HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006/08/01 Item 15
COUNCIL AGENDA STATEMENT
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Item: ( ':7
Meeting Date: 8/01/06
SUBMITTED BY:
Status report regarding Otay Valley Regional Park planning activities and
budgeting
Director of Planning ~~ildi-dff ,tJDS>
Director ofRe~.'0!:) ~I
City Manager ;1 (4/5 Vote: Yes_No...K..)
ITEM TITLE:
REVIEWED BY:
Over the past decade the City of Chula Vista, along with the City of San Diego and the County of
San Diego, have been assembling land and establishing guiding documents for the formation of the
planned 8,000 acre Otay Valley Regional Park. This report provides Council with a requested update
on efforts to establish this tremendous open space resource for residents of the City ofChula Vista
and the South County.
RECOMMENDATION: That Council accept the report.
BOARDS AND COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION: N/A
DISCUSSION:
OVRP Planning Overview
In 1990 the Cities of San Diego, Chula Vista joined together with the County of San Diego to sign a
Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement (JEPA) for the planning and acquisition ofland to create the
Otay Valley Regional Park (OVRP). The OVRP is managed by a three member Policy Committee,
with elected representatives from each jurisdiction; an Executive Management Team, with Directors
from each Parks and/or Recreation Department; and, assigned staff from each jurisdiction. A 30-
member Citizen Advisory Committee supported by Staff makes recommendations to the Policy
Committee. In 2001, the OVRP Concept Plan was adopted after significant public input, and now
serves as the blueprint for formation of the regional park, including goals, design elements and
policies.
Since establishment of the Concept Plan significant parkland acquisitions have continued to occur,
primarily through grant funding. A total of 903 acres of land have been acquired for the regional
park; 302 acres within the City of San Diego; 418 acres within the County of San Diego; and 183
acres within the City of ChuIa Vista (See Attachment 1). Additionally, the Finney Overlook,
consisting of the a public educational viewpoint constructed adjacent to Finney Elementary School,
overlooking the Otay Valley from the south side, was completed and opened earlier this year.
Several guiding documents for the OVRP have also been prepared, including the following:
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Page No.2, Item: ! S
Meeting Date: 8/01106
· OVRP Strategic Plan - Prepared in 2001, this document identified the strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities and threats of implementing the OVRP. Current and future actions were
outlined that have guided jurisdictional staff actions after adoption of the OVRP Concept
Plan.
· OVRP Trail Guidelines - Prepared by a consultant with State of California grant funding in
2003, this document establishes guidelines for the development of trails and staging areas
throughout the planned OVRP.
· OVRP Design Standards and Guidelines - Prepared by a consultant with State of California
grant funding in 2005, as well as OVRP Joint Staff, this document establishes standards for
the development of structures, signs, kiosks, etc. throughout the OVRP. Guidelines for
development that occurs adjacent to the OVRP are also included.
· OVRP 1-5 to 1-805 Trails Construction Plans- Prepared by consultant services with State of
California Proposition 13 parks bond funding and approved in June 2006, these construction
plans provide the primary trail and staging areas for the OVRP extending from just west of
Interstate 5 Freeway to Interstate 805 Freeway. These trails and staging areas will be
constructed on both sides of the Otay River meandering through the City of San Diego and
Chula Vista jurisdictional areas.
· Draft OVRP Habitat Restoration Plan and Exotic Species Removal Plan - Prepared by a
consultant with State of California grant funds and completed this year, this plan provides
guidelines for habitat restoration activities throughout the planned OVRP. As mitigation
requirements are identified for park improvement activities (trails, staging areas, etc.) and
exotic plant removal occurs within the Otay Valley, this document will provide resource
agency-accepted protocols to ensure success.
· Draft Western OVRP Natural Resource Management Plan - Prepared by consultant services
under a grant obtained by the City of San Diego, this plan will guide open space preservation
and park maintenance/management activities west of Heritage Road within both San Diego
as well as Chula Vista jurisdictional areas, furthering Multiple Species Conservation
Program conservation efforts. It is expected that this document will be brought forward later
this year for adoption by both the City of San Diego and the City of Chula Vista.
Joint Staff to the OVRP assigned from each of the three member jurisdictions have been involved in
obtaining grant funds to support preparation of the above guiding documents, have managed and
worked with consultants hired to prepare them, and have ensured consistency with individual
jurisdictional plans and policies as projects occurred. These staff commitments have been, and
continue to be, provided in-kind by each of the jurisdictions.
With many of these broad planning efforts completed, the emphasis of work is now shifting to
operations and management functions. On November 1, 2005, staff presented, and Council approved
a revised JEP A for the OVRP that added operations and management functions to the tri-
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Page No.3, Item: i 'J
Meeting Date: 8/01106
jurisdictional agreement. At that meeting Council asked that staff return with a report on the status of
funding activities related to regional park activities.
OVRP Budget Overview
Within the OVRP JEP A it is established that executives from each jurisdiction will meet annually to
agree on budget proposals for the park, which are then subject to adoption by the policymakers of
each jurisdiction. In some instances funds originally targeted for one purpose may have been used
for another, or one jurisdiction may have paid 100% for one item and the others 100% for something
else, but the agreed upon equity between jurisdictions has been monitored and maintained through
the Executive Committee.
. Previous Expenditures
Previous approvals by Council have included funding appropriations to provide fair-share
contributions toward regional park clean-up efforts, fair-share funding for providing a park ranger
presence in the park, and funding toward the purchase of a park ranger facility in the western portion
of the park.
Budget expenditures for each of the three member jurisdictions prior to the year 2004 were largely
made up of staff time allocated as support to planning and acquisition of the park, as well as on-
going clean-up, fencing and signing of park land acquired. Ten to twenty percent of two Planning &
Building Department staff s time has been dedicated to assisting preparation of park planning
documentation, prioritizing lands for acquisition, and obtaining and spending grant funds for
acquisition of open space lands, along with the City of San Diego and County staff contributions.
Additional activities have included providing staff support to the Citizen Advisory Committee,
which meets monthly, as well as the Executive Management Team and the Policy Committee who
meet on a quarterly basis.
In 2004, a Capital Improvement Program project was approved for Chula Vista's fair share
contribution for the purchase of a Park Ranger station (ClP Account #PR254) amounting to
$100,000 (subject of a separate Council Agenda item). Additionally, a total of $61,105 has been
included as an annual budget amount to cover miscellaneous park costs, including a one-third share
of park ranger costs, fencing, gates, and small equipment in support of operations for the park.
These funds, however, were largely targeted for Chula Vista's 2005 contribution to a contract with
the State of California for the use of Donovan prison work crews to augment volunteer clean-up
efforts throughout the western Otay Valley, to which the County matched and the City of San Diego
matched through covering Chula Vista's share of the ranger costs. This on-going contract is
administered by the County of San Diego Parks & Recreation Department, with fair share funding
being contributed by each of the three member agencies.
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.<:...
Page No.4, Item: 1.../
Meeting Date: 8/01/06
The City of San Diego, the County of San Diego and the City of Chula Vista committed or expended
an equal share of public funds (excluding grant funds) toward implementation of the OVRP in fiscal
year 2005-2006, which included Chula Vista's total of$46,500.
. Current Budget (FY 06-07)
The fiscal year 2006-2007 equal share Donovan contract expenditure is expected to be $46,500, and
will again be paid through funds already allocated within the Planning & Building Department's
annual budget of$61,105.
. Future Budgets
It is anticipated that in FY 07, especially after construction of the initial trails and staging areas
between Interstate 5 and 805, a modification to the budget will likely be requested to account for the
maintenance of these new facilities in a fair share division of costs. Staff will need to return to
Council mid-year to accordingly adjust the above noted FY 07 budget. It is anticipated that Chula
Vista's staff support will likely be similar; however, funding contributions to cover maintenance and
management of soon-to-be active areas of the park are expected to increase three-fold (closer to
$200,000). Staffs from the three jurisdictions are currently analyzing budget proposals for the OVRP
that will involve significantly increased costs based on new facilities in the park.
The OVRP Executive Management T earn (Directors of Parks & Recreation for City of San Diego &
County; Director of Recreation for City ofChula Vista) will continue to monitor budget expenditures
to maintain a fair share accounting.
Decision Maker Conflicts
Staffhas reviewed the property holdings ofthe City Council and has found no such holdings within
500' of the property that is the subject of this action.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There are no fiscal impacts associated with this status report.
A separate, accompanying report contains a current budget request regarding Chula Vista's fair share
contribution toward construction of a Park Ranger station and restroom facilities. Staff will bring
future budget requests and adjustments related to the OVRP forward to Council after each
jurisdiction has provided its proposed FY 06-07 budget estimates. Chula Vista is reliant on budget
estimates provided by the other jurisdictions in order to assess a fair share budget cost estimate.
Attachments:
1. OVRP Concept Plan Map
2. OVRP Land Acquisitions
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OT A Y VALLEY REGIONAL PARK
LAND ACQUISITION
HISTORY
5-1-06
The following tables of acreages identify only areas that were obtained for Park Land or Habitat
Restoration. These tables do not include areas that have been dedicated by private developers for
the purpose of Open Space dedication per the requirements of a Resolution of approval of a
Subdivision Map.
PROPERTY ACRES DATE ACQUIRED ACTUAL COST Acauired Bv
Finney 4.12 1 0-5-04 Donation County of San Diego
Elementary
Surolus Value $50,000
2006 Caltrans Settlement
PROPERTY ACRES DATE ACQUIRED ACTUAL COST Acauired By
Gardner- 22.3 1-13-06 $1,785,600 County of San Diego
Escondido
2006 MSCP
PROPERTY
Sandoval
ACRES
1.41
DATE ACQUIRED ACTUAL COST
2-10-06 $50,000
Year 00/01 Coastal Conservancy Grant Proposition 12 & 13, River Parkway Funds (Total
Acquisition Fundinq is $10,038,121)
PROPERTY ACRES DATE ACQUIRED ACTUAL Acquired By
COST
Otav Land Co. 113.1 2-28-06 $1,490,000 County of San Dieao
Sandoval 11.31 2-10-06 $650,000 County of San Dieao
Lanzetta 5 4-18-05 $125,000 County of San Dieao
Grindle 7.6 4-13-05 $91,200 County of San Dieao
Kimball 16.3 3-23-05 $196,000 County of San Dieao
Georaiana Smith 90.19 9-21-04 $2,611,000 County of San Dieao
Grea Smith 101.33 6-16-04 $3,243,000 County of San Dieao
Munson Otav 19.82 6-25-03 $13,300 County of San Dieao
Takashima 10.13 4-17 -03 $253,250 County of San Dieao
Baker 6.32 2-4-03 $95,000 County of San Dieao
TOTALS 381.1 $8,767,750
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Mntii:!atilorl Siltes (This property was rei:!l.!~redl as part of mit!i:!at~orl for habitat impacts. The
property has a cOrlservatiorl easemerlt Or! it for habitat preservatilorl).
Acreage Acquisition Cost
6.86 0
11.02 0
1.8 0
TOTAL 19.68
Year 1992 Coastal Conservancy Grant ($1.5 million)
PROPERTY ACRES DATE ACQUIRED ACTUAL COST Acquired Bv
78.01 1993 $1,417,450 Citv of San Diego
This grant also included the development and 1992 adoption of the Otay River Valley Enhancement
Plan prepared by Wallace Roberts and Todd, and provided for funding of two pipe rail gate accesses
at Beyer Way and Beyer Blvd. This grant was fully expended.
Grant Summary
Year Grant AmounWalue Acres Purchased to date Amount spent to date
00101 Coastal Conservancy $9,700,000 381.1 $8,767,750
Proposition 12/13 *$10,938,121
00 Habitat Conservation $46,000 .99 $46,000
Fund
00 Habitat Conservation $238,000 20.18 $238,000
Fund
99 Coastal Conservancy $3,250,000 85.39 $2,010,020 (* See note
Proposition 12 below)
97 Coastal Conservancv $3,000,000 161.18 $3,000,000
92 Coastal Conservancv $1,500,000 78.01 $1 ,417,450
Total $16,234,000 726.85 $15,479,220
* The remainder ($1,238,121) of the 1999 Coastal Conservancy grant was transferred to the
2000/2001 Grant
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