Item No. 4.
TO:HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM:OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
BY:MATTHEW BAUMGARDNER, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS/CITY ENGINEER DATE:OCTOBER 28, 2025
SUBJECT:
APPROVAL OF PURCHASE AND ACQUISITION OF PERMANENT ROAD AND TEMPORARY CONSTRUCTION EASEMENTS FOR PROPERTY LOCATED AT 10000
LAKEWOOD BOULEVARD
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The City Council will consider approving the agreement to purchase real property consisting of permanent road and temporary construction easements from the owner of the property located at 10000 Lakewood Boulevard to facilitate construction for the Lakewood Boulevard at Florence Avenue Intersection Improvement Project. The acquisition of the permanent road and temporary construction easements will be necessary in order to widen Lakewood Boulevard and Florence Avenue to allow for the construction of additional turn lanes at the intersection as well as to allow the City’s contractor to occupy a portion of said property to complete the work on the project located in this area.
RECOMMENDATION
That the City Council:
Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the agreement to purchase real property from Pacific Springs, LLC, California limited liability company, by merger to Downey Investment Properties, a General Partnership, including any non-substantive extensions and amendments.
BACKGROUND
The Florence Avenue at Lakewood Boulevard intersection is a junction of two major arterial streets within the northeastern quadrant of the City. This intersection is included as one of several study intersections in the I-605 Corridor Hot Spots Congestion Study and one of four study intersections within the City of Downey. This intersection currently accommodates an average daily traffic volume of approximately 72,000 vehicles per day (VPD) with existing Levels-of-Service (LOS) of “E” and “F” during AM and PM peak hours, respectively. The traffic volume at this location is expected to increase by 26% to approximately 91,000 VPD by year 2035. As such, it is expected that the LOS during AM and PM peak hours will remain at levels “E” and “F”, respectively, without improvements to the intersection.
An analysis was subsequently completed through the I-605 Corridor Congestion Hot Spots Study, which identified specific capacity improvements needed to accommodate the projected traffic volume growth and maintain an acceptable LOS of “D” or better during peak hours, at this intersection. The improvements include additional left- turn lanes in the southbound and northbound directions on Lakewood Boulevard as well as an exclusive right turn lane in the westbound direction on Florence Avenue. Said capacity improvements will require widening of the intersection approaches and departures along Florence Avenue and Lakewood Boulevard which, in turn, will require the acquisition of portions of adjacent private properties to provide the additional street width needed to construct the additional turn lanes and temporary construction easements to allow the contractor to occupy private property as necessary in order to complete incidental on-site improvements.
One of the impacted properties is the Carelon Health parcel located at 10000 Lakewood Boulevard. The location of this property along with the portion of this property which will be impacted by the project is shown in Attachment A.
ANALYSIS
A property appraisal has been completed for the acquisition of the permanent road and temporary construction easements at 10000 Lakewood Boulevard. Based on the appraisal, a just compensation amount of $120,500 has been determined for said permanent road and temporary construction easements. An offer in the amount of $120,500 was submitted to the property owner along with the purchase agreement. The owner has accepted the offer and has signed the agreement.
The approval of the purchase agreement (Attachment B) will be necessary in order to move the property acquisition process forward. Staff recommends approval of the agreement. Following execution of the agreement, the acquisition of the permanent road and temporary construction easements will go through escrow with the City taking possession of the portion of the property approximately 30 days thereafter.
Construction of the Florence Avenue at Lakewood Boulevard Intersection Improvement Project is expected to commence in September 2026 and be completed by June 2027. A Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) was completed for this project in October 2020 and adopted by the City Council on November 10, 2020. Per the adopted MND, the acquisition of the aforementioned permanent road and temporary construction easements will have a less than significant impact with mitigation measures incorporated.
CITY COUNCIL PRIORITIES
Quality of Life, Safety & Infrastructure
FISCAL IMPACT
Approval of the recommended action will result in an expenditure of $120,500 from the Grant Fund in Account No. 26-1-6746 as previously approved in the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 Capital Improvement Program and as shown in the following table:
Account No.Balance/Expenditure Amount
Metro Measure R I-605
Congestion Hot Spots
Feasibility Study Grant
(26-1-6746)
Beginning FY 25-26 balance $4,008,303
Permanent Roadway/TCE
acquisition - 10000 Lakewood
Boulevard expenditure
$120,500
Other FY 2025-26 project-related
expenditures $3,719
Ending balance $3,884,084
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment A: 10000 Lakewood Boulevard Location Map
Attachment B: Agreement to Purchase Real Property
Attachments
Att A - 10000 Lakewood Blvd. Location Map.pdf
Att B_Pac Springs agreement_signed.pdf
10000 Lakewood Blvd.
(APN 6390-010-046)