Ranchos Meeting Well Attended

Close to 100 people attended my community meeting last night to discuss proposals to remove RV's, oversized vehicles and non-motorized, unattached trailers in the Ranchos area. We also discussed the differences in set-backs for fences (they vary from street to street), other traffic improvements needed in the area and a little about fixing up the medians on Spring Street which are in serious disrepair.

City Traffic Engineer Dave Roseman explained the City's new ordinance that allows the Traffic Engineer to determine street by street if oversized vehicles and unattached trailers are appropriate for the size of the street and whether or not they create public safety problems. Because the Rancho's are a self contained and defined area (PD-11) it was thought that we could try this approach on a pilot project basis. To do so, a notice will be sent to all residents of the area telling them what is being proposed and asking if they agree. We will continue to have public meetings until a decision is made about how to proceed.

The discussion of the set backs largely centered over the confusion that even city planners have when asked if a fence can be replaced and at what height it can be replaced. Because this area is unique, fences can be placed in the front yard up to 10 feet --while the limit is 3 feet in other parts of the city.

The Traffic Engineer is also looking at the streets for additional stop signs to slow down some of the speeding that occurs. Missing street signs were also brought up.

The medians are a mess. The brick is raised because of tree roots (there's a surprise...). I am encouraging residents to "adopt" a median and help spruce it up.