City of Sacramento
City Council - 5PM Report
915 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814
www.cityofsacramento.org
File ID: 2024-01234 3/11/2025 Consent Item 4.
First Amendment of the Tree Nursery Grant Project Delivery Agreement (City Agreement 2022- 0807)
File ID: 2024-01234
Location: 1920 34th Avenue, District 5
Recommendation: Pass a Motion authorizing the Interim City Manager or designee to: 1) execute the First Amendment of the Tree Nursery Grant Project Delivery (City Agreement 2022-0807) and Use Agreement; and 2) execute any future amendments to the Project Delivery Agreement, subject to approval as to form by the City Attorney or City Attorney’s designee, as long as the amendment does not change the total subgrant amount.
Contact: Amanda Wallace, Development Project Manager, (916) 808-5453, [email protected], City Manager’s Office of Innovation and Economic Development Presenter: None
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2-First Amendment to the Tree Nursery Grant Project Delivery Agreement Description/Analysis
Issue Detail: The City currently leases the vacant former City tree nursery located at 1920 34th Avenue to Planting Justice, a nonprofit corporation based out of Oakland. Planting Justice subleases part of the site to the nonprofit corporation, Three Sisters Gardens based out of West Sacramento.
Together they propose to transform the site into a nationally significant center for urban agriculture, social entrepreneurship, multifaceted biodiversity, youth mentorship, and farmer training.
As part of the Budget Act of 2021 (Senate Bill 170, Chapter 240), the State of California through the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA), is providing the City of Sacramento with a $2 million grant for capital improvements and operational expenses to implement the project. The City, in consultation with Planting Justice and Three Sisters Gardens, developed a project scope for the grant agreement that includes: installation of electrical and irrigation utilities; site preparation; paving, nursery and production farm structures and materials; Planting Justice and Three Sisters Gardens staff time; and stipends for youth interns. The City and CNRA entered into a grant agreement in July
File ID: 2024-01234 3/11/2025 Consent Item 4.
2022 (City Contract 2022-0914). The original project performance period for the Grant Agreement was May 1, 2022 through March 1, 2025.
On August 9, 2022, the City Council adopted a resolution authorizing the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to execute a Project Delivery Agreement (PDA) between the City and Planting Justice in an amount not to exceed $2 million to facilitate Planting Justice’s efforts to deliver the Project. The PDA specifies a project completion date of December 31, 2024. Since executing the PDA, Planting Justice has worked to secure the necessary permitting for the project. However, Planting Justice ran into several issues, such as unforeseen permitting requirements and Planting Justice’s limited staff capacity due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic, which delayed delivery of the Project. In order to give Planting Justice sufficient time to deliver the project, the City and CNRA amended the Grant Agreement in November 2024 (City Contract 2022-0914-1). The amendment extended the project performance period through March 1, 2026; revised (but did not increase) the project budget to include additional cost categories for architectural services and driveway improvements, and redistributed grant funds among the budget categories. Additionally, since executing the Grant Agreement, CNRA revised the grant program requirements, making it easier to draw down funds.
The City and Planting Justice agree that it is in the parties’ mutual interest to bring the PDA into alignment with the First Amendment to the CNRA Grant Agreement by 1) extending the project completion date to December 31, 2025; 2) incorporating the revised project scope; and 3) revising the process by which Planting Justice requests grant funds from the City to account for CNRA’s new drawdown requirements.
Policy Considerations: SB 170 enumerates funding for several programs for the City, either as a City-managed project, or to be passed through to specific local non-profit organizations. Approving the First Amendment to the Tree Nursery Grant Project Delivery Agreement enables Planting Justice, as a subrecipient of the state funds, to implement the CNRA Grant Agreement project scope, thereby improving existing City facilities, enhancing community livability, improving public health and safety, and responding to the needs and interests of residents. The Tree Nursery project is consistent with the City’s 2040 General Plan Goals in the areas of Environmental Justice, Environmental Resources and Constraints, and Economic Development as well as the recent work for food justice and increased food access
Economic Impacts: None.
Environmental Considerations: Execution of the First Amendment to the Tree Nursery Grant Project Delivery Agreement is not a “project” that is subject to CEQA because it is an administrative activity and relates to government fiscal activities that do not involve any commitment to any specific project that may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment. (CEQA Guidelines §15378(b)(2) and (b)(4)). While the grant funds are generally committed to activate the
File ID: 2024-01234 3/11/2025 Consent Item 4.
former City tree nursery, the proposed activities require review and approval of discretionary entitlements and do not commit the City to such approvals of such entitlements. CEQA review will be conducted as part of the entitlement process.
Sustainability: The project has been reviewed for consistency with the goals, policies, and targets of the City’s sustainability goals, the City’s Climate Action Plan, and the 2040 General Plan. The project will advance the goals, policies, and targets of these plans by improving the health of residents through access to locally grown food, creation of green jobs in urban agriculture, and the advance of restorative, low-carbon partnerships that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support Sacramento’s diverse communities.
Commission/Committee Action: None.
Rationale for Recommendation: The First Amendment of the Tree Nursery Grant Project Delivery Agreement will facilitate the transformation of the vacant former City tree nursery into a vegetable/herb/flower farm and a production nursery for the existing organic plant nursery operated by Planting Justice, a California nonprofit corporation and the lessee of the Tree Nursery. The project will provide much-needed food access and workforce opportunities for lower income youth and formerly incarcerated individuals. The Planting Justice organization has a proven track record with its operation in Oakland and the Sacramento site will be an expansion of its' efforts. The retail component will provide needed funding to sustain the operations to ensure longevity of this community asset. Authorizing the Interim City Manager or the Interim City Manager’s designee to execute future amendments to the Project Delivery Agreement will achieve administrative efficiencies in the limited time remaining before the CNRA grant expires on March 1, 2026.
Financial Considerations: The California Legislature allocated $35.3 million in specified funding for City and community projects (SB 170), of which $2 million was allocated to the City for Planting Justice at the former City Tree Nursery. The state designated CNRA as the lead agency to distribute the $2 million. On October 12, 2021, the City Council adopted Resolution 2021-0301 which accepted the Budget Act of 2021 grant funds and authorized the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to take the necessary budget actions to account for the funds, resulting in the establishment of The Tree Nursery Grant Agreement Project (B02000110) and associated revenue and expenditure budgets. As a condition of receiving the grant funds CNRA required the City Council to adopt an additional resolution, using CNRA’s template, that accepted the grant funding; made required certifications; and appointed the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee as agent to conduct all negotiations and execute and submit all documents required to complete the project. The City Council adopted the required resolution (R2022-0026) on January 25, 2022. The City and CNRA executed the $2 million CNRA Grant Agreement on July 13, 2022 (City Contract #2022-0914). On August 9, 2022, the City Council adopted Resolution #2022-0258 authorizing the City Manager or the City Manager’s designee to execute a Project Delivery Agreement (PDA) between the City and Planting Justice in an amount not to exceed $2 million to facilitate Planting Justice’s efforts to deliver
File ID: 2024-01234 3/11/2025 Consent Item 4.
the project as a subrecipient of the CNRA grant funds (Contract #2022-0807). On December 3, 2024, the City and CNRA executed the First Amendment to the CNRA Grant Agreement (Contract #2022-0914-1), which amended the project performance period and amended (but did not increase) the project budget. Approximately $1.9 million remains in unspent grant funds. To facilitate delivery of the CNRA grant project scope, staff recommends executing the First Amendment to the Tree Nursery Grant Project Delivery Agreement to bring the Project Delivery Agreement into alignment with the First Amendment to the CNRA Grant Agreement and to authorize the Interim City Manager or the Interim City Manager’s designee to execute future amendments to the Project Delivery Agreement to achieve administrative efficiencies in the limited time remaining before the CNRA grant expires on March 1, 2026.
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.