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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4.07 BiologAssmtConsultant CITY CLERK File #600-30 & #420-10 SmEM . X d CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: MAY 21, 2002 SUBJECT: Selection of Consultant for the Biological Assessment of Proposed Community Park within the Eastern Dublin Property Owners Annexation Area and designating such persons as are appropriate to enter the Subject property as provided by Government Code section 65105. Report Prepared by: Andy Byde, Senior Planner (~ ATTACHMENTS: 1. Resolution Selecting the Consultant (LSA) and giving authorization to the City Manager to negotiate contract not to exceed $6,000; 2. Map of Area; 3. LSA Associates Inc. Proposal to Provide Biological Consulting Services; and 4. Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to designate such persons as are appropriate to enter the Jordan property to make examinations and surveys as necessary to determine the suitability of Fallon Road and the Sports Park site and to provide adequate notice to the property owner as required by Government Code section 65105. RECOMMENDATION: 1. Adopt Resolution Selecting LSA Associates Inc., as /~~// consultant and authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute the Contract, not to exceed $6,000; and 2. Adopt Resolution authorizing the City Manager to designate such persons as are appropriate to enter the Jordan property to make examinations and surveys as necessary to determine the suitability of Fallon Road and the Sports Park site and to provide adequate notice to the property owner and occupants as required by Government Code section 65105. FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Estimated Cost: $6,000, sufficient funds are available in the Sports Park CIP. BACKGROUND: As part of Eastern Dublin Specific Plan a 68-acre site was designated Community Park, west of Fallon Road (see Attachment 2). Specifically, the Community Park Facility was designated, by the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, to be a Sports Park with ball fields, soccer fields, and other facilities. 14.1 acres of the 68-acre park facility are located on the Jordan Property, which is within the Eastern Dublin Properties Annexation area, outside of the current City limits. The remaining 53.9 acres of the Sports Park are located upon the Dublin Ranch Property, specifically Area B of Dublin Ranch. During the COPIES TO: 'Anthony Varni, Attorney representing the Jordan Family ITEM NO. G:XPA#X2002\Jordon Biosurvey\cc sr.doc . planning and analysis of Dublin Ranch, it was anticipated that, due to the lack of information regarding the habitat resources of the Jordan Property, determining the suitability of the proposed location of the entire 68-acres could be problematic. In order to provide an escape valve if the proposed location of the Sports Park could not be constructed as proposed (due to the existence of habitat resources on the Jordan Property), a condition of project approval was added to the PD approval for Dublin Ranch Areas B-E. Condition 3a states: "The approximately 13-acre area identified on the Land Use and Development Plan with a *** and designated as 'Community Park/Medium Density' may be developed for residential uses at such time as the Dublin City Council determines that this acreage is not needed for the designated Community Park". In addition, the Master Development Agreement with the Lin Family provides for possible reconfiguration of the Sports Park if the Sports Park site is undevelopable due to federal wetlands or endangered species regulations or for any other reason related to federal and/or state regulatory permits. In order for Staff to make a recommendation to the City Council regarding whether the acreage within Dublin Ranch Area B would be required for the development of Fallen Road and the Sports Park/Community Park, it needs to be established whether sensitive habitat resources exist on the 14.1 acres of the Jordan Property and whether all required federal and state regulatory permits can be obtained. The biological assessment is the first step in that process. CONSUL TANT SELECTION: To determine the suitability of the 14.1-acre portion of the Jordan property, Staff determined that a detailed biological assessment would be necessary. On March 20, 2001, Staff sent out a Request for Proposal (RFP), to four environmental consulting firms, to assess and delineate biological resources that may impair development of the Sports Park on the Jordan Property. As a result of the RFP, Staff received three responses. Staff reviewed the responses and determined that LSA provided the most focused response, which would best meet the City's needs. LSA currently provides biological consulting and peer review services to the City on on-going bases and has demonstrated their experience and abilities within this area. Additionally, LSA's fee for providing the services was the most economical of the three submittals by a large margin. As reflected in the attached work program LSA has a clear understanding of the project scope. ACCESS TO THE SUBJECT PROPERTY: To gain access to the property, the City Attorney has determined that Government Code section 65105 authorizes entry on to the Jordan property. Section 65105 provides: In performance of their functions, planning agency personnel may enter upon any land and make examinations and surveys provided that the entries, examinations, and surveys do not interfere with the use of the land by those persons lawfully entitled to the possession thereof. Because one of the functions of the planning agency is to prepare a general plan for the physical development of the city and any land'outside its boundaries which in the planning agency's judgment bears relation to its planning, this section authorizes the planning agency to enter on lands outside the city as lOng as they are within the City's "planning area." The Jordan property is currently within the City's planning area and its sphere of influence. The effective date of the annexation will not occur prior to the time of the studies. To enter private property to conduct such studies requires that adequate notice to the property owner be provided as required by Government Code Section 65105. Although the City Council has delegated some of the functions of the planning agency described in Government Code Section 65103 to the Planning Commission, the Council has not delegated the power to enter onto land, which is provided in section 65105. Therefore, Staff requests that the Council authorize the City Manager to designate appropriate persons to enter land to evaluate the suitability of the 14.1-acre portion of the Jordan property to be constructed as shown by the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan and General Plan and to provide notice in advance to the property owner. RECOMMENDATION: Staff recommends that the City Council 1) adopt Resolution selecting LSA Associates Inc. for biological consulting services and authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute the Contract with LSA, not to exceed $6,000; and 2) adopt Resolution authorizing the City Manager to designate such persons as are appropriate to enter the Jordan property to make examinations and surveys as necessary to determine the suitability of Fallon Road and the Sports Park site and to provide adequate notice to the property owner and occupants as required by Government Code section 65105. RESOLUTION NO. XX-02 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN SELECTION OF LSA ASSOCIATES INC. FOR THE BIOLOIGICAL SURVEY OF THE JORDON PROPERTY AND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE AND EXECUTE THE CONTRACT WHEREAS, the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan designated a 68-acre site as Community Park located west of Fallon Road; and WHEREAS, 14.1 acres of the 68-acre park facility are located on the Jordan Property, which is within the Eastem Dublin Properties area, currently located outside of the current City limits, and within Dublin's Sphere of Influence; and WHEREAS, during the planning and analysis of Dublin Ranch, it was anticipated that, due to the lack of information regarding the habitat resources of the Jordan Property, determining the suitability of the proposed location of the entire 68-acres could be problematic; and WHEREAS, the Master Development Agreement with the Lin Family provides for possible reconfiguration of the Sports Park if the Sports Park site is undevelopable due to federal wetlands or endangered species regulations or for any other reason related to federal and/or state regulatory permits; and WHEREAS, in order for Staff to make a recommendation to the City Council regarding whether the acreage within Dublin Ranch Area B is required for the development of the Sports Park/Community Park, it needs to be established whether sensitive habitat resources exist on the 14.1 acres of the Jordan Property; and WHEREAS, Staff sent out a Request for Proposal (RFP), to four environmental consulting firms, to assess and delineate biological resources that may impair development of the Sports Park on the Jordan Property; WHEREAS, LSA has a clear understanding of the project scope and is able to perform the requested task. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the City Council of the City of Dublin hereby select LSA for providing Biological Consulting Services and authorizes the City Manager to negotiate and execute the contract, not to exceed $6,000. Attachment 1 PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 21 st day of May 2002. AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk GSPA#X2.002~Jordon Biostu-vey\CC Reso Awarding Consultant Contract.doc Attachment 1 May 15, 2002 MS. Jeri Ram City of Dublin 100 Civic Plaza Dublin, CA 94568 Subject: Proposal to Provide Biological Co~sulting Services Jordan Property Community Park Dear Ms. Ram: LSA Associates, Inc. (LSA) is pleased to submit this proposal to provide biological consulting services. The specific services requested are to survey 14.1 acres of the Jordan property in East Dublin for special status plant and wildlife species. LSA is very familiar with the biological resources of the East Dublin area having conducted numerous pre-construction surveys and other tasks related to biological resources in east Dublin for the City. Most recently this included acting as the City's review biologist for the East Dublin Properties Stage 1 Development Plan and Annexation Supplemental Environmental Impact Report. The Jordan property is included in the East Dublin Properties plan area. We have reviewed all background biological resource studies conducted for land within the East Dublin Properties plan area. These studies cover essentially all properties but the Jordan property. The only specific piece of available information on the Jordan property is a published record of California red-legged frog from the drainage on the east property boundary of the park site or the next drainage immediately to the east. Studies conducted on adjacent properties however provide the necessary information to formulate a list of species which could potentially occur on this site. These include: Congdon's Tarplant San Joaquin Spearscale California red-legged Frog California tiger Salamander Western Pond Turtle White-tailed Kite Burrowing Owl Loggerhead Shrike Tricolored Blackbird Homed Lark San Joaquin Kit Fox 5/15/02(C:\DOCUMENTSAND SETTINGSL~2qDY~LOCAL SETTINGS\TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES\OLK2F~JERIRAMLETTER.WPD) ATTACHMENT Bats (several special status species) Scope of Service Due to the seasonal nature for determining presence/absence or agency survey requirements for some species, we are recommending this wOrk be conducted in three phases. The proposed work by phase is presented below: Phase 1 A wildlife biologist and botanist will conduct a field visit to assess the biological resources present on the site. A one-day, reconnaissance-level survey of the 14.1-acre property will form the basis for our assessment. Particular attention will be given to locating and mapping habitats suitable for special- status plants and animals. All observations of special status species will be recorded and their locations mapped. We will also identify and map the locations of potential jurisdictional wetlands. No species-specific wildlife surveys or formal delineation of wetlands will be conducted at this time with the exception of seining the pond for tiger salamander larvae. We will present Our results to you in a report, describing the existing conditions and observations made during the field visit and mapping habitat types on the property. We are not proposing to conduct protocol level surveys for California tiger salamander and San Joaquin kit fox. Phase 2 Due to the existence of a published recOrd of red-legged frog from on or immediately adjacent to the site we recommend conducting a U:S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) protocol level survey for this species. The Service requires conducting surveys between May 1 and November 1. The protocol survey consists of two daytime and two nighttime site visits to search for red-legged frogs spaced at least 24 hours apart (possibly longer depending on weather conditions). The daytime reconnaissance visit will serve as one of two daytime visits. Red-legged frogs have been reported from the Jordan property on or in the immediate vicinity of the Community Park site. The Service and/or the Department ofFish and Game will consider all or portions of the site to be occupied habitat because of this (existing developed areas may not be considered habitat). The purpose of the protocol level survey is to determine if red-legged frogs are present in the on-site pond. This information will assist in making recommendations to the City regarding potential constraints to community park use or mitigation actions which may be necessary. Phase 3 This phase will consist of conducting surveys for the two rare plants, Congdon's tarplant and San Joaquin spearscale, that have been recorded from the vicinity of the park site. Both species are late bloomers and surveys should be conducted no earlier than July. The rare plant survey would consist of two site visits spaced a minimum of two weeks apart. If the City believes full rare plant surveys are needed (we are not recommending this based on adjacent survey data) then five site visits (May to September) would be needed this year. The rare plant survey would still not be complete as several species which could potentially be present in the area have already bloomed and are no longer identifiable. 5/15/02(C:\DOCUMENTSAND SETTINGSL~2qDY~LOCAL SETTINGSWEMPORARY INTERNET FILES\OLK2FXJEKIRAMLETTER.WPD) Fees We will conduct this work for a fee for labor and expenses of $6,000. The breakdown by task is presented below: Phase 1 $2,500 Phase 2 $2,000 Phase 3 $1,500 Total Cost: $6,000 Schedule The following schedule is based on receiving authorization to proceed on May 21, 2002. Phase 1 Submit report by June 7 Phase 2 Submit report by June 14 Phase 3 Submit report by August 30 Attached to this proposal is the resume for Malcolm Sproul who will serve as Project Manager for this work and some recent qualifications information which demonstrate the range of our natural resource consulting services. City staff is familiar with our work in Dublin under our consulting agreement with the City. We appreciate the opportunity to propose on this work. Please call me if you have any questions about our proposed scope of service or cost estimate. Sincerely, LSA ASSOCIATES, INC. Malcolm J. Sproul Principal 5/15/02(C:~DOCUMENTSAND SETTINGSkANDY~OCAL SETTI/x3GS\TEMPORARY INTER.NET FILES\OLK2FHERIRAMLETTER.WPD) RESOLUTION NO. XX-02 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO DESIGNATE SUCH PERSONS AS ARE APPROPRIATE TO ENTER THE JORDAN PROPERTY TO MAKE EXAMINATIONS AND SURVEYS AS NECESSARY TO DETERMINE THE SUITABILITY OF FALLON ROAD AND THE SPORTS PARK SITE AND TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE NOTICE TO THE PROPERTY OWNER AND OCCUPANTS AS REQUIRED BY GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65105 WHEREAS, the Jordan Property is within the Eastern Extended Planning Area of the Dublin General Plan as amended by the Eastern Dublin General Plan Amendment, approved in 1993 and within the Eastern Dublin Property Owners Stage 1 Development Plan Project. The Jordan Property is also within the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan area as approved in 1993. The Eastern Dublin General Plan Amendment and Specific Plan are collectively referred to as the GPA/SP Project; and WHEREAS, on May 10, 1993, the City Council certified a program Environmental Impact Report ("EIR") for the GPA/SP Project and an addendum thereto, dated May 4, 1993 (SCH 91103064). On August 22, 1994, the City Council approved another addendum to update plans to provide sewer service. The May 10, 1993 program EIR, the May 4, 1993 addendum and the August 22, 1994 addendum are collectively referred to as the Eastern Dublin EIR; and WHEREAS, on April 2, 2002, the City Council certified a Revised Supplemental Environmental Impact Report ("EIR") for the Eastern Dublin Property Owners Stage 1 Development Plan Project; and WHEREAS, the City Council approved the Eastern Dublin ProPerty Owners Stage 1 Development Plan of approximately 1,120 acres of land to Dublin, for prezoning to the Planned Development zoning district including approval of a Stage 1 Development Plan, and related approvals on April 2, 2002 and April 16, 2002; and WHEREAS, the Eastern Dublin Specific Plan designated a 68-acre site as Community Park located west of Fallon Road; and WHEREAS, 14.1 acres of the 68-acre park facility are. located on the Jordan Property, which is within the Eastern Dublin Properties area, currently located outside of the current City limits and within Dublin's Sphere of Influence; and WHEREAS, during the planning and analysis of Dublin Ranch, it was anticipated that, due to the lack of information regarding the habitat resources of the Jordan Property, determining the suitability of the proposed location of the entire 68-acres could be problematic; and WHEREAS, the Master Development Agreement with the Lin Family provides for possible reconfiguration of the Sports Park if the Sports Park site is undevelopable due to federal wetlands or endangered species regulations or for any other reason related to federal and/or state regulatory permits; and Attachment 4 WHEREAS, in order for Staff to make a recommendation to the City Council regarding whether the acreage within Dublin Ranch Area B is required for the development of Fallon Road and the Sports Park/Community Park, it needs to be established whether sensitive habitat resources exist on the 14.1 acres of the Jordan Property and whether all required federal and state regulatory permits can be obtained; and WHEREAS, the biological assessment is the first step in that process; and WHEREAS, Government Code Section 65105 authorizes planning agency personnel entry on to property for the purposes of examinations and surveys; and NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN DOES HEREBY RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: The City Manager is authorized to designate such persons as he deems appropriate to enter upon any land and make examinations and surveys, provided such entries, examinations and surveys do not interfere with the use of the land by those persons lawfully entitled to the possession thereof, in accordance with Government Code Section 65105, to determine whether public uses shown on the General Plan, including roads and parks, can be constructed as shown. The City Manager is directed to provide adequate notice to all persons owning and occupying any such lands of such entry. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this 21 st day of May 2002, by the following vote: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: MayOr ATTEST: City Clerk GSPA#~2002\Jordon Biosurvey\CC reso authorizing CM.doc