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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11. Set PH for Bellflower Blvd at Imperial Hwy Intersection Acquisition of PropertiesAGENDA MEMO APPROVED BY DATE: February 11, 2014 ITT MANAGER TO: Mayor and Members of the City Council 0 FROM: Office of the City Manager By: John Oskoui, P.E., Director of Public Works SUBJECT: SET PUBLIC HEARING FOR CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION OF NECESSITY TO ACQUIRE SIX PROPERTIES LOCATED ADJACENT TO THE BELLFLOWER BOULEVARD AT IMPERIAL HIGHWAY INTERSECTION RECOMMENDATION That the City Council set a public hearing at its regular meeting on February 25, 2014 to consider adoption of a resolution of necessity to acquire portions of six properties for street widening purposes in conjunction with the Bellflower Boulevard at Imperial Highway Intersection Improvement Project. BACKGROUND The City is proposing improvements to the Bellflower Boulevard at Imperial Highway intersection in order to maintain an acceptable level -of- service at this intersection through 2030 due to projected future traffic growth at the intersection. Said improvements include additional turn lanes at the intersection, including the construction of double left turn lanes in the northbound and southbound directions and exclusive right turn lanes in the eastbound, southbound and northbound directions. In addition, the existing curb returns at each of the four corners of the intersection will be reconstructed with larger (50' radius) returns in order to facilitate right -turn movements involving semi - trucks and other large vehicles at the intersection. The intersection improvements will also include the modification of existing and construction of new landscaped medial islands, the incidental relocation of existing street lights and other street furniture and the modification of the existing traffic signal, striping and pavement markings and signage. Because the project requires the widening of both Bellflower Boulevard and Imperial Highway, it will be necessary to acquire the following interests in the properties listed below in order to provide the necessary width for the additional turn lanes: 1. Kaiser Permanente This property is located at 9449 Imperial Highway on the northwest corner of the intersection. It will be necessary to acquire a portion of the property along the west side of Bellflower Boulevard and at the northwest corner of the intersection for purposes of widening Bellflower Boulevard and enlarging the curb return, respectively. The portion of this property to be acquired, which totals 3,816 square feet in area, consists of landscaped area only and no buildings, structures or parking spaces on the property will be affected by the proposed taking. CITY OF DOWNEY, CALIFORNIA Mayor and Members of the City Council Public Hearing - Bellflower Boulevard at Imperial Highway Intersection Improvement Project February 11, 2014 Page 2 2. Jack -in- the -Box This property is located at 12500 Bellflower Boulevard on the northeast corner of the intersection. It will be necessary to acquire a portion of the property at the northeast corner of the intersection for purposes of enlarging the curb return. The portion of this property to be acquired, which totals 201 square feet in area, consists of landscaped area only and no buildings, structures or parking spaces on the property will be affected by the proposed taking. 3. Former School Site This property is located at 9454 Imperial Highway on the southwest corner of the intersection. It will be necessary to acquire a portion of the property along the south side of Imperial Highway, along the west side of Bellflower Boulevard and at the southwest corner of the intersection for purposes of widening Imperial Highway, widening the west side of Bellflower Boulevard and enlarging the curb return, respectively. The portion of this property to be acquired, which totals 4,148 square feet in area, consists of landscaped area only and no buildings, structures or parking spaces on the property will be affected by the proposed taking. 4. Office Park /Retail This property is located at 12757 Bellflower Boulevard on the west side of Bellflower Blvd. south of Imperial Highway. It will be necessary to acquire a portion of the property along the west side of Bellflower Boulevard for purposes of widening Bellflower Boulevard. The portion of this property to be acquired, which totals 1,424 square feet in area, consists of landscaped area and parking lot only and no buildings, structures or parking spaces on the property will be affected by the proposed taking. 5. Downey Plaza Shopping Center /Office Park This property is located at 9530 Imperial Highway on the east side of Bellflower Boulevard south side of Imperial Highway. It will be necessary to acquire a portion of the property along the east side of Bellflower Boulevard for purposes of widening Bellfllower Boulevard. The portion of this property to be acquired, which totals 360 square feet in area, consists of landscaped area and parking lot only and no buildings, structures or parking spaces on the property will be affected by the proposed taking. Mayor and Members of the City Council Public Hearing - Bellflower Boulevard at Imperial Highway Intersection Improvement Project February 11, 2014 Page 3 6. Smog Check Business This property is located at 9506 Imperial Highway at the southeast corner of the intersection. It will be necessary to acquire a portion of the property along the east side of Bellflower Boulevard and at the southeast corner of the intersection for purposes of widening Bellflower Boulevard and enlarging the curb return, respectively. The portion of this property to be acquired, which totals 1,234 square feet in area, consists of parking lot area only and no building or structures on the property will be affected; however, three parking spaces on the property will be affected by the proposed taking. Appraisals to assess the value of the land to be acquired from each of the respective properties have been completed. Based on the valuations of the land proposed to be acquired, potential severance damages due to the incidental loss of three parking spaces from one of the properties and the valuation of temporary construction easements from each of the properties, the City made a formal written offer to the property owner to purchase the aforementioned portions of their property. Each of the six affected properties are owned by a single entity, Downey Land Limited. DISCUSSION At this point in time, the City has not been successful in negotiating a purchase and sale agreement with the property owner and it does not appear that a resolution will be reached in time for this project to move forward in a timely manner in order to avoid jeopardizing the funding for the project. The City will need to acquire the interests in the above - referenced properties by the end of March 2014 in order to be under construction with the proposed improvements to the Bellflower Boulevard at Imperial Highway intersection by May 2014. Therefore, in the interest of time, the City has determined that in order to gain possession of the necessary portions of these properties to meet the project schedule, the City should consider the eminent domain process. As required by California Eminent Domain Law, the governing body of a public entity shall consider adoption of a resolution of necessity through a noticed public hearing prior to commencing eminent domain proceedings. City Council approval of this action will set the date of the public hearing for the meeting of February 25, 2014 to consider acquisition of the portions of the six properties. The six aforementioned properties, along with the respective portions of the properties to be acquired, are shown on the Location Map in Exhibit "A ". Mayor and Members of the City Council Public Hearing - Bellflower Boulevard at Imperial Highway Intersection Improvement Project February 11, 2014 Page 4 FINANCIAL IMPACT The total cost of just compensation, consisting of the acquisition of the permanent partial takes for street widening purposes, potential severance damages and temporary construction easements, for the six properties is estimated at $570,000. An additional $50,000 in legal fees and city staff time is anticipated in the event the City pursues the eminent domain process to acquire the partial property takes. Sufficient funds are budgeted in the FY2013 -14 Capital Improvement Program under account no. 26 -1 -6605 to support this activity. The funding sources include a Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority grant in the amount of $671,347, $553,000 in Gas Tax, $200,000 in Measure R Local Return and $162,000 in Proposition C Local Return funds. Attachment: Exhibit "A" H: \Pubworks \CAPIMP \SS605 Bellflower @ Imperial Inter \Council \Set date of public hearing.doc EXHIBIT "A"