HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-10-14 - AGENDA REPORTS - ECO-RAPID TRANSIT MEMBERSHIP (7)NEW BUSINESS
DATE:
SUBJECT:
DEPARTMENT:
Agenda Item: 12
CITY OF SANTA CLARITA
AGENDA REPORT
City Manager Approval
Item to be presented by:
October 14, 2014
Ian Pari
ECO -RAPID TRANSIT MEMBERSHIP
Public Works
RECOMMENDED ACTION
City Council receive information and give direction regarding membership in the Eco -Rapid
Transit Joint Powers Authority.
BACKGROUND
Eco -Rapid Transit (Eco -Rapid), formerly known as the Orangeline Development Authority, is a
joint powers authority (JPA) comprised of 14 members, representing 13 Southern California
cities and the Bob Hope Airport in the City of Burbank. The JPA was formed to pursue
development of a high-speed, grade -separated, environmentally friendly, and energy-efficient
transit system.
The JPA consists of members along the former Pacific Electric Right -of -Way (West Santa Ana
Branch) corridor and an existing rail corridor (Antelope Valley Line between Downtown Los
Angeles and Santa Clarita).
The 13 represented cities are as follows:
• City of Artesia
• City of Bell
• City of Bell Gardens
• City of Bellflower
• City of Cudahy
• City of Downey
• City of Glendale
• City of Huntington Park
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• City of Maywood
• City of Paramount
• City of Santa Clarita
• City of South Gate
• City of Vernon
The City of Santa Clarita (City) joined Eco -Rapid in 2004 to be part of a regional effort to focus
on mobility. Mayor Pro Tem Marsha McLean has been the City's representative since that time.
Over the past few years, the cities of Los Alamitos, Palmdale, and Santa Ana have left
Eco -Rapid. Most recently, the Cerritos City Council voted to leave Eco -Rapid at their September
25 City Council meeting. With the departure of the cities of Palmdale and Cerritos, Santa Clarita
and Artesia are now the northern and southern most cities in the Eco -Rapid JPA, respectively.
The JPA is managed by a paid consultant, Michael Kodama with MK Planning, who functions as
Executive Director of Eco -Rapid. Mr. Kodama manages the consultant team to implement the
directives of the Eco -Rapid member agencies. City staff are not involved in the daily operations
or management of Eco -Rapid.
Eco -Rapid is partly supported by member dues and partly supported by various federal, state, and
local transportation grants. The City of Santa Clarita's membership dues have historically been
approximately $30,000 annually. The City's membership dues were recently revised downward to
approximately $26,000 annually, to reflect fewer track miles of a future rail alignment, with the
departure of the City of Palmdale from the JPA.
Eco -Rapid was originally conceived as a magnetically levitated transit system. Prior to mid -2009,
the mission statement for Eco -Rapid read as follows:
The Orangeline Development Authority is a joint powers agency formed to pursue deployment of
the Orangeline High Speed Maglev system in Southern California.
In 2009, the Eco -Rapid member agencies voted to revise the mission statement, so as not to limit
the system to one particular transit technology. The mission statement now reads as follows:
Eco -Rapid Transit, formerly known as the Orangeline Development Authority is a joint powers
authority (JPA) created to pursue development of a high speed, grade separated transit system
that is environmentally friendly and energy efficient. The system is designed to enhance and
increase transportation options for riders of this region utilizing safe, advanced transit
technology to expand economic growth that will benefit Southern California.
The project is still in the planning and feasibility analysis stages. The southern alignment,
typically referred to as the West Santa Ana Branch Corridor, between Cerritos and downtown
Los Angeles, is currently identified as a future rail project in Metro's 2009 Long Range
Transportation Plan (LRTP) with an opening year of 2027. The total cost for the southern
alignment listed in the LRTP is $650 million. This would be funded partly through Measure R.
Additional funding sources would be needed to fully fund the project and have yet to be
identified.
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The northern alignment, between downtown Los Angeles and Santa Clarita, is included in the
Southern California Association of Governments 2012 Regional Transportation Plan on the
Unfunded Major Strategic Plan project list.
The majority of studies, analyses, memoranda, and other technical work products have been
produced by consultants hired by Eco -Rapid over the years since its inception.
ALTERNATIVE ACTIONS
Other direction as determined by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
No additional resources, beyond those contained within the adopted Fiscal Year 2014-15 City
budget, are required for implementation of the recommended action.
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