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HomeMy WebLinkAboutStaff Report 341-08City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report TO: FROM: HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AND COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENT DATE:AUGUST 4, 2008 CMR: 341:08 SUBJECT:UPDATE ON POLICY AND SERVICES COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL ON VTA GOVERNANCE This is an information report and no Council action is requested at this time. BACKGROUND On June 3, 2008, staff presented a review of eleven regional transportation issues to the Policy and Services Committee (P&S) including the issue of potential changes to VTA Governance. At that meeting, the Policy and Services Committee directed staff to prepare a recommendation to the City Council on the anticipated VTA Governance structure prior to scheduled action by the VTA Board of Directors at its meeting in late summer. The VTA had previously contracted with the Hay Group in 2007 to conduct a financial and organizational assessment of VTA operations to strengthen the Board’s effectiveness, governance and financial management. The Hay Group report identified Board turnover and the length of Board member terms in office as a critical challenge to effective go’cernance. In particular, the report identified high turnover among the small city groups. At the time of the P&S meeting, there was one proposal for changing the VTA structure and representation for the small city groupings. That proposal included expanding the small city groupings from 3 to 4 groups, based on geographic proximity and population; dropping the practice of rotating seats within each grouping; encouraging the reappointment of Board members to a term totaling 4 years instead of 2 years, and developing a process of selecting VTA Directors with the required experience and qualifications. The proposed configuration would better align the groupings along geographic proximity; however, the number of cities within each of the four groupings varies substantially ranging from three to five cities. Palo Alto would benefit from the proposed configuration by being in a grouping of only three cities with contiguous geographic proximity instead of five cities. (See Attachment A, fact sheet provided in CMR:267:08). The VTA Board had discussed the governance issue at its May meeting, but deferred action until other options could be explored by individual members. Subsequently, a sub-group of the VTA Board was formed to identify possible alternative options to this governance proposal. The concept proposed by the sub-committee is for the VTA Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) to elect the small city representatives to the Board from among its members. This matter was CMR:341:08 Page 1 of 3 discussed at a recent VTA Board committee of the whole, but no official proposal has yet been drafted for review. Therefore, the details of the ’proposal are not available to forward to the City Council at this time. This proposal has the potential to change the current practice of rotation of board seats among member cities. Other options, such as direct election of Board members by district, are not within the purview of the Board to implement without action by the State legislature to change the enabling legislation which created the VTA. DISCUSSION This information report is to provide the Council with the current status of the VTA Governance structure process. Although the VTA Board is scheduled to discuss the governance matter as an action item on August 7, to date there has been no official written proposal submitted from the subcommittee on their alternative proposal nor is the VTA staff report to the Board yet available. Therefore, staff is unable to forward to Council a recommendation on the proposed structure. City staff has been in continual contact with VTA staff and has been awaiting further written information about the various proposals moving forward to the Board for consideration. Earlier this week, staff contacted Jim Lawson, Community Relations Manager for the VTA, to ascertain the current status of this issue. Mr. Lawson indicated that three possible courses of action will be presented to the Board at its August meeting: (1) the original proposal for restructuring the small city groupings, (2) the sub-committee proposal, or (3) do nothing and retain the current governance structure. The VTA Board report will not be available until end of the day, August 1 st. If the VTA Board selects either option 1 or 2, the VTA staff indicated that the proposed change in VTA governance would require an amendment to the VTA Joint Powers Authority, which created the agency. The amendment would need to be referred to each member agency for ratification enabling the City Council to mak,e a policy decision on the VTA Board structure at that time. Staff will coordinate with Councilmember Kishimoto, a VTA Board member, and Councilmember Espinosa, Palo Alto’s VTA PAC representative, will continue to monitor this issue, and will bring forward a recommendation to the City Council as further information becomes available. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This report does notrequest Council action. However, the City’s role and interest in VTA Board structure and governance issues is consistent with Comprehensive Plan Policy T-49, Lead and participate in initiatives to manage regional traffic. ATTACHMENTS A: CMR 267:08, with VTA Governance exhibits only CMR:341:08 Page 2 of 3 PREPARED BY: GAYLE }~KENS Transportation Manager DEPARTMENT HEAD: CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: CURTIS WILLIAMS Interim Director of Planning and Community Environment KELLY MORA~ / STEVE EMSLIE Deputy City Mfinagers CMR:341:08 Page 3 of 3 TO: Attachment A City of Pal9 Alto City Manager’s Report HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL ATTN: FROM: DATE: SUBJECT: POLICY AND SERVICE COMMITTEE CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT: PLANNING AND COMMUNITYENVIRONMENT JUNE 3, 2008 CMR: 267:08 REVIEW OF REGIONAL TRANSPORATION RECOMMENDATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that the Policy and Services Committee review and comment on the regional transportation issues discussed in this report and recommend to Council to: 1.Refer the Palo Alto Intermodal Transit Center project,, the Caltrain! California High Speed Rail and the Comprehensive County Expressway Study to the Planning and Transportation Commission for review and recommendations to the City Council. 2.Continue support for the existing Council position on ramp metering as detailed in the May 29, 1996 letter from Mayor Wheeler to Caltrans and direct staff to convey the Council position to VTA and Caltrans and report back to the City Council. 3.Direct staff to prepare a recommendation to the City Council on anticipated Valley Transportation Agency (VTA) Governance structure prior to scheduled action by the VTA Board of Directors this summer. BACKGROUND On May 19, 2008, the City Council voted to refer the matter of regional transportation initiatives, projects and studies as they relate to and could have impacts for Palo Alto to the Policy and Services Committee for discussion and review. Since Council members also sit on policy advisory boards and committees for some of these transportation studies, the Policy & Services Committee was the appropriate body to develop updates, review past Council positions, determine next steps, and recommend potential policy position to the full City Council. DISCUSSION This report provides background on eleven regional transportation initiatives of interest to both the Council and the community. These projects, independently and cumulatively will have implications for Palo Alto and the mid-peninsula. Specific issues discussed in this report are following: 1.2020 Peninsula Gateway Corridor Study CMR:267:08 Page 1 of 4 3. 4. 5. 6. 7, 8. 9. Highway 101 Auxiliary Lanes/101 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes Project Highway 101 Ramp Metering Project Dumbarton Rail & HOV Buses Santa Clara County Comprehensive Expressway Study Update VTA Valley Transportation Plan (VTP) 2035 California High Speed Rail (HSR) Caltrain Electrification Grand Boulevard Initiative and E1 Camino/Stanford Avenue project Pa!o Alto Intermodal Transit Center VTA Governance There are City ’ Council adopted policies in the Comprehensive Plan or developed directly by Council for several of the above issues, while others are new issues that have not been discussed by the City Council. These projects can be classified into three general categories: . (1) projects requiring City Council policy direction; (2) projects to be referred to the Planning and Transportation Commission for further review prior to Council action; and (3) projects to be monitored by. staff and brought forward for policy direction at a later time when the projects progress to a stage that sufficient information is available for a policy decision. The attached materials present an overview and status of each of these projects. Staff will continue to monitor all of these projects, prepare more detailed reports for policy direction on individual items where appropriate, and forward issues to the Planning and Transportation Commission and Council for review and recommendations. RESOURCE IMPACT There is no City resource impact associated with these recommendations. POLICY IMPLICATIONS The recommendations in this report are cor~sistent with existing stated Council policies and Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element policies, including: Policy T-7: Support plans for a quiet, fast rail system that encircles the Bay, and for intra-count and transbay transit systems that link Palo Alto to the rest of Santa Clara County and adjoining counties. Program T-14: Pursue development of the University Avenue Multi-modal Transit Station conceptual plan based on the 1993-94 design study Program T-17: Support Caltrain electrification and its extension to Downtown San Francisco. Policy T-25: When constructing or modifying roadways, plan for usage of the roadway space by all users, including motor vehicles, transit vehicles, bicyclists, and pedestrians. CMR:267:08 Page 2 of 4 Policy T-49: Lead and participate in initiatives to manage regional traffic. Policy T252: Where appropriate, support the conversion of existifig traffic lanes to exclusive bus and high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on freeways and expressways, including the Dumbarton Bridge. Policy T-53’ Participate in seeking a regional solution to improved roadway connections between Highway 101 and the Dumbarton Bridge without construction of a southern connection across environmentally sensitive baylands. 15olicy T-54: Support efforts by Caltrans and the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Congestion Management Program to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow on area freeways. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW Receiving an.update on these regional transportation issues does not constitute a project under the California Environmental Quality Act. ATTACHMENTS A. Project Matrix B. 2020 Peninsula Gateway Corridor Study C. Highway 101 Auxiliary Lanes/.101 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes Project. D. Highway 101 Ramp Metering Project E. Dumbarton Rail & HOV Buses F. Santa Clara County Comprehensive Expressway Study Update G. VTA Valley Transportation Plan (VTP) 2035 H. California High Speed Rail (HSR) I. Caltrain Electrification J. Grand Boulevard Initiative and E1 Camino/Stanford Avenue project K. Palo Alto Intermodal Transit Center L. VTA Governance COURTESY COPIES Planning and Transportation Commission Chamber of Commerce PREPARED BY:¯ GAYLE LIKENS Transportation Manager CMR:267:08 Page 3 of 4 DEPARTMENT HEAD: CURTIS WILLIAMS Interim Director of Planning and Community Environment CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: KELLY Deputy City Managers EMSLIE CMR:267:08 Page 4 of 4 VALLEY TRANSPORTATION AUTHO~ATY (VTA) GOVERNANC E Project Description: The VTA contracted the Hay Group to conduct a _financial organizational assessment of VTA operations to strengthen r,h.a Board’s ,e.ff:e~ctivenes:-~, go romance and financial management. The Hay Group report identified Board turnover and the length of board member terms in office as a critical challenge to effective governance. In particular the report identified high turnover among the small city groups. ’]’he proposed dhanges in VTA governance include: expanding the small city groupings from 3 to 4 groups, based on geographic proximity and population; dropping the practice of rotating seats within each grouping; encouraging the reappointment cf board members ~o a term totaling 4 years instead of 2 years, and developing a process of selecting VTA Directors with the required experience and qualifications. Cv, rrently the VTA Board is composed of 12 members from the following groupings developed at the time of the creation of the VTA based on population: Group Membership Board seats Group 1 San Jose 5 Group 2 Los Altos, Palo Alto, ~/fountain View Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Los Aims Hills Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos ~_[onte Sereno, Saratoga Gilroy, Milpitas, Morgan Hill Santa Clara County Group 3 Group 4 Group 5 2 No changes are proposed for Groups 1 and 5. The proposed reconfigured small city groupings are based first on geographic proximity and second on population. The small city groups would be increased from 3 to 4, but the total number of Board members representing these cities would remain at 5 members. The proposed structure for Small City Groupings: Group Pop/Seat West Valley Members ,Population Seats Campbell, Cupertino, Los Altos Hills Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga ~ 63, 749 1 163, 749 Northwest Los Altos, _PaIo Alto, Mozmtain View 163,295 1 163,295 Northeast ~EriIpitas, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara 309,574 2 154, 788 South Cozmty GiIroy, Morgan Hill, San Martin 90, 618 1 90, 618’ Lead Agency: VTA Cost: NA Timeline: tentative schedule is for the VTA Board to take action in August Existing Council Position: The City Council has not taken a position on this new proposal. Comprehensive Plan Poi~cy: Policy T-49, Lead and participate in initiatives to manage regional traffic. Issues for Palo Alto: The proposed configuration would align the groupings along geographic proximity, better than the current structure, but the number of cities within the 4 groupings varies substantially. Palo Alto would benefit by being in a grouping of only 3 cities with contiguous geographic proximity. However, with the creation of the South County grouping, the concept of proportional representation is compromised. The proposal calls for Board members to have experience and knowledge of transportation issues, gained through service on the VTA Board Policy Advisory Committee or a VTA Board advisory committee. Palo Alto has had regular representation on the Policy Advisory Committee and past VTA Board members fi’om Palo Alto have been very knowledgeable upon j oining the Board. The issue of Board member term, however, could result in decreased direct representation on the Board by a Palo Alto Council member, as the term for the designated member would typica!ly increase from 2 to 4 years in order to reduce turnover and retain expertise on the Board. It is yet undefined how each grouping would select the member. VTA Board did not take a position on this matter at the April meeting, but deferred action until other options could be explored by individual members. If approved the new governance structure would begin in January 20 t0. Other options such as direct election of Board members by district, are not within the purview of the Board to implement without a change in state law. Staff Recommendation: Staff recommends the Policy and Services Committee support the concept of proportional representation and recommend that the City Council direct staff to prepare a report to the Council for pqlicy direction in time for Palo Alto’s position to be considered by the VTA Board of Directors later this summer. Links/Resources: none Committee Meeting Da~e: Board Meeting Date: ACT]~ON I’T°F~M Februarv 2 7. TO:Policy Advisory Corr~mktee Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Board of Directors THROUGH: SUBJECT: Michael T. Bums General Manager Jim Lawson Senior Policy Advisor VTA Governance RECOMMENDATION: Recommend that the VTA Board of Directors amend the VTA Administrative Code to make the following changes to VTA’s governance: Reconfigure the small city groupings to include a new group comprised of Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Milpitas, and move Los Altos Hills to the West Valley City Group. Eliminate the concept of city groupings selecting their representative(s) through a rotation process. Each of the city groups will "select" their representative(s) to serve as a Director on the VTA Board. 3.VTA Directors will still serve two-year terms. However, the appointing authorities will be encouraged to reappoint representatives,to consecutive ~erms. 4.Include a process for selecting VTA Directors within the city groupings. VTA Directors should have the required experience and qualifications in transportation. BACKGROUND: VTA previously engaged the Hay Group to conduct a comprehensive Organization and Financial Assessment (Assessment). As a result of that Assessment, VTA received a set of recommendations designed to strengthen VTA’s governance, financial management and organizational effectiveness. The Board has made a number of decisions to implement the recommendations resulting from the Assessment, and VTA is beginning to realize the intended benefits. In the area of governance, the Assessment identified Board turnover as a critical challenge to the governance structure at VTA. Turnover is particularly high for the small city groupings. The Assessment recommended that the VTA Board look at aItematives to lengthen the term of office for Directors and also work with appointing authorities to ensure that eligibility for selection to serve on the VTA Board include appropriate qualifications and experience, as well as the time left in the elected officials term of office so that they do not "term out" during their tenure as a VTA Director. To further address these issues, as well as concerns regarding the geographical configuration of the small city groupings, Director Greg Sellers was asked to work with VTA staff and consultants to develop recommendations regarding VTA’s governance for the Board’s consideration. At the February 7th Board of Directors meeting, Director Sellers provided a brief update to the Board on his activities and his initial recommendations. In addition, Director Sellers sent letters on February 15, 2008, to every Santa Clara County Mayor, VTA Board member and VTA Policy Advisory Committee member with a summary of the governance recommendations. In his letter, Director Sellers explained the purpose for the recommendations and offered to meet with each city council to answer questions and obtain input. DISCUSSION: The current small city group configuration was based primarily on population and secondarily on geography. VTA’s history and Directors’ experience have shown that cities that are geographically proximate have very similar issues, challenges and opportunities. The following recommendations organize cities based on geographic proximity first and population second. The population analysis is based on current data, and also contemplates areas of new and planned growth in the county. The proposed r.ecommendations will reconfigure the existing small city groupings and add one new group based on geographic proximity and population size to create "regions" within the county (see the following chart). A fourth region would be added in recognition that San Martin is seeking to incorporate as a city and that South County region is the fastest growing region in Santa Clara County. Page 2 of 3 Proposed Small City Groupings W~ST ~NORTH ~ C0m_m_t_2.bell :; 38~138 :. Los Altos i 22300 .... .C_up e rti n o Los Altos Hills Los Gatos Monte Sereno , S~ratoga TOTAL Pop/seat 53,000 ~ .4_8__% __.. 291132 3,900 ..... - 3___~1 ~_0_ 97_~ 163,749_ 163,749 Vi ew _~ Pa!o Alto 71~995 62~000 163,295 ...... 163,295 NORTH .:: SOUTH EAST .(_2._~.:E__A_~_S_] ’ C O U N TY .(~_~_E__..A_T_] .... Milpitas ’6 ~__~_Q 50 GilroZ i 48~.5_ 27 Morgan Santa Clara !iI0~771 ~il.__l___f;___3.ZL09_$__~San Sunnyvale {!133,754 :~ The groupings for the City of San Jose and Santa Clara County are unchanged. Applying to aI1 groups would be the requirement that the representative(s) be chosen "on the basis of.the appointees’ expertise, experience or knowledge relative to transportation issues.’’~ Such expertise should be gained primarily through prior service on the VTA Policy Advisory Committee (PAC). Other appropriate experie.nce would be membership on VTA’s Citizens Advisory Committee, Committee for Transit Accessibility or other VTA advisory committees. Experience can also be gained through membership on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and its advisory committees, Caltrain and its advisory committees, and the League of California Cities and its committees pertaining to transportation. These are illustrative of areas where the necessary experience and expertise can be gained. They are not intended to limit the evaluation of a perspective appointee’s expertise, experience or knowledge. Directors would be encouraged to serve consecutive terms based upon their performance representing their region and the best interests of the VTA. Directors must be selected to serve on the VTA Board based on qualifications and time left in their term in office as an elected official. These recommendations are within the VTA Board’s current authority to implement. They would raise the level of expertise among all VTA Board members while providing a new level of consistency for all city groups. If enacted, the new governance structure would begin in January 2010 to coincide with the start of new Board terms. Prepared by: Scott Haywood, Policy & Community Relations Manager Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority Administrative Code, Article 2, Sec. 2-I 1, p.4 Page 3 of 3