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Home My WebLink AboutSR - - STATUS REPORTONn c AGENDA ITEM April 14, 2015 TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council FROM: Rick Otto Interim City Manager ReviewedNerified B City Manager Finance Director To Be Presented By: Rick Otto Cons Calendar X City Mgr Rpts Council Reports _ Legal Affairs Boards /Crates Public Hrgs Admin Reports Plan /Environ 1. SUBJECT Status Report for the Metrolink Parking Structure Project. 2. SUMMARY This Status Report provides an overview of the Metrolink Parking Structure Project and anticipated tasks to be completed by December 2015. 3. RECOMMENDATION Receive and file. 4. FISCAL IMPACT The Status Report has no impact to the City of Orange Budget. Construction funding for the Metrolink Parking Structure has been secured under an approved Cooperative Agreement No. C- 3 -2065 for $16.7 million in funding from Orange County Transportation Authority and $3.7 million from former Orange Redevelopment Agency bond funds for a total of $20.4 million for the project. 5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOAL(S) 2. Be a fiscally healthy community. a. Expend fiscal resources responsibly. 3. Enhance and promote quality of life in the community d. Maintain and improve multi -modal transportation throughout the City. 6. GENERAL PLAN IMPLEMENTATION Land Use (LU) Element _Goal 5.0 - Maintain and enhance the vibrant, transit - accessible, pedestrian friendly, and livable character of Old Towne's neighborhoods and commercial core. ITEM 0-A 1 4/14/15 LU Policy 5.4 Develop additional sensitively designed public parking in Old Towne. Circulation and Mobility (CM) Element Policy 5.1 — Provide adequate parking to protect and support the economic vitality and diversity of Old Towne. CM Policy 3.1 — Work with OCTA and other agencies to assess City public transportation needs and to ensure delivery of services when and where they are needed. CM Policy 3.2 — Enhance and encourage provision of convenient and attractive transit amenities and streetscapes to encourage the use of public transportation. 7. DISCUSSION and BACKGROUND BACKGROUND In 2009, the City of Orange (City) and the Orange Redevelopment Agency (Agency) entered into a Cooperative Agreement with OCTA to fund design of two parking structures at the Orange Transportation Center (OTC). Based on cost considerations and site constraints at the West Chapman Parking Lot, the parking structure project was reduced to one location at the Lemon Street Parking Lot. Following review of a series of design options, the City Council selected a preferred option after a comprehensive Study Session in November 2009. In summary, the proposed Metrolink Parking Structure project would involve removal of the existing Lemon Street surface parking lot improvements and the construction of a five -level parking structure, with two subterranean levels and three above - ground levels. The project would provide for 611 parking spaces of which 500 are available for transit use and 111 general use spaces. In 2010, the City and Agency entered into a Cooperative Agreement with OCTA for reimbursement by OCTA of the design costs for the project, including project management during the design phase, preparation of conceptual designs, community outreach, and preparation of plans and specifications. Part of the initial planning efforts involved outreach to local residents, Old Towne Preservation Associations (OTPA) and the local Plaza Design Collaborative in 2010 and 2011. A community open house was also held in November 2011. A series of project set -backs associated with the 2012 redevelopment dissolution and involvement by the State Department of Finance (DOF) delayed progress of the Metrolink Parking Structure. In the midst of DOF challenges in 2012 and 2013, primary efforts focused on litigation resolution, real estate transfer and redevelopment bond funding that were essential to the Metrolink Parking Structure project. Work associated with schematic designs and technical reports progressed slowly and intermittently during the next two year period as DOF was inconsistent with approvals for the project. The Metrolink Parking Structure project resumed in 2014 after obtaining all the necessary DOF approvals for funding of design contracts, environmental work, construction funding and use of redevelopment bond proceeds. The Design Review Committee (DRC) reviewed the draft schematic design plans at their March 2013. DRC input and community ITEM 2 4/14/15 comments from the March meeting have been incorporated into the final schematic design plans which include: the photovoltaic panels were redesigned to limit their visibility; the top deck lighting scheme was redesigned to limit pole height; the design of the building openings was further refined to reference the character of nearby historic industrial buildings; and the brick pattern and color were further developed to be compatible with the historic district. See Attachment No. 1 for the final schematic design plans. Following completion of the final schematic design plans, the City prepared the federal and state - required environmental technical reports as required by Federal Transportation Administration (FTA) for federal funding which makes up a portion of the funds committed to the project through OCTA. Among the reports was a Historic Resources Report, which was submitted to the State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) in July 2014 following FTA review. The Historic Resources Report was resubmitted in February 2015. In March 2015, the FTA and SHPO directed the City to proceed with the CEQA process for the Metrolink Parking Structure project before they would concur with the findings of the City's Historic Resources Report. A recap of Metrolink Project History Activity is provided in Attachment No. 2. DISCUSSION A series of next steps have been outlined in collaboration with OCTA, FTA and SHPO. The coordinated efforts would ensure appropriate project review is undertaken while achieving the required timeline to meet the funding allocation process with OCTA and FTA. The next steps are as follows: Target Dates Next Steps Project Partners May 2015 Finalize the Draft CEQA environmental documents and technical City and OCTA reports; SRC review of schematic design June 2015 Release the CEQA documents for public review and hold a City and OCTA community outreach meeting Resubmit the Historic Resources Report including CEQA public City, OCTA, FTA and July 2015 review comments to SHPO SHPO Obtain SHPO concurrence; Complete design development City, OCTA, FTA and August 2015 drawings and specifications SHPO October 2015 Complete the construction drawings and finalize bid City, OCTA and FTA specifications 2015 Design Review, Planning Commission and City Council approving City Sept - Nov the CEQA documents, project entitlements and schematic design December 2015 Complete NEPA process with FTA; Coordinate with OCTA to City, OCTA and FTA secure CTC funding allocation for construction The project team have established these next milestones in order to meet the December 2015 timeline. This effort requires that the tasks described above to be undertaken concurrently. With the completion of the City approvals, it allows OCTA to request the FTA funding allocation by the California Transportation Commission (CTC) at its December 2015 meeting. The requested amount is $13,762,000 which makes up a portion of federal funds committed to the project through OCTA. ITEM 3 4/14/15 Keeping with the proposed schedule and funding approval by CTC, staff will be requesting City Council approval for construction documents, authorization to bid, and construction contract award for the project in early 2016. 8. ATTACHMENTS • Attachment No. 1— Final Schematic Design Plans • Attachment No. 2 —Metro] ink Project History Activity NAEconomic Development Files \STAFF REPORTS\2015 \041415c Metrolink CM Report.doc ITEM 4 4/14/15