SR-418-003 (4)
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OCT 1 '.
cjED:PJS:am
Council Meet~ng 10/1/85
Santd Mon~ca, Cal~fornia
TO:
Mayor and C~ty Council
FROM:
City Staff
SUBJECT:
Recommendatlon to Author~ze Staff
Take Other Approprlate Actions
Paclflc Transportatlon Companyls
Abandonment Appllcat~on
to Fl1e Comments and
Regard~ng Southern
Pendlng Rall Line
INTRODUCTION
C~ty staff was recently lnformed by representatlves of the Los
Angeles County Trdnsportat~on Commisslon (LACTC) that on Septem-
ber 4, 1985 Southern Paclflc Transportation Company (SP) served
notlce on the Interstate Commerce Comrnisslon (ICC) of ltS inten-
tlon to flle an appllcatlon for a certlflcate of public conve-
nlence and necess~ty perm~ttlng the railroad company to abandon
and sell lts ra~l 11ne located ln Santa Monlca' s eastern In-
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dustrlal Corridor. This pending appl1cat1on comes at a tlme when
LACTC 1S actlvely studY1ng poss~ble connect~ons between Santa
Mon~ca and ltS future reglonal mass tranSlt system, includ1ng a
route along the SP rlght-of-way.
It also comes less than one
year after the Clty adopted lts new Land Use and Clrculatlon Ele-
ments WhlCh contain Ob)ectlves and pollcles deslgned to preserve
the SP rlght-of-way whlle LACTC reglonal translt plannlng con-
tlnues and to lncrease the Clty'S aval1able open space lnventory.
Staff belleves It is imperatlve that the City take approprlate
actlons to communlcate to SP and the ICC ~ts concerns about the
pendlng abandonment and sale and to further analyze regulatory
II-D
OCT 1 1985
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and f~nanc~al methods of preserving a port~on of the r~ght-of-way
for publ~c use.
This report sUmmar~zes the h~stor~c s~gn~f~cance of the SP ra~l
line ~n Santa Mon~ca I s development, reV1ews recent reg~onal and
local planning lssues closely associated w~th future use of the
SP rlght-of-way, summar1zes the regulatory procedure SP must fol-
low before ~t can sell the right-of-way to pr1vate parties, and
outl1nes var~ous act10ns the C1ty can take to protect the publ~c
1nterest 1n the abandonment process. It ~s recommended that the
C1ty Council authorlze Clty staff to pursue these actions.
BACKGROUND
The Southern Pac~flc (SP) rail llne enters Santa Manlca at Cen-
t~nela Avenue one half block south of Olympic Boulevard, and
emerges from between industr1al bu~ldlngs to parallel Olymplc
Boulevard at Stewart Street. At 22nd Street lt crosses Olympic
and runs southwesterly towards Colorado Avenue and currently ends
adJacent to Fisher Lumber at 14th and Colorado. The rlght-of-way
varles ~n width from about flfty feet at lts easternmost end near
Centlnela to about 100 feet near ~ts 14th Street terminus (See
F~gure 1).
Hlstor~c S19nlficance of the Rall Line
ThlS ral1 llne has been a promlnent feature 1n Santa Monica I s
history from the C1ty'S orlg1n. It 1S what rema1ns of the 16.5
m1le Los Angeles and Independence Ra1lroad route constructed 1n
1875 by Clty founder Senator John P. Jones to transport ore from
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his Panam~nt m~ne ~n Independence, Cal~forn~a to sh~ps berthing
at a wharf adJacent to the current locat20n of Santa Monica P2er.
The steam ra~l l~ne was purchased by SP on July 4, 1877. In
1891, SP constructed the "long wharf" north of Santa Monica
Canyon and the SP l~ne became a s~gnif1cant passenger and freight
l~ne wh~ch helped st1mulate the growth and 1ncorporat10n of Santa
Mon~ca. Followlng the U.S. Government's dec~s1on to construct a
port at San Pedro rather than hear Santa Mon~ca, SP leased its
ra~l 11ne to the Los Angeles Pacif~c (LAP) 1n 1908. LAP elec-
tr~fl.ed the 11ne, known as the "Santa Mon~ca Alr L~ne", and ~n
1911 operat~on was assumed by Pac~flC Electrlc following a merger
Wl th SP. Passenger serV1ce on the Red Cars operated hourly at
f1rst and gradually decllned to once per day. Passenger serVlce
was eventually abandoned 1n October, 1953, trolley Wlre was
removed and diesel locomotives began manag1ng all freight move-
ment. At the present tune SP reports only four rema~ning II Slg-
nlf1cant" frel.ght users 1n Santa Monlca -- Bay Cit1es Appliance,
F1sher Lumber, Mart Furniture Company and the Evening Outlook.
Reg10nal Mass TranSlt Plannlng Issues
The potent1al slgn1f~cance of the SP route for passenger trans1t
re-emerged 1n 1983 1n the context of the Los Angeles County
Transportatlon Commisslon's (LACTC) county-wlde h1gh speed ral1
translt system plannlng. In the early 1980's LACTC began a
serles of stud1es to plan the mass trans~t system concept antlc1-
pated by voter approval of Propos~ tlon A in November, 1980.
Plannlng efforts focused on the routes to follow construct~on of
Metro Ra~l and the Long Beach - Los Angeles L1ght Ral1 proJects.
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In Aprl1, 1983 LACTC ldentlfled seven high prlority corridors for
future rall constructlon, lncludlng the West Los Angeles Corrldor
from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa MonlCd. Four possible route
and translt mode alternatlves were evaluated withln thlS corri-
dor. Two routes and modes were extenslons of the Metro Rall sub-
way Ilne west from Falrfax lnto Santa Monlca beneath \vilshlre
Boulevard. The other two alternatlves were llght rall lines, one
a feeder route from the Metro Rall llne ln Hollywood and the
other a separate route connectlng Downtown Los Angeles and Santa
Monlca along the SP rlght-of-way near EXposltlon Boulevard. Fol-
lowing prellffilnary englneerlng, constructlon cost and ridershlp
analysls the LACTC staff favored the Wl.lshire Boulevard subway
route because it appeared to have the hlghest potential rlder-
shlp, served the hlghest number of Westsl.de growth centers and
had strong politlcal and community support. However, it was also
the most costly optlon. The LACTC Board approved the Wilshlre
subway route as the "representatlve" route and mode for the West
Los Angeles Corrl<.lor. During the next phase of study, LACTC
staff was to reflne ltS analysls of the county-wlde system con-
slstlng of "representatlve" routes in each of seven corridors,
and to identify specifl.c translt proJects In one or more corrl-
dors for more detalled feasibl.li ty analysis, englneerlug deslgn
and lmplementatlon. However, uncertalnty over Metro Rall fundlng
and the federal government's general commitment to fundlng mass
translt has delayed further progress on the county-wlde system
desl.gn.
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Local Land Use and Circulat~on Plann~ns
At the same t~me LACTC was developing ~ts preLLminary system
des~gn, Santa Monica was ~n the process of rev~s~ng the Land Use
and C~rculation Elements of ~ts General Plan. A maJor plann~ng
prlnc~ple Wh1Ch emerged from th~s process was to gu~de future
development growth towards areas of the C~ty best sUlted to ac-
commodate 1 t in terms of access, eX1st~ng lnfrastructure and
minlrnal lmpact on resldentlal neighborhoods. It was determlned
that the Industrial Corrldor east of 20th Street was well sUlted
for larger scale offlce development due to lts proxlmity to the
freeway, larger land parcels, relatlve lsolatlon from resldentlal
ne1ghborhoods, and prox~m1ty to potent1al mass tranS1 t serVlce
along the eXlsting SP r~ght-of-way. It was also determined that
W1lsh1re Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard, which had oppos~te
character1stlcs, should not accommodate more than their histor~-
cal share of future Clty growth. The Draft Land Use Element pro-
posed property development standards lntended to implement these
prlnclples. Accordingly, the Draft C~rculatlon Element contalned
pollcles for a light ral1 Ilne and l~near park along the SP
rlght-of-way and lmproved bus service for W~lshlre and Santa
Mon~ca Boulevard.
The apparent conflict between the d1rections in Santa Monlca I s
General Plan process and LACTC I S trans~ t plann~ng process was
rev~ewed ~n late 1983. C~ty staff requested LACTC staff to con-
slder a modlflcat1on to lts "representative" route wh~ch would
extend the W~lshire Boulevard subway to Westwood as proposed, but
from there turn south at grade along SepUlveda and then west to
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Downtown Santa Hon~ca along the SP r~ght-of-way.
LACTC staff
concurred that such a route was poss~ble, subJect to further
analys~s.
In January, 1984 staff prepared a br~ef~ng paper for
the Pldnn~ng Commlss~on and C~ty Counc~l d~scuss~ng the relat~ve
advantages and dlsadvantages of a W~lsh~re Boulevard subway route
and an at grade route along the SF right-ai-way.
Follow~ng dlS-
cuss~ons w~th decls~on makers and varlOUS interest groups It was
determlned that more deta~led study was requ~red before the Clty
could adopt a pos~tlon favor1ng one route over the other as off~-
c~al policy.
As flnally adopted, the Clrculatlon Elements con-
tain the followlng obJect~ves and pollc~es:
Ob]ectlve 4.5
Encourage an lmproved publlC trans~t system capable of ac-
comodating ten percent or more of all trips generated in the
Clty by the year 2000.
Policy 4.5.1
The Clty wlll contlnue to coordinate transit plannlng w~th
the Southern Callfornla ASSOclatlon of Governments, the Los
Angeles County Transportatlon Corrmuss~on and the Southern
Callfornia Rapld Trans~t Dlstr~ct.
Pol~cy 4.5.2
The City should endorse the concept of ral1 rap~d translt,
e~ ther heavy ral1 or llght ra1l, servlng the City of Santa
Mon~ca and shall promote locat~ng a tranSlt statlon ln the
Downtown area. The C~ty should select the most approprlate
type of translt system and most appropriate route after
public review and cons1deration of the options ava~lable to
the City.
C~rculatlon Element flgures and accompanYlng text identlfy Wll-
shlre, the SP rlght-of-way and L~ncoln Boulevard as potent1al
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mass translt routes but do not lndlcate that anyone 15 preferred
over another.
In response to the earl~er draft POllCY regarding urban open
space along the SP rlght-of-way, the Land Use Element contalns
the followlng Urban Des~gn POllCY:
POllCY 3.3.16
Encourage flve to twenty foot setbacks from the streetfront
and Southern Paclflc Rallroad r1ght-of-way 1n order to allow
rOOm for landscaplng and useable publlC open space.
In Vlew of the efforts to date by both LACTC and the City, it lS
clear that the SP rlght-of-way may play a 51gnlficant role 1n the
Clty's and County's future mass trans~t and publlC open space
systems, and therefore efforts should be taken to preserve the
rlght-of-way whlle plannlng actlvlties cont1nue.
RAIL LINE ABANDONMENT PROCEDURE
The procedure Southern Paclf1C Transportatlon Company (SP) must
follow ~n order to abandon and dlspose of lts rail line in Santa
Monlca lS regulated by the federal government:
(a) 49 U.S.C. 10903 et 5eq. governs abandonment of rail lines
and dlscontinuances of ra11 serVlce by common carrlers. Sec-
tlon l09039(a) provldes that no line of railroad may be aban-
doned and no rall serVlce dlscontlnued unless the [Interstate
Commerce] Cormnisslon has ~ssued a cert~flcate of public con-
venlence and necessity authorlzlug the abandonment or
discontlnuance.
(b) Part 1152 [Tltle 49 Code of Federal Regulatlons] contalns
regulatlons governlng abandonment and dlscontlnuance of ser-
Vlce over rall 11nes. ThlS part also sets forth procedures
for provldlng flnanclal asslstance to assure contlDued rail
frelght service and acqulsition of ra11 11nes for alternatlve
publlC use.
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(49 C.F.R. Part 1152.1 at 322)
Southern Pacif1c must malnta1n a System Dlagram Map that properly
designates all rall Ilnes In 1ts system dccordlng to one of flve
categorles. Category 1 lucludes all 11nes or port1ons of lines
Wh1Ch the carr1er antlclpates wlll be the subJect of an abandon-
ment or d1scontinuance applicatlon to be filed within the 3-year
per10d followlng the date upon WhlCh the d1agram, or any amended
dlagram, is flIed with the ICC (49 C.F.R. Part 1152.10). Map
amendments may be f11ed at any tlme sUbJect to prescrlbed proce-
dures and pub11c notlce. The ICC lS precluded from lssulng a
certif1cate of abandonment or discontlnuance if the abandonment
or dlscontinuance appllcation lS opposed by a "slgnif1cant user",
a State, or a pollt1cal subdivlsion of a State unless the 11ne
lnvolved lS 1dent1fled and described on the Systems Dlagram Map
for at least four months prior to flling an abandonment or d1S-
cont1nuance applicat1on.
The m1nlmum requlred four month notlce
perlod beglns only when a rall Ilne lS llsted In the Systems Dla-
gram Map as Category 1, as descrlbed above (49 C.F.R. 1152.13
(d)).
The pr1nc1pal components of the abandonment procedure lnclude the
Notlce of Intent to flle an app11catlon, f111ng the appllcat1on,
and ICC conslderatlon of the applicatlon conslderlng any protests
or comments from lnterested part1es.
The Notlce of Intent must be prepared in a prescribed form and
served on the ICe, the Governor of each State affected by the
appllcatlon, the Pub11C Servlce ComnUSSlon of each State (1. e.
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the Californ1a Publ1C Ut111ties Comm1ss1on), the "designated
State agency" 1n such States (i. e., Cal Trans) and eight other
State and Federal trans1t-related agenc1es, 1nclud1ng ral1road
labor representat1ves. The Not1ce must be properly posted and
publ1shed for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general
clrculat1on. The Not1ce must be served at least flfteen, but not
more than 30 days prior to the f111ng of the abandonment applica-
t10n (49 C.F.R. 1152.20 (b)). SP must slmultaneously file with
1ts Notice of Intent certa1n specifled h1storic site informatlon
wlth the State Histor1c Preservat10n Officer (49 C.F.R. 1152.20
(c)), and it must comply w1th specifled environmental not1ce pro-
cedures (49 C.F.R. 1152.20 (d)).
The actual abandonment app11cat1on must include the f011mnng
lnformat1on:
o certa1n spec1fled general 1nformation about the appl1-
cant, a map of the route proposed for abandonment and a
detailed statement of reasons for f111ng the applica-
tion. (49 C.F.R. 1152.22 (a)).
o A thorough description of the phys1ca1 condition of the
11ne 1nc1ud1ng est1mates of deferred maintenance and
rehab111tation costs. (49 C.F.R. 1l52.22(b)).
o A complete descr1pt1on of eX1st1ng service prov1ded
along the 11ne proposed for abandonment dur1ng the pre-
V10US two calendar years (49 C.F.R. 1152.22 (c)).
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o A detailed revenue and cost analysis for operat1ng the
subJect 11ne dur1ng the previous two years, 1nclud1ng
any f1nanc1al 1mpact abandonment would have on net
ra11road operatlng income (49 C.F.R. 1152.22 (d)).
o An assessment of communlty lmpact of the abandonment
1ncludlng 1dent1f1cat1on of "slgn1ficant users", alter-
nat1ve transportat1on serV1ces ava11able 1n the prox1-
mate area, a statement of efforts which have been made
to continue service and the results of those efforts,
and a statement of whether the properties proposed for
abandonment "... are sUltable for use for other pub11C
purposes, 1nclud1ng roads or hlghways, other forms of
mass transportat1on, conservat1on, energy production or
transm1ss1on, or recreatlon
II
(49 C.P.R. 1152.22
(e)).
o Informatlon regardlng the enV1ronmental lmpact of the
proposed abandonment as prescrlbed elsewhere 1n T1tle
49 (49 C.P.R. 1152.22 (f)).
If the appl1cant ant1clpates no substantlal or material OppOS1-
t10n to an abandonment appllcatlon, an abbrev1ated summary ap-
pl1catlon may be flled. The ICC may, however, d1rect that the
data for a full application be flled.
Once f11ed and served upon speclfied part1es lncludlng any lnter-
ested party proposlng to f11e wr1tten comments, the abandonment
appllcatlon 15 reviewed by ICC staff for completeness.
Interest-
ed persons may become part1es to an abandonment proceedlng by
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fL1Lng wr1tten comments or protests wLth the ICC, prov1d1ng cer-
taLn ffi1nimum 1nformatLon and complYlng with fLl1ng tLrne lLmLts.
Although the CLty 1S not a ra1l 110e user, 1t may still file
wr1tten comments concern1ng varlOUS aspects of the applLcat10n
I.ocludlng envLronmental Lmpacts, communI. ty development l.mpacts,
SUI. tabllL ty of the propertles for other publlC purposes, and
recomRended provls10ns for protecting the Lnterest of employees
(49 C.F.R.
1152.25 (a)(2)).
The Ice will determlne, after
reVI.eWlng wrltten comments and protests, whether to conduct a
formal I.nVestlgatLon to complete ltS conslderatlon of the ap-
pllcatl.on.
Such ~nvestigatlon may include an oral hearl.ng, and
proVlSlons, are made for appeals of the declsLon whether or not
to conduct an lnvestlgatlon.
If no protests to an abandonment applicatl.on are flled the ICC
automatLcally approves the abandonment appll.cation and withln 45
days of appllcatlon fl1Lng, must Lssue a certlficate permittLng
the abandonment.
If protests are flled, the Iec must determLne
whether or not to conduct an I.nVestlgatLon.
ThLS decLSlon, LO
turn, establl.shes tLme 11mlts for further decl.slons, appeals and
final decI.slon (49 C.F.R. 1152.26).
Of partLcular Lnterest lO the case of Southern PacI.fic's proposed
abandonment are the prOVl.SlOnS contalned In 49 D.S.e. 10906 and
49 C.F.R. 1152.28 by whlch the Ice may lmpose a "public use" con-
dltion on the abandonment approval:
(a) (1) If the Commisslon flods that the present or future
publLc convenlence and necessity requlre or permLt abandon-
ment or discontluuance, the Commlss~on wlll determlne If the
Lnvolved rail properties are sUl.table for other publlc
purposes.
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(2) A request for a publlC use condl tion under 49 u. S. C.
10906 must be ln wrltlng and set forth: (1) The condition
sought; (11) the publlC lmportance of the conditioni (111)
the perlod of tlme for WhlCh the conal tlon would be effec-
tivei and (lV) Justlflcation for the imposltlon of the time
perlod. A copy of the request shall be malled to the
applicant.
(b) If the COllUlllsslon finds that the rall propertles are
sUltable for other publlC purposes, the rallroad may dispose
of the rail propertles only under the conditlons descrlbed In
the COllUlllsslon' s declsion. The conditlons imposed by the
Commlsslon may lnclude a prohlbltlon against the dlsposal of
the rall assets for a perlod of not more than 180 days from
the effective date of the decls10n authorlzlng the abandon-
ment or dlscontlnuance, unless the properties have first been
offered, on reasonable terms, for sale for publlC purposes.
ThlS period wlll run concurrently with any other
postponements.
(49 C.F.R. 1152.28 at 339).
In June 1984, former Clty Manager A1schuler sent a letter to the
Presldent of the recently merged Southern Paclfic and Santa Fe
Railroads notlng Santa Monica's lnterest ln learnlng about SP's
plans for the Santa Monlca line and requestlng an opportunlty to
dlSCUSS the Clty'S plannlng concerns in more detail.
In Septem-
ber, SP responded that the company "... dld not have a good han-
dIe on how [It] w~ll be deallng wlth the Southern Paclflc rlght-
of-way In Santa Monica
II
However, on October 10, 1984,
Southern Paclflc Transportatlon Company published the requlred
legal notlce to change lts Systems Dlagram Map. On November 8th,
the Californla Department of Transportatlon was notlfled that SP
was changing the Santa Monica Ilne to Category 1
lines anticl-
pated to be sUbJect to abandonment appllcatlons wlthln three
years. The ICC was slmilarly notlfied on November 16th. Follow-
lng the December 26, 1984 Los Angeles Tlmes artlcle describing
SP's Callfornla abandonment plans lncludlng the Santa Monlca
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Ilne, Clty Manager Jalili sent letters to SP, the ICC, the Cal-
lfornia PubllC Utlllties Commisslon, Cal Trans, the Southern Cal-
ifornla Association of Governments and LACTC expresslng the
City's lnterest ln preservlng the rlght-of-way for public use.
POSSIBLE CITY ACTIONS TO PRESERVE THE RIGHT-OF-WAY
There are several actlons the Clty may wlsh to pursue to ensure
that the public lnterest lS represented 1n SP's abandonment pro-
ceedlngs, lncludlng flllng offlcial comments on the abandonment
appllcat10n and seeklng a public use condltlon of approval, an-
alyzlng available zoning and other regulatory procedures, and
explorlng potentlal sources of fundlng to acqulre the rlght-of-
way should the Council choose to do so.
Followlng more detalled reV1ew of the ICC regulations summarized
above, Clty staff and the Clty Attorney could formally notify SP
and the ICC of its intent to comment on the abandonment appllca-
tlon pursuant to 49 CPR 1152.25. ThlS will ensure that the Clty
becomes party to the appllcatlon and recelves all flle documents
and responses. Support for a publlC use condltlon of ICC approv-
al could be explored with LACTC and other publlC agencles. Staff
could also contact the four prlncipal Santa Monlca buslnesses
stlll using rall serVlce on the SP Ilne to ensure they are fully
lnformed about the abandonment appllcatlon, and to lndependently
assess any lmpact on the Clty I S economy that could result from
abandonment. Formal comments on SP's appllcatlon concernlng com-
munity development lmpacts, envlronmental impacts, bUlldlngs or
sltes of hlstorlC signlflcance and suitabllity of the rlght-of-
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way for other publlc purposes must be flIed wlthln thlrty days of
spts appllcation.
Clty staff could also contlnue to study var10US zonlng techniques
to preserve at least that portion of the right-of-way needed for
mass transit (approx1mately 30 to 40 feet). These include re-
qUlred setbacks or easements, 11mltatlons on uses and development
standards and po&slbly transfer of development rights to adJacent
parcels. Staff has been closely monltor1ng attempts by other
area Cl tles to re-zone railroad rights-of-way for parklng and
open space, and the legal challenges to such proposals.
Should Santa Monica succeed 1n obtalnlng a public use conditlon
on the rccls abandonment approval, the City would have a right of
flrst refusal to purchase the rlght-of-way for up to 180 days.
FISCAL/BUDGET IMPACTS
The recommendations below do not have any flscal or budget
impacts.
RECOMMENDATION
In order to preserve maximum flex1bl1ity for Santa Monica's fu-
ture connectlon to a reglonal mass translt system and to lncrease
its deficient open space lnventory, It lS respectfully recommen-
ded that the Clty Councll authorlze staff to:
1. Offlc1ally notify Southern Pacific Transportation Com-
pany and the Interstate Commerce CommlSS1on of the
Cl ty' s intent to flle comments on Southern Pacific's
pendlng abandonment appllcatlon~
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2. Prepare and f~le comments on any Southern Pac~f~c ap-
pllcatlon W~ thln statutory tlme llmlts and to seek a
publlC use eondltion on any approval;
3. Further analyze alternative zoning or other land use
regulat~ons avallable to preserve a portlon of the ex-
lstlng rlght-of-way for public use.
4. Further analyze alternatlve fund~ng sources should the
C~ty Counell later determlne to acqu~re the rlght-of-
way; and
5. Period~cally inform the C~ty Coune~l on staff's aetlvl-
tles concernlng thlS matter.
Prepared by:
Peggy Curran, Act~ng Director, C/ED
Paul J. S~lvern
spt
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