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Goleta council adopts capital improvement project prioritization framework, will revisit after traffic model
Summary
Council adopted a new prioritization framework to rank capital improvement projects citywide, directing staff to return with refinements after completion of a traffic model; the decision drew extensive public comment about paving and bike projects.
The Goleta City Council voted unanimously to adopt a project prioritization framework intended to guide which capital improvement program (CIP) projects the city advances and pursues for grant funding. The framework ranks projects across categories such as health and safety, equity, funding availability and regulatory mandates.
Staff described the framework as a best-practices tool to help manage more than 100 CIP projects, optimize grant opportunities, and align investments with citywide strategic goals (creek and watershed plans, ADA transition plan, Vision Zero, and others). The presentation reviewed about $278 million in total project costs across construction, bidding and design phases and noted that roughly half of the completed or in-progress projects so far have been grant funded.
Councilmembers pressed staff on how environmental projects will be scored versus circulation or safety projects, whether circulation benefits should be more explicitly reflected, and how the framework will account for projects tied to development (development impact fees). Staff responded that projects would be ranked in category groups so that, for example, creek and watershed projects are compared among themselves rather than being directly pitted against transportation projects; staff also agreed to consider adding an explicit circulation metric tied to the upcoming traffic model.
Several members of the public urged the city to prioritize pavement, safer pedestrian crossings and additional bike/ped infrastructure; speakers asked for better visibility on which streets will be treated under the 2025 paving program and urged the city to consider radio and Spanish-language outreach. Staff said the paving program is treated as ongoing maintenance (outside the CIP prioritization) but acknowledged council direction that paving is a top priority and pointed to this year’s programmed paving projects and an online map for details.
Councilmember debate focused on whether the framework should prioritize grant-ready projects versus locally funded priorities and on the need to refine scoring definitions and objective language. The adopted motion included a friendly amendment: staff will revisit and refine the framework once the new traffic model and associated development impact fee (DIF) study are available in approximately six to eight months.
Ending: Staff will use the framework to rank CIP projects and present a refined list during the next CIP and budget workshops; the council directed staff to return with refinements incorporating the traffic model output, development-impact-fee analysis and clearer scoring definitions.
