High Speed Rail: City to conduct its own review, prep

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Is it better to plow through a public park or a neighborhood of homes to make way for the statewide High Speed Rail project that is projected to come to Morgan Hill by 2025? Will the city council get the definitive answers they want from HSR officials to questions posed by local residents about the impact of the project? How much weight does Morgan Hill’s input have on the final alignment and design of the state’s 400-mile, $65 billion bullet train system?

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These are some of the questions behind the questions that keep many locals up at night—particularly those whose homes and properties are located in or near the path of two track alignment alternatives under consideration where the 220-mph train will pass through Morgan Hill. The city council May 24, after hearing an update on the project from California High Speed Rail Authority representatives, approved about $472,000 worth of consultant contracts to try to find some answers on their own. The consultants will also help the city prepare for the impact of the project and its construction on local streets, parks and public facilities.

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The three contracts, approved 4-0 by the council (Mayor Pro Tem Larry Carr recused himself because he owns property within 500 feet of one of the project alignment options) are:

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• $64,026 for Michael Baker International for “technical railroad and transit engineering support services to review” the HSR alignment option that would go along the west side of U.S. 101 a city staff report reads;

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• $153,440 for Urban Field Studio for “development of Design Guidelines to mitigate potential impacts from all HSR alignments;”

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• And $255,000 (maximum cost) for Kitchell CEM to “update current (municipal codes) and develop new municipal code standards that address potential impacts from the HSR project.”

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City staff expect CHSRA to reimburse the city for up to $232,000 of these costs, in accordance with a “reimbursement agreement” the city made with CHSRA in June 2016, the city staff report says. The remainder may also be eligible for reimbursement if the CHSRA agrees to amend the existing agreement.

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The 84-mile HSR segment that will pass through or around Morgan Hill—depending on which alignment the authority approves—is known as the “San Jose to Merced” section. It includes HSR stations in San Jose and Gilroy. A station is not planned for Morgan Hill.

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The HSRA board of directors is expected to consider a HSRA staff-recommended preferred alignment later this year. The authority will then spend the next several months conducting an Environmental Impact Review of this preference, as well as “project alternatives,” according the HSRA representatives.

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After the EIR is complete and subject to public review, the board will vote on a specific alignment to implement by 2018, according to HSRA staff who addressed the council May 24. After that approval, construction could begin by the end of 2018.

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Statewide, the project is expected to be operational by 2025. When complete, the bullet train will be able to carry passengers between San Francisco and Los Angeles in less than three hours.

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HSRA officials are currently considering two alignment alternatives through Morgan Hill:

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• Embankment adjacent to Union Pacific Railroad tracks: HSR would be constructed on a berm along the east side of the UPRR tracks, which go through downtown Morgan Hill;

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• Viaduct along the west side of U.S. 101: HSR would be placed on a 60 to 80 foot high viaduct, possibly with a noise barrier wall on top of the viaduct structure.

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These options have been narrowed down from four alternatives that were under consideration as of late 2016.

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A ‘proactive’ approach

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The city’s newly approved contract with Michael Baker will provide third-party “peer review” of work already done by CHSRA in evaluating the two options and how they might affect Morgan Hill, explained the city’s Economic Development Manager Edith Ramirez.

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One possible outcome of this work is the consultant might identify an HSR alignment that stays within the right-of-way of U.S. 101, which many have suggested would be the least invasive to private property and public facilities, Ramirez said. HSRA engineers have said this is not a feasible option because the freeway right-of-way is too curvy to handle the bullet train’s high speeds.

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“We think the work we’re doing (with all three contracts) is all equally important, and we need to do it now—we need to do it yesterday,” Ramirez told the council. “It’s a chance to influence the project in a meaningful way.”

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Exactly how much influence the city will have remains to be seen. Councilmember Caitlin Jachimowicz asked HSRA reps this question at the meeting.

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Ben Tripousis, HSRA Northern California Regional Director, replied that the collection of public input in recent years has all been aimed at “developing the best system in all of California.” He noted that the planning for the HSRA section in Bakersfield has been heavily influenced by public input, as the authority is considering a “locally generated alternative” for that segment.

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The HSR discussion at the May 24 meeting drew significant interest from Morgan Hill residents, many of whom own homes or businesses that either stand in the right-of-way of one of the alignments, or are close enough that they fear their property values will suffer. About a dozen members of the public addressed the council with these concerns, which have been cited at previous meetings on the project.

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Many of these residents also praised the council for being “proactive” in seeking information about the project and hiring consultants to investigate and prepare for the impacts.

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The CHSRA is required to mitigate any possible impacts on the environment and the community that the project will impose. This includes reimbursing property owners, at fair market value, whose lands and houses stand directly in the way of the final approved alignment.
Hundreds of properties could stand in the right-of-way

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The volume and type of properties that HSRA will have to purchase differs for each of the two alignments under consideration. The city in December 2016 created a “potential property impact analysis” of the different alignment options.

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An HSR alignment “east of UPRR” would require the purchase of 35 commercial and other non-residential properties, and 196 residential units, according to the city’s analysis. The alignment alternative “West of 101” would barrel through 11 non-residential properties and 51 single-family homes.

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The city council has not formally expressed its preferred alignment, but the broad consensus locally is that the alignment along the UPRR tracks—not to mention the construction of the project there—would have devastating impacts on downtown Morgan Hill.

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The council sent the CHSRA a lengthy “scoping letter” in December 2016 with more than 100 questions about the cost, alignment and potential impacts of the HSR on Morgan Hill. Many of these questions were submitted by residents. HSRA reps said May 24 they are still drafting a response to these questions.