Due to public safety concerns raised by residents living adjacent to Las Lomas Park, staff proposes to install fencing over an openly accessible existing City owned drainage easement leading from the park to Durham Street. This proposed fencing would effectively close off the drainage easement from any public access, and would require an agreement with Mr. Jose Ypez (Licensee) who lives immediately adjacent to both the park and the drainage easement. The proposed agreement would grant the Licensee use of the designated Encroachment Area for side yard purposes. To ensure the long-term integrity of the City's infrastructure, the City will retain ownership and maintenance responsibilities for the proposed new vinyl gate and property line enclosures. Additionally, the City would maintain a permanent right of entry to the site for the repair and maintenance of the drainage culvert and fencing.

To protect the drainage culvert in the easement area, the Licensee is subject to strict operational conditions and restrictions, which include restrictions against any modification of the fencing or gate, the placement of any heavy loads on the drainage culvert that could compromise its integrity, or the planting of any trees or construction of any permanent structures in the easement area.

Staff issued letters regarding the proposed easement closure to all property owners within a 300-foot radius of the site. The drainage culvert also encumbers the northern five-foot portion of the adjacent property at 780 South Durham Street. Staff contacted the owner of that property, Mr. Arturo Diaz, to inquire if he would be interested in a similar easement arrangement; however, Mr. Diaz indicated that he was not interested in obtaining access to the easement or participating in a license agreement with the City at this time and, instead, gave the access rights to Mr. Ypez as described in the attached agreement.

It should be noted that, while the existing drainage easement is not a designated sidewalk, it has effectively acted as a publicly accessible pathway for access to La Lomas Park from Durham Street. If Council approves this agreement, this access point to the park will be fenced off and closed to the public, requiring all park patrons to access the park from its main entrance off of Euclid Street.

If approved by Council, the City will be responsible for the initial installation and ongoing maintenance costs of the new vinyl fencing and gate at an approximate cost of $10,000. There is sufficient available funding in the Public Works Department's Parks Maintenance General Fund budget to pay for this cost. 

If the proposed agreement is terminated in the future, the Licensee would be responsible for all costs associated with removing any of their own property or authorized improvements in the easement area. The easement agreement will be recorded on the property and will stay in force until terminated, regardless of property ownership.