RES-10415 Cooperation & Reimbursement Agreement Chapman University Quiet Zone ImprovementsRESOLUTION NO. 10415
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF ORANGE APPROVING AND
AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF A
COOPERATION AND REIMBURSEMENT
AGREEMENT WITH THE ORANGE
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY RELATING TO
RECONFIGURATION OF A PORTION OF A
PUBLIC PARKING LOT AND AN ADJACENT
PARHING LOT OWNED BY CHAPMAN
UNIVERSITY TO ACCOMMODATE QUIET ZONE
IMPROVEMENTS AT THE PALM AVENUE
RAILROAD GRADE CROSSING.
WHEREAS, the City of Orange (the City) is a municipal corporation, which exercises
governmental functions and powers and is organized and existing under the laws of the State of
California; and
WHEREAS, the Orange Redevelopment Agency, a public body, corporate and politic
the Agency), has been duly created, established and authorized to transact business and
exercise its powers under and pursuant to the Community Redevelopment Law (commencing
with Section 33000 of the Health and Safety Code of the State of California, and herein referred
to as the Redevelopment Law); and
WHEREAS, the Amended and Restated Redevelopment Plan (the Redevelopment
Plan) for the Orange Merged and Amended Redevelopment Project Area (the
Redevelopment Project Area) was duly approved by the City Council on November 27, 2001
by Ordinance No. 21-01, pursuant to the Redevelopment Law;
and WHEREAS, pursuant to the Redevelopment Law, the Agency is engaged
in activities necessary to carry out and implement the Redevelopment Plan for
the Redevelopment Project Area. To that end and included among its powers, Section 33445
of the Redevelopment Law authorizes the Agency, with the consent of the City Council,
to,among other things, pay all or a part of the cost of installation and construction of
certain public improvements, which are or will, upon completion, become publicly owned and
are located either within or outside the boundaries of the Redevelopment Project Area, upon
a determination by the Agency Board and the City Council that (a) such public
improvements are of benefit to the Redevelopment Project Area; (b) no other reasonable means of
financing such public improvements are available to the City; (c) the payment of funds for
such buildings, facilities, structures or other improvements will assist in the elimination of one
or more blighting conditions inside the Redevelopment Project Area; and (d) such
public improvements are consistent with theAgency's adopted Implementation Plan;
WHEREAS, the Southern California Regional Rail Authority (SCRRA) is a joint
powers authority created to build, maintain and operate the "Metrolink" commuter train
system in Los Angeles, Ventura, San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties on rail
rights-of--ways owned by its member agencies. The owner of the rail right-
of--way within the City of Orange is the Orange County
Transportation Authority (OCTA); and WHEREAS, SCRRA, OCTA and the City have participated in
the development of a scope of work for railroad grade crossing safety enhancements
and improvements at certain grade crossings within the City of Orange (the Quiet Zone Improvements)
for the purpose of allowing the City to request a "quiet zone" designation
from the
Federal Railroad Administration; and WHEREAS, the City and SCRRA have entered into
that certain Railroad Grade Crossing Safety Enhancements and Safety Measures Related
to Quiet Zone Implementation for the City of Orange, dated as of November 4, 2008 (hereinafter referred
to as the SCRRA Agreement), whereby SCRRA agreed to be responsible for the construction
of the Quiet Zone Improvements subject to a funding commitment from OCTA
and the City; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the adoption of Resolutions No.
ORA-0501 and 10393 on June 23, 2009, the Agency and the City entered
into that certain Cooperation and Reimbursement Agreement for the Provision
of Parking Lot Reconfiguration and Improvements of Benefit to the Orange Merged
and Amended Redevelopment Project Area Quiet Zone Improvements), dated July 21, 2009, whereby
the Agency agreed to reimburse the City in an amountnotto exceed $2,100,000.00 for its funding
commitment for the cost of construction of
the Quiet Zone Improvements; and WHEREAS, in order to accommodate that portion
of the Quiet Zone Improvements to be constructed by SCRRA on the west side of thePalmAvenuerailroadgradecrossing,SCRRA has determined that vehicular access to and fromPalmAvenueacrossthenortherlyperimeterofthatcertainpublicparkinglotownedbytheCity (
whichis subject to the Agency's leasehold interest) (the West Chapman/
Metrolink Parking Lot), which serves members of the general public and patrons of the commuter
rail passenger terminal and bus transfer facility located at 194 N. Atchison Street (
the Orange Transportation Center), will have to be closed, thus necessitating the location of an alternate
vehicular access point to
and from Palm Avenue; and WHEREAS, in order to satisfy the Agency's need
for an alternative vehicular access point to and from Palm Avenue for patrons of
the Orange Transportation Center, Chapman University, a California non-profit corporation (Chapman),
Chapman and the Agency desire to enter into a Reciprocal Easement Agreement, whereby Chapman
will convey to the Agency and its designees (including members of the general public
and patrons of the Orange Transportation Center) a ten (10) year non-exclusive easement over
and across a parking lot owned and operated by Chapman (the Palm Parking Lot) and located
adjacent to a portion of the West Chapman/Metrolink Parking Lot to allow for
vehicular access over and across the Palm Parking Lot to and from the West Chapman/Metrolink Parking Lot to Palm Avenue (the Parking Lot Reconfiguration and Improvements), the cost
of
not more than $130,000.00. In return, the Agency will pay for the cost of the Parking Lot
Reconfiguration and Improvements in accordance with the terms of the Reciprocal Easement
Agreement; and
WHEREAS, as the "lead agency" under the California Environmental Quality Act
Public Resource Code Section 21000 et seq.; herein referred to as CEQA), the City Council
finds and determines that the Parking Lot Reconfiguration and Improvements are within that
class of projects which consist of, among other things, the minor alteration of existing public
rights-of--way, sidewalks, gutters or topographical features, involving negligible
or no expansion of use beyond that previously existing and that, therefore, pursuant
to Section 15301 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (herein referred to as
the State CEQA Guidelines), the construction of the Parking Lot Reconfiguration
and Improvements will not cause a significant effect on the environment and are, therefore,
categorically exempt from the provisions of
CEQA; and WHEREAS, the Agency Board is willing in connection with the construction
of the Parking Lot Reconfiguration and Improvements to fund the City's obligation to
SCRRA for the cost of the construction thereof in an amount not in excessof $130,000. To that
end and in furtherance of the Redevelopment Plan for the Redevelopment Project Area and
the public purposes of both the Agency and the City, the City Council desires to enter into
that certain Cooperation and Reimbursement Agreement for the Provision of Public
Improvements of Benefit to the Orange Merged and Amended Redevelopment Project Area (
Quiet Zone Improvements) in the form presented at the meeting at which this Resolution is
adopted (the Agreement"), pursuant to which Agreement the City will cause the
Parking Lot Reconfiguration and Improvements to be installed and constructed, and the Agency will
pay or reimburse the City for its obligation to SCRRA for the cost of construction of the
Parking Lot Reconfiguration and Improvements in the amount not to exceed $130,000.00, all
as more particularly set forth in the
Agreement; and WHEREAS, the City Council hereby finds and determines thatthe
Agency's financial participation in the construction of the Parking Lot
Reconfiguration and Improvements in an amount not in excess of $130,000.00 will be of substantial beneft
to the Redevelopment Project
Area; and WHEREAS, the City Council has duly considered all of the terms and
conditions of the proposed Agreement and believes that the Agreement is in the best interests of
the City and the health, safety, morals and welfare of its residents, and in accord with
the public purposes and provisions of applicable State and local law
and requirements.NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Orange resolves,
finds and determines, on the basis of the facts set forth in the agenda report presented to it
and any testimony received at the meeting at which this matter was considered,
as follows:Section 1. The foregoing recitals are true
and
Section 2. The Parking Lot Reconfiguration and Improvements are exempt from
the application of CEQA pursuant to a "Class 1"categorical exemption as set forth in Section
15301 of the State CEQA Guidelines because the Parking Lot Reconfiguration and
Improvements consist of the minor alteration of existing public rights-of--
way, sidewalks,gutters or topographical features, involving negligible or no expansion of use
beyond that existing at the time of the adoption of
this Resolution.Section 3. The Parking Lot Reconfiguration and Improvements are of
benefit to the Redevelopment Project Area; there are no other reasonable means available to the
City to fund the cost of construction of the Parking Lot Reconfiguration and
Improvements; the payment of funds for the Parking Lot Reconfiguration and Improvements will assist
in the elimination of one or more blighting conditions inside the Redevelopment Project Area;
and the Parking Lot Reconfiguration and Improvements are consistent withthe Agency's adopted
Implementation Plan.Section 4. The Agreement between the Agency and the City, a copy of which
is on file with the Agency Clerk, is hereby approved, and the Mayor is authorized and
directed to execute, and the City Clerk to attest, said Agreement on behalf of
the City.Section 5. The officers and employees of the City are authorizedanddirected,jointly and severally, to do any and all things necessary or advisable in order to
effectuate the purposes of this Resolution and to administerthe City's obligations, responsibilities and
duties to be performed hereunder, and all actions previously taken by such officers and
employees in connection with the Agreement are ratified
and approved.ADOPTED this 24t" day of
November,
2009.w arolyn av che, Mayor, ityofOrange
AT°
TEST:t _Ta2ary E~_ ity Clerk, City
o
I, MARY E. MURPHY, City Clerk of the City of Orange, California, do hereby
certify that the foregoing Resolution was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of
the City of Orange at a regular meeting thereof held on the 24th day of November, 2009, by
the following vote:
AYES:COUNCILMEMBERS:Smith, Murphy, Cavecche, Dumitru, Bilodeau
NOES:COUNCILMEMBERS:None
ABSENT:COUNCILMEMBERS:None
ABSTAIN:COUNCILMEMBERS:None
Mary E. ,City Clerk, ity O nge