Coastal Conservancy Public Meeting in Pacific Grove – December 01

 

Meeting Notice

Douglas Bosco (Public Member), Chair
Ann Notthoff (Public Member), Vice Chair
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudi?š (Public Member)
Joseph Alioto Jr. (Public Member)
Wade Crowfoot, Secretary for Natural Resources; Bryan Cash (Designated)
Donne Brownsey, Coastal Commission Chair; Madeline Cavalieri (Designated)
Keely Bosler, Director, Department of Finance; Gayle Miller (Designated)

Senate Representatives
Benjamin Allen (District 26)
Josh Becker (District 13)
John Laird (District 17)

Assembly Representatives
Mark Stone (District 29)
Robert Rivas (District 30)
Christopher Ward (District 78)

Amy Hutzel, Executive Officer
Amy Roach, General Counsel

AGENDA

Hybrid Meeting
DATE:December 01, 2022
TIME:9:00 A.M
LOCATION:Pacific Grove City Hall
300 Forest Avenue,
Pacific Grove, CA 93950

This meeting will be conducted in a hybrid virtual/in-person format in accordance with Government Code Section 11133. To maximize public safety while maintaining transparency, members of the public can choose to watch the webcast of the meeting or participate in the meeting via Zoom, by telephone, or in person at the location listed above. People attending in person will be required to adhere to the site’s health guidelines, which could include wearing masks, health screening, and social distancing.
Members of the public may watch an online webcast of the meeting or join the meeting by internet with Zoom or by telephone with the following steps:

Webcast (Watch Only): To watch the meeting and not provide verbal comments, please view the webcast at this site: https://cal-span.org. If you do not wish to provide verbal comments, we strongly recommend watching the webcast as this will free up space on the webinar for those who are providing verbal comments. If you intend to make verbal comments, please do not view the webcast, and then switch over to the Zoom webinar or phone to comment, as the webcast will have a time delay and you may miss the opportunity to comment.

Zoom (To Make Comments): In addition to in-person participation, remote participation is available to members of the public via Zoom webinar. To participate via Zoom, you must register for the Zoom Webinar at this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_1Q5-0ksjRJa6B_OHDK5_9Q. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Telephone (To Make Comments): Members of the public can offer verbal comments on agenda items by calling in via telephone. Zoom registration is required. Register for the Zoom Webinar at the link above and you will receive an email with a phone number to dial in by telephone. When the agenda item you want to speak on is being presented, press *9 to “raise your hand” and indicate your interest in making a comment. You will be called upon (using your phone number to identify you) and will be unmuted at the appropriate time.

More information on how to participate and comment verbally on an agenda item or during open public comment can be found here.

* Spanish interpretation will be provided for the December 01, 2022 meeting if you join by zoom. *

**Agenda PDF**

1. ROLL CALL

2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of the Conservancy’s September 22, 2022 public meeting.

3. CONSENT ITEMS

A. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $226,300 of Coastal Conservancy and US Fish and Wildlife Service National Coastal Wetland Conservation grant funds to the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District to prepare designs, environmental analyses, and permit applications for the restoration of tidal wetlands in Wadulh Lagoon on the Mad River Slough on Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County.

B. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $272,540 to Defenders of Wildlife, Sea Otter Savvy, and University of California at Santa Cruz to implement three separate projects to aid in recovery of the southern sea otter.

C. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $482,423 of San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority funding to the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board to augment the Conservancy’s previously authorized grant for operation of the Bay Restoration Regulatory Integration Team to enable operation through September 2024.

D. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $22,000 received from the California Department of Water Resources to augment the Conservancy’s previously authorized grant of $598,000 to Sustainable Conservation for advancing the adoption of programmatic permits to expand the project to include increased outreach to facilitate the use of recently adopted programmatic permits for aquatic habitat restoration and water quality improvement projects throughout California.

E. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $50,000 to the Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans and Nourishment to prepare a study of governance and financing options for integrating regional sediment management into sea level rise adaptation planning in California.

4. EXECUTIVE OFFICER REPORT

A. Consideration and possible adoption of the State Coastal Conservancy’s Strategic Plan 2023-2027.

CENTRAL COAST

5. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $300,000 to the Ventana Wildlife Society to prepare plans, environmental review documents, and permit applications for a group campground and support facilities for outdoor programming within Andrew Molera State Park in Monterey County.

6. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,000,000 to the California Department of Parks and Recreation to improve the California Coastal Trail by renovating several trailheads and trails, installing new signage and drainage/erosion protection improvements, and removing informal trails, in Garrapata State Park in Big Sur, Monterey County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

7. Consideration and authorization to disburse up to $824,900 to the Cachuma Resource Conservation District and to the Santa Barbara Fire Safe Council for two additional wildfire resilience projects under the Conservancy’s Wildfire Resilience Program – 2022-2023, in Santa Barbara County.

8. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $483,600 to the Elkhorn Slough Foundation to use a mobile kiln to sequester carbon by converting non-native invasive tree logs to charcoal at Elkhorn Slough in Monterey County.

SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

9. Authorization to disburse up to $3,500,000 to the San Francisco Estuary Institute, Marin and Golden Gate Audubon Societies, Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, San Francisco State University, and additional contractors and grantees for monitoring of existing living shoreline projects, development of regional design and constructability guidance, preparation of permit applications, and preparation of preliminary site designs as part of the Regionally Advancing Living Shorelines in San Francisco Bay Project at ten locations in the Central Bay in San Francisco, Alameda, Contra Costa, and Marin counties.

10. Authorization to disburse up to $500,000 to the City of Oakland to conduct technical feasibility studies and prepare designs for nature-based shoreline enhancement and resilience features to be incorporated into the plans for the Oakland Estuary Park Renovation Project on the Oakland Estuary in the City of Oakland, Alameda County.

11. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $2,150,000 to Point Reyes Bird Observatory, Inc. to steward approximately 177 acres of restored wetlands through engaging the local community to maintain and enhance the wetlands and to implement minor property improvements by repairing and maintaining public access amenities in the Novato Baylands in Marin County.

12. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $787,500 to Sonoma Land Trust to acquire the 174-acre Sonoma Mountain Vernal Pools Property in Sonoma County for habitat preservation; biodiversity protection; climate resilience; improving wildlife corridors; and public access and tribal cultural uses compatible with natural resource protection.

13. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,395,800 to the Petaluma River Park Foundation for community engagement, park plan development, specific project designs, and environmental review associated with development of Petaluma River Park in Petaluma, Sonoma County.

NORTH COAST

14. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $350,000 to Friends of the Dunes to restore 80 acres of dune habitat to increase sea-level rise resiliency on the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s Wadulh Unit on the north spit of Humboldt Bay in Humboldt County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

SOUTH COAST

15. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $250,000 to nonprofit organizations for three community-based restoration projects in coastal wetlands and along coastal stream corridors in the Southern California region, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

16. Consideration and authorization to disburse up to $530,000 to California Trout Inc. to implement the Santa Margarita River Bridge Replacement and Fish Passage Barrier Removal Project, consisting of removing a box culvert river crossing and replacing it with a bridge that allows fish passage at Sandia Creek Drive in San Diego County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.

17. CLOSED SESSION

A. 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).

B. To confer regarding Grassroots Coalition, et al. v. California State Coastal Conservancy, et al., Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 21STCP02237. Session will be closed to the public pursuant to Government Code Section 11126(e)(2)(A).

C. 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).

D. 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).

E. 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).

F. To confer regarding Ballona Wetlands Land Trust v. California Department of Fish and Wildlife, et al. (Environmental Science Associates, Real Party in Interest), Los Angeles County Superior Court, Case No. 22STCP03307. 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 Conservancy will reconvene in person and on the webcast and zoom webinar to make any reports required by Section 11125.2 of the Government Code.

18. CONSERVANCY MEMBER COMMENTS

19. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS

20. ADJOURNMENT

CONSERVANCY TOUR INFORMATION:
On Wednesday, November 30, the Conservancy will tour the Elkhorn Slough Biomass Demonstration Project, which is on this agenda as Item 8; a potential floodplain enhancement project for future Conservancy consideration known as Castroville to the Coast; and several previously approved Conservancy projects. The tour will begin at 11 am at the Elkhorn Highlands Reserve, 103 Desmond Rd, Salinas 93907. The tour will include additional stops at Hester Marsh in Elkhorn Slough, the Castroville to the Coast project (stop will be on Watsonville Road, Moss Landing, coordinates: 36.783544, -121.767082), Carr Lake, and the Pacific Grove Coastal Trail. Members of the public are welcome to join the tour but must provide their own transportation. For any questions regarding the tour, please contact Trish Chapman at trish.chapman@scc.ca.gov.

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.
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:
1515 Clay Street, 10th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612

This meeting notice and agenda may be accessed at http://scc.ca.gov/public-meetings/