To: Board of Supervisors
From: Warren Lai, Public Works Director/Chief Engineer
Report Title: First Amendment to License Agreement between Contra Costa County and City of Concord.
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Public Works Director, or designee, to execute a First Amendment to License Agreement between Contra Costa County (County) and City of Concord (City) for the purpose of establishing a long-term maintenance and operation plan with the City of Concord that will protect the users of the licensed portion of the Iron Horse Corridor trail from contaminants of concern.
DETERMINE that the activity is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to Article 5, Section 15061(b)(3) of the CEQA Guidelines as it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity may have a significant effect on the environment.
DIRECT the Real Estate Division of the Public Works Department to cause the First Amendment to License Agreement to be delivered to the City.
FISCAL IMPACT:
No fiscal impact.
BACKGROUND:
County is the fee owner of the land known as Iron Horse Corridor (IHC). A portion of IHC, between Monument Road and Mayette Ave in Concord (APNs 127-210-026, 127-253-005 and 127-150-018) is subject to a License Agreement with the City of Concord, signed December 4, 2012, to document the City of Concord’s work under the oversight of the Contra Costa County Health Services Department and/ or the State of California Department of Toxic Substance Control (DTSC), to establish a long-term maintenance and operation plan that will protect the users of the trail from contaminants of concern.
In 2017 the Concord City Council approved the Monument Corridor Trail Voluntary Cleanup Agreement between the City of Concord and DTSC to provide oversight activities for the Project. Upon review of the Project, DTSC requested that a Covenant to Restrict Use of Property (Covenant) be signed between the County and DTSC. The covenant was approved by the Board June 10, 2025, and fully executed July 24, 2025.
The First Amendment to License Agreement is needed to help ensure performance and enforcement of the Covenant. Additionally, revisions were made to the License Agreement to obligate the City of Concord to comply with the Covenant. This is an update to the former language that stated oversight would be provided by Contra Costa Health Services (CCHS) and/or DTSC to develop a long-term operation and maintenance plan and add that the City of Concord’s use of the Trail includes an obligation to follow the Covenant.
The amendment to the License Agreement also obligates the City to reimburse the County for fees paid to DTSC and perform the County’s obligations under the Covenant.
The activity is not subject to CEQA as it can be seen with certainty that issuance of the License Agreement amendment would not have a significant effect on the environment. Activities to be conducted under the long-term operation and maintenance plan would be subject to CEQA review.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
The Covenant to Restrict Use of Property and its terms would not be incorporated into the License Agreement between the County and City of Concord or recorded on the land it is required.