Coastal Conservancy Public Meeting in Eureka – September 29, 2016

Douglas Bosco (Public Member), Chair
Sara Ramirez Giroux (Public Member)
Ann Notthoff (Public Member)
John Laird, Secretary for Natural Resources; Bryan Cash (Designated)
Steve Kinsey, Coastal Commission Chair; Susan Hansch (Designated)
Michael Cohen, Director, Department of Finance; Karen Finn (Designated)

Senate Representatives
Benjamin Allen (District 26)
Anthony Cannella (District 12)
Jerry Hill (District 13)

Assembly Representatives
Luis Alejo (District 30)
Mark Stone (District 29)
Das Williams (District 37)

Sam Schuchat, Executive Officer
Amy Roach, Chief Counsel

AGENDA

DATE:  September 29, 2016
TIME:   9:00 a.m.
LOCATION: Wharfinger Building- Great Room
#1 Marina Way
Eureka, CA

1.    ROLL CALL

2.   APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of the Conservancy’s May 26, 2016 public meeting.
 
3.   CONSENT ITEMS

A.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $35,000 to augment a Conservancy contract for information technology services authorized on July 16, 2014 for the Explore the Coast Web App for the State of California.

B.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $190,000 for consulting services to assist the Conservancy in maintaining and improving federal financial support for Conservancy projects.

C.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization for the Association of Bay Area Governments to disburse up to $180,000 of previously granted Conservancy funds to the Petaluma Small Craft Center for construction of improvements to facilities that will benefit users of non-motorized boats at the Petaluma River Turning Basin in the City of Petaluma, Sonoma County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
 
D.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $20,000 to The Ocean Foundation for the Ocean Connectors: Bird and Habitat Project located in the City of San Diego.
 
E   Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $160,000 to Sonoma County Regional Parks Department to prepare an access plan, trail designs, permit applications and environmental documents for two trail segments along the coastal bluffs of the Kashia Coastal Reserve and the Stewarts Point Ranch in Sonoma County.

F.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $125,000 to the City of Vallejo to complete planning for a 1.5-mile joint San Francisco Bay Trail/Bay Area Ridge Trail section along the Carquinez Straits in Solano County.
 
G.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $275,000 to the Bay Area Open Space Council to support conservation planning in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area by updating the Conservation Lands Network and conducting outreach among Bay Area land conservation entities and the public regarding conservation of the region’s biodiversity and open space.

H.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $187,000 to the Yurok Tribe to implement the Indian Creek Habitat Connectivity and Restoration Project, which will restore the connectivity for Coho and Chinook salmon between the upper and lower reaches of Indian Creek, a tributary to the Trinity River in Trinity County.

I.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $134,123 to the Smith River Alliance to identify restoration opportunities and design at least two salmonid habitat restoration projects for the Smith River Estuary in Del Norte County.

J.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $49,412 to Trout Unlimited to prepare designs for two fish passage improvement projects on Neefus Gulch, tributary to the North Fork Navarro River, in Mendocino County.

K.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $93,559 to California Trout to implement the Scott River Instream Habitat Restoration Project in Siskiyou County.

L.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $68,545 to the Northwest California Resource Conservation and Development Council (“Council”) to implement a fish passage barrier removal and water quality improvement project on Sharber-Peckham Creek in Trinity County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
 
M.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $33,645 to the Cachuma Resource Conservation District to conduct biological surveys and prepare information needed for permit applications and environmental review for removal of three fish passage barriers in San Jose Creek, Santa Barbara County.
 
N.   Consideration and Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1,053,126 to the Regents of the University of California to augment a Conservancy grant of $1,672,463, authorized on May 26, 2016, for restoration of wetlands and connected uplands at Upper Devereux Slough, Santa Barbara County.

O.   Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $183,320 to the Los Peñasquitos Lagoon Foundation to conduct environmental review of the draft Los Peñasquitos Lagoon Enhancement Plan, and to develop a feasibility and restoration design study for a habitat restoration and water quality improvement project at Los Peñasquitos Lagoon in San Diego County.

4.  EXECUTIVE OFFICER REPORT

A.  Conservancy Financial Report Update
B.  Consideration and possible adoption of update to Proposition 1 Grant Guidelines
C.  Tribal Consultation Update
D.  Consideration and possible approval of the 2017 Conservancy meeting schedule
E.  Consideration and possible adoption of a resolution regarding Carmen Estrada-Polley

STATEWIDE

5.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $400,000 to the California Coastal Commission to fund statewide enforcement of the Coastal Act.

NORTH COAST

6.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1,000,000 to Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District to acquire conservation and public trail easements over the 873-acre Stewarts Point Ranch on the northern Sonoma County coast.

7.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $550,000 to the City of Arcata to construct a 3-mile section of the California Coastal Trail and Humboldt Bay Trail along the eastern shore of Humboldt Bay from Arcata to Brainard’s Slough, Humboldt County, adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act, and adoption of a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program for this project.

8.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $345,000 to the Endangered Habitats Conservancy to prepare a reclamation plan, engineering designs, environmental documentation, and permit applications for restoration of the 357-acre Hanson Aggregates property located in the Russian River floodplain near the City of Windsor, Sonoma County.

 SAN FRANCISCO BAY

9.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1,700,000 to The Trust for Public Land to acquire a conservation easement to be held by the Land Trust of Napa County over the 7,286-acre Montesol Ranch of which 6,184 acres are in northern Napa County, to preserve and enhance the watershed resources of the property and to protect the water quality of Lake Berryessa and its tributaries.

10.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to enter into a joint powers agreement with the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority and the Association of Bay Area Governments.
 
SOUTH COAST  

11.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $5,000,000 to The Nature Conservancy for acquisition of the 561-acre Southland Sod Farm property in the City of Oxnard, Ventura County.

12.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $170,008 to California Trout to stabilize and regrade approximately 900 feet of streambed on Santa Paula Creek below the Harvey Diversion dam to restore fish passage, in the City of Santa Paula, Ventura County.

13.  Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $322,000 of Conservancy funds to the City of Encinitas for the planning and design of a dune restoration project at the Cardiff State Beach in the City of Encinitas, San Diego County.

14.   CLOSED SESSIONS

A.  To confer regarding Bordessa v. Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, Sonoma County Superior Court, Case No. SCV-256943. The session will be closed to the public pursuant to Government Code Section 11126(e)(2)(B)

B.   To confer regarding Pappas, et al. v. State of California, et al. Santa Barbara County Superior Court, Case No. 1417388. Session will be closed to the public pursuant to Government Code Section 11126(e)(2)(A).

15.   CONSERVANCY MEMBER COMMENTS
 
16.   PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
 
CONSERVANCY TOUR INFORMATION:
Wednesday September 28^th Conservancy Board Tour

The Conservancy will tour several Humboldt Bay projects beginning at 2:30 pm at the Hikshari’ Trail North Parking Lot (2027 Truesdale Street, Eureka). The tour will include additional stops at the Arcata Marsh/Arcata Rail with Trail project, and Freshwater Farms.  Members of the public are welcome to join the tour, but must provide their own transportation.

17.  ADJOURNMENT
 
N.B.:   Agenda items may be taken out of sequence at the discretion of the Conservancy. At any time during the meeting, but prior to the adjournment of the open session of the meeting, the Conservancy may recess or adjourn to closed session to consider personnel matters, prices and terms of real estate transactions, and possible and pending litigation. Session will be closed to the public pursuant to attorney-client privilege and statutory authorization under Government Code Sections 11126(a), (c) (7), and (e).

Any person who has a disability and requires reasonable accommodation to participate in this public meeting should contact Mr. Wayman no later than five days prior to meeting.

Questions about the meeting or agenda can be directed to Dick Wayman at
(510) 286-4182 or at the Conservancy:

1330 Broadway, 13th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612