Planning board still has concerns over Palomar College

Rancho Bernardo Planning Board members have unanimously agreed that they still have concerns about increased traffic and a future demand for residential street parking caused by Palomar College’s future campus.

The college’s South Education Center is tentatively set to open for the spring 2018 semester at 11111 Rancho Bernardo Road.

Per Palomar’s recirculated draft environmental impact report — that was released to the public on March 25 at tinyurl.com/PalomarRB-draftEIR2 — officials anticipate an opening enrollment of 2,812 students, who would generate 3,374 average daily trips for the area.

By 2035, when the 27-acre campus reaches its maximum enrollment, there will be 5,625 students generating 6,750 average daily trips. Had the site been developed for industrial usage, it was estimated that usage would have generated about 3,300 average daily trips.

At their April 21 meeting, board members unanimously approved to send a response letter detailing their concerns.

The recirculated draft EIR incorporated a revised cumulative impacts analysis related to traffic circulation. As the board previously requested, the analysis now factors in traffic created by the area’s new development — specifically the new Sharp Rees-Stealy medical office building set to open in March 2017, the Phil’s BBQ that opened Monday and the Del Sur Shopping Center that opened last fall.

The revised analysis also now uses the standard SANDAG trip generation rate of 1.2 trips per student for community colleges, the board said.

Based on this new data, the board said the future campus’ “cumulative effects to traffic circulation at maximum enrollment would represent a significant adverse cumulative effect during (morning and evening) peak hours” for three locations. They are the:

• Rancho Bernardo Road/West Bernardo Drive intersection,

• Rancho Bernardo Road/Via del Campo intersection, and

• Rancho Bernardo Road/Matinal Road/campus entrance intersection.

The board said it wants at least two mitigation measures implemented prior to opening. They are:

• Reconstruction of the median on the south leg of Rancho Bernardo Road/Via del Campo and restripe of its existing northbound approach to provide a third lane (exclusive left-turn lane), a thru lane and dedicated right-turn lane.

• Restripe of the northbound approach at Rancho Bernardo/Matinal roads with dedicated left- and right-turn lanes and a shared left-/right-turn lane for the southbound approach. In addition, a prohibition of northbound and southbound movements through the intersection. The board added that it objects to the recirculated draft EIR’s alternative design that would accommodate north/south movement at the intersection.

The board also requested that Palomar implement all aspects of the Transportation Demand Management Plan described in the recirculated draft EIR aimed at reducing traffic impacts during peak hours and potential for on-street parking in the future.

It requested that Palomar work with Metropolitan Transit System to establish a transit stop on the campus instead of Rancho Bernardo Road, and conduct periodic reviews that include a presentation to the board so the community can say what is working and what needs improvement, especially if a parking fee is instituted in the future.

The board said the recirculated draft EIR better addresses the potential for on-street parking issues in Westwood, but does not reduce its concerns. The board recommends no parking fee and if one is imposed, conducting another analysis within six months of implementation to see if other remedies are needed.

The board also said its prior concerns over construction noise late into the evening near the residential neighborhood would be adequately addressed if work is done in compliance with the San Diego noise ordinance that limits construction to a 12-hour period (7 a.m. to 7 p.m.).

The public has until May 9 to comment on the recirculated draft EIR. Comments can be sent to Dennis Astl via mail, email or fax. Letters can be mailed to him at Palomar Community College District, San Marcos Campus, 1140 W. Mission Road, San Marcos, CA 92069-1487. His email is dastl@palomar.edu and fax number is 760-761-3506.