City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
Meeting Date: _11/09/09_ Item Number: C-6
CITY COUNCIL AGENDA ITEM: Adoption of Resolutions Authorizing the City
Manager to Submit Grant Applications through the State Environmental
Enhancement and Mitigation Program for the Ballona Creek Bikeway Project (P-900)
and the West Washington Boulevard Tree Planting Project
Contact Person/Dept.: Helen
Kerstein/PW; John Rivera/PW
Phone Number: (310) 253-5618; (310)
253-5616
Fiscal Impact: Yes [X] No [] General Fund: Yes [] No [X]
Public Hearing: [] Action Item: [] Attachments: [X]
Commission Action Required: Yes [] No [X] Date: _______________
Public Notification: (E-Mail) Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (11/04/09);
(E-Mail) Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission (11/04/09); (E-Mail) Ballona Creek
Renaissance (11/04/09) Meetings and Agendas – City Council (11/04/09)
Department Approval:
Charles D. Herbertson (10/30/09)
City Attorney Approval:
Carol Schwab (by H. Baker) (11/03/09)
Chief Financial Officer Approval:
Jeff Muir (by N. Kimball) (11/04/09)
City Manager Approval:
Mark Scott (11/04/09)
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt resolutions authorizing the City
Manager to submit grant applications for the Ballona Creek Bikeway Project (P-900)
and the West Washington Boulevard Tree Planting Project through the State’s
Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program (EEMP).
BACKGROUND:
Established by the California State Legislature in 1989, the EEMP provides up to
$10 million per year in grants to projects that mitigate the environmental impacts of
new or altered transportation facilities. These grants, which are limited to up to
$350,000 a piece, are awarded in three categories:
1) Highway landscaping and urban forestry projects
2) Resource lands projects
3) Roadside recreation projects
Each grant application must identify both a transportation facility that is in need of
mitigation of an environmental impact and a proposed project that is directly or
indirectly related to that transportation facility. The proposed project must mitigate
the related transportation facility’s environmental impact above and beyond any
original project mitigation measures.
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
This year, the California State Legislature has allocated the full $10 million towards
the EEMP program. Staff has identified the widening of Interstate 405 as a local
transportation project that has environmental impacts, most notably increased
carbon emissions due to increased traffic. Staff has also identified two projects that
will help mitigate those impacts, the Ballona Creek Bikeway Project (P-900)
(Bikeway Project) and the West Washington Boulevard Tree Planting Project
(Planting Project), and recommends that the City Council authorize submission of
applications for the funding of those projects.
DISCUSSION:
Interstate 405 (the 405) is one of the most heavily used and overburdened freeways
in the state. The 405 widening project, which includes adding a high occupancy
vehicle lane (HOV lane) and making other associated changes, will help the freeway
handle the tremendous traffic flows that it carries and allow it to better accommodate
traffic growth in the future.
While the 405 widening project has significant transportation benefits, it also has and
will continue to create negative environmental impacts on the community. The five
years of construction to date have contributed emissions of carbon and particulates
into the air from heavy equipment. Furthermore, once the widened freeway is fully
operational, it will undoubtedly carry more vehicles and generate additional
emissions.
Staff recommends that the City Council authorize submission of an EEMP grant
applications for two projects, the Bikeway Project and the Planting Project, to help
mitigate these adverse effects. These projects fall primarily under the roadside
recreation and highway landscaping and urban forestry project categories,
respectively.
The Bikeway Project
The Bikeway Project involves improving portions of the Ballona Creek Bikeway,
between Overland Avenue and the Pedestrian bridge located approximately 1000
feet west of Overland Avenue in order to restore natural habitat, enhance the Creek
and bike path environment, and create educational opportunities, which would
promote alternative modes of transportation and contribute to carbon sequestration
and pollutant reductions. The concept for the Bikeway Project has been in existence
for roughly half a dozen years but has not come to fruition because of limited
financial resources.
The Bikeway Project was originally included as a part of the 2003/2004 Ballona
Creek Pedestrian Bridge Replacement project, but was dropped because other
elements of the Bridge Replacement proved to be more expensive than originally
anticipated. Staff continued to seek funding for the Bikeway Project and, in 2007, City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
received a Proposition 50 grant for $60,000 for design and planning. The design for
the Bikeway Project was completed in fall 2007, but work did not begin due to a lack
of funding for construction.
In early 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment
Act (ARRA), which included funding for “shovel-ready” infrastructure projects.
Through ARRA, the City applied for and was granted $476,174 in funding for the
Bikeway Project. This grant has been critical to making it possible for the City to
move forward with the project. However, it covers only roughly 60 percent of the
Bikeway Project cost, so a substantial portion must be funded through other
sources. These other sources could include local funds or ARRA funds that were
granted to the City for other projects that cost less than originally anticipated.
Staff recommends applying for the EEMP grant to meet a significant portion (if not
all) of the locally funded cost of this project in order to free up local monies for other
projects. While the Bikeway Project was conceived of independently of the
Interstate 405 widening, the Bikeway Project will help mitigate the transportation
project’s impact by enhancing a roadside recreational resource that will reduce
emissions by making bike riding and other non-vehicle-based means of
transportation more attractive. Furthermore, it will provide tree plantings that will
help sequester the carbon generated by the additional cars on the nearby freeway.
The Planting Project
The City has long recognized a need to encourage coherent and sustainable tree
plantings in the public right-of-way. In 2002, the City amended the Street Tree
Master Plan which designates tree species for streets throughout the City in order to
help address this need. The City is also in the process of planning for street tree
plantings on portions of Sepulveda Boulevard and Washington Boulevard as part of
other projects to improve arterial streetscapes.
The Planting Project along West Washington Boulevard will help advance this
process. It will fill the current gaps in tree plantings along Washington Boulevard by
introducing appropriate drought-tolerant and low-maintenance canopy (shade) tree
species in order to help make one of the City’s major arterials more appealing.
Furthermore, it will help mitigate the carbon emissions from the nearby 405 freeway.
Because the Street Tree Master Plan currently designates the Mexican Fan Palm as
the tree along Washington Boulevard, staff anticipates coming in the future to the
Parks, Recreation, and Community Services Commission and the City Council to
ask for a change in the Street Tree Master Plan to accommodate species of shade
tree that are more environmentally-sustainable prior to completing any tree
plantings.
FISCAL ANALYSIS:
City of Culver City, California
Agenda Item Report
There is no fiscal impact caused by submittal of the grant applications. If the EEMP
grants are received, staff resources will be dedicated to manage the projects, but no
local funds will be required to construct the Projects.
The City has been granted $476,174 in ARRA funds for the Bikeway Project, but the
project is estimated to cost $816,174. Therefore, approximately $340,000 in local
funds would be needed to complete the project.
If an EEMP grant is secured for this project, the $340,000 “unfunded” portion would
be met with EEMP funds rather than local funding sources (examples of potential
local funds include General Fund Reserve, New Development Impact Fund, Gas
Tax Fund, etc.). Additionally, ARRA funds that were secured by the City for other
projects but may not fully expended (i.e. Culver Blvd and Washington Blvd street
projects), may be transferrable to the Bikeway Project if needed. In any case, the
receipt of an EEMP grant will allow the City to complete the project without using any
local funds and potentially allow any leftover ARRA funds for use elsewhere in the
City.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution - Ballona Creek Bikeway Project (P-900) (Bikeway Project)
2. Resolution - West Washington Boulevard Tree Planting Project (Planting
Project)
MOTION:
That the City Council:
Adopt Resolutions authorizing the City Manager to submit grant applications
through the Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation Program for the Ballona
Creek Bikeway Project and the West Washington Boulevard Tree Planting
Project.
11/09/09
Adoption of Resolutions Authorizing Staff to Submit
Grant Applications through the State
Environmental Enhancement and Mitigation
Program for the Ballona Creek Bikeway Project
(P-900) and the West Washington Boulevard Tree
Planting Project.
MEETING DATE:
AGENDA ITEM:
ATTACHMENTS|109| Resolution - Ballona Creek Bikeway Project (P-900)
(Bikeway Project)|109| Resolution - West Washington Boulevard Tree Planting
Project (Planting Project)
Pages
1-2
3-4RESOLUTION NO. 2009-R
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE
APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS FOR THE
ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT AND MITIGATION
PROGRAM UNDER SECTION 164.56 OF THE STREETS
AND HIGHWAYS CODE FOR THE BALLONA CREEK
BIKEWAY PROJECT (P-900).
WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of California has enacted AB 471
(Chapter 106 of the Statutes of 1989), which is intended to provide $10 million annually
for a period of 10 years for grant funds to local, state and federal agencies and nonprofit
entities for projects to enhance and mitigate the environmental impacts of modified or
new public transportation facilities; and
WHEREAS, the Natural Resources Agency has established the
procedures and criteria for reviewing grant proposals and is required to submit to the
California Transportation Commission a list of recommended projects from which the
grant recipients will be selected; and
WHEREAS, the procedures and criteria established by the Natural
Resources Agency require a resolution certifying the approval of the application by the
Applicant's governing body before submission of said application to the State; and
WHEREAS, the application contains assurances that the Applicant must
comply with; and
WHEREAS, the Applicant, if selected, will enter into an agreement with
the State of California to carry out the environmental enhancement and mitigation
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28NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Culver City, DOES HEREBY
RESOLVE as follows:
1. The filing of an application for the Environmental Enhancement and
Mitigation Program is hereby approved.
2. The City of Culver City hereby certifies that it will make adequate
provisions for operation and maintenance of the project.
3. The City of Culver City hereby appoints the Public Works
Director/City Engineer as agent of the City of Culver City to conduct all negotiations,
execute and submit all documents including, but not limited to, applications,
agreements, amendments, payment requests and any other documents which may be
necessary for the completion of the aforementioned project.
APPROVED and ADOPTED this day of , 2009.
ANDREW WEISSMAN, MAYOR
City of Culver City, California
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
itt.kto
MARTIN COLE, City Clerk
CAROL A. SCHWAB, City Attorney
A09-00396
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-2-RESOLUTION NO. 2009-R
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA APPROVING THE
APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS FOR THE
ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT AND MITIGATION
PROGRAM UNDER SECTION 164.56 OF THE STREETS
AND HIGHWAYS CODE FOR THE WEST WASHINGTON
BOULEVARD TREE PLANTING PROJECT.
WHEREAS, the Legislature of the State of California has enacted AB 471
(Chapter 106 of the Statutes of 1989), which is intended to provide $10 million annually
for a period of 10 years for grant funds to local, state and federal agencies and nonprofit
entities for projects to enhance and mitigate the environmental impacts of modified or
new public transportation facilities; and
WHEREAS, the Natural Resources Agency has established the
procedures and criteria for reviewing grant proposals and is required to submit to the
California Transportation Commission a list of recommended projects from which the
grant recipients will be selected; and
WHEREAS, the procedures and criteria established by the Natural
Resources Agency require a resolution certifying the approval of the application by the
Applicant's governing body before submission of said application to the State; and
WHEREAS, the application contains assurances that the Applicant must
comply with; and
WHEREAS, the Applicant, if selected, will enter into an agreement with
the State of California to carry out the environmental enhancement and mitigation
project.
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28NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Culver City, DOES
HEREBY RESOLVE as follows:
1. The filing of an application for the Environmental Enhancement and
Mitigation Program is hereby approved.
2. The City of Culver City hereby certifies that it will make adequate
provisions for operation and maintenance of the project.
3. The City of Culver City hereby appoints the Public Works
Director/City Engineer as agent of the City of Culver City to conduct all negotiations,
execute and submit all documents including, but not limited to, applications,
agreements, amendments, payment requests and any other documents which may be
necessary for the completion of the aforementioned project.
APPROVED and ADOPTED this
day of , 2009.
ANDREW WEISSMAN, MAYOR
City of Culver City, California
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
MARTIN COLE, City Clerk
A09-00394
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CAROL A. SCHWAB, City Attorney
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