SR 08-23-2011 8A (2)City Council Meeting: August 23, 2011
Agenda Item: ~-"
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Martin Pastucha, Director of Public Works
Subject: Relinquishment of Lincoln Boulevard
RecommendedAction
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to negotiate and
execute a Cooperative Agreement with the State of California to relinquish to the City
the portion of Lincoln Boulevard from the Santa Monica Freeway. to the southern City
limit.
Executive Summary
The City has been in discussions with the State of California, Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) regarding the relinquishment of Lincoln Boulevard from the
Santa Monica Freeway to the southern City limit. Relinquishment will transfer
ownership of the street to the City and allow -for local control and operation. A
Cooperative Agreement between the State of California and the City is necessary to
establish the terms and conditions of relinquishing a portion of a state highway within
the City's jurisdiction. It is anticipated that the City will receive a $2.2 million payment
from Caltrans to bring the condition of the street to a state of good repair in exchange
for assuming full maintenance, ownership, responsibility, .control, and liability in
perpetuity of this facility; however, funding is not available at this time. The City must
agree to defer receipt of payment until funding becomes available and the California
Transportation Commission approves the allocation of funds, which will not delay the
relinquishment process.
Background
Relinquishment is a legislative process which transfers ownership of a state highway to
a city. The State of California has relinquished state highways that pass through local
agencies when it would be in the best interest of the public.. The City of Santa Monica
participated in the relinquishment process for portions of .Santa Monica and Lincoln
Boulevards in 1996. In 2009, staff worked with legislative representatives to achieve
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the approvals necessary for the relinquishment of Lincoln Boulevard from the Santa
Monica Freeway to the southern city limit. This legislation became effective on January
1, 2010, allowing the relinquishment process to proceed.
Discussion
Staff has been in discussions with Caltrans on the terms and conditions to relinquish
Lincoln Boulevard. By taking ownership and control of Lincoln Boulevard, the City
would be able to better serve residents and businesses by: 1) performing improvements
to the street to meet local needs; and 2) managing the public right-of-way per local
requirements. Currently, the City is obligated to pay for on-going maintenance of
Lincoln Boulevard per the Agreement for Maintenance of State Highways in the City of
Santa Monica, executed on April 16~h, 1968, between the City and State of California.
Caltrans indicated that the City may receive compensation to restore the street to a
state of good repair in exchange for assuming ownership. City and Caltrans staff
conducted a series of on-site meetings to evaluate the existing condition of Lincoln
Boulevard and determine deficiencies within the right-of-way. The deficiencies were
tabulated and repair costs of approximately $2.2 million were estimated to return the
street to a state of good repair. Some of the specific types of deficiencies include
pavement deterioration and curb, gutter, and sidewalk damage. Caltrans staff has
suggested that according to the legislative relinquishment process, they are not
obligated to provide any financial compensation; however, it has been their past
practice to do so. Caltrans presented the draft terms and conditions of the
relinquishment, including the recommended financial contribution, to the Caltrans
Relinquishment Advisory Committee in Sacramento and received their concurrence.
Once the terms of the Cooperative Agreement are finalized and the Agreement is
executed, Caltrans must request approval of a resolution of relinquishment from the
California Transportation Commission (CTC). Upon approval by the CTC, the City can
assume ownership upon recordation of the resolution to relinquish by the County
Recorder's Office, which is estimated to occur in March 2012. Caltrans has indicated
that if the City wants ownership of the street in 2012, the City must agree to defer the
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receipt of payment until funding becomes available since funds are not currently
available due to budgetary constraints. Caltrans has agreed to make a request for
allocation of $2,199,000 to the City by the CTC when the funds become available with
the expectation that CTC will determine that this or some other allocation is in the best
interest of the State of California.
Staff recommends that maintenance improvements to the Boulevard be completed and
a planning process initiated to evaluate and recommend potential long term functional
and aesthetic improvements in concert with in the adopted Land Use and Circulation
Element upon relinquishment. Staff is preparing construction documents to repair the
existing deficiencies within the public right-of-way of Lincoln Boulevard in the area of the
relinquishment. The most prevalent deficiency is the condition of the pavement. The
pavement condition index (PCI) is a numerical value between 0 and 100 based on an
industry standard visual rating. The average PCI rating for all segments of Lincoln
Boulevard within the project limits is 62, which is considered fair. By contrast, the PCI
for the City's entire street network is approximately 82. The street condition is at a point
where maintenance must be done in order to prevent the pavement and subgrade from
failing, requiring costly and extensive reconstruction.
Staff plans to advertise a construction project to resurface the street and repair
damaged curb, gutter, and sidewalk to bring the street to a state of good repair in
summer 2012. Concurrently, staff will review the lane configuration of Lincoln
Boulevard to determine the potential of implementing peak hour bus lanes as part of the
initial maintenance improvements. Rather than await Caltrans funds, staff anticipates
utilizing available federal entitlement transportation grant funds for the maintenance
improvements.
Staff will begin a planning process to evaluate further improvements to the Boulevard
following the initial pavement rehabilitation and restriping project. This- process will
address broader community concerns regarding the use and appearance of Lincoln
Boulevard and will build -upon prior interjurisdictional and Land Use and Circulation
Element efforts. Extensive public outreach will be initiated as part of a community
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visioning process for the enhancement of Lincoln Boulevard and its relationship to the
adjacent business and. residential communities along the entire corridor. It is
anticipated that the public outreach and visioning process will begin in the fall of 2012,
and will be led by the Planning and Community Development Department. Actual
implementation of the future improvements could occur upon completion of the visioning
process in 2014 or 2015 pending availability of funding.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
There is no immediate budget/financial impact for negotiating and executing a
Cooperative Agreement to take ownership of Lincoln Boulevard. The City is currently
responsible for on-going routine maintenance of the street right-of-way; however, upon
relinquishment, the City will assume full maintenance, ownership, responsibility, control
and liability, and the associated costs, in perpetuity for this facility. Future maintenance
costs for Lincoln Boulevard will be absorbed by future street maintenance capital
improvement project funding. If and when Caltrans provides financial compensation,
City staff will return to Council with any necessary budget actions.
Prepared by: Mark Cuneo, P.E., Principal Civil Engineer
Approved:
Martin Pastucha
Director of Public Works
Forwarded to Council:
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Ro Gould
City Manager
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Reference Contract No.
9457 (CCS)