Consideration and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2017-29:   An ordinance of the City Council of the City of Flagstaff, authorizing the City Manager or his or her designees to acquire real property or easements along the west side of Fourth Street; and establishing an effective date. (Flagstaff Urban Trail System Extension)

In 2010 the City received a Transportation Enhancement Grant for the construction of the Fourth Street Trail as part of the Flagstaff Urban Trails System (FUTS). This is a federal grant administered through the Arizona Department of Transportation, and will expire June 2018. In order to construct the trail the City must first acquire property rights from private property owners adjacent to Fourth Street. Ordinance No. 2017-29 authorizes City Staff to acquire property as right-of-way or as an easement. The City of Flagstaff has identified the specific parcels of land for the extension of the Flagstaff Urban Trail along N. Fourth Street attached in Exhibit A.

In 2010 the City received federal grant money in the amount of $650,000 for a Transportation Enhancement grant for the Fourth Street FUTS Trail.  The City local match is $40,000.  This money will be used to construct the trail.  City funds will be used for the property acquisitions needed.  The project has been budgeted for FY 2018, Account No: 403-09-421-3247-5-4431
Project No: GG3247-3029

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TRANSPORTATION AND OTHER PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE
Deliver quality community assets and continue to advocate and implement a highly performing multi-modal transportation system.

Yes, Ordinance No. 2009-41 passed and adopted December 15, 2009.  This Ordinance authorizes City Staff to acquire easements that have been identified in the Flagstaff Urban Trail System Master Plan.  The Fourth Street FUTS trail is identified in the Master Plan. The proposed Ordinance No. 2017-29 provides a broader scope of authority to acquire specific property needed for the Fourth Street FUTS trail.

1.  Approve Ordinance No. 2017-29 as approved during the first reading of the ordinance on December 12, 2017, and authorize City Staff to acquire the property rights necessary for the extension of the Flagstaff Urban Trail (without condemnation authority); or

2.  Approve Ordinance No. 2017-29 as revised at this second reading, and authorize City staff to acquire the property rights necessary for the extension of the Flagstaff Urban Trail and planned improvements to Fourth Street (widening of the road and widening of the bridges over I-40), with condemnation authority; [OR ALTERNATIVE: without condemnation authority at this time, but allowing for future adoption of a resolution to approve condemnation authority effective immediately upon adoption.]

Both forms of ordinance are attached to the Council packet.  City staff is recommending adoption of the revised ordinance, with condemnation authority. The recitals have been revised to more fully explain the reasons for acquisition. After the December 12 meeting, City staff tried, but was not able to obtain in extension of its federal grant deadline for the FUTS project.  This means that the City may have as few as 30 - 45 days after the appraisal review process is done to successfully negotiate a purchase agreement with the property owners in order to stay on schedule.  City staff seeks the option of condemnation so that the City may obtain immediate possession of the property rights if its negotiations are not successful within that narrow window. In either case (purchase or condemnation), the City is required to pay just compensation for the property rights.

In May 2004 the voters of the City of Flagstaff approved a bond measure for neighborhood open space and Flagstaff Urban Trail System Land acquisition in the amount of $7.6 million.

In 2010 the City received a Transportation Enhancement Grant for the construction of the Fourth Street FUTS Trail. This is a federal grant administered through the Arizona Department of Transportation, and will expire June 2018. 

Three other roadway projects are planned along this section of Fourth Street: the City of Flagstaff and the Arizona Department of Transportation are planning a joint project to reconstruct and widen the Fourth Street Bridges over Interstate 40; the City has anticipated widening Fourth Street from a three-lane roadway to a five-lane roadway, and the City has plans to raise and reconstruct the intersection of Fourth Street and Butler Avenue. All three of these projects have been considered and taken into account when evaluating the alignment for the extension of the Fourth Street FUTS Trail.

 The 2010 Transportation and Enhancement Grant will expire in June 2018.  The City must act quickly with regards to this project and acquire the necessary property rights for the project or the City risks losing the grant funding.

• Fills-in missing segments of FUTS along Fourth Street from Route 66 to (near) Butler Avenue
• Enhances pedestrian and bicycle comfort and safety along the corridor
• Improves non-motorized access to several schools – Northland Preparatory Academy, Sinagua Middle School, Knoles Elementary – as well as the Aquaplex, Department of Economic Security (DES), Gore, and Flagstaff Unified School District (FUSD) offices
• Improves non-motorized access to Country Club neighborhoods
• Connects to Mountain Line bus routes 3 and 7

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