To: The Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: APPROVE Second Amendment to License Agreement and Joint Use Agreement with East Bay Regional Park District, to expand Iron Horse Trail, Martinez area.
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Acting as the governing body of the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (“Flood Control”), APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Chief Engineer, or designee, to execute, on behalf of Flood Control, a Second Amendment to License Agreement (“Amendment”) and Joint Use Agreement (“JUA”) with East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD), expanding the Iron Horse Trail (“Trail”), north into Martinez area, pursuant to Government Code Section 25526.6 and Section 31 of the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation Act.
DETERMINE that the Amendment and Joint Use of the Flood Control’s existing Drainage Easement on a portion of APN 159-250-019, owned by Gonsalves and Santucci, is in the public interest, and will not substantially conflict or interfere with the use of the Gonsalves & Santucci property (APN 159-250-019-1) Property by Flood Control.
DETERMINE that the activity is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment pursuant to Article 5, Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines.
DIRECT the Director of Department of Conservation and Development (DCD), or designee, to cause a CEQA Notice of Exemption (NOE) to be filed with the County Clerk and State Clearinghouse, and
AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to arrange for payment of a $50 fee to the County Clerk for filing the NOE.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact.
BACKGROUND:
East Bay Regional Park District (“EBRPD”) and Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (“Flood Control”) added the approximately 4-mile section along Walnut Creek to the Iron Horse Trail (“Trail”) in 1995, through a License Agreement. That agreement was amended in 1996 and extended by letter in 2021. It is valid until March 4, 2046.
The Second Amendment to License Agreement is necessary for EBRPD to extend the Trail north of Concord along the Walnut Creek Channel. EBRPD’s 2013 Master Plan then identified the Walnut Creek Channel between March Drive and the EBRPD’s Waterbird Regional Shoreline as an ideal area for expansion of the Trail. Accordingly, EBRPD staff have participated in the stakeholder advisory committee formed by Flood Control to determine the appropriate alignment of the Iron Horse Trail within.
The Joint Use Agreement is needed for EBRPD to plan, construct, maintain and operate a roughly 1750-foot-long section of Iron Horse Trail along the top of the new levee that Flood Control is planning as part of the Lower Walnut Creek Restoration South Reach 2025 Levee Reconnection project. Flood Control has recorded a drainage easement (Contra Costa County DOC-2021-0060242) over this eastern portion of the Gonsalves & Santucci property at APN 159-250-019 and EBRPD would like to add a segment of the Iron Horse Trail extension within this drainage easement.
The activity (issuance of amended License Agreement and Joint Use Agreement) is not subject to CEQA as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity in question may have a significant effect on the environment pursuant to Article 5, Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines. The EBRPD will be responsible for CEQA and applicable regulatory agency permits for the construction and maintenance of the trail extension. (CEQA CP#25-28)
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Flood Control will be unable to amend the license agreement or enter into the JUA giving East Bay Regional Park District permissions needed to extend the Iron Horse Trail on its desired path