REPORT TO PLANNING COMMISSION
SUBJECT
Title
Public Hearing: Review of the Proposed FY 2020/21 and FY 2021/22 Biennial Capital Improvement Program Budget for Conformity with the City of Santa Clara 2010-2035 General Plan. Continued from May 27, 2020 Planning Commission Meeting.
Report
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In accordance with State law and City procedures, the Planning Commission is charged with reviewing the proposed Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Budget (Pursuant to Government Code Section 65401) to determine its consistency with the adopted 2010-2035 General Plan. The City Council reviews the Planning Commission’s findings prior to taking action on the budget. The proposed budget was presented at a City Council Study Session on May 12, 2020 and is scheduled for a second Study Session on June 9, 2020. The proposed budget will be brought forward for final approval on June 23, 2020. Although the draft CIP Budget may change somewhat before the City Council’s study session and public hearings, those changes are expected to be relatively minor and generally in line with what is currently contained in this draft document. If necessary, any significant additions can be subsequently brought before the Commission.
BACKGROUND
The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) is a five-year expenditure plan that guides the City in the planning, scheduling and budgeting of capital investments for its infrastructure and facility needs. The capital projects are aligned to the 2019 Adopted City Council Strategic Pillars and the Adopted FY 2020/21 Budget Principles. These Budget Principles provide a framework for budget review and development; ensuring fiscal stability by considering both the short and long-term impacts of any funding decisions.
Budget Principles for FY 2020/21
1. Make decisions within the context of the City’s Code of Ethics and Values, especially being Fiscally Responsible, Communicative, and Service-Oriented.
2. Consider budget decisions with long-term implications taken into account using data from the Ten-Year Financial Forecast.
3. Maximize service delivery within existing resources by balancing ongoing expenditure needs with ongoing revenues to avoid negative impacts on future budgets and maintain the City's high standards of fiscal integrity and financial management.
4. Focus on projects and services that benefit the community as a whole.
5. Pursue economic development objectives and strategies to foster new public and private investment within Santa Clara, and to create employment opportunities.
6. Balance between compensation adjustments to retain and attract employees and funding for positions.
7. Use one-time unrestricted revenues (e.g., annual General Fund surplus) for one-time uses such as increasing reserves, funding capital or Information Technology projects, paying off debt, and/or paying off unfunded pension or other post-employment benefits liabilities.
8. In accordance with Council policy, continue to maintain the General Fund Budget Stabilization Reserve balance at or above the policy level of 25% of adopted budget expenditures for the long-term fiscal health of the City.
9. Inform and communicate clearly and broadly to residents, businesses and employees regarding the City’s fiscal position and budget; schedule hearings to promote active participation in the City Council’s budget deliberations.
10. With limited exceptions, establish fees based on full cost recovery where individuals/businesses rather than the community at-large are benefitting from City services. This preserves limited unrestricted resources for providing services that benefit the community as a whole.
11. Focus on business process redesign in order to improve employee productivity and the quality, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness of service delivery (e.g., streamlining, simplifying, reorganizing functions, and reallocating resources).
12. Explore expanding existing revenue sources and/or adding new revenue sources.
13. Engage employees to contribute new and innovative ideas during the department budget development process.
14. Use the General Plan as a primary long-term fiscal planning tool and link ability to provide City services to development policy decisions.
In addition to the capital projects’ alignment to the Council Strategic Pillars and Budget Principles, the new CIP projects will be reviewed by the Planning Commission (Commission) on a biennial basis for consistency with the 2010-2035 General Plan. All other projects in the CIP would have been reviewed for consistency in prior years.
2010-2035 General Plan
On November 16, 2010, the City Council adopted the 2010-2035 General Plan and certified the associated Final Environmental Impact Report. There are seven Major Strategies that represent the overarching principles in the City’s General Plan. The Strategies provide the foundation for the Plan’s goals and policies, as well as implementing actions. Each Strategy listed below defines a distinct priority, such as economic vitality or sustainability.
1. Enhance the City’s High Quality of Life
2. Preserve and Cultivate Neighborhoods
3. Promote Sustainability
4. Enhance the City Identity
5. Support Focus Areas and Community Vitality
6. Maintain the City’s Fiscal Health and Quality of Services
7. Maximize Health and Safety Benefits
The General Plan is a “Progressive General Plan” which provides a multi-horizon sequence for development as a mechanism to facilitate responsible growth. The City’s General Plan policies are designed to guide this development. Collectively, these policies comprise the Plan’s implementation program. Policies provide direction for public improvements, define appropriate land uses, identify standards for new development and detail measures to protect the City’s environmental quality.
Implementation of the General Plan involves the City Council, the Planning Commission, other City review bodies, City Staff, and the community. Community Development Department staff has primary responsibility for implementing the Plan.
New Projects for Consistency Review
There are 36 newly created projects that are fully or partially funded in the Biennial FY 2020/21 and FY 2021/22 CIP (Attachment 1). Those projects are focused on the construction or improvements of parks and trails, traffic signal modifications, rehabilitation of storm draining facilities, reassessment of the Sanitary Sewer Master Plan, construction of a new substation, development of a second community park and implementation of the Downtown Master Plan. The new projects are consistent with the General Plan’s intent of promoting high quality of life enjoyed in the City; encouraging the preservation and enhancement of existing neighborhoods; fostering public and private investment in jobs, housing, services and amenities; and supporting the Major Strategies.
DISCUSSION
For the purpose of this report, staff is emphasizing the projects that are new to the CIP budget, and have not yet been analyzed for General Plan conformance. These newly added projects support several of the Major Strategies such as Major Strategy No. 1, Enhancing the City’s High Quality of Life and No. 2, Preserve and Cultivate Neighborhoods, which include:
• Adding a new and accessible entrance to Central Park near the Magical Bridge Playground and the Veteran’s Memorial to enhance safe access/egress for pedestrians, bicyclists and vehicles to the park;
• Adding electronic access to community rooms and adjacent restrooms to allow ease of access for users; and
• Placemaking at the City Plaza Park Gazebo at Mission Library by way of leveraging the community’s assets and preserving the City’s characteristics.
Moreover, the projects also align to various goals and strategies that include, but not limited to, Public Facilities and Services, Mobility and Transportation, and Quality of Services. Some of the major projects are highlighted below and are organized by the goals and policies category of the General Plan.
Public Facilities and Services
As part of the General Plan, the City included goals and policies aimed at offering facilities for physical activities that would promote community health to meet the varying needs of residents in the community. Accordingly, several projects serve existing communities and would improve park facilities to meet accessibility standards, consumer product safety guidelines and to improve recreational play value. More specifically, the Community Park North - Phase I project will allow the City to develop a second community park, which may include a multi-purpose sports field, picnic areas and other amenities. The relevant goals and policies are listed below.
• 5.9.1‐G1: Ample facilities for physical activities that promote community health.
• 5.9.1‐G3: New parks, open space and recreation provided with new development so that existing facilities are not overburdened.
• 5.9.2‐P1: Provide a diverse range of community, art, cultural and recreational facilities to meet the varying needs of residents in the City, including youth and seniors.
Mobility and Transportation
Projects are being proposed in order to construct a 12-foot wide asphalt/concrete Class I bicycle and pedestrian facility along the Hetch-Hetchy right-of-way, and a trail along the west bank of San Tomas Aquino Creek. These projects are consistent with the General Plan Mobility and Transportation policies, including:
• 5.8.4‐P2: Provide a system of pedestrian and bicycle friendly facilities that supports the use of alternative travel modes and connects to activity centers as well as residential, office and mixed‐use developments.
Furthermore, transportation projects are proposed to address pedestrian safety, public right-of-way accessibility and traffic signal improvements. The projects would include removing barriers to accessibility, installing adaptive signal systems to provide automated real-time management of traffic signal system, installing traffic monitoring cameras, crosswalk motion sensors, upgrading safety lighting at intersections and implement traffic calming features. These projects are consistent with the following General Plan goals and policies.
• 5.8.1‐G2 Transportation networks that provide a safe, efficient, convenient and integrated system to move people and goods.
• 5.8.1‐P1 Create accessible transportation network systems to meet the needs of all segments of the population, including youth, seniors, persons with disabilities and low‐income households.
• 5.8.1‐P9 Adopt a Capital Improvement Program that includes mobility and transportation improvements consistent with the City’s General Plan.
• 5.8.2‐G1 A street system that supports the safe and efficient movement of people, goods and services.
• 5.8.2‐G4 Technological advances applied to the roadway infrastructure to maximize the use of the existing roadway and support efficient traffic flow.
• 5.8.2‐P5 Support “traffic calming” and other neighborhood traffic management techniques to enhance the quality of life within existing neighborhoods and to discourage through‐traffic on local streets.
• 5.8.2‐P6 Interconnect and coordinate traffic signals to maximize vehicle flow on the City’s roadway network to reduce the need for roadway widening.
Quality of Services
The CIP also consists of projects that help to maintain the City’s Quality of Services, which includes the construction of a new substation to provide electric service to a new data center, upgrades to the Northwest loop to meet the energy demand of the City’s partners and rehabilitation of the storm drain slide gates. These projects are consistent with the following General Plan policies.
• 5.3.1‐P17 Promote economic vitality by maintaining the City’s level of service for public facilities and infrastructure, including affordable utilities and high-quality telecommunications.
• 5.10.3‐P10 Maintain the City’s level of service for high quality utilities and telecommunications infrastructure
• 5.10.5‐P20 Maintain, upgrade and replace storm drains throughout the City to reduce potential flooding.
Each of the projects in the proposed CIP was similarly compared to relevant General Plan policies. Based on this analysis, staff has concluded that the Proposed FY 2020/21 and 2021/22 Biennial Capital Improvement Program Budget is consistent with the 2010-2035 General Plan.
Findings
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission find that the proposed CIP budget is consistent with the City of Santa Clara adopted General Plan 2010-2035 in that:
• The projects listed in the proposed FY 2020/21 and 2021/22 Biennial Capital Improvement Program Budget are consistent with the Santa Clara 2010-2035 General Plan major strategies and goals and policies; and
• The proposed FY 2020/21 and 2021/22 Biennial Capital Improvement Program Budget takes into consideration the FY 2020/21 Budget Principles.
These findings are included in the proposed resolution (Attachment 2).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Environmental review determinations are provided as part of the table entitled, Proposed FY 2020/21 and FY 2021/22 Biennial Capital Improvement Program Budget CEQA Determinations, which is included as Attachment 1.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to the City for the determination of General Plan Consistency for CIP projects.
COORDINATION
This report has been coordinated with the City Attorney’s Office.
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>.
RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution making findings on the conformity of the Proposed FY 2020/21 & FY 2021/22 Biennial Capital Improvement Program Budget with the 2010-2035 General Plan.
Staff
Reviewed by: Alexander Abbe, Assistant City Attorney
Approved by: Reena Brilliot, Planning Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. Environmental Determinations for New CIP Projects
2. Resolution - FY 2020/21 and FY 2021/22 Capital Improvement Program Budget General Plan Conformity Findings
3. Resolution Exhibit 1 - Proposed FY 2020-21 and FY 2021-22 CIP Budget
4. Proposed FY 2020/21 and 2021/22 CIP Budget