Go. See. Do. Riverside and Beyond
With our current drought conditions, I thought I would post some pictures of a time when we had a lot of rain. I took these shots from the 91 (on an old cell phone) of the flooding in January 2005 that flooded and eroded part of the Green River golf course.
Here are a few more pictures of the river basin next to the golf course before part of the golf course eroded and the basin was rebuilt.
** UPDATE 01/13/15 **
At the public hearing this morning, the Board voted 4-0 to approve the resolution.
According to Transportation Director Perez, the road is expected to cost “in the neighborhood of about $8 million”, the cost of which will be “borne by private development”.
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On January 13, 2015, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors will hold a “Public Hearing on Adoption of Resolution No. 2015-002, Authorization to Adopt a Resolution of Necessity for the Street A Improvement Project”. According to the agenda, the meeting begins at 9:00 AM. The hearing is agenda item 9-2.
If you aren’t familiar with the Street A / A Street project, here is some background from the Submittal to the Board of Supervisors (you can also review the numerous posts we have written about the Dufferin closure and A Street project here: dufferin-closure):
The Street A Project is a proposed two lane collector road connecting McAllister Parkway to Van Buren Boulevard, of which 40 percent is located within the jurisdiction of the County of Riverside (County) and 60 percent is located within the jurisdiction of the City of Riverside (City).
In 2006, the County approved Tract 30153 (McAllister Hills), which would have constructed a golf course residential community development. The County required this tract to construct a new road between McAllister Street and Van Buren Boulevard, referred to as Street A, which would serve traffic from the development and provide an alternate access route for residents of Victoria Grove, The Orchards, and other communities in the area north of El Sobrante and east of La Sierra Avenue.
[…]
The road design was nearly complete and right-of-way was about to commence in 2008 when work ceased on the developer’s project, which went into foreclosure due to the economic downturn.
[…]
Since that time, the community desires to see Street A move forward ahead of development due to the closure of the extension of McAllister north into the City of Riverside, which was done by the City in 2009.
[…]
The Project is a critical circulation and emergency access link for the communities of The Orchard, Victoria Grove and other developments located east of La Sierra Avenue, and north of El Sobrante.
What is a resolution of necessity? I’ll let a lawyer answer that question. From http://www.eminentdomainlaw.net/handbook2_6.php:
A “resolution of necessity” is the government agency’s formal decision to acquire property by eminent domain. It must be adopted before the condemning agency can commence an eminent domain action in court.
Why is a resolution of necessity required for this project? From the Submittal:
The Economic Development Agency/Facilities Management (EDA/FM) has presented written offers to the property owners as required by Government Code Section 7267.2. The amount of the offers is consistent with current property values in the Woodcrest area and is based upon a fair market value appraisal report.
[…]
The Project consists of six property owners; two of which have settled. However, settlement has not been reached with the remaining four property owners, although negotiations are still in process for the necessary right-of-way
How would this be paid for? From the Submittal:
All costs associated with the acquisition of these properties are fully funded by Developer Contributions in the Transportation Department’s budget for FY 2014/15. No net county costs will be incurred as a result of this transaction.
If you live in Riverside and you drive an electric vehicle, you are in luck. It looks like it won’t be long before you can charge your electric vehicle for free at the Galleria at Tyler in Riverside.
I saw this outside the food court at the Tyler Mall this week:
For more on Volta Charging, visit www.voltacharging.com.
It has been almost five years since the City of Riverside closed Dufferin Avenue at McAllister, cutting off a “critical circulation and emergency access link for the communities of The Orchard, Victoria Grove and other developments located east of La Sierra Avenue, and north of El Sobrante”.
I sent a few emails last week to contacts within the County of Riverside to find out the construction status of “A” Street (Fairway Drive), since the last estimate I received was that construction might start this summer. One person told me that there is no firm timetable, and that staff is continuing negotiations to purchase the properties needed for the right-of-way (one of six has been purchased). Another person told me that the County is working with the developer, but that there is hope construction will begin by the fall.
Unless you devote many hours to attending County meetings (I don’t), construction projects can be difficult to follow. This post contains information on the construction of “A” Street from my review of County documents. If you find that I have missed something, relied on outdated documents or have any feedback, please leave a comment below. Also, if you would like to express your support for this project, it falls within Supervisor Kevin Jeffries‘ district.
The quoted words in the first sentence of this post aren’t mine (although I agree with them). They are from a submittal dated 01/15/14 from the Riverside County Transportation Department to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors recommending approval to enter into right of way and temporary construction agreements with CV Inland Communities 1, LP. The Board approved these recommendations on 02/04/14.
CV is the developer that is building the Citrus Heights community. From what I can tell, the Citrus Heights plan calls for the construction of 345 homes (no golf course) between McAllister and Van Buren (see the end of this post for info on Citrus Heights).
Background from the document:
The Riverside County Transportation Department (RCTD) proposes to construct A Street, a two-lane collector road connecting McAllister Street to Van Buren Boulevard in the Woodcrest area (Project). Approximately 40 percent of the Project is located in the unincorporated county area (County) and 60 percent is located within the City of Riverside (City) jurisdiction.
In 2006, the County approved Tract 30153 (McAllister Hills), which would have constructed a golf course residential community development. The County required this tract to construct a new road between McAllister and Van Buren, referred to as A Street, which would serve traffic from the development and provide an alternate access route for residents of Victoria Grove, the Orchards, and other communities in the area north of Cajalco and east of La Sierra.
In 200B, work ceased on the developer’s project, which went into foreclosure due to the economic downturn. Since that time, the communities desire to see “A” Street move forward has been heightened by the closure of the extension of McAllister north into the City of Riverside. The County took over the “A” Street project in 2010 and is working on property acquisition to prepare for construction.
Funding for the acquisition comes from Development Impact fees collected in this area since this road will help mitigate impacts of future development.
Environmental Impact Report No. 433 (EIR) was completed in compliance with the EIR Guidelines and Riverside County Rules to implement California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). On December 21, 2004, the Board of Supervisors adopted Resolution No. 2004-539, Certifying Environmental Impact Report No. 433. On September 24, 2013, Amendment No.1 to EIR No. 433 was approved by the Board of Supervisors.
CV Inland Communities 1, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (CV Communities) has agreed to dedicate the right-of-way and temporary access from the portion of the property needed for the proposed A Street project at no cost. […] There are costs of $16,200 associated with this transaction.
The County and City are working together to identify potential funding for this project. […]
Impact on Residents and Businesses
The Project is a critical circulation and emergency access link for the communities of The Orchard, Victoria Grove and other developments located east of La Sierra Avenue, and north of El Sobrante
The Board’s approval of these agreements follow the earlier approval of an agreement (link is to the first amendment) that calls for the developer to contribute $1.6 million toward the construction of Street “A” after certain conditions are met.
Background from the document:
The Amendment of SP 325 and its associated tracts is coming before the Board for consideration as a separate Item on this same agenda. A necessary infrastructure component of this project is “A” Street, a new road that will extend from McAllister Parkway to Van Buren Boulevard. “A” Street is not only necessary for this project but also a critical circulation and emergency access link for the communities of The Orchard, Victoria Grove and other developments located East of La Sierra Avenue, and North of El Sobrante. The” A” Street Project is approximately 40% within County jurisdiction and 60% within the City of Riverside jurisdiction.
On October 16, 2012 the Board entered into an agreement with CV Communities, the Developer of this project, whereby the Developer will provide the County with $1,200,000 in funding towards the construction of the road upon County approval of the entitlements, and another $400,000 within 6 months of the County awarding a construction contract. This Amendment accelerates the payment of the $400,000 and provides a vehicle for the Developer to contribute additional funding, in exchange for additional DIF credits, and also a mechanism for the Developer to receive DIF credits if they have to construct the road project. This amendment therefore helps facilitate the construction of “A” Street.
The County is in the process of acquiring the needed right-of-way for “A” Street, and working with the City of Riverside on a funding plan for the construction phase of the project.
I’ve been writing about the Dufferin closure since 2009. I’ll do my best to share what I learn as the construction process continues. You can find all of the posts I have written about the Dufferin closure and “A” Street issues here: dufferin-closure
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Info about Citrus Heights:
The best document I have found about the Citrus Heights project is here (emphasis added).
From the document:
SUBJECT: SPECIFIC PLAN NO. 325, AMENDMENT NO.1; CHANGE OF ZONE NO. 7779; TENTATIVE TRACT MAP NO. 36390, (FAST TRACK NO. 2013-05) -Addendum No.1 to EIR
No. 433 – Applicant: CV Communities, LLC – Engineer/Representative: T&B Planning – First/First Supervisorial District – Lake Mathews Zoning District – Lake Mathews / Woodcrest Area Plan: Community Development: Low Density Residential (CD: LDR) (1/2 Acre Minimum), Open Space: Conservation (OS: C), Rural Community: Very Low Density Residential (RC: VLDR) (1 Acre Minimum), Rural: Rural Mountainous (R: RM) (10 Acre Minimum), El Sobrante Policy Area – Location: Southerly of Van Buren Boulevard and easterly of McAllister Street – 333.7 Gross Acres – Zoning: Specific Plan (SP00325) – REQUEST: The Specific Plan Amendment proposes to increase residential acreage from 98.4 acres to 135.5 acres, increase the total number of residential units from 295 to 345, increase the average residential lot size from approximately 10,237 square feet to approximately 12,976 square feet, increase the development intensity from 0.9 to 1.0 dwelling units per acre (du/ac), eliminate the 119.1-acre golf course and 3.5-acre golf course clubhouse land uses from the Land Use Plan, increase the area reserved for open space from 85.2 acres to 162.4 acres, increase the acreage designated for public parks from three parks on 2.5 acres to eight parks on 7.0 acres, provide approximately 6.6 miles of pedestrian trails and modify the internal circulation system to accommodate the modified land use plan. The Change of Zone proposes to modify the adopted Specific Plan Zoning Ordinance for SP325 and formalize all of the planning area boundaries within the Specific Plan. The Tentative Map is a Schedule A subdivision that would subdivide 333.7 acres into 343 single-family residential lots, 8 park lots, 3 water quality detention basin lots, and 43 open space lots.
Here are a few maps from the document (click on the images to view larger versions):
It has been over four years since the City of Riverside closed Dufferin Avenue, and construction of the alternate route that was supposed to be completed before the closure took place has not even started.
I checked in again with the Riverside County Transportation Department last week, and here is the most relevant part of the response I received:
Ole,
My goal is to get this under construction no later than this coming summer.
I will keep following up.
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If you aren’t familiar with the Dufferin closure and/or want to read older posts about this issue click here.
Some good news and some bad news for those of us waiting for “A” Street (Fairway Drive) to be built…
The slightly good news:
On 12/18/12, the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved funding of $170,595.78 to “move the “A” Street (Fairway Drive) roadway project forward.”
The bad news:
There have been delays with the right of way which have caused an overall delay of about six months.
I hope to have an update on the revised construction timeline next month.
It has been about six months since I asked the County for an update on “A” Street (Fairway Drive), so I sent an email to Riverside County’s Transportation Department a few days ago asking for an update. I received this prompt response:
We are working with the property owners to acquire the needed property and fine tuning the design plans. The design plans are expected to be done by February of next year. I would expect that we could have the property needed for the project and be ready to bid by mid next year.
I also sent a follow-up email today asking for an estimated completion date, and will update this post when I receive a response.
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Update 11/15/12
Updated correspondence from the past few days:
Me: “Based on the estimated timeline of getting bids by mid next year, could you provide an estimate of when the road might actually be completed?”
County: “I expect this project to take 12 months to construct.”
Me: “Is that 12 months from now, design finalization in Feb 2013, bidding in mid 2013, or… ? I assume I know the answer, but I don’t want to rely on my assumption.”
County: “It would be 12 months from the start of construction. So, if construction started in September of 2013, it would be complete in September of 2014. Keep in mind that this is dependent on us being able to secure the funding needed. We have not yet secured all the funding we need for the project but are working on it.”
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If you don’t know what I’m writing about, click here.
I sent an email to Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster‘s office last week inquiring about the funding for “A” Street (Fairway Drive). I received a reply the next day from a member of the Supervisor’s staff, which included an update that seems to be positive news for anyone who wants the street to be built.
Here is a quote from the email I received (I added the emphasis):
Most recently the City has approved that the County can take the lead in acquisitions of the Right-of-Way. This can be a lengthy process and the county is already pushing forward on the acquisitions. Therefore, a specific time line has not been established for the road project but our goal is to begin the building of the road within the next 12 months.
For more background, read the following summary from the March 15, 2012 TLMA Submittal to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors. I will continue to post updates about “A” Street as I learn of them.
BACKGROUND: The “A” Street project is a proposed two lane collector road connecting McAllister Parkway to Van Buren Boulevard, of which 40 percent is located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the COUNTY and 60 percent is located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the CITY. In 2006 the COUNTY approved Tract 30153 (McAllister Hills), which would have constructed a golf course residential community development. The COUNTY required this tract to construct a new road between McAllister and Van Buren, referred to as “A” Street, which would serve traffic from the development and provide an alternate access route for residents of Victoria Grove, The Orchards, and other communities in the area north of Cajalco and east of La Sierra.
On December 18, 2007, the Board of Supervisors approved item 3.58 which consented to and authorized the CITY to act as lead agency on behalf of the COUNTY for purposes of land acquisition services and eminent domain necessary for “A” Street, since most of the property to be acquired was within CITY limits. The road design was nearly complete and right-of-way acquisition was about to commence in 2008 when work ceased on the developer’s project, which went into foreclosure due to the economic downturn.
Since that time, the community desires to see “A” Street move forward ahead of development due to the closure of the extension of McAllister north into the City of Riverside, which was done by the CITY in 2009. The CITY and COUNTY are working together to identify potential funding for this project.
On November 30, 2010, the Board of Supervisors approved item 3.63, Engineering Services Agreement by and between Hunsaker and Associates and the COUNTY. The engineering firm did the original road design for the Developer. The firm is in the process of reviewing and revising the original design, including additional geotechnical engineering work to see what can be done to reduce construction and right-of-way costs via a reduced roadway section and engineered slopes.
The Agreement between the COUNTY and the CITY provides the terms and conditions under which said Project is to be pursued. The Agreements further defines project-related activities, including real property activities, to be performed by the CITY and the COUNTY. The Agreement will also formally revoke the COUNTY’s consent to authorize the CITY to act as lead agency on behalf of the COUNTY for purposes of land acquisition services and eminent domain necessary for said Project, and designates the County as lead agency.
If you would like to read more about “A” Street and the Dufferin Avenue closure, click here.
On one of our walks up Mt. Rubidoux, I remember seeing a firefighter run up the hill in full gear. I guess this is the kind of situation he was training for:
CAL FIRE and Riverside County Firefighters are on scene an off road traffic collision involving a motorcyclist. Firefighters are making the 1 mile hike to the 2300 foot level of monument peak,in order treat and transport the patient. The remote area rescue will require firefighters to hand carry the adult male patient using a stokes basket. Updates will be posted as additional information becomes available. UPDATE: After an over three-hour rescue, the patient was extracted from the remote area, and transported to Riverside Community Hospital in stable condition. – from the Riverside County Fire Department’s website
On November 30, 2010, Riverside County’s Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an engineering services agreement for the re-design of “A” Street (Fairway Drive). This street will connect McAllister to Van Buren, providing a necessary alternate route for County residents affected by the City of Riverside’s closure of Dufferin Avenue at McAllister.
Although the street is not yet under construction, it is nice to know that the County is taking some action in response to all of the residents who voiced concerns about the Dufferin closure.
According to the agreement, the re-design project was estimated to be completed by November 2011.
From the November 16, 2010 submittal to the Board (emphasis added):
BACKGROUND: The “A” Street project is a proposed two lane collector road connecting McAllister Parkway to Van Buren Boulevard that is on the County’s General Plan. Engineering and environmental work was initiated for this road approximately 3-4 years ago by an approved golf-course residential tentative tract in the unincorporated area, which was required to construct the road referenced to as Fairway Drive in the development approval (“A” Street on the County’s General Plan). Design was nearly complete and right-of-way acquisition was about to commence when work ceased on the development project, which went into foreclosure due to the economic downturn. Since that time, the community’s desires to see “A” Street move forward has been heightened by the closure of the extension of McAllister north into the City of Riverside. The “A” Street project is approximately 40% within County jurisdiction and 60% City of Riverside jurisdiction.
A Scope of Work has been negotiated on this project with Hunsaker and Associates, the engineering firm that did the original road design for the developer, to get this project shelf-ready for right-of-way acquisition and construction. The contract amount is not-to-exceed $156,033, including some optional tasks that may be required as the project progresses. The Scope of Work includes a review and revision of the original design, including additional geotechnical engineering work, to see what can be done to reduce construction costs via a reduced roadway section and engineered slopes. It also includes necessary construction-level environmental work to obtain permits from the regulatory agencies.
Once a final design has been completed and cost estimates fine-tuned the County Transportation Department and City Public Works staff will work together to identify a funding strategy for the right-of-way and construction phases of this project.
Funding for this work comes from Development Impact Fees collected in this area, since this road will help mitigate impacts of future development.