REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
November 8, 2018
FROM: KERRI DONIS, Fire Chief
Fire Department
BY: THEODORE SEMONIOUS, Deputy Fire Chief
Fire Department
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the acquisition of a portion of APN 310-041-20, owned by the Rocha Revocable Living Trust dated March 9, 2018, for the Relocation of Fire Station 10. (Council District 4)
1. Adopt Negative Declaration per staff determination, pursuant to Sections 15070 to 15075 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Environmental Assessment No. P18-01212.
2. Approve the acquisition of 67,200 square feet of real property from property owned by The Rocha Revocable Living Trust dated March 9, 2018, in the amount of $ 300,000 (APN 310-041-20) for the Relocation of Fire Station 10.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends the City Council approve the environmental findings pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Sections 15070 to 15075 (EA-P18-01212) for the relocation of Fire Station 10; approve the acquisition of 67,200 square feet of real property which is necessary for the relocation of Fire Station 10 from property owned by The Rocha Revocable Living Trust in the amount of $300,000 (APN 310-041-20); and authorize the Public Works Director, or designee, to sign all documents necessary to complete the transaction.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This acquisition is required for the relocation of Fire Station 10. Acquisition of the site will allow the Fire Department to construct a new fire station in the upcoming years for improved fire response and service to the southeast area of Fresno. After reviewing various sites on Clinton Avenue between Fowler and Temperance Avenues as identified by staff from the Fire Department, Public Works Department Real Estate staff contacted five property owners along Clinton Avenue to inquire about interest in selling a portion of their property for the relocation of Fire Station 10. Mr. and Mrs. Rocha responded through their commercial broker. Staff concluded that the subject parcel would be suitable for the new Fire Station. The subject parcel is located at 6351 E. Clinton Avenue, between Fowler and Armstrong Avenues. The property was previously appraised by an independent, professional appraiser, who concluded that the fair market value for the property is $4.75 per square foot. The owners Tony J. and Emily K. Rocha, as trustees of The Rocha Revocable Living Trust have agreed to the City’s offer of $300,000, which equates to $4.46 per square foot.
BACKGROUND
The Fresno Fire Department (FFD) serves a population of more than 540,000 in the City of Fresno, the North Central Fire Protection District and the Fig Garden Fire Protection District (over 325 square miles) with 24 fire stations, including the Airport Rescue Fire Fighting (ARFF) station.
In 2016, FFD responded to a total of 43,890 emergency incidents, with 3,356 being fire calls, resulting in a total of over $23,500,000 in fire loss.
The Fresno Municipal Code (FMC) currently requires all new development to be within a three mile running distance from a fire station to allow for appropriate response time. Running distance is defined as “the actual distance which must be traveled over public streets or rights-of-way from a fire station to reach the scene of a fire incident (FMC Section 12.4.501.5-G)”. Industry recognizes a three mile running distance as a four minute average response time.
The current location of Fire Station 10 is 5545 East Aircorp Way near Westover sits on the northern perimeter of Fresno Yosemite Air Terminal and supports the Airport Rescue Fire Fighting station. The average response time to service the southeast part of Fresno is over four minutes and does not meet FMC Section 12.4.501.5-G standards. The construction of the new fire station will be centrally located in the southeast area, so response times should be quicker resulting in less fire loss and higher customer satisfaction. Due to the rapid development within this fire station service area, it is critical for the City to acquire a suitable fire station site at the present time.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
An Initial Study for Negative Declaration was prepared on August 24 2018, for this project which includes the acquisition of 67,000 square feet of real property for the development of Fire Station No. 10, which would replace the existing fire station located at 5545 East Aircorp Way. This approval is to implement the aforementioned portion of that project.
An analysis has been performed pursuant to CEQA guidelines section 15162 to determine whether subsequent environmental review is required. Based upon this analysis, the following findings are made to support the determination that no subsequent environmental review is required.
1. No substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous environmental document due to the involvement of new significant effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. In this case there are no changes.
2. No substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstance under which the project is undertaken which will require major revision of the previous environmental document due to the involvement of new significant environmental effect or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects. In this case no substantial changes have occurred.
3. There is no new information which was not known and could not have been known at the time of the previous environmental document that was not discussed in that document.
Based upon these findings, it has been determined that no further environmental determination is required for this project.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not considered because the acquisition of this property does not include a bid or award of construction or services contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
This acquisition is included in the FY 2019 Adopted Budget and will be funded from UGM Fire Station 10 Relocation revenues collected within the service area for this future fire station. There is no fiscal impact to the General Fund. Design and construction of the station will occur in future fiscal years when sufficient revenues are available for these phases of the project.
Attachments:
Environmental Assessment No. P18-01212
Vicinity Map
Location Map
Grant Deed
Purchase and Sale Agreement