RESOLUTION NO. 26-47
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A REDUCTION IN THE SC RIDES PROGRAM SUBSIDY RATE, AND FINDING THE PROJECT CATEGORICALLY EXEMPT FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT WHEREAS, the City applied for Orange County Transportation Agency (OCTA) Measure M2 Project V grant funding for continuation of its on-demand transit programs; and WHEREAS, the City was awarded $3,264,428 in funds from OCTA for its on-demand transit program; and WHEREAS, the new grant requires the City to match the OCTA grant fund on a 50/50 split basis up to $150,000, and the City is responsible for all costs above that amount for the SC Rides program; and WHEREAS, the City wishes to continue providing rideshare services to help mitigate the loss of former local bus routes 191 and 193; and WHEREAS, on June 17, 2025, City Council approved a professional services agreement between Lyft, Inc. and the City of San Clemente for rideshare services through July 1, 2028; and WHEREAS, a Notice of Public Hearing was duly published in the SC Times on February 26, 2026, and March 12, 2026, to consider reducing the SC Rides program subsidy rate from $9.00 to $5.00 per trip; and WHEREAS, the proposed adjustments pertain solely to the subsidy rate shared by the City and the OCTA to help offset rider costs. A reduction in the City/OCTA subsidy may increase the overall per-ride fee that SC Rides users are charged. These proposed fees are not mandatory taxes or assessments, but rather per-use fees to cover a portion of the operating and maintenance costs of the City and OCTA; and WHEREAS, the proposed fee adjustments are anticipated to increase transit program cost recovery and improve long-term fiscal sustainability; and WHEREAS, at the March 17, 2026 regular City Council meeting, a Public Hearing was held and all those wishing to be heard were heard.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente does hereby find, determine, and resolve as follows:
SECTION 1. That the above recitations are true and correct and fully incorporated herein.
SECTION 2. That based upon substantial evidence in the record as a whole, the project is hereby determined to be categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Public Resources Code section 21080(b)(10) because it Is a project for the intuition or increase of passenger or commuter services on rights-of-way already in use and has no potential result in either a direct or physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
SECTION 3. That a reduction in the subsidy rate from $9.00 to $5.00 per trip for the SC Rides program is hereby approved.
SECTION 4. That the City Manager or his designee is hereby authorized and directed to take such actions as are necessary and proper to implement the subsidy rate reduction and accomplish the purpose and intent of this resolution.
SECTION 5. That the City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this _____ 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. 26-47 was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Clemente held on _______ day of March, 2026, 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
Resolution No. 26-47 Page PAGE 3
Attachment 1
4860-5047-5367 v1