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8. D. - Page 1 RE PO RT To the Honorable Mayor and City Council From the Cit Mana er December 12, 2011 SUBJECT High Speed Rail — Business Plan Comment Letter RECOMMENDATION By motion, endorse the Council High-Speed Rail Ad Hoc Committee's recommendations for Redwood City's response to the California High-Speed Rail Authority Board regarding the Draft 2012 Business Plan (comment letter, Attachment 1). BACKGROUND On June 14, 2010, City staff presented a summary of the California High Speed Rail Alternatives Analysis. The presentation included an overview of the California High- Speed Rail Authority's (CHSRA) April 2010 Preliminary Alternatives Analysis Report for the San Francisco to San Jose Section (Preliminary AA Report), a summary of community input received at community workshops, an overview of design considerations within Redwood City, and a summary of the "stitched plan" concept for a below-grade high-speed rail alignment in Redwood City. In August 2010, the CHSRA published its Supplemental AA Report, and on November 4, 2010 the CHSRA Board approved the recommendation to carry forward (into the detailed environmental analysis) a below-grade trench option in Redwood City, along with the aerial design option identified in the Supplemental AA Report, both of which contain four sets of track (2 for Caltrain and 2 for HSR). On December 6, 2010, City staff presented a program update, outlined the ongoing process by which Redwood City is participating in the HSR planning process and outlined how the program integrates with the recently-adopted General Plan. ANALYSIS Since the December 6, 2010 Council meeting, some notable milestones have been reached on rail projects impacting Redwood City (rail overview matrix, Attachment 2): • On November 1, 2011 the CHSRA released the Draft 2012 Business Plan — a much improved update to the 2009 Business Plan; it embraces the "blended" operation of HSR and regional rail systems. As envisioned in the Plan, on the Peninsula, HSR will initially use Caltrain's existing two sets of track, potentially supplemented with passing tracks at strategic locations, thus blending HSR with Caltrain (High-Speed Rail Draft Business Plan Fact Sheet, Attachment 3). • Between November 2 and November 10, 2011, the Dumbarton Rail Corridor (DRC) Project staff conducted public information meetings to provide interested parties with more background on the project alternatives and on the project's potential benefits and impacts, and to respond to any questions or concerns (Dumbarton Rail Corridor Project Alternatives, Attachment 5). • On November 22, 2011, the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board released a draft report of their Caltrain/California HSR Blended Operations Analysis. This