Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Meeting Summary - January 27, 2021

The Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee convened virtually on January 27, 2021, at 10:00 AM, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The meeting covered approval of previous actions, consent agenda items, discussion of committee priorities for 2021, a presentation on the five-year capital infrastructure planning outlook, and approval of civil engineering services agreements. Key themes included infrastructure funding gaps, equity, climate action, stormwater needs, and capacity challenges.

Consent Calendar

• Approval of Committee Actions (November 18, 2020): Approved unanimously (3-0) with Vice Chair Lacava, Committee Member Montgomery Stepp, and Chair von Wilpert voting yes.
• Consent Agenda Item 1 - First Amendment to As-Needed Civil Engineering Agreement with Kleinfelder Inc.: Approved 3-1. Committee Member Montgomery Stepp voted no, expressing concerns about the contract being expired and the contractor achieving only 24.3% of its 42% Small Local Business Enterprise (SLBE) commitment. Other members supported but noted the issues.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Non-Agenda Public Comment: Andy Hanshaw, chair of the city's Mobility Board and executive director of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, introduced himself and expressed support for the committee's work on Vision Zero, mobility action plan, and bike master plan.
• Item 4 (Committee Priorities): Four speakers:
  • Sally Small (Choice Valley Community Planning Group and Emerald Hills Neighborhood Council) urged equitable sidewalk coverage, storm drains, and park equity, noting the 50-50 cost sharing for sidewalks is too difficult for communities of concern.
  • Matthew Vasilakis (Climate Action Campaign) supported priorities for infrastructure investments in historically underserved communities, equitable implementation of complete communities and quick build programs, and meeting mode share targets.
  • Lucero Sanchez (San Diego Coastkeeper) thanked the committee for including stormwater infrastructure, noting all beaches were closed after recent rain due to failing infrastructure. She called for a ballot initiative to raise the stormwater fee to address the $1.4 billion deficit.
  • Andy Hanshaw (San Diego County Bicycle Coalition) emphasized safe, connected infrastructure for bicycling, Vision Zero strategies, prioritization of communities of concern, class four bikeway design guidelines, and monitoring mode share.
• Item 5 (Five-Year Capital Outlook): No public comments.
• Item 2 (Civil Engineering Services Agreements): Kathleen Higgins on behalf of MEA expressed appreciation for reducing contract terms to two years but urged the city to rely less on costly consultants and more on in-house forces.

Discussion Items

• Item 4 - Committee Priorities for Calendar Year 2021: Councilmembers presented their priorities based on memos submitted to the Chair. Common themes included:
  • Comprehensive review of the capital infrastructure deficit and unbuilt community plan facilities.
  • Addressing the stormwater funding gap (noted as $1.4 billion or more) and meeting water quality obligations.
  • Updating Council Policies 800-14 (capital improvement prioritization) and 000-31 (transparency) to incorporate equity and climate action goals.
  • Prioritizing infrastructure in historically underserved communities (District 4, District 9, District 8).
  • Sidewalk repair reform (eliminating property owner cost-share for communities of concern).
  • Youth Opportunity Passes, Vision Zero, complete streets, quick build policies, EV charging stations, and street tree programs.
  • Councilmember Montgomery Stepp highlighted that District 4 received no overlay work in the last $27 million state allocation. Councilmember Ilo Rivera emphasized applying a racial equity and justice framework. Chair von Wilpert noted the need for a new street condition assessment and long-term infrastructure financing.
• Item 5 - Five-Year Capital Infrastructure Planning Outlook (FY22-FY26): Presentation by James Nagelboard (Director, Engineering and Capital Projects) and Mark Nassar (Deputy Director). Key points:
  • Total needs: $6.94 billion; available funding: $3.92 billion; gap: $3.02 billion.
  • Priority needs (risk to life/health, legal mandates, core services): $5.7 billion; priority funding gap: $2.3 billion (up $1 billion from last year, 40% driven by stormwater).
  • Stormwater is the largest need at $1.5 billion (21% of total), surpassing Pure Water and other enterprise-funded assets.
  • Enterprise-funded assets (water, wastewater) are largely met through rates; unmet needs are concentrated in stormwater, streets/roadways ($430M), existing buildings ($595M), street lights, and parks ($316M).
  • Capacity constraints: city has 20% vacancy rate in Engineering & Capital Projects (164 positions), 24% vacancy in surveyors. Regional competition for contractors and consultants limits ability to spend. Annual CIP expenditures grew from $263M (2014) to $600M currently.
  • Assumptions: no convention center expansion, no 101 Ash building improvements, pending coastal erosion and library master plans. Revenue assumptions include $30M/year from Facilities Benefit Assessment and $25M/year from Development Impact Fees.
  • IBA representative Gillian Kissey noted the gap for priority needs is $2.3 billion, with stormwater now the greatest need, and emergency projects are more expensive than planned ones.
• Item 2 - Professional As-Needed Civil Engineering Services Agreements (H207140-H207143): Presentation by James Nagelboard and Cindy Crocker (Acting Deputy Director). Four contracts (each $3M) for as-needed civil engineering services to augment city staff. Firms: Michael Baker International (30% SLBE), Parsing Transportation Group (27.5%), BRIC Engineering (29%), and NAS and Engineering (32%). Term reduced from 5 years to 2 years after MEA request. Work assigned on rotational basis. Councilmember Montgomery Stepp raised concerns about gaps in workforce representation and recommended outreach to minority engineering organizations and community college programs.

Key Outcomes

• Approved: Item 1 (consent agenda) with a 3-1 vote; Councilmember Montgomery Stepp opposed.
• Approved: Motion to direct the committee chair to issue a 2021 work plan based on input received (unanimous 3-0). The work plan will be drafted and brought back in February 2021.
• Approved: Item 2 (civil engineering services agreements) with term reduced from 5 to 2 years (unanimous 4-0).
• Noted: Item 3 (Alvarado Second Pipeline Extension) was returned to staff and will come back in future months.
• Referrals: Chair von Wilpert committed to bringing forward updates to Council Policies 800-14 and 000-31 in about two months. Staff to provide additional details on asset management planning and state of the CIP report (due April 2021). The city's stormwater funding strategy will be discussed at the Environment Committee meeting on January 28, 2021.
• Next Meeting: Scheduled for Wednesday, February 24, 2021, at 2:00 PM.