Coastal Conservancy Public Meeting in Santa Cruz – April 17
Meeting Notice
Updated on 4/8/2025 to reflect correction for the Beach Ranch Property stop and include parking information for the first tour stop.
Douglas Bosco (Public Member), Chair
Marce Gutiérrez-Graudiņš (Public Member), Vice Chair
Joy Sterling (Public Member)
Jeremiah Hallisey (Public Member)
Wade Crowfoot, Secretary for Natural Resources; Bryan Cash and Jenn Eckerle (Designated)
Justin Cummings, Coastal Commission Chair; Madeline Cavalieri (Designated)
Joe Stephenshaw, Director, Department of Finance; Michele Perrault (Designated)
Senate Representatives
Benjamin Allen (District 26)
Josh Becker (District 13)
John Laird (District 17)
Assembly Representatives
Gregg Hart (District 37)
Christopher Ward (District 78)
Tina McKinnor (District 61)
Amy Hutzel, Executive Officer
Amy Roach, General Counsel
AGENDA
Hybrid Meeting
DATE: April 17, 2025
TIME: 10:00 A.M
LOCATION: County of Santa Cruz Board Chambers
701 Ocean Street, Room 525, Santa Cruz, CA 95060
*Live Spanish interpretation is provided during our Board Meetings on the Zoom teleconference.
*Se proporciona interpretación en español en vivo durante nuestras reuniones de la Junta en la teleconferencia de Zoom.
This meeting will be conducted in a hybrid virtual/in-person format. 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_F3YB1IOpTS6UaJWaoOpNiw
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.
1. ROLL CALL
A. Vote on Remote Participation (as needed)
2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of the Conservancy’s February 13, 2025, public meeting.
3. CONSENT ITEMS
A. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $750,000 to augment the Conservancy’s existing grants of $3,600,000, previously authorized to the Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District for preparation of designs for a 1.5-mile Santa Ana River Trail segment that is adjacent to the Green River Golf Course and connects to the Orange County line in the County of Riverside.
B. Consideration and possible authorization to amend the Conservancy’s previously authorized Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding cost sharing the incremental cost of placing dredged sediment from the Petaluma River at Cullinan Ranch to add Montezuma Wetlands in Suisun Marsh as a dredged sediment placement site.
C. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $460,000 to the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County to complete final planning and permitting tasks for the Community Harvest at Watsonville Slough Farm Project which will establish trails, a trailhead, gardens, and gathering facilities at Watsonville Slough Farm in Watsonville, Santa Cruz County; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
D. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $240,000 to the City of Santa Barbara to engage Tribes and other stakeholders; conduct technical studies; prepare permit applications; and advance the designs to redevelop Ambassador Park in Santa Barbara, including through native landscaping and cultural components that celebrate the cultural heritage of the Chumash native people.
E. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $200,000 to the City of San Luis Obispo to prepare a City of San Luis Obispo vegetation management plan focused on reducing fire fuels and the threat of wildfire on City-owned open space and creek properties and to develop a related website.
F. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $36,169 to augment the Conservancy’s previously authorized grant to Jug Handle Creek Farm and Nature Center to construct two cabins with bathrooms and two new campground bathrooms, and improve related infrastructure on the Jug Handle Creek Farm and Nature Center property located in the community of Caspar, Mendocino County.
4. EXECUTIVE OFFICER REPORT
CENTRAL COAST
5. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,000,000 to contract for services to conduct community engagement and to prepare designs, environmental review documents, and permit applications for development of the approximately 1.3-mile long Pedro Point Headlands segment of the California Coastal Trail in San Mateo County.
6. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $2,000,000 to the County of San Luis Obispo to construct a segment of the California Coastal Trail between Morro Bay and Cayucos in San Luis Obispo County; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
7. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $2,000,000 to the Esselen Tribe of Monterey County to acquire 1,720 acres of the historic Rana Creek Ranch along Tularcitos Creek in upper Carmel Valley to protect and restore natural resources and wildlife habitat; preserve open space; enable compatible agriculture including cattle grazing; protect cultural resources; provide compatible Native American tribal access and guided public access; and potentially create a tribal education center and tribal housing for property management.
SOUTH COAST
8. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,500,000 to the California Department of Parks and Recreation to undertake the Silver Strand Campground Expansion – Design project, consisting of conducting planning and studies, and preparing designs, environmental review, and permit applications for increasing lower-cost accommodations at Silver Strand State Beach in San Diego County.
NORTH COAST
9. Consideration and potential authorization to disburse up to $1,103,500 to LandPaths to undertake the Calvi Acquisition and Management Planning Project, consisting of acquiring the 84-acre Calvi property in Occidental, Sonoma County for preservation of open space, protection and enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat, and tribal and public access; and preparing a management plan, conceptual designs, and permit applications.
10. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,272,250, of which $972,250 is from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program, to the City of Fortuna to complete pre-acquisition tasks and acquire 237 acres along the Lower Eel River in Fortuna, Humboldt County; and to prepare plans and designs for a park on a portion of the property, and to prepare a management plan for the other portion of the property. The City of Fortuna will retain 7.2 acres for open space, public access, and recreation, and the remaining 230 acres will be transferred to the Wiyot Tribe for the preservation of open space; protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural resources and habitat for fish and wildlife; protection of cultural resources; and to the extent compatible with habitat protection, providing public access and California Native American tribal cultural use and access.
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
11. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $2,646,000 to the East Bay Regional Park District to undertake the Point Molate Bay Trail Construction Project, consisting of construction of 1.25 miles of the San Francisco Bay Trail from the San Rafael Bridge Trail eastern landing to the City of Richmond’s Point Molate Beach Park in Contra Costa County.
WILDFIRE RESILIENCE
12. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $400,900 to ytt Northern Chumash Nonprofit to initiate the Good Fire Promotion Program, consisting of preparing a cultural burn management plan, training yak tityu tityu yak tiłhini Northern Chumash Tribal members, purchasing equipment and supplies for cultural burns, and conducting a series of cultural burns totaling 8-30 acres on Johnson Ranch Open Space in San Luis Obispo County.
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.
13. CONSERVANCY MEMBER COMMENTS
14. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
15. 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 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).
C. 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).
16. ADJOURNMENT
CONSERVANCY TOUR INFORMATION:
On Wednesday, April 16, the Conservancy will tour the sites listed below, as close as possible to the identified times, which might be affected by traffic. Members of the public are welcome to join the tour but must provide their own transportation. Please contact Lexi Caruthers at lexi.caruthers@scc.ca.gov if you would like a parking pass for the first stop at Seacliff State Beach, otherwise you will need to pay the entrance fee to the State Beach. The tour will conclude by 4:30 PM.
- 12:30 – 1:15 – Seacliff State Beach Resilience Planning (Latitude: 36.97220, Longitude: -121.91307)
- 1:15-1:45 – Transit to Beach Ranch Property (36.86975, -121.81531)
- 1:45 – 2:30 – Beach Ranch Acquisition for Pajaro River Estuary Climate Adaptation
- 2:30-3:15 – Transit to Santa Cruz Wharf (36.96117, -122.021185)
- 3:15 – 4:00 –City of Santa Cruz Coastal Resilience Planning
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