REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, PE, Director Public Works Department BY: JILL M. GORMLEY, TE, Assistant Director Public Works Department, Traffic & Engineering Services Division JASON A. CAMIT, PLS, Chief Surveyor Public Works Department, Traffic & Engineering Services Division SUBJECT ..Title RESOLUTION - Dedicating a portion of City-owned property for public street purposes on the northeast corner of East California Avenue and Fresno Street (Council District 3) ..Body RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends that Council adopt a resolution dedicating that portion of City-owned property for public street purposes to accommodate the construction of public sidewalk at 50 Fresno Street on the northeast corner of East California Avenue and Fresno Street for the California Complete Streets Project. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The public street easement at 50 Fresno Street on the northeast corner of East California Avenue and Fresno Street will allow for the construction of a sidewalk segment connecting to the existing concrete curb ramp, consistent with the limits of this application. The work includes constructing a new concrete curb ramp built to current Public Works Standard P-28 to replace the existing ramp for ADA compliance. The proposed street easement is described in Exhibit "A" and shown on "B" of the attached resolution. BACKGROUND The City of Fresno Public Works Department prepared and submitted a grant application for the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) grant project to improve pedestrian and bicycling facilities and amenities along California Avenue, within the vicinity of the Edison High School. After the grant was awarded, the project was programmed in the City of Fresno's capital budget, and the design phase is currently underway. As the design progressed, it was identified that the curb ramp located at northeast corner of East California Avenue and Fresno Street did not meet ADA standards. To construct a compliant ramp, the existing ramp must be replaced. Additional right-of-way of way is required to build the sidewalk segment that will connect to the new ramp. A dedication of that portion of City-owned parcel (APN: 467-292-05T) is required to allow the City to construct a section of sidewalk needed to replace the existing curb ramp with a new ADA-compliant curb ramp at the northeast corner of East California Avenue and Fresno Street. The land on which the proposed dedication area lies was granted to the City of Fresno on April 30, 2013 from the Successor Agency of the Former Redevelopment Agency of the City of Fresno. Capital Projects Department staff has determined the required dedication area necessary for the construction of the public curb ramp to be at 50 Fresno Street, as shown in the Resolution's Exhibits "A" and "B". Adopting the Resolution authorizes the Department of Public Works Director, or designee, to complete the dedication process. The City Attorney's Office has reviewed and approved the attached Resolution as to form. ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS Staff utilized an on-call environmental consultant to perform an environmental assessment of this project and determined it falls within the Categorical Exemption set forth in CEQA Guidelines, Section 15301/Class 1 (Existing facilities), which exempts the repair and maintenance of existing facilities that involves negligible or no expansion of an existing use. The proposed project would be consistent with the provision of a Class 1 Categorical Exemption because it would be limited to the installation of Class II and Class IV bicycle facilities, reconfiguration of intersections to better control traffic, rehabilitation of existing pavement, and installation of traffic signals and high intensity activated crosswalks to improve roadway amenities and provide better and safer options for pedestrian and cyclists. The project would also include right-of-way (ROW) acquisitions of surrounding parcels; however, proposed ROW acquisitions would not require the demolitions of any existing buildings or structures. Based on the environmental assessment, it was determined that no adverse environmental impacts would occur because the proposed project is exempt under Section 15301/Class 1 of the CEQA Guidelines and none of the exceptions to the Categorical Exemptions set forth in the Section 15300.2 of the CEQA Guidelines apply. LOCAL PREFERENCE Local preference does not apply because the dedication of a public street easement does not involve bidding or contracting. FISCAL IMPACT The California Complete Streets project is located in Council District 3. This project will not impact the General Funds as it is fully funded by Federal CMAQ funds and Measure P Category 5 funds. All funds necessary for dedication of the City-owned parcel are included in the current fiscal year as previously adopted by the Council. Attachments: Resolution - Street Dedication NEC California and Fresno Location Map Vicinity Map Environmental Assessment No. PW01006