Appendix A

Scoping Summary
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Summary Report

Public Scoping Meetings

August 28 & 29, 2012

Prepared by: Circlepoint 

September 2012
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Table of Contents

1.1 Introduction................................................................................2

1.2 Key Issues Summary......................................................................3

1.3 Stakeholder Briefings....................................................................6

Appendices

Appendix 1 Sign-In Sheets

Appendix 2 Meeting Materials

Appendix 3 Exhibit Boards

Appendix 4 Federal Register Notice of Intent

Appendix 5 Proofs of Advertisement Publication

Appendix 6 Public Information Mailer

Appendix 7 Comments
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1.1 Introduction

Project Overview

The proposed Coast Daylight, operated by Amtrak, and jointly funded by Amtrak and Caltrans, 

would follow the route of the existing Amtrak Coast Starlight service that currently provides 

passenger service along the rail corridor from Los Angeles to San José, and connect service to 

San Francisco. The Coast Corridor Project proposes improvements to the existing 130-mile-long

rail corridor between Salinas and San Luis Obispo in order to meet the demands of a growing 

highly mobile population, alleviate travel congestion, and extend passenger rail service down 

the coast from San José to Los Angeles. The project considers rail siding extensions, double 

tracking, signaling improvements, and curve realignments. Additional stations are proposed in 

Soledad and King City with improvements to the station in Salinas. 

Public Participation Program

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) initiated the formal scoping process by publishing a 

Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Program EIS/EIR in the Federal Register on August 17, 2012. 

The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is the lead federal agency, working jointly with 

Caltrans as the lead state agency, and will be preparing the program-level (Tier 1) 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) pursuant to 

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 

guidelines. 

Two public scoping meetings were held as a part of the public scoping process:

Salinas San Luis Obispo

Transportation Agency for Monterey County San Luis Obispo City/County Library

55-B Plaza Circle 995 Palm Street

August 28, 2012, 3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. August 29, 2012, 3:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

These meetings provided an opportunity for the public and agencies to comment on the scope 

of environmental topics that will be analyzed in the Program EIS/EIR.

Approximately 25 people attended the Public Scoping Meetings, not including project team 

members. Sign in sheets (Appendix 1) were provided for attendees with the option of including 

a mailing/email address so that they could be added to the project mailing list. This list will be 

used to update the public and appropriate agencies on further public outreach/involvement 
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opportunities, and to provide further information concerning the proposed project. Scoping 

meeting attendees were provided with comment cards (Appendix 2) to submit their thoughts 

on the project, and copies of the presentation given were made available for interested parties.

John Cook (Circlepoint) as well as a representative from the San Luis Obispo Council of 

Governments (SLOCOG) at the San Luis Obispo meeting and Transportation Agency for 

Monterey County (TAMC) at the Salinas meeting presented an overview of the Coast Corridor 

project, its components, and its purpose and need. They also discussed the environmental 

process and the issues to be studied in the EIR/EIS. Preceding and following the presentation, 

attendees were welcomed to take part in an open house informal discussion of the project and 

review process with team members at various information stations with exhibit boards and 

aerial overview maps (Appendix 3). 

Formal Scoping Meeting Notification

Federal Register/Notice of Intent

The NOI was printed in the Federal Register on August 17, 2012 (Appendix 4). 

Newspaper

Notices to the public briefly describing the proposed project and listing the dates and locations 

of the scoping meetings were published in local newspapers. These publications included the 

Salinas Californian (August 21, 2012), the San Luis Obispo Tribune (August 22, 2012) and El Sol 

(August 25, 2012). Proof of publishing can be found in Appendix 5. 

Mailing

6,000 plus postcard meeting notifications in both English and Spanish were distributed to

residents within 500 feet of the corridor and 1,000 feet of the stations. These mailers gave a 

brief explanation of the project and provided details on the dates, times, and locations of the 

Public Scoping Meetings. A copy can be found in Appendix 6. 

1.2 Key Issues Summary

Method of Receiving Comments

Public Scoping Meeting attendees were provided with comment sheets at the meeting and 

were asked to submit them that day or mail them to 1114 Marsh Street, San Luis Obispo, CA 

93401 or coastcorridorscopingcomments@circlepoint.com by close of business September 10, 

2012. Two comment letters were received from meeting attendees, and two were sent in after 

the meetings. Appendix 7 contains copies of these comments. 
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Comments Summary and Disposition

August 28th—Salinas

Questions/Comments Disposition

Is this a real project? Has funding been 

identified?

Project attributes and anticipated potential 

funding strategies will be discussed in the 

EIS/EIR.

Does the Federal government have some 

minimum level of projects that need to be 

approved?

The EIS/EIR will discuss all pertinent 

regulatory requirements. 

How much will the ticket be from Salinas to 

San Francisco? San Francisco to Los Angeles?

If known, estimated fare information will be 

discussed in the EIS/EIR. 

August 29th—San Luis Obispo

Questions/Comments Disposition

Would you consider re-instituting the use of 

sidings—currently many are used for excess 

rail car storage. This is unsightly, and being 

used as a parking lot.

The Alternatives section of the EIS/EIR will 

describe all project components and how 

they were developed. 

Besides the Cuesta Grade, what other curves 

are we looking at?

The Alternatives section of the EIS/EIR will 

describe all project components and how 

they were developed. Several other curve 

corrections are noted; the Cuesta area is the 

only segment where substantial second 

track is programmed. 

Do we have the authority to take property via 

eminent domain?

The EIS/EIR will discuss the subsequent 

analyses and permits anticipated to be 

necessary for project implementation, 

including any needed land acquisition. 

Will the fiber optic cable that was laid a 

number of years ago be considered or 

disturbed?

The EIS/EIR will consider effects to existing 

utilities in the rail corridor, including 

communications infrastructure. 

Is the April 2015 service date firm? The EIS/EIR will clarify anticipated project 

timeframes. 

What is the status of implementing positive 

train control? Will it be required?

The Alternatives section of the EIS/EIR will 

describe all of the anticipated 

improvements. 

What website will you use to provide 

updates?

www.slocog.org

Does the train own an easement next to the 

tracks?

The EIS/EIR will discuss the subsequent 

analyses and permits anticipated to be 

necessary for project implementation, 

including any needed land acquisition. 
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I would like to see a parallel bike path and 

trail. 

The comment is noted. 

Amtrak & UPRR—since UPRR is such a 

disinterested partner, why force the issue? 

Highway 101 has a good amount of Right of 

Way for an elevated train up the middle of 

the highway.

The Alternatives section of the EIS/EIR will 

describe all of the anticipated improvements 

and their anticipated locations. This section 

will also discuss alternatives briefly 

considered but ultimately rejected from 

further analysis. 

There is much to accomplish in terms of 

planning and actual work on the Coast 

Corridor. Eagerly awaiting the start of the 

Coast Daylight.

The comment is noted. 

Pleased to see that much needed 

improvements will be made. These will serve 

residents and tourists.

The comment is noted. 

This project is much needed, and adding 

stations between SLO and Salinas would be 

okay, but there should be at least one daily 

express run up and down the coast each way 

that skips most other stops.

The comment is noted.
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1.3 Stakeholder Briefings

Prior to the scoping meetings two stakeholder briefings were conducted. A brief summary of 

each follows.

Soledad

A briefing with the Community and Economic Development Director of the City of Soledad was 

held prior to the Salinas scoping meeting. A brief overview of the project was provided and 

then a discussion about the project took place. Discussion topics include: the City of Soledad 

Downtown Specific Plan, station location, potential agriculture impacts if any access across the 

tracks is eliminated. 

King City

A briefing with the Community Development Director and staff was conducted prior to the San 

Luis Obispo scoping meeting. A brief overview of the project was provided and then a 

discussion about the project took place. Discussion topics include: purpose/result of the draft 

EIS/R, coordination with Fort Hunter-Liggett, coordination with existing downtown planning 

efforts, coordination with UPRR, existing RailPro study. King City staff indicated concerns about 

the following topics: Greenhouse Gas emissions, multi-modal element, the potential impact on 

commute patterns. King City staff also encouraged making the EIS/R accessible to Spanish 

speakers. 
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Appendix 1

Sign-In Sheets
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Appendix 2

Meeting Materials
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Appendix 3

Exhibit Boards
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Appendix 4

Federal Register 

Notice of Intent
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Appendix 5

Proofs of 

Advertisement 

Publication
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Appendix 6

Public 

Information 

Mailer
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Appendix 7

Comments
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