September 2008 Board Meeting

Meeting Notice

Douglas Bosco (Public Member), Chairman

Jeremy M. Hallisey (Public Member)

Marisa Moret (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; Karen Finn (Designated)

Senate Representatives                                   Assembly Representatives

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: Humboldt Bay Aquatic Center

921 Waterfront Drive

Eureka, CA

DATE: Thursday, September 25, 2008

TIME: 9:00 am

1. Roll Call

2. Approval of Minutes of June 5, 2008 Public Meeting.

3. CONSENT

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $120,000 to the Planning and Conservation League Foundation for planning and development of the San Clemente Dam Removal Project in Monterey County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse to the County of Trinity up to $265,013 of previously authorized Conservancy funds to implement fish-passage improvement projects at Conner Creek and Ancestor Creek within the counties of Trinity and Mendocino, respectively.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $100,000 to the Delta Protection Commission to conduct planning for development of the Great California Delta Trail Plan in Contra Costa and Solano Counties.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization for the Association of Bay Area Governments to disburse up to $300,000 of previously-authorized Conservancy funds to the City of San Leandro to construct a San Francisco Bay Trail crossing over San Leandro Slough, City of San Leandro, Alameda County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization (1) for the Association of Bay Area Governments to disburse up to $200,000 of previously-authorized Conservancy funds to the Greater Vallejo Recreation District and (2) to disburse up to $75,000 to the Greater Vallejo Recreation District to construct segments of the San Francisco Bay Trail and the Bay Area Ridge Trail in Glen Cove Waterfront Park, Solano County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to accept from Romic Environmental Technologies Corporation $60,500 in settlement funds from a claim for resource damage in South San Francisco Bay, and to disburse these funds to augment an existing grant to the California Wildlife Foundation for invasive Spartina treatment in South San Francisco Bay under the Conservancy’s regionally coordinated Invasive Spartina Control Program.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $22,000 to the Endangered Habitats Conservancy to undertake planning and permitting for the restoration of native plant communities in Swan Canyon, San Diego County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to augment the Conservancy’s June 16, 2005 authorization by disbursing an additional amount of up to $289,500 of grant funds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to the Earth Island Institute for fish barrier removal projects on Carpinteria Creek in the southern Santa Ynez Mountains, Santa Barbara County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to amend the Conservancy’s June 29, 2006 action to expand the scope of work to include additional upstream habitat enhancement of Arroyo Hondo Creek, Santa Barbara County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to redirect funds previously authorized to allow the Cachuma Conservation and Release Board to remove fish barrier Crossing #6 and restore habitat on Quiota Creek, a tributary to the lower Santa Ynez River, Santa Barbara County.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse an amount not to exceed $50,400 to augment the Conservancy’s January 18, 2007 authorization to Environment Now to further manage the Local Assistance Program of the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project.

1. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $90,000 to Audubon California to assess potential restoration actions to enhance the ecological functions of the lower Santa Ynez River, Santa Barbara County.

NORTH COAST

4. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1,065,000 to the City of Arcata to prepare final designs, complete environmental review, and obtain permits for the Arcata Coastal Rail with Trail project, a 3.8-mile section of the California Coastal Trail between northern Arcata and Bracut Marsh, one mile south of Arcata.

5. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $900,000 to Redwood Community Action Agency to implement the Humboldt County Coastal Trail Implementation Program – Phase I within the County of Humboldt.

6. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $750,000 to the Friends of the Dunes to construct the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center to provide visitor center and educational facilities for public access on the North Spit of Humboldt Bay.

7. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $494,500 to the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District to restore fish passage to 3.4 miles of Dutch Bill Creek, enhance riparian habitat and improve public access across Dutch Bill Creek at Camp Meeker in Sonoma County.

8. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $370,500 to Mendocino Land Trust for acquisition of the 5.8 acre oceanfront Hare Creek Beach Propertyfor public access, habitat conservation, and open space preservation, south of the City of Fort Bragg, in Mendocino County.

9. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $262,190 to the Sotoyome Resource Conservation District for the Austin Creek Watershed Restoration Program to enhance critical anadromous fish habitat in Austin Creek, a tributary of the Russian River, Sonoma County.
10. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $230,000 to the National Park Service to construct additional family and staff accommodations at the Point Reyes Hostel, located in western Marin County, and to bring the Hostel buildings into compliance with current state, federal, and local regulations.

11. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $155,000 to the Gold Ridge Resource Conservation District for the implementation of dairy enhancement projects in the Estero Americano watershed in Sonoma and Marin counties.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

12. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1,650,000 to Napa County Regional Park and Open Space District for the acquisition of the 673-acre Moore Creek Property in Napa County for the protection of natural resources and public recreation.

13. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $1,400,000 to the East Bay Regional Park District for the acquisition of the approximately 333-acre Chaparral Spring property for open space, wildlife and habitat preservation, public access, and limited agricultural uses.

14. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $241,500 to the City of Benicia to assist with building an addition to the Rose Drive/State Park Road overcrossing of Interstate 780 to enable safe passage by users of the San Francisco Bay Trail and the Bay Area Ridge Trail in Solano County.

15. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up $150,000 to the City of Fairfield to assist with the construction of a segment of the San Francisco Bay Area Ridge Trail along 1.65 miles of McGary Road between Red Top Road and Lynch Road in Solano County.

16. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $150,000 to the City of Concord to complete a 600-foot gap in the historic 20-mile long California Riding and Hiking Trail by installing a 74-foot long pedestrian bridge over Galindo Creek and constructing a 528-foot long trail.

CENTRAL COAST

17. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to provide up to $224,960 to Regents of the University of California to undertake a study to determine the impact of coastal contaminants and other anthropogenic stressors on California sea otter recovery.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

18. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $5,500,000 to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to acquire the 191-acre Upper Filiorum property and the 28-acre Plumtree property on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, Los Angeles County, to assist in implementing the City’s Natural Communities Conservation Plan.

19. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse an amount not to exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000) to the Crystal Cove Alliance to assist with restoration of the Crystal Cove Historic District at Crystal Cove State Park in Orange County.

20. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $ 679,000 to the City of Laguna Beach for acquisition of the 4.5-acre Bunn property adjacent to the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park (LCWP) in Orange County for open space, public access, and habitat preservation; and related costs.

21. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse an amount not to exceed $425,000 to the Southwest Wetlands Interpretive Association to implement a study of sediment transport in the coastal nearshore at the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve, San Diego County that will facilitate analysis of beneficial sediment reuse policies in California.
22. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse an amount not to exceed $380,000 to the City of San Diego to prepare final designs and specifications, and permit applications, and to conduct environmental review necessary to implement the improvements identified in the Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Master Plan.

23. Executive Officer Report

1. Proposed SCC Meeting Schedule for 2009
2. OPC Report
3. Legislative Report

24. Deputy Attorney General’s Report

25. Board Member Comments

26. Public Comments

27. Possible closed session to confer regarding: Sonoma Land Trust v. Port Sonoma Associates et al., Sonoma County Superior Court Case No. SCV-239392; 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; 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).

28. Adjournment

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).

* CONSERVANCY BOARD TOUR SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 24, 2008*

The Conservancy will tour projects in the McKinleyville and North Humboldt Bay area on Wednesday, September 24^th. The tour will start at 2:00 pm at the recently completed Widow White Creek section of the Hammond trail in McKinleyville. We will then drive south and visit several other access projects in the north Humboldt Bay area. The tour will run from 2:00 -5:00 pm. Members of the public are welcome but must provide their own transportation.

Directions:

From Highway 1 northbound, take the Airport Road exit, turn left and go under the highway, travel past the southbound ramp to 101, and turn left on Letz Avenue. Continue south approximately .2 miles to the end of Letz Ave.

From the Eureka/Arcata Airport: Turn right onto Airport Road as you exit the airport property. Head west, go under the freeway, proceed past the Highway 101 south onramp, turn left on Letz Ave, and continue to the end.

For more information, contact Dick Wayman at the Conservancy:

1330 Broadway, 13th Floor

Oakland, CA 94612

(510) 286‑4182