Agenda - City of Santa Monica

This report summarizes the design refinements which have occurred since the Council
update on February 14, 2012 including a construction and funding phasing strategy in
response to budget changes over the past year. Staff is requesting that the City Council
approve the full design scope of the project as outlined herein.
The current estimate for the full project is $13.5 million. The estimate for the reduced
footprint core project is $10.7 million, of which $9.7 million is secured pending Council
approval of the FY 2013-14 CIP Exception Based Budget in June 2013. The core
project includes the re-alignment of Second and Main Streets, critical infrastructure
upgrades on C olorado Avenue between Ocean Avenue and 4th Street, and the
connection between the future station, the Pier and t he new Civic Center parks, but
does not include the areas directly adjacent to the station between 4 th and 5 th Streets,
the Gateway Triangle, or the proposed improvements for 4 th Street north of Colorado.
A proposed minor amendment to the Civic Center Specific Plan (CCSP) is also included
in this report for Council approval, proposing to replace the 2 nd Street Bridge concept,
previously envisioned in the CCSP, with the reconfigured roadway included in the
Esplanade design which achieves the same goals of the CCSP.
The Planning Commission has reviewed and supports the CCSP amendment and the
project design components, which implement Land Use and Circulation Element goals
to encourage walking, biking and transit, while addressing vehicle congestion in Santa
Monica. And, in compliance with California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), a
Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project was adopted by Council on March 19,
2013.
Background
In anticipation of the Light Rail, the City and community have been defining a vision
specifically for the Downtown/Civic Center station area through a series of long-range
planning efforts, beginning with the Civic Center Specific Plan (2005), the Land Use and
Circulation Element (LUCE 2010) and continuing with the Downtown Specific Plan and
significant investment in civic projects which are currently in various stages of
procurement, design, and construction:
• 4 th and Arizona
• Pier Bridge replacement
• Early Childhood Education Center
• Tongva Park and Ken Genser Square
• The Civic Center Village
• Parking Structure 6
• Expo Light Rail Terminus Station
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