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.

Approve Resolution 2022-06, adopting the City of San Joaquin's 2019-20 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $199,135.

Approve Resolution 2022-07 adopting the City of San Joaquin's 2020-21 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $206,777.

Approve Resolution 2022-08 adopting the City of San Joaquin's 2021-22 Transportation Development Act claims totaling $201,745.

Summary:  The 2022 Unmet Transit Needs Assessment public hearing will be held on Thurs., April 28 during the regularly scheduled Fresno COG Policy Board meeting.  Staff will be available to address any comments received during the public hearing. Staff will return to TTC/PAC in June with the final Unmet Needs Report, following the SSTAC's approval.

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

Summary: On March 15, Fresno COG staff submitted its federal fiscal year (FFY) 2021/22 obligation plan to Caltrans' Division of Local Assistance. This plan documents Fresno COG’s estimated project delivery for the remainder of 2021/22. The obligational authority (OA) target for 2021/22 is $24,393,724.

As of Feb. 28, $3.1 million or 12.7 percent of the federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) Program and Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) funding has been obligated, leaving the region with an OA balance of $21.2 million. The obligation plan outlines approximately $33 million in additional, combined CMAQ and STBG, which exceeds the OA target but includes approximately $14 million of delivery risk. Approximately $8 million in projects will be delayed, and another $7 million expedited to offset those delays. These changes are reflected on the quarterly report attached. Based on the OA plan and the risk, Fresno COG's projected OA delivery is $19 million, just short of the remaining OA balance.

The federal fiscal year ends Sept. 30; however, as of May 1, federal funds become available to the rest of the state on a first-come, first-served basis. Projects not submitted to Caltrans for authorization by May 1 are at risk of being delayed. It is the state’s goal to exceed the OA target and, in August, receive additional federal funds redistributed from other states to projects pending authorization. Fresno COG encourages all agencies to continue submitting their requests for authorization as soon as possible to ensure they are queued up for the funds that will become available. If projects do not receive authorization approval after August, they will be delayed to October, the beginning of the next federal fiscal year.

Please keep Fresno COG staff updated on any changes that could impact the region’s project delivery plan. Contact Jennifer Soliz at 559-233-4148 ext. 223 or jsoliz@fresnocog.org with any questions regarding fiscal year deadlines or the process of obligating project funds. 

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

Summary: Fresno COG is seeking proposals from eligible public agencies for advanced transit and transportation projects that have the potential for broad benefits to Fresno County residents and will assist the region in meeting its air quality goals.

Fresno COG and the Fresno County Transportation Authority (FCTA) are proposing to fund projects of regional significance in the areas of research, development, demonstration, and deployment that will advance public transit and transportation. This cycle of Measure C's New Technology Reserve Program will make approximately $4.465 million available for eligible new technology projects/programs. The 2022 application is attached to this item as a PDF and is also available at fresnocog.org in Microsoft Word format.

Timeline:

In February 2016, the Policy Board approved a formal process to solicit and accept members to sit on a Multidisciplinary Advisory Group (MAG). The MAG will review, evaluate, and score the New Tech applications and recommend projects for funding.  Nominees are needed from the following categories:  City of Fresno, City of Clovis, east side city, west side city, County of Fresno, Measure C Citizens Oversight Committee, FCTA, transit, business, education, and two public seats. The MAG application will be formally released late this spring and are due June 17.

Anyone interested in being a part of this scoring committee, who may wish to nominate someone else, or for additional information generally, please contact Braden Duran at bduran@fresnocog.org and/or visit fresnocog.org/measure-c-new-technology-reserve-fund. 

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

BACKGROUND

California housing element law requires every jurisdiction to prepare and adopt a housing element as part of general plans. In California, typically each city or county prepares and maintains its own separate general plan and housing element. During the last round of housing element updates, however, the County of Fresno and 12 of the 15 cities in the region, with Fresno COG's help, prepared a multi-jurisdictional housing element (MJHE).

The MJHE provided an opportunity for countywide housing issues and needs to be more effectively addressed at the regional level rather than just at the local level. In addition, the economies of scale from the multijurisdictional effort resulted in significant cost savings for participating jurisdictions.

State housing element requirements are established in Government Code Sections 65580 through 65589, Chapter 1143, Article 10.6. The law requires the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to review housing elements for compliance with state law and report its written findings to the local jurisdiction. State law mandates that housing elements be updated every eight years. The sixth-cycle housing elements will cover the planning period between 2023 and 2031 and must be adopted and submitted to HCD for certification by Dec. 31, 2023.

While legislative changes have increased the cost and complexity of the housing element since the fifth cycle, there are some advantages to pursuing a joint effort, and local members have again requested Fresno COG hire a consultant to be paid for by participating member agencies to develop a sixth-cycle multijurisdictional housing element.

The MJHE's primary objective is to have a regional plan, with individual appendices for each participating jurisdiction, addressing housing needs to be certified by the State. Fresno COG is acting as the fiscal agent and contract administrator for the sixth-cycle, multi-jurisdictional housing element. Fresno COG will convene a MJHE Working Group, which will include participating local government staff, to direct and support the overall effort. 

CONSULTANT SELECTION

Fresno COG released a request for proposals on Jan. 27 for qualified consultants to develop the sixth-cycle MJHE, and received two proposals. A consultant selection committee comprising representatives from the County, Kerman, Fowler, Fresno, Selma, and Fresno COG conducted consultant interviews on March 22.

The consultant selection committee is recommending PlaceWorks as the preferred consultant team. The PlaceWorks team includes Ascent Environmental, Provost and Pritchard, and California Coalition for Rural Housing, as subconsultants. The PlaceWorks team has extensive experience preparing housing element updates and is well versed in addressing the latest legislation affecting housing elements and general plans.

The contract cost is broken out by two potential options for environmental compliance. The first option includes each participating jurisdiction adopting its housing element with an addendum to its general plan's environmental impact report (EIR), for a total of $1,746,266. The second option includes an initial study for each jurisdiction, leading to a negative declaration for the proposed housing elements, for a total of $1,894,931. Once necessary changes to land use are understood in more detail, PlaceWorks will assist local jurisdictions in determining the appropriate course in terms of environmental compliance.

The estimated cost for each of the 13 smaller jurisdictions ranges from $110,000 with an environmental addendum to $125,000 with an initial study/negative declaration. The cost for the County ranges from $140,000 with an environmental addendum to $150,000 with an initial study/negative declaration. The estimated cost for the City of Fresno is $225,000 with an environmental addendum to $245,000 with an initial study/negative declaration.

NEXT STEPS

At this time, the County, City of Fresno, and 13 other cities have all expressed interest in participating. Participating jurisdictions have (or are in the process of) providing a signed resolution confirming participation in the joint effort as well as a $10,000 deposit to help Fresno COG alleviate cashflow issues. The deadline for these two items is Thurs., April 28, at which time Fresno COG staff will request the Policy Board authorize the executive director to enter into a contract with PlaceWorks.

A kickoff meeting with the consultant and participating jurisdictions will be scheduled for May.

Please contact Meg Prince at mprince@fresnocog.org with any questions or concerns.

Action: Staff requests that TTC/PAC recommend that the Policy Board authorize the executive director to enter into an agreement with PlaceWorks to produce the sixth-cycle mutijurisdictional housing element for an amount not to exceed $1,894,931.

Summary: The Measure C Transit-Oriented Infrastructure for Infill Development (TOD) program was established as part of the Measure C 2006 Extension Plan. It was designed to boost transit ridership through transit supportive land uses such as compact development and mix uses, and other transit complementary infrastructure development and planning activities. It was intended to provide seed money for transit-oriented development in Fresno County and promote livable, sustainable and healthy communities that are walkable, bikeable and transit friendly. 

The TOD program accounts for 1.2% of Measure C funding and is estimated to accrue about $17 million in the Measure's 20-year lifespan. Cycle 10 has about $1.44 million available. Fresno COG received three applications totaling $989,932 in funding requests. These applications are:

1. City of Fresno requested $450,000 for preliminary engineering on segments of Blackstone Avenue from State Route 180 to Pine Avenue as part of the Blackstone Avenue Smart Mobility Project. The project aims to transform the auto-oriented Blackstone corridor into a people-centered, multi-modal community that is walkable, bikeable and transit-friendly. 

2. City of Kingsburg requested $396,165 to construct pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure improvements in downtown Kingsburg as identified in the Downtown Kingsburg Strategic Plan.

3. City of Fowler requested $143,767 to fund a bicycle infrastructure project in downtown and surrounding areas to connect key activity centers to transit facilities in Fowler. 

The scoring committee met and discussed application's qualifications on March 22. The committee unanimously recommended to fully fund all three projects, as requested. 

Action: Staff requests that TTC/PAC recommend the Policy Board fully fund the projects submitted by the cities of Fresno, Kingsburg and Fowler, totaling $989,932, through Measure C's TOD program. 

Summary: Staff will provide a short update on the Measure C renewal process and timeline.

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

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.