The City of Sacramento released a preliminary environmental impact report for a new version of the long-discussed redevelopment of its downtown rail yards. The EIR describes a dense neighborhood of up to 21,000 residents on the 244-acre site, with residential structures ranging from five stories to 15. Included in the plan is a Kaiser Permanente medical campus, a 25,000-seat soccer stadium, a 1,100 room hotel, and 3.9 million square feet of office space. The plan is designed to discourage the use of cars, by having offices and light-rail stations nearby. The 3,700-page EIR identified expected traffic problems, need for new schools, appropriateness of proposed 450-foot riverfront residential towers, noise and light pollution, as well as the potential use of the transit. Much of the issues are related to the stadium and potential for noise and light pollution and increased traffic before sold-out events. Additionally, the site already has soil and groundwater pollution that must continue to be filtered and cleaned. Construction is estimated to begin in 2018 and will take several decades.
L.A. Metro Revises $120 Billion Expenditure Plan
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority released a revised expenditure plan, to be approved by a November ballot measure, that would fund an estimated $120 billion of transit and highway projects, road improvements and pedestrian and bike paths. Titled the Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan, the plan would impose permanent countywide sales tax, augmenting and extending one that was approved by voters in 2008. The Metro board will decide whether to put the plan on the November ballot at its meeting this month. A previous version of the plan had called for a half-cent sales tax that would expire in 40 years. In the revision, the agency is recommending a “no sunset” measure that would raise billions in perpetuity. This means nine projects could be accelerated for a combined 42 years earlier than previously expected and saving approximately $9.4 billion. In addition to funding major projects, the plan would return 20 percent to 88 cities across the county to fix roads, repair potholes and add bicycle and pedestrian paths. A recent survey showed 72 percent of residents were in favor of a permanent tax for sustainable transportation. The new plan would cost the average county resident about $25 more a year.
Sacramento Measure B Transportation Tax Moves Forward
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors submitted Measure B for the November ballot asking voters to raise sales tax for transportation improvements. The county tax would increase a half-cent for thirty years. Seventy percent of the estimated $3.6 billion revenue would go to road projects with a “Fix It First” theme in the first five years, this includes repaving streets and filling potholes. Thirty percent would go to Sacramento Regional Transit (SRT), which operates buses and light-rail trains in the area. SRT is required to spent 75 percent of its allocation in the first five years on replacing old buses, doing maintenance and improving security, rather than expanding routes. If the sales tax went into effect, Sacramento County’s rate would become 8.25 percent and City of Sacramento 8.75 percent in April. Since the reduction in gas tax, many counties across the state are considering similar measures.
Major Redevelopment Approved for Los Angeles Airport Property
The Los Angeles City Council approved a major redevelopment for the northern edge of Los Angeles International Airport. The 340 acre- LAX Northside Plan Update calls for 175,000 square feet of community and civic uses and 50 acres of recreation and open space to be developed adjacent to the airport on land owned by Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), which is a city agency. The plan is a comprehensive update of a denser land-use plan initially conceived in the 1980s. The land was acquired in the 1970s and 1980s as a buffer between the airport and surrounding residential communities. The project is envisioned as a center of employment, retail, restaurant, office, hotel, research and development, education, civic, airport support, recreation, and airport-buffer uses that support the needs of communities surrounding LAX. The plan envisions 175,000 square feet of community amenities like open space, recreation facilities, restaurants, retail space, and a campus-like office space. LAWA will oversee the implementation of the plan.
Bus Rapid Transit Line to Break Ground in Fresno
After years of discussion, Fresno will finally begin construction on two new bus rapid transit lines to provide faster connections from the north and east ends of the city with downtown. The system, operating on the city’s busy Blackstone and Kings Canyon/Ventura corridors, should be operational in November 2017 and will cost around $30 million. Most of the money comes from U.S. Department of Transportation grants that include new buses, reinforced bus parking areas and new shelters, modifications to traffic signals and vending machines to buy tickets. It is estimated that improvements could cut travel times in half. The Fresno system provides nearly 14 million rides annually, with 1.6 million annual passengers on the two corridors that will be upgraded to BRT. Fares will increase 25 cents next year to help pay for the new and improved system.
Del Mar Seeks Dramatic Cuts to Energy Use
The City of Del Mar became the second city in San Diego County to declare its goal of switching to all-renewable energy by 2035. The Climate Action Plan, approved last week, follows many of the same measures as San Diego’s in reducing city’s carbon emissions. The goal is 50 percent reduction by 2020 and 100 percent by 2035. The plan seeks to boost the number of people who commute by bike or on foot, and triple the amount of tree cover to assist in cooling and capturing carbon. Energy use accounts for 36 percent of the city’s baseline greenhouse gas emission levels and adding solar arrays and upgrading buildings to conserve energy is a major step in cutting energy. Transportation accounts for 17 percent of GHG emissions and is another focus of the Climate Action Plan. A rise in sea level would disintegrate the bluffs surrounding the small, coastal city and its streets and structures would be swamped with severe flooding. However, unlike San Diego, Del Mar’s targets aren’t legally mandated and therefore a guide and not a contract.
Casino Hit with Lawsuit over Water Use
Bertsch-Ocean View Community Services District in Del Norte County is suing the proposed new casino by Elk Valley Rancheria, Del Norte LAFCO, and Crescent City for not consulting with them before decided to use their water and tie into the city’s sewer treatment system via Bertsch Tract water lines. It is estimated the casino would use 60,000 gallons of water a day. The Bertsch-Ocean Community wants the decision reversed and claims the correct documentation for the proposal was not received by the city. According to the lawsuit, an EIR or Negative Declaration was not completed which means “Del Norte LAFCO abused its discretion, acted arbitrarily and capriciously.” Adding another building to existing waterlines and pumps will result in wear and tear that the current homeowners will have to pay for.
Updates & Quick Hits
OCTA unanimously approved $26.7 million in funding for 17 community transit circulators, such as shuttles or bus trolleys, for all the local agencies that applied. Funding went to Dana Point’s Pacific Coast Highway Trolley, Lake Forest’s shuttle service and San Clemente’s rideshare proposal to name a few.
Smart Growth America released a report on foot traffic and Walkable urban places (WalkUPs). The report found that WalkUPs in 30 of the largest cities across the country now have greater market shares do car-oriented suburbs. The San Francisco Bay Area ranked sixth out of the 30; Los Angeles was 17th and Sacramento and San Diego came in towards the bottom, at 23rd and 24th.
San Jose city officials have agreed to spend more than $100 million over the next decade to reduce tons of trash that flows into creeks and into the San Francisco Bay, repair miles of leaking underground sewage pipes and clean stormwater contaminated with harmful bacteria. This result comes after a lawsuit brought on by Baykeeper, a conservation group based in Oakland, claiming San Jose violated the Clean Water Act.
U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff introduced a federal bill to create the Rim of the Valley Corridor in the Los Angeles area. The bill would add 193,000 acres of wild lands along the Los Angeles River to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The federal bill would double the size of the recreation area and increase the amount of trails, roads and facilities. Sen. Barbara Boxer is expected to introduce companion legislation in the Senate.
A deal between China Railway International and a U.S. company to build XpressWest, a high-speed rail from Victorville to Las Vegas has been called off. CRI blames difficulty with federal regulatory requirements: that high-speed trains must be manufactured in the U.S. The Chinese company originally stated it would provide $100 million for the 230-mile route. (See prior CP&DR coverage.)
Three counties in the Bay Area — Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco --will be asked to vote on a tax to come up with $3.5 billion to repair and rebuild BART commuter rail. The measure would increase property tax bills between $35-$55 per parcel per year for 30 years. However, this measure will not pay to extend BART nor cover the cost of adding stations to the existing system, instead it will replace tracks and ties, install new electrical cables and tunnels and control rooms.
