APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
________________________
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. ______________ C.M.S.
RESOLUTION: (A) AUTHORIZING THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR TO :
(1) APPLY FOR, ACCEPT, AND APPROPRIATE EIGHT MILLION
DOLLARS ($8,000,000) FROM THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT
OF AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT
GRANT PROGRAM FOR TREE PLANTING, PUBLIC TREE
MAINTENANCE, AND PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT IN OAKLAND’S
FRONTLINE COMMUNITIES FOR A PERIOD OF FIVE YEARS;
(2) AWARD TWO SUB-GRANTS IN THE AMOUNT OF ONE MILLION,
EIGHT HUNDRED AND THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS ($1,830,000)
EACH TO COMMON VISION AND OAKLAND PARKS &
RECREATION FOUNDATION TO MANAGE TREE PLANTING
ACTIVITIES AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT FOR THE
DURATION OF THIS GRANT AWARD;
(3) ADD ONE FULL-TIME LIMITED DURATION, ABORICULTURAL
INSPECTOR POSITION IN OAKLAND PUBLIC WORKS TO
IMPLMENT THE PROJECT FOR THE DURATION OF THE GRANT
AWARD; AND
(B) ADOPTING APPRPRIATE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONEMNTAL
QUALITY ACT (CEQA) FINDINGS
WHEREAS, trees have a positive impact on the people and wildlife who live near them because they improve air quality by producing oxygen and reducing air pollution, reduce water pollution and flooding by capturing stormwater, improve soil structure and reduce erosion with their root systems, combat climate change by sequestering and storing carbon, and reduce the urban heat island effect by lowering ambient air temperatures; and
WHEREAS, according to the 2020 citywide tree inventory, trees are inequitably distributed across Oakland with frontline communities along the Interstate 880 corridor having significantly fewer trees than the Oakland Hills and other affluent communities; and
WHEREAS, Oakland’s street trees have not received routine pruning since 2008 or earlier, resulting in overgrown trees, preventable limb and tree failures, and dissatisfied community members; and
2 WHEREAS, in the Spring of 2023, the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service (“Forest Service”) released a Notice of Funding Opportunity with Inflation Reduction Act funds and began accepting proposals for urban forestry projects that advance the Biden- Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative to invest at least 40% of federal climate funding directly into frontline communities; and
WHEREAS, the City Administrator’s Office, Oakland Public Works, Common Vision, and Oakland Parks & Recreation Foundation (“OPRF”) submitted a proposal for this funding opportunity for tree planting and tree pruning activities in Oakland’s frontline communities; and
WHEREAS, the Forest Service awarded the City of Oakland $8,000,000 to fund this proposed project, including sub-granting $1,830,000 each to Common Vision and OPRF ($3,660,000 total) to plant trees in frontline communities, hiring a full-time limited duration arboricultural inspector for the length of the five-year grant, and contracting with a professional tree care company to prune trees in frontline communities; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED: that the City Council authorizes the City Administrator to apply for, accept, and appropriate eight million dollars ($8,000,000) in Inflation Reduction Act funding from the Forest Service to be received and appropriated into Fund 2102 – Department of Agriculture, Organization 30654 – Tree Services, Program NB09 – Trees, in a project number to be established upon the execution of the agreement with the Forest Service; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Council authorizes the City Administrator to award two sub-grants in the amount of one million eight hundred and thirty thousand dollars ($1,830,000) each to Common Vision and OPRF to manage tree planting activities and perform community engagement for this grant award; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Council authorizes the City Administrator to negotiate and execute up to a five-year agreement with both Common Vision and OPRF for the grants referenced above; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Council authorizes the City Administrator to add one full-time limited duration arboricultural inspector position in the Oakland Public Works Department to implement the project for the duration of the grant period; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Administrator is hereby authorized and empowered to approve any subsequent amendments to or extensions of the grant agreement or subgrant agreements with the exception of those related to an increase in total compensation or the allocation of additional funds, and provided that such amendments or extensions shall be approved for form and legality by the City Attorney and filed with the City Clerk’s Office; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That City Council has reviewed the proposed project and independently finds and determines that this action is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to the following CEQA Guidelines Sections: Section 15304, Class
3 4 (Minor Alterations to Land) because the project involved minor public or private alterations to the condition of land, water, and/or vegetation that do not involve removal of healthy, mature, or scenic trees; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the City Administrator shall file a Notice of Determination/Exemption with the Clerk of the County of Alameda on the project named in this Resolution; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That any agreement(s) authorized by this legislation shall be reviewed and approved by the Office of the City Attorney for form and legality and placed on file in the Office of the City Clerk.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES – FIFE, GALLO, JENKINS, KALB, KAPLAN, RAMACHANDRAN, REID, AND
PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California
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