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HomeMy WebLinkAboutGrantProposalFinal (1) City of Palo Alto (ID # 3091) City Council Staff Report Report Type: Action ItemsMeeting Date: 9/4/2012 Summary Title: Grant Proposal Submittal - Stanford Campus to Bay Trail Program Title: Request for Authorization to Submit a Grant Proposal to the County of Santa Clara for the "Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program: Connecting the Bay to Ridge" for $10.4 Million of Recreation Funds Established by the County/Stanford Trails Agreement From: City Manager Lead Department: Planning and Community Environment Recommendation Staff recommends that Council authorize the submittal of a joint grant proposal with Stanford University for “The Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program: Connecting the Bay to Ridge” in response to a call-for-projects by the County of Santa Clara for use of recreation funds established by the County/Stanford Trails Agreement. Executive Summary Staff is requesting authority to submit a joint application with Stanford University to develop a grant proposal for the implementation of the Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program with targeted improvements between the Baylands and Arastradero Preserve in response to a call- for-projects by the County of Santa Clara for use of recreation funds established by the County/Stanford Trails Agreement, which defines both the purpose and beneficiaries of the fund (Attachment B). The proposal includes five linkages that together respond to the County’s primary criteria and help to create a strong link between Stanford University and both the Baylands and the Arastradero Preserve. The program linkages include five distinct components (Attachment A): 1) Stanford Perimeter Trail ($4.5M) New Class I trails along Junipero Serra between Old Page Mill Rd and Stanford Avenue; Stanford Avenue between Junipero Serra and El Camino Real; and El Camino Real between Stanford Avenue and Quarry Road. 2) Park Blvd. Bicycle Boulevard – Phase II ($200,000) Extension of the Park Blvd. Bicycle Boulevard between Oregon Expressway and Charleston Road. Improvements include on-street neighborhood traffic calming treatments, signage, and roadway marking improvements. This linkage builds upon Phase I of the Park Blvd. Bicycle Boulevard between Churchill Avenue and Oregon Expressway, implemented in the Summer 2012 and connects to the Stanford Perimeter Trail via on-street bicycle lane facilities on Stanford Avenue. 3) Matadero Creek Trail ($1.5M) The Matadero Creek Trail creates a new Class I bicycle and pedestrian facility along the existing levee access roads of Matadero Creek maintained by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. Depending on feasibility findings, the linkage will extend between the Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard and Greer Road. A direct connection to the Park Blvd. Bicycle Boulevard is provided via the California Avenue Underpass. 4) Adobe Creek/Highway 101 Bridge ($4.0M) A new bridge crossing over Highway 101 will provide year-round access between Palo Alto and the Baylands extending access to recreational activities for Stanford and Palo Alto residents and regional users. The bridge will require additional local and regional funding and replaces the existing seasonal Lefkowitz Tunnel. This link is currently under preliminary design and environmental review by the City of Palo Alto. The requested funding will provide for completion of the design phase and allow for competition of regional funding to complete construction of the bridge. 5) Arastradero Road Trail Enhancements ($200,000) Replaces and widens selected areas of the existing Class 1 trail located along the north side of Arastradero Road between Foothill Expressway and Purissima Road in the Town of Los Altos Hills. The project connects to the recently completed S1 trail built by Stanford via bike lanes on Deer Creek Road as well as the soon to be completed C2 trail that will be constructed by Los Altos Hills. The linkage enhances recreational opportunities at the Arastradero Preserve as well as for Stanford Research Park and school employees and students between Los Altos Hills and Gunn High School/Terman Middle School. Figure 1 Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program Project Linkages Scale: None DOWNTOWN PALO ALTO 01'6 ~ \?~«'~ STANFORD RecentTllIill r~nts ARASTRADERO_ ...... .r-...., PRESERVE LOS ALTOS HILLS BAY lANDS MOUNTAIN VIEW Background County of Santa Clara – Trail Program Funding The fund that the County is administering is unusual in that its purpose is defined by an agreement between the County and Stanford University to implement the Stanford University General Use Permit. The Trail Program Funding is intended to provide for recreational facilities to mitigate impacts to other local facilities caused by the housing and academic build out permitted in the General Use Permit (GUP) issued by Stanford. When the County of Santa Clara approved Stanford’s Community Plan and General Use Permit, it identified a significant impact to recreational opportunities for existing or new campus residents and facility users. One of the mitigation measures to address this impact required Stanford to dedicate easements for two trails shown on the 1995 Countywide Trails Master Plan (Routes S1 and C1). The General Use Permit expanded on the mitigation by also requiring Stanford to construct the portions of the trails that crossed its lands, and to enter into an agreement with the County to specify the location and configuration of the trails. Stanford and the County entered into a Trails Agreement that describes how Stanford would comply with the mitigation measure and General Use Permit. First, the Agreement required Stanford to construct the S1 Trail in a location that the County preferred over the location shown in the Trails Master Plan. Second, the Agreement determined the location of the C1 Trail was along Alpine Road, and required Stanford to offer money to San Mateo County and Portola Valley for completion of the C1 Trail in those jurisdictions. Third, Stanford agreed to pay to construct a third trail, the C2 Trail, in Los Altos Hills. Stanford dedicated easements for and completed the S1 Trail within Santa Clara County. Stanford reached agreement with Los Altos Hills and will construct that trail in Spring, 2013. Stanford reached agreement with Portola Valley and has constructed the portion of the C1 Trail that is located in Portola Valley. The only jurisdiction that did not accept funding was San Mateo County. The Trails Agreement anticipated this potential outcome, and required that in such an event, Stanford would instead pay to Santa Clara County the amount it was required to offer to San Mateo County; this is the $10.4 funding available within the Trail Program. The Trails Agreement requires that Santa Clara County use the payment only to mitigate the impact identified in the County's EIR for the General Use Permit: "the adverse effect on recreational opportunities for existing or new campus residents and facility users that will be caused by the housing and academic development approved by the GUP, which will reduce the availability of recreational facilities while increasing the demand for such facilities." Call for Projects for Trail Program In Spring 2012, the Board of Supervisors received a proposal by Supervisor Kniss to use the $10.4 million to fund projects related to the City of Palo Alto’s Adobe Creek/Highway 101 Bridge project, as well as a proposed Dunbarton Bridge/Bay Trail in San Mateo County. The Board, however, directed County staff to develop a competitive process to allow for submittals of projects meeting the objectives of providing trail facilities to serve both a) residents of the Stanford Campus, and b) community members using recreational facilities on the Campus. The County of Santa Clara then released a call-for-projects for the Trail Program on August 9, 2012, with a deadline for submittals of September 6, 2012. Discussion Staff from the City of Palo Alto and Stanford University have prepared a joint application to implement the Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program: Connecting the Bay to Ridge project to take advantage of the entire $10.4M program budget and includes the following five link elements shown in Figure 1:  Stanford Perimeter Trail  Park Blvd. Bicycle Boulevard Phase II  Matadero Creek Trail  Adobe Creek/Highway 101 Bridge  Arastradero Road Trail Enhancements The Palo Alto-Stanford joint application has been prepared to directly serve the specified and intended beneficiaries of the grant funds: a) campus residents and b) community members who use Stanford's recreational facilities. It also directly addresses the impact to Palo Alto and other local recreational facilities that will be impacted by the GUP build out. Staff believes that each linkage on its own meets the spirit of the requirements of the County program but when combined together represent an extraordinary opportunity to implement a series of new on- street and off-street trail elements that link together the Stanford Campus, Palo Alto park facilities and local amenities, and regional recreational facilities such as the Baylands and Arastradero Preserve. The program is consistent with and implements projects identified in the Palo Alto Bicycle & Pedestrian Transportation Plan 2012, adopted in July 2012. It will also allow the City to be in a competitive position to request other grant funding opportunities (particularly for the Adobe Creek/101 bike bridge), given the completion of environmental and design work and the substantial matching funds already available from this program. Stanford Perimeter Trail The Stanford Perimeter Trail, Stanford’s primary component of the joint proposal, is of significant benefit to Palo Alto residents and other community members. The route connects the S1 trail and the Stanford “Dish” area to El Camino Real and then to the Stanford Shopping Center, the Intermodal Station, and El Camino Park. Palo Alto residents comprise the largest number of non-Stanford community members who use the Stanford Dish Recreational Route. The project will involve subsequent public review at the County level, and the City will be notified of opportunities for public input. Conclusion The proposed Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program takes advantage of and builds upon active and recently completed projects by both entities. For example, the Stanford Perimeter Trail connects to the new S1 Trail along Page Mill Road and bike lanes on Deer Creek Road, extending recreation facility uses to the soon-to-be constructed C2 Trail in Los Altos Hills and to the Arastradero Preserve through the Arastradero Road Trail Enhancements Link. The same linkage then extends through the heart of the residential community intended to benefit from the County recreation fund by expanding the Park Blvd. Bicycle Boulevard and linking it to a new trail along Matadero Creek. This segment would extend through the Midtown area while also providing connections to Hoover Park, Seale Park, Greer Park, the California Avenue/Park Blvd Plaza, and to public schools including El Carmelo, Escondido, and Nixon schools. The Adobe Creek/Highway 101 Bridge elements will create a new safe year-round crossing over Highway 101 to link all of these facilities with the Baylands. The Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program also supports two of the three Bay to Ridge Trail alignments suggested by the City of Palo Alto’s Parks & Recreation Commission via alignments along Matadero Creek and Arastardero Road- Charleston Road. Staff from the City and Stanford University collaborated to develop the concept for the Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program and to develop a joint application in response to the call-for- projects. Staff believes that the five link elements of the Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program meet the goals of the grant program more competitively together than if the links were submitted as separate stand-alone proposals. The County’s process does not require the Council to formally approve the application by resolution. If the County funds the joint proposal, staff will return to Council for subsequent approvals of various types, including a funding agreement, revisions to CIP projects and budgets, and contracts for design and construction. Grant proposals are due September 6, 2012 to the County of Santa Clara and the final proposal was still being developed at the time this staff report was being prepared and so is not available as an attachment. A map summary of the proposal is included as Attachment A and is described in the Executive Summary above. A copy of the final proposal submitted to the County will be provided to the City Council after submittal to the County and will be made available online at the City of Palo Alto’s Bike Program website at: www.cityofpaloalto.org/bike. Timeline Grant applications in response to the County of Santa Clara call-for-projects are due on September 6, 2012. If the joint application is selected for funding, the City will be required to enter into a Funding Agreement (Attachment A) with the County of Santa Clara for the expenditure and implementation of the proposed projects. Stanford University will enter into a separate agreement with the County for the management and implementation of the Stanford Perimeter Trail linkage. The schedule for the implementation of each link will vary depend on the design and community input process. Resource Impact Submittal of a grant application has no immediate resource impact to the City but if the application is selected for funding by the County of Santa Clara, the City will be required to create new Capital Improvement Program (CIP) projects at mid-year or as part of the FY2014 program. Each of the four City linkage projects would be partially funded by the grant program. The Adobe Creek/Highway 101 Bridge link specifically will require additional regional grant-fund sources to complete. Staff will, in the coming months, be recommending an immediate acceleration of a minimum of $1.0M of the Stanford Unviersity Medical Center Sustainability Program funds to complete the design of that project to make the project more competitive for additional regional funds. The remaining three city projects will be further defined upon the completion of feasibility studies. Policy Implications Each of the linkages of the Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program: Connecting the Bay to Ridge is consistent with the Palo Alto Bicycle & Pedestrian Transportation Plan 2012 and the following Palo Alto Comprehensive Plan Elements: Goal T-3 Facilities, Services, and Programd that Encourage and Promote Walking and Bicycling Goal N-1 A Citywide Open Space System that Protects and Conserves Palo Alto’s Natural Resources and Provides a Source of Beauty and Enjoyment for Palo Alto Residents Environmental Review The Palo Alto Bicycle & Pedestrian Transportation Plan 2012 identifies each of the five linkages of the Stanford and Palo Alto Trail Program. A Negative Declaration was approved for the Plan, but each project may require subsequent environmental assessment and study as the design of each project link is refined through the design and community outreach process. In addition, Santa Clara County's Program EIR for the Stanford Community Plan and General Use Permit addresses the environmental impacts of development of projects on the Stanford campus, including related trail mitigation. The County is expected to rely on that EIR in connection with approval of trail segments on Stanford land in unincorporated Santa Clara County. Attachments:  Attachment A: Stanford and Palo Alto Trails Program Overview Map (PDF)  Attachment B: Santa Clara County Call for Trail Projects (PDF) Prepared By: Jaime Rodriguez, Chief Transportation Official Department Head: Curtis Williams, Director City Manager Approval: ____________________________________ James Keene, City Manager "b "b "b "b "b San Francisco Bay Trail San Francisco Bay Trail bbbbbbbbb"""""""""""""""""""""""""""" bbbbbbbbbbbbb""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" Dish Route Dish Route San F r a n c i s c o B a y T r a i l Bol P a r k P a t h ·|}þ82 280CALIFORNIA INTERSTATE £101 C1 C2 S1 3 2 1 1 1 C2 C1 4 5 City of Portola Valley Stanford University Stanford Research Park City of Palo Alto Unincorporated Santa Clara County San Francisco Bay City of Mountain View City of Menlo Park City of East Palo Alto Town of Los Altos Hills City of Los Altos Arastradero Preserve (Palo Alto) Baylands Preserve Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge Shoreline at Mountain View Emb a r c a d e r o R d Oregon Exp Matadero C r e e k Charles t o n R d Par k B l v d B i k e B l v d El C a m i n o R e a l Stanford Ave Page Mill Rd Sand Hill Rd Junipero Serra Blvd Arastradero Rd Meado w D r California Ave Caltrain Undercrossing Oregon Expy Overcrossing !I 0 0.50.25 Miles Stanford & Palo Alto Trails Program Overview Map Palo Alto Bay to Ridge Trails Network Other Trails (Select) Approved Trail (Est. Completion by 2013) Proposed Grant Projects (New Linkages) City of Palo Alto Supportive Projects (Active Projects Funded by Others) Existing Trail Linkages Stanford University Properties 1. Stanford Perimeter Trail 2. Park Boulevard Bicycle Boulevard Extension 3. Matadero Creek Trail 4. Adobe Creek/Highway 101 Overcrossing 5. Arastradero Road C-2 Trail Upgrades Program Linkages Countywide Trails AlignmentX# APPLICATION GUIDELINES FOR PROJECTS TO ADDRESS ALTERNATIVE MITIGATION RESULTING FROM THE LOSS OF RECREATIONAL OPPORTUNIITIES DUE TO DEVELOPMENT RESULTING FROM STANFORD UNIVERSITY’S 2000 GENERAL USE PERMIT Background and Purpose The Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara has available $10,379,474 to use on projects that will mitigate for the loss of recreational opportunities for existing or new Stanford residents and facility users due to development on the Stanford University campus resulting from approval of a General Use Permit (GUP) in 2000. In 2000, the County certified a program EIR and issued the GUP to Stanford University for campus-wide development. EIR Impact OS-3 recognizes that the development permitted under the GUP would significantly impact recreational opportunities for existing or new campus residents and facility users. This impact is the result of Stanford housing development on several sites used for recreation and an overall increase to Stanford’s resident and worker population, which would reduce the availability of recreational facilities while increasing the demand for such facilities. To mitigate the loss of recreational opportunities, two mitigation measures were adopted. Mitigation OS-3A requires Stanford to improve parks in the faculty area to provide suitable recreational opportunities for the campus population and to continue to provide neighborhood recreation opportunities in new residential areas. Mitigation OS-3B requires Stanford to dedicate the trail easements. Mitigation OS-3B does not require Stanford to make any improvements to the trail corridors. Mitigation OS-3B was satisfied by GUP condition I.2 requiring Stanford to dedicate easements for, develop, and maintain the portions of two trail alignments which cross Stanford lands shown in the 1995 Santa Clara Countywide Trails Master Plan (Routes S1 and C1). Agreements for the trails easements were to be executed within one year of GUP approval in 2000. However, due to complexities associated with the C1 alignment, the Board directed County staff and Stanford in 2001 to suspend work on the C1 alignment and to proceed with the S1 alignment. In December 2005, the Board authorized the County Executive to execute a Trails Agreement with Stanford University. Trails Agreement The Trails Agreement required Stanford to construct and dedicate one of the specific S1 trail alignments. Stanford completed construction of the S1 trail alignment and the trail was opened Page 2 to the public on May 20, 2011. The C1 trail alignment proposed by Stanford generally followed Alpine Road. Because portions of this alignment ran through jurisdictions of the County of San Mateo and the Town of Portola Valley, the Trails Agreement gave Stanford time to reach agreement with those jurisdictions for their portions of the alignment. If Stanford did not reach agreement with the County of San Mateo and/or the Town of Portola Valley within a certain amount of time, Stanford was required to pay the County $8.4 million for the portion of the C1 trail in the County of San Mateo and $2.8 million for the portion in the Town of Portola Valley. The County of San Mateo and Stanford did not reach agreement within the amount of time identified in the Trails Agreement and, thus in accordance with the Trails Agreement, Stanford paid the County $10,379,474 on February 29, 2012. These funds are to be used to mitigate the significant environmental impact on the availability of recreational facilities caused by development authorized under the GUP. In particular, the Trails Agreement specifies that these funds must be used to mitigate the adverse effect on recreational opportunities for existing or new campus residents and facility users that will be caused by the housing and academic development approved by the GUP, which will reduce the availability of recreational facilities while increasing the demand for such facilities. The Trails Agreement further provides that funds shall not be used for facilities on Stanford University lands without Stanford’s consent. Applicant Eligibility Local public agencies, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, and Stanford University are eligible to apply for funding of recreational facilities. Project Eligibility Criteria Before a project may be considered, applicants must submit an application packet that demonstrates the fulfillment of the following conditions: • The proposed project must demonstrably provide recreational opportunities to new and existing Stanford residents and facility users in a manner that will mitigate Impact OS-3, specifically: “the adverse effect on recreational opportunities for existing or new campus residents and facility users that will be caused by the housing and academic development approved by the GUP, which will reduce the availability of recreational facilities while increasing the demand for such facilities.” (Trails Agreement, §4(i).) • The proposed project will be located within or near the geographic boundary depicted in the attached map, Exhibit 1. • The proposed project shall be located on public land, public park, or on private property. A public park is a park that is owned or operated by a county, a city, or other public agency, such as, an open space district. Eligible private property is land where the proposed project is to be located that is (i) dedicated to public access for recreational use by deed or other legal agreement and (ii) open to the public on a non-discriminatory basis. Page 3 Where the proposed recreational use is established by agreement, such as, a lease, the agreement must provide for continual use for recreational purposes on a non- discriminatory basis, and the applicant must submit documentation from the property owner consenting to the proposed project and committing to the execution of a Project Agreement. • If the proposed project is located on Stanford lands then provide written consent from Stanford University with project application submittal. • Prior to award of County funding, the project will comply with CEQA. Public Access to Proposed Project As a condition of receiving funding from the County of Santa Clara, the public must have access to the proposed project. As part of an application where public access already exists, the applicant must submit a deed or other legal agreement demonstrating that the property where the proposed project will be located is retained for public access and recreational use. Where the proposed project is located on private property or on public property not available to public access, the applicant will convey to the County of Santa Clara or other local public entity an easement or other legal agreement to provide public access deemed sufficient by the Board of Supervisors. The easement or other legal agreement will ensure that the property where the project is located will be retained for public access and recreational use. The easement, or other legal agreement, will be executed by the applicant prior to receipt of grant funding from the County, and the County or other local public entity will execute and record the easement, or other legal agreement, upon distribution of grant funding to the applicant. Funding Assistance Acknowledgement The applicant is required to publically acknowledge County of Santa Clara funding assistance. The primary recognition will be a plaque permanently affixed to the recreational facility structure or on a prominent location on the project site, visible to the public. Additionally, the applicant must give credit to the County in project-related materials including newsletters, brochures, and internet messages regarding the project for which the grant funds were used. The acknowledgement credit shall read: “Project made possible in part by funding from the County of Santa Clara.” Operation and Maintenance Upon completion of the project, the applicant must open the property to the public, and continuously operate and maintain the property for the benefit of the public. Ongoing maintenance of the property is solely the responsibility of the applicant.