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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2007-05-21 Ordinance 4948ORDINANCE NO. 4948 ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALO ALTO APPROVING AND ADOPTING PLANS FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO PEERS PARK The Council ofthe City of Palo Alto does ORDAIN as follows: SECTION 1. Findings. The City Council finds and declares that: (a) Article VIn of the Charter of the City of Palo Alto and Section 22.08.005 of the Palo Alto Municipal Code require that, before any substantial building, construction, reconstruction or development is commenced or approved, upon or with respect to any land held by the "city for park purposes, the Council shall first cause to be prepared and by ordinance approve and adopt a plan therefor. (b) Peers Park is dedicated to park purposes. (c) The City intends to authorize construction of certain improvement projects within Peers Park as shown on the Peers Park Well Site and Peers Park Well Rehabilitation Plan (collectively "Plans") attached as Exhibits "A-I" and "A-2" including, without limitation, the following: (1) Rehabilitation and upgrade of the existing well, potentially including repairing or installing a new well casing, pumps, motors, and controls, application of architectural, landscaping, and soundproofing treatments, installation of standby power generators and associated fuel storage tanks, and restoration of lighting, fencing and adjacent uses as required. (2) Clearing of vegetation and trimming of existing trees in accordance with City policies and as necessary to provide equipment access for construction. (3) Connection to the storm drain or sanitary sewer system, or both, if feasible, via extension of an underground pipe from the well to the public right-of-way beneath the existing utility access driveway. (4) If rehabilitation of the existing well is not feasible, a new well would be constructed within the site. New well construction activities include: drilling of a production borehole; construction of the well (including well casing, pumps, motors, and controls); development of the well (including pump testing); installation of architectural/landscaping/soundproofing treatments, pIpmg, mechanical, electrical equipment and lighting; replacement of the existing fence; and installation of new connections to the existing distribution system. (d) The improvements at Peers Park will be limited to well facilities located within the existing fenced area, which is separate from the public park area. 070531 syn 6050097 I (e) The project improvements will avoid protected trees and other sensitive resources. In addition, existing park uses will be restored following project construction. (f) The projects described above and as more specifically described on the Plans attached hereto as Exhibits "A-I" and "A-2" are consistent with park and conservation purposes. (g) The Council desires to approve the proj ects described above and as more specifically described on the Plans attached hereto as Exhibits "A-I" and "A-2". SECTION 2. The Council hereby approves the Plan for replacement and construction of improvements in Peers Park and hereby adopts the Plans attached hereto as Exhibits "A-I" and "A-2" as part of the official plan for the construction of improvements in Peers Park. SECTION 3. The Council finds that the projects to construct new facilities at Peers Park are subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) A Draft Environmental Impact Report for this project was prepared and circulated on November 8, 2006, and a Final Environmental Impact Report for this project was prepared and circulated On February 8, 2007. SECTION 4. date of its adoption. INTRODUCED: PASSED: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTENTIONS: This ordinance shall be effective on the thirty-first day after the March 05, 2007 May 21, 2007 BARTON, BEECHAM, DREKMEIER, KISHIMOTO, MORTON, MOSSAR CORDELL, KLEIN, KLEINBERG ~~~~ City Clerk APPROVED AS TO FORM: 070604syn 6050097 2 pa207f12-6542.ai Photo 1: View of Peers Park Well site looking north from adjacent residence on Park Boulevard Photo 3: View of Peers Park Well site looking southeast from Peers Park tennis courts Photo 2: View of Peers Park Well site looking east from sidewalk on Park Boulevard Photo 4: View of Peers Park Well site looking east from Peers Park community building Exhibit A-1 PEERS PARK WELL SITE CITY OF PALO ALTO Exhibit A-2 PEERS PARK WELL REHABILITATION PLAN The proposed Emergency Water Supply and Storage Project (Project) is intended to correct the deficiency in the City's emergency water supply, when compared to the standards recommended by the Department of Health Services (DHS). Implementation of the proposed project includes rehabilitation of the existing well at Peers Park. The proposed project design is preliminary and the final project facility design would incorporate input from the public (including property owner and neighbors) received throughout the project planning and environmental review process. The final project design will be subject to review by the City of Palo Alto Architectural Review Board to ensure that project design is consistent with that of the surrounding community. Peers Park Well Introduction The existing Peers Park Well site is located in the southeastern comer of the City-owned Peers Park, just north of a curving Park Boulevard. Alexander "Peers" Park is a 4.7 acre neighborhood park with a large grassy area, tennis courts, a basketball court, picnic tables, and playgrounds. The park is abutted by CalTrain railroad tracks to the east. Peers Park is located along Park Boulevard and is bordered by single family residences to the north, south and west, and Alma Street to the east. The existing well site is fenced and set back from the large grassy fields, picnic facilities, tennis courts and playground equipment. The well site and access driveway are screened by tall mature trees (See Exhibit A-I). The well was drilled in 1958 to a depth of 950 feet, with a 14 inch steel casing. The well is currently operational. Performance data collected since the time of construction suggest a current discharge rate of 900 gallons per minute. The Peers Park site has sensored exterior lighting. The site currently has an existing well and operations building fenced off from public use areas. Under the proposed project, the Peers Park well will be rehabilitated to increase its production capacity and improve the well site reliability in accordance with the City's Emergency Water Supply and Storage Project. Proposed Well Rehabilitation Activities Prior to rehabilitation, the well would be inspected and the scope of the required well rehabilitation effort would be identified depending on its condition. Upgrade of existing wells would include repairing or installing a new well casing, pumps, motors, and controls. Appurtenances required could include piping, valves, and meters. The upgrade or reconstruction of the well building may 1 070227 syn 6050105 be required depending on the condition of existing structure. Other construction related activities would include site-clearing activities, upgrades to the electrical service, and architectural/landscaping/sound proofing treatments. Lighting would be provided similar to existing conditions, and would be dependent on the location of the facility, security requirements, public input and per City, DRS and other requirements. If external lighting is required, motion sensor lighting would be installed. The existing fencing would be replaced with the City's current standard fencing 8 foot high minimum, PVC black coated, special security type chain link steel fencing, with a locked entrance gate. Because the rehabilitation activities would increase the volume of water produced at the well, modification to the existing water distribution system could be required. Potential modifications include moving the existing groundwater well piping connection point to the distribution system to a different location or increasing the number of pipes connecting the groundwater system to the distribution system in order to dissipate the pipe velocities. While construction activities would primarily be located within the fenced well site, construction vehicles and equipment could be located within recreational use areas during the construction period. Following completion of well construction activities, construction work areas and staging areas would be regraded, contoured, and returned to conditions and uses similar to that prior to construction activities or as desired by the local community. Bare ground would be seeded with native plant species or plantings. Following pipeline construction, disturbed areas would be restored to conditions similar to those prior to pipeline construction. Construction Schedule Well rehabilitation activities would require approximately four to six months to complete if the well casing is in good condition and only the well pump needs to be replaced. If the well casing needs to be replaced, however, the construction activities will mimic those for a new well, as described for Eleanor Pardee Park for example, which would require approximately 25 months. Actual installation time could vary depending on geologic and site conditions. The overall project (including preliminary design, design and construction) may last up to 47 months, if replacement of the existing well is required. Construction, with the exception of the 24-hour drilling/well testing, would likely occur during weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Anticipated Results The anticipated benefits of this rehabilitation include: .:. The ability to meet the Emergency Water Supply and Storage Project's objective to provide a supplemental water supply during "emergency" conditions through providing 11,000 gallons per minute of reliable well capacity and 2.5 million gallons of water storage for emergency use in Pressure Areas 1,2 and 3. Rehabilitation of the Peers Park Well would support this objective by: 2 070227 syn 6050105 ~ Increasing the production capacity of the Peers Park well to 1,200 gpm. ~ Increasing the reliability of the Peers Park well for emergency purposes. ~ Producing chloraminated water that is compatible with the water in the distribution system. 3 070227 syn 6050105