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Agenda Item 25.
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| City Council Meeting |
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| Subject: |
| Western Extension to The Tracks at Brea Trail Project - Mitigated Negative Declaration, Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program No. MND 18-01, and Project Conceptual Design |
| RECOMMENDATION |
| Adopt Resolution to Adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration, Adopt Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program No. MND 18-01, and Approve Project Conceptual Design. |
| BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION |
Over the course of the last ten (10) years, the City of Brea has embarked on developing a bike and pedestrian trail along the abandoned Union Pacific Railroad (“UP”) Right of Way (“ROW”). The trail is the Tracks at Brea (“Project 7873”), which is part of the Capital Improvement Program (“CIP”). In mid-March 2018, the City successfully constructed the final segment of the six (6) segment four (4) mile system from the Brea Canyon Channel to Valencia Avenue near the City‘s eastern border.
On April 4, 2017, the City Council approved Amendment #6 to the David Evans and Associate’s Professional Services Agreement for $25,525 to initiate a Preliminary Feasibility Study (“Feasibility Study”) to evaluate extension of the trail approximately 1.35 miles to the west to connect to the City of La Habra’s trail project as part of the Orange County Bike Trail Loop (“OC Loop”). The Feasibility Study, which examined three (3) conceptual alignment options for the western extension, was completed in November 2017. Option 1 depicted a fifteen (15) foot wide trail from the Segment 2 turnaround at the OC Flood Control Channel along the northerly UP ROW across Berry Street and continuing along this line to Puente Street. Then from Puente Street the trail shifts to the south UP ROW and runs along this location westerly to N. Palm Street at the City limits. Option 2 depicted the same alignment as Option 1 from the Segment 2 turnaround to Puente Street but stays on the north from Puente to N. Palm Street. Option 3 considered Class II and Class III bike lanes along Lambert with no Class I trail along the the UP ROW.
At the time of the Study, UP did not seem interested in abandoning the spur from Berry Street East due to it being an active spur which serves Pacific Plastics, Inc. Staff reviewed the three options within the Feasibility Study and selected option two (2) as the preferred alignment and conceptual design for purposes of environmental analysis, with one modification that depicts a meandering fifteen (15) foot wide trail from the Segment 2 turnaround to Berry Street. This allows this alternative alignment to be evaluated within the environmental document as the worst case for potential impacts and keeps the door open with UP for a potential full acquisition in the future, if and when this rail line becomes inactive.
With the modification to Option 1, the proposed Western Extension to The Tracks at Brea Trail Project (“Project”) conceptual design depicts a meandering fifteen (15) foot wide trail from the existing turnaround area at Segment 2 near the OC Flood Control Channel ("Brea Canyon Channel") to Berry Street, then parallel to UP’s ROW, nine (9) feet south of the northerly ROW line with a proposed fifteen (15) foot wide trail. The trail will include a ten (10) foot wide AC pavement section with 2.5 foot shoulders on both sides. The trail extension will commence at the western boundary of the City of Brea (near the intersection of Lambert Road and Palm Street) and will terminate at Brea Canyon Channel, where it will connect to Segment 2 of the Tracks at Brea. The proposed trail extension will be bounded on the south by an unimproved access road for the railroad and on the north primarily by industrial uses. The trail extension will cross two intersecting roadways (Puente Street and Berry Street). Additionally, the Project will require acquisition of a 15 foot wide easement from UP with the potential to fully acquire the Berry west section in the future.
In order to pursue acquisition of the easement from UP, the City is required to develop an Initial Study (“IS”) and to determine the appropriate environmental document for the Project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) and the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). Based on the IS findings, it was determined that a Mitigated Negative Declaration (“MND”) would be the appropriate CEQA environmental document for the Project. The Project’s conceptual design is described in detail at Section 2.0 of the MND.
On March 22, 2018, staff with the environmental consultant, (Blodgett Baylosis Environmental Planning) completed the Draft IS/MND in accordance with CEQA and NEPA requirements. The environmental analysis, which is summarized in the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (“MMRP”), indicates that the Project will not result in significant adverse environmental impacts upon implementation of the required mitigation measures. In accordance with CEQA requirements, the IS/MND was circulated to a variety of agencies and was made available for public review for 20 days, from March 22 to April 10, 2018. The only public response to the IS/MND was from the Orange County Transportation Authority (“OCTA”), which states full support of the Project. The Final MND No.18-01, which includes the MMRP, comments, and responses to comments, is available for review in the Engineering Division and also attached (see Final MND).
The proposed Project is consistent with the OCTA’s “Commuter Bikeways Strategic Plan” and the City of Brea General Plan. In addition to extending Brea’s existing trail to the neighboring City of La Habra, this Project would close a critical gap in the 66-mile OC Loop Trail and also potentially connect Brea to the Whittier Greenway Trail. |
| FISCAL IMPACT/SUMMARY |
On April 4, 2017, the City Council authorized $25,525 from the General Fund (Fund 110) to fund the Feasibility Study. In December of 2016, staff applied for a grant from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to fund the preliminary engineering and environmental phases of the Project. On August 24, 2017 the EPA grant was awarded to the City in the amount of $200,000. Staff is currently seeking additional grant funds from the Active Transportation Program (“ATP”) and other funding sources for the future design, ROW, and construction phases of the Project. Therefore, the only impact to the General Fund was from the initial $25,525 to fund the Feasibility Study. This Project is also included in the City’s 2017-2018 CIP Budget.
The proposed Project will continue the City’s Tracks at Brea trail system to the west for 1.35 miles and connect to the City of La Habra’s proposed trail system within UP‘s ROW. The IS/MND was circulated for public comments for 20 days starting March 22, 2018 and ending on April 10, 2018. The City received one comment from OCTA, which indicated support of the proposed Project. The proposed Project will not result in significant adverse environmental impacts upon implementation of the required mitigation measures, which are included within the MMRP section of the Final MND. Therefore, staff recommends that the City Council consider adopting the Resolution to adopt the MND, adopt MMRP No.18-01, and approve the Project’s conceptual design. |
| RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED: |
William Gallardo, City Manager
Prepared by: Steve Kooyman, P.E., City Engineer
Concurrence: Tony Olmos, P.E., Public Works Director
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