SR 10-25-2011 3ACity of City Council Report
Santa Monica,
City Council Meeting: October 25, 2011
Agenda Item: I L
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Kathryn Vernez, Deputy City Manager — Special Projects
David Martin, Director of Planning and Community Development
Martin Pastucha, Director of Public Works
Subject: Exposition Light Rail Phase 2 Maintenance Facility Update
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1) Support the community's preference for the selection of Scenario 2 for the Expo
Light Rail Maintenance Facility design;
2) Direct staff to continue working with the Expo Construction Authority, Metro, and
their consultant teams on the design and construction of the preferred option;
and
3) Direct staff to continue working with the community on the buffer zone.
Executive Summary
Staff, the Expo Construction Authority (Construction Authority), Metro, and the
consultant team have been collaborating with the community to achieve a design for the
Phase 2 Expo Maintenance Facility, as directed on November 24, 2009. The design
addresses community concerns related to noise, traffic, safety, light, aesthetics, and
environmental sustainability.
In April 2011, the Construction Authority entered into a contract with Maintenance
Design Group (MDG) to design a Maintenance Facility that is responsive to community
needs and allows for necessary mitigations, including the buffer zone. MDG conducted
two community workshops on the design of the Maintenance Facility, and City staff
began work on a parallel track to gather community input on the use of the buffer zone.
MDG incorporated community input to develop two scenarios, which both represent
improvements over the approved site plan in the Final EIR. Scenario 2, described
below, is the option preferred by the community, Metro, and the Construction Authority
because it better addresses neighborhood concerns including noise mitigation, reduced
train movements, and aesthetic screening. It is also the most efficient operationally.
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Scenario 2 does alter the original buffer configuration, which permits a continuous buffer
zone along Exposition Boulevard, facing the residents. The preferred as well as the
other scenario would be LEED- Silver certified or better, and provide vehicular access
from Stewart and Centinela, not Exposition.
Staff is updating the City Council on these design Scenarios since they differ from the
original concept design. To keep the project on schedule, final design must be complete
in spring 2012 and construction documents complete in fall 2012 to allow construction to
occur between spring 2013 and fall 2014. Although the Expo Construction Authority
Board of Directors is responsible for making final decisions regarding the maintenance
facility, the Santa Monica City Council is encouraged to provide input and make
recommendations regarding the facility. Staff recommends that the City Council concur
with the selection of Scenario 2 for the Maintenance Facility, and direct staff to continue
working with Expo, Metro, and their consultant teams on the design and construction of
the facility. Staff would also continue to work with the community on the buffer zone.
There are no fiscal impacts to the City associated with this action.
Background
The Exposition Light Rail Project (Expo LRT) is a 15 -mile light rail line extending from
Downtown Los Angeles to Downtown Santa Monica and will be the first extension of
Metro rail to the west side. The project is part of a significant county -wide investment in
transportation facilitated by the passage of Measure R. Expo LRT in Santa Monica will
consist of three stations, a bike path, approximately three miles of trackway, and a
maintenance facility.
The Expo LRT project is required to have a yard for maintenance within Phase 2. In
January 2009, Expo issued a Draft EIR for the Expo Light Rail Phase 2 project. The
Draft EIR included the proposed maintenance yard just east of Stewart Street between
the right of way and Exposition Boulevard on property currently owned by Verizon and
used for their telecommunications fleet maintenance yard. Concerned about the
location's proximity to residences, the community requested that other sites be explored
as well. Multiple sites were. analyzed throughout 2009, as detailed in City Council
reports from August 11, 2009 and October 27, 2009.
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After extensive unsuccessful efforts to identify suitable alternate locations, and since
Verizon was a willing seller to the Construction Authority, the City Council gave direction
on November 24, 2009 for staff to coordinate with the Construction Authority to develop
the so- called hybrid alterative, which utilizes the Verizon site and the Santa Monica
College (SMC) Parking Lot for the Maintenance Facility. Use of the SMC property, a
2.35 acre site at Stewart and Exposition, allows for the creation of a buffer of
approximately that size along Exposition Boulevard across from the residential area
opposite the Verizon property. Council directed staff to work with the community to
create the buffer zone. Since receiving direction in 2009, city staff and SMC have been
negotiating the necessary real estate agreements required to create a buffer area
adjacent to the Maintenance Facility, as authorized by Council on November 23, 2010.
Staff also proceeded with a City and community run process to define potential uses of
the buffer zone between the Maintenance Facility and residential frontage along
Exposition Blvd. Staff proposed a Capital Improvement Project (CIP) for the buffer, and
$2 million was requested through the FY 2001 1 -201 3 budget process for that purpose.
A community workshop, sponsored by city staff and the Pico Neighborhood Association,
on the buffer zone was held on April 28, 2011 to solicit feedback on potential uses for
the buffer.
Community members identified several challenges facing the buffer zone, including:
• noise concerns
• safety of the adjacent residential community
• traffic, parking and pedestrian access
• the physical relationship between the maintenance facility and buffer zone to the
existing neighborhood; and
• maintaining local control of the buffer zone to protect it for the community.
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Participants also identified potential opportunities, including:
developing the Maintenance Facility and buffer zone to provide environmental
benefits to the area;
using the buffer zone to enhance the neighborhood;
• ensuring that the physical design of the Maintenance Facility and any structure(s)
that may be on the buffer zone are acceptable to the community; and
• ensuring that an appropriate sound wall be constructed and aesthetically
screened.
It was determined that further visioning prior to more information about the maintenance
facility design would be premature. Staff will continue to work with the community on the
development of the buffer zone once a design scenario for the Maintenance Facility has
been determined.
The City, Construction Authority, and Metro have been cooperating to minimize
potential impacts of the Maintenance Facility on Santa Monica's neighborhoods and the
community. Reducing and buffering noise, providing facility access from Stewart rather
than Exposition, minimizing light intrusion, and achieving Metro's LEED rating are all
items that the agencies are actively addressing in the design process. In response to
residents and City Council direction, a vehicle paint shop in the facility is not included.
During 2010, the Construction Authority was focused on the selection of a design -
builder for the track alignment, and decided to separate Maintenance Facility design
work from the alignment contract due to the unique nature of the requirements of a Light
Rail Transit Operations and Maintenance Facility. In April 2011, the Construction
Authority awarded a contract to Maintenance Design Group (MDG) to design the Phase
2 Maintenance Facility. Special attention was given to selecting a firm with recent and
relevant experience in maintenance facility design; a firm with the architectural expertise
needed to integrate the facility into the community; and a firm with the capabilities to
help achieve consensus amongst local area stakeholders. Since April, the Construction
Authority, Metro, and MDG have been working to design the Facility to be responsive to
community needs and allow for necessary mitigations, including the buffer zone
The Construction Authority and MDG have conducted two community workshops on the
design of the Maintenance Facility. At the first design workshop held on June 30, 2011,
the design team solicited community input regarding specific concerns and issues that
they wanted addressed in the design. The primary concerns included: traffic mitigation,
such as re- routing facility vehicle traffic from Exposition Boulevard onto Stewart Street;
sound mitigation, including minimizing train movements and appropriate placement of
buildings and walls; and protection of community views. The community also expressed
concerns about sustainability, neighborhood integration, and ensuring permanence for
the buffer.
In between the first and second community workshops, the design team held a design
charrette for the project in July 2011 with Authority, Metro and City staff. The charrette
sought to incorporate community feedback and Metro's operational needs into site plans
for the Facility. Two site concepts were developed that both improved upon the concept
plan in the Final EIR.
At the second community meeting on September 6, 2011, the Construction Authority
and MDG presented the two site plan scenarios, which incorporated community
feedback from the first workshop. The community responded positively to both site
plans. At the end of the meeting, the approximately 30 attendees were asked to vote on
their preferred site plan, and expressed a preference for Scenario 2, as described
below.
Discussion
Through continued coordination efforts with the Construction Authority, Metro, and
MDG, and informed by ongoing dialogue with the Pico Neighborhood Association, a
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design for the Maintenance Facility. is being developed to best meet the needs of the
surrounding community and minimize potential impacts.
Modified Site Plans — Scenarios 1 and 2
The design team modified the building layouts and configuration of the buffer zone to
improve environmental conditions and incorporate neighborhood feedback. Both site
concepts (Scenario 1 and Scenario 2) are consistent with the project approved in the
FEIR, and are improvements over the concept plan in the FEIR in the following ways:
Both Scenarios: .
• No loop tracks (mitigates wheel squeal)
• Vehicle access from Stewart /Centinela. NOT Exposition
• Light spill -over shielded from neighborhood
• Sustainable design — LEED Silver or better
The differences between and benefits of Scenarios 1 and 2 are described as follows,
and the site plans are included as Attachment A.
Scenario 1:
• Buffer zone the same as the original configuration
• Establishes a "front door" to the facility at Stewart /Exposition Corner
• Wall and buildings envelop sound from maintenance activities
• Yard is partially blocked from view by buildings
• Reduces train vehicle movements
• Main building 40' setback from Exposition
Scenario 2:
• Buffer zone stretches along Exposition to Stewart rather than in front of Verizon
site only
• Corner of Stewart /Exposition is buffer /open space
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• Wall and buildings further envelop sound from maintenance activities
• Greatest portion of yard is blocked from view by buildings
• Fewest train vehicle movements
• No trains between wall and building
In summary, both scenarios eliminate loop tracks, provide vehicle access from Stewart
Street and Centinela Avenue, rather than Exposition Boulevard, shield light spillover,
and would be LEED certified. Scenario 1 maintains the original buffer zone
configuration, but does not provide as much sound protection or building mass to hide
the yard from view. Scenario 2 changes the buffer configuration to provide a continuous
buffer all along the Exposition Blvd. frontage and includes the corner of Stewart and
Exposition as part of the buffer zone, which provides the option for the community to
develop open space or another community use on that corner. Based on sound
monitoring tests, Scenario 2 has greater noise abatement due to fewer vehicle
movements and to greater building massing that blocks sound. Scenario 2's building
massing also hides more of the yard from view, which offers aesthetic advantages.
Citing superior noise mitigation and aesthetic advantages, the majority of the community
expressed a preference for Scenario 2. Approximately 30 community members were
present at the September 6 workshop. A local party expressed interest in retaining the
Verizon structures and repurposing them, and thus favored Scenario 1 due to the buffer
configuration. However, there are no plans to retain any of the old Verizon structures.
About 80 percent of the votes received supported Scenario 2.
The Construction Authority and Metro concur with the community's preference for
Scenario 2. In addition to superior noise mitigation and aesthetic advantages, Scenario
2 is also the most operationally efficient and cost - effective scenario for the Expo LRT.
City staff supports the community preference to pursue Scenario 2.
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Next Steps
The Construction Authority Board received and filed a report updating them on the
design progress of the Maintenance Facility on October 6, 2011. MDG is moving
forward with preliminary engineering and design of Scenario 2. Per the current
schedule, design will be completed by October 2012 and the project will start
construction by spring 2013. The facility is scheduled to be completed and open for
operations by December 2014. With direction from Council, staff would continue
working with the Construction Authority, Metro, and MDG on the design of Scenario 2
and an operations plan, in coordination with the community. Staff would also continue a
parallel discussion with the community about the use and design of the buffer zone.
Financial Impacts & Budget Actions
There is no financial or budget impact to the "City associate with this policy direction.
Prepared by: Sarah Johnson, Community Relations Coordinator
Lee Swain, City Engineer
Approved: Forwarded to Council:
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Kathryn ver ez
Deputy City Manager — Special Projects
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David Martin
Director, Planning and Community
Development
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Martin Pastucha
Director, Public Works
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Rod Gould
City Manager
Attachments:
Attachment A: Site Plans for Scenarios 1 and 2
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ATTACHMENT A
Site Plans for Scenarios 1 and 2
Scenario 1
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Expo Rail Operations and Maintenance Facility
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Scenario 2