SR-8-C (75)
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Santa Monica, California
AUG 1 3 i99l
LUTM:CPD:PB:RCjConst.word.ppd
August 13, 1991
TO: Mayor and City council
FROM: City staff
SUBJECT: Proposed Construction Hours Ordinance
INTRODUCTION
This report provides the City Council with additional information
concerning revisions to the construction hours ordinance which
Council will be considering on August 13, 1991.
staff has
concerns about the effects of such a change and therefore,
prepared this memo so that the City Council can consider the
following information.
Alternatives to changing construction
hours are outlined, including the recommendation, if the Council
decides to delay the start of construction, that the Council
exempt City work performed by City personnel.
DISCUSSION
After Council direction at the February 19, 1991 meeting, staff
consulted
with
construction
labor
representatives,
City
maintenance crewst and the Air Quality Management District to
gather comments on the proposed ordinance changes.
Traffic
Impacts:
With
the
current
construction
hourst
construction vehicles and workers are traveling just before the
am peak period and leave before the pm peak period begins. By
the nature of construction employment, some workers travel long
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P,UG 1 3 \991
distances around the Los Angeles basin. The proposed changes
would result in construction vehicles and workers arriving and
departlng during the most congested periods of the day. This is
contrary to the City I sand AQMD I S efforts to reduce traffic
during the am and pm peak periods.
city Maintenance Crews:
work at 6:30-7:00 a.m.,
stations as early as 5:30
Currently, city maintenance crews begin
some of whom arrive at their work
a.m.
A change to an 8: 00 a. m. start time would have the following
direct effect on City operations:
1. street Maintenance:
a) The street maintenance concrete crews currently begin a
shift at 6:30 a.m. because vendors of transit-mixed
concrete cannot guarantee delivery and access after 7:00
a.m. The City instituted the 6:30 a.m. shift because we
were not able to procure concrete later in the day.
b) Asphalt crews also begin their shift at 6:30 a.m. This
start time allows for two daily deliveries of asphaltic
concrete.
c) The street maintenance crews are currently on a 4/10
work schedule. General Services Department staff
indicates that the later start time would result in a
loss of approximately 120 work hours per week due to the
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lack of available materials during the work day. These
work hours have a value of approximately $114,000 per
year based on average wages and benefits of affected
workers.
d) The Street division would have to go off the compressed
work week(4/10 or 9/80) in order to avoid some of the
time loss noted above. This change would eliminate the
10% trip reduction achieved by those on 9/80 and 20%
reduction of those on 4/10. It would eliminate the
further reductions achieved through interdivision ride
sharing made possible by common work hours.
2. Public Facilities Maintenance:
a) Twenty three employees would have to go off compressed
work hours in order to begin construction/maintenance
activities after the 8:00 a.m. start time.
3. General services Department staff indicates that public works
construction costs will rise by an average 5% due to the
following: later start time would conflict with prevailing
trade union contracts: city workers working after 5:00 p.m.
will have to be paid the night differential shift pay: losing
the IIlighterll vehicular traffic period during 7:00-8:00 a.m.
will increase the time needed to set up for and complete
projects in the public rights of way: costs of materials
delivered to a work site and costs for debris removal will
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increase because haulers generally prefer to avoid heavy
traffic periods; and some prospective bidders will be
reluctant to bld Santa Monica jobs due to restrictive time
periods allowed to accomplish work. General Services
Department estimates that this average 5% increase will cost
the City approximately $642,000 based on all CIP proj ects
budgeted this year. This is broken down to $40,000 for
projects performed by city personnel (3% of such projects) and
$602,000 in projects built under contract (5%) . Staff
conducted an informal survey of contractors used by the City
to determine their reactions to earlier construction hours.
Of the ten contractors called, one indicated they would no
longer bid city work, two indicated no change to costs, and
seven indicated higher bid prices. Five firms indicated
increases ranging from 3% to up to 20%. The 5% used for this
staff report analysis is a conservative (i.e. low) estimate
based on contractors' responses.
4. street work will result in more lane closures due to
construction work in the p.m. peak period (3-7p.m.). These
closures will result in greater congestion during these
hours.
5. The result of these employees going off compressed work week
schedules would mean that the City would lose its substantial
progress toward an Average Vehicle Ridership (AVR) of 1.5 at
the City Yards (now at 1.49) and have to resubmit a
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Regulation XV Plan to AQMD for this work site. (This is the
plan for which the City just won a Clear Air Award from
AQMD) .
Not maintaining our Regulation XV progress would put the City
in jeopardy of sUffering the consequences of sanctions
imposed by the AQMD which could include fines. (The AQMD is
authorized to impose fines of up to $25,000 per day.) If the
City chose to eliminate the compressed work week, an
amendment to our Regulation XV Plan would have to be approved
by AQMD. That amendment would have to show how the City is
replacing the compressed work week with other measures
equally successful in increasing AVR. The city has not been
able to find such measures.
Construction Trade Issues: The trade union representatives
contacted did not support the change from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.
on weekdays. Work crews would still be required to work an eight
hour period at any given job site. The change in hours would not
reduce the time devoted to construction activities but would
require crews to start and end work later in the day.
History of Complaints Received by the City Construction Hotline:
Based upon the complaints received on the City's construction
hours hotline, the present hours of construction do not appear to
be a problem. While very few complaints are actually received
(less than 10 complaints between November, 1989, and the present)
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the maj ori ty are about non-construction related noise such as
leaf blowers and other maintenance equipment not associated with
construction. The problem exists with contractors who do not
comply with the hours, and make deliveries and noise before 7:00
a.m.
ALTERNATIVES
staff has reviewed several alternatives to the blanket change on
construction hours. These alternatives include: exempting City
projects from the change by both City personnel and contractors;
exempting only City personnel operations; exempting construction
of low and moderate income housing projects; prohibiting
construction crews from entering residential neighborhoods ~ and
changin9 construction hours for any projects within 500 feet of a
residential zone.
staff believes that prohibiting construction workers, deliveries
to construction sites and generally any construction related
traffic from residential neighborhoods until the 7:00 a.m. start
time currently in effect will go a long way to minimizing the
noise, traffic and other early morning annoyances of a
construction proj ect. Building and safety Inspectors can be
assigned to begin a shift at 6:30 a.m. to verify that
construction rules are met. Therefore, staff believes that such
measures would protect residential neighborhoods. However, if
the Council is of a mind to delay the allowed construction periOd
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by one hour, staff recommends that
projects conducted by city personnel.
the delay outlined above in this
exemption.
the Council exempt City
The fiscal implications of
memorandum justifies this
Other exemptions such as changing hours in residential
neighborhoods or exemptions for low and moderate income housing
would tend to create confusion both for the construction industry
and for residential neighbors who may not know the nature of a
project or who live in commercial zones where earlier start times
would be permitted.
BUDGET/FISCAL IMPACT
Adoption of a delay in construction hours will probably add to
the cost of construction projects as identified above. The later
start time will add $154,000 to projects constructed by City
personnel and $602,000 to City projects done under contract.
Exempting City personnel will mitigate this impact.
RECOMMENDATION
I f the Council determines it wishes to delay the construction
period, it is recommended that City projects conducted by City
personnel be exempt from such restrictions.
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Prepared By: Paul V. Berlant, Land Use and Transportation
Director
Renee Cowhig, Supervising Zoning Inspector
Karen Pickett, Transportation Management
Coordinator
craig Perkins, Admininstrative & Environmental
Services Manager
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CA:RMM:rmd1234b/hpca1/pc
city council Meeting 8-13-91
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Santa Monica, California
SUPPLEMENTAL STAFF REPORT
TO:
Mayor and city Council
FROM:
city Attorney
SUBJECT:
Ordinance Amending Santa Monica Municipal Code
sections 4313 and 4314 Modifying Construction Hours
The construction hours ordinances attached to the Staff
Report previously transmitted to you both contain a typographical
error.
In section 4314 (e) (3), the word "printing" should be
"painting."
PREPARED BY: Robert M. Myers, city Attorney
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AUG 1 J 1)::11