RESOLUTION NO. 24-150
Resolution Of The City Council Of The City Of Emeryville Authorizing The Mayor To Sign A Letter Of Commitment For The San Francisco Estuary Partnership’s Senate Bill 1 Grant Application For The East Bay Crescent Community Engagement And Climate Adaptation Project
WHEREAS, sea level rise is a potential threat to the natural resources, critical infrastructure, cultural assets, and residents of Emeryville, with water levels expected to rise by three feet or more by 2050 and seven feet by 2100; and WHEREAS, Senate Bill 1, the California Sea Level Rise Mitigation and Adaptation Act of 2021 (SB 1), provides funding for pre-planning, planning and project phases of sea level rise adaptation and/or mitigation efforts;
WHEREAS, the southwestern portion of Emeryville, along the shoreline west of Interstate 80, is known as the Emeryville Crescent and is one of the city’s most valuable biological resources, supporting a variety of vegetation and habitat for wildlife including Federal or State-Listed Species and other species of concern; and
WHEREAS, General Plan Goal CSN-G-5 calls for the “preservation and enhancement of natural habitat, and protection of biological resources, particularly around the Emeryville Crescent;” and
WHEREAS, the Emeryville Crescent, Emeryville Marina (including significant commercial and recreational development), Shorebird Park, Bay Trail, and Point Emery lie within the Alameda County shoreline portion of the East Bay Crescent Operational Landscape Unit (OLU), covering portions of Oakland, Berkeley, and Albany as proposed by San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP) for adaptation Planning; and WHEREAS, the City of Emeryville and state and regional agencies including Caltrans, the East Bay Regional Parks District, SFEP, the San Francisco Estuary Institute, the East Bay Municipal Utility District, the Association of Bay Area Governments, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, and the Army Corps of Engineers have jurisdiction and/or interest in the Emeryville Crescent; and
WHEREAS, the SFEP has convened stakeholders to undertake studies of current/expected conditions and the suitability of potential projects to protect the East Bay Crescent and its associated impacts and functions; and
WHEREAS, the SFEP is seeking funding through the SB 1 grant program to perform prestudies and community visioning for adaptation and/or mitigation actions to protect and preserve the Emeryville Crescent and adjacent shorelines in Alameda County; and WHEREAS, the SFEP has agreed to enter a subgrant award for $100,000 for City staff costs associated with support of the collaborative efforts to prepare a Vulnerability Assessment and Planning Pathways for shoreline adaptation in the Emeryville Cresent Docusign Envelope ID: 3663A51B-A55A-468C-A489-5213C0CF39E4 Resolution No. 24-150
Letter of Commitment for SFEP SB1 Grant Application
City Council Meeting | December 10, 2024
and adjacent shoreline in Northern Alameda County in the event SB 1 funds are received by SFEP for this purpose; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, by the City Council of the City of Emeryville that the Mayor is hereby authorized to sign a Letter of Commitment for the San Francisco Estuary Partnership’s SB 1 grant application for this effort in substantial form as attached hereto as Exhibit A.
ADOPTED, by the City Council of the City of Emeryville at a special meeting held Tuesday, December 10, 2024, by the following vote:
AYES: 5
Mayor Welch, Vice Mayor Mourra and Council Members Bauters, Kaur and Priforce
NOES: 0
ABSTAIN: 0
ABSENT: 0
MAYOR
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY CLERK CITY ATTORNEY
ATTACHMENTS
Exhibit A – Letter of Commitment
Docusign Envelope ID: 3663A51B-A55A-468C-A489-5213C0CF39E4 INCORPORATED 1896
1333 Park Avenue. Emeryville, CA 94608-3517
t (510) 596-4300 | f (510) 596-4389
December 10, 2024
California Ocean Protection Council (OPC)
Attention: SB 1 Sea Level Rise Adaptation Planning Grant Program 715 P Street, 20th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Dear OPC SB 1 Grant Review Committee:
I am writing on behalf of the City Council of the City of Emeryville to express our commitment to the San Francisco Estuary Partnership (SFEP) application for a SB 1 California Sea Level Rise Mitigation and Adaptation Act of 2021 grant for East Bay Crescent Community Engagement and Climate Adaptation. The City of Emeryville is committed as an active partner in the development of this project.
I feel confident this project will support broader sea level rise (SLR) adaptation planning across the Alameda County shoreline portion of the East Bay Crescent Operational Landscape Unit (OLU), covering portions of Oakland, Berkeley, and Albany along with the entirety of Emeryville’s shoreline. In addition to these cities, the project will function in close collaboration with Caltrans, Bay Area Toll Authority/Metropolitan Transportation Commission, East Bay Regional Parks District and the East Bay Municipal Utility District.
This dynamic area of the shoreline includes a range of land uses, including residential, industrial and business, wetlands and natural shorelines, recreational areas and a major transportation corridor - the eastern span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.
Major project outputs include a Community Education and Engagement Plan, a Working Group and Equity Committee, and outreach and engagement activities. As part of BCDC’s Regional Shoreline Adaptation Plan (RSAP) process, this project will also include an Exposure Analysis and Vulnerability Assessment, and a Planning Pathways Assessment. The City of Emeryville is committed as an active partner in the development of the vulnerability assessment update that will comply with OPC’s SB 1 SLR Adaptation Criteria and will be used to inform Emeryville’s planning processes.
With sea level rise already causing changes in the San Francisco Bay and the Emeryville Crescent, solutions for retaining estuary function, protecting critical infrastructure, cultural assets, and vulnerable populations are urgently needed. To date, no comprehensive plan for this subregion exists that considers future climate change conditions and adaptation strategies, including green and grey solutions along the shoreline.
The SFEP’s “East Bay Crescent Community Engagement and Climate Adaptation” project will work in close collaboration with the cities involved along with Caltrans, Bay Area Toll Authority/Metropolitan Transportation Commission, East Bay Regional Parks District and the East Bay Municipal Utility District. This process will seek to understand diverse perspectives of vested partners, including community-based organizations
EXHIBIT A
Docusign Envelope ID: 3663A51B-A55A-468C-A489-5213C0CF39E4 Emeryville Letter of Commitment to SFEP Crescent Project
serving marginalized communities, Tribes, arts organizations and recreation, environmental, and open space groups, particularly focused on the Emeryville/Oakland area of the shoreline. SFEP is uniquely situated to engage these many agencies and other community stakeholders in a coordinated effort
The City of Emeryville is directly impacted by the health and functioning of the Crescent, including the critical wetlands, as sea level rise has already begun to affect the coastline and the groundwater tables within the city. We understand that this work, if funded, will culminate in studies supporting one or more potential strategies for adaptation to and/or mitigation of the impacts of sea level rise in this area, and may provide information that will be transferable to other shoreline areas facing similar challenges.
The City of Emeryville will be working with the Estuary Partnership/Association of Bay Area Governments as a close project partner and Working Group member. City of Emeryville staff will support community and Tribal consultation, and coordinate review of all project deliverables. The cost to Emeryville to complete this work represents a total of approximately $100,000 in staff time for the project. The City expects to receive this amount of funding as a subaward, to support the City’s efforts to ensure outputs are in line with the goals of Emeryville, OPC, and BCDC.
The City of Emeryville is committed to and excited about opportunities to participate in the East Bay Crescent Engagement Visioning and Climate Adaptation project, and fully endorses the San Francisco Estuary Partnership as the lead agency for this effort. I am confident that with the necessary backing from OPC, it will achieve great success. Please feel free to reach out to Amber Evans, Community and Economic Development Coordinator, at 510-596-4382 or [email protected] if you require any further information or would like to discuss this in more detail.
Sincerely,
_____________________, Mayor
Docusign Envelope ID: 3663A51B-A55A-468C-A489-5213C0CF39E4