(6)AR 092110 IOWA AVE AND MAIN STREET

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Staff Report to the Mayor and City Council Change Functional Classification of Iowa Ave. and Main St. September 21, 2010 Page 2 ISSUES/ANALYSIS Iowa Avenue is a main thoroughfare that has direct access (on and off ramps) from the Interstate 215 Freeway. Iowa Avenue at La Cadena Drive, south to the I-215 Interchange is classified as a Minor Arterial on the CRS map (see Exhibit A). In addition, Iowa Avenue south of Center Street, 0.25 miles south of City limits, is also classified as a Minor Arterial. The portion of Iowa Avenue from the I-215 south to Main Street is not listed in the CRS maps as a Minor Arterial; this portion is classified as a Local street. The centerline of Main Street is the jurisdictional boundary between City of Colton and County of Riverside. In the County of Riverside's 2003 Circulation Element, Main Street is identified as a Collector. Along Main Street a half mile east of the Iowa Avenue/Main Street intersection, Main Street is classified as a Collector road up to Riverside Avenue on the CRS map. The 1993 City of Colton Circulation Element (see Exhibit B), does not clearly identify the functional classification for Main Street and Iowa Avenue. Changing the CRS maps classification of Iowa Avenue from Local to Minor Arterial and Main Street from Local to Collector will provide consistency with the other segments of these streets already classified as Minor Arterial/Collector on the CRS maps functional classification. This change in classification will also retain the eligibility of these streets for available federal grant funding. Staff will ensure that these changes in functional classification will be reflected in the City's General Plan Circulation Element update. SANBAG has been advised of this forthcoming request and will provide the City with the needed Letter of Concurrence after Council action is taken. A copy of the attached resolution and SANBAG's letter will be then be forwarded to Caltrans' headquarters for review then forwarded to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for approval and map update. This action is covered by the general rule under Section 15061(b)(3) of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that states that CEQA applies only to projects that have the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment. It can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the reclassification of these streets will have a significant effect on the environment since the streets are already constructed at capacities and standards listed in the California Road System classification. For this reason, staff requests authorization to file a Notice of Exemption under CEQA. FISCAL IMPACTS The recommended action is needed to retain grant funding awarded to the Main and Iowa Street Improvement and Traffic Signalization Project.