To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Jessica Lowe, Public Works Director
Prepared By: Michael Ryan, Senior Civil Engineer
TITLE:
Title
Napa Valley Transportation Improvement Act (Measure U) - 5 Year Project List
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution (1) approving the 5-Year Project List under the Measure U Program; (2) authorizing the Public Works Director to file the 5-Year Project List with NVTA-TA; and (3) determining that the actions authorized by this resolution are exempt from CEQA.
Body
DISCUSSION:
At the General Election held on November 5, 2024, Napa County voters approved the Napa Valley Transportation Improvement Act, a ½-cent sales tax known as Measure U. The Measure U sales tax replaces the previous tax under the Measure T Program, with a portion of revenues distributed to the City of Napa as detailed in Ordinance No. 24-01 of the Napa Valley Transportation Authority - Tax Agency (NVTA-TA).
Measure U funds distributed to the local agencies must be used for paving, maintenance, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of streets, roads, and transportation infrastructure within the public right-of-way. Eligible uses include, but are not limited to, sidewalks, curb and gutters, curb ramps, lighting, traffic signage, striping, local roadway drainage, and intelligent transportation systems. A new provision under Measure U also allows up to 5% of the local agency’s allocation to be used for capital improvement transportation projects.
The City is required to prepare a 5-Year Project List that will be submitted to the Measure U Independent Taxpayer’s Oversight Committee for review and recommended for adoption by the NVTA-TA Board. This list must be updated at least every two years, or as needed, to reflect the City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) intents, schedules, and budgets related to Measure U fund expenditures.
The proposed Measure U 5-Year Project List represents a consolidated list, showing projects receiving both Measure U and remaining Measure T funds and reflects previous Council capital budget amendments. Although the City is not receiving any new Measure T funds, existing projects still contain remaining Measure T balances. These funds will continue to be reported until they are fully expended, after which the project list will include only Measure U-funded projects. Negative balances reflect funds reallocated from one project to another.
The proposed list was developed to: a) advance projects already underway; b) leverage grant funding and other external investments; c) focus on major corridors and neighborhoods with the most damage; d) complete preventive maintenance; and e) City Paving and Sidewalk Program maintenance work that addresses urgent repairs, fills potholes, repairs sidewalks and repaves streets throughout the community. The list includes projects receiving funding in the current fiscal year as well as those programmed for funding over the 5-year horizon.
FINANCIAL IMPACTS:
Approval of the Measure U 5-Year Project List has no impact on the general fund and does not allocate or change any funding. The list is a planning document showing current and projected use of Measure U and remaining Measure T funds, including planned funding shifts between projects. The list is consistent with approved FY2025/26 Council Budget amendments and proposed funding in the FY2026/27 Mid-Cycle Operating and Capital budgets.
CEQA:
The Public Works Director has determined that the Recommended Action described in this Agenda Report is not in-and-of-itself a “project” (pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378) since it does not result in a physical change in the environment.
However, the Recommended Action is a part of a larger “project” that will be subject to environmental review in accordance with CEQA at the “earliest feasible time” prior to “approval” consistent with CEQA Guidelines Sections 15004 and 15352. The larger “project” is future Capital Improvement Projects, and staff plans to bring back a CEQA analysis of each project to Council prior to approval of each project.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
ATCH 1 - Resolution
EX A - Updated Measure U 5-Year Project List
NOTIFICATION:
None