Agenda Item A.7
CPMS CONSENT CALENDAR
Meeting Date: January 21, 2025
TO: Mayor and Councilmembers
SUBMITTED BY: Luz “Nina” Buelna, Public Works Director
PREPARED BY: Gerald Comati, Contract Project Manager
SUBJECT: Amendment No. 1 to Cooperative Agreement with the Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District for Improvements to and Maintenance of the San Jose Creek Channel and Fish Passage Modification Project.
RECOMMENDATION:
Authorize the City Manager to approve Amendment No.1 to the Cooperative Agreement with Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District for Improvements to and Maintenance of the San Jose Creek Channel and Fish Passage resulting from the City’s Hollister Avenue Bridge Project and San Jose Creek Channel Fish Passage Modification Project.
BACKGROUND:
The San Jose Creek watershed is the largest creek watershed draining into the City of Goleta (see Attachment 3). The San Jose Creek captures drainage from the Los Padres National Forrest, the Goleta Foothills, and a large portion of the City. The San Jose Creek ends just upstream of Hollister Avenue and flows into the concrete San Jose Creek Channel. The original channel, constructed in 1962, diverted the San Jose Creek so that instead of flowing through Goleta Old Town, it flowed through the channel located east of Old Town and adjacent to State Route 217. The channel terminates at the confluence with San Pedro C reek and flows into the Goleta Slough. The San Jose Creek Channel and natural creek are maintained by the Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (Flood Control).
In 2014, the City completed the San Jose Creek Channel Capacity Improvement and Fish Passage Project (Phase 1 Project). The Phase 1 Project widened the existing San Jose Creek Channel to increase flood water conveyance capacity and installed a fish-passage facility within the channel to allow steelhead trout to migrate from the Goleta Slough upstream through the concrete channel. The Phase 1 Project represented the first phase of channel capacity and fish passage improvements.
1 Meeting Date: January 21, 2025
The second phase of improvements is currently under construction through the City’s Hollister Avenue Bridge Project , which is part of Project Connect and is referred to as Phase 2 Project . This Phase 2 Project will replace the existing Hollister Avenue Bridge over San Jose Creek Channel with a wider structure and will extend the channel capacity and fish passage improvements from approximately 300 feet downstream of Hollister Avenue Bridge where the existing fish passage facility is located, to the upstream natural creek.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) mandated the third phase of improvements to modify the existing fish passage facility, as it did not meet the permitting criteria required to provide a viable migration corridor for steelhead trout. This Phase 3 Project was initiated in early 2022 when the City Council authorized and funded a new CIP project, the San Jose Creek Channel Fish Passage Modification Project (CIP No. 9117). The project is currently in the design and permitting phase , with cons truction anticipated in the summer of 2026. Extensive modeling was conducted in Phase 3 to ensure the fish passage project complied with these criteria. Funding for the construction phase has not been identified.
Upon completion of all ongoing and planned construction projects along San Jose Creek (the City’s Hollister Avenue Bridge Project, Fish -Passage modification project, and San Jose Creek Multi-Use Path Project as well as the Caltrans Hwy 217 Bridge Replacements project, and Hwy 101 bridge replacemen t over San Jose Creek) and acceptance of hydraulic modeling by FEMA, FEMA will approve a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) which will revise the 100 -year floodplain boundaries and thereby eliminate portions of Goleta Old Town from the regulatory flood plain.
DISCUSSION:
In October 201 1, the City entered into a cooperative agreement with Flood Control to define the roles and responsibilities associated with the development, construction , and post-construction maintenance of the Phase 1 Project. The agreement d efined the City as the California Environmental Quality Act lead agency and the lead agency for project delivery. The agreement also defined the role of both agencies during project development and construction and the maintenance commitments in the post- construction condition. Under the agreement, the City maintains the fish passage facilities within the channel and Flood Control maintains the San Jose Creek Channel. The City agreed to maintain the fish passage facilities , including removing vegetation, trapped sediment, and debris within the fish passage facility as necessary for fish passage.
With the commencement of construction of the Phase 2 Project in 2024 as part of Project Connect, followed in 2026 by the construction of the Phase 3 Project, an amendment to the existing Cooperative Agreement is required to address the Phase 2 and Phase 3 projects. The attached Amendment No.1 to the cooperative agreement, updates the roles and responsibilities for the two projects in terms of project delivery, construction, and post- construction maintenance. Consistent with the existing cooperative agreement with Flood Control, the amendment commits the City to maintain all fish passage facility elements, the new Hollister Avenue Bridge, and the transition basin immediately upstream of the 2 Meeting Date: January 21, 2025
new bridge. All other components of the channel and upstream creek will continue to be maintained by Flood Control.
Public Works recommends that the City Council authorize the City Manager to approve Amendment No. 1 to the Cooper ative Agreement with Flood Control. This amendment clarifies construction and maintenance responsibilities for the San Jose Creek Channel and associated creek and fish passage facilities. It does not create any new maintenance obligations for the City, as it already maintains these facilities.
FISCAL IMPACTS:
Approval of Amendment No. 1 to the Cooperative Agreement with the Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District will have no additional fiscal impacts. The City’s Public Works Streets Maintenance and Parks and Open Space Divisions are currently responsible for maintaining and operating the existing Hollister Avenue Bridge and fish passage facilities. The City will continue maintenance after the modifications to the fish passage facilities, San Jose Creek Channel, and the replacement of the Hollister Avenue Bridge as part of the City’s Hollister Avenue Bridge and San Jose Creek Channel Fish Passage Modification projects. These modification projects are expected to be completed by FY 2026-27.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Council may not approve Amendment No.1 to the Cooperative Agreement with Flood Control for San Jose Creek Channel and Fish Passage. However, if this occurs Flood Control will not sign off on the construction of the Phase 2 Project or approve the design of Phase 3 Project. If this occurs, the City will be unable to finalize the Hollister Avenue Bridge project, thereby risking Federal funding.
LEGAL REVIEW BY: Isaac Rosen, Acting City Attorney
APPROVED BY: Robert Nisbet, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Amendment No. 1 to Cooperative Agreement No. 201 1-017, with Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
2. Original Cooperative Agreement No. 2011-017, with Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
3. San Jose Creek Watershed Boundary Map
3 ATTACHMENT 1
Amendment No. 1 to Cooperative Agreement No. 2011-017, with Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
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18 ATTACHMENT 2
Original Cooperative Agreement No. 2011-017, with Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District
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ATTACHMENT 3
San Jose Creek Watershed Boundary Map
25 SAN JOSE CREEK WATERSHED BOUNDARY MAP
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