Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Stormwater Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Ross council pauses Balena storm-drain vote after neighbors say they were not notified
Summary
Neighbors raised health, scheduling and notification concerns about the Balena Storm Drain Improvements Phase 2 project. Public works staff admitted the town missed required 300-foot mailings for the IS/MND and the council unanimously continued action to a date uncertain so the project can be re‑noticed and regulatory review completed.
The Ross Town Council on April 3 paused action on the Balena Storm Drain Improvements Phase 2 project after neighbors said they had not received required notice and raised health, access and timing concerns.
Public Works Director Rich Simonich told the council the item before them was adoption of resolution 25-13 approving the project’s final Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) and the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program and authorizing staff to advertise the project for bid. The project would extend the storm drain installed three years ago down Balina Avenue through the Sir Francis Drake intersection and toward Madera Creek.
Neighbors who use a private easement that crosses the project area called the schedule rushed and said they learned only after the public comment period closed. “We were not notified. We did not get direct notification, and I was not aware that this project was happening,” resident Orna Meyer told the council, asking that the town push the work back to late summer or next year so her family’s previously scheduled exterior renovations would not conflict with heavy construction in their driveway.
Simonich acknowledged the town had not completed the 300-foot courtesy mailing associated with the IS/MND. “That is 1 of the reasons why we, we reached out to, Mark Fritz, one of the resident there, as soon as we realized that we missed that notification. So, yes, that is . . . a regrettable circumstance that the 300 foot notification was missed,” he said.
Simonich also told the council the project includes mitigation measures for potential hazardous materials exposure discovered in the old railroad bed the work will cross and that some permits from state regulatory agencies remain outstanding. He said the town is still waiting on comments and is scheduled to meet with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Councilmembers responded to the neighbors’ concerns by saying fairness required giving affected homeowners additional time to review the IS/MND and to accept public comment. Town staff and a town attorney recommended re-noticing the IS/MND for a fresh 30-day comment period and carrying the adoption item to a date uncertain while the town completes the required CEQA notice and receives agency comments.
The council voted unanimously to continue action on adopting the IS/MND and the related mitigation program to a date uncertain and directed staff to re-notice the document and solicit comments from agencies and properties within 300 feet.
What happens next: Staff said the project will be re-noticed under CEQA for 30 days, agency comments will be compiled and addressed, and the council will consider the item again after the notice period and as permits are resolved. Simonich told the council he would also try to avoid schedule conflicts with other roadwork, including a paving project on Sir Francis Drake, and said pushing Balena into next year was an option.
The council’s action leaves the project legally on hold until the town completes the additional noticing and the regulatory review steps required by state agencies and CEQA.
