pedestrian access. “Busing is not our plan,” said Myers.

In his presentation, Baranoff said, “The school that we’re talking about is about 20 years in the making.”

There was no discussion of the specifics of the environmental document or the comment letters. Baranoff announced that public input ended with the hearing that evening.

Myers and Steven E. Looper, the school district’s director of planning, had previously sought to put distance between the school district and the document’s pronouncement on access.

Looper wrote in an e-mail to RanchoMurieta.com, "The (school) district is aware that the community is currently working on providing pedestrian and bike access to the school from the gated community, and we will be working with them as planning for the school progresses, should this continue to be a request. Since the proposal for pedestrian and bike access would not be located on school property or developed by the district, it could not be included as part of the scope for the project, as defined by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)."

Reacting to a May 2 article on RanchoMurieta.com, Myers wrote in a May 5 Community Views letter that busing “is only a comment in the EIR. It is not a plan by the district. We have already had discussions about how to cross Stonehouse Road from the RM gate area.”

Like Looper, Myers wrote that the school district is open to working with community on the issue.

Both the RMA and CSD boards held special meetings to publicly discuss and comment on the school site by the May 10 deadline for submitting comments to the school district.

At the RMA meeting, RMA President Paul Gumbinger said the Kiwanis Club, which he belongs to, intends to hold a community forum with school district officials so that issues associated with the school can be discussed. When plans for the school were announced last year, school officials spoke at public meetings about having golf cart and pedestrian access.

Both the RMA and CSD expressed concern about the traffic problems that would be created on Stonehouse Road and Jackson Road if access were limited to vehicles only.

The environmental document calls for a traffic signal to be installed at the intersection of the two roads and improvements to be made on Stonehouse, a narrow, potholed county road with poor sight lines. The scope of the improvements is not specified.

Three years ago, when the school district evaluated a school site located at Escuela Drive and Stonehouse Road in Rancho Murieta, officials said access would have to be through the North Gate because Stonehouse Road did not meet safety requirements. Opposition to that site resulted in the selection of the present school site, located outside the gates and across Stonehouse Road from Rancho Murieta.

In addition to comments about access and traffic mitigation, the CSD’s letter to the school district includes comments about water and sewer services the CSD would supply to the school under a contract with the school district. The Local Agency Formation Commission has to approve the contract and allow the CSD to expand its sphere of influence to include the school since the school site is located outside the CSD’s service area.

The June 7 school board meeting will take place at 8 p.m. at the Robert L. Trigg Education Center, 9510 Elk Grove-Florin Road.



Do you have comments about this topic or story? Share them at RanchoMurieta.com's Community Views page.