Guadalupe Municipal Code Ch. 10.56 Interstate Truck Terminals and Routes

The purpose of this chapter is to establish procedures for terminal and truck route designation for interstate trucks operating on a federally designated highway system and to promote the general health, safety and welfare of the public.

(Ord. 85-254 §1)

The following words and phrases shall have the meaning set forth in this section, and if any word or phrase used in this chapter is not defined in this section, it shall have the meaning set forth in the California Vehicle Code; provided, that if any such word or phrase is not defined in the Vehicle Code, it shall have the meaning attributed to it in ordinary usage.

"CalTrans"

means the State Department of Transportation, or its successor agency.

"Director"

means the City Engineer or Engineer of the City, or his or her authorized representative.

"Interstate truck"

means a truck tractor and semi-trailer or truck tractor, semi-trailer and trailer with unlimited length, as regulated by the Vehicle Code.

"Terminal"

means any facility at which freight is consolidated to be shipped, or where full-load consignments may be loaded and offloaded, or at which the vehicles are regularly maintained, stored or manufactured.

(Ord. 85-254 §2)

A. Any interested person requiring terminal access for interstate trucks from the federally designated highway system shall submit an application, of a form as provided by the City, together with such information as may be required by the City Engineer, and appropriate fees, to the City.

B. Upon receipt of the application, the City Engineer will cause an investigation to be made to ascertain whether or not the proposed terminal facility meets the requirements for an interstate truck terminal. Upon his or her approval of that designation, he or she will then determine the capability of the route requested, and alternate routes, whether requested or not. Determination of route capability will include, without limitation, a review of adequate turning radius and lane widths of ramps, intersections and highways and general traffic conditions, such as sight distance, speed, and traffic volumes. No access off a federally designated highway system will be approved without the approval of CalTrans.

C. Should the requested route pass through the City to a terminal located in another jurisdiction, the applicant shall comply with that jurisdiction's application process. Coordination of the approval of the route through the City will be the responsibility of the entity which controls the terminal's land use. Costs for trailblazers signs shall be as provided in Section 10.56.040.

(Ord. 85-254 §3)

A. The applicant shall pay a nonrefundable application fee, as established by the City by resolution, sufficient to pay the cost of the review of the terminal designation and the review of the route and alternate route.

B. Upon the approval of the terminal designation and route by the City and by CalTrans, the applicant shall deposit with the City sufficient funds, as estimated by the City Engineer, to pay for the purchase and installation of terminal trailblazer signs. Trailblazer signs will be required at every decision point in the City on route to the terminal. Upon completion of the installation of the signs, the actual cost shall be computed, and any difference between the actual and the estimated cost shall be billed or refunded to the applicant, whichever the case may be. No terminal or route may be used until such signs as may be required are in place. Costs for trailblazer signs may be proportioned in accordance with the procedures in Section 10.56.050.

(Ord. 85-254 §4)

A. If all reasonable routes to a requested terminal are found unsatisfactory by the Director, the applicant may request retrofitting the deficiencies. All costs of engineering, construction and inspection will be the responsibility of the applicant. Except when the retrofitting of deficiencies is within the jurisdiction of CalTrans, the actual construction will be done by the City or by a contractor acceptable to the City.

B. When the work is to be done by the City, the applicant shall deposit with the City the estimated cost of retrofitting. Adjustments between the estimated and actual cost shall be made after completion of the work, and any difference between the actual cost and the estimated cost shall be billed or refunded to the applicant, as the case may be. When the work is completed by the applicant, the applicant may file with the Engineer, on a form satisfactory to the Engineer, a statement detailing the actual costs of the retrofitting.

C. If at any time within 5 years from the date of completion of the retrofitting by the applicant, should any applicant seek terminal approval which would use the route upon which such retrofitting was accomplished, any such applicant's fee may include that applicant's proportionate share of the retrofitting, as determined by the Director, which fee shall be disbursed by the City to the applicant who paid for the retrofitting, as well as to any applicant who contributed to the cost of retrofitting under this subsection. Nothing herein shall require the payment of a proportionate fee if the applicant doing the work failed to file the report with the Engineer required by subsection B of this section.

(Ord. 85-254 §5)

The engineer may revoke any approved terminal or route if the terminal or route becomes a traffic hazard for vehicular traffic. A "safety hazard" includes the inability of interstate trucks to negotiate the route, or such vehicles causing unsafe driving conditions for other vehicular traffic or pedestrians.

(Ord. 85-254 §6)

A. If the Engineer denies terminal designation, route feasibility, or revokes a previously approved terminal or route, the applicant/terminal owner, within 10 days following the date of receipt of the decision of the Engineer, may appeal the decision to the City Council in writing.

B. An appeal shall be made on a form prescribed by the Engineer, and shall be filed with the City Clerk. The appeal shall state specifically wherein there was an error or abuse of discretion by the Engineer, or wherein its decision is not supported by the evidence in the record. Within 5 days of the filing of an appeal, the Engineer shall transmit to the City Clerk the terminal application, the sketches of the revoked route, and all other data filed therewithin, the report of the Engineer, the findings of the Engineer, and his or her decision of the application.

C. The City Clerk shall make copies of the data provided by the Engineer available to the applicant and the appellant (if the applicant is not the appellant) for inspection, and may give notice to any other interested party who requested notice, of the time when the appeal will be considered by the City Council.

D. If CalTrans and not the Engineer denies or revokes terminal access from federally designated highways, no appeal may be made to the City Council, but must be made to CalTrans, as may be permitted by CalTrans.

(Ord. 85-254 §7)