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HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 4.06 Open Space Adv Comm CITY CLERK # 0600-40 .... AGENDA STATEMENT CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: August 1, 2000 SUBJECT: Agreement between the City Of Dublin and The City Of Pleasanton Regarding Expenditures by The Open Space Advisory Committee Created by an Agreement Settling Litigation over the Expansion of the Altamont Landfill _Prepared by: Elizabeth H. Silver, City Attorney ATTACHMENTS: RECOMMENDATION: t. Resolution Approving Agreement 3 ~X~ ' Adopt the ResOlution Approvi% o the Agreement FINANCIAL STATEMENT: None ~.~I)ESCRIPTION: Back~round of Open Space Fees As part of the settlement of litigation over the expansion of the Altamont Landfill, the parties to the litigation (Alameda County, Waste Management of Alameda County, the Cities of Livermore and Pleasanton, and various environmental groups) agreed that the County would charge Waste Management of Alameda County, Inc. (WMAC) two fees totaling $1.25 per ton-of waste-disposed at the Landfill, which WMAC is required to pass on to its franchisors and other jurisdictions that use the Landfill. (WMAC did not consent to the fees~.) Of the two fees, $0.75 per ton must be spent on the acquisition of open space, either by purchasing the land or obtaining a permanent easement. Only twenty percent of the total amount of money acquired through the fee will be spent in the Dublin-Pleasanton area, referred to in the settlement agreement as the western area; the other eighty percent must be used to acquire property in eastern Alameda County, meaning around Livermore. WMAC is now attempting to comply with its obligations under the settlement agreement by incorporating the open space fee into its proposed compensation from the City, meaning that it is requesting that the City pass the fee along to ratepayers. The Council is considering approv.!ng WMAC's proposed rate increases onlhe August 1, 2000 agenda with this agreement. How Decisions Regarding Expenditure of the Fees are Made If the Council decides to allow WMAC to take the fees into account in its calculation of its target revenue, and thereby in rates, the revenue derived from the open space fee will be deposited in an accoum held by the COPIES TO: ' ITEMNO. ~ _~ County. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the County must convene an Advisory Committee to make decisions about the expenditure of the funds in the account. The County, Livermore, Pleasanton, and the Sierra Club may appoint voting members to the Committee. Dublin has a non~voting representative. The Committee will prepare a "priority list" of properties for acquisition in each of the two areas. It will also decide how to allocate funds derived from the fee for expenditure during each year. For the Dublin- Pleasanton area, the Committee takes action by majority vote of the members representing the County, Pleasanton, and the Sierra Club. Those three members decide which properties in that area will appear on the priority list and how to spend the money allocated for expenditure on open space in that area. The Committee makes annual adjustments to the lists and the proposed expenditure of funds. After the Committee makes its recommendations for the priority list and the allocation of funds, the Committee must submit them to the County and to the appropriate city (Livermore or Pleasanton, depending on the area in which the open space will be acquired). The County and city must hold public discussions on the recommendations at meetings of their respective legislative bodies. Their task is to determine whether the recommendations are consistent with the criteria in the settlement agreement, discussed below. If either does not ratify the recommendations, they will be referred back to the Committee. In placing property on the priority list; the Committee must give first priority to property that ha~ significant value for preservation of native biological diversity and/or wildlife habitat; it must give second priority to property that has value for visual character and/or non-motorized recreation. The agreement places two limits on the expenditure of the funds. First, the Committee may not spend them to acquire property if acquisition has already been required as a condition of project approval, or if acquisition would otherwise facilitate development of open space. Second, it may not spend the funds on acquiring land in the viticulture m'ea of the South Livermore Valley Area Plan that would otherwise be acquired through a city or County regulatory program. The Committee rnay, however, spend up to five percent of the annual proceeds ofthe open space fund on independent consultants to help identify open space areas for acquisition and to make plans for their acquisition. It may also spend up to two percent on the costs incurred in managing the account. Summary of the ~areement with PleaSanton ' Because Dublin residents would, if the fee were included in their rates, pay into the open space account but have no say in the expenditure of funds, the Council directed staff to negotiate an agreement with Pleasanton to use its vote on the Committee to assure that funds allocated for open space in the western area would be divided evenly 1Jetween Dublin and Pleasanton, and that Dublin would approve all property in Dublin placed on the priority list for the western area. In return, Dublin would agree to allow WMAC to include the fee in its calculation of target revenue and, thus, in its increased rates. The attached agreement contains that basic deal. Under the agreement, Dublin agrees to allow' WMAC to take the open space fees into account in its calculation of target revenue and, thereby, to include the fees in customers' rates. Dublin further agrees to continue to study mechanisms for funding open space acquisition and to share that information with Pleasanton and the Committee. Finally, Dublin agrees to participate in the Committee and advocate for the division of funds as provided for in the agreement. In return, Pleasanton agrees that, when the Committee prepares the priority list for the western area, its representative to the' Committee will only vote to put on the list properties in Dublin that Dublin has approved. It also agrees, on those occasions, to vote to divide the funds allocated for the western area evenly between properties in Dublin and PleaSanton, unless thc two cities agree to an alternate an'angement. If the Committee approves a list or allocation that does not conform to the agreement between Dublin and Pleasanton, Pleasanton agrees that its City Council will vote to disapprove the Committee's recommendation. Finally, the agreement allows the two cities to agree separately to allocate the funds fOr the western area other r"~xan evenly between them. Thus, they can structure deals for one city to get the entire amount for one or several years to acquire a specific property. However, over time, the division o£ funds will be equitable, and in the absence of such an agreement, the funds will be divided evenly. Recommendation Attached to the Agenda Statement is a resolution that Would approve the agreement and authorize'the Mayor to sign it. Staff recommends that the City Com~cil adopt the resolution. RESOLUTION NO. - O0 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF DUBLIN AND THE CITY OF PLEASANTON REGARDING EXPENDITURES BY THE OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMITTEE CREATED BY AN AGREEMENT SETTLING LITIGATION OVER THE EXPANSION OF THE ALTAMONT LANDFILL WHEREAS, the Council has been presented with an agreement entitled Agreement between the City of Dublin and the City o fPleasanton Regarding Expenditures by the Open Space Advisory Committee Created by an Agreement Settling Litigation over the Expansion of the Altamont Landfill; and WHEREAS, the Council is familiar with the terms of the agreement; and WHEREAS, the City Manager has recommended approval of the agreement. NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Agreement between the City of Dublin and the City of Pleasanton Regarding Expenditures by the Open Space Advisory Committee Created by an Agreement Settling Litigation over the Expansion of the Altamont Landfill is hereby approved and the Mayor is hereby authorized and directed to execute the Agreement attached as Exhibit A. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED this 1st day of August 2000, by the following vote: AYE S: NOES: ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ATTEST: MAYOR CITY CLERK K~/G/8- 1-00/rcso-pton-openspace. doc AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF DUBLIN AND THE CITY OF PLEASANTO N REGARDING EXPENDITURES BY THE OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COMMITTEE CREATED BY AN AGREEMENT SETTLING LITIGATION OVER THE EXPANSION OF THE ALTAMONT LANDFILL This Agreement is entered into by and between the City of Dublin (hereafter "Dublin"), a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the State of California, and the City of Pleasanton (hereafter ~Pleasanton~'), a municipal corporation organized under the laws of the State of California, this __ day of 2000. RECITALS A. In 1991, Waste Management of Alameda County, Inc. (hereafter WMAC) applied to Alameda County (hereafter "County") for a Conditional Use Permit (hereafter "CUP") that would have allowed it to expand the capacity of the Altamont Landfill and Resource Reclamation Facility (hereafter 'Landfill"). The County granted the CUP in 1996, precipitating litigation over the suffSciency of the Environmental Impact Repo~-t prepared in conjunction with the .CUP application. P]easanton was One of the plaintifYs in the case. B. In 1999, the parties to the litigation entered into an agreement settling their claims. As part of that agreement, a copy of which is attached hereto and hereby incorpo[~ted by reference, the County agreed to impose on BqxSAC, as a condition of expanding the Landfit4 several fees per ton of waste disposed at the Landfill. The agreement allocated a portion of those fees ~o an Open Space Accoum (hereafter '~Account"); it further allocated twenty percent of the funds deposited into the Account to the acquisition of open space in tile Dublin-Pleasanton area. The County holds all funds in the Accoum until expenditures are approved. C The settlement agt-eement established an Open Space Advisory Commiu:ce (hereafter "Committee") to administer the Account and the acquisition of open space with ffmds in the Account. Pleasan'ton, the City of Livermore, the County, and the Sierra Club re. ay all appoim voting members to the Commi[tee. Dttblh~ has nonvoting representation on thc Committee. Thc Comnfittee's tasks, as described in the settlement agreement, are the creation of'"pflor~ty lists~> o.~Cpropcrfies to acqmre in tile Dublin- Pleasanton and Livermore areas and the allocation of funds from the Account for the acqmsition of the listed open s~aces by obtaining title or a permanent easement Committee decisions regarding the priority list and allocations for the Dublin-Pleasanton area are made by a'majority vote of Pleasanron~ the County, and the Sierra Club. Once tlae Committee recommends a priority list and allocations for tile Dublin- Pleasanton area, the Pleasanton City Council and the County Board of Supervisors must ratify the recommendations by determining that they arc consistent with the requirements of~the settlement agreement l~'cither body does not ralify the recommendation_ it is referred back to thc Committee reconsideration The Colnmittee makes annual a(j;~sm~ents to tiao priority lists aud thc proposed expenditures of :funds. D. As a fur£hcr part of the setltement agreement, WMAC agreed, at the earliest point allowed under its franchise agreements, to include the Fees in its per ton rate fbr disposal at lhe Landfill, thereby between lhc City ol'l'tcas;mton m~d lhe Cily ol'l)ubli~ EXI-I1BI,T A passing the fee to its franchisors and other jurisdictions that use the Landfill. Each franchisor must then pass the fee along to its customers by increasing rares for solid waste collection and disposal. WMAC has ,---- recently included the fees in its proposed per ton disposal rates for Dublin, thereby requesting that Dublin include the fees in its customers' rates Dublin does nor believe that, under the terms of its franchise agreement with WMAC, WMAC has the right to include the fees in its disposal rate for Dublin. E. Believing that the acquisition of open space in the Dublin-Pleasanton area will benefit the residents of both cities~ and recognizing that the residents of Dublin will contribute to the Account by indirectly paying the Fees discussed above, the parties hereto enter into this Agreement to provide a mechanism for assuring the equitable distribution of the funds from the Account designated ibr the creation of open space in and around both cities. NOW, THEREFORE, as follows: AGREEMENT in consideration of the mutual promises contained herein, the parties agree '¸1. Dublin's Responsibilities. a. Dublin shall, pursnant to its franchise agreement with WMAC and when requested by WMAC, include in the per ton Base Rate defined in that agreement ali fees imposed on WMAC by the County as part of the agreement settling the titiganon over the expansion of the Landfill. b. Dublin shall, to the extent permitted by law, continue to study mechanisms and fundine sources for open space acquisition and research within and around its boundaries and shall sha:-e all inf~ormation obtained 'fi'om such studies with Pleasanton and the Committee. c. Dublin shall actively part-icipate in the Committee and strongly advocate that the the Account be allocated lbr the acquisition of open space in Pleasanton and Dublin 9 Ptea sa nton~ s ]/.e~p on sibilities. a When the Commktee creates and makes annual adjustments to the priority lists and proposed allocations of funds, Pleasanton~s Committee representative shall vote to place on the priority list properties in Dublin that Dublin's representative has approved Pleasanton~s ret~rcsentative shall, on those occasions~ also vote re divide the funds in the Account allocated for the acquisition of open space in the Dublin-Pleasanton area as agreed to by the parties. ~[fthe pa-t es reach no other agreement regarding allocation ofi'unds, Pleasanton's representative shall vote that the proposed expenditures for the ensuing year be divided equally between the parries> s~:ch that hal'f' of the f'unds are designated fbi' the acquisition of' open space in P]easanton, hail f'or open space in Dublin. b. If thc Committee recommends a priority list that contains properties in Dublin lhat Dublin's Committee representative has not approved or an allocation of:amds for thc acquisition of open space in the Dublin-Plcasanton area that is not divided between the parties as they have agrccd~ thc Plea. santon City Cotmcil shall vote ~o disapprove tiao recommendation as inconsistent with the requh'emcnts o't~the setilement ai~rcemenl If the pan. les have not ag~'ced to an alternative alloca.tion o('thnds tbr any given year, d'~e Pleasanton City Council shall similarly vote 1o disapprove a Committee recommendation for that year that does not evenly divide between the parties the funds allocated for the Dublin-Pteasanton area. 3. Alternative Allocations. The parties may informally agree to an allocation of funds for a single year or for multiple years that is not evenly divided between them. In the absence of an agreement for an alternative allocation, the annual allocation of funds shall remain evenly divided for acquisition of open space in each city 4. Indemnification. Each pa~y agrees to hold harmless the other and its elected and appointed councils, boards, commissions, officers, agents, employees, and representatives from any and a11 claims, costs~ and liability that may arise directly or indirectly as a result of any actions taken pursuant to this Agreement. -5.- Term and Termination. This Agreement shall remain in effect fbr as long as the Committee exists and makes decisions about the allocation of f~.~nds derived from fees imposed as a result of the settlement of the above-descr{bed litigation over the expansion of the Landfill. This Agreemem may be terminated only by the written consent of both pm-des. 6. Severability_. If any provision in this Agreement is held by a court ofcompetentjurisdiction to be invalid, void, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will nevertheless continue in full force without being nnpaired or invalidated in any way. ]~N WITNESS WHEREOF, the paties have exec~,~ted thi~ Av_reement as of the date written abovc. CITY OF D[2-}LIN C1T'T OF PLEASANTON By: ]By: Guy S. ltouston, Mayor Ben Tarvcr, Mayor Attcst: Atte~;( Kay Keck, City Clerk Approved as to form: Peggy Ezidr% City Clerk Approved as to form: Elizabeth 1-~. Silver, (,n.~ A.ttomey Micl~ael Roush. Ckv Att orney