Charter - Miracle Mile Ad Hoc Workgroup

The area known as Miracle Mile is located in the center of the City of Stockton in San Joaquin County. Miracle Mile runs from the south side of the Calaveras River at Pacific Avenue extending to Harding Way and Harding Way from El Dorado Street to Lincoln Street. It includes commercial, residential, educational, and recreational land uses.

The idea of the Miracle Mile in Stockton was the goal of developer Joe Plecarpo. He modeled Stockton’s Miracle Mile after the one on Wilshire Street in Los Angeles, which was developed in the early 1920s. Alongside the commercial growth, residential growth also developed, helping the area gain a reputation of growing prominence and prestige. The Miracle Mile is known for being a pedestrian-friendly shopping district, with a wide variety of specialty shops and services.

AB 179 (2022) granted $20,000,000 to the City of Stockton for pedestrian crossing upgrades, public safety improvements, and revitalization at the Miracle Mile.

An Ad Hoc Workgroup comprised of members of the community and Assemblymember Carlos Villapudua’s office are to provide recommendations to the City of Stockton on how to best achieve the safety and revitalization goals.

The purpose of the Ad Hoc Workgroup is to provide direction to the City of Stockton on how to transform the Miracle Mile into a safe, vibrant and economically robust business district that will be a premier Central Valley destination for residents, visitors, students and new business enterprises.

1. Learn the fundamentals/principles from experts chosen by the consulting group, on urban planning/design/land use/economic growth to ensure members are educated on best data driven practices and methods. Urban planning methods for economic growth in developing safety improvement.
2. Solicit recommendations from members of the community at large to provide the City of Stockton with multiple perspectives to inform the design of safety improvements along Stockton's Miracle Mile using best data driven fundamentals/principle provided by chosen experts.
3. Identify potential upgrades to pedestrian crossings and other safety features that render the Miracle Mile more inviting and more accessible using best data driven fundamentals/ principle provided by chosen experts.
4. Identify means and methods to improve pedestrian and cyclist safety on the Miracle Mile and encourage the public to frequent the area and its businesses using best data driven fundamentals/principle provided by chosen experts.
5. Make Miracle Mile Pedestrian Crossing Improvements recommendations to the City of Stockton using best data driven fundamentals/principle provided by chosen experts, to expend the awarded $20,000,000 on pedestrian crossing upgrades, public safety improvements and revitalization improvements by January 1, 2028.

Applications for Ad Hoc members will be posted online at the Caltrans District 10 website. The Ad Hoc Workgroup will provide an open avenue of communication for all interested members of the public to have their perspectives considered.

Interested parties will be invited to apply to be considered for selection to create a workgroup that represents the community at large and includes the office of the local Assemblymember.

The Ad Hoc Workgroup should include:

1. Assemblymember representing Miracle Mile or designee.
2. At least two (2) residents of the Miracle Mile area (within five (5) miles).
3. At least one (1) commercial property owner with no business on the Miracle Mile.
4. At least one (1) business owner with property on the Miracle Mile and member of Miracle Mile Improvement District.
5. At least one (1) business owner with no property on the Miracle Mile and member of Miracle Mile Improvement District.
6. At least one (1) Miracle Mile business owner who is not part of the Miracle Mile Improvement District.
7. At least one (1) University of the Pacific representative (could be a student).
8. At least one (1) Delta College representative.
9. At least one (1) local Farmers’ Market representative.
10. At least one (1) Stockton Chamber of Commerce representative.
11. At least one (1) Central Valley Asian-American Chamber of Commerce representative.
12. At least one (1) developer.
13. At least one (1) representative from local clubs (Rotary Club, Lion’s Club).
14. At least one (1) architect, civil engineer, traffic engineer, or land use and urban planner.
15. At least one (1) cyclist that commutes to the Miracle Mile.

Caltrans is responsible for convening the Ad Hoc Workgroup.

Caltrans is also the agency responsible to process a Funds Transfer Agreement to transfer the funds from the State to the City of Stockton.

The roles and responsibilities of Ad Hoc Workgroup members are as follows:

• Serve as a member of the Miracle Mile Ad Hoc Workgroup to advance the collective purpose and goals of the Miracle Mile Ad Hoc Workgroup as outlined in this charter.
• Attend and participate actively in group meetings.
• Volunteer to serve on subcommittees and engage in follow up actions from meetings as needed.
• Participate in subcommittee meetings outside of regularly scheduled meetings as necessary to complete specific tasks and share progress with the group as a whole.
• Complete follow up actions by any agreed upon deadlines.
• Gather, exchange, and disseminate information to agencies, associations, or user groups one represents.

The Ad Hoc Workgroup will select Co-Chairs from its membership for the duration of the Ad Hoc Workgroup. Responsibilities include administering and hosting public meetings and drafting public meeting agendas with input from members.

The Miracle Mile Ad Hoc Workgroup will provide direction directly to the Stockton City Manager's office based on data driven fundamentals/ principles/ practices on how to best use state funding in the amount of $20,000,000 to implement projects specifically designed for pedestrian safety improvement, pedestrian crossing upgrades and other safety improvements designed to improve pedestrian, bicycle, roadway and overall safety, revitalization, and economic growth along the Miracle Mile.

Ad Hoc Workgroup public meetings will be advertised using social media, email, and websites. Ad Hoc agendas will be circulated on email and the internet at least 10 days prior to meetings.

Workgroup meetings will occur every two weeks. Members will report progress during the next public meeting. Subcommittees meetings may occur as needed. Meetings will be held in person and in the evenings unless another time is agreed upon by the Ad Hoc Workgroup.

General Public: Each public meeting will include a public comment period. Two minutes will be the maximum amount of time for each member of the public to give comment.

Missed Meetings: Ad Hoc Workgroup members may miss up to three meetings and must notify the facilitators at least 24 hours in advance of the absence. If a member misses three meetings, an alternate can be appointed.

Subcommittees will be established by the Ad Hoc Workgroup if/when discussion of an item results in need for further work outside of regular workgroup meetings.

Subcommittees will include at least three Ad Hoc Workgroup members, one of whom must be willing to serve as the subcommittee chair. The subcommittee chair should develop a timeline for meetings and follow up, including when findings will be required to report back to the Ad Hoc Workgroup with assistance from Caltrans.

Decisions will be discussed with the aim of reaching consensus between Ad Hoc members. In the event consensus cannot be reached, a vote of 50 percent of the group plus one will be required to submit any recommendation.

A quorum consisting of a majority of currently assembled Ad Hoc members at a meeting is needed to vote. Dissenting opinions and recommendations will be captured in the meeting minutes. If quorum is not reached, public comments will be received and recorded in the meeting minutes and shared with Ad Hoc members when appropriate.

This charter can be reviewed, evaluated, adjusted as needed by consensus or vote by the Ad Hoc Workgroup.