REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY
AND RECORD OF ACTION
August 6, 2024
FROM
NOEL CASTILLO, Director, Department of Public Works
SUBJECT
Title
Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Pine View Drive and Blue Water Channel
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Certify that the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (State Clearinghouse No. 2024070120) for the Pine View Drive and Blue Water Channel Improvements Project has been completed in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, has been reviewed and considered prior to approving the project, and that the report reflects the independent judgement of the Board of Supervisors.
2. Adopt the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the Pine View Drive and Blue Water Channel Improvements Project.
3. Adopt the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Pine View Drive and Blue Water Channel Improvements Project as provided in Section 5 of the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration.
4. Direct the Department of Public Works to file the Notice of Determination in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act.
(Presenter: Noel Castillo, Director, 387-7906)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Ensure Development of a Well-Planned, Balanced, and Sustainable County.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The Pine View Drive and Blue Water Channel Improvements Project (Project), also referred to as the Big Bear Flood Mitigation project, is funded with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding allocated to the Department of Public Works (Department) by the Board of Supervisors (Board) on June 25, 2024 (Item No. 86) for eligible costs. The requested administrative actions have minimal financial impact on the Department. Sufficient revenue and appropriation are included in the Department’s 2024-25 Road Operations budget (6650002000 H15190).
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
The Project has been designed by the County to alleviate impacts from historical flooding on surrounding properties. The Project is located in the unincorporated community of Big Bear City, south of the Big Bear City Airport. The Project will include roadway improvements along Pine View Drive to Sugarloaf Boulevard and channel improvements for the Blue Water Channel and Blue Water Drive Channel at West Fairway Boulevard/Big Bear City Airport.
The Project will increase the hydraulic capacity of the Blue Water Channel on the south side of the Big Bear City Airport from Division Drive to Valley Boulevard. The channel bottom will be widened, and side slopes will be concreted. The channel bottom will vary from earthen to concrete as appropriate. Pavement rehabilitation will occur on Pine View Drive, and the portion of Pine View Drive from Aeroplane Boulevard to Country Club Boulevard will be repaved (previously paved but deteriorated down to dirt and gravel). Grading for the Project would involve approximately 13,000 cubic yards of cut, approximately 930 cubic yards of on-site fill, and approximately 360 cubic yards of an import of aggregate base materials. Final material staging areas would be determined by the Contractor and cleared by the County, however, the following areas would likely be impacted:
• Fairway Boulevard between Pine View Drive and Kiener Drive;
• The airport / south plane parking stalls; and
• County parcels that extend the north-south roads to the south of Fairway Boulevard.
As the Project is adjacent to airport property, portions of the airport including the plane-parking stalls on the south side of the airport, may be impacted by construction staging areas. County right-of-way along the directional north-south roads, such as Pine View Drive between Fairway Boulevard and Sugarloaf Drive, may also be impacted.
The construction schedule is estimated to occur from January 2025 to July 2025.
On January 29, 2019 (Item No. 53), the Board approved On-call Environmental Permitting and Planning Services contracts, including a contract with Lilburn Corporation (Lilburn), for a total aggregate not-to-exceed amount of $8,000,000, from January 29, 2019 through January 28, 2024. Lilburn was then selected by competitive process to prepare a Draft Initial Environmental Study and a Notice of Availability (NOA) for the proposed Project. A non-competitive purchase order was issued to Lilburn to complete the remaining tasks following expiration of the on-call contract.
The Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) was circulated for a period of 30 days beginning on July 2, 2024, through the Office of Planning and Research, State Clearinghouse. The Notice of Intent was also circulated to responsible and trustee agencies, interested parties and made available to surrounding property owners with the completed Draft IS/MND for a period of 30 days beginning on August 2, 2024.
CEQA requires that the appropriate environmental review be completed prior to initiation of a project. The County is the lead agency on the Project for purposes of CEQA review. As a result, the Board is the appropriate authority to act on the adoption of the state environmental document.
The Project will meet the County and the Chief Executive Officer’s goals and objectives of ensuring the development of a well-planned, balanced, and sustainable County and providing for the safety, health and social service needs of County residents by alleviating historic flooding in the area of the Project.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Aaron Gest, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on July 17, 2024; Purchasing Department (Michael Candelaria, Lead Buyer 387-8258 on July 24, 2024; Finance (Jessica Trillo, Administrative Analyst, 387-4222, and Guy Martinez, ARPA Compliance Officer, 387-5428) on July 19, 2024; and County Finance and Administration (Paloma Hernandez-Barker, Deputy Executive Officer, 387-5423) on July 22, 2024.