Ukiah panel finds five-year Capital Improvement Program conforms to general plan; Walnut Canyon interchange estimated at $135 million

The Ukiah Planning Commission on June 17 reviewed the city’s draft five-year Capital Improvement Program and adopted the required finding that the program conforms with the city’s general plan, voting 7-0 to accept staff’s recommendation. The commission’s review will be forwarded as part of the city’s budget process beginning June 22.

Assistant City Engineer Landon Turn, who presented the plan, said the CIP is "the multi-year plan that outlines the city's planned investments in infrastructure and public facilities," and that the packet includes individual ClearGov project sheets intended to give more detail about each project. Turn told commissioners the draft CIP introduces a single new project this year: Uptown ADA-accessible parking enhancements adjacent to the YPAC, to be funded with Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money. "That scope is limited to enhancing the existing parking and street and existing facility," Turn said, and staff determined no additional environmental review for that work is required.

Turn described how the city has historically funded CIP projects: nearly half of the program has come from state or federal grants or partner agency contributions, while the city’s general fund has represented a comparatively small share historically (about 3.5%, staff said). He said staff will present funding priorities to the City Council during the upcoming budget hearings, including the pavement management program, which has had inconsistent general fund contributions in recent years.

A substantial portion of the discussion focused on the Walnut Canyon freeway interchange, a multiyear project being processed through Caltrans. Turn said the project is in Caltrans’ PAED (planning/PAED/environmental) phase and that staff expects to finish the current environmental work in roughly a year and then move into PS&E (plans, specifications and estimates) design, a phase that typically takes about three years. "We're a few years away from being construction shovel-ready," Turn said. When asked about construction cost, staff provided a ballpark estimate of $135 million and said the city will pursue state and federal grants and partner contributions to close the funding gap.

Turn also outlined existing and potential funding sources for the interchange and other CIP work, including development impact fees, Measure I allocations for pavement management, partnership funding through regional agencies (SBCTA, formerly SANBAG) with a capped contribution shown in the CIP, and about $4 million in congressional directed spending that staff said is being processed into the CIP over time.

After questions and discussion, a commissioner moved to accept the draft five-year Capital Improvement Program and to adopt the finding of general-plan conformance as recommended in the agenda report; the motion was seconded and passed 7-0. Staff said final CIP adoption and budgetary direction will be handled in upcoming City Council budget proceedings.

The commission did not take separate votes on individual CIP projects beyond adopting the formal finding of conformity; the Uptown ADA parking enhancements were described as fully covered by the CDBG grant, according to staff.

Next steps: staff will forward the commission’s finding to the City Council as part of the FY process, and City Council budget hearings scheduled for the week following the commission meeting will address program funding priorities, including any potential general fund contributions to pavement management.