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HomeMy WebLinkAbout19- Public Works CITY OF SAN BERN& 31NO - REQUEST FC. COUNCIL ACTION File No 14.40 ROGER G. HARDGRAVE Authorization to Proceed - Estab- From: Subject: lishment of an Assessment District =ubiic Works/En ineerin for Construction of Sterling Dept: - g g Avenue, from Foothill Drive to Date: 12-18-92 Daley Canyon Road Synopsis of Previous Council action: None. Recommended motion: That the City Clerk and City Engineer be directed to proceed with the establishment of an assessment district for construction of Sterling Avenue, from Foothill Drive to Daley Canyon Road. cc: Shauna Clark Tim Steinhaus Bernie Kersey Al Boughey Signa 6e Contact person: Roger G. Hardgrave Phone: 5025 Supporting data attached:_Staff Report Ward: 4 FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: N/A Source: (Acct. No.) (Acct. Description) Finance: Council Notes: �I gnu Vi/ /f3 . 75-0262 Agenda Item Nc,.-/-?- f CITY OF SAN BERNAIINO - REQUEST FOL COUNCIL ACTION STAFF REPORT Tentative Tract No. 11857 was conditioned to construct Sterling Avenue, from Foothill Drive to Daley Canyon Road. Street improvement plans were accordingly prepared and the right- of-way dedicated. The City of San Bernardino has plans to install a water transmission line within this section of Sterling Avenue. The East Valley Water District is in the process of constructing a water storage tank, and will also be installing a water trans- mission line within the Sterling Avenue right-of-way. Sterling Avenue will provide access to the water storage tank. The owners of the parcel west of Sterling Avenue (The Tahiti Group) , and northwest of the intersection of Sterling Avenue and Daley Canyon Road (Warner and Aaron Hodgdon) are in favor of having this main entrance to their developments con- structed at this time. The City Water Department is the owner of the parcel to the east of Sterling Avenue. Action has been taken bj7 the Board of Water Commissioners to indicate their support of construction of this street. An understanding has been reached between the three property owners to proceed immediately with the construction of Sterling Avenue. It is proposed that the construction costs be financed with a loan from EDA, and the completed street improve- ments acquired by the assessment. Each of the three property owners would be assessed for 1/3 of the total costs, less any participation by the East Valley Water District. Permits will need to be obtained from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and California Department of Fish and Game. It is planned to acquire the existing house on the north side of Foothill Drive, west of the projected alignment of Sterling Avenue, in order to provide an attractive entrance into these three properties. In addition, curb and gutter will be installed on the southeast corner of Sterling Avenue and Foothill Drive, to improve the appearance of this intersection. The preliminary estimated cost for the construction of Sterling Avenue is $500,000. We recommend that authorization be granted to proceed with this assessment district. 12-18-92 0264 C I T Y O F S A N B E R N A R D I N O INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: SHAUNA CLARK, City Administrator FROM: ROGER G. HARDGRAVE, Director of Public Works/ City Engineer SUBJECT: Authorization to Proceed -- Establishment of Assessment District for Construction of Sterling Avenue DATE: December 22 , 1992 COPIES: File No. 14 . 40; Reading File -------------.------------------------------------------- At the Council meeting of 12-21-92, this item was continued to 1-11-93. An application for Tentative Tract No. 11857 was submitted in about 1980 . This tract was conditioned to construct Sterling Avenue, from Foothill Drive to Daley Canyon Road. An environ- mental impact report was prepared for this tract, including the construction of Sterling Avenue, and certified by the Mayor and Council. The final map for Tract No. 11857 was recorded in 1986 , which dedicated the right-of-way for Sterling Avenue. A new application was submitted in about 1989 , designated as Tentative Tract No. 14112, for a different development concept. We recommended that the same condition for construction of Sterling Avenue be imposed on this new tract map. However, we were advised by the case planner that Sterling Avenue could not be extended, due to "environmental concerns. " As a result, the approved tentative tract map shows Sterling Avenue to be extended north of Foothill Drive only as far as required to provide access to the tract, known as Sterling Heights. When we were recently afforded the opportunity to review the environmental impact report, we discovered that the findings did not support the case planner' s position that Sterling Avenue could not be constructed due to "environmental concerns. " Copies of pertinent streets from the final EIR and Appendices are attached for your reference. Q SHAUNA CLARK Contruction: Sterling Avenue December 22 , 1992 Page - 2 - It should be noted that the 15 California Sycamores were not considered to comprise a riparian woodland and were burned in the Panorama Fire. Also, that these Sycamores are not located within the "blue line" stream area. The developer of Sterling Heights, Orchard Heights (to the north) and Little Sand Canyon (City Water Department) are all in agreement that Sterling Avenue should be built and have verbally agreed to be included in an assessment district. The EIR for Sterling Heights will need to be revised to reflect the construction of Sterling Avenue. This can be accomplished by filing an addendum, or an amendment. Filing an addendum is a simple process, but an amendment requires about the same time to process as an EIR (6 -9 months) . We feel that an addendum would be sufficient. The Department of Planning and Building Services intends to engage an Environ- mental Consultant to review this case and make a recommenda- tion. Preliminary discussions with this consultant indicate that an addendum would be sufficient. The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has a Nationwide Permit, for areas under 1 acre in a "blue line" stream. The construction of Sterling Avenue will impact less than 1 acre of "blue line" stream, which means that a permit should be issued as a routine item. This information is being provided for distribution to the Common Council, prior to the next meeting. Please advise if you would like any further information or if you ve any quest ' GER G. HARDGRAVE Director of Public Works/City Engineer RGH:rs Attach ® � Iy i • DANIEL E. LUNGREN State of California Attorney General DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 1515 K STREET,SUITE 511 P.O.Box 944255 SACRAMENTO,CA 94244-2550 (916)445-9555 FACSIMILE:( 916 ) 324-5567 ( 916 ) 324-5347 December 30, 1992 Henry Empeno, Jr. Deputy City Attorney City of San Bernardino City Attorney' s Office 300 North D Street San Bernardino, California 92418 RE: Cook Creek/Sterling Heights Litigation Dear Mr. Empeno: In a letter dated December 22, 1992, you requested clarification regarding the intent of the State of California in pursuing the Cook Creek/Sterling Heights litigation. Because your request relates to an on-going investigation, it is not possible to give you a simple response of when or whether a lawsuit will be filed in this matter. As you know, the Attorney General' s office, at the request of the California Department of Fish and Game, has been actively investigating numerous alleged violations of law arising from grading activity in and near Cook Creek and in and near an intermittent stream adjacent to the proposed Sterling Heights subdivision. This investigation, which is not complete, involves numerous complex issues of law and fact. For that reason, it is not possible to develop a firm schedule for the filing of a lawsuit by the State of California. Thus, the failure to file a suit to date does not mean that no such suit will be filed in the future. Further, the California Department of Fish and Game has substantial concerns regarding the adverse environmental effects of past and future grading activity in and near Cook Creek and the Sterling Heights stream. Any such grading activity must comply with the permitting provisions of Fish and Game Code section 1603 . We also assume that future grading activity would not be authorized without a full environmental review as required by the California Environmental Quality Act. i 0 Henry Empeno, Jr. December 30 , 1992 Page 2 I trust that this letter responds as fully as possible to your request. If you have any additional questions on behalf of the San Bernardino Common Council regarding this matter, please let me know. Sincerely, DANIEL E. LUNGREN Attorney General MARK J. URBAN Deputy Attorney General MJU:bjr p C I T Y OF S A N B E R N A R D I N O INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: Mayor and Common Council FROM: Henry Empeno Jr. , Deputy City Attorney DATE: January 8, 1993 RE: Authorization to Proceed - Establishment of Assessment District for Construction of Sterling Avenue Agenda Item #19, January 11, 1993 Council Meeting This memorandum is submitted to correct certain important omissions and inaccuracies existing in Public Works Director Roger G. Hardgrave ' s memo to City Administrator Shauna Clark dated December 22-, 1992 which is included in the Council ' s back-up documents to the above-referenced agenda item. In his memo, Mr. Hardgrave stated: "The EIR for Sterling Heights will need to be revised to reflect the construction of Sterling Avenue. This can be accomplished by filing an addendum, or an amendment. " In his memo, Mr. Hardgrave failed to mention that the Tentative Map for Tentative Tract No. 14112, Sterling Heights, (which his Department reviewed along with the EIR prior to City approval on November 7, 1990 ) specifically mapped out the previous Sterling Avenue right-of-way and designated that portion of Sterling Avenue to be vacated. Thus the Tentative Map itself will need to be revised if this alignment of Sterling Avenue is to be constructed. Likewise, the City has approved Tentative Tract Conditions of Approval, Standard Requirements, and a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, all of which will need to be revised if this alignment of Sterling Avenue is to be constructed. In particular, the Tentative Tract ' s requirements for protecting and preserving the California sycamores, enhancing the existing riparian resources at the sycamores site, installing fencing for protection of the sycamores, prohibiting grading in the designated open spaces, and in particular, prohibiting all development or grading within 50 feet of the sycamores; all of these requirements will need to be revised if this alignment of Sterling Avenue is to be constructed. HE:js[Item#19.Memj I Mr. Hardgrave ' s statement that the Sterling Heights EIR revision can be accomplished by filing an addendum or an amendment to the EIR is inaccurate. The California Environmental Quality Act ( CEQA) does not recognize an "amendment" to an EIR. In this instance, the City' s options are a Subsequent EIR, a Supplement to an EIR, or an Addendum to an EIR, depending upon the true factual circumstances (Public Resources Code Section 21166 and Title 14 California Code of Regulations Sections 15162, 15163 and 15164 ) . Our office is in the process of researching and drafting a legal opinion regarding these three options. Mr. Hardgrave ' s statement that "We feel that an addendum would be sufficient. " , is a premature conclusion without adequate analysis. The City' s Environmental Consultant, Tom Dodson, as of this date has not completed his research or analysis nor has he consulted with all of the affected public agencies, in particular the California Department of Fish & Game. In addition, the Director of Public Works has no legal authority to determine that an addendum to an EIR is sufficient because City Resolution 90-217, the City' s "CEQA Guidelines" , at Exhibit A, Section IV (C) , gives that authority to the Environmental Review Committee (ERC) , subject to further review and action by the Planning Commission and subsequent appeal to the Council . The ERC is scheduled to hear this matter on February 11, 1993. Finally, Mr. Hardgrave describes the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers "Nationwide Permit" requirements but he omitted a discussion of the City' s need to comply with Fish and Game Code Section 1603 et seq. , regarding Streambed Alteration Permits ( although he does mention the need to obtain permits from the California Department of Fish and Game in the Staff Report to this agenda item) . AA7Z;� HENRY EMPENO, JR. , Deputy City Attorney cc: James F. Penman, City Attorney Shauna Clark, City Administrator Roger G. Hardgrave, Director of Public Works Al Boughey, Director of Planning and Building Services HE:js[Item#19.Mem]