All items on the consent agenda are considered to be routine and non-controversial by COG staff and will be approved by one motion if no member of the Committee or public wishes to comment or ask questions.  If comment or discussion is desired by anyone, the item will be removed from the consent agenda and will be considered in the listed sequence with an opportunity for any member of the public to address the Committee concerning the item before action is taken.

Action:  Approve Resolution 2021-39 adopting the City of Parlier's 2021-22 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $770,532.

Action:  Approve Resolution 2021-40 adopting the City of Mendota's 2021-22 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $606,024.

Action:  Approve Resolution 2021-41 adopting the City of Orange Cove's 2021-22 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $466,085.

Action:  Approve Resolution 2021-42 adopting the City of Sanger's 2021-22 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $601,331,023.

Action:  Approve Resolution 2021-43 adopting the City of Clovis' 2021-22 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $69,826,499.

Summary: Fresno COG has contracted with Rincon Consultants and subconsultants Collins & Schoettler and VSCE to provide services under the Circuit Planner and Engineer Program since 2019. The Circuit Planner and Engineer Program provides technical assistance to the small cities in Fresno County for efforts that further the Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy. Such assistance may include, but is not limited to: planning studies, project deliveries, grant applications, environmental documents, engineering services (conceptual design or preliminary engineering), permitting needs assessment, and quality (QA/QC) reviews as needed.

Additional information on the program, as well as resources such a zoning evaluation tool and model zoning book, can be found on the program website: https://www.fresnocog.org/project/circuit-planner-engineer-program/

If you would like to set up a meeting to discuss how the circuit planner can assist with updates to a zoning ordinance, please contact Meg Prince at mprince@fresnocog.org.

Action: Information. The Committee may provide additional direction at its discretion. 

Summary: On June 24, Fresno COG's Policy Board voted to open the 2021-22 Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program/Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) call-for-projects.

Applications for CMAQ are due Friday, Sept. 17, and STBG applications are due on Friday, Oct. 1. We encourage prospective applicants to reach out to Fresno COG staff with any questions, contact information is below.

The approved CMAQ and STBG guidelines and application packet are available through the respective program websites below:

https://www.fresnocog.org/project/congestion-mitigation-air-quality-cmaq-program/

https://www.fresnocog.org/project/surface-transportation-block-grant-program/

For further information on CMAQ-eligible projects or application submittals, please contact Braden Duran at 559-233-4148 ext. 217 or bduran@fresnocog.org.

For further information on STBG-eligible projects or application submittals, please contact Jennifer Soliz at 559-233-4148 ext. 223 or jsoliz@fresnocog.org.

Action: Information. The Committee may provide further direction at its discretion.

Summary:  Fresno Council of Governments' 2021-22 Overall Work Program Amendment No. 2 decreases the budget $217,497 to reconcile amounts carried over from the last fiscal year. FHWA Planning funds decreased $108,406 and FTA 5303 Planning funds decreased $33,984. Staff transferred local funds in place of the reduced federal funds to keep programmed projects intact across several work elements. In addition, staff also adjusted work elements funded with State Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA-SB 1) funds and FTA 5304.  As a result, net local funds programmed in the budget increased $117,857.

Work Element 120 Public Transportation – Staff shifted local funds totaling $124,584 to the Human Services Plan update.

Work Element 170 Regional Transportation Plan – Staff adjusted and transferred various federal funds to other work elements, netting out to a change of $806.  Projects programmed in the work element remain unchanged.

Work Element 172 Congestion Management Program – Approximately $20,000 in local funds were shifted to the Congestion Management Plan Update.

Work Element 148 Regional Safety Study Phase I – The balance of the Kittleson contract was $103,980, reducing RMRA and local match funds programmed by $26,061.

Work Element 160 Better Blackstone Design Phase II – The balance of the Fresno Metro Ministries contract was $83,013, reducing FTA 5304 and local match funds by $141,575.

Work Element 161 Fresno/Madera Sustainable Corridor Study – The balance of the IBI contract was $52,332, reducing RMRA and local match funds programmed by $3,226.

Work Element 162 Regional Safety Study Phase III – The balance of the Kittleson contract was $225,097, reducing RMRA and local match funds programmed by $46,565.

Work Element 167 Sustainable Communities Grant Program 2021-22 – The work element was eliminated to transfer $233,382 in RMRA and local match funds to Work Element 173.

Work Element 173 – Regional Vehicle Miles Traveled Mitigation Program – Approximately $220,000 is programmed for a consultant to perform the VMT study and $13,382 for grant administration.

Action:  Adopt Resolution 2021-44, approving Fresno COG's 2021-22 Overall Work Program Amendment No. 2.

Summary: SB 743 (2013) requires that level-of-service (LOS), used in measuring transportation impacts in the California Environmental Quality Act, be replaced with another metric that will “promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multi-modal transportation systems and a diversity of land use development.” The state's Office of Planning and Research has selected vehicle miles traveled (VMT) as that metric to replace LOS. 

In partnership with multiple stakeholders, Fresno COG developed the SB 743 Implementation Regional Guidelines in 2020, which provides tools for local governments to use in instituting SB 743, should they decide to endorse recommendations in the guidelines. Since July 1, 2020, when SB 743 took effect, many jurisdictions in Fresno County have approved policies regarding SB 743 implementation. Fresno COG has received many requests to conduct VMT analysis based on the procedures recommended in the Regional Guidelines and has run the activity-based model (ABM) to produce VMT results for development projects.  However, due to limited mitigation measures with quantifiable VMT reduction credits, it is hard for projects to  move forward if the project is found to have a VMT impact that is higher than the established threshold. 

A regional VMT mitigation program may be the most effective means of addressing VMT requirements on future development. The proposed VMT mitigation study will explore options such as: a VMT mitigation bank, a VMT mitigation exchange, regional VMT impact fees, etc., and to identify pros and cons for the various techniques. The study may also establish some framework for instituting such a program. It will serve to reconvene stakeholders and begin the conversation about VMT mitigation, which is a mystery to a many of those in the development realm. 

Fresno COG will use SB 1 formula planning funding for the study. It is anticipated that a request for proposals will be distributed in early fall and the study will be completed in a year.

Action: Information. The Committee may provide additional direction at its discretion.

Summary: Staff will provide a brief update regarding Fresno COG's support for the development of the sixth cycle housing elements. 

Meg Prince can be contacted at mprince@fresnocog.org for questions or comments.

Action: Information. The Committee may provide direction at its discretion. 

Summary: Staff will present a short update on the funding strategies under discussion for the State Route 41 South Expressway Elkhorn to Excelsior gap closure project.

Action: Information

All items on the consent agenda are considered to be routine and non-controversial by COG staff and will be approved by one motion if no member of the Committee or public wishes to comment or ask questions.  If comment or discussion is desired by anyone, the item will be removed from the consent agenda and will be considered in the listed sequence with an opportunity for any member of the public to address the Committee concerning the item before action is taken.

Summary:  Fresno COG is required under California's Transportation Development Act to perform a triennial performance audit of itself and the four transit operators: FAX, FCRTA, Clovis Public Transit, and Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission/Consolidated Transportation Service Agency for fiscal years 2018/19, 2019/20 and 2020/21. Fresno COG released a request for proposals on June 2 for consultant services and received one proposal from Moore & Associates.  A selection committee comprising representatives from the four transit operators reviewed the proposal and approved Moore & Associates for the contract.

Action: The selection committee and staff requests that TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board approve Moore & Associates as the consultant for the triennial performance audit and authorize Fresno COG’s executive director to enter into a contract with Moore & Associates in an amount not to exceed $54,644.48.

Summary:  The Clearinghouse Calendar contains “Project Notification and Review Reports” for grant proposals.

Action:  Forward any comment(s) received or any Committee/Board comment(s) generated as a result of this informational item to the appropriate agency.

Summary: As members of a common air district, the eight San Joaquin Valley regional transportation planning agencies (RTPA) originally entered into a memorandum of understanding/cooperative agreement in September 1992 to comply with the federal Clean Air Act for air quality conformity purposes.  That MOU was subsequently amended three more times, including to add the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District as a member, and to establish the SJV Policy Council, an advisory body comprising two Board members from each of the eight RTPAs.

In June, the Policy Council unanimously agreed to add a new member -- the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority -- which operates Amtrak's San Joaquins service from the Bay Area and Sacramento to Bakersfield, including a stop in Fresno. The Policy Council itself possesses no legal authority, therefore its actions with regard to any formal agreements must be supported individually by each of the eight RTPA boards of directors.

By increasing its membership, the Policy Council is able to more effectively address a range of transportation and air quality-related issues when speaking with the Valley's federal and state legislative delegations, as well as spreading the associated costs of its activities over a wider range of agencies.  At the same June meeting, the Policy Council also unanimously supported hiring both a federal and state lobbying firm to address Valleywide issues and splitting the costs uniformly across all members.  A separate agenda item detailing this arrangement also appears on this agenda.

Action: Approve the amended and restated MOU establishing the San Joaquin Valley Regional Policy Council adding the San Joaquin Valley Joint Powers Authority and authorize the chairman and executive director to sign.

Summary: In June, the San Joaquin Valley Policy Council -- an advisory body comprising two Board members from each of the eight Valley regional transportation planning agencies (RTPAs) and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District -- approved an amendment to its memorandum of understanding adding representatives from the San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority (SJJPA), which controls the Amtrak San Joaquins line from Bakersfield to Sacramento and the Bay Area.  That item appears separately on this agenda.

At the same time, the Council approved a proposal to split the cost of two lobbying firms to represent Valley interests at the state and federal levels across the now 10 organizations comprising it.  The lobbying firms -- Khouri Consulting, LLC in Sacramento and Simon & Co. in Washington are already under contract with the Stanislaus Council of Governments (StanCOG), which has agreed to serve as the fiscal agent for this contract. Fresno COG's share of the even, 10-way split is $1,000/month or $12,000 annually.

The Policy Council has used each of the two firms for the last several years for its signature "Valley Voice" trips to Sacramento and Washington to raise awareness of transportation, water, land use and other regionally vital issues to the Valley legislative delegation, as well as to California and federal administrations.  Simon & Co. also represents the City of Fresno on federal issues.

Fresno COG does not employ a lobbying firm of its own, which is the case for many of the Valley RTPAs. As a result, the COG Directors group determined that a single state and federal contract spanning the entire SJV could more efficiently capture economies of scale.

Action: Authorize the executive director to approve an agreement with Stanislaus Council of Governments for $1,000/month through fiscal year 2021-22, not to exceed $12,000.

Summary: Fresno COG serves as the fiscal agent for the San Joaquin Valley Regional Early Action Planning (REAP) Committee, which is responsible for distributing nearly $19 million in state housing planning funds. Those funds are intended to assist member jurisdictions and regional planning agencies prepare for the sixth-cycle Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) process.

To date, approximately $5.5 million has been reserved for tasks, activities and deliverables intended of a Valleywide scope and benefit among all eight counties.  In January, the Policy Board approved the initial project, a comprehensive housing report detailing an inventory of available residentially zoned land uses across all jurisdictions, along with demographic data, potential impediments to housing, best practices and recommendations.

Phase two of Valleywide activities, tasks and deliverables include $1.5 million in technical assistance work to assist jurisdictions in updating housing elements, zoning codes, infrastructure planning, GIS mapping and other assistance on an as-needed basis.

As part of that technical assistance, staff proposes to contract with HDR/Calthorpe to produce a Valleywide examination and set of strategic options for residential land use at the parcel level.  This analysis includes three Valleywide scenarios based on the housing needs in each major market segment.

The different scenarios will experiment with variations in density and housing types across selected parcels. It will include impacts of development location, transportation system investments and approaches to job-housing balance deficiencies. More specifically, the analyses and scenarios will include a range of metrics for different housing types, such as household utility and transportation costs; average water and energy consumption; vehicle miles traveled and transportation mode split; carbon emissions and air quality impacts; proximity to transit and land consumption.

The $250,000 contract will run through June 2022 and include two meetings with the SJV Policy Council and Valleywide REAP Committee to detail the findings, as well as a workshop with Valley jurisdictions' community development and planning staff.

Action: Approve a contract with HDR/Calthorpe for a Valleywide housing scenario analysis not to exceed $250,000 and authorize the executive director to sign.

This portion of the meeting is reserved for persons wishing to address the Committee on items within its jurisdiction but not on this agenda.  Note:  Prior to action by the Committee on any item on this agenda, the public may comment on that item.  Unscheduled comments may be limited to three minutes.