May 2007 Board Meeting

Meeting Notice

Douglas Bosco (Public Member), Chairman

Jeremy M. Hallisey (Public Member)

Ann Notthoff (Public Member)

Mike Chrisman, Secretary for Resources; Karen Scarborough (Designated)

Patrick Kruer, Coastal Commission Chair; Susan Hansch (Designated)

Michael Genest, Director, Department of Finance; Fred Klass (Designated)

Senate Representatives                                   Assembly Representative

Abel Maldonado (District 15)                        Loni Hancock (District 14)

Joseph Simitian (District 11)                           John Laird (District 27)

Christine Kehoe (District 39)                          Patty Berg (District 1)

Sam Schuchat, Executive Officer

Pat Peterson, Deputy Attorney General

Glenn Alex, Legal Counsel

AGENDA

LOCATION:   Cabrillo Pavillion Arts Center

1118 E. Cabrillo Blvd.

Santa Barbara, CA

DATE:              Thursday, May 24, 2007

TIME:             9:00 a.m.

1. Roll Call

2. Approval of Minutes

3. Strategic Plan Discussion and Update

CENTRAL COAST (This portion of the agenda is expected to begin around 10:30 a.m.)

4. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $377,000 to the Peninsula Open Space Trust to construct a mile of Coastal Trail and other trail segments, a new parking lot, and erosion control measures at Pillar Point Bluff in San Mateo County.

5. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $250,000 to the Trust for Public Land for acquisition of the Rancho Calera property in Big Sur, Monterey County.
6. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $175,000 to the Associated Students of UCSB to restore the West Campus Bluff Trail, a segment of the California Coastal Trail at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

7. Closed session to confer with staff negotiators with regard to possible acquisition of interests in real property around the San Clemente Dam on the Carmel River in Monterey County. Session will be closed to the public pursuant to Government Code Section 11126(c)(7).

8. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $500,000 for engineering and technical studies for the San Clemente Dam Removal Project in Monterey County.

SOUTH COAST

9. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse an amount not to exceed $525,000 to the San Francisco Estuary Institute for an historical ecology study of coastal rivers and wetlands of Ventura County and historic mapping of southern California coastal wetlands.

10. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $450,000 to the Unified Port District of San Diego to prepare a commercial fisheries and coastal public access plan for Driscoll’s Wharf and Tuna Harbor.

11. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse an amount not to exceed $310,000 to Heal the Bay for purposes of planning demonstration projects to enhance the Lower Los Angeles River, in Los Angeles County.

12. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $200,000 to the San Elijo Lagoon Conservancy for continuation of hydrologic monitoring in coastal watersheds in northern San Diego County.

13. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $145,000 to the City of Malibu to remove the Corral Canyon Road crossing and replace it with a clear span bridge over Solstice Creek to restore passage for southern steelhead trout in the Solstice Creek watershed, Santa Monica Mountains.

14. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $125,000 to the Los Angeles & San Gabriel Rivers Watershed Council to complete data collection, engineering, cost and feasibility analysis of habitat enhancement and trail access projects along a section of Compton Creek in Los Angeles County.

NORTH COAST

15. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $305,000 to Sonoma County Regional Parks Department to connect the Bird Walk Coastal Access Park with Doran Beach Park by constructing a 110-foot bridge over Cheney Creek Gulch and completing 1,654 feet of California Coastal Trail in Bodega Bay, Sonoma County.
16. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $250,000 to the Western Rivers Conservancy to acquire the Ambrosini Dairy Property (Riverside Ranch) along the Salt River and Eel River Estuary in Humboldt County.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY

17. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1,472,000 of grant funds from the Wildlife Conservation Board to the East Bay Regional Park District to restore seasonal wetlands within an area commonly known as the “Berkeley Meadow” and disburse up to $120,000 to the California Department of Parks and Recreation for the planning and design of an area commonly known as the “Brickyard”, located at Eastshore State Park, located along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay.

18. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $425,000 to the Livermore Area Recreation and Park District for the restoration and enhancement of a stock pond and 3.3 acres of riparian habitat in Sycamore Grove Regional Park located in east-central Alameda County.

19. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $150,000 to Contra Costa County to assist its Community Development Department in planning for the restoration, enhancement and protection of habitats and watersheds in a Contra Costa County Historical Ecology Project.

20. CONSENT

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $500,000 to the City of Long Beach to complete design development and environmental documentation of restoration alternatives identified in the Colorado Lagoon Restoration Feasibility Study, and to conduct necessary technical studies related to the restoration of Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach.
2. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $50,640 to Santa Clara County for its Parks and Recreation Department to relocate a severely eroding segment of the San Francisco Bay Area Ridge Trail in Penitencia Creek County Park, City of San José, County of Santa Clara.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $326,850 to the City of Calabasas for restoration and enhancement of a portion of Las Virgenes Creek in the upper Malibu Creek watershed, City of Calabasas, Los Angeles County.
2. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $210,000 to the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County to implement the final phase of the Lower Refugio Creek Riparian Restoration Project on the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse to Ecotrust up to $200,000 of funds previously authorized to implement the Ocean Protection Council Department/Fish and Game joint work plan. These funds will be used consistent with the Marine Life Protection Act to collect socioeconomic data in the north central coast study region.

1. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse to the County of Trinity up to $375,000 of previously authorized Conservancy funds to implement fish-passage improvement projects at Ryan Creek ($160,000) and Little Brown’s Creek ($215,000) within the counties of Mendocino and Trinity, respectively.

1. Consideration and Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $100,000 to the County of Marin to fund the construction of a fish passage improvement facility in Redwood Creek at its intersection with Muir Woods Road.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $100,000 to the Trust for Public Land to develop a conceptual plan and conduct stakeholder coordination and property analyses for development of a River Parkway program for the Lower Ventura River in the City of Ventura and portions of unincorporated Ventura County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $100,000 to Access Northern California to prepare A Wheelchair Rider’s Online Coastal Guide, and to search for potential new access opportunities for persons with disabilities.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $90,000 to the County of San Mateo to prepare plans and construction documents necessary to build a segment of the Coastal Trail and an access ramp to Moss Beach at the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve in San Mateo County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $89,500 to The Land Trust for Santa Barbara Countyto restore a portion of the Santa Ynez River bank and floodplain terrace on the Rancho La Vina property, Santa Barbara County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to distribute up to $75,000 to the United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management to construct Fleener Creek Trail from Centerville Road to the Pacific Ocean on the Lost Coast Headlands, Humboldt County, and adoption of a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Plan for the project.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $53,000 to the City of Richmond to prepare plans and construction documents for a San Francisco Bay Trail segment along Canal Boulevard.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $62,973 to Southern Sonoma County Resource Conservation District to remove a bridge and instream concrete slab foundation on Adobe Creek and to replace these barriers to fish passage with a clear span bridge located approximately 0.5 mile northeast of the City of Petaluma in Sonoma County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy amendment of the Conservancy’s March 8, 2007 authorization to disburse Conservancy funds for the Invasive Spartina Project, by authorizing a redirection of up to $50,000 of those funds from management to a grant to the Friends of the Petaluma River for control and treatment activities in various locations on the Petaluma River.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $30,000 to the Moat Creek Managing Agency to prepare a feasibility study for coastal trail access on property between Moat Creek and Arena Cove in Mendocino.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to revise the watershed monitoring component of the Navarro Watershed Phase V Implementation project in Mendocino County, approved by the Conservancy in October 2006.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $60,000 to the University of California Davis, Office of Research, Sponsored Projects to support University of California Marine Council graduate fellowships that will promote improved scientific knowledge on significant coastal and marine issues facing California and enhance the state’s ability to effectively manage these resources.

21. Executive Officer’s Report

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy adoption of standards and practices governing conservation easement acquisition grants.
2. Legislative Report – D. Ruddock

1. San Francisco Bay Conservancy education/restoration/trail grants – Amy Hutzel

22. Deputy Attorney General’s Report

23. Board Member Comments

24. Public Comments

25. Possible closed session to confer regarding: Sonoma Land Trust v. Port Sonoma Associates et al., Sonoma County Superior Court Case No. SCV-239392; Jack Roth v. California Coastal Commission, California Coastal Conservancy and Access for All, Los Angeles County Superior Court Case No. BS102404; United States of America vs. 127.60 Acres of Land, more or less, situated in San Diego County, State of California; the County of San Diego; and Other Interested Parties, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California, Civil No. 06CV1670W NLS; the blockage of legal access to the Conservancy’s Victorine Ranch property in Monterey County; and other pending litigation; and/or to consider the initiation of litigation. Session will be closed to the public pursuant to Government Code Section 11126(e).

26. Adjournment

FIELD TRIP INFORMATION:

The Conservancy will attend the dedication of a park bench on the campus of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, 2559 Puesta Del Sol, in Santa Barbara, between 5 and 6 pm, on Wednesday, May 23rd. The bench is being installed in memory of Mary Travis, a Conservancy project manager who passed away this past January.   Members of the public are welcome to attend but must provide their own transportation to the Museum.

N.B.:   This Meeting Notice and Tentative Agenda may be found on the Internet at:

www.scc.ca.gov/Meetings/meetings.htm

N.B.:   Following or at any time during 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 Section 11126(a), (c)(7), and (e).

For more information, contact Dick Wayman at the Conservancy:

1330 Broadway, 13th Floor

Oakland, CA 94612

(510) 286‑4182