BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 204
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Date of Hearing: June 25, 2012
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION
Bonnie Lowenthal, Chair
SB 204 (Liu) - As Amended: June 7, 2012
SENATE VOTE : Not relevant
SUBJECT : Local alternative transportation improvement program:
State Route 710 in Los Angeles County
SUMMARY : Provides for the development of a local alternative
transportation improvement program (LATIP) for the State Route
(SR) 710 study area in Los Angeles County. Specifically, this
bill :
1)Authorizes the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation
Authority (Metro), in consultation with the California
Department of Transportation (Caltrans), to develop and file a
LATIP with the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to
preserve funding to address transportation problems and
opportunities in the SR 710 study area.
2)Grants the CTC final approval authority regarding the content
and approval of the LATIP, so long as the content and approval
processes are consistent with the CTC's earlier processes
related to LATIPs for SR 84 and 238.
3)Directs the proceeds from the sale of excess properties, as
defined, in the SR 710 study area, less specified costs, to be
allocated by CTC to fund the approved LATIP. These proceeds
are exempt from formulae, such as the north/south split and
county shares, that generally govern the distribution of
capital improvement dollars for transportation.
4)Restricts the use of these proceeds only for projects for
state highway purposes or for projects in the LATIP that are
also in the local voter-approved transportation sales tax
measure.
5)Defines the "SR 710 study area" to mean the portion of Los
Angeles County that is identified in the scoping process for
the SR 710 north gap closure project environmental assessment.
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6)Directs Caltrans to maintain a separate account of revenue
derived from the sale of excess properties in the SR 710 study
area.
7)Authorizes Metro, with the concurrence of the CTC (but not
Caltrans), to advance a project in the LATIP using its own
funds, prior to the availability of funds from the sale of
excess property being available.
8)Sets forth required elements of the LATIP, to include programs
to provide relocation assistance and replacement housing for
persons affected by implementation of the LATIP.
9)Prohibits state highway account funds or funds derived from
the sale of excess properties from being expended for planning
or implementing the housing provisions of the LATIP; also
prohibits excess property from being used for housing
purposes, except until after it is sold by Caltrans.
EXISTING LAW:
1)Grants local authorities, acting jointly with transportation
planning agencies, authority to develop and file LATIPs with
the CTC to address transportation problems that were to be
served by construction of freeways on SR 84 and SR 238.
2)Directs the proceeds from the sale of excess properties, less
specified costs, to be allocated by CTC to fund the approved
LATIP. These proceeds are exempt from formulae (such as the
north/south split and county shares) that generally govern the
distribution of capital improvement dollars for
transportation. These proceeds are restricted, however, for
state highway purposes, or, in the case of SR 84, for projects
that are in the LATIP and in the local voter-approved
transportation sales tax measure.
3)Sets for provisions governing LATIPs to require that the
programs provide relocation assistance and replacement housing
for persons affected by implementation of the LATIP.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown but the sale of excess properties is
likely to generate hundreds of millions of dollars.
COMMENTS : SR 710 is a major north-south interstate freeway
running 23 miles through Los Angeles County. The freeway runs
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from Long Beach to Alhambra, stopping short of the originally
planned terminus in Pasadena. Construction of the segment
between Alhambra and Pasadena, through South Pasadena, has been
delayed for decades due to community opposition. The freeway
gap is seen by many as a source of significant traffic
congestion in northeastern Los Angeles and the northwestern San
Gabriel Valley as there are no north-south freeways in this
area.
Over the past forty years, alternative concepts have been
proposed and evaluated to complete the SR 710 freeway and close
the 4.5 mile gap in the corridor. To date, none of the
previously proposed and evaluated alternatives have been
successful in satisfying the regional mobility needs and
community/environmental concerns. The previous alternatives
considered would traverse highly developed urbanized
neighborhoods and require substantial amounts of right-of-way
along the alignments.
Many members of the community were concerned with the impact of
these right-of-way intensive, surface alternatives and,
consequently, opposed the extension of the SR 710. In response
to this reaction and to lessen the potential impact of
completing the SR 710, a tunnel concept was proposed for
assessment as a potential option to the surface alternatives.
Metro has completed the feasibility assessment of a tunnel
alternative to extend the SR 710 from its current terminus at
Valley Boulevard in the City of Los Angeles to Interstate 210 in
the City of Pasadena. Generally, the study concluded that the
tunnel concept is feasible. Although potential environmental
impacts were identified, preliminary assessments concluded that
these impacts could be minimized, eliminated, or mitigated. The
report concluded that no insurmountable environmental issues
were identified that would preclude further consideration of the
tunnel alternative. Metro is currently in the midst of an
environmental review of the SR 710 study area. Also under study
is consideration of funding construction and maintenance of the
project via a public-private partnership agreement.
In many ways, SB 204 is similar to provisions previously enacted
that directed the proceeds from the sale of excess homes to
locally selected alternative transportation programs in both the
Hayward SR 238 bypass corridor and in the SR 84 corridor
(between SR 238 and Interstate 880). Similar to the SR 710
freeway gap closure project, Caltrans began acquiring properties
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in these corridors decades ago and, like the SR 710 freeway gap
closure project, the projects faced community opposition and
subsequently stalled for years. Communities along these
corridors have endured years of uncertainty, less-than-exemplary
management of Caltrans-owned properties, and reduced tax rolls
from these long-stalled projects. Like SR 84 and 238, exempting
the SR 710 freeway gap corridor from existing requirements to
return the proceeds of excess properties to the SHA for eventual
distribution elsewhere is warranted given these unique
circumstances.
It is important to note that SB 204 does not pre-determine the
results of the pending environmental study. Its provisions
directing proceeds from the sale of excess property to Metro
will apply regardless of the outcome of whatever studies are
completed. Furthermore, this bill does not affect the process
and procedures governing the sale of excess properties.
Amendments: The bill currently requires Metro to secure the
concurrence of the CTC prior to advancing a project in the
LATIP. For consistency with other LATIPs and to ensure
coordination and cooperation amongst the involved agencies, the
bill should be amended to require Metro also to secure the
concurrence of Caltrans in this regard. The author has agreed
to take this amendment but, because of looming legislative
deadlines, the amendment will have to be taken in the Assembly
Appropriations Committee.
Additionally, the author intends to amend the bill in the future
(but not in this committee due to deadlines) to:
1)Trigger the start of Caltrans' excess property disposal
process when the draft EIR has been completed and the "locally
preferred alternative" is selected by Caltrans. According to
the author, the purpose of this amendment is to provide a time
certain by which Caltrans would identify excess properties and
initiate the disposal process so that tenants, potentials
buyers, and the communities in which these properties are
located will have some reasonable expectations about the
timeframe within which the properties would be sold.
2)Prohibit proceeds from the sale of excess property to be used
to fund construction of the gap closure project. According to
the author, current expectations are that the SR 710 gap
closure project will be funded via a public-private
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partnership agreement. "The communities in which the
properties were acquired for the project as originally
conceived have been impacted by having these properties off
the tax rolls and in public, rather than private ownership for
over 50 years. It is appropriate that the broader community
benefit from the construction of truly local alternative
transportation improvement projects distributed throughout the
study area rather than being applied to the 710 project
itself."
Prior legislation: AB 1836 (Hayashi), Chapter 291, Statutes of
2009, directed the proceeds from the sale of excess properties
in the SR 84 and SR 238 corridors to a special fund to be used
to implement LATIPs in the corridors.
AB 1462 (Torrico), Chapter 619, Statutes of 2005, authorized
designated local agencies in Alameda County to follow an
existing process to develop and file a LATIP with the CTC as a
means of resolving a local transportation dispute surrounding
proposed improvements on SR 84.
SB 509 (Figueroa), Chapter 611, Statutes of 2004, reinstated the
opportunity for a LATIP to be developed for the SR 238 corridor.
Double-referral: Should this bill secure passage from the
Assembly Transportation Committee, it will be referred to the
Assembly Local Government Committee.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
City of Alhambra
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Janet Dawson / TRANS. / (916) 319-2093
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