Brentwood staff seeks to replace speed‑hump policy with combined traffic‑calming rules

City staff presented a proposed repeal of the earlier speed‑hump policy and a consolidated traffic‑calming policy intended to clarify procedures for neighborhood‑initiated traffic calming.

Key changes explained by staff (Speaker 1): the policy would apply only to public streets; minimum separation between devices would be 300 feet and maximum 600 feet; separate votes would be required for each physical improvement (for example, each hump or table), and the initial process would look for 50% support within a 600‑foot radius (reduced from the prior 1,000‑foot radius). The voting period for the physical improvement would be 45 days (up from 30) with a potential extension of up to 30 days in special cases. Staff also proposed conducting two mailings to increase petition response rates and said the city would handle petition distribution and collection.

On cost sharing, staff said typical practice remains: speed humps would require a two‑thirds resident cost share while speed tables (on collector streets) would be city‑funded. Commissioners asked how to interpret 'substantially similar' for repeated petitions and whether a subsequent request in a different area would be allowed; staff said that determining 'substantially similar' will require staff judgment and that the policy would set a 24‑month waiting period for substantially similar subsequent requests, with flexibility when locations are demonstrably different.

Commissioners asked staff to refine language so the rule reads clearly to residents; staff said they will incorporate suggested clarifications and could bring a polished version back for the next meeting or postpone action if needed.