TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Bruce Moe, City Manager
FROM:
Erick Lee, Public Work Director
Katherine Doherty, City Engineer
Jeff Fijalka, Senior Civil Engineer
SUBJECT:Title
Consideration of a Resolution Approving a Use and Maintenance Agreement with Los Angeles County for the 28th Street Stormwater Infiltration Project and Determination Pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) of the State California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines that This Activity is Not Subject to CEQA (Public Works Director Lee).
ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 23-0103
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council adopt Resolution No. 23-0103:
1) Approving a Use and Maintenance Agreement with the County of Los Angeles authorizing the City to use the County-owned property at the 26th Street Parking Facility for the construction of a stormwater infiltration system; and,
2) Authorizing the City Manager to execute the Agreement and any subsequent administrative amendments on behalf of the City, subject to review and approval of the City Attorney; and,
3) Authorizing the Public Works Director to carry out City maintenance responsibilities as identified within the Agreement.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There are no direct costs associated with entering into the Use and Maintenance Agreement (Agreement) with the County. However, after the 28th Street Stormwater Infiltration Project (Project) is constructed and the infiltration system is operational, the Agreement stipulates that the City will be required to maintain the system according to a project-specific Operations and Maintenance Manual. The City will be responsible for the cost of all maintenance activities.
BACKGROUND:
The cities of Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Redondo Beach, Torrance, and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District (LACFCD) jointly developed a Watershed Management Program (the Beach Cities WMP) as part of compliance with the 2012 Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board Storm Water Permit. The Beach Cities WMP identifies capital improvement projects that would minimize wet weather discharges and eliminate dry weather discharges into Santa Monica Bay, with the goal of reducing pollutants entering the Bay and meeting the water quality-based effluent (outflow) limitations. The Project is identified within the Beach Cities WMP as the highest priority project to significantly reduce bacterial, trash, and debris discharges into South Santa Monica Bay.
The Project will intercept an existing LA County storm drain below 28th Street at Manhattan Avenue and will divert storm flows to an underground pump station below Manhattan Avenue. Stormwater will be pumped into a trash removal device and will then route through a series of sedimentation chambers before being distributed to a matrix of drywells located in and around the County-owned 26th Street Parking Facility located at 115 26th Street. As much as 70 acre-feet of runoff may be captured during a single storm event.
Current estimates indicate that the Project will cost $26 million to design and construct. The Project is being funding entirely by grants, with funding secured from the Safe, Clean Water Program (SCWP) Measure W, the State Water Resources Control Board Proposition 1 Stormwater Grant Program, and the California Natural Resources Agency Proposition 68 Urban Flood Reduction Program.
DISCUSSION:
The County owns the 26th Street Parking Facility. However, the City is responsible for the operation and maintenance of the parking facility according to the terms of an Operations and Maintenance Agreement (O&M Agreement) between the City and the County, which was first executed in 1987 and later amended with updated terms for revenue sharing. In order to construct portions of the Project at this facility, the County has requested that the City enter into a new stand-alone Use and Maintenance Agreement. The existing O&M Agreement, which covers multiple County parking lots, will remain in effect and unaltered.
The proposed Agreement authorizes the City to install stormwater infiltration features at the 26th Street Parking Facility, subject to the issuance of all applicable City, County, and State approvals for the Project. Additionally, the Agreement includes conditions for the operation and maintenance of the system over its 50-year lifespan.
Prior to drafting the Agreement, County staff requested that the California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) review the deed restrictions that were set in place when the State transferred ownership of the land to the County in 1995. The Acquisition and Real Property Division of the Parks and Recreation Department confirmed in a letter dated April 27, 2023 that construction of the Project as proposed would not violate any of the deed restrictions.
County staff presented the Agreement to the County Beach Commission in July 2023, and the Commission recommended it for approval by the County Board of Supervisors (Board). County staff is planning to present the Agreement to the Board in September 2023, subject to it first being approved by the Manhattan Beach City Council.
PUBLIC OUTREACH:
Public outreach efforts were conducted during the fall of 2020, and participants included residents of Manhattan Beach (advertised in The Beach Reporter), the Surfrider Foundation, the Bay Foundation, Heal the Bay, Supervisor Hahn’s Office, and the City’s Sustainability Task Force. All entities indicated their support for the project.
Additional public outreach meetings will be scheduled as the project design advances to allow stakeholders the opportunity to learn about the project, view the design plans, and provide comments related to the proposed construction.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The City has reviewed the proposed Use and Maintenance Agreement for compliance with the CEQA and has determined that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment; therefore, pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (the “common sense” exemption) of the State CEQA Guidelines, the agreement is exempt from CEQA. The Use and Maintenance Agreement does not serve as a project approval for the proposed stormwater infiltration project; rather, it authorizes to City to pursue the required approvals for the project.
Additional environmental review will be required, as applicable, prior to the approval of any future project-specific development entitlements, including, but not limited to, a Coastal Development Permit. Accordingly, an Initial Study was prepared for the future Stormwater Infiltration project, and a Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS-MND) is underway.
LEGAL REVIEW:
The City Attorney has reviewed this report and determined that no additional legal analysis is necessary.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Resolution No. 23-0103
2. Agreement - Los Angeles County
3. Letter from State Parks to LA County Beaches and Harbors
4. Location Map