Report to City Council and Successor Agency
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
CONSIDER APPROVAL OF A LIMITED LICENSE TO ENTER AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF CARSON, CARSON SUCCESSOR AGENCY, AND CONSOLIDATED FIRE PROTECTION DISTRICT OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY FOR: (1) TEMPORARY USE OF 20820 MAIN STREET SUCCESSOR AGENCY PROPERTY TO CONDUCT ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENT (PHASE II); AND (2) AUTHORIZATION TO USE OF CITY-COLLECTED DEVELOPMENT IMPACT FEES FOR ENVIRONMENTAL SITE ASSESSMENT
(THIS IS A JOINT ITEM BETWEEN CITY COUNCIL AND SUCCESSOR AGENCY)
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I. SUMMARY
Pursuant to the Successor Agency’s adopted and approved Long Range Property Management Plan (“LRPMP”), the 0.58 acre-property located on the southeast corner of Main and Torrance (“Property”) is designated to be transferred to the Consolidated Fire Protection District of Los Angeles County (“Fire District”) at no cost as the City’s fair share contribution towards mitigating the impacts of the 157-acre Boulevards (now, “District”) at South Bay Specific Plan. This Limited License to Enter Agreement (“License”) (Exhibit No. 1) provides access to the Fire District for conducting an environmental site assessment (“Assessment”) as part of the due diligence process, prior to accepting the property from the Successor Agency. A second component of this agreement is to validate reimbursing the Fire District in the amount of $38,088.75 towards the cost of conducting the Assessment. This amount will be paid from a fire mitigation impact fee collected by the City on behalf of the Fire District as part of the Porsche Experience Center project. The Fire District has requested to use these funds to pay the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works (“LA County DPW”) to perform the Assessment. The cost of the environmental assessment is expected to be more than $38,088.75. Any excess costs will be paid by the Fire District.
If the assessment results are positive, staff will present the Successor Agency with the necessary steps to complete the transfer of the site (Exhibit No. 2) to the Fire District. The Fire District intends to fund the construction of the station from fire mitigation fees collected by the City on behalf of the Fire District from projects such as the California State University Master Plan EIR, Kimmelman Foundation EIR, and the Creek at Dominguez Hills EIR. The Fire District intends to supplement these funds to build the station. At this time, no specific timelines or cost figures have been provided by the Fire District to build this station.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
TAKE the following actions:
1. APPROVE the Limited License to Enter Agreement between the City of Carson, Carson Successor Agency, and the LA County Fire for temporary access to the property located at 20820 Main Street and the use of City-collected fire impact fees for the environmental site assessment (Phase II).
2. AUTHORIZE the Mayor/Chairman to execute the Limited License to Enter Agreement following approval as to form by the City Attorney/Agency Counsel.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE any other action(s) the City Council or Board deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
On February 1, 2012, pursuant to State law, redevelopment agencies ceased to exist and were replaced by successor agencies. The non-housing real estate holdings of the former redevelopment agencies became the property of the newly created successor agencies. The Carson Successor Agency (“CSA”) retained nine properties. Per the State Department of Finance (“DOF”), before the CSA could dispose of any of its properties it had to prepare a LRPMP, which addresses the disposition and use of the real properties of the former redevelopment agency. The CSA received approval from the DOF for its LRPMP on October 23, 2013.
To date, six of the nine properties have been transferred in accordance to the LRPMP, with one additional property scheduled to be transferred by June 2019. Pursuant to the LRPMP, the Property (Exhibit No. 3) will be conveyed at no cost to LA County Fire for development of a new fire station. This Property and another property at 24219 S. Avalon Blvd. (parking lot adjacent to Domenick’s Pizza) are the only two other Agency properties remaining to be transferred.
Previously, Agency contracted Eco and Associates to conduct a Phase I environmental site assessment (“Phase I Report”) on the Property utilizing funds from the Agency’s Recognized Obligations Payment Schedule (“ROPS”). The Phase I Report, dated August 2016, recommended that a limited soil gas survey be conducted at the site as a next step in order to assess the underlying soils for the possible presence and concentration of methane, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic compounds. Per the Phase I report, the investigation should also include the collection of soil vapors from four- to five widely-spaced onsite locations. The soil vapors should be collected at a depth of 5 feet, and analyzed for methane, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic compounds. The report further states that if elevated contaminant concentrations are encountered, the future buildings should be designed accordingly (e.g. vapor barriers and/or venting).
Since then, LA County Fire has requested additional environmental assessment work (“Phase II”) at the property before proceeding towards accepting ownership. They have expressed a desire to use the LA County DPW to perform the task. The scope of work (Exhibit No. 1a) goes above and beyond Eco and Associates’ original recommendations and includes the drilling of three soil borings (approximately 50-feet deep) for geotechnical and environmental soil and ground water sampling, and the preparation of the report to document the assessment. All surveys, studies and report findings will be submitted to Agency and City. If the site is determined to be heavily contaminated, the site may not be viable for a future fire station, and the Agency may need to transfer the Property to a different entity and modify the Agency’s LRPMP.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
No impact to the General Fund, as the $38,088.75 contribution is paid from the Trust and Agency account which is dedicated for Fire District’s use for mitigating impacts to their services. These funds were collected by the City on behalf of the Fire District as part of the Porsche Experience Center project. Funding is to be provided on a reimbursement basis to the Fire District and will be charged to Account #101-99-999-999-2401/PL35151.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Limited License to Enter Agreement (pgs. 4-9)
a. Scope of Work (pg. 9)
2. Vicinity Map (pg. 10)
3. Carson Amended Long Range Property Management Plan (pgs. 11 - 19)
Prepared by: James Nguyen, Project Manager