DATE:
September 5, 2023
TO:
Mayor and Council Members
FROM:
Rachel Molina, City Manager
BY:
Nathan Freeman, Director of Development Services
Dani Fox, Deputy Director of Development Services
SUBJECT:
CO 7046, Ranchero Road Under Crossing and Authorization to Purchase Mitigation Bank Credits
RECOMMENDED ACTION
It is recommended that the City Council approve the Agreement for Sale of Credits with Desert Environmental Resources, Inc. (Bank Sponsor) in the amount of $395,500 and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement and any associated documents.
BACKGROUND
In September 2002, the City began working with Lilburn Corporation to address the environmental issues associated with construction of the Ranchero Road & BNSF Grade Separation project. In April 2006, the City Council approved an agreement with David Evans & Associates that included updating the project plans. After completing the environmental document, securing all right-of-way, and completing the design work, the project was ready for construction. The City received final authorization to proceed with construction of the project from the federal government in June 2011. The project was released for bids in June of 2011 and bids were opened in July of 2011. At the August 2, 2011 meeting, the City Council awarded a bid to Riverside Construction Company, Inc. for construction of the project. Construction commenced in August of 2011 and all work was completed in June of 2013. Parsons was concurrently hired as the Construction Manager for this project to assist the City with construction of the railroad bridge and conforming with federal-aid requirements.
The project was ultimately completed in June of 2013, which involved widening and realignment of Ranchero Road into a straight segment between Santa Fe Avenue and Chase Avenue by constructing an elevated roadway across the Antelope Valley Wash. Five box culverts were placed to convey flows in the wash beneath the roadway. Downstream of the box culverts an 84-foot-wide channel with concreted rock side-slopes and soft-bottom design was constructed and tied into the existing channel.
ISSUES/ANALYSIS
Prior to construction, staff worked to secure (1) a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Section 404 Permit, (2) a California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW) Section 1602 Permit, and (3) a State Water Resources Control Board Section (RWQCB) 401 Permit. All three regulatory agencies worked in unison to provide the necessary permits required to proceed with construction. These permits placed requirements and mitigation measures on the City that had to be met as a condition of securing the permits. These regulatory agencies required the development of a Habitat Mitigation and Monitoring Plan (HMMP) as a condition of issuing the permits, which required the City to install protective fencing and signage, enhance desert habitat, eradicate invasive species, re-vegetate areas affected by the construction, re-grade trails, and other miscellaneous mitigation activities for permanently impacted waters.
Staff held discussions with the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) over the final requirements permit issued for the project under the federal Clean Water Act. Under this permit, mitigation involving replacement of habitat and its restoration was to be provided along the embankment constructed as a part of the project. A majority of this restoration work was to occur on property owned by the San Bernardino County Flood Control District (SBCFCD). However, the SBCFCD would not issue the City a permit to perform this mitigation work as they felt such restoration work would interfere with maintenance and proper operation of the flood control facilities constructed on their property.
After months of unsuccessful efforts to resolve the impasse with SBCFCD, the City approached the ACOE with a request to replace the onsite mitigation requirements with mitigation at an existing offsite location. A site owned by the City was identified as an ideal location to perform this offsite restoration work as mitigation for the Ranchero Road & I-15 Interchange project was already being done on a portion of the property.
Initially the City was required to restore an area the size of 0.49 acres at the project site; however, when performing mitigation work at an offsite location the ACOE requires a larger area of mitigation, in this case an area the size of 3.05 acres. The mitigation measures were to be performed at a new remote mitigation site located within the Oro Grande Wash. The HMMP also required the City to maintain, monitor, and report on the mitigation measures to ensure that the performance standards within the HMMP were being met. The initial monitoring and reporting period will last a total of 5 years. Afterwards, long-term monitoring and management will be required by the City.
In order to assist the City with compliance issues related to the issued permits, staff asked Parsons to solicit cost proposals from several sub-consultants to perform these environmental consulting services. The City contracted Parsons in September 2021 to provide these services for a 5 year period. During this period Parsons and subconsultant Ironwood Consulting Inc. have been successful in gaining approval from all permitting agencies for the proposed mitigation plan which is to purchase enhancement and/or preservation desert wash credits from the multi-agency approved the Mojave River Watershed Bank in San Bernardino County, California through the Bank Sponsor, Desert Environmental Resources, Inc. Enhancement and preservation desert wash credits would be for resources that fall under the jurisdiction of USACE, RWQCB, and CDFW as waters of the U.S. and waters of the State. Lastly, purchase of credits from the mitigation bank would allow the City to fulfill mitigation requirements in the near/immediate future and serve as the long term solution and acceptance and finalization of all open permits.
FISCAL IMPACT
The Fiscal Year 2023-2024 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget has included funding for the Ranchero Road & BNSF Grade Separation Project (C.O. No. 7046) of $440,000 in Fund 204 for habitat mitigation related expenses.
ALTERNATIVE(S)
Provide alternative direction to staff.
ATTACHMENT(S)
Attachment 1 - Agreement for Sale of Credits
City of Hesperia STAFF REPORT City of Hesperia STAFF REPORT City of Hesperia
STAFF REPORT
City of Hesperia
STAFF REPORT
Staff Report to the City Council
CO 7046, Ranchero Road Undercrossing and Authorization to Purchase Mitigation Bank Credits September 5, 2023