Good evening Mayor Mendez, members of the City Council and City Manager. Thank you so much for this opportunity to be here with you this evening. My name is Amanda Fagan and I serve as the Director of Planning and Sustainability for the Ventura County Transportation Commission or VCTC VCTC is the Regional Transportation Planning Agency serving Ventura County, responsible for planning, programming and providing transportation services programs and projects throughout the county.
I appreciate this opportunity to be here with you this evening and talk about the Santa Paula Branch Line Trail Master Plan update. And I'd be happy to talk with you about any other projects that we have going on in the Santa Clara River Valley as well. As I mentioned to Councilmember Brogy, our commissioner who serves here on our commission. I spend almost as much time here in Fillmore and the Santa Clara River Valley as I do in my office in Camarillo because we do have quite a bit going on here in the valley.
So I'll start with a brief history of the Santa Paula branch line, then share an overview of the trail master plan update, environmental review, trail compatibility, the environmental report process and community engagement. So the Santa Paula Branch Line Railroad is an important piece of the county's history. Established in the 1880s by Southern Pacific Railway to serve the expanding agricultural industry of the Santa Clara River Valley, with packing houses and ag-related businesses served by the railroad. The city of Fillmore as you probably know was named after Jerome Fillmore, the superintendent of Southern Pacific Railroad at the time of its founding.
The Ventura County Transportation Commission purchased the Santa Paula and the Ventura branch lines from Southern Pacific Railway in 1995 for $8.5 million dollars. The Ventura branch has since become the popular Ojai to Ventura bike trail. The 32-mile Santa Paula branch line railroad and associated right of way was acquired for use as a multimodal corridor that includes freight and passenger rail, television and film production, a bicycle and pedestrian trail, and preservation of the corridor for possible future commuter rail service.
In 2001, VCTC entered into a 20 year operating lease with Fillmore & Western Railway for the operational right-of-way, and that expired in June of 2021. After a competitive selection process, VCTC executed a railroad lease and operations agreement with Sierra Northern Railway in December 2021. Sierra Northern Railway is responsible for operating and maintaining the railroad and associated right-of-way under a Railroad Lease and Operations Agreement, with rights to provide freight and transload rail services, tourist and excursion passenger services, and television and film production.
The Railroad Lease and Operations Agreement was designed to foster a shared purpose to invest in the Santa Paula branch line and the surrounding communities. We often use the term right-of-way when talking about the branch line. In this context, right-of way refers to a linear corridor used for transportation infrastructure such as roads, railroads and trails.
The VCTC owned right of way consists of 99 parcels typically 100 feet wide and extending 32 miles from Ventura through Piru. When VCTC acquired the branch line three decades ago, plans included a bicycle and hiking trail among the stated purposes. In 1996, BCTC adopted the Santa Paula Branch Line Master Plan which included design guidelines and plans for a trail.
In 2000, BCTC adopted a master plan and environmental impact report for the Santa Paula Branch Line Recreational Multi-Use Trail. The plan again provides design guidelines, preliminary engineering, and a preferred alignment for the trail. With increased public interest in active transportation opportunities, in April of 2022 our commission adopted a goal to reinvigorate the process to complete the Santa Paula Branch Line bike trail.
And in 2023 adopted a strategic plan that includes an update to the Trail Master Plan to validate trail alignment connections and amenities and update the existing conditions to facilitate trail completion with stakeholder engagement. In 2024, VCTC applied for and received a federal surface transportation block grant and a regional early action planning grant from the Southern California Association of Governments to update the trail master plan from Sataquoi through Piru.
Then following a competitive procurement process, the commission awarded a contract to WSP in March of 2025 to prepare an update to the trail master plan and a new environmental document. In the intervening years between the original Trail Master Plan and now, three trail segments have been constructed in the cities of Santa Paula and Fillmore and in the unincorporated Piru community. As I was preparing for this evening, I realized that your trail here in Fillmore is about to celebrate its 20th birthday next year.
The trail has been incorporated into many adopted VCTC county and city plans including but not limited to those shown on the screen. The trail plans facilitate connectivity across the county and the region, and seek to better serve individual communities such as Sattaquay. The focus of our current BCTC-led effort is an update to the Trail Master Plan and preparation of a new environmental document.
This is a Rails With Trails project where a multiuse path is planned to run primarily along the railroad tracks with continued active rail operations. The photo on this slide is an example of what the trail might look like, and it's for discussion purposes only. It does not represent the final design of the trail. The Trail Master Plan update presents an opportunity to invest in active transportation connections to housing, transit, education and job centers throughout the Santa Clara River Valley. Provide abundant opportunities for educational, interpretive and scenic connections and reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions while addressing agricultural compatibility concerns.
This map depicts the various planning areas for the Santa Paula Branch Line Corridor. The branch line begins at the East Ventura-Montalvo Metrolink Station in Ventura and continues for 32 miles through Santa Paula, Fillmore and through Pirue. The existing completed trail sections are shown on this map in blue. The area shown in yellow is the four-mile Ventura segment, and the areas shown in orange are the Santa Paula extension segments.
Ventura and Santa Paula have active planning efforts of their own to advance design and construction of additional trail segments. The red segments on this map are the focus of the Trail Master Plan update, the approximately 27 miles from the Sataquai Depot through to the end of the corridor beyond Piru. The areas that connect existing trail segments and the Heritage Valley communities with one another and eventually create connections to the coast.
To complete the trail we face a number of challenges related to constraints on the right-of-way bridges and crossings And addressing concerns regarding compatibility with adjacent agricultural activities. I like to say that if this project were easy, it would be done already. At the same time we also have opportunities to build on existing studies connect to existing and planned trails and to incorporate historic and educational elements into the trail design and implementation.
A core focus of the Trail Master Plan update is to explore and incorporate trail compatibility considerations and features. VCTC has long been aware of concerns from agricultural interests regarding use of the branch line corridor for a trail, Some of the concerns expressed by agricultural landowners and interests have included vandalism, litter, liability, trespass, loss of ag operator ability to cross the corridor and loss of farmland to buffers between recreational and agricultural uses.
The original master plan and EIR include design features and mitigations to address these concerns. And in 2015, the commission sought to address agricultural concerns further through a trail compatibility survey which includes case studies and lessons learned from other trail projects located within open space and commercial agricultural areas around the country and includes recommendations for trail and buffer design, and trail management policies and strategies to balance the needs of all stakeholders.
Some of the strategies include indemnification of farmers against liability from trail use beyond those existing California statutes that already provide such protections Appropriate fencing to delineate trail and agricultural areas. Policies and agreements that allow trail closure as needed for agricultural operations such as spraying, controlled crossings for farm equipment, and maintenance and operations policies and practices to maintain the trail and address concerns just to name a few.
The following topics Recent engagement with agricultural stakeholders has helped us to better understand how the findings from the 2015 compatibility survey apply now in 2026, and what new considerations have arisen. Feedback is being incorporated into the master plan and the draft EIR technical studies and mitigation options. We will continue to engage with agricultural stakeholders throughout the planning process.
One of the models for agricultural compatibility that we are exploring is called AgRespect, a series of principles and an educational program created to address trespass and other property concerns along the vine trail in the Napa Valley. The program is available for licensing for use around California and could be applied and adapted for use here on the Santa Paula Branch Line Trail.
Based on a review of the original trail master plan, existing conditions, opportunities and constraints analysis and stakeholder feedback. The team has developed a set of four alternative alignments for further evaluation. Alternatives were developed through an iterative process with routes initially proposed by the technical team and refined through stakeholder feedback.
The primary corridor for the project is the Santa Paula branch line right-of-way, but variations are being considered based on community suggestions and where constraints make utilizing the railroad right of way difficult. Near Fillmore, the original adopted Trail Master Plan alignment deviates from the railroad right-of-way at Sycamore Road between State Route 126 and 7th Street. The Trail Master Plan update is considering possible adjustments and verifying the proposed alignments.
To cross Sespe Creek, both the original master plan and our current update would propose to locate the trail on Old Telegraph Road due to sufficient bridge width of the existing Old Telegraph Road Bridge and considering the cost and feasibility of a new or modified rail bridge to accommodate a trail. The team also looked at a variety of options within the City of Fillmore in collaboration with city staff. This map shows areas in pink where relatively modest gap closures and improvements could enhance the existing bicycle network within the city to create a continuous loop around the central and southern parts of the city.
The team is currently considering four end-to-end alternatives. Alternatives 1 through 3 follow the branch line right of way with some variations where appropriate. Alternative 4 also follows the local roadways with connections into the towns and all are being considered for some level of trail amenities. The next step in our alternatives development will be to finalize the evaluation criteria and analysis methodology with the assistance of the project development team, which is very capably served by the City of Fillmore through your city staff participating on that.
to prepare cost estimates for each alternative, evaluating alternatives based on project objectives and evaluation criteria and selecting a preferred alignment and range of alternatives for analysis in the EIR followed by identifying funding strategies and developing an implementation plan and schedule. The team is also developing trail amenities concepts such as rest areas We will be preparing an environmental impact report to accompany the Trail Master Plan.
We're preparing a new programmatic EIR which evaluates the potential environmental impacts of a plan, program or series of actions that can be characterized as one large project similar to a master plan or general plan for a city to inform decision makers about the environmental impacts of an entire plan rather than one smaller project within a plan. The environmental analysis that will be conducted for this and other projects begins with the project description and public scoping, then technical studies preparation of a draft EIR, public review and hearings, and a final EIR.
We are currently at the technical studies phase And beginning the process of drafting an environmental impact report. A wide range of factors are analyzed in an EIR, including agricultural, biological and cultural resources, transportation and wildlife among others. Initial feedback gathered during the scoping process and throughout our project's engagement efforts have identified a number of environmental factors for further evaluation in the EIR from agriculture to wildfire.
Public feedback will help to identify the technical areas of focus and potential impacts within a local context. It also informs consideration of project alternatives, and suggests more effective mitigation measures. The master plan update and environmental review will have and will continue to provide many opportunities to engage in the planning process. The team initially prepared an outreach and engagement plan that incorporates best practices for public and stakeholder engagement.
Two advisory committees were formed, including a technical advisory committee and a citizen's advisory committee, and a project development team. To date the Technical and Citizen Advisory Committees have each met three times and the PDT has met nine times. Four pop-up events were held at community events in Santa Paula, Fillmore, Piru and Satakoy. And we held three community workshops in June, October and December of 2025 with over 100 attendees and more than 40 responses on the role plot maps engagement activities just in the first two workshops.
Presentations were available in Spanish and interpretation services were provided during the workshops in Spanish, Mixteco and other indigenous languages. A project webpage was developed and is available on the GoVentura.org website with links to a brief introductory video available in English and Spanish We have done just about every method to get the word out about this project, including being here this evening. And again we really appreciate this opportunity.
We'll continue to hold the advisory committee meetings, conduct one-on-one engagement. We're proposing to form a new ag stakeholders working group And to continue pop-up events, to refine the draft master plan update and prepare for public circulation of the draft EIR. This slide includes a link to our website. We would welcome comments submitted via email to the project email address, spbl.trail at goventura.org or through the link tree and the QR code here on this slide we encourage you to sign up to be notified about future engagement opportunities We are in a little bit of a quieter period where technical studies are underway.
But we will be, as I mentioned, we're proposing to our commission to provide some additional resources for forming an ag working group and ag stakeholders working group that would meet four times throughout the remainder of the Trailmaster planning process We are proposing also to extend the timeline for the completion of the project, and that would have the master plan update and environmental impact report completed before our commission for adoption next spring. And the whole project would be wrapped up by June of 2027.
So with that, I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about this project. I'd also mention we have several other projects ongoing here in the Santa Clara River Valley including the efforts to repair the Sespe Creek Railroad Bridge. We also have a new climate vulnerability assessment and action plan that will be a county-wide project that's getting underway We have applied for and are hopeful to receive a grant from Caltrans through the Sustainable Transportation Planning Grant Program to conduct a multimodal corridor study for State Route 126 and a safety plan.
The feedback we've received from Caltrans so far has been favorable, and we should find out in June whether you receive that funding. And then we would hope to be doing quite a bit more planning here in the valley working on the 126 and addressing some community concerns related to that roadway network. We've also partnered with One Step Alavez and Seafrog to CARB for some additional resources for youth engagement related to transportation here in the Santa Clara River Valley as well. So we're really excited about both the ongoing and upcoming projects here in the valley and Fillmore, and again, we really appreciate this opportunity to be here this evening so thanks.
