By Randy Kugler
The Purpose Section of City Ordinance 91-2 dealing with City streets assures citizens that its “provisions shall be held to the minimum requirements adopted by the City for the protection of the public health, safety and welfare.”
At their November 5th Meeting, our Council will consider passage of a Resolution to reduce the paving width of a portion of Classic Street as part of the current reconstruction project that in effect would create vehicle travel lanes that will only meet the minimum standards for a residential street. Classic Street is not a residential street, it is a Collector Street that carries more and larger vehicles than a residential street is designed for. The Council should be prepared to explain how approving a street design intended for neighborhood residential streets protects the public’s health, safety and welfare given the volume and type of vehicles that travel on Classic Street.
Unless a City Ordinance contains language that grants the Council authority to consider changes, a Council is not authorized to alter the minimum standards contained in a City Ordinance no matter how expedient or well intentioned the reason. The City Council in 1991 that enacted the lane width standards for Manzanita streets under Section 3 of Ordinance 91-2 intentionally omitted any provisions or process that would allow future Councils to reduce total paving widths to less than 22 feet for Collector Streets.
The relationship between an Ordinance as a permanent enforceable law and a Council Resolution is not a particularly difficult concept for the Council to understand. The primacy of a City Ordinance over a Council Resolution is made clear to each Councilor as they pledge to uphold existing Ordinances upon taking their oath of office.
The saying when you find yourself in a hole, quit digging fits the Council’s present predicament. This project lurches from one questionable decision to another and trying to tidy up the mess with this Resolution only heightens the Council’s desperation to regain community confidence.
Wednesday night is an integrity check for Council members. Will any of them quit digging and say no to this Resolution or will they continue to dig in unison?