RESOLUTION NO. 26-48
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF San clemente, CALIFORNIA, approving AN AGREEMENT WITH, AND ACCEPTING FUNDING FROM, METROLINK / SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA REGIONAL RAILROAD AUTHORITY TO SUPPORT PHASE 2 OF THE OFFSHORE SAND SOURCE INVESTIGATION, AUTHORIZING AN EXEMPTION TO THE FORMAL SOLICITATION PROCESS, AWARDING A CONTRACT to COASTAL FRONTIERS FOR PHASE 2 FIELDWORK, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE RELATED AGREEMENTS, MAKING RELATED SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS AND FINDING THE ACTIONS EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT ..body
WHEREAS, coastal erosion is a very significant problem in the City of San Clemente that threatens the public beaches and coastal public access, key public facilities, existing structures including the existing rail line and other critical public infrastructure; and WHEREAS, the City has begun actively implementing a comprehensive, citywide coastal resiliency building strategy using beach sand replenishment and sand retention as the primary means of restoring the sandy beach shoreline in the City; and WHEREAS, based on emergency conditions on City beaches where there is no dry sand at high tide, and public beaches, existing structures and critical public infrastructure including the railroad is exposed to direct wave attack, runup, overtopping and undermining; and WHEREAS, in 2024, the City was awarded an $800,000 grant from the Coastal Commission to conduct an offshore borrow site investigation to identify new sand sources that could be used to sustain a long term and comprehensive sand replenishment program in the City; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Transportation Agency (OCTA) provided supplemental funding in the amount of $180,000 to support additional field work and vibracore-based geologic sampling as part of the City’s Offshore Sand Source Investigation; and WHEREAS, the City retained a team of coastal experts led by Coastal Frontiers Corporation in October 2024 to conduct the Offshore Sand Source Investigation Phase 1 in which the fieldwork was completed in calendar year 2025; and WHEREAS, Metrolink/Southern California Regional Railroad Authority will provide beach sand impact mitigation fees in the amount of $300,000 which will support Phase 2 of the Offshore Sand Source Investigation fieldwork as outlined in a Cooperative Agreement (Attachment 2 to the related March 17, 2026 staff report) between the City and Metrolink/Southern California Regional Railroad Authority; and WHEREAS, the City will contribute an additional $100,000 to the Offshore Sand Source Investigation Phase 2 and will also utilize $49,000 in funds reprogrammed from a different Coastal Commission grant to support this effort; and WHEREAS, the City desires to develop additional sand sources as close to the City of San Clemente as possible to sustain a long term comprehensive beach sand replenishment program; WHEREAS, entering into an agreement with Metrolink/Southern California Regional Railroad Authority to receive supplemental funding for the Offshore Sand Source Investigation Phase 2 will support extra days on the ocean increasing the potential for locating beach quality sand deposits close/closer to San Clemente; and WHEREAS, Coastal Frontiers has the experience and qualifications needed to perform the fieldwork for Phase 2 and its fee is fair and reasonable; and WHEREAS, City Purchasing Policy 201-2-1 permits the City Council to authorize an exemption to the formal solicitation process when the City Council determines that compliance with the formal process would be inefficient, impractical, or not in the best interest of the City.
NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente, California, does hereby find, determine, and resolve as follows:
SECTION 1. That the above recitations are true and correct and fully incorporated herein.
SECTION 2. Based on the review of the record as a whole, the City Council finds and determines that these actions and Phase 2 of the Offshore Sand Source Investigation study is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Class 6, Section 15306 of the state CEQA Guidelines (14 CCR 15306 – Information Collection) because the project consists of basic data collection, research, and resource evaluation activities which do not result in a serious or major disturbance to an environmental resource.
SECTION 3. The City Council approves and authorizes Phase 2 of the Offshore Sand Source Investigation fieldwork project to further study the San Onofre/Agra, Santa Ana River, and potentially other sites.
SECTION 4. The City Manager is hereby authorized and directed to execute, the Cooperative Agreement with Metrolink/Southern California Regional Railroad Authority to accept $300,000 in beach sand impact mitigation fees to fund Phase 2 of the Offshore Sand Source Investigation project in a form substantially similar to that presented to the City Council on March 17, 2026.
SECTION 5. The City Council hereby accepts the revenues contributed by Metrolink/Southern California Regional Railroad Authority to mitigate impacts on sand supply from a past project on the beach in San Clemente in the amount of $300,000 to Account No. 001-000-33490.
SECTION 6. The City Council hereby authorizes a supplemental appropriation of $300,000 (mitigation funds) to Account No. 001-433-43695.
SECTION 7. The City Council hereby reassigns $100,000 in the FY 2025-26 Adopted Budget in Account No. 001-636-45900-000-35807 (previously assigned to SCOUP permitting) to support Phase 2 of the Offshore Sand Source Investigation study to Account No. 001-433-43695.
SECTION 8. The City Council hereby approves re-programming of $49,000 in unused funding from California Coastal Commission LCP Planning Grant 21-07 to LCP Grant 24-01.
SECTION 9. The City Council hereby authorizes an exemption to the formal solicitation process under City Policy 201-2-1, Section XI.A.1.2 because it would be inefficient to issue a new Request For Proposals (RFP) for field services when, through the previous RFP process for Phase One, Coastal Frontiers demonstrated superior qualifications and expertise, with a project team that is well aligned with project goals.
SECTION 10. The City Council hereby awards a professional services agreement to Coastal Frontiers, in an amount not to exceed $449,000, to complete the fieldwork portion of the Phase 2 Offshore Sand Source Investigation study.
SECTION 11. The City Manager is hereby authorized and directed to execute the professional services agreement with Coastal Frontiers for Phase 2 in a form substantially similar to that presented to the City Council on March 17, 2026, following execution of the Cooperative Agreement with Metrolink/Southern California Regional Railroad Authority.
SECTION 12. That the City Manager or his designee are hereby authorized and directed to take such actions as are necessary or proper to fulfill the purpose and intent of this Resolution and/or proceed with Phase 2 of the Study.
SECTION 13. That the City Clerk shall certify the passage and adoption of this Resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 17th day of March, 2026.
ATTEST:
___________________________ __________________________
City Clerk of the City of Rick Loeffler, Mayor of the City San Clemente, California of San Clemente, California
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) §
CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE )
I, LAURA CAMPAGNOLO, City Clerk of the City of San Clemente, California, do hereby certify that Resolution No. 26-48 was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Clemente held on the _______ day of _______________________, _________, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Clemente, California, this _____ day of _________________, ________. __________________________
CITY CLERK of the City of
San Clemente, California
Approved as to form:
___________________________
Elizabeth A. Mitchell, City Attorney
4890-6752-0111 v4
Resolution No. 26-48 Page 2
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