Larry Klein
Mayor
Murali Srinivasan
Vice Mayor
Russ Melton
Councilmember
Alysa Cisneros
Councilmember
Omar Din
Councilmember
Richard Mehlinger
Councilmember
Linda Sell
Councilmember
January 19, 2024
Chairman Douglas Bosco
California State Coastal Conservancy
1515 Clay St 10th Floor
Oakland, Ca 94612
RE: Support for Valley Water Pond A4 Resilient Habitat Restoration Project Application to the State Coastal Conservancy Grant Program
Dear Chair Bosco:
On behalf of the City of Sunnyvale, we support the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s grant application to the State Coastal Conservancy for the Pond A4 Resilient Habitat Restoration Project (Project). The Project will create habitat for threatened and endangered species by converting approximately 40 acres of former salt production pond to high-quality, shallow-water shorebird foraging habitat. Approximately two- thirds of migratory shorebird populations on the West Coast of North America use the San Francisco Bay Area for foraging during migration and/or winter; therefore, the restored habitat will provide important habitat benefits to migratory shorebirds. The project will beneficially reuse stream sediment to restore regionally scarce shorebird foraging habitat. It will also benefit the federal- and state-endangered salt marsh harvest mouse by expanding suitable habitat for the species along the upslope edge of the ecotone bench.
Additionally, the Project will enhance the user experience for San Francisco Bay Trail (Bay Trail) users. Currently, the segment of the recreational Bay Trail along the southern margin of Pond A4 is heavily used, but the artificial open water of Pond A4 separates the trail from more visually interesting natural bay shoreline and sloughs. By converting a portion of the open water to a habitat bench, it will bring restored natural habitat closer to the Bay Trail, enhancing trail users’ visual enjoyment and appreciation of these natural areas and the many bird species that will forage in this area. Valley Water also proposes to add interpretative/educational signage created in collaboration with indigenous communities and ecologists to the Trail to improve the user experience.
Attachment 1
Chairman Douglas Bosco, California State Coastal Conservancy January 19, 2024
Valley Water has a long-term goal of restoring the entirety of Pond A4 to tidal marsh habitat as part of the future Calabazas and San Tomas Aquino Creek-Marsh Connection Project. The infrastructure improvements included in the Project will facilitate the transport of that sediment to the pond, and at a future time, the Project restoration area will be incorporated into the larger tidal marsh. Thus, the multi-benefit Pond A4 Resilient Habitat Restoration Project will both provide near-term habitat improvement and support long-term restoration of hundreds of acres of tidal marsh habitat within Pond A4, promoting climate resiliency, biodiversity, and native sensitive species recovery.
The project objectives are aligned with Sunnyvale’s policy goals. City of Sunnyvale policy places a high priority on protection of local creeks and the Bay, including protection of sensitive areas (General Plan Goal EM-8) and planning for the changes anticipated from sea level rise (General Plan, Chapter 6, Policy SN-1.2 and SN-1.4).
The City has been an engaged stakeholder on this and related projects with Valley Water and looks forward to continuing to engage.
For the reasons listed above, we strongly endorse Valley Water’s grant application for the Pond A4 Resilient Habitat Restoration Project and urge you to provide grant funds for this critical project. Please do not hesitate to contact me or Ramana Chinnakotla, Director of Environmental Services ([email protected]), if you have any questions. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Larry Klein
Mayor
cc: City Council
Kent Steffens, City Manager
Sarah Johnson-Rios, Assistant City Manager
Ramana Chinnakotla, Director of Environmental Services
Attachment 1