HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution 2020-019 N.C.S. 02/03/2020Resolution No. 2020-019 N.C.S.
of the City of Petaluma, California
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA
INITIATING PROCEEDINGS FOR THE FORMATION OF THE OAK AND
WATER STREET BENEFIT ASSESSMENT DISTRICT, DISTRICT NO. 2019-1,
AND ORDERING THE PREPARATION OF A REPORT ON THE DISTRICT
FORMATION PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 13.35 OF THE CITY OF PETALUMA
MUNICIPAL CODE AND MAKING CERTAIN FINDINGS AND
DETERMINATIONS IN CONNECTION THEREWITH
WHEREAS, the Spanos Corporation, as owner of real property located at 368 and 402
Petaluma Boulevard in the City of Petaluma, Assessor's Parcel Nos., 006-163-055 and 006-163-
041 submitted a Site Plan and Architectural Review application to the City to build the North
River Apartments Project; and
WHEREAS, the Spanos Corporation has transferred ownership of the North River
Apartments Project and APNs 006-163-055 and 006-163-041 to a successor entity referred to as
North River Apartments, LLC, and as used in this resolution, "North River Apartments" refers to
both the Spanos Corporation and North River Apartments, LLC, as the context may require; and
WHEREAS, on August 5, 2019, the City Council adopted ordinances approving lot line
adjustments and conveyances involving adjacent parcels at Water Street owned by the City and
Water Street Properties LLC ("Water Street Properties"), vacating a sewer easement on property
owned by Water Street Properties, and rezoning property owned by Water Street Properties to
prepare for relocation of a sewer related to construction of the Water Street Public
Improvements, to prepare the Water Street Properties land for development, and obtain needed
right of way in the Water Street Plan Line for construction of Water Street, and as part of
obtaining the needed water Street right of way Water Street Properties, like North River
Apartments, obtained right of way from a third party, which acquisition cost will be included as a
cost of the Public Improvements subject to reimbursement pursuant to an assessment district and
reimbursement agreement; and
WHEREAS, the Petaluma Planning Commission, on January 23, 2018, adopted
Resolution No. 2018-02 certifying a Mitigated Negative Declaration ("MND") and adopting a
Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan ("MMRP") for the North River Apartments Project,
and adopted Resolution No. 2018-03 approving the Site Plan and Architectural Review
("SPAR") for the North River Apartments Project; and
WHEREAS, Conditions of Approval Nos. 40 and 51 of Resolution No. 2018-03 require
North River Apartments to construct certain public improvements within and along Water Street
North and Oak Street within the City including but not limited to the construction of public
streets including the acquisition of right-of-way, sidewalks, public parking spaces, water, sewer,
and electrical upgrades, including the undergrounding of existing overhead utilities, and
landscaping improvements described in Section 4 hereof (the "Public Improvements"); and
WHEREAS, Condition 95 of Resolution No. 2018-03 provides that the cost to construct
the Public Improvements will be funded by North River Apartments, and North River
Apartments will be reimbursed through a reimbursement agreement ("Reimbursement
Agreement") with the City, which will provide for reimbursement of North River Apartments
Resolution No. 2020-019 N.C.S. Page 1
from the proceeds of an assessment district formed pursuant to Chapter 13.35 of the Petaluma
Municipal Code and other applicable law, and that reimbursement for the cost of public
improvements that benefit other properties is subject to North River Apartments and the City
approving a reimbursement agreement and successful formation of an assessment district; and
WHEREAS, the City and North River Apartments and Water Street Properties intend to
enter into reimbursement agreements subject to the successful formation of a benefit assessment
district under and pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 13.35 of the Petaluma Municipal Code
and Article XIIID, section 4 of the California Constitution, part of Proposition 218; and
WHEREAS, the proposed benefit assessment district, if it is formed, is to be known as
the Oak and Water Street Benefit Assessment District and designated as Benefit Assessment
District No. 2020-1 (the "District"); and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 13.35.050 of the Petaluma Municipal Code, the
City Council, when considering forming a special assessment district pursuant to that section,
may adopt its resolution of intention to form a benefit district related to the proposed assessment
district, and such resolution shall: (A), identify, by name or general description of improvements
the proposed or existing assessment district to which the benefit district relates; (B), state that
certain parcels of land (which need not be identified in the resolution) benefit from the
assessment district improvements but are not assessed or proposed to be assessed; (C), state the
intention of the City Council to form a benefit district related to the assessment district and to
establish a special development assessment for the land therein; and (D), direct the city engineer
or other staff member or consultant to prepare a benefit district report; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Petaluma Municipal Code Section 13.35.050, paragraph
(A), the proposed boundaries of the District are shown on a map which indicates by a boundary
line the extent of the territory proposed to be included in the District, which map is designated
"Boundary of Proposed Benefit District No. 2020-1" (the "Map"), and which is on file in the
office of the City Clerk and a copy of which is attached to and made a part of this resolution as
Exhibit A; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Petaluma Municipal Code Section 13.35.050, paragraph
(B), the North River Apartments and Water Street Properties projects will benefit from the
Public Improvements, and are proposed to be assessed, because although North River
Apartments is responsible for constructing the Public Improvements and initially incurring all
related Public Improvement costs, except for the cost of property acquisition incurred by Water
Street Properties, subject to potential reimbursement from assessments resulting from formation
of the District pursuant to the contemplated Reimbursement Agreements of costs that are in
excess of the North River Apartments and Water Street Properties' fair share of the cost of the
Public Improvements, and some of the fair share cost of the Public Improvements will be borne
by North River Apartments and Water Street Properties and not assessed to other properties
within the District, other Public Improvements costs will be assessed to North River Apartments
and Water Street Properties through the proposed District; and
WHEREAS, Dennis Klingelhofer, PE, of Harris & Associates, has been retained by
North River Apartments to prepare a benefit district engineer's report ("Engineer's Report") for
the District in accordance with the requirements of Petaluma Municipal Code Section 13.35.060
and Article XIIID, Section 4 of the California Constitution; and
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WHEREAS, Mr. Klingelhofer, on behalf of Harris & Associates, is competent to make
and file with the City Clerk, subject to the approval of the City Engineer, the Engineer's Report
with regard to the Public Improvements, which report is required by Petaluma Municipal Code
Chapter 13.35 and Article XIIID, Section 4; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with Petaluma Municipal Code Section 13.35.060, the
Engineer's Report concerning the Public Improvements for the District shall contain the
following as specified in that section:
A. A description of each parcel of land proposed to be included in the benefit district.
Any parcel may be described by its county assessor's parcel number as listed on the
last equalized tax assessment roll or on current records of the county assessor.
B. The amount of the proposed special development assessment for each parcel. The
special development assessment shall be proportional to the estimated benefit to each
parcel from the assessment district improvements.
C. The development approval for which payment of the special development assessment
is a precondition.
D. The time period within which the special development assessment will be collected
shall not exceed fifteen years from the establishment of the fee as set by the benefit
district report, unless a longer period is specified in the report.
E. The formula or method by which benefits within the benefit district are estimated.
The method shall be based in proportion to estimated benefit to be received by each
of the parcels in the benefit district from the assessment district improvements.
F. The terms by which the special development assessment will be escalated over time,
if escalation of the assessment is proposed. The assessment may be escalated in one
of the following ways:
1. An annual increment of interest may be added to the assessment, at an
uncompounded rate not exceeding the net effective rate on bonds of the
assessment district for the same year.
2. The assessment may be increased annually in proportion to a published index of
construction costs applicable to improvements such as those in the assessment
district.
G. The manner in which the special development assessment will be disbursed when
collected. The assessment may be disbursed in one or more of the following ways,
and may change over time:
1. Disbursement to the general fund or a designated special fund of the city.
2. Disbursement to the assessment district improvement fund, for use or distribution
as provided by law.
3. Disbursement to owners within the assessment district in accordance with
reimbursement or development agreements; and
Resolution No. 2020-019 N.C.S. Page 3
WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 4 of Article XIIID of the California
Constitution, all assessments shall be supported by a detailed engineer's report prepared by a
registered professional engineer certified by the State of California, and agencies that propose to
levy an assessment shall identify all parcels which will have a special benefit conferred upon
them and upon which an assessment will be imposed; the proportionate special benefit derived
by each identified parcel shall be determined in relationship to the entirety of the capital cost of a
public improvement, the maintenance and operation expenses of a public improvement, or the
cost of the property related service being provided; no assessment shall be imposed on any parcel
which exceeds the reasonable cost of the proportional special benefit conferred on that parcel;
only special benefits are assessable; an agency shall separate the general benefits from the
special benefits conferred on a parcel; and parcels within a district that are owned or used by any
agency, the State of California or the United States shall not be exempt from assessment unless
the agency can demonstrate by clear and convincing evidence that those publicly owned parcels
in fact receive no special benefit; and
WHEREAS, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the
Planning Commission adopted Resolution 2018-02 on January 23, 2018, certifying a Final MND
and MMRP concerning the North River Apartments Project, including analysis of the extension
of Water Street North from the North River Apartments Project's southern boundary to
Washington Street and the physical improvements related to and required for the North River
Apartments Project, including Oak and Water Street and related improvements, potential
environmental impacts of which were previously studied and addressed in the FMND;
NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Petaluma, as
follows:
1. Recitals. The above recitals are hereby declared to be true and correct and
incorporated into this resolution as findings of the City Council.
2. CEQA. Potential environmental impacts of the Public Improvements were
previously analyzed and addressed in the North River Apartments Project FMND and
MMRP adopted by the Planning Commission concerning the North River Apartments
Project and the Public Improvements pursuant to Resolution No. 2018-02 adopted
January 23, 2018.
3. Initiation of Proceedings and Declaration of Intention to Levy Assessment. In
accordance with Petaluma Municipal Code Section 13.35.050, paragraph D, Section 4
of Article XIIID of the California Constitution, and other applicable law, the City
Council hereby initiates proceedings to form the District to fund part of the cost of the
Public Improvements benefitting properties within the District and declares its
intention to levy a special assessment upon the lands within the District in proportion
to the respective special and direct benefit to be received by each assessed parcel of
land from the Public Improvements. Further, the City Council declares its intention
to defer the payment of the assessment by the owners of parcels within the proposed
boundaries of the District as provided in the Engineer's Report on the District.
4. Nature of Public Improvements. The Public Improvements generally include;
a. Construction of the extension of Oak Street from Petaluma Boulevard to Water
Street North, the construction of Water Street North from Oak Street to the
existing Water Street (Poultry Street), and the reconstruction of the existing Water
Resolution No. 2020-019 N.C.S. Page 4
Street (Poultry Street) to its intersection with East Washington Street, including
the construction of on -street parking stalls, sidewalks, curbs, lighting, and tree
wells.
b. Construction of new water distribution pipelines within Oak Street and Water
Street to replace undersized service lines to provide an adequate supply of potable
water and adequate fire flows to parcels within the boundaries of the District,
including the installation of new fire hydrants.
c. Construction of new sanitary sewer collection pipelines within Oak Street and
Water Street with capacity to provide wastewater collection and conveyance to
the City of Petaluma Copeland Pump Station (but excluding the relocation of the
sewer line from Water Street to the Copeland Pump Station).
d. Construction of new storm water collection and conveyance improvements, which
will convey captured flows to the Petaluma River.
e. Undergrounding of existing utilities within and along Water Street.
5. Preparation of Engineer's Report. Mr. Klingelhofer of Harris & Associates is
hereby appointed the Assessment Engineer. In accordance with Petaluma Municipal
Code Section 13.35.050, paragraph D, the City Council hereby directs the
Assessment Engineer to prepare, subject to the approval of the City Engineer, and to
file with the City Clerk the Engineer's Report regarding the Public Improvements for
the District in accordance with all requirements of this resolution and applicable law,
including Petaluma Municipal Code Section 13.35.060, and Article XIIID, Section 4
of the California Constitution. The Engineer's Report shall include, but not be
limited to, the following:
(a) Plans and specifications for the Public Improvements;
(b) A general description of works or appliances already installed and any other
property necessary or convenient for the operation of the Public Improvements, if
the works, appliances or property are to be acquired as part of the Public
Improvements;
(c) An estimate of the cost of the Public Improvements, and the cost of land, rights of
ways, easements, and incidental expenses in connection with the Public
Improvements;
(d) A diagram showing the exterior boundaries of the District, the boundaries of any
zones within the District and the lines and dimensions of each parcel of land
within the District as they existed at the time of passage of this resolution (each
subdivision to be given a separate number on the diagram);
(e) A proposed assessment of the total amount of the cost and expenses of the
proposed Improvements upon the several subdivisions of land in the District in
proportion to the estimated benefits to be received by such subdivision,
respectively, from the Improvements (the assessment shall refer to the
subdivisions by their respective numbers assigned as provided in (d) above);
Resolution No. 2020-019 N.C.S. Page 5
(1) The development approval for which payment of the assessment shall be required
prior to issuance of a building permit;
(g) The time period in which the deferred assessment may be collected and after
which the parcel shall no longer be subject to the assessment; and
(h) A proposed maximum escalation of the assessment over time upon each of the
several subdivisions of land in the District and the maximum annual costs to be
imposed for the administration and collection of assessments.
6. No Advancement of Funds. The City Council hereby determines that the City will
not obligate itself to advance funds from its treasury for the construction of any of the
Public Improvements.
7. Inquiries. All inquiries for any and all information relating to these proceedings,
including information relating to protest procedures, should be directed to:
CITY OF PETALUMA
Attention:
11 English Street
Petaluma, California 94952
(XXX) XXX-xxxx
8. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or word of this
resolution is for any reason held to be unconstitutional, unlawful or otherwise invalid
by a court of competent jurisdiction or preempted by state legislation, such decision
or legislation shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this ordinance.
The City Council of the City of Petaluma hereby declares that it would have passed
and adopted this resolution and each and all provisions thereof irrespective of the fact
that any one or more of said provisions be declared unconstitutional, unlawful or
otherwise invalid.
9. Resolution Effective Immediately. This Resolution shall take effect immediately
upon its adoption.
Under the power and authority conferred upon this Council by the Charter of said City.
REFERENCE: I hereby certify the foregoing Resolution was introduced and adopted by theprov�,,�(+as to
Council of the City of Petaluma at a Regular meeting on the 31d day of February f6rm:
2020, by the following vote:
g `
City Attorney
AYES: Vice Mayor Fischer; Kearney; King; McDonnell; Miller
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: Mayor Barrett; Healy
ATTEST:
City Clerk Vice Mayor
Resolution No. 2020-019 N.C.S. Page 6