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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 1 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 2 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 3 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: ~~ Ro Gould City Manager 4 Reference Contract No. 9457 (CCS)