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AGENDA REPORT
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| | | | | | | | DATE:
| April 6, 2021
| TO:
| Mayor and City Council
| FROM:
| Stefan T. Chatwin, City Manager
| | SUBJECT: | Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance 2021-04 of the City Council of the City of Fairfield Adding a New Section 16.32 to Chapter 16, Article VI to the Fairfield Municipal Code Related to the Approval of Plans and Designs; and
Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance 2021-05 of the City Council of the City of Fairfield Amending Section 11.2.1 of the Fairfield Municipal Code to Update the Powers and Duties of the Traffic Engineer |
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| | | | | | | | | RECOMMENDED ACTION | | Provide second reading and adopt ordinance 2021-04 and 2021-05. |
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| | | | | | | | | STATEMENT OF ISSUE | | State law provides the City with design immunity for plans or designs for the construction of, or an improvement to, public property where such plan or design has been approved in advance of the construction or improvement by the agency’s legislative body or by an employee exercising discretionary authority to give such approval. The purpose of the first proposed ordinance is to ensure that the Public Works Director, City Engineer, Traffic Engineer, or their designee have the authority to approve a plan or design of a construction, or improvement to, public property for purposes of statutory design immunity. Adopting this design immunity ordinance will make clear which staff have the authority to approve plans and designs should the City need to defend itself against claims and lawsuits. In addition, staff wish to update the powers and duties of the Traffic Engineer to provide clarification about his or her powers and duties, including the authority to approve a traffic plan or design. |
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| | | | | | | | | DISCUSSION | When an individual brings a lawsuit against a public agency alleging that a dangerous condition of public property caused injury or damage, state law provides a design immunity defense for any public works projects designed and constructed by the public agency, provided that the design was approved in advance of the construction by the agency’s legislative body or by an employee authorized by the legislative body to give such design approval.
The two proposed ordinances would (1) create a new Section 16.32 under Chapter 16, Article VI to provide that the Public Works Director, City Engineer, Traffic Engineer, or a designee are authorized to approve plans or designs for purposes of design immunity, and (2) amend Section 11.2.1 to update the powers and duties of the Traffic Engineer.
The first proposed ordinance is consistent with Government Code Section 830.6, which provides that “[n]either a public entity nor a public employee is liable . . . for an injury caused by the plan or design of a construction of, or an improvement to, public property where such plan or design has been approved in advance of the construction or improvement by the legislative body of the public entity or by some other body or employee exercising discretionary authority to give such approval.”
In Castro v. City of Thousand Oaks, 239 Cal.App.4th 1451 (2015), the appellate court held that the authority of the traffic engineer to approve a design or plan was not clearly stated in the city's municipal code. Although the city’s code authorized the traffic engineer to place and maintain traffic control devices, the court noted that that responsibility is not the same as having the authority to approve a plan and having actually approved such a plan. As a result, the city was unable to rely on the design immunity defense for the traffic engineer’s actions.
In the City of Fairfield, when projects are authorized to be advertised or bids are awarded by the City Council, language is typically included in the Council action to approve plans and specifications. However, there may be situations where the City Council does not approve plans and specifications, such as small scale projects. Furthermore, there are instances where staff approves designs when (1) a developer submits plans for improvements that will become public property, (2) a contractor encounters conditions in the field that call for changes to construction plans either to formally bid projects or informally bid projects, and (3) staff or the public seek to enhance safety at a street or intersection beyond existing standards. To better protect the City from potential claims regarding dangerous conditions of public property and to preserve its design immunity protection afforded by State law, staff recommends that the City Council formally authorize the Public Works Director, the City Engineer, the Traffic Engineer, or their designee the authority to approve plans and designs for all public works/improvement and subdivision improvement projects.
It is important to note that the proposed policy and ordinance do not in any way impact, affect, or change the City Council's discretion and authority to approve projects and appropriate project funding pursuant to other applicable City policies and procedures. The ordinance also does not circumvent other established project design review and approval processes (e.g., design review and approval for conformance with discretionary permit requirements, etc.). The proposed ordinance is narrowly limited to the approval of project designs for the purposes of establishing and maintaining design immunity protection pursuant to State law.
The second proposed ordinance amends Section 11.2.1 of Chapter 11, Article II (“Traffic Administration”) to provide additional details about the Traffic Engineer’s powers and duties, including the authority to approve a traffic plan or design.
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| | | | | | | | | FINANCIAL IMPACT | | The proposed ordinances will have no financial impact on the City. |
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| | | | | | | | | PUBLIC CONTACT/ADVISORY BODY RECOMMENDATION | N/A
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| | | | | | | | | ALTERNATIVE ACTION | | The City Council could choose not to adopt the ordinances. |
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| | | | | | | | | STAFF CONTACT | Ryan Panganiban, Asst. Director of PW/City Engineer
(707) 428-7017
rpanganiban@fairfield.ca.gov
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| | | | | | | | | COORDINATED WITH | City Attorney's Office, Finance Department
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| REVIEWERS: | | Reviewer | Action | Date | | Panganiban, Ryan | Approved | 3/29/2021 - 9:08 PM | | Kaushal, Paul | Approved | 3/29/2021 - 9:09 PM | | Alexander, Amber | Approved | 3/30/2021 - 10:51 AM | | Alexander, Amber | Approved | 3/30/2021 - 10:51 AM |
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