Approve agreement with James M. Berg and Cynthia W. Berg, Trustees of the 2024 James M Berg and Cynthia W Berg Revocable Trust in the amount of $1,900 for a public road and utility right-of-way easement and a temporary construction easement for the County Road 49 over Hamilton Creek Bridge Replacement Project; and authorize the Director of Public Works to take all actions necessary to complete the easement acquisitions. (No general fund impact) (Cormier/Aleaf)

Permanent roadway and utility easements and temporary construction easements are required on portions of properties for the County Road 49 over Hamilton Creek Bridge Replacement (Project).  Independent appraisals were prepared by Bender Rosenthal, Inc. (BRI), the County’s on-call appraisal consultant, to determine the value of the easement interests the County must acquire for the Project.  County staff worked with the property owners to come to mutually acceptable agreements for the purchase and compensation of the easement interests.

Background

The purpose of the Project is to replace the existing County Road 49 bridge over Hamilton Creek, which Caltrans determined is functionally obsolete as recently as 2011 and currently has a sufficiency rating of 45.1. The existing bridge (Bridge No. 22C0095) was constructed in 1911 and is approximately 26 feet long and 20 feet wide. The structure consists of a single-span, earth-filled concrete arch. The bridge concrete is exhibiting rock pockets and spalling, with exposed rebar on the arch soffit of the structure. Additionally, the bridge abutment footings are exposed along their entire lengths due to creek erosion.

The Board of Supervisors adopted the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (IS/MND) and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for the Project as the appropriate level of environmental review in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and CEQA Guidelines; and approved the following bridge replacement strategy on April 18, 2023: an approximate 61-foot long, single-span, cast-in-place, post-tensioned slab structure with 24 feet of clear width between concrete barriers. The new bridge will be constructed along the same roadway alignment. The roadway and bridge profile will be raised slightly to clear the 30-to 40-year storm event.

On May 4, 2023, Caltrans concluded that a Categorical Exclusion was the appropriate determination for the project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).

Right of Way Acquisitions

Caltrans authorized the County to initiate the right-of-way (ROW) phase on February 26, 2024.  In late 2024, BRI performed appraisals and developed appraisal reports for all of the Project acquisition areas to determine the fair market value of the necessary property interests. In December 2024, all property owners were contacted and presented with written offers to acquire the necessary easement interests and right-of-way needed for the Project.  

Relevant here, the County requires the following easement interests from the Grantor (Berg) on a portion of their property located at 7270 County Road 49 in Guinda, APN 060-090-003:

BRI worked with the property owners to come to mutually acceptable agreements for the purchase and $1,900 compensation of the easement interests as provided in the acquisition agreement (see Attachment A).

County Counsel has approved the agreement as to form.

N/A