Agenda Item: 1
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
PUBLIC HEARINGS
CITY MANAGER APPROVAL:
DATE: February 13, 2024
SUBJECT: AMEND CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL FOR THE VISTA CANYON
PROJECT AND CONSIDER ACTIONS PERTAINING TO THE
VISTA CANYON ROAD BRIDGE PROJECT, S3037, AND WATER
FACTORY
DEPARTMENT: Public Works
PRESENTER: Shannon Pickett
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council:
1. Conduct a public hearing to consider eliminating conditions of approval EN42 and EN43 of Master Case No. 07-127; requiring construction of the Vista Canyon Road Bridge.
2. Adopt a resolution which would do the following:
a. Eliminate Condition Nos. EN42 and EN43 regarding construction of the Vista Canyon Road Bridge so that the City can construct the Bridge; b. Accept the Water Factory facility completed by Vista Canyon Ranch, LLC; c. Accept fencing, parking, and construction staging easements from Vista Canyon Ranch, LLC;
d. Authorize the City Manager to execute agreements to acquire plans and specifications for design and construction of the Vista Canyon Road Bridge project in an amount not to exceed $999,661; and
e. Authorize a loan from the General Fund (100) to the Eastside Bridge & Thoroughfare District Fund (301) in the amount of $1,100,000 and appropriate to expenditure account S3037301-516101.
BACKGROUND
On April 26, 2011, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 11-23, which approved the Vista Canyon project (Master Case 07-127), including the final Conditions of Approval (COA). The Vista Canyon project included up to 1,100 residential units, 950,000 square feet of commercial space, the Vista Canyon Multi-Modal Transit Center, a water reclamation plant (Water Factory),
and over 21 acres of recreational amenities. In addition, Vista Canyon Ranch, LLC (Developer) was conditioned to construct the Vista Canyon Road Bridge over the Santa Clara River from the intersection of Soledad Canyon Road and Lost Canyon Road to the Vista Canyon development as shown on the attached Location Map.
On October 25, 2018, the City of Santa Clarita (City) was allocated $20 million in Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Measure R funds for construction of the Vista Canyon Road Bridge. The allocation requires construction funds be spent by June 30, 2026, and the Vista Canyon Road Bridge to be constructed by the City. This project supports the Enhancing Economic Vitality theme of the City of Santa Clarita’s five-year strategic plan, Santa Clarita 2025.
The Developer has experienced significant financial difficulties given the current challenges of obtaining financing for real estate projects and is unable to pay for recent elements of the bridge design nor the completion of the design without significant delays to the project. The bridge design plans are currently at 90 percent completion.
To facilitate the completion of the bridge design in a timely manner, City staff recommends that the existing bridge design contracts between the Developer and its consultants be assigned to the City. The scope of work for these contracts include design for bridge structural, civil, electrical, water resources and embankment protection, geotechnical, dry and wet utility, and landscape services required to prepare construction documents. These documents consist of complete plans, specifications, and engineer’s estimates for construction of the bridge and the associated road improvements.
The Developer’s contracts have an aggregate total of $999,661 and include payments for work completed by the consultants that remain unpaid by the Developer, payment for work required to complete the design, and a 10 percent contingency.
The requested contingency will cover the costs of unforeseen design constraints and potential design modifications requested by the City and other permitting agencies while finalizing the design phase. This includes potential adjustments to the structural drawings, engineered grades, and change orders made by either the design firms or the City.
The design consultants currently working on the Vista Canyon Road Bridge project are the most knowledgeable and qualified to complete the design. Since these services are being completed by design professionals, they constitute “professional services” for purposes of the City’s Purchasing Policy. Under these circumstances, where the design, plans, and specifications are 90 percent complete, it is unnecessary to seek different design professionals to complete these tasks.
As part of the assignment of the contracts to the City, each consultant agreed to additional insurance and indemnification requirements to the satisfaction of the City Attorney.
The bridge and associated road improvements will provide a connection from the intersection of Soledad Canyon Road and Lost Canyon Road to the Vista Canyon development including the recently completed Vista Canyon Multi-Modal Transit Center. The bridge improvements include a two-lane bridge with an emergency lane and shared-use sidewalk. The road improvements
include a new traffic signal at the intersection of Soledad Canyon Road and Lost Canyon Road, and modifications to the roundabout south of the bridge to provide access to the Vista Canyon Multi-Modal Transit Center.
Mitigation measures in the project’s Final Environmental Impact Report require the bridge connection to increase access, improve traffic circulation, and transit services for the development and surrounding neighborhoods. Additionally, the connection will provide emergency access for the development and provide an additional emergency evacuation route for the neighboring Sand Canyon community.
The City reviewed the proposed actions in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Per Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations section 15168(c)(2), if a project is proposed which has been the subject of a prior certified Environmental Impact Report (EIR), and if the agency finds that pursuant to Section 15162, no new effects could occur or new mitigation measures would be required, the agency can approve the activity as being within the scope of the project covered by the EIR, and no new environmental document would be required.
On April 26, 2011, the City Council certified the Vista Canyon project’s final EIR (SCH No. 2007071039). Authorizing the proposed actions will not result in any new environmental effect not already considered in the final EIR regarding the project. Consequently, no additional environmental review is required.
Comprehensive Resolution
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the resolution, which would accomplish the following:
A. Modifying Conditions of Approval
Acting as the Planning Agency, the City Council would eliminate Condition Nos. EN42 and EN43. These conditions originally required design and construction of the bridge by the Developer.
B. Accepting the Water Factory
In May 2023, the City Council authorized the City Manager to negotiate an operations agreement with PERC Water Corporation. Those negotiations are concluded; the parties are expected to execute an agreement in February 2024. Additionally, the facility is now ready to be accepted from the Developer.
C. Accepting Real Property Easements
As identified in Exhibit A to the resolution, the City requested easements on the Developer’s property to complete the construction of various infrastructure improvements. These consist of a temporary construction easement located near the intersections of Vista Canyon Road and Humphreys Parkway (APNs 2840-031-020 and 2840-031-017) and Vista Canyon Road and Mitchell Drive (APN 2840-031-004); an easement for a fence located adjacent to the Vista Canyon Multi-Modal Center (APN 2840-031-004) and for a temporary parking lot for the Vista Canyon Metrolink Station (pending completion of a parking structure in connection with future development). This temporary parking lot easement is located on parcels south of the intersection of Mitchell Drive and Lincoln Place (APNs 2840-031-001, 2840-031-002, and 2840-031-003).
D. Acquisition of Bridge Designs
The City Manager would be authorized to acquire and pay for bridge design documents prepared by the design professionals; a total of nine contracts would be transferred to the
City for the design of the Vista Canyon Road Bridge project in an aggregate amount of $908,784 and authorize a contingency in the aggregate amount of $90,877, for a total aggregate contract amount not to exceed $999,661 as follows:
Consultant Design Services Fee
Amount
Contingency Total
Contract
Amount
Dokken
Engineering
Bridge Engineering $460,000 $46,000 $506,000
R.T. Frankian &
Associates
Soils Engineering $112,476 $11,247 $123,723
Alliance Land
Planning &
Engineering, Inc.
Civil Engineering $150,200 $15,020 $165,220
IDS Group Electrical Engineering $18,418 $1,841 $20,259 Dexter Wilson
Engineering, Inc.
Water Utility $47,760 $4,776 $52,536
BJ Palmer and
Associates, Inc.
Electrical Utility $15,300 $1,530 $16,830
Yamasaki
Landscape
Architecture
Landscape $11,430 $1,143 $12,573
Pacific Advanced
Water
Engineering, Inc.
Water Resources and
Embankment
Protection
Engineering
$63,700 $6,370 $70,070
Kimley Horn &
Associates, Inc.
Traffic Engineering $29,500 $2,950 $32,450
Total $908,784 $90,877 $999,661
E. Interfund Loan
To pay for the design professional’s costs and anticipated project costs including staff time, project management, and permitting fees, the resolution would also authorize a loan from the General Fund (100) to the Eastside Bridge & Thoroughfare District Fund (301) in the amount of $1,100,000. The loan will be repaid with future Bridge & Thoroughfare fees generated by the Vista Canyon development project.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION
Other action as determined by the City Council.
x
FISCAL IMPACT
Upon approval of the recommended action, adequate funds will be available in expenditure account S3037301-516101 (Eastside B&T Fund) to support the recommended contracts and administrative costs.
ATTACHMENTS
Public Hearing Notice
Location Map
Resolution