HDC Regional and Land Use Considerations
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Regional and Land Use Considerations High Desert Corridor Prepared By TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................... 5 2. DESCRIPTION OF ALTERNATIVES .................................................................................. 9 2.1 No Build Alternative ................................................................................................. 9 2.2 Construction of the HDC - Build Alternatives .................................................... 10 2.3 Mitigation Suggestions .......................................................................................... 16 3. ENVIRONMENT, ZONING, AND SPECIAL DISTRICTS ................................................. 16 3.1 Description of Area Biomes and Climate .......................................................... 16 3.2 Regional Land Use and Zoning ........................................................................... 17 3.3 Future Zoning and Special District Considerations ........................................... 19 4. RELEVANT PLANS, POLICIES, AND LEGISLATION ...................................................... 20 4.1 Federal .................................................................................................................... 20 4.2 California State Legislation .................................................................................. 21 4.3 Los Angeles County .............................................................................................. 22 4.4 San Bernardino County ........................................................................................ 23 4.5 Palmdale ................................................................................................................. 25 4.6 Lancaster ................................................................................................................ 25 4.7 Adelanto ................................................................................................................. 27 4.8 Victorville................................................................................................................. 28 4.9 Apple Valley ........................................................................................................... 29 5. REGIONAL PROFILES AND IMPACTS .......................................................................... 29 5.1 Palmdale ................................................................................................................. 30 5.2 Lancaster ................................................................................................................ 31 5.3 Adelanto ................................................................................................................. 32 5.4 Victorville................................................................................................................. 33 5.5 Apple Valley ........................................................................................................... 34 5.6 Hesperia .................................................................................................................. 35 5.7 Lake Los Angeles ................................................................................................... 36 5.8 Sun Village .............................................................................................................. 37 5.9 Littlerock .................................................................................................................. 38 5.10 Phelan ................................................................................................................... 39 5.11 Helendale ............................................................................................................. 40 5.12 Lucerne Valley ..................................................................................................... 41 5.13 Mountain View Acres .......................................................................................... 42 5.14 Non Census-Designated Places ........................................................................ 43 5.15 Los Angeles County ............................................................................................ 43 5.16 San Bernardino County ...................................................................................... 45 6. GOODS MOVEMENT CONSIDERATIONS .................................................................. 46 6.1 Intermodal Transfer Facilities ................................................................................ 46 6.2 Freight Logistics ...................................................................................................... 51 6.3 Drone (UAV) Technology ..................................................................................... 51 6.4 Autonomous Vehicle (AV) Technology ............................................................. 54 7. COMPONENT OBSTACLES AND OPPORTUNITIES ..................................................... 56 7.1 Pedestrian and Bikeway ....................................................................................... 56 7.2 Roadway ................................................................................................................ 57 7.3 High-Speed Rail ..................................................................................................... 58 7.4 Energy Production ................................................................................................. 59 7.5 Energy Transmission ............................................................................................... 60 7.6 All-Component Approach ................................................................................... 61 8. FINANCING OPTIONS .................................................................................................. 62 8.1 Tax Increment Financing Background ............................................................... 62 8.2 Enhanced Infrastructure Finance District (EIFD) -Policy and Implementation ........................................................................................................................................ 64 8.3 HDC and EIFD ......................................................................................................... 66 8.4 HDC and Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) 72 8.5 HDC and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) ......... 73 8.6 HDC and Private Activity Bonds (PABs).............................................................. 73 9. REVENUE-GENERATING ASSETS .................................................................................. 75 9.1 Renewable Energy Generation .......................................................................... 75 9.2 Regional Trend toward Distributed Energy Resources..................................... 76 9.3 Off-ramp and Adjacent Development ............................................................. 76 9.4 Usage Fees, Tollway, and High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes ........................ 78 9.5 Public Private Partnership (P3) Considerations ................................................. 79 10. SUMMARY OF OPPORTUNITIES ................................................................................. 80 11. NEXT STEPS .................................................................................................................. 82 11.1 Navigating State and Federal Dynamics ........................................................ 83 11.2 Collaboration with Interested Parties ............................................................... 84 11.3 Funding Options .................................................................................................. 86 11.4 Land Use Next Steps for Implementation ........................................................ 88 12. REFERENCES ............................................................................................................... 89 13. APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 96 Appendix A: List of Acronyms .................................................................................... 96 Appendix B: Glossary of Technical Terms ................................................................ 98 Appendix C: List of Figures ....................................................................................... 102 Appendix D: List of Reports ...................................................................................... 103 This page intentionally left blank. 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The High Desert Corridor (HDC) is a proposed 63-mile transitway, green energy corridor, and potential Public Private Partnership (P3) beginning at SR-14 in Los Angeles County, extending across U.S.-395 and I-15, and terminating six miles east of I-15 in San Bernardino County. It is the only urban-adjacent greenfield project of its nature in the country. The route will directly impact the mostly arid cities of Palmdale and Lancaster, in Los Angeles County, and the cities of Adelanto, Victorville, and Apple Valley in San Bernardino County. The HDC presently has eight notable characteristics that relate to land use: 1. Completed California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) filing for a green energy corridor with high-speed rail (HSR), highway/tollway, bike and pedestrian paths. 2. A one of a kind urban-adjacent