Coastal Conservancy Public Meeting in Oakland – February 19
Meeting Notice
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)
Meagan Harmon 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
Ryan Berghoff, Senior Staff Counsel
AGENDA
Hybrid Meeting
DATE: February 19, 2026
TIME: 10:00 A.M
LOCATION: Elihu M Harris State Building Room 1 – 2nd Floor
1515 Clay St., Room 1, Oakland CA 94612
*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.
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.
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_Rq_URZMEThiIy9CrT0B3Bw
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
1a. Vote on Remote Participation (as needed)
2. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES of the Conservancy’s November 20, 2025, public meeting.
3. CONSENT ITEMS
A. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $121,000 to Sonoma Land Trust to augment the grant of $1,241,000 authorized by the Conservancy on February 15, 2024 and subsequently augmented by $170,500 to plan for ecological restoration of 280 acres of baylands and alluvial fan in the Tolay Creek Baylands in Sonoma County by conducting community engagement, preparing preliminary designs and environmental compliance documents, and developing a permitting strategy. This augmentation is needed to allow for payment of indirect costs.
B. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $275,000 to the City of Capitola to undertake the Esplanade Park Coastal Access Enhancement and Adaptation Plan, consisting of planning and conceptual design for climate-resilient improvements at Esplanade Park in Santa Cruz County.
C. Consideration and authorization to disburse up to $1,075,014 of grant funds from the California Department of Conservation’s Regional Forest and Fire Capacity Program to augment the total grant amount authorized on November 20, 2025 for grants to five public agencies to improve forest health and wildfire resiliency, facilitate greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and increase carbon sequestration in forests in Alameda, Santa Clara, San Luis Obispo, and Santa Barbara Counties. These additional funds will be granted to the Santa Barbara County Fire Safe Council and the Native Coast Action Network to carry out planning, wildfire steward training, and workforce development projects in Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties.
D. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $941,000 to Ducks Unlimited, Inc. to augment a previously authorized Conservancy grant for the restoration of tidal marsh and creation of public access at the Mountain View Ponds (Ponds A1 and A2W) and to disburse $559,000 to the California Wildlife Foundation to conduct monitoring and adaptive management, both of which are part of Phase 2 of the South Bay Salt Pond Restoration Project in Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Alameda Counties.
E. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $410,000 to the Coastal Corridor Alliance to complete a wetland restoration feasibility study which will include planning tasks and biological analyses to restore and enhance approximately 130 acres of degraded wetland and riparian habitat in the Frank and Joan Randall Preserve, formerly known as Banning Ranch, in the City of Newport Beach in Orange County.
F. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $225,000 to two nonprofit organizations and one government agency for three projects that facilitate and enhance the public’s opportunities to explore the Santa Ana River. Participants will visit locations along the Santa Ana River and various tributaries in San Bernardino, Riverside, and Orange counties.
G. Consideration and possible authorization for the Humboldt County Resource Conservation District (HCRCD) to disburse up to $500,000 of the Conservancy’s previously granted North Coast Wildfire Resilience Planning and Implementation Grant Program funds to Sanctuary Forest to implement the Vanauken Creek Fuel Break Project, consisting of creating shaded fuel breaks and conducting fuel reduction through forest thinning and prescribed burning on a total area of approximately 597 acres near the community of Whitethorn in Humboldt County; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
H. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $950,000 to San Mateo County to augment the Conservancy grant previously authorized on March 24, 2022 for construction of public access improvements and visitor-serving amenities at the Don Horsley Park at Tunitas Creek Beach in San Mateo County, expansion of the project to include stabilization of two hillslopes above Tunitas Creek to protect the public access improvements, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
I. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,448,400 to the Petaluma River Park Foundation to augment the Conservancy grants of $1,395,800, authorized on December 1, 2022, and of $57,120, authorized on November 21, 2024, and augmented by $148,880 on December 3, 2024, for the Petaluma River Park Planning Project, consisting of community engagement, park plan development, specific project designs, research and design of interpretive materials under the Coastal Stories Grant Program, and environmental review associated with development of Petaluma River Park in Petaluma, Sonoma County.
J. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse an additional $1,500,000 to the City of Oceanside to augment a grant previously authorized by the Conservancy on June 6, 2024 in the amount of $1,643,344, for a total authorized amount of $3,143,344, to undertake the Loma Alta Slough Wetland Enhancement Project, consisting of the enhancement of 5.8 acres of coastal wetlands in the City of Oceanside in San Diego County.
K. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $2,700,000 to augment the Conservancy’s previously authorized grant to the City of Imperial Beach for the Bayshore Bikeway Resiliency Project, consisting of conducting outreach and planning and preparing designs, environmental compliance documents, and permit applications needed to retrofit a 1.2-mile segment of the Bayshore Bikeway into a multi-benefit community flood protection and ecosystem resilience corridor in Imperial Beach, San Diego County.
L. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse $5,917,914 of funds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to The Nature Conservancy to augment the State Coastal Conservancy grant authorized on February 15, 2024 in the amount of $35,000,000, and subsequently augmented by the Executive Officer by $125,223, for a total authorized amount of $41,043,137, to (1) undertake the first phase of the Beach Restoration and Public Access Project, consisting of final design, permitting, and implementation of restoration and public access improvements on 280 acres at Ormond Beach, and management of the Ormond Beach wetlands; and (2) to expand the scope of the first phase to include final design and permitting of an additional 108 acres, and possible implementation of restoration and public access improvements on the additional 108 acres in Ventura County.
4. EXECUTIVE OFFICER REPORT
A. EO Report: Year 3 Strategic Plan Progress Report
B. Coastal Stories: Peoples of the Canal
SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA
5. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $2,000,000 to the Marin Audubon Society to complete the Greater Bahia Wetlands Acquisition, which consists of acquiring the approximately 323-acre Leveroni property located along the Petaluma River in Marin County for protection, restoration, and enhancement of natural resources and wildlife habitat; protection of cultural resources; and potential public access compatible with those purposes.
6. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $2,769,000 to American Canyon Community and Parks Foundation to undertake the Napa River Ecology Center, Implementation Phase, consisting of retrofitting a defunct corporation yard into an accessible, environmental education center that includes educational and interpretive elements, climate resiliency features, and connector trails in Napa County.
7. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $2,640,000 to the City of Alameda to conduct community engagement; to prepare plans, designs, environmental review documents, and permit applications; and to coordinate permitting for the Bay Farm Island Near-Term Sea Level Rise Adaptation Project, which consists of a levee, nature-based shoreline protection, and an updated pump station along the northern shoreline of Bay Farm Island, and interim drainage improvements including raising grades along Island Drive, in the City of Alameda.
8. Consideration and possible authorization to: 1) enter into a Federal Cost Share Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the purpose of investigating the region’s flood adaptation needs, identifying priority locations and stakeholders, and supporting capacity building for San Francisco Bay shoreline multi-benefit flood risk management projects; and disburse up to $150,000 to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the Conservancy’s contribution to the Federal Cost Share Agreement, and 2) disburse up to $693,000 to the Bay Area Council Foundation to conduct an economic analysis of the potential for local governments to use policy tools to direct a portion of private sector redevelopment funding to San Francisco Bay shoreline multi-benefit flood risk management projects and to conduct outreach about federal and regional funding for along the Bay shoreline in the 9-county Bay Area.
9. Consideration and possible authorization to (1) enter into a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; in which the Conservancy is the non-federal sponsor for the Corps’s placement of dredged sediment from federal dredging projects at the Cullinan Ranch, Montezuma, Eden Landing, and Hamilton-Bel Marin Keys wetland restoration sites on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay in Alameda, Solano, and Marin counties; 2) disburse to the Corps $13,900,000, including $12,000,000 from a grant to the Conservancy from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement; and 3) adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
SOUTH COAST
10. Consideration and possible Authorization to disburse up to $2,000,000 to the City of San Clemente for the San Clemente North Beach Sand Retention Planning Project, consisting of conducting studies and public outreach; and preparing designs, environmental compliance documents, and permit applications fora nature-based sand retention project to reduce coastal erosion along the San Clemente shoreline, in Orange County.
11. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $385,442 to five non-profit organizations for five community-based dune, wetland, and stream restoration projects on approximately 41 acres in Ventura, Los Angeles, and San Diego Counties.
12. Consideration and authorization to disburse up to $1,242,182 to the City of Ventura to engage the community and to undertake the Pierpont Beach Management Plan, consisting of site assessment and engineering studies, design and conceptual planning for living shoreline and sand management activities, an implementation plan for a preferred alternative suite of projects, preparation of an environmental compliance documents, and preparation of permit applications at Pierpont Beach in Ventura County.
NORTH COAST
13. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,239,300 to Save the Redwoods League for the Founders Grove Renewal and Restoration Project, consisting of restoration of a 0.75-acre old-growth coast redwood grove, building a new mile-long accessible trail and pedestrian bridge, and installation of interpretive and wayfinding signage in the Founders Grove area of Humboldt Redwoods State Park in Humboldt County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act.
14. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,500,000 to Sonoma County Regional Parks to replace the aging icehouse at Spud Point Marina, Bodega Bay, western Sonoma County.
15. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,066,000 to Humboldt County Resource Conservation District to undertake the Jacoby Creek Restoration Planning Project, consisting of conducting studies, developing approximately three conceptual designs, collaborating with the community and tribes to select one design for advancement to a 30% project design, and preparing environmental compliance documents to enhance creek habitat and reduce flood risk in the Jacoby Creek watershed in the community of Bayside and the City of Arcata, Humboldt County.
16. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $3,050,000 to the Sonoma Land Trust for the Osprey Hill Ranch Acquisition Project, consisting of acquisition of a 365-acre ranch for public access and for natural resources, habitat, open space, agriculture, and cultural resources protection, restoration, and management in Sonoma County.
CENTRAL COAST
17. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $507,500 to Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara to undertake the Santa Barbara Ocean Collective Shoreside Infrastructure Planning project, consisting of engaging tribes and other stakeholders; conducting technical studies; preparing permit applications; and advancing to 60% design plans to develop an unused 16,000 square foot lot on the Santa Barbara City College campus into a community boat yard.
18. Consideration and authorization to disburse up to $2,015,000 to the City of Santa Barbara to undertake the Lower Sycamore Creek Flood Mitigation and Restoration Planning Project, consisting of completing technical studies; conducting public outreach; evaluating design alternatives; and preparing 30% overall project design, 60% channel restoration design, environmental compliance documents, and permit applications for restoration of lower Sycamore Creek in Santa Barbara County.
19. Consideration and possible Conservancy authorization to disburse up to $2,000,000 to the Peninsula Open Space Trust to acquire the 196-acre San Gregorio Ranch to protect, restore, and enhance natural resources and wildlife habitat, including wildlife connectivity, and for public access and compatible agriculture use in San Gregorio, San Mateo County.
WILDFIRE RESILIENCE
20. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $1,500,000 to the Mendocino County Resource Conservation District to implement the Ukiah West Hills Project, which consists of reducing fuels on 270-370 acres in the Ukiah Western Hills in Mendocino County.
21. Consideration and possible authorization to disburse up to $2,000,000 to one tribe and one nonprofit organization to carry out implementation projects that will improve forest health and wildfire resiliency in the vicinity of Gasquet, Del Norte County and in the vicinity of Somes Bar, Humboldt 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.
22. CONSERVANCY MEMBER COMMENTS
23. PUBLIC COMMENTS ON NON-AGENDA ITEMS
24. 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 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).
25. 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.
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