SBCAG STAFF REPORT. Senate Bill 1 (SB1) State Funding Strategy for U.S. 101 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane and Parallel Projects

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1 SBCAG STAFF REPORT SUBJECT: Senate Bill 1 (SB1) State Funding Strategy for U.S. 101 High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane and Parallel Projects MEETING DATE: October 19, 2017 AGENDA ITEM: 6 STAFF CONTACT: Sarkes Khachek / Fred Luna RECOMMENDATION: SUMMARY: A. Receive presentation on status of U.S. 101 HOV and parallel projects and funding strategy for U.S. 101 HOV and parallel projects for Cycle 1 of the Senate Bill 1 (SB1) state funding programs. B. Authorize submittal of grant applications for Cycle 1 of Senate Bill 1 (SB1) Local Partnership Program, Solutions for Congested Corridors Program and Trade Corridor Enhancement Program. C. Approve programming of SB1 Local Partnership Program Formula Funding for Santa Barbara region for U.S. 101 HOV project and parallel projects up to construction. Senate Bill 1 (SB1) provides $5.2 billion per year in new state transportation funding. SB1 includes three new competitive state transportation grant programs to deliver significant and transformative projects statewide. The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has been developing guidelines for the first call for projects for the new grant programs. The new Local Partnership, Solutions for Congested Corridors and Trade Corridor Enhancement Programs will offer at least $2.8 billion in funding to projects that meet the specific program criteria. These new grant programs provide an excellent opportunity for SBCAG to pursue and secure state funding to help deliver the U.S. 101 HOV Phase 4 project and parallel projects. At the August 3, 2017 TTAC meeting, SBCAG staff provided an overview of the SB1 funding programs and the specific grant programs the Highway 101 HOV project could compete for funding. TTAC recommended a subcommittee of interested local agencies be formed to meet with SBCAG staff to develop an SB1 funding approach for the Highway 101 HOV project and parallel projects. Over two meetings, the subcommittee met and discussed options to position SBCAG to take maximum advantage of the potential new funding sources created by SB 1. TTAC recommends SBCAG staff develop and submit applications for all three new SB 1 grant programs to assist in construction of the U.S. 101 HOV and the parallel projects. Applications will be due to the CTC in early 2018 and the Commission will make grant awards in May The TTAC subcommittee also provided a recommendation to TTAC in two related areas. First, the subcommittee supported the use of $200,000 in Highway 101 reserve funds from the Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP) for completing the environmental phase of one of the key parallel projects Santa Claus Lane Bikeway. Second, the subcommittee

2 supported the use of up to $50,000 in Measure A funds to retain the services of a consultant to assist in the development of grant applications for the SB1 funding programs. These recommendations were also supported unanimously by the full TTAC membership at their October 5 meeting. DISCUSSION: Senate Bill 1 Funding Opportunities Senate Bill 1 (SB1), signed by the Governor in April, provides the first significant, stable, and ongoing increase in state transportation funding in more than two decades with $5.2 billion available per year in new funding. Along with significant funding for state highway maintenance through the State Higher Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP), local road rehabilitation and maintenance, active transportation and for the, SB1 also includes three new competitive programs to help deliver significant and transformative projects statewide. The three new programs are called the Local Partnership, Solutions for Congested Corridors and Trade Corridor Enhancement Programs. The CTC has been conducting stakeholder workshops since June to implement SB1 and to solicit feedback in order develop the cycle 1 program guidelines. In total, at least $2.8 billion in funding will be available. SBCAG staff has attended and participated in the workshops to provide input on the development of the guidelines. Below is a summary of the three programs and the amount of funding available under Cycle 1. Attachment A provides a broader overview of the three programs. Local Partnership Program (LPP) The Local Partnership Program is very similar to the Proposition 1B State Local Partnership Program which is aimed to reward Self Help Counties and to incentivize new counties to become Self Help Counties. Self Help Counties are those regions that have passed sales tax measures solely dedicated to transportation. SBCAG, as a self-help county, is eligible to compete in the competitive pot and to receive a share of the formula funding. The program will provide $100 million for the competitive pot and $100 million for the formula pot. SBCAG s estimated share of the formula funding is $1 million per year through the life of Measure A, or an estimated $22 million total. While project eligibility is very broad, the program does require a one to one match. The CTC will conduct a three-year call for projects for the competitive program and a two-year program of projects for the formula program. SBCAG staff proposes that SBCAG s share of LPP Formula funds be programmed to the U.S. 101 HOV and parallel projects through the end of construction of these projects. TTAC supported this recommendation at the October 5 meeting. Solutions for Congested Corridors Program (SCCP) The Solutions for Congested Corridors program aims to provide congestion relief on heavily traveled corridors in California. Project sponsors must have an adopted multimodal corridor plan in order to be eligible, with a priority on projects derived from plans developed with Caltrans, similar to our 101 In Motion corridor plan. The program will provide $250 million per year with CTC proposing a four-year program for Cycle 1 providing $1 billion in funding through FY 20/21. 2

3 The focus of the program will be on multimodal improvements and project readiness. Funds will only be available for construction. The U.S. 101 HOV project and parallel projects should be competitive in this program based on our strong partnership with Caltrans with a state investment from the SHOPP and, the multimodal improvements proposed from our 101 In Motion corridor plan, project readiness, and our ability to use Measure A funds as a match. Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP) The objective of the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program is to fund infrastructure improvements on federally designated Trade Corridors of National and Regional Significance, on the Primary Freight Network, as identified in the California Freight Mobility Plan (CFMP), and along other corridors that have a high volume of freight movement as determined by the Commission. Proposed projects must be consistent with the CFMP and will be corridor based freight projects nominated by local agencies and the state. The funds will be split 40% for projects nominated by the State and 60% to regions. There are five regional corridors including one for the Central Coast which includes Santa Barbara County and the other four counties included in the Central Coast Coalition. The draft target for the Central Coast is $16m for the three-year period. SBCAG has received support from the Central Coast Coalition for U.S. 101 HOV as a priority project from the Central Coast regional target. SB1 Cycle 1 Applications due in early 2018 The CTC will be adopting guidelines for the three programs in October and December with applications due in January and February. The CTC staff recommendations will be available in late April with the programs adopted by the CTC at their May meeting. As mentioned, a total of $2.8 billion will be available from the three programs for Cycle 1. Due to the competitiveness of the three new programs, SBCAG staff recommends allocating up to $50,000 in Measure A funding from the U.S. 101 HOV project to acquire a firm to develop grants for the three aforementioned programs. SBCAG staff received Statements of Qualification from three firms that specialize in grant writing and after carefully reviewing the materials and experience of the three firms SBCAG staff recommends the Board allocate up to $50,000 in Measure A funds for this purpose and to authorize the Executive Director to enter into a contract with Kimley Horn consultants to assist in the preparing the grant applications. This action is included as part of Item 7 on the October 19 Board agenda. U.S. 101 Funding Strategy and SB1 Opportunities As presented in March, there remains a great need to fund and deliver the last phase of U.S. 101 HOV project, Phase 4, and the parallel projects. Significant progress has been made in the corridor with the completion of Phases 1 and 2 and the current construction of Phase 3, Linden Casitas Interchanges. This progress is result of the strong partnership between SBCAG and Caltrans, large investments by the State, and our ability to effectively program funding to and leverage funds to deliver improvements in the corridor. SB1 provides new opportunities to help fund and deliver Phase 4 and the parallel project improvements to be used in combination with other investments from Measure A, the State Transportation Improvement Program () and State Highway Operation and Protection 3

4 Program (SHOPP). Based on project eligibility and evaluation criteria included in the draft program guidelines, the projects should compete well in all three programs based on congestion relief, project readiness, partnership with Caltrans and leveraging of Measure A funds. As such, SBCAG staff recommends that TTAC recommend to the Board the submittal of applications to the CTC for the three new competitive programs. Based on the draft guidelines for the three programs and availability of funding through FY 20/21, the applications will seek funding for delivery of segments A through C of the Phase 4 HOV widening and to seek funding for parallel projects included in these segments. U.S. 101 HOV RSTP reserve for Santa Claus Lane Environmental Document The Santa Claus Bikeway project is a project which spans the jurisdictions of both the City of Carpinteria and the County of Santa Barbara. The City of Carpinteria has approved coastal permit conditions which require this project be constructed during the adjacent segment of the 101 HOV. The need to continue to make progress on this project is critical. Currently, the project s environmental technical studies have been completed and are being reviewed by Caltrans. The next required steps are to complete the environmental document, the project report and to finish the Project Approval and Environmental Document (PA&ED) milestone with Caltrans as the project lead agency. Completing this milestone will allow the project to be ready for additional funding opportunities under SB1 next year or Cycle 4 of the Active Transportation Program (ATP) in the summer Continuing to make progress on this project will facilitate coastal permitting discussions between Caltrans, SBCAG the City of Carpinteria and the County of Santa Barbara regarding the Highway 101 HOV project. SBCAG staff proposed the use of $200,000 in Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP) reserve funds for the Highway 101 HOV project to complete the work to achieve this milestone. The TTAC subcommittee supported the use of $200,000 in RSTP funding for this specific purpose, and proposed addressing the future use of RSTP following the CTC funding decisions. The full TTAC membership also agreed and recommends the SBCAG Board program up to $200,000 in RSTP reserve for the Santa Claus Lane project. Actions for this item are included in Items 7 and 8 on the October 19 Board agenda. TTAC Subcommittee As mentioned, SBCAG staff worked with a subcommittee of TTAC to discuss opportunities under SB1 and to develop the strategy for seeking funding for delivery of U.S. 101 HOV and the parallel projects. The subcommittee included TTAC Chair Brittany Heaton (County of Santa Barbara), Vice Chair Steve Maas (SBMTD), Rosemarie Gaglione and James Winslow (City of Goleta), Charlie Ebeling (City of Carpinteria) Brian D Amour (City of Santa Barbara) and Steve Kahn (City of Santa Maria). The TTAC subcommittee has expressed their support of SBCAG s proposal to develop and submit applications for the Cycle 1 programs as well as for programming the $200,000 in RSTP reserve funding for U.S. 101 HOV for the Santa Claus Lane project. OCTOBER 5 TTAC RECOMMENDATION: SBCAG staff presented TTAC with an update on the SB1 competitive funding programs and as well as the funding strategy for U.S. 101 HOV and parallel projects.. TTAC recommended the following: 4

5 The recommended action is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to section of the CEQA Guidelines. A. Recommend SBCAG Board authorize submittal of SB1 applications. B. Recommend SBCAG staff retain a consultant to assist with development of SB1 Cycle 1 funding applications. C. Recommend the SBCAG Board program SB1 Local Partnership Program Formula funding for Santa Barbara County to U.S. 101 HOV and Parallel Projects. D. Recommend the SBCAG Board program up to $200,000 of U.S. 101 RSTP reserve funding to complete the environmental phase for Santa Claus Lane Bikeway. Web Resources: CTC Website - CTC SB1 Web Links - Attachments: A. Summary of SB1 Competitive Programs 5

6 Item 6. Attachment A - SB1 Cycle 1 Competitive Program Overview Guidelines Adopted & Call for Projects Application Due Date CTC Staff Recommendations Posted CTC Adoption Date Cycle 1 Funding Available ($000) Funding Period Cycle 1 Overview Required Match Local Partnership - Formula October 16, 2017 December 15, 2017 January 10, 2018 January 31, 2018 $200,000 FY's 17/18 and 18/19 One to One Match Eligible Matching Funds Eligible Projects Eligible Phases SBCAG Share Very Broad; transit and rail operations not eligible Pre-construction and Construction $2 million Local Partnership - Competitive October 16, 2017 January 30, 2018 April 25, 2018 May 16, 2018 $300,000 FY's 17/18, 18/19 and 19/20 One to One Match Very Broad; transit and rail operations not eligible Construction Only Not applicable Solutions for Congested Corridors December 6, 2017 February 16, 2017 April 25, 2018 May 16, 2018 $1,000,000 FY's 17/18, 18/19, 19/20, and 20/21 No match required; Priority for match Very Broad; HOV & Managed lanes are only eligible projects for new capacity on State Highway System; Operational improvements are eligible. Transit and rail operations not eligible. Projects must be in an adopted Corridor Plan Construction Only Not applicable Trade Corridor Enhancement Account October 16, 2017 January 30, 2018 April 25, 2018 May 16, 2018 $1,340,000 FY's 17/18, 18/19 and 19/20 30% match required Freight projects consistent with freight plan Pre-construction and Construction Central Coast Regional Target is $16 million Total for Cycle 1 Calls for Projects $2,840,000