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NORTHSIDE AGRICULTURE INNOVATION CENTER
NORTHSIDE SOLAR FARM, LLC AGREEMENT
Community & Economic Development Department
and Office of Sustainability
City Council
April 25, 2023
RiversideCA.gov
2 1. GrowRIVERSIDE Initiative (2014-Present)
a. Triple Bottom Line: ec onomic opportunities,
community well-being, environmental
stewardship
2. $3 million 2018 Urban Greening Grant
3. $1 million FY 2023 U.S. Congressional
Workforce Grant via UCR OASIS
Partnership
4. $450,000 ARPA Infrastructure Allocation
5. EDPBM Committee in October 2022
BACKGROUND
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3 INVESTING IN THE FUTURE
Planning for and investing in the future:
Addressing concurrent challenges to build local food ecosystem resiliency Challenges Impacting Agriculture Regional Opportunities • Extreme weather, heat, water availability from climate change impacts agriculture productivity
• Development pressures
• Renewable energy goals
• Aging agricultural workforce
• Adaptation of climate-smart sustainable, controlled environment and high-tech agriculture
• Proactive planning for and long-term protection of agricultural resources • Dual-use (agriculture + solar) land use planning
• Training to increase capacity for a more resilient food system Source: American Farmland Trust “Farms Under Threat 2040” Report, August 2022. farmland.org Low (<10%)
Low-medium (10–20%)
Medium-high (20–40%)
High (40–80%)
Extremely high (>80%)
Arid and low water use
Projected Water Stress in 2040
Projected acres of agricultural land conversion for
development 2016-2040
1,000
5,000
7,500
10,000
50,000
Projected acres of utility-scale solar PV
20,000
50,000
100,000
200,000
500,000
1,000,000
RiversideCA.gov
4 NORTHSIDE AGRICULTURE INNOVATION CENTER
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5 NORTHSIDE AG PROGRAMS & ACTIVITIES
Site Manager
& Master Lease Holder
Solar Greenhouses
Section 4
AgTech Workforce Training
Programs
AgTech Start Up Incubation
Agrivoltaic Research
Soil-Based Facilities
Sections 2 & 3
Beginning
Farmer Training Programs
Beginning Farmer Incubation
Nick’s Garden
(30-plot community garden)
Public Learning Center
Section 1
Offices for Partners, Ag Tech
Start Ups, New Farmers
Classrooms &
Teaching Lab
Demonstration Kitchen
Urban Agriculture &
Greenhouse
Demonstrations
Other Site Elements
Sections 1-4
Community Events Venue
Interpretive Nature Trails
Microgrid
(future phase)
RiversideCA.gov
6 /g41/g50 /g53 /g3/g54/g56 /g54/g55 /g36 /g44/g49/g36/g37 /g47 /g40 /g15/g3/g38 /g50 /g49 /g55/g53 /g50 /g47/g47/g40/g39 /g3/g40/g49 /g57 /g44/g53/g50 /g49 /g48 /g40 /g49 /g55 /g15/g3/g36/g49/g39/g3/g36/g42/g3/g55/g40/g38 /g43 Apprenticeship, OTJ
Training
New Farmer
Incubation
Education Partners
• UCR
• RFSA
• 5 Keys Schools & Programs
• Growing Hope Project
Program Participants
• Veterans
• Formerly Incarcerated
• Special Needs/Disabled
• BIPOC
• Local Community
• Students (K-PhD)
• Northside Ag Center
• Farmers, Ag Business
• Northside Ag Center
• Other facilities (pipeline)
Partners & Resources
• City of Riverside
• Riverside Food Systems Alliance
• RUSD Food Hub
• UCR OASIS
• Riverside County Workforce Dev.
• Riverside Food Coop
• Lamplighter Energy
• Farmers, Ag Business
• Inland Regional Center
• Others
Sustainable / CEA* / AgTech
WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT & ENTREPRENEURIAL PIPELINE
Outgrowth of City’s GrowRIVERSIDE Initiative
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7 1. Community Garden: $32,000 donation from Love Tito’s Foundation
2. Programming: Riverside Food Systems Alliance, UC Riverside, UC Cooperative Extension, Growing Hope Project, Riverside-Corona Resource Conservation District, industry, others
3. Land: California Natural Resources Agency Covenant Agreement
4. Workforce Development: received $1 million U.S. Congressional Earmark; pending application to California Workforce Development Board’s High Roads Training Partnership Resilient Workforce Fund ($4 million)
5. Facilities: Receipt of an unsolicited land lease and lease back offer from Northside Solar Farm, LLC to construct solar greenhouses, structures, and agrivoltaic facilities with a market value of over $4 million
6. Community: “Everything everywhere all at once” support
PARTNERSHIPS
RiversideCA.gov
8 1. State-of-the-art solar greenhouses, agrivoltaics and solar structures generating approx. 750 kHw of renewable energy fully financed and constructed by Northside Solar Farm, LLC at no cost to City or project partners.
2. Lease Terms: 2-year option for $500; in itial lease term of 20 years with an annual rent of $100.
3. $1 annual lease back benefits for the City
a. Approx. 55,000 sq ft of solar greenhouses and structures, and 12,000 sq feet of agrivoltaics for climate smart, regenerative and high-tech agriculture workforce development and education programs b. Onsite jobs and workforce training: 135+ individuals annually c. 6-10 beginning farmers and ag te ch businesses incubated annually a. Est. 15-20 jobs from incubation
b. Est. 25 companies launched over 10 years
NORTHSIDE SOLAR FARM, LLC LEASE/LEASE BACK AGREEMENT
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9 SOLAR GREENHOUSE STRUCTURES
New England South Korea
Hawaii
Hawaii
RiversideCA.gov
10 NORTHSIDE AG INNOVATION CENTER COMMUNITY SPACE
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11 NORTHSIDE AG INNOVATION CENTER FARMER TRAINING &
COMMUNITY GARDEN
RiversideCA.gov
12 NORTHSIDE AG INNOVATION CENTER NEW & BEGINNING
FARMER INCUBATION
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13 NORTHSIDE AG INNOVATION CENTER SOLAR GREENHOUSES
RiversideCA.gov
14 WORKFORCE TRAINING IN SOLAR GREENHOUSES
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15 Cross-Cutting Threads
STRATEGIC PLAN ALIGNMENT
• Arts, Culture and Recreation: Goal 1.5
• Community Well-Being: Goal 2.6
• Economic Opportunity: Goals 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5
• Environmental Stewardship: Goal 4.5
• Infrastructure, Mobility & Connectivity: Goal 6.2
RiversideCA.gov
16 That the City Council:
1. Receive and file an update on the No rthside Agriculture Innovation Center;
2. Approve a Lease/Lease-Back Agreement with Northside Solar Farm, LLC for a two (2) year option period for a sum of five hundred dollars ($500), and a primary lease term of twenty years with an annual rent of one hundred dollars ($100) for a total lease agreement of $2,500;
3. Authorize the City Manager, or his designee, to execute the Lease/Lease-Back Agreement with Northside Solar Farm, LLC, including making minor and non- substantive changes; and
4. Direct staff to draft a Professional Services Agreement with Northside Solar Farm, LLC to complete the Northside Agriculture Innovation Center’s master site designs and return to City Council for its review and approval.
RECOMMENDATIONS
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