AgdaPkt 2018-04-09 Joint SA PFA - Laserfiche WebLink

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agency approvals are required before the City can begin construction of the Undercrossing Project. Between June 2016 and January 2018, the City received approvals from the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The remaining required approval is an encroachment permit from Caltrans and the proposed Maintenance Agreement is one requirement prior to issuance of that permit. ANALYSIS The proposed Maintenance Agreement would require the City to maintain all path improvements installed within the Caltrans right-of-way and to keep the area clear of debris, litter, vegetation, and graffiti. The improvements within Caltrans right-of-way include a 14-foot wide Class I bicycle path, two retaining walls, lighting, drainage structures, and emergency call boxes. Though the entire path is approximately 700 feet long, less than 200 feet of the path would be located within the Caltrans right-of-way and only this portion would be covered by the proposed Maintenance Agreement. However, because the rest of the path is located within the City’s right-of-way, the City would be maintaining the entire path upon its completion. As is common with inter-agency agreements the proposed Maintenance Agreement contains indemnity language that generally requires each party to indemnify the other for actions taken by the indemnifying party. Within the proposed indemnity provisions, however, Caltrans carved out a specific case where it would not indemnify the City. In a scenario where the City defaults on its obligations and subsequently the City fails to cure the default within a specified time period, if Caltrans acts to cure the default itself then it would not be required to indemnify the City for those actions taken by Caltrans. Staff recommends approval of the agreement with these provisions required by Caltrans due to the extremely low probability that the City would not be able to fulfill its obligations under the proposed Maintenance Agreement. A portion of the proposed Maintenance Agreement discusses drainage structures. The Undercrossing Project is designed to prevent flooding in periods of high water flow. The path is designed to drain into the adjacent creek by passing runoff into a 24” PVC storm drainpipe located underneath the pathway, but during normal tide events, those drains will be closed by flap gates to prevent tidal inundation of the pathway. In rare cases, if flap gates operate improperly, or if the storm drainpipe storage is compromised by sediment or other debris, the path could flood and be unusable until the blockage is cleared and high tides have receded. In those cases the proposed Maintenance Agreement would require the City to close access gates on either end of the path and perform maintenance to return the path to normal operation. 6.1.C. - Page 2