AGENDA ITEM
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR
AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CARLO TOMAINO
CITY MANAGER
BY: THOMAS BEKELE
PUBLIC WORKS DIRECTOR
SUBJECT:
title
RESOLUTION ACCEPTING AN EASEMENT FOR THE PURPOSES OF CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING A BLOCK WALL ACROSS A PORTION OF PROPERTY LOCATED AT 2398 CALIFORNIA AVENUE
summary
Summary:
The City Council will consider approving a resolution accepting a public easement for the purposes of constructing and maintaining a block wall over a portion of private property located on Assessor’s Parcel Number 7211-021-001.
Strategic Plan Goal(s):
Goal No. 2 Community Safety: Maintaining community safety by supporting public safety services and increasing emergency preparedness.
Goal No. 4 Infrastructure: Maintain and improve the City’s physical infrastructure, water system, and recreational spaces.
recommendation
Recommendation:
Adopt a resolution, entitled:
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL, CALIFORNIA, ACCEPTING CERTAIN EASEMENT TO THE CITY OF SIGNAL HILL FOR THE PURPOSES OF CONSTRUCTING AND MAINTAINING A BLOCK WALL ACROSS CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY AT ASSESSOR PARCEL 7211-021-001
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Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact directly associated with the easement’s acceptance, however, the easement will be filed with City’s risk manager to be added to the list of fixed assets and to the total valuation of City-owned property for insurance purposes.
Background and Analysis:
In 2020, the Signal Hill Police Department, responding to community concerns, identified an ongoing issue with unauthorized pedestrian traffic through a City-owned alley located south of Burnett Street between California Avenue and Lewis Avenue. This traffic led into an adjacent private property in Long Beach, where an encampment set up at various times. This ongoing unauthorized access has resulted in various incidents of trespassing, nuisances, and theft, which have become a growing concern for the City of Signal Hill, City of Long Beach, neighboring residents, and business owners. Several properties in the area have been adversely affected by these nuisance activities.
In 2023, after several attempts to mitigate the issue, the Public Works department coordinated with Kreuzer Engineering, one of the City’s on-call engineering consultants, to develop engineered drawings and specifications to construct a masonry block wall at the southern end of the alley. The project’s purpose is to prevent further unauthorized access from the alley into the private property to the south and to enhance security in the area.
During the design process, it was determined that due to the alignment of the alley, a portion of the wall would need to be constructed on private property at 2398 California Avenue. The City requested the property owner’s cooperation in granting an easement to City for an approximately 30-square-foot area on the alley side of the property for the construction and maintenance of the block wall (Attachment A). Staff has also included legal descriptions and exhibits for the easement area (Attachments B and C). The easement would not impact any of the property’s business operations or access. The easement would serve as a vital component in resolving the ongoing challenges related to the alley and enhance safety and security in the area for both residents and businesses; details regarding the wall’s construction are included in Attachment D.
The California Streets and Highways Code Section 1806(b) requires the City to accept, by resolution, easements on real property to be used for public right-of-way purposes. If the City Council accepts the alley easement, the Public Works department would coordinate with the property owner or their representative to execute and record an easement deed in a form approved by the City Attorney’s Office at the Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s office and provide a copy of the recordation to the City (Attachment E).
Reviewed for Fiscal Impact:
_________________________
Sharon del Rosario
Attachments:
A. Resolution
B. Legal Description (Exhibit A)
C. Plat Map (Exhibit B)
D. Construction Plans
E. Easement Deed