REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
Date: October 2, 2014
FROM: JENNIFER K. CLARK, AICP, Director
Development and Resource Management Department
BY: MIKE SANCHEZ, Assistant Director
Development and Resource Management Department
BONIQUE EMERSON, AICP, Supervising Planner
Development and Resource Management Department
SUBJECT
Title
Action pertaining to an Annual Appropriation Resolution for the High Speed Rail Station Area Master Plan
1. *RESOLUTION- 3rd amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2014-95 appropriating $1,020,000 for High Speed Rail Station Master Plan consulting services and miscellaneous City expenses (Requires 5 affirmative votes)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends City Council take the following actions:
1. Adopt the resolution of the Council of the City of Fresno adopting the 3rd amendment to the Annual Appropriation Resolution (AAR) No. 2014-95 reappropriating $1,020,000 for High Speed Rail Station Master Plan consulting services and miscellaneous City expenses.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On July 31, 2014, Council authorized the Director of the Development and Resource Management (DARM) Department to enter into a professional services agreement with the firm of AECOM Technical Services, in the amount not to exceed $966,068 for the preparation of a High Speed Rail Station Area Master Plan (Master Plan) and $54,000 for miscellaneous City expenses. Approval of the AAR is needed to reappropriate grant revenues previously accepted by Council in order to fund the work being performed by AECOM Technical Services.
BACKGROUND
Over the last month the Council has debated the purpose of the Master Plan, which seemed to focus more on philosophical or political differences related to high speed rail and whether the City should commission a study to evaluate the impacts of a project that may not occur within the foreseeable future. While the Administration understands this concern, the Master Plan is intended to provide the City with a list of strategies and recommendations needed to spur reinvestment on key properties within ½ mile of the proposed High Speed Rail Station. In other words, the study and supporting recommendations and strategies will focus on how to address issues related to infrastructure, circulation, sustainability, and the steps needed in order to improve the overall economic viability of the area. The proposed Master Plan will build upon and refine the proposed Fulton Corridor Specific Plan, which anticipates and make some recommendations for this area, but does not provide the level of needed detail that this study will provide.
In addition, the transportation portion of the Master Plan will include changes that are already occurring along the high speed rail corridor that will impact land use/zoning, circulation, infrastructure, etc. These changes include, but not limited to, the opening of Fulton Street as well as new underpasses at Ventura, Tulare, and Fresno streets. It is important that the long term impacts of these changes are analyzed in relation to revitalization as well as circulation.
The transportation portion of the Master Plan will also evaluate the full range of multi-modal connections to the station, including passenger cars, integration of inter and intra bus services, including Bus Rapid Transit, Greyhound, Fresno Area Express and Fresno County Rural Transit Authority, private charter buses, bicycles and pedestrians. An important component of this will be the locations and capacity of current and future parking facilities and how some of the existing parking assets (e.g., Lot #2, Merchant Lot) could be used to spur new development.
The transportation analysis is in addition to a comprehensive Real Estate Development Strategy, an Economic Opportunity Analysis and an Infrastructure and Financing Plan. An extensive community outreach effort will be an overarching theme throughout the entire development of the Master Plan.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a "project" for the purposes of CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines, section 15378(b)(5), as it is an administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes to the environment.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local Preference was not implicated due to State funding.
FISCAL IMPACT
The $900,000 consists of $700,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) dollars that the CHSRA is receiving from the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), as well as $200,000 in Proposition 1A High Speed Rail bond proceeds. In addition, the Council took action on March 29, 2012 to amend the AAR to appropriate an additional $120,000 from Fresno Council of Government's (COG) Overall Work Program (OWP) for the STAMP. Please note that this station area plan is entirely grant funded and is not impacting the City's General Fund or local public works funding in any way. The decision to move forward or not on the overall HSR project is outside the scope and authority of the City of Fresno and will ultimately be decided by a combination of state and Federal government agencies and the courts. If the project does move forward, we want to ensure the residents of Fresno are served with a station so that they won't have to drive to another city to board HSR. In the instance that the project does move forward, the City of Fresno needs to be preparing its station area plan so that we are ready for service by 2022. We have two funding sources to prepare the station area plan - the General Fund or grant funds that have been provided by the HSRA. Staff recommends accepting the grant funds so that we do not impact our General Fund service levels. Given the uncertainty of HSR, the Administration would not recommend using General Fund dollars to do the necessary station area planning. However, given the fact that grant funds have been provided for this work, we recommend moving forward. Thus, the attached resolution would reappropriate funds that were previously approved by Council over the last two to three years.
Attachment: Resolution
Staff Report from July 31, 2014 for ID#14-181