sr-101309-8aCity Council Meeting: October 13, 2009
Agenda Item: ~`~
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Lee E. Swain, Director of Public Works
Subject: Feasibility of Potential Sites for Public Safety Storage Facilities
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council provide input and direction on proposed sites for
Public Safety Storage Facilities.
Executive Summary
The City has contracted with Gensler Architects to study five viable City-owned sites
and to develop a public outreach event to present to and gather input from City
residents regarding their preferred locations for new Public Safety Storage Facilities
(PSSF). The event is planned for Wednesday, November 18, 2009, at the Ken Edwards
Center.
Council is requested to provide input on the list of identified sites and evaluative criteria
to be included in the outreach event.
Background
Staff presented the Public Safety Storage Facilities Schematic Design to the Airport
Commission on September 25, 2006, and November 27, 2006; held a public outreach
event on Saturday November 4, 2006; and presented proposals to Council on January
9, 2007, and October 23. 2007. On October 23, 2007, members of the public expressed
support for the need for public safety storage facilities,. but voiced concern about the site
selection process, aesthetics, and the design review process. Based on this, Council
directed staff to consider all available alternative sites for the location of the buildings,
and to bring the public into the site selection process. Council authorized the Feasibility
Consultant contract on September 16, 2008.
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Discussion
The City of Santa Monica Police and Fire Departments currently have reserve
emergency, training vehicles and specialized equipment stored outside. This storage
configuration often requires all equipment on the vehicles to be removed and stored
indoors to protect it from potential theft and damage from environmental factors. The
equipment must be returned to the vehicle when .the vehicle is called into use. The
process of returning and placing the equipment on the vehicles potentially impedes
responsiveness to emergency calls. Due to the lack of storage space, reserve vehicles
and specialized equipment are stored in various locations throughout the City, which
creates difficulty for servicing the vehicles and equipment. The reserve emergency
vehicles require routine maintenance to keep them ready for immediate response. It is
inefficient to maintain Fire and Police Department equipment and vehicles in multiple
locations throughout the City. The vehicles also incur increased wear and tear due to
being exposed to the elements.
Staff's evaluation is that there is a need .for two secure facilities to store emergency
response vehicles, equipment, training vehicles and disaster supplies for the Fire and
Police Departments. The consultant developed evaluation criteria for the storage
facilities and used these to assess the feasibility of sites currently owned by the City.
Their assessment included evaluating the currently programmed use for each site,
c"onformance to existing regulations on each site, site logistics, impacts to response
time, and other program amenities. The selection of any particular site will influence the
services the facility can provide to the immediate community, the Santa Monica Police
and Fire Department and to the City as a whole.
During the past months, Gensler has worked with staff to conduct an extensive
investigation of City-owned and non-City .owned sites, both within and beyond the City
boundaries, as possible locations for construction of the buildings. Staff identified
numerous sites for consideration. Two City-owned sites were eliminated for non-
compatibility, logistical, programmatic, and .environmental reasons. All non-City owned
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sites were eliminated for financial, schedule, prolonged response time and competing
use reasons.
The following five City-owned sites have been identified as meeting the. needs of both
the Fire and Police Departments and will be presented to the community at the public
outreach event:
1) Site 1: Fifth and Arizona: (Parking lot/seasonal ice skating rink) Exact location is
uncertain.
2) Site 2: Memorial Park expansion: (Former Fisher Lumber Site) Exact location is
uncertain.
3) Site 3: Airport property: Directly adjacent to Fire Station #5 and at the Centinela
gate, south/west side of Centinela (former location of the DC3 airplane).
4) Site 4: Airport. property: At the Centinela gate north/east side of Centinela (in Los
Angeles), and south/west side of Centinela (former location of the DC3 airplane).
5) Site 5: Airport property:. North/east end (in Los Angeles) and south/west side of
Centinela (former location of the DC3 airplane).
The following criteria have been developed for the evaluation of the five sites:
• Provides major arterial access.
• Impacts to response time.
• Provide easy in/out access.
• Contains necessary utility infrastructure (e.g., water, power, and sewer).
• Complements existing land uses.
• Complies with proposed development and or existing zoning.
• Meets wider disaster response/preparation initiatives.
• Presents excessive construction impacts.
• Presents insurmountable visual impact (e.g., proposed structure impacts views).
Staff will return to Council in winter 2009 with the outcome of the public outreach event
to present the public's preferences and to receive direction from Council as to which site
should be utilized for the project. Staff will then advertise a Request for Proposals for
design services, and return to Council for authorization to execute a design contract.
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The design of this building will be submitted for reviews by the City's design review
process advisory to Council's decision, regardless of the site.
Public Outreach
A public outreach event will be developed by the consultant to present all components
of this assessment to the public. The public will have an opportunity to provide input on
service priorities, and which location best fulfills the overall needs of the community.
The public outreach event will be as follows:
• Date: November 18, 2009
Location: Ken Edwards Center
• Time: 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
• Notifications to be mailed to residents, businesses, community groups and other
public stakeholder groups on October 29, 2009
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
The cost of the event will be limited to display materials which are included in the
consultant's fee.
Prepared by: Alex Parry, Architect
Approved:
Forwarded to Council:
~z a ~5? ~
Lee E. Swain, Director P
Department of Public Works ~
Attachment: Event Invitation & Program
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Site 1:5th & Arizona
5th & Arizona located near the 3rd Street Promenade in the
heart of the City's commerciaF district; currently used for
parking and a winter ice rink. Should this site be selected, an
additional storage facility evould need to be constructed to
store reserve emergency, training vehicles; and specialized
equipment for the Police Department (see location A on Site
4 aerial photo).
Site 2: Fisher Lumber
Fisher Cumber located along Colorado Avenue, betweenl4th
and 15th Streets; City's. Community and .Cultural Services
identifies Yhis site as future expansion of AAemorial Park.
Should this site be selected, an additional storage.facility
would need to be constructed to store resenre emergency,
training vehicles. and specialized equipment for the Police
Department (see location A on Site 4 aerialphoto)..
Site 3: Airport
Atrport located behind secure barrier where 25th Street meets
the ShA Airport near thenorthwestern edge of the runway;
adjacent to Fire Station 5 at the corner of Clover Street and
Pshland Avenue; currently a pte-existing 5,500 sf storage
facility on site. Should this site be selected, an additional
storage fadlity woNd need to be constructed to store reserve
emergency, training vehicles, and specialized equipment for
the Policepepartment (see location A on Site 4 aerial photo)..
Site 4: Airport Centinela
Airport Centinela Gate adjacent to the northeast tip of the
rumvay where South Centinela Ave meets the airport;
currently undeveloped and located within Los Angeles.
Should this site be selected, an additional storage facility
would need to be constructed to store reserve emergency,
training vehicles, and specialized equipment for the Police
Department (see location A).
Site 5: Airport NE
Airport NE located in the City of Las Angeles, this currently
undeveloped parcel is adjacent to South: Bundy Drive; no
utility inFrasiructure is currently available on site. Should this
site 6e selected, an additional storage facility would need to
6e constructed to store reserve emergency, training vehicles,
and specialized equipment for the Pollee Department (see
location A on Site 4 aerial photo).