Value Tracking

  • Betty Wheeler | Seaview Avenue

On February 7, SANDAG released a 269-page Value Analysis Study Report (“VA Report”) for the LOSSAN Rail Realignment Project that contains a wealth of details about 16 identified “alternative concepts,” including discussion of construction impacts, ecological and community effects, maintainability, resilience and reliability. Representatives from eight entities, including the cities of Del Mar, Solana Beach, San Diego, Encinitas and Carlsbad, the 22nd District Agricultural Association (Fairgrounds), NCTD, and CalTrans were participants in the VA Study, and “experts representing a range of technical topics including…tunneling, civil engineering, and constructability were also part of the VA Team,” according to the Report.

 

The Report includes the three alignments that were listed in the Notice of Preparation (NOP) released by SANDAG last year, plus 13 additional concepts that range from variations on alignments or portal locations to expansive and expensive alternates – one that would shift freight rail service to the I-15 corridor while maintaining passenger rail service near the current alignment (est. cost $118 to $158 billion), and one that would relocate the LOSSAN corridor along I-5 from Oceanside to Sorrento Valley (est. cost $34 to $45 billion).

 

The full Report is here: https://bit.ly/rail-va. (The length is daunting, but the table of contents makes it easy to click directly to items of interest, including each of the 16 alternative concepts, figures/maps, and a Summary Table.)

 

Next steps:  Per the Report, “SANDAG staff will consider the evaluation, feedback, and lessons learned during the VA Study to refine the alternative concepts for the SANDAG Board of Directors to consider.” By separate press release dated February 10, SANDAG reported that SANDAG staff “has been reviewing the conceptual ideas…raised through the value analysis study, as well as prior studies, and public feedback, and will be proposing alternatives for the Board of Directors to consider at its meeting on February 28.” [This issue of the Sandpiper went to press before Feb. 28; our reporting on on SANDAG’s meeting can be found online: delmarsandpiper.org]

 

The February 10 press release also lists five recommendations that SANDAG staff are currently studying:

  1. Under Crest Canyon (Under Jimmy Durante to I-5 Knoll): Realigned to minimize subsurface easements by routing below Crest Canyon;
  2. Under Camino Del Mar (Under Jimmy Durante to Torrey Pines Road West): Aligned to minimize subsurface easements by following below Camino Del Mar;
  3. San Dieguito Bridge to I-5 Knoll: Aligned to minimize impacts to Del Mar, the Fairgrounds, and San Dieguito Double Track Bridge;
  4. Del Mar Bluffs Double Track Reinforced: Maintains current alignment, adds double track along the bluffs and through Los Penasquitos Lagoon with bluff reinforcement and more robust seawalls;
  5. No Build: Includes continuation of major stabilization efforts that would be required to protect the existing single-track alignment.

While the #5 “No Build” option is essentially the “No project” option required by CEQA, the concept in #4, to double-track the current alignment, is a surprising addition to the list – one that seems extremely unlikely to be acceptable from many perspectives: environmental, impact on coastal resources, sufficiency to meet climate change impacts, and community impact.

Source: SANDAG

March 1, 2025 UPDATE:  On February 28, the SANDAG Board approved five alternatives for study for the Rail Realignment Project. The decision followed Board consideration of the Value Analysis Study and staff’s recommendations with respect to project goals and objectives, and alternatives that should be included in a revised Notice of Preparation (NOP) under the CEQA, which will begin the formal environmental review process for the Rail Realignment Project.  

 

The Board approved a motion by SANDAG Vice-Chair Joe LaCava directing the staff to move forward in the environmental process with the staff proposed project goals and objectives, and the staff proposed alternative alignments including a no build alternative for the San Diego LOSSAN Rail Realignment Project. Oceanside Mayor Esther Sanchez, in seconding the motion, praised SANDAG for “hitting the reset button” on the NOP process, and launching the value analysis study, which gave cities and other stakeholders “the opportunity to engage in conversations amongst each other and with SANDAG.” Stating that “What we have here is the beginning of a discussion.,” she added, “it’s not a question of, you know, should we do this? We have to. We have to get [the tracks] off the bluff.” She emphasized the clear project goals that “speak to all the environmental concerns” as well as concerns about community impact.

 

The motion passed by a vote of 13-3, with Del Mar abstaining, Coronado, Encinitas and Escondido voting no, and El Cajon and Poway not voting.

 

In the discussion preceding the vote, Keith Greer, SANDAG’s Manager of Environmental Compliance, stressed, “We’re just at the beginning of this environmental analysis.” Vice-Chair Joe LaCava also emphasized “the early, early stage” of the project: “There will be public comments that SANDAG will learn from; there will be a scoping session,…call it an interim step about which alternatives really should go into the Draft EIR.” Estimated time frames for the environmental review include release of a revised NOP “within the next months,” completion of the Draft EIR in approximately 30 months, and a Final EIR in approximately 36 months. 

 

With respect to the alternative referred to as the Yellow Line, and proposals made by some Del Mar activists after the VA Study was released to adjust that line to the north, Greer noted that the staff does not currently have a sufficient level of detail, comparable to the recommended alignments, to allow modification of the Yellow LIne alternative at this time, but Board approval of the staff recommendation would result in the ability to consider adjustments to an alignment, such as “a line being shifted,” during the environmental review process.

 

SANDAG heard from more than 30 speakers from the public on this item, reflecting the intense interest and concerns surrounding this “mega-project.” In addition to many Del Mar residents, speakers included key lagoon advocates, including Shawna Anderson, Executive Director of the San Dieguito River Park JPA, who asserted that “the new yellow alignment, San Dieguito Bridge to I-5 Knoll, could have devastating impacts to the San Dieguito Lagoon…, the gateway to the San Dieguito River Park and a regional asset supported by hundreds of millions of dollars of public investment and beloved by thousands of users every week.” 

 

Notably, consideration of this agenda item began with a statement that Del Mar Mayor Terry Gaasterland read, which had been approved by the city council in a special meeting the night before. The statement noted “the City’s intent to keep all of its options open to preserve any challenges we may later wish to make in protecting the City’s interest.” Gaasterland concluded, “Accordingly, on behalf of Del Mar, I will be abstaining from voting on this matter.”  The rationale for the Council decision to abstain, as explained in the statement itself, relates to Del Mar’s role as a “Responsible Agency” under CEQA for this project, and a concern that if the City seeks to influence any particular route before the Draft EIR is released, it could prejudice the City’s role as a Responsible Agency.

 

A video of the SANDAG meeting is available for viewing online: https://bit.ly/41B6AD0. The Rail Realignment issue begins at 1:46:45 on the video.

 

 

Editors’ note: Editorial Board member Don Mosier serves on the 22nd DAA Board of Directors. He does not participate in writing or editing any Sandpiper articles relating to affordable housing on the Fairgrounds, or potential Fairgrounds rail alignments.

March 2025

In Brief