Agenda Report
Fullerton City Council
MEETING DATE: JANUARY 16, 2024
TO: CITY COUNCIL / SUCCESSOR AGENCY
SUBMITTED BY: Daisy perez, deputy city manager
PREPARED BY: Daisy perez, deputy city manager
SUBJECT: UNION PACIFIC TRAIL PHASE TWO UPDATED PROPOSAL
SUMMARY
Council Member Zahra requested, supported by Council Member Charles, to bring this item back for consideration on December 19, 2023. City Council continued the item to January 16, 2024. Staff prepared a revised plan for the Union Pacific Trail Phase Two project as an option to address California Natural Resources Agency and Council Member concerns.
RECOMMENDATION
Direct City Manager to proceed with updated Union Pacific Trail Phase Two concept (presented on January 16, 2024) and appropriate $330,000 from Park Dwelling (Fund 39) fund balance to Project 54260 Union Pacific Trail Phase Two Project in Capital Projects Fund (Fund 74).
OR
Reaffirm August 15, 2023 City Council direction to City Manager to reapproach the State of California Natural Resources Agency and continue to explore an alternate project for the grant.
CITY MANAGER REMARKS
The City Manager recommends the alternative proposal being presented at the January 16th City Council meeting. I believe this concept meets both the desire to have a trail and to provide the opportunity for future planning in the area to be able to coordinate with the trail. The option would also provide for the tree planting and lighting called out in the grant proposal.
PRIORITY POLICY STATEMENT
This item matches the following Priority Policy Statement:
Infrastructure and City Assets.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Parks and Recreation Department received a $1.78 million grant to construct a non-motorized trail and class-one bikeway with landscaping. The City match requirement totals approximately $330,000, available in the Park Dwelling fund balance (Fund 39), and would require a budget appropriation and transfer to Union Pacific Trail Phase Two Project in the Capital Projects Fund (Fund 74). Option 2 would not require additional funding beyond the match requirement. The following outlines fiscal implications for each option:
Option 1: $330,000 appropriation from Park Dwelling fund balance to the Union Pacific Trail Phase Two Project in Capital Projects Fund (Fund 74).
Option 2: Fiscal impact would depend on alternate project and matching funds requirement which staff would request from City Council at a future date.
Staff estimates the updated project concept (Option 1) would cost approximately $2.2 to $2.5 million dollars, depending on final bids received. Staff would request City Council award the construction contract at a future meeting, if City Council moves forward with the project.
DISCUSSION
Background
City Council / Redevelopment Agency approved a plan for the Union Pacific Right-of-Way Trail and Park Project and application for grant funding from the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation on September 7, 1999. The plan included a class-one bikeway, recreational trail, one-acre neighborhood park and parking lot. The Union Pacific Right-of-Way property begins just south of the Transportation Center and extends 0.8 miles west to Independence Park between Truslow and Walnut. The project provides a safe alternate route from the Transportation Center to the Richman Park and Independence Park neighborhoods. The City completed the first phase of the bikeway and trail project, which extends 0.5 miles from the Transportation Center to Highland Avenue, in 2006.
Phase Two includes design and construction of the trail portion from Highland Avenue to Independence Park. The proposed project would transform an existing 50-foot to 80-foot wide, blighted corridor into a greenbelt trail providing alternate transportation modes and linking the Transportation Center and several parks, including Independence Park, at its terminus. This project aligns with the Hunt Branch Library to the west, providing potential linkages for a regional trail connecting multiple cities. The estimated cost of the project totals $2.2 to $2.5 million.
The Parks and Recreation Department received a $1.78 million grant from the Urban Greening Program through the California Natural Resources Agency in 2020 to fund the Union Pacific Trail Project Phase Two. City Council adopted a resolution for the grant application and funding on August 18, 2020. The State announced the $1.78 million grant award to the City in April 2021 and the parties signed the grant agreement in May 2022. The grant covers the following project elements: irrigation, electrical, lighting, trail excavation and grading, pedestrian trail, class-one bike lane and landscaping throughout trail, including planting 176 trees.
Phase Two has two segments – Highland Avenue to Richman Avenue and Richman Avenue to Independence Park – for a total 0.3 miles. Both segments are in an industrial zone with a MP – Manufacturing Park land-use designation. The segment of the project from Highland Avenue to Richman Avenue borders private properties to the north and south with various manufacturing uses. The segment from Richman Avenue to Independence Park borders manufacturing and railroad properties.
Discussion
City Council directed to staff to research alternatives for the trail on November 2, 2021 including a design with a multi-modal element for Union Pacific Trail Phase Two. Staff explored multiple options including shifting grant funds to another location or project in the City. The California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) indicated transferring grant funds to an alternate location or project would have to meet several criteria which could prove challenging. City Council voted 3 – 2 to direct staff to reapproach the Agency to consider reallocating grant funding to another project and to open Union Pacific Park without haste on August 15, 2023.
The City Manager’s Office has met with CNRA several times since the August 15, 2023 City Council meeting to discuss moving funds to the Union Pacific Park project. This request met certain conditions of the grant, however, CNRA expressed several concerns with the request including the following:
The UP Park site did not have enough trees to create the same environmental benefit as the UP Trail proposal. The proposal would need to place trees along a trail or in an area with pedestrian benefit. CNRA also wanted a trail component to remain as the connectivity components comprised a major component of the original application.
Concerns that the City would have a potentially higher match amount and the City may not have the funds secured.
CNRA wanted to see community support.
Union Pacific Park did meet the geographical and demographic grant requirements such as income and socioeconomic factors, including allocated in a low-income disadvantaged community.
Staff prepared a revised concept plan for the Union Pacific Trail Phase Two project based on concerns expressed by CNRA and City Council members. Staff modified the plan to provide better connectivity with the proposed draft Rail District Specific Plan (RDSP), presented to City Council on November 21, 2023. The RDSP provides a plan for transit-oriented development, focusing on a 35-acre area south of the tracks abutting Truslow Avenue and neighboring communities.
The draft RDSP document includes references to the former Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way (ROW) and proposes to become the Union Pacific Trail and Bike Path. The draft document prioritizes developing new housing units via mixed-use and residential buildings ranging from three to five stories, centered around a shared outdoor area linked to the Union Pacific Trail and Bike Path. The Housing Incentive Overlay Zone (HIOZ) draft also includes the draft RDSP area in the original plan as many of the parcels have Commercial / Industrial zoning designations.
The existing ROW for the UP Trail Phase Two project is approximately 2,610 linear feet long and 50 feet wide. The updated concept plan for Union Pacific Trail Phase Two reserves approximately ten feet on both the north and south side of the project between Highland and Richman Avenue to provide access and connectivity to future redevelopment of the adjacent properties. Private developers would improve these areas over time at no cost to the City as part of future development projects. The City would improve the 30-foot ROW between these two areas to include a Class I bike lane, dedicated pedestrian walkway, lighting and landscaping, including planting at least new 176 trees.
Proposed Typical Section (Highland to Richman Avenue)
Proposed Typical Section (Independence Park to Richman Avenue) Environmental Review
The City of Fullerton retained SCS Engineers (SCS) to conduct an environmental review of the Union Pacific Trail Phase Two. SCS conducted a review of soil and soil vapor for the property located at Union Pacific Trail, west of Highland Avenue to Independence Park. The results of this investigation did not identify any significant impact to the property from the historical use of the property or its adjoining sites (Attachment 3).
Future Maintenance Efforts
The Fullerton Public Works Department conducts routine maintenance of parks and trails throughout the City. City Council authorized nine additional Senior Maintenance Workers, a Landscape and Trees Manager and Deputy Public Works Director of Maintenance Services as part of the FY 2023-24 annual budget process. The department has increased the frequency of maintenance services throughout the City, including the parks and trails system, with these additional resources. The enhanced maintenance team has capacity to add the proposed trail to the maintenance schedule, upon UP Trail Phase Two construction completion.
Attachments:
Attachment 1 – Union Pacific Trail Phase Two Design
Attachment 2 – Urban Greening Grant Agreement
Attachment 3 – Phase Two Site Report
cc: City Manager Eric J. Levitt
Union Pacific Trail Phase Two Updated Proposal
January 16, 2024 – Page 2