Since August 2019, the Transportation Agency's real estate acquisition consultants, Associated Right of Way Services, have been negotiating with the property owners near the Salinas Rail Station to purchase the properties for the Salinas Rail Extension Kick-Start project Package 2, layover facility and track improvements. The project involves the extension of rail service from Santa Clara County, and the purchase of these properties is required to allow for the construction of a layover facility and track improvements near the station. In total, there are five properties that are the subject of acquisition for this phase of the Kick Start project.
For each property interest to be acquired, a resolution of necessity must be adopted prior to the commencement of eminent domain proceedings pursuant to Code of Civil Procedure Section 1245.220. The statutory requirement that a public entity adopt a resolution of necessity before initiating a condemnation action "is designed to ensure that public entities will verify and confirm the validity of their intended use of the power of eminent domain prior to the application of that power in any one particular instance" (San Bernardino County Flood Control Dist. v. Grabowski (1988) 205 Cal.App.3d 885, 897).
Approval of a resolution of necessity does not necessarily mean that condemnation will occur as settlement negotiations with property owners can continue throughout this process. This action would assure that the project can move along in a timely manner, set the date of value for the properties, and ensure that the properties do not need to be re-appraised.
A resolution of necessity must contain a general statement of the public use for which the property is to be taken, a reference to the statute authorizing the exercise of eminent domain, a description of the property, and a declaration stating that each of the following have been found and determined by the Board to be the case (Code of Civil Procedure Section 1245.230):
- The public interest and necessity require the proposed project;
- The proposed project is planned or located in the manner that will be most compatible with the greatest public good and the least private injury;
- The property described in the resolution is necessary for the proposed project; and,
- That either the offer required by Section 7267.2 of the Government Code has been made to the owner or owners of record, or the offer has not been made because the owner cannot be located with reasonable diligence.
This staff report provides data and information addressing each of these items.
STATEMENT OF PUBLIC USE
Each of the parcels of property that are the subject of the recommended resolutions of necessity are to be acquired for the construction of the Salinas Rail Extension Kick Start project, which extends passenger rail service from Santa Clara County south to Salinas. The first phase of the project, known as the Kick Start project, will feature improvements at the Salinas Station, including a train layover facility and track access to the station, which necessitate the acquisition of the subject parcels. The need for each particular parcel is discussed in the Property Fact Sheets attached hereto.
STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION FOR EXERCISING EMINENT DOMAIN
Under its enabling legislation, the Transportation Agency for Monterey County (“TAMC”) is authorized to acquire property for rail purposes by eminent domain. California Government Code Section 67930-67931 sets forth the general powers of TAMC and provides in pertinent part that: “The agency has all of the powers expressed or implied, necessary to carry out the intent of that Part 11.5, including the power of eminent domain and the power to preserve, acquire, construct, or improve any of the following: (1) Rights-of-way for rail purposes and (2) Rail terminals and stations"; Part 11.5 refers to Public Utilities Code Division 10, Part 11.5, Chapter 3, Section 99638, which allocated funding to TAMC for rail projects in Monterey County. One of the functions of TAMC is to fund and deliver rail projects.
In addition, the Eminent Domain Law, Code of Civil Procedure Sections 1230.010 et seq., gives entities authorized by statute the right to use eminent domain to acquire property for public use, and specifies the procedures for the exercise of that right.
GOVERNMENT CODE OFFERS
The owners of the properties that are the subject of the resolutions were made an offer by TAMC for the purchase of the property, as required by Government Code Section 7267.2.
Each property owner was presented with a written offer in an amount not less than the approved appraisal for the property, and a statement and summary of the basis of the offer, comprised of an Appraisal Summary Statement. The Appraisal Summary Statement provided the following information: name of owner; property address; parcel and APN number; locale; applicable zoning; date of valuation, present use; highest and best use; total property area; area to be acquired; type of interest to be acquired; improvements and access impacted; damages incurred and, as appropriate, separately stated with calculations and narrative explanation; total payment; and a description of the market value, reproduction or replacement cost analysis, or capitalization analysis, used to determine just compensation; and a summary of comparable sales, including the location, date of sale and sales price of properties used in the appraisal process. All offers made to the property owners are incorporated herein by reference, made a part of this staff report, and are available for review by the TAMC Board.
SALINAS RAIL EXTENSION PROJECT OVERVIEW, PURPOSE, AND NEED
The Salinas Rail Extension project extends passenger rail service from Santa Clara County south to Salinas. The first phase of the project, known as the Kick Start project, will feature improvements at the Salinas Station.
Purpose of the Project
The project is intended to achieve the following objectives:
- Provide an alternative to the highly congested US 101 corridor to access to jobs, education, health care and interregional transportation in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Promote mixed-use, transit-oriented development, affordable housing, livable communities and economic growth around stations.
- Improve passenger rail service and increase ridership in this severely, and ever-increasingly, congested corridor by providing rail capacity and faster, convenient access between Monterey County to major Santa Clara Valley employment and activity centers for residents from throughout the Monterey Bay Area.
- Enhance regional connectivity by expanding rail service and improve intermodal transit hubs.
- Expand transportation solutions that will be instrumental in maintaining the economic vitality and continuing development of Monterey County.
- Improve mobility options to employment, education, medical, and retail centers for corridor residents, in particular low-income, youth, elderly, disabled, and ethnic minority populations.
- Improve regional air quality by reducing auto emissions.
Expanded rail service to Salinas is consistent with the goals established in prior corridor studies and responds to the long-range Monterey County Regional Transportation Plan, adopted by the Transportation Agency board in June 2018. The primary goal of the long-range plan is to provide transportation facilities and services that support and enhance Monterey County's high quality of life and vibrant economy.
Need for the Project
The proposed extension of passenger rail service to Salinas would provide an alternative means of travel between Monterey County and the San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to lowering congestion on the roadways, the rail extension would bring a significant increase in ridership to the existing services. Other benefits to this new service include an increase in job opportunities, more transportation alternatives for senior citizens and those with physical disabilities, increased access by students to educational resources, and economic development opportunities along the train route.
Current and future population and employment conditions in the Proposed Action alignment both establish a need for passenger rail service and also provide the market to ensure the success of that service. In June 2018, the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG) Board of Directors adopted the 2040 Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS). A regional growth forecast was prepared in support of the MTP/SCS, which projects the region’s population, housing, and employment through 2040. The growth forecast is also used to support the Regional Travel Demand Model and local planning efforts, such as general plan updates and project reviews.
The recent and projected employment growth in both the San Francisco Bay Area and the Monterey Bay Area indicate a strengthening post-recession economy; however, the majority of the job growth is anticipated to occur north of the Monterey Bay Area, perpetuating Monterey Bay Area’s jobs/housing imbalance and resulting in the need for improved transportation to connect a large portion of the employment base to the job opportunities. This regional jobs/housing imbalance generates a large inter-regional commuter traffic pattern, leading to highway congestion and poor air quality. During the morning hours, commuters from the Monterey Bay Area travel north to jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area and then return south in the late afternoon to their homes. Given topographical and geographical conditions in the Monterey Bay Area, only one major travel corridor exists for commuters driving to the majority of the jobs in the San Francisco Bay Area – US 101.
PROJECT PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTATION
Alternatives Analysis
In April 2007, TAMC completed the Salinas Rail Extension Alternatives Analysis, which is incorporated herein by reference, made a part of this staff report, and is available for review by the TAMC Board. The Alternatives Analysis identified unmet travel needs in Monterey County and inter-county travel needs between Monterey County and the San Francisco Bay Area, and ultimately resulted in the adoption of a Locally Preferred Alternative to address the transportation needs identified and evaluated in the study. To meet the transportation need for improved access and mobility, eight initial conceptual alternatives to the no-build scenario were identified, later refined based on public and stakeholder input and split into two projects; one to serve intra-county needs (Monterey Branch Line) and one to serve inter-county needs (Salinas to San Francisco Bay Area). Seven modified variations of the original conceptual alternatives were developed for the US 101 corridor to potentially meet cost-effectiveness, ridership, environmental, and other selection criteria considerations.
These alternatives were then evaluated to determine their comparative performance, potential environmental consequences, and cost. Based on analytical studies, public input, and key findings of the refined conceptual alternatives, two alternatives were determined suitable for more detailed definition and analysis, a Passenger Rail Extension Alternative and a Express Bus Alternative.
The results of the detailed analysis of alternatives indicated that the Passenger Rail Extension Alternative was the most cost-effective alternative for serving inter-county commuters and providing access to educational and health-care resources in the San Francisco Bay Area. This alternative was determined to meet the need that the Proposed Action is intended to address by providing additional transportation capacity in the US 101 travel corridor. The Passenger Rail Extension Alternative was also determined to be superior to the Express Bus Alternative for stimulating the local economy and supporting transit-oriented development. For these reasons, the Passenger Rail Extension Alternative was adopted by TAMC on January 31, 2007 as the Locally Preferred Alternative.
Station Area Planning
TAMC has coordinated with many stakeholders for station area planning, development, and implementation of improvements to and expansion of the Salinas Train Station. The station Steering Committee is comprised of the City of Salinas, Caltrans District 5, Monterey Salinas Transit and TAMC. Other stakeholders in the station area development include Caltrans Division of Rail and Mass Transportation, Union Pacific, Amtrak, Caltrain Joint Powers Board, Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Authority, California Public Utilities Commission, Salinas Historic Resources Board, the Salinas City Center Association, the First Mayor's House, Greyhound, and neighboring businesses, residents, property owners, and the general public.
Project Funding
The total capital cost of the Salinas Rail Extension Kick-Start project had been estimated at $81.5 million, including funds already expended on planning, environmental, and right-of-way acquisition to date. State funding has been secured via the Traffic Congestion Relief Program, the Proposition 116 Rail Bond, the Transit and Intercity Rail Capital Program, and the State Transportation Improvement Program.
Engineering Design
The engineering and design of the project has been developed in various phases of project development in conjunction with the environmental process. Engineering phases include Conceptual Engineering (10% design), Preliminary Engineering (30% design), 60% design, 75% design, and Final Engineering (100% design). These design phases represent a progression of engineering throughout project development.
The 75% Engineering phase was completed in February 2016 by HDR Engineering. Said engineering designs are hereby incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this Staff report. They are available for review by the TAMC Board. Final design will advance the project development to 100% completion.
ENVIRONMENTAL CLEARANCE AND REVIEW
In April 2006, TAMC published the Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for an extension of Caltrain service to Monterey County, followed by the Final EIR in July 2006, to meet California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. The EIR reviewed a proposed extension of the San Francisco Bay Area’s Caltrain rail service. The EIR addressed the need for additional rail service between Gilroy and Salinas and also included the proposed Pajaro/Watsonville and Castroville Stations to capture a larger share of the market.
Once it was considered that the extension into Monterey County would be provided by Capitol Corridor and not Caltrain, TAMC prepared supplementary studies reflecting this change and published the Addendum – Capitol Corridor Extension to Monterey County Environmental Impact Report in August 2013.
Said documents are available for the Board's review and consideration and are incorporated by reference herein. Many of these documents, and other information concerning the Project, are available through the TAMC website, www.tamcmonterey.org:
- Salinas Rail Extension Draft Environmental Impact Report, Vol One
- Salinas Rail Extension Draft Environmental Impact Report Appendices, Vol Two
- Salinas Rail Extension Final Environmental Impact Report Vol Three
- Traffic Impact Analysis
- Capitol Corridor Extension to Monterey County Environmental Impact Report Addendum, August 2013
SPECIFIC PROPERTY ACQUISITIONS
Detailed property fact sheets and pictures of the parcels required for this Project are included as web attachments. As explained therein all parcels are needed for the layover facility. Overall property requirements and project related costs have been minimized as much as possible. Offers were made to the owners of each property as follows, and said offer package is incorporated herein by reference and are available for review by the TAMC Board:
- 320 West Market Street, Salinas, California – August 14, 2019
- 330 West Market Street, Salinas, California – August 14, 2019
- 346 West Market Street, Salinas, California – August 14, 2019
- 356 West Market Street, Salinas, California – August 14, 2019
On November 7, 2019, Notice of Intention to Adopt Resolution of Necessity, incorporated herein by reference, was sent to the owners of each property