REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Cooperative Agreement #1 with the VTA and Adoption of a Resolution Adopting the Findings of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Report Completed by VTA for the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Project
Report
COUNCIL PILLAR
Promote and Enhance Economic, Housing and Transportation Development
BACKGROUND
This Project is Phase II of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority's (VTA) BART Silicon Valley Program to extend the BART system 16 miles, from the Warm Springs Station in Fremont into Santa Clara County, with six stations in Milpitas, San Jose, and Santa Clara. Phase II of the Program has been split into two segments. The first segment consisted of the 10-mile, two-station Berryessa Extension, with stations in Milpitas and Berryessa/North San Jose, which opened for revenue service in June 2020. The second segment consists of an approximately six-mile long extension of the BART system from the Berryessa/North San Jose BART Station in San Jose to the proposed Santa Clara BART Station.
The VTA had been in discussions with the City regarding the need for a Master Agreement between both parties and indicated it would require finalization by early 2021. However, in September 2020 the VTA notified the City that based on an application for Federal Transit Administration (FTA) funding, they were now required to have 10 critical third-party agreements in place, including with Santa Clara, by the end of October 2020. The FTA's Expedited Project Delivery (EPD) Pilot Program is a federal funding program that enables transit agencies to fast track the funding process for major projects like the BART extension. The FTA determined that the Master Agreement is a critical third-party agreement and must be submitted with the VTA's EPD application.
At an October 27, 2020 City Council meeting, the VTA and City staff provided Council with an update on the VTA's BART Silicon Valley Phase II Extension Project (Projec...
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