REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
April 9, 2020
FROM: GREGORY A. BARFIELD, Director
Department of Transportation
BY: BRIAN BARR, Assistant Director
Department of Transportation
KRISTOPHER GREY, Projects Administrator
Department of Transportation
SUBJECT
Title
Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301/Class 1 and Section 15303/Class 3 per consultant determination, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines for Existing Facilities and New Construction for the Department of Transportation/FAX Division Facility Master Plan Improvement Project
1. Adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301/Class 1 and Section 15303/Class 3 per consultant determination, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines
2. Resolution Authorizing the Director of Transportation to request allocation and accept funding from the California Transit Commission for the purpose of Existing Facilities and New Construction for the Department of Transportation/FAX Division Facility Master Plan Improvement Project within the City of Fresno
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends Council adopt a finding of Categorical Exemption pursuant to Section 15301/Class 1 and Section 15303/Class 3, per consultant determination, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines for Existing Facilities and New Construction for the Department of Transportation Fresno Area Express Facility Master Plan Improvement Project.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Department of Transportation/FAX Division Facility Master Plan improvements project will improve daily bus service procedures, increase security, support electric bus charging, and update fleet washing and cleaning equipment. This environmental finding will support FAX’s efforts to appear before the State of California Transportation Commission (CTC) to formally request the funding allocation for this project at its June meeting.
BACKGROUND
The Department of Transportation/FAX Division transit facility was built over 30 years ago. The transit system has evolved substantially and will continue to evolve with changing technology. Minimal changes to the facility have been made in order to try and keep pace with the growing fleet. Additionally, facility upgrades, replacements, and repairs have been deferred over the years due to economic constraints.
In 2014, FAX commissioned an overall facility assessment to determine current and future capital improvements, upgrades to technology, and changes to physical layout that could improve the overall operational efficiencies and/or use of space. The results of the facility assessment were provided to FAX in a multi-phase master plan, which identified key capital improvements to increase bus services procedures and support the growth of the fleet. These improvements are being designed under a consultant agreement with Stantec Architecture, Inc.
Funding for this project is from the State Transit and Intercity Rail and Capital Improvement Program (TIRCP) in the amount of $1.45 million to fund the Electric Bus Charging project from the FY2018. FAX must appear before the CTC to request its formal allocation of these funds in order to perform the improvements that are a part of this project. As a part of the request for allocation, FAX must provide proof of an adopted CEQA exemption that has been placed on file with the County of Fresno Hall of Records. FAX has worked with Stantec Architecture, Inc., to perform the environmental analysis, which has confirmed a finding of categorical exemption (attached).
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
Staff has performed a preliminary environmental assessment of this project and has determined this project is exempt under Section 15301/Class 1 of the CEQA Guidelines for Existing Facilities, as the improvements to the FAX Division facilities involve the restoration or rehabilitation of existing facilities with negligible or no expansion of capacity. This project is also exempt under Section 15303/Class 3 of the CEQA Guidelines for New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures, as the improvements are located in an urbanized area, are less than 10,000 square feet of floor space, located at site zoned for the proposed use, does not involve significant amounts of hazardous substances and is not in an environmentally sensitive area. Furthermore, none of the exceptions set forth in CEQA Guidelines Section 15300.2 applies to this project.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference was not applied as this request is only for the adoption of the environmental findings.
FISCAL IMPACT
This project has no fiscal impact to the General Fund. This project is funded from a combination of State of California TIRCP, State of California Prop 1B PTMISEA, FTA 5339, and FTA 5307 grants.
Attachment:
Categorical Exemption Stantec