The San Ramon City Council is set to consider adopting a change in fees established by the Tri-Valley Transportation Council at its next meeting Tuesday evening.

San Ramon was among the municipalities -- including Danville, Dublin, Pleasanton, Livermore and unincorporated parts of Contra Costa County -- which entered into a 2013 agreement that established the TVTC as an independent agency charged with coordinating plans addressing transportation needs across the region.

The fee on the table for the council's vote is charged to participating agencies for the purpose of funding the implementation of projects identified as top priorities by the TVTC.

The TVTC functions as a joint powers authority representing Tri-Valley municipalities. The proposed fee comes in the wake of a 2020 Nexus Study Fee Update in August, which led to an updated Tri-Valley Transportation Development Fee, Strategic Expenditure Plan, prioritization of Projects and Funding Plan, and a Supplemental Analysis.

"As a member of the TVTC, San Ramon is obligated to consider the adoption (by ordinance or resolution) of the Tri-Valley Transportation Development Fund in the amounts recommended by TVTC," the staff report prepared for Tuesday's meeting said.

The TVTC's member agencies, including San Ramon, are only eligible to receive allocations from the fund if they adopt the uniform recommendations of the fee from the TVTC.

Staff point to "significant changes in the funding, planning, and traffic conditions under which the TVTDF was originally developed," as well as the fact that of the 22 projects identified in the past SEP, many have already been completed, as reasons for adopting the updated fee. In addition, the TVTC has identified an additional 23 projects for consideration. The Nexus Study was prepared with support for these updates in mind, and adopted by the TVTC in August.

If the council votes to adopt the recommended fee, it would be implemented July 1, with a request from the city for $2.2 million in funding sent to the TVTC Board for approval on July 18.

The San Ramon City Council's next regular meeting is set for Tuesday (May 24) at 7 p.m. The agenda is available here.

In other business

Councilmembers will continue discussing increasing the city's loan for the construction of the Aspen Wood project by approximately $500,000.

The council adopted a resolution committing $10.5 million in loan funding for the construction of 122 low-income apartments for seniors, plus one apartment for an on-site manager.

"Due to rising interest rates and volatility in the stock market, the Aspen Wood project has encountered a financial shortfall," staff wrote in the report prepared for Tuesday.

Aspen Wood is requesting an increase in loan funding to a total of $11,020,000 as a result of unexpected obstacles with bond financing.