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Council approves revised circulation plan, EIR addendum for 600 Tank Farm Road
Summary
Council approved a staff-recommended modification to previously approved public-circulation improvements for the 600 Tank Farm Road project and certified an addendum to that project’s final EIR, amending conditions to allow interim off-site work while preserving a path to the original roundabout design when right-of-way becomes available.
The San Luis Obispo City Council on April 1 approved a set of modified circulation improvements and an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) addendum for the previously approved 600 Tank Farm Road development, which the council originally approved in 2022. The vote (5-0) amended conditions requiring off-site public improvements when right-of-way acquisition from an adjacent Union Oil property proved infeasible.
Community Development Director Timmy Tway summarized the request: the 2022 approval included a roundabout at Tank Farm Road and Santa Fe and required the developer to construct off-site improvements and underground utility work. Project engineers later encountered a practical obstacle: the neighboring Union Oil site could not convey the necessary right-of-way in the near term because of separate remediation and regulatory steps tied to historical site contamination. The developer proposed an interim solution allowing a conventional unsignalized intersection with turn lanes, buffered bike lanes and a two-way shared-use path — improvements that staff and advisory bodies said would preserve safety and active-transportation connections while enabling a path to the originally planned roundabout when right-of-way is acquired.
"In the big picture, this is a story of creative solutions to challenges that come up when an approved project doesn't anticipate all the twists and turns," Community Development Director Timmy Tway said during the presentation. Active Transportation Committee and the Planning Commission reviewed the modified design and recommended approval; the City Council then adopted the resolution approving the modified circulation conditions and certifying an addendum to the original EIR.
Key elements approved: the modified plan removes the immediate requirement to build the roundabout at Tank Farm and Santa Fe, replacing it with interim improvements including a new eastbound left-turn lane into Santa Fe, buffered on-street bike lanes and a two-way shared-use path along Santa Fe West and Tank Farm. The project would still require the developer to prepare 65%-level design drawings and provide impact-fee deposits and reimbursements if the roundabout is built later by others. The developer also requested and staff agreed to an approach that allows one power pole to remain temporarily where full undergrounding is not immediately feasible; the pole would be located and designed to permit future undergrounding without obstructing interim circulation improvements.
Staff and council emphasized safety: the interim design adds pedestrian and bicycle facilities and acceleration lanes expected to reduce queueing and improve the worst-case delays at the nearby Tank Farm/Santa Fe East intersection. City engineering staff noted that once the interim improvements are completed the intersection’s worst-case movement is projected to improve from LOS F to LOS D and average delay for the most impacted movement would decline substantially.
Fiscal treatment: because the developer will not construct the roundabout immediately, the city will not reserve approximately $5.7 million in transportation impact fees and $2 million in general-fund reimbursement that had been set aside under the original reimbursement agreement. Impact fees will continue to be collected for the roundabout so the project remains fundable in the future, and the city will return later to de-obligate funds in the reimbursement agreement if the modified approach is implemented.
Why it matters: the decision allowed the project to proceed without delaying housing construction for an off-site right-of-way acquisition that may take years, while protecting the city’s long-term option to build the roundabout if right-of-way becomes available. The council approved the addendum to the certified final EIR after staff concluded the change did not introduce new environmental impacts.
Next steps: staff will update the reimbursement agreement consistent with the adopted resolution, and the developer will continue design and permit steps for both on-site and interim off-site improvements. Staff said they will monitor operations and may return with traffic-safety adjustments such as a right-turn-on-red restriction if the interim design creates conflicts.
