REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Action on Participating in the Proposed Santa Clara/Santa Cruz County Community Roundtable to Serve as an Aircraft Noise Mitigation Entity
Report
BACKGROUND
In June 2017, the Cities Association of Santa Clara County (CASCC) received a Congressional request from Representatives Eshoo, Khanna, & Panetta asking the CASCC to take a leadership role in forming a regional aircraft noise roundtable (Attachment 1). The CASCC formed an Ad Hoc Committee to build the framework of forming a roundtable that works for the region. The roundtable, conceived to include the 21 local jurisdictions of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties, will work together with San Francisco Airport, Minéta San José Airport, and the FAA, and address the growing concern of aircraft noise in one of the busiest metro-plexes in the country.
The Cities Association Ad Hoc Roundtable Committee consisted of Greg Scharff (Palo Alto), Pat Showalter (Mountain View), Larry Klein (Sunnyvale), Mary-Lynne Bernald, Gary Waldeck (Los Altos Hills), Savita Vaidanhyanthan (Cupertino), Steve Tate (Morgan Hill). At the CASCC Board of Directors meeting on June 14, 2018, the Ad Hoc Committee presented their recommendations to form a Santa Clara/Santa Cruz Airport Roundtable. The Committee recommended a number of items, including a resolution for Board approval, proposed by-laws, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the Roundtable, and draft resolutions for participating jurisdictions (Attachment 2).
The CASCC Board of Directors adopted the resolution, by-laws and MOU proposed by the Ad-Hoc Committee with the following statement:
“Whereas the Board of Directors of the Cities Association of Santa Clara County does hereby support and will initiate formation of an intergovernmental partnership between the cities and counties of Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties, Norman Y. Minéta San Jose International Airport (SJC), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), and the FAA, that will serve as a permanent aircraft noise mitigation entity representing all affected communities in the Santa Clara and Santa Cruz Counties, and invite the jurisdictions, cities and counties within Santa Clara County and Santa Cruz County, to partner in the formation of the Santa Clara/Santa Cruz Roundtable.”
DISCUSSION
Airport noise is a common concern in Santa Clara and the larger South Bay region. Particularly, in Santa Clara, recent community research has shown that North Santa Clara has expressed that residents have a high concern for noise (including airplane noise) and this effort affords Santa Clara an opportunity to participate in developing solutions. This Roundtable offers the Council an opportunity to participate in an intergovernmental partnership with neighboring cities and counties, as well as airports and the Federal Aviation Administration, with the collective objective of mitigating aircraft noise in all affected communities.
Using the San Francisco International Airport/Community Roundtable as a model, the Ad-Hoc Committee projected the Roundtable’s budget needs to be about $250,000 in the first fiscal year. This requires a funding allocation from participating cities to support the group’s mission and operation. The Ad-Hoc Committee created a per capita funding allocation, which takes the jurisdiction’s population (most recent available census numbers) times the following per capita fee structure:
• Large City (Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Santa Cruz, Watsonville) - $0.50
• Medium City (Cupertino, Gilroy, Milpitas, Mountain View, Palo Alto) - $0.50
• Small City (Campbell, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, Saratoga, Scotts Valley, Capitola) - $0.50
• XL City (San Jose) - $0.10
• County (Santa Clara County, Santa Cruz County (unincorporated)) - $0.50
Santa Clara is categorized as a Large City and is therefore responsible for a contribution of approximately $22,225.74 to $61,991.50, according to the table outlined in the MOU (Attachment 2) and below:
Because the total number of participating cities is unknown, the MOU includes a range of funding to support a $250,000 budget. This budget was created based on the operating budget of the San Francisco International Airport/Community Roundtable (Attachment 3). Should all 21 jurisdictions listed join the Santa Clara/Santa Cruz Counties Airport/Community Roundtable, each city’s contribution would decrease by approximately 36%, which is also outlined in the above table. If not all cities choose to participate, the funding allocation required by each city will change.
If Council would like to participate in this group, a representative and alternate would also need to be appointed.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact of this item. However, if Council decides to participate in the proposed Roundtable, there would be a fiscal impact. As mentioned in the Discussion section above, Santa Clara would commit funds between approximately $23,000 and $62,000, depending on jurisdictional participation. The funds would come from the City Council Contingency Fund of $100,000 that is included in the 2018/19 Adopted Annual Operating Budget. If the Council is interested in continued participation in this Roundtable, future expenditures will be included in the development of the Operating Budget.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the Finance Department and City Attorney’s Office.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The action being considered does not constitute a “project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15378(b)(4) in that it is a fiscal activity that does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potential significant impact on the environment
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City’s official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall Council Chambers. A complete agenda packet is available on the City’s website and in the City Clerk’s Office at least 72 hours prior to a Regular Meeting and 24 hours prior to a Special Meeting. A hard copy of any agenda report may be requested by contacting the City Clerk’s Office at (408) 615-2220, email clerk@santaclaraca.gov <mailto:clerk@santaclaraca.gov> or at the public information desk at any City of Santa Clara public library.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
1. Adopt Resolution (Attachment 4) for the City to participate in the Santa Clara/Santa Cruz Airport Community Roundtable and appoint a representative.
2. Approve the appropriation of funds in an amount up to $62,000, depending on jurisdictional participation, from the City Council Contingency Fund for the City’s participation in the Roundtable.
3. Authorize the City Manager and/or designee to execute all documents necessary for participation in the Roundtable.
Staff
Reviewed by: Manuel Pineda, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Deanna J. Santana, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Congressional Request from June 27, 2017
2. Ad Hoc Committee Recommendations
3. SFO Airport Roundtable By-Laws
4. Resolution