Ventura County Municipal Code Ch. 3 Large Truck Terminal Access

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(Added by Ord. #3717-1/22/85)

The purpose of the is Chapter is to establish procedures for the identification and signing of routes for use by large trucks as connections between terminals and federally designated highways as provided in Section 35401.5 of the Vehicle Code.

For the purposes of this Chapter:

(a) "Agency" means the Ventura County Public Works Agency;

(b) "Federally designated highway" means any part of the National System of Interstate and Defense Highways or those portions of federal-aid primary highways that have been qualified by the United States Secretary of Transportation for use by large trucks;

(c) "Large truck" means a combination of vehicles operated pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 35401.5 of the Vehicle Code; and

(d) "Terminal" means a facility at which freight is consolidated to be shipped and full-load consignments may be offloaded or a facility at which large trucks are regularly maintained, stored or manufactured.

Any person wishing the county to designate a route to be used by large trucks as a connection between a terminal located within the unincorporated portion of the county and a federally designated highway may submit an application therefor to the Agency. Such application shall be on a form approved by the Agency and shall include the following:

(a) A map showing the proposed route, the terminal, and the intersection of the proposed route with the federally designated highway; and

(b) Such other information as the Agency may require.

Such application will be accepted only upon payment of the application fee deposit established pursuant to Section 7808.

Upon receipt of the application, the Agency shall determine whether the facility identified in the application is or soon will be a terminal as defined in this Chapter. If the Agency determines that it is not and will not soon be such a terminal, it shall deny the application. If the Agency determines that the facility is or will soon be such a terminal, it shall determine whether the proposed route is adequate to accommodate large trucks. A route shall not be determined to be adequate unless it meets the following criteria, among such others as the Agency may specify:

(a) All ramps, intersections and highways have turning radii and lanes sufficiently wide to permit large trucks to negotiate the entire route within existing traffic lanes.

(b) General traffic conditions such as sight distance, speed, and traffic volume will not preclude safe operation of large trucks.

If the road is determined to be inadequate, the Agency shall deny the application and shall notify the applicant of modifications needed to make the route adequate. If the road is determined to be adequate, the Agency shall submit the application to the California Department of Transportation (and, if any part of the route lies outside of the unincorporated portion of the county, to the county or city having jurisdiction over such part) for approval. If such approval is denied, the Agency shall deny the application. If such approval is granted, the Agency shall so notify the applicant and, upon receipt of the sign fee deposit established pursuant to Section 7808, approve the application.

If an application is denied because the route is inadequate and if the applicant wishes to pay for modifications necessary to make the route adequate, this Section shall apply.

(a) Request for Conditional Approval of Application. The applicant may request, on a form approved by the Agency, that the application be conditionally approved. Upon receipt of the request, the Agency shall submit the application to the California Department of Transportation (and, if an part of the route is outside of the unincorporated area of the county, to the county or city having jurisdiction over such part) for approval subject to the condition that any modifications determined by the Agency to be necessary to make the route adequate are completed to the Agency's satisfaction. If such conditional approval is granted, the Agency shall so notify the applicant and, upon receipt of the sign fee deposit established pursuant to Section 7808, approve the application subject to the same conditions.

(b) Completion of Modification. The applicant shall be responsible for obtaining all necessary permits and for bearing all costs of engineering, construction and inspection of such modifications. All such modifications shall be done by a contractor acceptable to the Agency and shall be completed to the satisfaction of the Agency.

The Agency may revoke any approval granted by the Agency pursuant to this Chapter if the terminal or the route becomes a traffic safety problem because large trucks are unable to negotiate the entire route within existing traffic lanes or because large trucks otherwise create unsafe driving conditions for other vehicles or pedestrians.

If an application is denied pursuant to Section 7804 for any reason other than failure to obtain approval of the California Department of Transportation (and, if any part of the route is outside of the unincorporated portion of the county, approval of the county or city having jurisdiction over such part), or if an approval is revoked pursuant to Section 7806, any aggrieved person may appeal such denial or revocation to the County Board of Supervisors in writing. Such appeal shall be made on a form prescribed by the Agency and must be filed with the Agency within 15 calendar days following the day written notice of such denial or revocation is mailed to the applicant or person operating pursuant to the approval. Such approval may be filed only upon payment of the appeal fee deposit established pursuant to Section 7808. The appeal shall state specifically why the denial or revocation constitutes an error or abuse of discretion and shall concisely summarize all of the evidence upon which the appellant relies. Upon the filing of the appeal, the Agency shall establish a date, time and place for the hearing before the Board of Supervisors and shall serve written notice thereof to the appellant. At the hearing, any interested person may present probative evidence relevant to the appeal. The decision of the Board of Supervisors shall be final and conclusive when rendered.

Fees shall be established as follows:

(a) Application Fee. The application fee deposit to be paid upon filing the application shall be in the amount estimated by the Agency to be equal to the county's cost of processing the application as provided in Section 7804. Upon completion of such processing, the cost to the county shall be computed by the Agency and any difference between the estimated cost and the actual cost shall be paid by or refunded to the applicant, as the case may be.

(b) Sign Fee. The sign fee deposit to be paid prior to approval of the application shall be in an amount estimated by the Agency to be equal to the county's cost of acquiring and installing appropriate signs marking the route. Upon the completion of the sign installation, the actual cost to the county shall be computed by the Agency and any difference between the estimated cost and the actual cost shall be paid by or refunded to the applicant, as the case may be.

(c) Appeal Fee. The appeal fee deposit to be paid upon filing an appeal shall be in an amount estimated by the Agency to be equal to the County's cost of processing the appeal as provided in Section 7807. Upon rendition of the Board of Supervisors' decision, the actual cost to the County shall be computed by the Agency and any difference between the estimated cost and the actual cost shall be paid by or refunded to the appellant, as the case may be.