TO:
Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THROUGH:
Mark Danaj, City Manager
FROM:
Tony Olmos, Public Works Director
SUBJECT:Title
Site Assessment Findings for Fire Station No.2 (Public Works Director Olmos).
REVIEW AND PROVIDE DIRECTION
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Recommended Action
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that City Council review Site Assessment for Fire Station No.2 as prepared by Citygate Associates, LLC and direct staff to continue evaluating expanding the existing Fire Station No.2 site.
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FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
There is no fiscal impact associated with the review of the site assessment findings. There may be future fiscal impacts dependent on City Council direction regarding next steps.
BACKGROUND:
The current facility was built in 1954 and was constructed to meet codes and standards in effect at the time. However, since that time, many codes and standards have changed and/or become more stringent. Specifically, the facility does not meet current seismic standards and also does not meet all standards of an essential facility, including gender accommodations. The existing size of the facility cannot accommodate the size of modern apparatus and does not have sufficient parking for firefighter’s private vehicles when fully-staffed. Therefore, the existing fire station should be either seismically retrofitted and rehabilitated to meet as many of essential facility standards as possible or should be reconstructed. To accommodate some of these challenges it would most likely require a two-story facility.
As part of the previously approved Capital Improvement Program, the City Council approved Fire Station No.2 - Design Development and Interim Improvement Project in the amount of $430,000. As approved, this project would lead to reconstruction and not rehabilitation of the fire station.
Design Development (DD) would essentially develop the preliminary design for a new fire station. The design would include enough detail needed to generate an accurate cost estimate that would allow the City Council to make decisions regarding next steps. Before moving forward with DD, the City Council also directed staff to prepare a Site Assessment to evaluate other possible locations that may be better sites for the new fire station. For the Site Assessment, staff solicited the services of Citygate Associates, LLC. Citygate has a tremendous amount of experience in assessing ideal locations for emergency facilities such as fire stations.
Finally, since the construction of a new fire station is not yet funded and can take some time to come to fruition, the Fire Department requested for “interim improvements” to the existing living space. These improvements were included in the scope-of-work for this CIP project and Public Works has completed the improvements. Improvements included modification to the sleeping quarters and creation of additional storage space to improve functional.
DISCUSSION:
As a first step in the Site Assessment, Mr. Stewart Gary from Citygate Associates, Inc. interviewed City staff to gather data regarding potential available alternate sites. As a result, four total locations were evaluated including the current location. The following is a brief overview of the feasibility for constructing a fire station at each site along with some challenges and options. For discussion purposes, we assume that a minimum of 0.50 acres is necessary to accommodate a state-of-the-art fire station.
1. Current Location (Most Recommended Site)
Fire Station No.2 is currently located at 1400 Manhattan Beach Boulevard on the southeast corner of Manhattan Beach Boulevard and Rowell Avenue intersection. The existing lot is approximately 0.37 acre in size and has ingress and egress from Manhattan Beach Boulevard.
Response Area: This location has overlap into Fire Station No.1’s first-in area. This is acceptable since Engine 22 from Fire Station No.2 has a moderate number of calls west of Sepulveda Boulevard to back up Fire Station No.1.
Challenges: The main challenge with this site is its size. This not only limits the number of personnel assigned, but the type and number of fire apparatus. The lot also makes it difficult to create a layout for fire vehicles to drive through rather than back into the apparatus parking room. As it is today, the structure site location is not large enough to accommodate required elements as mentioned. Reconfiguring the site would be difficult and would not result in any additional useable space.
Option: This site may accommodate all required elements if it was expanded. A possible option would be sell one equivalent lot size along the easterly portion of the property (50’X107’) and acquire 2 lots to the immediate south (50’X130’ each). This will result in one large 100’ wide by 237’ deep rectangular lot, with a size of 0.54 acre.
2. 1560 Manhattan Beach Boulevard
The property located at this site is currently the City’s Creative Arts Center. The site is located mid-block on Manhattan Beach Boulevard between Peck Avenue and Redondo Avenue. The existing lot is approximately 1.0 acre in size and has ingress and egress from 11th Street and Manhattan Beach Boulevard.
Response Area: This location allows for better coverage in Fire Station No.2 first-in area since it is more centrally located between Aviation Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard. Additionally, since there are no residential properties on the north side or east side of the property, there may be less concerns over large vehicles travelling east/west on Manhattan Beach Boulevard.
Challenges: The main challenge with this site is community acceptance of a new fire station where one never existed. In addition, it will be difficult to accommodate a drive through design since fire apparatus would need to travel down 11th Street (residential street) to access the rear of the fire station from 11th Street.
Option: If this concept were to move forward, a smaller Creative Arts Center could be constructed at the existing Fire Station No.2 site, which is less than half the size. Similar expansion of the existing Fire Station No.2 site could be considered to accommodate a larger Creative Arts Center. Another option may also include building a combined-use center on the site with Fire and Parks Department.
3. 1600 Manhattan Beach Boulevard
The property located at this site is currently occupied by the Manhattan Heights Community Center. The site is located on Manhattan Beach Boulevard between Peck Avenue and Redondo Avenue and immediately adjacent the Creative Arts Center. The existing lot is approximately 0.70 acres in size and has pedestrian ingress and egress from Manhattan Beach Boulevard, but no vehicular access.
Response Area: This location has the same advantages as the Creative Arts Center.
Challenges: The main challenge with this site is community acceptance of a new fire station where one never existed. As with the Creative Arts Center site, this location could have new ingress and egress points, which may also be points of contention.
Option: If this concept is to move forward, a smaller Manhattan Heights Community Center could be constructed at the existing Fire Station No.2 site, which is smaller in size. Similar expansion of the existing Fire Station No.2 could be considered to accommodate a larger community center.
4. 1340 11th Street (Least Recommended Site)
The property located at this site is currently a religious land use (Trinity Evangelical). The site is located on the southwest corner of 11th Street and Rowell Avenue. The existing lot is approximately 1.6 acres in size and has vehicular access from 11th Street.
Response Area: This location is surrounded by residential streets on all four sides. This could lead to delays due to school traffic and noise reduction requests neighbors for vehicles responding to emergency calls.
Challenges: The main challenge with this site is community acceptance of a new fire station where one never existed. New ingress and egress points may also be points of contention along with potential delays due to school traffic and noise reduction requests from residents.
Option: This site is too large for a new fire station. For the fire station, only the northeasterly portion of the property would be required at approximately 200’ width by 145’ depth, which is approximately 0.67 acres.
POLICY ALTERNATIVES:
Alternative No.1
City Council to choose a preferred location for a new fire station.
Pros:
City staff can proceed with the more detailed Feasibility Study for Fire Station No.2 that was included as part of the scope-of-work for potential facility replacement of City Hall/Parking Structure, Municipal Pool, and Fire Station No.2.
Cons:
N/A
Alternative No.2
City Council to not choose a preferred location for a new fire station.
Pros:
Funds for DD and Feasibility Study for a new Fire Station No.2 will not be spent.
Cons:
Project for developing the design for a new fire station would be placed on-hold since direction regarding a potential site is needed.
ENVINRONMENTAL REVIEW:
An environmental review will be conducted during the final design phase for the project.
Attachments:
1. Site Assessment Report
2. 1400 Manhattan Beach Boulevard (Current Site)
3. 1560 Manhattan Beach Boulevard (Creative Arts Center)
4. 1600 Manhattan Beach Boulevard (Manhattan Heights Center)
5. 1340 11th Street (Trinity Evangelical)