Coastal Conservancy Public Zoom Meeting – March 25, 2021

Meeting Notice

Douglas Bosco (Public Member), Chair
Ann Notthoff (Public Member), Vice Chair
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš (Public Member)
Joseph Alioto Jr. (Public Member)
Wade Crowfoot, Secretary for Natural Resources; Bryan Cash (Designated)
Stephen Padilla, Coastal Commission Chair; Alison Dettmer (Designated)
Keely Bosler, Director, Department of Finance; Gayle Miller (Designated)

Senate Representatives
Benjamin Allen (District 26)

Assembly Representatives
Mark Stone (District 29)
Lorena Gonzalez (District 80)

Sam Schuchat, Executive Officer
Amy Roach, Chief Counsel

AGENDA

Teleconference Meeting
DATE: March 25, 2021
TIME: 10:00 A.M

Pursuant to Executive Order N-29-20 issued by Governor Gavin Newsom on March 17, 2020, certain provisions of the Bagley Keene Open Meeting Act are suspended due to a State of Emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Consistent with the Executive Order, this Conservancy meeting will be conducted by internet and teleconference, with no public physical location. Members of the public may join by internet with Zoom or dial into the teleconference with the following steps:

Join the meeting using Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/96661485659?pwd=QktVUlZaV29wREVMdVc3SlRXU1dMdz09

Password: 307258

Or iPhone one-tap: US: +16699006833,,96661485659#,,,,*307258# or +13462487799,,96661485659#,,,,*307258#

Or Telephone: US: +1 669 900 6833 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 253 215 8782 or +1 312 626 6799 or +1 929 205 6099 or +1 301 715 8592

Webinar ID: 966 6148 5659
Password: 307258

Members of the public can make comments during the meeting by using the “Raise Hand” function in Zoom at the appropriate time(s) in the meeting, or if joining by teleconference by pressing *9 to “Raise Hand” to be called on. Public comment will be taken during each agenda item and near the end of the meeting on non-agenda items. Additional information on ways to provide public comments on agenda items, including in advance by email and voicemail, is available on the Conservancy’s website on the Meetings & Notices tab here: https://scc.ca.gov/2020/04/22/participating-in-conservancy-meeting/

1. ROLL CALL

2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of the Conservancy’s January 21, 2021 meeting.

3. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS

4. CONSENT ITEMS

A. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $188,480 to The Buckeye Conservancy to conduct planning and prepare designs, permit applications and environmental review documents for off-channel salmonid rearing habitat restoration along Wood Creek on the Felt Ranch property in Humboldt County.

• Addendum: Wood Creek Support Letters

B. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $2,474,600 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete implementation of the Hamilton Wetlands Restoration Project in Novato, Marin County.

C. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $979,000 received from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and $980,000 received from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to the City of Eureka to augment the Conservancy’s prior authorizations of $2,356,000 for implementation of the Elk River Estuary Restoration Project, a tidal wetland restoration project in Humboldt County.

D. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $300,000 received from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to contract for post-construction monitoring of the White Slough Restoration Project in the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge (HBNWR) on Humboldt Bay.

E. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $218,895 to the California Urban Forests Council to implement a multi-benefit urban greening project that will plant approximately 500 trees through educational community events that engage residents in communities across the Upper San Gabriel River Watershed.

F. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,434,400 to the City of Richmond to augment the Conservancy’s November 19, 2020 grant of $3,000,000 for the final design and implementation of the Terminal Four Wharf Removal Project near Point San Pablo, Contra Costa County.

5. EXECUTIVE OFFICER REPORT

A. Draft Updated Project Selection Criteria.

B. Legislative Report.

C. Search for a new Conservancy Executive Officer.

SOUTH COAST

6. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $350,000 to the San Diego Association of Governments to construct the Barrio Logan segment of the Bayshore Bikeway in San Diego County.

7. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $734,730 to the County of Ventura to conduct planning and to prepare designs and environmental documentation for the replacement of the Camino Cielo Bridge over the Ventura River in unincorporated Ventura County.

8. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $433,650 to the City of Hermosa Beach in Los Angeles County to renovate an impervious and deteriorated beach parking lot into a green, multi-benefit parking lot and to prepare final design plans to renovate a second parking lot in the City of Hermosa Beach.

9. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $890,000 to the San Diego Unified Port District to implement and monitor a native oyster living shoreline project at the Chula Vista Wildlife Reserve in San Diego County.

10. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $151,869 to the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation to collect topographical map data, analyze the impacts of sea level rise on rocky intertidal habitat, and identify potential restoration and enhancement areas across San Diego County.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

11. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,000,000 to the City of Richmond to construct a 1.25-mile segment of the San Francisco Bay Trail connecting Point Molate Beach Park to the Winehaven Historic District in Contra Costa County; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

NORTH COAST

12. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $634,823 of which $358,639 is from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program to California Trout to implement the Mad River Floodplain and Public Access Enhancement Project along the Mad River, Humboldt County, CA; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

13. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $4,547,520 comprised of $750,000 dollars in Conservancy funds, $1,821,938 from the US Fish and Wildlife Service National Coastal Wetlands Grant Program funds, and $1,975,582 from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Wetlands Restoration for Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant Program, to Ducks Unlimited, and for the Conservancy to retain environmental consultants, to conduct the Ocean Ranch Restoration Project near Loleta, Humboldt County; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

14. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $307,170 to the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District to conduct studies and prepare designs, permit applications, and a management plan for restoration of the Williams Creek watershed near Ferndale, Humboldt County, CA.

15. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $499,070 to the Eel River Recovery Project to conduct planning and prepare plans, designs and environmental compliance documents for water storage and erosion control sites that will enhance summer flows and improve water quality to benefit salmonids in lower Tenmile Creek, a tributary to the South Fork Eel River in Mendocino County.

CENTRAL COAST

16. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $436,395, including $386,395 awarded to the Conservancy by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Program, to the Coastal San Luis Resource Conservation District to restore approximately 56 acres of coastal habitat along Los Osos Creek in the lower Morro Bay watershed in San Luis Obispo County; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

17. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $360,000 to the County of Santa Cruz to prepare technical analyses, design plans, environmental review documents, and permit applications for water quality and public access improvements and habitat restoration at Moran Lake in Santa Cruz County.

18. CONSERVANCY MEMBER COMMENTS

19. CLOSED SESSION

A. To confer regarding Defend Ballona Wetlands, et al. v. California State Coastal Conservancy, et al., Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 20STCV29911. Session will be closed to the public pursuant to Government Code Section 11126(e)(2)(A).

B. To confer regarding Pappas, et al. v. State Coastal Conservancy, 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).

C. To confer regarding Lebolt v. City and County of San Francisco, et al., San Francisco County Superior Court Case No. CGC-19-581761. Session will be closed to the public pursuant to Government Code Section 11126(e)(2)(A).

D. To confer regarding City of Trinidad v. Tsurai Ancestral Society, et al., Humboldt County Superior Court Case No. DR180684. Session will be closed to the public pursuant to Government Code Section 11126(e)(2)(A).

Please note: If a closed session is needed, the closed session of the meeting will be conducted on a separate conference line, after announcement of the convening of a closed session on the weblink identified above. The Conservancy will reconvene on the weblink provided above to make any reports, provide any documentation, and make any other disclosures required by Section 11125.2 of the Government Code.

20. ADJOURNMENT

Note: 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 Taylor Samuelson no later than five days prior to meeting.

Any person who has a disability and requires reasonable accommodation to participate in this public meeting should contact Taylor Samuelson no later than five days prior to meeting.
Questions about the meeting or agenda can be directed to Taylor Samuelson at
(510) 286-4182 or Taylor.Samuelson@scc.ca.gov or at the Conservancy:
1550 Clay Street, 10th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612