REQUEST FOR CITY COUNCIL ACTION
SUBMITTED TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
SUBMITTED BY: Al Zelinka, City Manager
VIA: Sean Crumby, Director of Public Works
PREPARED BY: Jim Merid, Environmental Services Manager
Subject:
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Approve execution of an Agreement between the City of Huntington Beach and the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation, Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) for Stage 13 Periodic Nourishment of the Orange County Beach Erosion Control Project
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Statement of Issue:
Approval of an agreement is requested between the City of Huntington Beach and the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation, Division of Boating and Waterways as local sponsor of the Orange County Beach Erosion Control Project, Stage 13, for beach sand replenishment.
Financial Impact:
The total cost to the City as a local sponsor for the construction phase is $410,517. Sufficient funds are available in Infrastructure Fund account no. 31440005.82800. Also please note that the City has already contributed $39,721 for the design phase of the project in 2016.
Recommended Action:
recommendation
Approve and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute “Agreement Between the City of Huntington Beach and the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation, Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) for Stage 13 Periodic Nourishment of the Orange County Beach Erosion Control Project.”
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Alternative Action(s):
Do not execute the agreement and do not appropriate the City’s share of the funds for the project. This would most likely delay and even prevent the project from moving forward as the agreement requires all local sponsors to sign a similar agreement with the State for the project to commence.
Analysis:
The coastline between Anaheim Harbor Bay to Newport Bay is dependent on beach sand nourishment projects to replenish eroded sand. The construction of engineered flood control structures by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in the San Gabriel River and Santa Ana River between 1930s - 1950s prevented the natural transportation of sediment and sand down the rivers to naturally replenish sand depleted by winter storms and other natural sand depletion actions.
In 1962, Congress passed the Rivers and Harbors Act which required USACE to address the impacts of the constructed flood control structures on natural sand depositions. This led to the first beach nourishment project (Stage 1) in 1964 which deposited 1.5 million cubic yards of sand on the beach along Surfside. The natural migration of sand in a southerly fashion from Surfside Beach (adjacent to the mouth of the San Gabriel River) would transport the sand down the coast and replenish the eroded sand between Anaheim Harbor Bay to Newport Bay. These projects were scheduled to be conducted every 5-7 years, and there have been twelve such projects since 1964. The last beach nourishment project (Stage 12) was conducted in 2010, and Stage 13 would be a continuation of this program.
Federal, State, and local sponsors (Seal Beach, Newport Beach, County of Orange, Surfside Colony Stormwater Protection District) provide funding according to an established formula, which is based upon lineal footage of beachfront, specified in the agreement. It is anticipated that the project will commence in fall of 2024 and be completed by February 1, 2025. The Army Corps of Engineers has estimated the total construction cost to be $23,130,000 of which the Federal government would be responsible for 67% and the local sponsors including the State would be responsible for the remaining 33%. Below is a breakdown of the allocation of funds by responsible agency which is allocated based on the linear feet of project area within the jurisdiction of the local sponsors:
* DBW’s share of costs is 100% of State beaches it operates, and 85% of other project area beaches
Environmental Status:
The project lead is the USACE, and they are currently processing for all environmental approvals and these will be obtained prior to the start of the project.
Strategic Plan Goal:
Infrastructure & Parks
Attachment(s):
1. Agreement Between the City of Huntington Beach and the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation, Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) for Stage 13 Periodic Nourishment of the Orange County Beach Erosion Control Project
2. Exhibit A: Allocation of Non-Federal Costs for the Orange County Beach Erosion Control Project, Stage 13
3. Draft Project Partnership Agreement
4. PowerPoint Presentation