STAFF REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
DATE: Special Meeting of November 9, 2022
TO: Members of the City Council
VIA: Dante Hall, City Manager
SUBMITTED BY: Michael Roberts, Public Works Director/City Engineer SUBJECT: Agreement with the John Muir Land Trust for the Evaluation of the Refugio Creek Conservation Easement and Appropriation of $50K RECOMMENDED ACTION:
The City Council approve an agreement for the John Muir Land Trust (JMLT) to undertake evaluation activities prior to accepting the transfer of the Refugio Creek Conservation Easement and associated Mitigation Obligation for the Hercules Hub; and, appropriate $50K in Public Benefit Fees or another specified funding source, such as General Fund Reserves, to fund said activities.
FISCAL IMPACT OF RECOMMENDATION:
The Public Benefit Fee, which is developer funded, is unique to the Bayfront Development and was imposed to ensure private development paid its fair share of the mutually beneficial public infrastructure costs associated with the completion of the Hercules Hub and buildout of the Waterfront District Master Plan. Currently, there is $996,398 available in the Public Benefit Fund to cover the cost of the agreement. As an alternative, Council could also allocate $50,000 from General Fund Reserves for this purpose.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW:
The Refugio Creek and North Channel tributary restoration work that was completed as part of the Path To Transit phase and associated Conservation Easement provide the primary mitigation for the Hercules Hub and are described in the Compensatory Mitigation Plan for Aquatic Impacts to Aquatic Resources (August 2015). The Compensatory Mitigation Plan for Aquatic Impacts to Aquatic Resources is incorporated into the Path To Transit Phase permits received from each of the following agencies: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Regional Water Quality Control Board, and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. This requirement conforms to the Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Study (EIR/EIS) that was previously completed for the Hercules Hub.
BACKGROUND:
The Hercules Hub (formerly known as the Regional Intermodal Transit Center) is situated along the beautiful Hercules Waterfront, within Bayfront, a master-planned, transit-oriented development. When completed, the Hub and adjacent Bay Trail will be a regional pedestrian-friendly transportation hub with bus, rail, and ferry services. To date, $46M has been used for developing the Hub, which has been built in phases. The Path To Transit Phase extended John Muir Parkway and Bayfront Boulevard, including the bridge over Refugio Creek, creating a direct connection from SR-4 and I-80 to the RITC as well as the City’s internal traffic circulation needed to support this new facility. The vast majority of the construction cost, approximately $10M in total, was funded through regional, state, and federal grants.
The restoration of 1,500 feet of Refugio Creek and the North Channel tributary was completed in 2017 as part of the Path To Transit Phase (Attachment #1). A total of 6 acres was restored at a construction cost of $2.6M and serves as the primary mitigation for the entire Hub project, including the phases that have already been completed as well as future phases. The permits issued by the regulatory agencies for this phase require the restored area (including two parcels) be protected through a Conservation Easement1, including sufficient endowment funding3 to oversee and manage the Conservation Easement in perpetuity (i.e., Mitigation Obligation2).
The specific activities anticipated to be covered under the endowment funding include periodic site visits and assessments; identification and removal of non-native species; trash removal; outreach including communications with the City and other parties; updating site information on websites and newsletters; records management; and managing the endowment funding including annual costs, endowment fund returns, and fees. Following an initial startup period of 3 years, these activities are funded on the interest earnings of the endowment. In the interim sufficient funding is provided to cover costs associated with these activities.
A Request for Qualifications (RFQ) was developed and posted to the City’s website requesting conservation easement holders submit their qualifications to complete the mitigation obligations. In addition, the RFQ was sent directly to six nonprofit organizations. The outreach was based on a list of California-based nonprofit organizations approved by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, compared against the California Council of Land Trusts for Contra Costa County, and having a mission that aligns with that of this Conservation Easement. No responses were received.
Although the Conservation Easement is a beautiful site and an amenity to the community, it is also a difficult site to manage because of its location in an urban area and its small size with a lot of edge effects that lead to litter and trespass. Despite these drawbacks, when approached by the City the JMLT expressed a willingness to evaluate the Conservation Easement and mitigation obligations, in part because JMLT already manages the adjacent Fernandez Ranch located nearby and upstream of this Conservation Easement.
The JMLT was incorporated in 1989 and has established a strong presence in the County. Currently, JMLT stewards 3,500 preserved acres spread over 17 locations. They are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, accredited by the Land Trust Accreditation Commission and the California Council of Land Trusts. discussion:
It is recommended the City enter into an agreement (Attachment #2) for JMLT to conduct their evaluation activities, which culminates in a Property Analysis Record4 (PAR) used to determine the required endowment funding amount needed to steward the Conservation Easement in perpetuity in accordance with the regulatory mitigation obligations. Per the agreement, an initial $20K would be transferred from the City into a deposit account managed by the JMLT to fund these activities for which the City would receive itemized invoices on a monthly basis. If the initial $20K is exhausted at any time during the evaluation period, JMLT will request additional funds in writing, up to a total of $50K, subject to the City Manager’s approval. future actions:
Following the evaluation period, results of the evaluation would be presented to the City Council. If the JMLT Board and the City Council agree on the terms and conditions, JMLT would proceed forward with accepting in perpetuity some or all mitigation obligations for the 6-acre Conservation Easement in accordance with regulatory agencies’ requirements. At that time, the City would pay the total amount of the project endowment, as determined by the PAR during the evaluation period.
Attachments
Conservation Area Map and Description
JMLT Agreement
Notes:
1 Conservation Easement – Legal agreement between a landowner and a land trust that permanently limits uses of the land in order to protect its conservation values. 2 Mitigation Obligation – Regulatory approvals require imposition of certain protection, management, stewardship, monitoring, and reporting obligations. 3 Endowment – A permanent stewardship fund established to support costs of maintaining, protecting, and monitoring the Conservation Easement in its restored condition. 4 Property Analysis Record – Used by land managers to calculate the costs of land management based on the characteristics and needs of the property and serves as the basis for long-term funding.
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