Loading...
sr-042611-7c~~ ~;Ya, City Council Report Santa Monicu City Council Meeting: 4/26/11 Agenda Item: ~"~ To: Mayor and City Council From: Rod Gould, City Manager Marsha Moutrie, City Attorney Subject: Proposed Ordinance Authorizing the City Manager to negotiate cooperation agreements with the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority and with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the construction and operation of a light rail transit system within the City of Santa Monica Recommended Action Staff recommends that the City Couricil introduce for first reading the attached ordinance, which authorizes the City Manager to negotiate cooperation agreements with the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority and with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority for the construction and operation of a light rail transit system within the City of Santa Monica. Under the proposed ordinance the City Council will approve by resolution any agreement prior to it becoming effective. Executive Summary Currently several light rail systems operate throughout Los Angeles County. During their construction it has been customary for the light rail construction authority to enter into cooperation agreements with the cities where the light rail systems were constructed. These agreements set the parameters for how the light rail related work was to be done in those cities. The Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority currently has a cooperation agreement with the City of Los Angeles for phase one of the Exposition Metro Line. It has asked for a similar one with the City of Santa Monica for phase two, a portion of which will be constructed within the City of Santa Monica. The proposed ordinance will authorize the City Manager to negotiate a cooperation agreement with the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, which will build the Tight rail project, and with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which will operate it once the light rail project is complete. Any cooperation agreement negotiated will be subject to City Council approval. Since the cooperation agreement will be the primary agreement governing the construction of the light rail project within the City of Santa Monica, and since some aspects of current City laws may have to be modified to allow for the construction of the light rail project, any cooperation agreement 1 will need to supersede other City laws on a limited basis and only when it expressly states so. Such areas will likely most often occur in the permit review, permit payment and permit approval process. Except when the cooperation agreement expressly provides its own requirements, the light rail project will comply with all other provisions of the Santa Monica Municipal Code and applicable resolutions, including. City standards, customs, policies and practices. Discussion The City of Santa Monica has provided longstanding support for constructing light rail transit on the existing Exposition rail right-of-way. The City sponsored legislation to create the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority to plan, design and build the Exposition Metro Line light rail project. The City also supported Los Angeles County Measure R, which. created a funding source for transportation projects throughout the County, including the Exposition Metro Line project. More recently, the City's new Land Use and Circulation Element (LUCE) established policies to support ridership and light rail connections, and to proactively integrate the light rail system into the City's development policies. The Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority ("Construction Authority") is a special purpose agency created for the. sole purpose of designing and building the Exposition Metro Line light rail system. The Construction Authority will disband at the completion of its mission. The line will be turned over to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("Metro") for operation following its anticipated construction completion in 2015. The California Public Utilities Commission has a role in reviewing and approving at-grade rail crossings. Construction of the light rail project will require extensive permitting from the City of Santa Monica as well as significant City technical support. The Exposition light rail project will run across the City from the City's eastern border with the City of Los Angeles, along the current Exposition rail right of way, and then along the surface of Colorado Avenue to a terminus at 4th Street and Colorado Avenue. The project will consist of various support facilities, including a maintenance facility, as well as a bicycle path. 2 Construction will impact numerous existing City facilities from sewer and water lines, to streets and sidewalks, traffic and street lights. Road closures and traffic detours will occur as construction progresses. The project will affect parking, street trees, sidewalks, alleys and street ,intersections. Work will encompass various types of construction, excavation, exploration and testing. It will also include the setup of barricades or other types of pedestrian and traffic control devices. Given the scope of the project, the Construction Authority's and the City's staffs will need to work in very close cooperation to ensure that during and after construction the impacts of the Project are effectively handled with as minimum a disruption as is possible to the community. Close cooperation will also be needed in order to adhere to the current project time line. The cooperation agreement will establish a procedure and process for dealing. with all light rail project work .that is to be done within the City, especially as they impact the public right of way or existing City facilities. It is anticipated that the cooperation agreement will apply to all public streets and public easements, including any portion(s) of private properties dedicated for. public rights-of-way purposes. Nothing in the cooperation agreement will relieve the Construction Authority or its contractors from the requirement to submit all plans, documents and reports for review and comment before obtaining City approval prior to the start of any construction activity within the public right-of-way. These will include plan checks, permits, or inspections required for fire and life safety matters by the Santa Monica Fire and Police Departments, hazardous materials soil removal, abatement of hazardous material storage tanks, special extinguishing systems, State Fire Marshall Code requirements, etc. It is anticipated that costs incurred by the City staff and its consultants for design review, design issues resolution, permit coordination, construction support and inspection are to be reimbursed by the Construction Authority through a work authorization process that 3 will be specified in the cooperation agreement, instead of through the individual permit application process. The following is a list of the various permits that are normally issued by the City for work in the public right-of-way: • Use of Public Property Permit (including temporary traffic control plans) • Street Construction Permit • Utility Excavation Permit • Encroachment Permit (for encroachments into the public right-of-way) • Sewer Permit • Storm Drain (Connection) Permit • Industrial Waste Discharge Permit • Oversized Load Permit • After Hours Construction Permit The cooperation agreement's permitting process will serve in lieu of the current permitting process for these permits. All work on private property within the City will still require the issuance of a building permit from the Building and Safety Division, which will not be a part of the cooperation agreement's permit process. The following capital entitlement fees related to City water and wastewater enterprise funds will be required to be paid by the Authority pursuant to the Santa Monica Municipal Code: • Water Demand Mitigation Fee- ' Water Capital Facility Fee • Wastewater Capital Facility Fee The following permit fees will be paid as currently required under the Santa Monica. Municipal Code, by the design-build contractor. They will not have a separate permitting process under the cooperation agreement: • Temporary Water Meter Fee 4 • Temporary "No Parking" Permits Fee Under the proposed ordinance, once the City Manager has negotiated the cooperation agreement, the terms of the agreement will be presented to the City Council for approval by resolution. Financial Impacts & Budget Actions City staff costs for design review, design issues resolution, permit coordination, construction support and inspection will be reimbursed by Expo through City work authorizations, as specified in the Master Cooperative Agreement that is being developed between the City & Expo. The Expo Construction Authority includes expenditures for city costs in an annual work authorization plan that is part of their adopted annual budget for tasks to be performed by City staff in support of the Expo Light Rail Project. This action does not impact the General Fund. Prepared by: Kathryn Vernez, Assistant to the City Manager Joseph Lawrence, Assistant City Attorney Martin Pastucha, Public Works Director Ellen Gelbard, Asst. Director, Planning & Community Development Approved: Forwarded to Council: Rod Gould r City Manager Attachment: Ordinance 5 City Council Meeting: April 26, 2011 Santa Monica, California ORDINANCE NUMBER (CCS) (City Council Series) AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE COOPERATION AGREEMENTS WITH THE EXPOSITION METRO LINE CONSTRUCTION AUTHORITY AND THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY METROPOLITAN TRANSPORATION AUTHORITY RELATING TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF A LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT SYSTEM WITHIN THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica has long been a supporter of extending light rail transportation to the westside of Los Angeles County and into the City of Santa Monica: and WHEREAS, a light rail transit system serving the City of Santa Monica and connecting the City of Santa Monica to the region's other light rail, subway and bus transportation systems will bring about many public benefits and among other things, it may assist in the reduction of vehicle traffic and may assist to alleviate air quality and other environmental concerns; and WHEREAS, the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority ("Authority"); is a public entity created by the California State Legislature pursuant to Section 132600, et. seq. of the California Public Utilities Code, for the exclusive purpose of completing the 1 design and construction of the Exposition Metro Line light rail transit project ("Project"), which among other things consists of a light rail train line extending from the downtown of the City of Los Angeles to the downtown of the City of Santa Monica; and WHEREAS, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority ("LACMTA") is a public entity created by the California State Legislature pursuant to California Public Utility Code Section 130050.2 et seq. for many purposes including, but not limited to, the operation of rail and bus transit systems and other transportation facilities in Los Angeles County, including the operation of the Exposition Metro Line light rail transit system;. and WHEREAS, within the City of Santa Monica the Project will run along the existing Exposition rail right of way and also along Colorado Avenue to a terminus to be located near the intersection of Colorado Avenue and 4t" Street in Santa Monica; and WHEREAS, within the City of Santa Moriica the Project will also consist of three light rail transit stations and a maintenance facility, as well as various support facilities and a bicycle pathway adjacent to the light rail line; and WHEREAS, many of the Project's construction activities will occur along streets and other public rights of way and among other things, the Project will affect existing City facilities, utilities and.traffic; and WHEREAS, during the course of the Project's construction, the City staff will be required to review plans and construction activities and to issue various City permits and approvals to the Authority and LACMTA, while attempting to comply with the Project's required construction timeline; and 2 WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica, the Authority and the LACMTA wish to facilitate the implementation of the Project in as efficient and as least disruptive manner as is possible, while complying with applicable City laws and resolutions, including City requirements, standards, customs, policies and practices to the maximum extent possible; and WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica, the Authority and the LACMTA desire to establish a procedure for expeditiously cooperating with each other and to this end wish to enter into appropriate cooperation agreements concerning various aspects of the Project, including: how construction activities will occur; how City facilities affected by the Project will be relocated; how City reviews, permits and approvals will be sought and obtained; how the parties will communicate with one another; how the City will be compensated for City staff services related to the Project; and how any City requested enhancements to the Project will be agreed upon and paid for; and WHEREAS, various provisions of the Santa Monica Municipal Code and their implementing resolutions potentially affect the construction and operation of the Project and the light rail transit system and some may need to be modified to allow for the timely construction of the Project; and WHEREAS, it is customary for the Authority and LACMTA to enter into cooperation agreements with cities when they construct and operate light rail transit systems in those cities; and WHEREAS, the Exposition Metro Line light rail transit system planned to be constructed and operated within the City of Santa Monica is unique in its scope and 3 potential impact as it will traverse the City from its eastern border and travel nearly to the Santa Monica Pier often along the surface of City streets; and WHEREAS, various provisions of the Santa Monica Municipal Code that may affect the Project were enacted for projects significantly different than the Exposition Metro Line light rail transit system; and WHEREAS, once completed the Exposition Metro Line light rail transit system will further the public interest and welfare and significantly benefit the residents of the region and of the City of Santa Monica. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The City Council authorizes the City Manager to negotiate such agreements as may be appropriate with the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority and with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority concerning cooperation between the parties for the construction and operation of the Exposition Metro Line light rail transit project within the City of Santa Monica. SECTION 2. Unless expressly provided for in any cooperation agreement with the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority shall comply with all applicable City of Santa Monica laws and resolutions, including all City requirements, 4 standards, customs, policies and. practices in the construction and operation of the Exposition Metro Line light rail transit project. SECTION 3. In any cooperation agreement with the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the City Manager is authorized to establish the terms and conditions under which the City will interact with the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. In doing so the City Manager may agree to modify any requirement, which may be otherwise authorized or required pursuant to the' Santa Monica Municipal Code or applicable resolution, if the City Manager determines that doing so serves the public interest and welfare and that the public interest and welfare will be equally protected by the terms or conditions of the agreement. Such agreements may include, among other things, permitting rules and procedures, as well as fees or other payment arrangements, .that the City Manager determines to be necessary and appropriate for the efficient construction and operation of the light rail transit system while also protecting the interests of the City and its citizens and visitors. SECTION 4. Before any cooperation. agreement authorized by this Ordinance becomes effective, the City Council shall approve by duly adopted resolution the terms of the cooperation agreement. 5 SECTION 5. The City Council finds that the public necessity, public convenience, and general welfare require that any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or its appendices, including the provision of any applicable implementing resolutions, inconsistent with the provisions of any approved cooperation agreement, to the extent of such inconsistencies only and no further, be repealed or modified to that extent necessary to make fully effective the provisions of any cooperation agreement. In all other respects the provisions of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or its appendices, including the provision of any applicable implementing resolutions, shall remain in full force and effect. SECTION 6. Any provision of the Santa Monica Municipal Code or its appendices or implementing resolutions, inconsistent with the provisions of this Ordinance, tg the extent of such inconsistencies and no further, are hereby repealed or modified to that extent necessary to effect the provisions of this Ordinance. SECTION 7. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by a decision of any court of any competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this Ordinance, and each and every section, subsection, sentence, clause, or phrase not declared invalid or unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of the Ordinance would be subsequently declared invalid or unconstitutional. 6 SECTION 8. The Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk shall attest to the passage of this Ordinance. The City Clerk shall cause the same to be published once in the official newspaper within 15 days after its adoption. This Ordinance shall be effective 30 days from its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM: 4vW-~ ~`r"GC-~ MA SHA NES M TRIE City ttor