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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 04032007 - C.56 r TO: Board of Supervisors _8 - Contra FROM: Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Committee Costa (Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema, Chair) .,m-° �a ...... County DATE: March 12, 2007 SUBJECT: Support for AB 15 SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATIONS ADOPT a position of support for AB 15 (Houston, R-Dublin)and AUTHORIZE the Chairto sign the attached letter of support (Exhibit A), as recommended by the Transportation, Water and Infrastructure Committee. FISCAL IMPACT NONE to the General Fund. If AB 15 is passed it will help reduce the cost of having median barriers installed on Vasco Road by eliminating the environmental review that is ordinarily required before construction. Funding has not yet been obtained for the project. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR X RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE OTHER SIGNATURE (S): Supervisor Gayle B. Uilkema S pervisor Federal D. Glover ACTION OF BOARD ON o APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE UNANIMOUS (ABSENTkVXJA�&) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN AYES: NOES: AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE ABSENT. ABSTAIN: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE i' SHOWN. Contact: John Greitzer (9251335-1201) cc: Community Development Department (CDD) ATTESTED _ /0 J. Bueren, PWD JOHN CULLEN, CLERK OF S. Goetz, CDD THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR BY DEPUTY G:\Transportation\TWIC\2007\Board OrdersWpril 3 AB 15 support.doc . v SUPPORT FOR AB 15 March 12, 2007 Page 2 BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS Vasco Road has-had numerous fatal car crashes as traffic has grown over the years. The County has worked withi' the Vasco Road community, District 3 Supervisor's Office, our legislative representatives I, the City of Brentwood, Alameda County and the California Highway Patrol to develop solutions. The following low-cost, sh''ort-term improvements have been implemented: • Additional signing and'striping for aerial enforcement at the request of the CHP from Walnut Boulevard to the County line (August 2003) • Striping double yellow'no-passing zones at various locations (August 2003) • Created and signed al Daytime Headlight Zone (October 2003) • Shoulder grading to remove sight distance.obstructions (February 2004) • Installed Active Feedback Speed Signage (April 2004) • Intersection improvements at Camino Diablo (April 2004) • Installed median and shoulder rumble strips the entire corridor in Contra Costa County except where passinglis allowed and installed vertical delineators in the median for a one- mile test section (October 2004). • Installed Safety Corridor Signs (January 2005) • Installed vertical delineators in the median along the entire corridor in Contra Costa County, except where passing!!is allowed, and into a portion of Alameda County (September 2005) In addition to the safety improvements, the County has made or supported policy decisions on Vasco Road such as designating it as a Safety Corridor, establishing the Vasco Road Advisory Task Force, and implementing a Daylight Headlight Test Area. Senator Tom Torlakson successfully sponsored bills in recent years that made Vasco Road eligible for Interregional Road Improvement Program funds and designated the road as a "double-fine zone". Currently, the County is moving forward with a safety improvement project that includes a median barrier through the Brushy Creek area where there has been a high incidence of collisions. The long-term goal is to widen Vasco Road to two lanes in each direction and install a median barrier between the two directions. This type of major infrastructure project ordinarily is subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The environmental review process for large projects is usually lengthy and therefore costly. For a project of the scale of Vasco Road the CEQA review process would be expected to take more than a year. AB 15 would provide a CEQA exemption for construction of a median barrier on Vasco Road. If this bill becomes law, it will shorten the overall time needed for delivery of the project by a year or more, by virtue of removing the CEQA period. Other steps are still needed for the project to occur, such as consensus with Alameda County, the City of Livermore, the City of Brentwood and the County, and funding still needs to be obtained.AB 15 would eliminate one lengthy step in the overall project delivery process. Exhibit A is a letter for the Chair's signature,to be sent to Assemblymember Houston in support of the bill. Copies would be sent to Assemblymember DeSaulnier, members of the Assembly Natural Resources Committee (to which AB 15 has been assigned), local transportation officials, and our legislative transportation advocate in Sacramento. Exhibit B is the text of AB 15. t EXHIBIT A The Board of Supervisors Contra John Cullen p Caerk of the Board Costa w'd County Adu�ti-n-istration Building > Count Administrator 651 Pine Street.Room 106County (925)3,5-1900 Martinez, California 94553-4068 l• � PT John Gioia,District I N Gayle B.Uilkema,District 11 T Mary N.Picpho District Ill Susan Bonilla,District IV Federal 1).Glover, District V - April 3 2007 The Honorable Guy Houston 15th Assembly District State Capitol, Room 2130 P.O. Box 942849 Sacramento, CA 94249 Dear Assemblymember Houston: The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors today adopted a position of support for your bill, AB 15, which would greatly expedite the construction of a median barrier on Vasco Road by granting the project an exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). While the Board supports environmental review and protection wherever possible, the Board also believes there are extenuating circumstances on Vasco Road that require quick action to improve safety and reduce the severity of accidents. We must do everything we can to expedite the widening of the road and construction of a median barrier. Contra Costa County has worked with the City of Brentwood, local advocacy groups, the California Highway Patrol and others to provide interim safety improvements,but there is still more to be done. Your bill, AB 15, will help in our efforts to construct a median barrier as quickly as we can, once funding has been obtained. Thank you for your efforts to.assist us with this important safety improvement in eastern Contra Costa County. Sincerely, Mary N. Piepho, Chair Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors MNP\TG H:\shell\Board Ltrhd.doc c: Members,Board of Supervisors The Hon. L.Hancock,Chair, and Members,Assembly Natural Resources Committee The Hon.M.DeSaulnier, 11''Assembly District The Hon.R.Thomas,Mayor of Brentwood The Hon.B.Nix,Chair,TRANSPLAN The Hon. C.Abrams, Chair, Contra Costa Transportation Authority D.Barry,Community Development Director M. Shin,Public Works Director M. Watts,California Strategies&Advocacy EXHIBIT B CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE-2007-08 REGULAR SESSION ASSEMBLY BILL No. 15 Introduced by Assembly Member Houston i December 4, 2006 ,I An act to add Section 21080.15 to the Public Resources Code,relating to the environment. I LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 15, as introduced, Houston. California Environmental Quality Act. The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of, an environmental impact report on a project, as defined, that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment,as defined,or to adopt a negative declaration if it finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also generally requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised,would have a significant effect on the environment. CEQA provides some exemptions from its requirements for specified projects. This bill would exempt from CEQA,the construction and maintenance of a median barrier on a specified portion of Vasco Road in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. The bill would make legislative findings and declarations regarding the necessity of a special statute. . Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. 99 AB 15 —2— The people of the State of California do enact as follows: 1 SECTION 1. Section 21080.15 is added to the Public Resources 2 Code, to read: 3 21080.15. This division does not apply to the construction and 4 maintenance of a median barrier on Vasco Road,between Interstate 5 580 in Alameda County and the intersection of Vasco Road and 6 Walnut Boulevard in Contra Costa County. 7 SEC. 2. The Legislature finds and declares that,because of the 8 unique circumstances applicable to only the area of Vasco Road 9 specified in Section 1, a statute of general applicability cannot be 10 enacted within the meaning of subdivision (b) of Section 16 of 11 Article IV of the California Constitution,and,therefore,this special 12 statute is necessary. O 99