Title
County of Monterey Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for Fiscal Year 2019-2020
Consider a report to the Board of Supervisors on consistency of the Monterey County Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for Fiscal Year 2019-2020 with the 2010 General Plan (for non-coastal area) or the Local Coastal Program and the 1982 General Plan (for coastal zone), as applicable.
Project Location: County-wide
Proposed CEQA Action: Not a project as defined in Section 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt a resolution (Exhibit A) reporting to the Board of Supervisors that the major public improvement projects for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-2020 (Attachment 1 to Exhibit A) are consistent with the 2010 General Plan (for non-coastal area) or the Local Coastal Program and 1982 General Plan (coastal zone), as applicable.
SUMMARY:
The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a five-year compilation of projects submitted by County departments, including projects (exceeding $100,000) budgeted for the upcoming fiscal year as well as projecting out proposed projects (and funding if known). Projects include new facility construction, minor and major infrastructure maintenance, road and bridge construction and maintenance, major equipment purchases and installation, and software purchase and installation. The Draft CIP includes projects for Natividad Medical Center, but does not include projects by the Monterey County Water Resources Agency since that is a separate entity from the County. Capital projects for equipment and software purchases do not require Planning Commission review, so those are not included in this action. However, these projects are included in the Draft CIP attached as Exhibit B.
Many competing priorities for limited funds have been considered in preparing the Draft CIP. Year 1 (FY 2019-2020) of the Draft CIP represents ninety-one (91) projects with $86.7 million in funding in the upcoming budget. Years 2-5 (to FY 2023-2024) represent projects that may or may not have funding identified at this time. Projects without funding are prioritized in the event funding is identified. As required by Government Code Section 65401, the Planning Commission is tasked to report on General Plan or Land Use Plan consistency for projects funded in the upcoming Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-2020.
Exhibit A is a draft resolution finding the Draft CIP, and each of the applicable projects within FY 2019-2020, consistent with the applicable General Plan or Land Use Plan. In order to make a consistency finding, projects must fit within one of the following four general categories:
1. Upgrades to existing facilities;
2. New projects requiring permits;
3. Projects already permitted and found consistent; or
4. Not Applicable due to location within a City.
Attachment 1 to Exhibit A contains a list of Capital Improvement Projects planned for the 2019-2020 Fiscal Year along with a summary of relevant information about the projects to aid in the consistency determination. More detail about each individual project can be found in Exhibit B, the five-year Draft CIP for Monterey County.
DISCUSSION:
Government Code Section 65401 requires the County’s CIP be submitted to the Planning Commission (PC) for review and report to the Board of Supervisors on the conformity of public works projects with the applicable adopted General Plan or Land Use Plan. Monterey County 2010 General Plan Public Services Element, specifically Policy PS-1.2, provides direction for a Capital Improvement and Financing Plan (CIFP). In addition, staff prepared a list of roadways having a deficient Level of Service (LOS), as identified in the 2010 General Plan Environmental Impact Report (Exhibit C). Projects within Local Coastal Program areas of the County are reviewed for consistency with the Land Use Plan applicable to the individual coastal area or with the Monterey County 1982 General Plan.
Identifying funding sources and needed improvements to those roadways listed in Exhibit C are a priority for the Resource Management Agency and the County pursuant to General Plan goals and policies. There are two traffic impact fees collected by the County, a countywide traffic impact fee and a fee specific to Carmel Valley development projects that are collected and placed in a separate account to mitigate traffic impacts. The approach is to incorporate traffic mitigation projects into the CIP when adequate traffic impact fees are collected. Project 1146 (Laureles Grade Rd and Carmel Valley Rd Roundabout) is included in the CIP and utilizes funds from the Carmel Valley traffic impact fee. Project 1147 (Rogge Road Intersection Improvements) is included in the CIP and utilizes funds from the countywide traffic impact fee. RMA reviewed the status of the countywide traffic impact fees collected prior to preparing the CIP. The latest status review indicates that there is an inadequate accrual of funds for any of the other projects beyond the two listed above for which traffic impact fees have been collected.
Staff developed from the five-year Draft CIP (Exhibit B) a subset of the major proposed public works projects (Attachment 1 to Exhibit A) for consideration by the Planning Commission as to conformity with the 2010 Monterey County General Plan or Local Coastal Program and 1982 General Plan. Projects such as equipment and software purchases are not the type of major public works requiring Planning Commission review and are not included in the attached list. A brief description of the General Plan or Land Use Plan Goals and policies, as applicable to each County project, is included in the General Plan or Land Use Plan Consistency column of Attachment 1 to the resolution (Exhibit A).
In general, project consistency falls within the four general categories below:
1. Upgrades or additions to existing government services within Public and Quasi Public facilities consistent with the General Plan and/or Local Coastal Program.
2. New projects and additions to existing facilities that require permits and environmental review that ensures compliance with goals and policies of the General Plan and/or Local Coastal Program.
3. Projects that have already been reviewed in previous environmental documents and/or have required County permits where there was a determination that the project or program was consistent with the applicable General Plan and/or Local Coastal Program.
4. Not Applicable because the County General Plan and/or Local Coastal Program is/are not applicable to projects located within city limits.
Attachment 1 to Exhibit A includes columns for project name, responsible department, project description and justification, a page reference to the individual project worksheet in the “Draft County of Monterey Capital Improvement Program Five-Year Plan 2019-2020 through 2023-2024” (Exhibit B), the goals and tasks to be completed in the upcoming fiscal year, General Plan or Local Coastal Program consistency, geographic area and sustainability applicability.
CIP Development:
RMA worked with County departments to identify capital needs, related costs, and funding sources. The CIP is presented to the Budget Committee (BC) for fiscal matters and the Capital Improvement Committee (CIC) for priority determination. The Planning Commission determines if the CIP conforms to and is consistent with the Monterey County General Plan. The Draft CIP was presented to the BC on April 24, 2019 and CIC on May 13, 2019. The Draft CIP is now being reviewed by the Planning Commission before it will be presented to the full Board in June. Upon final recommendation and support by the CIC, the BC and Planning Commission, the Draft CIP is submitted to the Board of Supervisors for approval. Projects approved by the Board of Supervisors for capital funds are incorporated into the Annual Budget.
Members of the 2018 and 2019 County Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) Racial Equity cohorts met to review projects using a Racial Equity Tool. Ranking is designed to evaluate a project’s impact on racial equity in the County. In 2018, the CIC accepted a report on the draft Racial Equity Tool criteria and recommended the cohort score those projects already submitted, as well as identify potential projects that address racial equity. The CIC encouraged the cohort to meet with department heads and evaluate the benefit of projects focused on racial equity compared to the impact of delaying or replacing current identified needs. The CIC placed an emphasis on projects in targeted geographical areas with disadvantaged communities, which may qualify the County to leverage grant funding.
In addition to consideration of equity, staff and the CIC have considered priority public service and facility needs pursuant to General Plan policies. Exhibit C has been prepared to identify roadways that currently operate at unacceptable levels of service as identified in the General Plan. The proposed CIP for FY 2019-2020 includes one project that, if implemented, would improve a deficient road segment to achieve an acceptable level of service in accordance with Goal C-1 of the 2010 General Plan.
The County currently has over $700 Million in deferred road maintenance/repairs and $300 Million in deferred bridge maintenance/repairs, road appurtenances at approx. $500 Million (i.e., all other related, maintained infrastructure within the right-of-way. This includes other related infrastructure (drainage, trees, guardrail, retaining walls, signs, markings, etc.). In addition, Monterey County was hit with about $50 Million in damages to infrastructure resulting from the 2016 Soberanes Fire and 2017 Winter Storms. RMA has recommended that addressing the maintenance and repair of existing infrastructure be a priority for the County. This recommendation has been supported by the Board of Supervisors in the approval of RMA budget and project priorities.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)
The General Plan consistency determination does not in itself approve, deny or modify any project and the act of determining consistency of Capital Improvement Plan will have no physical effect on the environment and is not a project as defined in Section 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines. Pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(4), the report relates to a governmental fiscal activity which does not involve any commitment to any specific project; each project on the CIP is required to undergo a separate approval process, including appropriate environmental review where applicable. Therefore, this report does not constitute a project for purposes of CEQA.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
Each County Department and Agency has worked with the Resource Management Agency to identify Capital Improvement Projects for the next fiscal year and to identify funding sources for those projects.
The Draft CIP was reviewed by the Budget Committee on April 24, 2019 and the Capital Improvement Committee on May 13, 2019. The CIC and BC support the Draft CIP.
FINANCING:
The CIP is funded with a wide variety of funding sources including state, federal, local grants, Measure X, SB-1, Gas Tax, Transient Occupancy Tax and Capital Funds.
Prepared by: John Snively, Management Analyst, and
Jaime Scott Guthrie, AICP, Associate Planner
Reviewed by: Craig Spencer, Acting RMA Services Manager
Approved by: Carl P. Holm, AICP, RMA Director
The following attachments are on file with RMA:
Exhibit A - Draft Planning Commission Resolution
Exhibit B - Draft Capital Improvement Program Five-Year Plan
Exhibit C - List of Level of Service (LOS) Deficient Roadways