TO: Board of Supervisors
FROM: Steven Lederer, Director of Public Works
REPORT BY: Graham Wadsworth, P. E., Engineering Supervisor
SUBJECT: Priority Conservation Area Grant for the Napa Valley Vine Trail - Vista Carneros Project, RDS 24-35
RECOMMENDATION
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Adopt a Resolution authorizing the Director of Public Works to apply for a Priority Conservation Area Grant of $750,000 for the Napa Valley Vine Trail Vista Carneros Segment Project; and approve a Budget Amendment to establish the project and fund staff time to prepare the Grant submittal . (Fiscal Impact: $25,000 Expense; Not Budgeted; Roads Operations Fund; Discretionary).
[4/5 vote required]
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BACKGROUND
The Napa Valley Vine Trail (NVVT) will be a 47-mile walking and biking trail system physically, artistically, and culturally connecting the entire Napa Valley from Calistoga to the Vallejo Ferry and the greater Bay Area. A 12.5-mile segment of the Vine Trail is complete between Kennedy Park in Napa and Yountville. Many sections of the trail have been completed in the cities of Calistoga, Napa, American Canyon, Vallejo, and the Town of Yountville. Between 2018 and 2020, annual Vine Trail usage increased by 50% from 348,000 to 523,000, and 70% of the users live in Napa County. On August 16, 2024, the Napa Valley Transportation Authority opened the 8.2-mile-long St. Helena to Calistoga Segment to the public. On March 14, the City of Vallejo opened the 5.5-mile-long Vallejo Segment. The 10-mile-long Yountville through St. Helena Segment is in the design and environmental review phase.
In 2023 and 2024, the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition (NVVTC) hired a consultant to prepare the preliminary design of the proposed Vista Carneros Segment Project (Project) and met with people who own property along the alignment of the path including the Napa Sanitation District (NSD). NSD staff and most property owners, where 97% of the area of the path would be located, provided letters of support for the Bay Area’s Priority Conservation Areas (PCA) grant application.
The proposed Project is to design and construct the NVVT from the existing San Francisco Bay Trail under the Highway 29 Bridge over the Napa River, along Soscol Ferry Road, across the Napa Sanitation District (NSD) property, across private property to Devlin Road, and along Devlin Road to the intersection of Devlin Road at Airport Blvd. The Project would close the gap in the NVVT between the paths constructed as part of the River Sound (formerly Napa Pipe) development and the existing path on the east side of Devlin Road between Airport Road and Tower Road. It would also reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance accessibility and connectivity by promoting the use of transit, biking, and walking between the cities of Napa and American Canyon.
On March 11, 2024, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), in cooperation with the State Coastal Conservancy (SCC) issued a call for grant proposals focused on the Bay Area’s Priority Conservation Areas (PCAs). PCAs are categorized by four designations: Natural Landscapes, Agricultural Lands, Urban Greening, and Regional Recreation. MTC and ABAG planned to fund a minimum of one project per county and included a $4.25 million minimum investment target with at least 50% of available fund for PCAs in Marin, Sonoma, Napa, and Solano Counties. The PCA Grant Program Guidelines state that MTC could fund approximately $1 million in Napa County.
On May 5, 2024, County staff submitted a preliminary PCA application to design the path with approximately three miles of the proposed NVVT in the unincorporated County, with the remaining sections within the City of Napa. On June 6, 2024, MTC invited Napa County to submit a full application. Based on the 35% design estimate that the Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition’s consultant prepared, the project design phase could cost $1.8 million and construction of the 3.1-mile-long Class 1 multiuse path could cost $6.4 million for a total cost of $8.2 million ($2.7 million per mile). Approximately $500,000 of the construction cost is for work within the City of Napa, and the City would pay half of the local share thus reducing the County’s local share amount.
The NVVTC committed to splitting the local match in the grant application, which would be a $400,000 contribution from the NVVTC and a $400,000 contribution from Napa County. County staff propose allocating $1,550,000 of Capital Improvement Funds at a future meeting as “cash flow” for staff and consultant costs until MTC reimburses Napa County.
On December 6, 2024, MTC awarded a $750,000 PCA Grant to Napa County to administer the Project and requires the Board to adopt a resolution of local support, which includes conditions to provide the local match funding in the application, provide adequate staffing, complete environmental documents, and request reimbursement. The funding will allow a consultant to complete the 65% design and studies for a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Mitigated Negative Declaration and National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Categorical Exclusion. If the Board approves the resolution, MTC staff will add the Project to the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and County staff will work with Caltrans staff to obligate the federal funds.
It is anticipated that County staff will ask the Board to approve a budget amendment and consultant agreement in late-2025 and adopt a Mitigated Negative Declaration in late 2026; however, this will depend on when Caltrans obligates the federal funds and the duration of the consultant selection process. NVVTC and County staff also plan to apply for more grants to prepare the final bid documents and construct the Project. Completing the 65% design and environmental documents will make future grant applications more competitive.
Recommended Action:
1. Adopt a Resolution authorizing the Director of Public Works Director to apply for a Priority Conservation Area Grant for the Napa Valley Vine Trail Vista Carneros Segment Project;
2. Approve a Budget Amendment for the following [4/5 vote required]:
a. Increase Intrafund Transfers Out appropriations by $25,000 in the Roads Operations budget (Fund 2040, Sub-Division 2040000, Account 57900) offset by use of its available fund balance to transfer to Project 25044; and
b. Creation of a new Roads Capital Improvement Project for the Napa Valley Vine Trail Vista Carneros Segment Project and increase Engineer Services appropriations by $25,000 (Fund 2040, Sub-Division 2040500, Project 25044, Account 52145) offset by Intrafund Transfers In revenue from the Road Operations budget.
FISCAL & STRATEGIC PLAN IMPACT
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Is there a Fiscal Impact? |
Yes |
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Is it currently budgeted? |
No |
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Is it Mandatory or Discretionary? |
Discretionary |
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Discretionary Justification: |
Adopting the Resolution is necessary for MTC to add the Project to the TIP and Caltrans to obligate the federal funding. |
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Is the general fund affected? |
No |
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Future fiscal impact: |
If Caltrans obligates the PCA Grant funding, then County staff will use the grant funding to hire a consultant to design the project and prepare environmental and right-of-way documents. |
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Consequences if not approved: |
The County will not begin the design the Project. |
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Additional Information: |
There is a minimum 11.47% local match requirement. In the Grant application, County staff listed $400,000 in Napa Valley Vine Trail Coalition (NVVTC) and $400,000 in Napa County funding for the local match. County staff will prepare a funding agreement with NVVTC staff and propose a funding plan to the Board at a future meeting. |
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable. The proposed action merely approves funding to conduct an environmental review for a potential future trail, which will only be constructed if funding is available, full CEQA review is conducted, and the trail is approved by all required public agencies. The County has not committed to approving this segment of the Vine Trail or any potential Vine Trail alignment, or any other specific project that may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment.
The County would be responsible for preparing and adopting a CEQA document for the construction, such as a categorical exemption or mitigated negative declaration for this segment of the Napa Valley Vine Trail Project.