HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC AG PKT 2014-06-23 #ITO: Honorable Mayor and City Council
THRU: Jill R. Ingram, City Manager
FROM: Sean P. Crumby P.E., Director of Public Works
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SUMMARY OF REQUEST:
That the City Council sign a letter of support for the Rivers and Mountains
Conservancy (RMC) to the State Legislature for funding from a new water bond
measure.
The San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountain Conservancy
(RMC) is an independent state agency within the Resources Agency of the State
of California established in 1999. Its jurisdiction includes the San Gabriel River
and its tributaries, the lower Los Angeles River and its tributaries, and the San
Gabriel Mountains, Puente Hills, and San Jose Hills. It was established to
preserve open space and habitats in order to improve watersheds, provide low-
impact recreation and educational uses, and restore and protect wildlife and
habitat. The voters of California passed the Water Security, Clean Drinking Water,
Coastal and Beach Protection Act of 2002 (Proposition 50) on November 5, 2002.
It added to the California Water Code, Section 79541, authorizing the Legislature
to appropriate $100 Million for acquisition, restoration, protection and
development of river parkways.
At a recent Gateway Cities Council of Governments Board of Directors meeting,
the Board of Directors voted to urge the State Legislature to include equitable
funding for projects in the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and
Mountains Conservancy (RMC) in a new water bond issue being considered for
the November 2014 ballot. It is a funding issue that would impact conservancy
funding to all of cities in the San Gabriel and Lower RMC.
The Board also required the Legislature to provide direct allocation to the San
Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles RMC in the bond measure. There are several
water bond bills being discussed that could potentially distribute funding
Agenda Item — I
inequitably to other regions, directly impacting our cities, the RMC and our local
State Conservancy, If the RMC does not get a direct allocation in the measure,
there is a very real possibility that the RMC will not get state funding from the
next water bond.
The RMC has provided funding for critical Seal Beach projects including the 1st
Street Parking Lot rehabilitation and Bike Trail Improvement Project in Seal
Beach. It is recommend that the Mayor be authorized to sign the attached letter.
In brief, the letter will request the following two items:
2. Funding to be proportionate to the amount we would have received under
the 2009 water bond that already made it to the ballot. Under the 2009
measure, the RMC would have received $75 million. It makes sense that
if a water bond must be reduced in size that our allocation be reduced
proportionally, and no more.
There is no environmental impact for this agenda item.
The City Attorney has reviewed and approved it as to form.
There is no financial impact to the City as a result of this proposed action.
UO 44- rel kill N f A - IN, I
That the City Council sign a letter of support for the Rivers and Mountains
Conservancy (RMC) to the State Legislature for funding from a new water bond
measure.
• U* W
11,M111ARM A M "D W
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Sean P. Crumby, P-E
Director • Public Works
Prepared by: Michael Ho P.E., Dep. Dir. PW/City Engineer
Attachments:
A. Letter of Support
June 23, 2014
The Honorable Anthony Rendon
California State Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee
1020 N Street, Room 160
Sacramento, California 95814
Re: Water Bond Funding for the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and
Mountains Conservancy (RMC)
Dear Chairman Rendon:
On behalf of the City of Seal Beach, I write to urge direct funding to the San Gabriel and
Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy (RMC) in the State's water
bond; and secondly, to request that the funding be proportional with the Rivers and
Mountains Conservancy's $75 million allocation in the existing water bond. The City of
Seal Beach is represented by the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and
Mountains Conservancy and values the services that this Conservancy provides directly
to our city and region.
Direct funding to the RMC is crucial. Over 4.8 million residents live within the RMC's
jurisdiction, and 2 out of every 3 residents in this region are disproportionately impacted
by environmental pollutants. Since the RMC's establishment in 1999, the conservancy
has helped local governments and non-profits fund over 188 watershed improvement
projects with benefits that are distributed throughout the RMC territory ranging from the
mountain foothills to the dense urban areas within their jurisdiction. Examples of these
projects include: Pine Avenue Park Acquisition and Development, Maywood-, Huntington
Park Trail & Open Space Development, Huntington Park; Los Cerritos Wetlands
Acquisition and Restoration, Cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach; La Habra Heights
Trail Connectors Plan, La Habra Heights; River Wilderness Park, Azusa; Emerald
Necklace Feasibility Study & Implementation, San Gabriel Valley; Gateway Cities Bike
Trail Expansion Study, Gateway Cities; Walnut Creek Habitat & Open Space
Acquisition, San Dimas; Claremont Foothills Acquisition, Claremont; and Una Lake
Wetlands Acquisition & Restoration, Antelope Valley, just to name a few. With the
exception of a few cities, funding has been provided to most of the 68 cities within the
RMC's jurisdiction either directly or as part of a regional project.
Direct funding to the RMC will yield watershed and environmental protection benefits
that differ from projects that may be implemented in other surrounding conservancies.
The RMC is the only urban conservancy in California, and our jurisdiction covers over
1,480 square miles of mountains, valleys, rivers, coastal plain, and coastline in eastern
Los Angeles County and western Orange County. It is imperative that this conservancy
continue to receive direct funding from the State to implement environmental protection
projects that can be accessible to the 4.8 million residents who live in RIVIC's
jurisdiction.
If the Legislature reduces the existing water bond amount by 20 percent, then we
request that our new direct allocation be reduced by a percentage no greater than 20
percent, based on the RIVIC's $75 million allocation in the existing water bond. It makes
sense to maintain a State investment in California's only urban conservancy.
Given these reasons, we urge the State water bond to include at least $60 million in
direct funding to the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains
Conservancy, and request that the funding be proportional with the RIVIC's $75 million
allocation in the existing water bond. If there are questions please call the City of Seal
Beach at 562.431.2527 ext. 1318.
Sincerely,
Ellery A. Deaton, Mayor
City of Seal Beach
211 Eighth Street
Seal Beach, CA 90740