EAST PALO ALTO
CITY COUNCIL
STAFF REPORT
DATE: February 15, 2022
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
VIA: Jaime M. Fontes, City Manager
BY: Amy Chen, Community & Economic Development Director SUBJECT: Amendment to Agreement with Aquatic Science Center: San Francisco Estuary Institute
Recommendation
Adopt a Resolution (Attachment 1), extending the term of the Agreement by one year with the Aquatic Science Center: San Francisco Estuary Institute (“ASC: SFEI”) to serve as a lead consultant in the development of an Urban Forest Master Plan for the City of East Palo Alto.
Alignment with City Council Strategic Plan
This recommendation is primarily aligned with:
Priority No. 1: Enhance Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Priority No. 4: Improve Public Facilities and Infrastructure Priority No. 5: Improve Communication and Enhance Community Engagement Priority No. 6: Create a Healthy and Safe Community
Background
In August 2018, the City Council authorized the City Manager to enter into an agreement with CalFire to accept the 2017-2018 Urban & Community Forestry California Climate Investment Grant: “From Gray to Green: An Urban Forest Master Plan for East Palo Alto” (also known as the CalFire Grant), which included up to $280,680 to develop the first Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP) and to update the City’s tree ordinances, as needed.
In January 2020, the City Manager was authorized by City Council to identify the Aquatic Science Center as the primary agency with San Francisco Estuary Institute (“SFEI”) to administer the CalFire grant goals, objectives and completing deliverables. SFEI along with Hort Science Bartlett Consulting and Canopy, have partnered with the City of East Palo Alto for the CalFire Grant. This team has been developing a 40-year UFMP through community outreach with various groups and establishing an UFMP Steering Committee to create a shared vision and a list of goals, access current statuses and benefits of trees and strategize an action plan.
Analysis
Staffing Changes
On May 7, 2021, oversight and management of the UFMP project, including grant management of the CalFire grant, was transferred from Public Works to the City’s Community and Economic Development Department. The Public Works Department will continue to lead current activities related to the maintenance of street trees. Where needed, CED staff will work together with Public Works especially upon implementation of the potential ordinance amendments.
CalFire Extension
Since the transfer of the project to CED, staff have been working closely with CalFire on the grant deliverables and sharing drafts while also sharing drafts with the Planning Commission and City Council. On September 28, 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CalFire extended EPA’s grant term agreement by one year. The original grant project performance period that commenced on September 20, 2018 and was scheduled to end March 30, 2022 was now extended to March 30, 2023. Although at the time of the grant extension, the Aquatic Science Center: San Francisco Estuary Institute did not extend their contract because it was agreed upon with the staff that keeping the original contract timeline and target dates would be acceptable.
UFMP Progress to Date
On November 16, 2021, staff and consultants presented an update on the UFMP which will include three sections: 1) Introduction and Context, 2) Current Status, and 3) Plan for the Future. See linked staff report1 and the UFMP draft online for Sections 1 and 2. At that council meeting, staff and consultants discussed and received feedback from City Council that is helping further refine Sections 1 and 2 and completion of Section 3 of the UFMP. Staff and consultants were originally planning to return to City Council in early 2022 with potential revisions to Municipal Code Chapters 12.16 and 18.28, as well as a summary of the public comment received to date. City staff and consultants are now planning on hosting a public engagement meeting on the potential Municipal Code changes and final UFMP on March 30, 2022 – which would be the last day of the ASC: SFEI agreement and then scheduling the public hearing of the Municipal Code Chapters for April 19, 2022.
Next Steps
If City Council approves staff’s recommendation, CEDD will initiate the Professional Services Agreement amendment with ASC: SFEI with the following changes:
Existing Contract Contract Amendment
Contract Term January 21, 2020 – March 30, 2022 January 21, 2020 – March 30, 2023 1 November 16, 2021 City Council staff report:
http://eastpaloalto.iqm2.com/Citizens/Detail_LegiFile.aspx?Frame=&MeetingID=1431&MediaPosition=15 434.576&ID=1963&CssClass=
Fiscal Impact
Funds for the ASC: SFEI agreement were appropriated with the acceptance of the 2017/2018 Cal Fire Grant “From Gray to Green: An Urban Forest Master Plan for East Palo Alto”, presently set to expire by March 30, 2022, but were extended by CalFire to March 30, 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All service costs will be reimbursed through grant presuming the City adequately meets grant matching deliverables and cost staff/volunteer efforts.
Public Notice
The public was provided notice of this agenda item by posting the City Council agenda on the City’s official bulletin board outside City Hall and making the agenda and report available at the City’s website and at the San Mateo County Library located at 2415 University Avenue, East Palo Alto.
Environmental
The action being considered does not constitute a “Project” within the meaning of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), pursuant to CEQA Guideline section 15378 (b)(5), in that it is a government administrative activity that will not result in direct or indirect changes in the environment.
Attachments
1. Resolution