City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Request to Authorize the City Manager to Execute All Necessary Documents That May Be Required to Acquire the Potomac Yard Rail Corridor Property.
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of a request to authorize the City Manager to execute all necessary documents that may be required to acquire the Potomac Yard Rail Corridor Property.
RECOMMENDATION: That the City Council authorize the City Manager to sign the deed to acquire the Potomac Yard Rail Corridor Property.
BACKGROUND: Potomac Yard Development LLC (i.e., Pulte) approached the City in 2015 with an offer to donate a portion of their property known as the ‘Rail Corridor’ to the City of Alexandria. The property, which is also identified on plats as Parcel 518 (Attachment 1), is approximately 100 feet wide and extends from Braddock Road to the northern City line at Four Mile Run. It is subject to a number of rail, utility and other easements, and is currently used as part of an active railroad line operated by CSX Transportation, Inc. CSX has a perpetual easement to use the rail corridor and it is expected to remain in use by CSX, Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express for the foreseeable future.
The Rail Corridor also forms a major portion of alignment under consideration by Dominion Virginia Power (Dominion) as a potential route for a 230kV transmission line between Dominion’s Glebe Substation located in Arlington County and the Potomac River Substation (also known as Pepco’s Station C Substation) at the NRG site. The 230kV alignment that includes the Rail Corridor property is part of the least objectionable alternative under consideration by Dominion for potential submission to the State Corporation Commission (SCC). City ownership of the Rail Corridor property may assist the City in any negotiations with Dominion if the alignment becomes Dominion’s preferred option for the proposed 230kV line.
DISCUSSION: Pursuant to Section 9.06 of the City Charter, the Planning Commission will consider whether the acquisition of the rail corridor is consistent with the City’s Master Plan at its October 4, 2016 hearing. The staff report for the Section 9.06 review is attached for your information (Attachment 2). We will report the results of Planning Commission’s review to the City Council at the October 5, 2016 consideration of this matter.
Staff recommends the City Council authorize the City Manager to sign the deed to acquire the Rail Corridor because, as noted above, City ownership of the Rail Corridor property may assist the City in any negotiations with Dominion if the alignment becomes Dominion’s preferred option for the proposed 230kV line. Additionally, in the event that Dominion does not move forward with the 230kV proposal, Staff believes it is still beneficial for the City to own the property given the potential for future improvements in the corridor, such as the State’s current proposal for a fourth rail line.
Staff also conducted a review of potential environmental concerns and utility coordination. The whole area of Potomac Yard was used as a rail yard from the early 1900s through the early 1990s. Between 1989 and 1993, this rail yard was decommissioned and the rail tracks and associated buildings were removed. The site has been the subject of several environmental characterizations which have identified low levels of various contaminants in soil and groundwater across the site. Staff believes the strip of land under consideration by the City that immediately surrounds the CSX rail tracks in Potomac Yard does not represent a long-term environmental liability for the City beyond and above those that are currently dealt with by the developers the various landbays of Potomac Yard. No remedial action is anticipated as long as the property remains an active rail corridor, which is currently envisioned for the foreseeable future.
Additionally, there are a number of utility easements traversing the railroad corridor. Easements known/identified on the existing plat include storm sewer, aerial and pier, existing footing easements, VEPCO right of way, track easements, Pepco transmission line easements, C&P telephone underground conduit easements, WMATA electric, surface and utility easements, waterlines, grading and construction easements, sanitary sewer easements, lease line easements, service access easements, Four Mile Run Channel easements, fiber optic easements, airport viaduct easements, vehicle tunnel easements, and other CSX corridor easements. Dominion is currently working with CSX and is performing a topographical survey and utility investigation on this alignment. Dominion’s investigation will determine if there are any other utilities in the area. Utility conflicts will be worked out with test holes during the conceptual design phase of the transmission line project, if that project proceeds.
FISCAL IMPACT: There is no direct fiscal impact since the property is being donated to the City at no cost. Additionally, similar to all active railroad property in the City, PY Parcel 518 (Rail Corridor) is considered railroad operating property and is assessed by the State for real estate tax purposes. The City will not lose tax revenue. At the State level, the Rail Corridor is subject to the special regulatory revenue taxes that the SCC levies on railroads. The special regulatory tax received from CSX and remitted to the City is approximately $250,000, as calculated by the SCC for all the CSX operations in Alexandria. Conversations with the SCC indicate that there would be no change to the tax bill for CSX regardless of who owns the Rail Corridor parcel. Furthermore, if the City acquires the Rail Corridor and the 230kV transmission line project with Dominion proceeds, then ownership of the Rail Corridor may assist the City in any negotiations with Dominion regarding use of City property/right-of-way.
ATTACHMENTS:
Attachment 1: Plat
Attachment 2: Section 9.06 Staff Report to the Planning Commission
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
Joanna Anderson, Deputy City Attorney
Yon Lambert, Director, Transportation & Environmental Services (T&ES)
William Skrabak, Deputy Director, Infrastructure and Environmental Quality, T&ES
Lisa Jaatinen, Acting Division Chief, Infrastructure and Right-of-Way, T&ES