Fremont City Council Meeting: 02/21/23 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: Public Works
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Grants
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 4795) DOC ID: 4795
Updated: 2/16/2023 12:30 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 1 GRANT FOR CENTERVILLE COMPLETE STREETS PROJECT - Authorize the City Manager to Participate in a Grant Application and to Enter Into an Agreement with Resources for Community Development to Receive Funding for the Centerville Complete Streets Project Under the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Grant; Appropriate Funds; and Make Finding of CEQA Exemption.
Contact Persons:
Name: Jeanne Suyeishi Hans Larsen
Title: Senior Civil Engineer Public Works Director
Div/Dept: Public Works Public Works
Phone: 510-494-4728 510-494-4722
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: The purpose of this report is to facilitate submittal of a grant application by Resources for Community Development (RCD) as the lead applicant for grant funding with the State of California Strategic Growth Council and Department of Housing and Community Development, for their Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC). The City will partner with RCD on the grant application through an Implementation and Mutual Indemnity Agreement. If awarded, the AHSC grant would fund eligible transportation infrastructure capital costs on Fremont Boulevard in the Centerville District.
BACKGROUND: The Centerville Complete Street project is located along Fremont Boulevard in the area between Alder Avenue and Eggers Drive. The scope of the project was approved by the City Council on February 8, 2022, following an extensive community engagement process which began in December 2019. The project has received a grant of Federal funding by the Alameda County Transportation Commission in the amount of $7.7 million. The weblink below provides information on the project scope, history, and status.
Due to inflationary increases in construction cost, the project has a shortfall in construction funding. As a result, staff is pursuing this additional grant funding to address the funding shortfall.
The AHSC Program grant funds land-use, housing, transportation, and land preservation projects to support infill and compact development that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The program has funded six rounds of grant applications and the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for Round 7, Fiscal Year 2022-23, was released on January 30, 2023.
The AHSC Program lists the following grant eligible capital costs:
• Affordable Housing Development (AHD)
• Housing-Related Infrastructure (HRI)
• Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure (STI)
o New and improved bikeways
o New and improved pedestrian walkways and crosswalks, including signals o Traffic calming measure/complete streets
Council Staff Report (ID # 4795) Meeting of February 21, 2023 Updated: 2/16/2023 12:30 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 2 o BRT Infrastructure: at-grade boarding, dedicated lanes, signal priority systems
o Purchase of new transit vehicles to expand/increase transit services o Transit Operations for service expansion
• Transportation-Related Amenities (TRA)
o Streetscape improvements such as lighting, signage or other amenities for pedestrians/cyclists
o Street furniture including bus shelters
o Bike infrastructure: repair kiosks, parking
o Urban greening
o Station/stop improvements
RCD is developing a 128-unit affordable housing project at 3900 Thornton Avenue. The housing related eligible costs (AHD and HRI) would be tied to the affordable housing project. The AHSC grant requires that eligible transportation costs (STI and TRA) are t ied to projects located within a 1-mile radius of the affordable housing development. Partnering with the City of Fremont would allow RCD to capture STI and TRA points within the grant scoring rubric, making RCD’s application more competitive. Various elements from the Centerville Complete Streets Project provide STI eligible capital costs in the form of new and improved bikeways, new and improved pedestrian walkways and crosswalks, including traffic signals, and other traffic calming and complete street measures.
The AHSC grant application will also include TRA eligible infrastructure improvements that would be implemented at the Centerville Train Depot to revitalize the plaza area and improve the interface with the public right of way. Additionally, RCD is partnering with the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, the operators of the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) train service, on the AHSC grant application for the purchase of new transit vehicles to expand/increase transit service.
DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS: The timeline for the AHSC grant is as follows:
• January 30, 2023 – Notice of Funding Availability is released • April 4, 2023 – Grant applications are due
• August 2023 – Grant awards are announced
RCD will be the lead agency submitting the grant application and the City will enter into a separate agreement titled “AHSC Implementation and Mutual Indemnity Agreement” to participate in the application and commit to develop the AHSC project scope transportation items that are outlined in the grant if funds are awarded (draft agreement attached). The agreement must be approved by City Council and signed by the City, as part of the application that will be due in March 2023. If the grant is approved, the Agreement provides for all grant funds awarded to go through RCD as the lead applicant, and the City will process reimbursement requests through RCD for the funding allocated for City transit improvements.
FISCAL IMPACT: If the AHSC grant is successful, grant funds would be used to address a shortfall in fundi ng for the Centerville Complete Streets Project. A new project would be initiated to design and construct the plaza improvements at the Centerville Train Depot that would require a local funding match. The potential level of total funding available could be in an amount up to $4.3 million.
Council Staff Report (ID # 4795) Meeting of February 21, 2023 Updated: 2/16/2023 12:30 PM by Alberto Quintanilla Page 3
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: The recommended action related to the filing of a project application with RCD as the lead applicant and approval of a project grant agreement are exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) in that it is not a project which has the potential for causing a significant effect on the environment.
As a separate and independent basis for CEQA compliance, review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was performed for the Centerville Complete Streets project. A Categorical Exclusion (CE) with technical studies was prepared, and on July 11, 2022, the State determined that the project does not individually or cumulatively have a significant impact on the environment as defined by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and is excluded from the requirements to prepare an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement.
WEBLINK: https://www.fremont.gov/government/departments/public-works/public- works-projects/centerville-complete-streets
ATTACHMENTS:
• Draft AHSC Implementation and Mutual Indemnity Agreement
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Find that the recommended action is exempt from the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061 (b) (3) and is exempt from further environmental review in accordance with NEPA findings.
2. Authorize the City Manager to participate in the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program (AHSC) grant application and to enter into the AHSC Implementation and Mutual Indemnity Agreement with Resources for Community Development.
3. If awarded, accept AHSC funds in an approximate amount of $4.3 million and appropriate the funds to the Centerville Complete Streets Project – PWC8946-525.