REPORT/RECOMMENDATION TO THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
OF THE COUNTY OF SAN BERNARDINO
AND RECORD OF ACTION
March 10, 2020
FROM
TERRY W. THOMPSON, Director, Real Estate Services Department
BRENDON BIGGS, Interim Director, Department of Public Works - Transportation
SUBJECT
Title
Appraisal and Acquisition of Easements across Private Property and Approve Authorization and Reimbursement Agreement with Union Pacific Railroad for the Ranchero Road Corridor Widening Project in the Unincorporated Oak Hills Area
End
RECOMMENDATION(S)
Recommendation
1. Approve Appraisal No. 20-01 dated January 30, 2020, a copy of which is on file with the Real Estate Services Department.
2. Authorize the acquisition of four permanent roadway easements and three temporary construction easements on portions of four parcels, [Assessor Parcel Numbers (APN) 0357-561-06, 0357-361-01, 0357-381-01, and 0357-511-31] from four property ownerships for the Ranchero Road Corridor Widening Project in the unincorporated Oak Hills area.
3. Authorize the Chair to execute the Authorization and Reimbursement Agreement Public Road Crossing Improvements - Surface, Signal and Signal Interconnect with Union Pacific Railroad Company (UPRR) to improve the UPRR’s existing, at-grade crossing area as part of the Ranchero Road Corridor Widening Project for a reimbursement amount payable to UPRR estimated to be $972,771.
4. Authorize the Director of the Real Estate Services Department to execute acquisition agreements for the easement interests with four property ownerships for a total purchase amount of $66,200, and any other documents necessary to complete these transactions.
(Presenter: Terry W. Thompson, Director, 387-5252)
Body
COUNTY AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER GOALS & OBJECTIVES
Operate in a Fiscally-Responsible and Business-Like Manner.
Ensure Development of a Well-Planned, Balanced, and Sustainable County.
Provide for the Safety, Health and Social Service Needs of County Residents.
Pursue County Goals and Objectives by Working with Other Agencies.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Approval of this item will not result in the use of Discretionary General Funding (Net County Cost). The County of San Bernardino’s (County) total cost to acquire four permanent easements and three temporary construction easements is $66,200, plus escrow and title fees. The estimated cost to reimburse UPRR for work that needs to be completed in accordance with the Authorization and Reimbursement Agreement Public Road Crossing Improvements - Surface, Signal and Signal Interconnect (UPRR Agreement) is estimated to be $972,771.This represents the first phase of acquisitions for the Ranchero Road Corridor Widening Project (Project) in the unincorporated Oak Hills area. The County and City of Hesperia (City) are joint participants in the Project. Each agency will be responsible for right of way acquisition and utility relocation within their own jurisdiction. The budgeted County’s portion for right of way cost of the Project is $2,490,000, of which San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA) will reimburse $1,456,650 to the County. The remaining $1,033,350 will be funded through the County’s Local Measure I Victor Valley Subarea funds. Sufficient appropriation is included in the 2019-20 Road Operations budget (6650002000 H14943). SBCTA reimbursement will be funded by Measure ”I” Major Local Highway Program (MLHP) - Victor Valley Subarea funds.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This item will approve the appraisal and acquisition of four permanent roadway easements and three temporary construction easements over four properties and the UPRR Agreement for construction of the Project and represents the first phase of acquisitions. Additional acquisitions will be brought forward in future phases.
The County Department of Public Works-Transportation (DPW-T) is working jointly with the City on the Ranchero Road Widening Project to widen Ranchero Road from two through lanes to an interim five-lane road that has four through lanes and one continuous left turn lane, between east of Mariposa Road to 7th Avenue. The City is the Lead Agency of the Project, and after right of way acquisitions, the City shall resume as Lead Agency of the construction component of the Project.
On June 28, 2011 (Item No. 95) the Board approved County Contract No. 11-424 with the City for Project Approval and Environmental Documentation and design. The estimated cost for these two components was $1,154,156, wherein the County and the City split the cost evenly at $577,078 each. The City serves as lead agency for the Project.
On July 11, 2017 the Board approved Project Funding Agreement No. 17-624 (Item 21) between the County and SBCTA for the County to receive reimbursement in the amount of $1,456,650 from Measure ”I” MLHP - Victor Valley Subarea funds for the right of way and utility relocation work. SBCTA Board of Directors approved this Funding Agreement on June 7, 2017.
DPW-T requires four permanent roadway easements totaling 67,004 square feet and three temporary construction easements totaling 6,467 square feet across four properties to complete the County portion of this first acquisition phase of the Project. DPW-T requested the Real Estate Services Department (RESD) assist with the appraisal and acquisition of the needed property rights.
The portions of land to be acquired from the four parcels are described as follows:
|
Property Owner |
Exhibit No. and Type of Easement |
APN |
Total Area to be Acquired (sq. ft.) |
|
Hodhod |
E-1 |
0357-561-06 |
7,260 |
|
Miller, et al |
E-5 TCE-5 |
0357-361-01 |
42,199 3,047 |
|
Hoehnke |
E-7 TCE-7 |
0357-381-01 |
8,968 600 |
|
Del Real |
E-26 TCE-26 |
0357-511-31 |
8,577 2,820 |
An appraisal (No. 20-01) dated January 30, 2020 was completed by, and maintained on file with, RESD. The appraisal establishes the amount of just compensation to be paid to the four property owners for the easement interests necessary to construct the Project.
The City applied for State funding, SB 1 LPP Grant, which is administered by California Transportation Commission, in the amount of $3.9 million and received notice of award in May 2018. The County stands to receive approximately $1 million from this grant to assist with construction of the Project. The grant was approved by the CTC for one year, until May 2019, and is contingent on the acquisition of all right of way necessary for construction of the Project. The City requested and received a one-year extension from the CTC, to May 2020, in order to provide additional time to design the Project and acquire the right of way. The Project cannot proceed to the construction phase until all requirements for the right-of-way have been completed.
The County is responsible for acquiring the right of way from properties located within the unincorporated area and the City is responsible for acquiring the right of way from properties within the City portion of the project. The SB 1 LPP guidelines specify that any extensions granted cannot be extended a second time. Therefore, in order to meet the funding deadline, the County must deliver all documents demonstrating possession of the property for the Project to the City by April 1, 2020 in order to meet the deadline for local agencies to submit Right-of-Way certification to Caltrans, per CTC guidelines, to receive an allocation of LPP funds for construction.
As part of this agreement with the City, the County is responsible for executing the UPRR Agreement to reimburse UPRR for the construction of improvements to its existing, at-grade crossing area required as a part of the Project. The UPRR Agreement is necessary for the City (as Lead Agency) to complete its process related to right of way certification for the Project. Work to be completed by UPRR includes removal and replacement of existing crossing surfaces to accommodate the roadway widening, removal of existing Railroad warning devices, and installation of new gate mechanisms and a new signal house.
It is of note that the recommended non-standard agreement with UPPR contains neither insurance provisions nor indemnification language for either party. However, the work that UPPR will be performing will be located entirely within its own rights of way. Therefore, given the time constraints related to this action, staff recommends approval of the agreement.
Approval of this item will authorize RESD to make offers and acquire the necessary right of way in conformance with all applicable provisions of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970, as amended, Government Code section 7260 et seq., corresponding regulations, and County Policy No. 12-20.
On February 11, 2020 (Item No. 57), the Board adopted a Resolution No. 2020-10 considering the Final EIR, the Mitigation Monitoring Reporting Program, and Findings of Fact and Statement of Overriding Considerations for the Project in compliance with CEQA Guidelines 15093.
PROCUREMENT
Not applicable.
REVIEW BY OTHERS
This item has been reviewed by County Counsel (Robert Messinger, Principal Assistant County Counsel, and Suzanne Bryant, Deputy County Counsel, 387-5455) on February 7, 2020; DPW-T (Mervat Mikhail, Chief Transportation Design, 387-7940) on February 21, 2020; Purchasing Department (Michelle Churchill, Buyer III, 387-2070) on January 30, 2020; Finance (Jessica Trillo, Administrative Analyst, 387-4222 and Monique Amis, Administrative Analyst, 387-4883) on March 3, 2020; and County Finance and Administration (Matthew Erickson, County Chief Financial Officer, 387-5423) on March 3, 2020.
(NS: 677-8388)