To: Board of Supervisors
From: John Kopchik, Director, Conservation and Development
Report Title: Consider the Regional Climate Collaborative Grant Opportunity
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
ADOPT a Resolution to approve and authorize the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, to participate as a partner for a grant in an amount not to exceed $1,600,000 from the California Strategic Growth Council, Regional Climate Collaborative Grant Program, for establishing the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Coalition that will develop actionable, specific plans to inform sea level rise resilience and adaptation in Contra Costa County.
FISCAL IMPACT:
If awarded, the Regional Climate Collaborative (RCC) Grant Program funds will be administered by the managing partner, The Watershed Project, with Contra Costa County’s Department of Conservation and Development, Contra Costa Resources Conservation District, and the Confederated Villages of Lisjan serving as funded partners. These partners will form the “Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Coalition” (Coalition) and further develop sea level rise resilience and adaptation planning in Contra Costa County. This Coalition will build capacity to educate communities along the County’s shoreline. Measure X funds for climate equity and resilience support the work of the Department of Conservation and Development staff who will be administering the grant. The RCC program does not require a County match.
BACKGROUND:
The Regional Climate Collaborative (RCC) Grant Program would fund, over 3 years, the Coalition’s work to develop a pilot program within the four unincorporated communities of Bethel Island, Montalvin Manor-Bayview-Tara Hills, North Richmond, and Rodeo in Contra Costa County, known as “Communities of Focus”. The Coalition envisions a future where under-resourced communities hold the capacity to lead processes that secure the resources required to transform their local shorelines into climate-resilient, multi-benefit spaces, and where local governments hold the capacity for equity-centered processes that prioritize community engagement and decision-making.
The Coalition will develop actionable plans and projects during the grant period for the four Communities of Focus. These plans will consider the unique conditions and challenges of each community and its geography. To do this, the Coalition will build cross-sector partnerships and coordinate sea level rise related opportunities to develop a shoreline vision by engaging residents and communities in the early, middle, and late stages of planning. All stages of planning and engagement will address the common goal of preparing the Contra Costa County Sea Level Rise Resilience and Adaptation Plan.
In a collaborative process, the Coalition will work with each Community of Focus (CoF) to co-design a survey to identify community needs and preferences for climate-related actions, policies, and funding. The Coalition will work in each CoF with designers, architects, and engineers to provide ideas for feasible multi-benefit projects. This will lead to co-developing and aligning actionable plans and projects for climate adaptation, mitigation, and resilience.
The Coalition will facilitate community outreach and learning sessions to provide information on design options and gather feedback. Through these outreach sessions, the Coalition will raise CoF interests and gather groups of interested community representatives. The Coalition will convene a series of work sessions to discuss community priority projects that align with upcoming grant solicitations.
The Coalition will provide technical assistance and training to develop robust and competitive grant applications at this phase. Partners will work to co-create actionable plans and projects to secure funding for those that provide evidence that results can be sustained over time and include policies and actions that create employment opportunities for local communities. Plans will identify long-term maintenance and operations strategies.
A long-term impact of the Coalition’s work is creating the social infrastructure of equitable, inclusive, enduring relationships between under-represented communities, local government, and regional organizations in Contra Costa County. We will do this by building disadvantaged communities’ skills, leadership, and capacity to actively participate in decision-making processes, and by centering communities in the planning and implementation process. We will then look to replicate this across all shoreline communities within the County.
Staff recommends the Board approve the County’s participation in the Regional Climate Collaborative Grant Program to establish the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Coalition and inform sea level rise resilience and adaptation planning in Contra Costa County.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Should the Board not approve the grant application, the County would miss an opportunity to leverage funds for developing the Contra Costa Shoreline Coalition.
THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
and for Special Districts, Agencies and Authorities Governed by the Board
A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY AUTHORIZING PARTICIPATING IN THE CALIFORNIA STRATEGIC GROWTH COUNCIL’S, REGIONAL CLIMATE COLLABORATIVE GRANT PROGRAM, FOR ESTABLISHING THE CONTRA COSTA RESILIENT SHORELINE COALITION TO INFORM THE COUNTY’S SEA LEVEL RISE RESILIENCE AND ADAPTATION PLAN
WHEREAS, climate change is accelerating rising sea levels, increasing storm frequency and intensity, and moving groundwater toward the surface. The confluence of more intense winter storms, extreme high tides, and higher runoff, with higher sea levels, will increase the frequency and duration of shoreline flooding long before areas are permanently inundated by sea level rise alone, threatening our economy, public health, and natural resources; and
WHEREAS, Contra Costa County is one of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties and is one the five Sacramento San Joaquin Delta counties, with eight cities and twelve unincorporated communities along the 90 plus miles of shoreline; and
WHEREAS, the San Francisco Bay Area is a vibrant, diverse, ecologically unique, innovative, and pioneering region that will be deeply and deleteriously affected by climate change without tremendous effort and investments to adapt to a constantly changing shoreline. The San Francisco Bay shoreline constitutes approximately one-third of the California coastline, but the Bay Area is estimated to experience two-thirds of the negative economic impacts due to the flooding that would occur absent adequate measures to adapt and protect people, places, and habitats; and
WHEREAS, Sacramento San Joaquin Delta is the largest freshwater tidal estuary of its kind on the American west coast, providing invaluable ecological, economic, and cultural resources to Contra Costa County and the entire Delta region as well as drinking water for much of the population in California; and
WHEREAS, the Bay and Delta ecosystems are already stressed by human activities that have drastically lowered its adaptive capacity, and climate change will further alter the ecosystem by inundating or eroding remaining wetlands, changing sediment dynamics, altering species composition, increasing the acidity of waters, changing freshwater flows and/or salinity, altering the food web, and impairing water quality. Moreover, further loss of tidal wetlands will increase the risk of shoreline flooding; and
WHEREAS, flood damage to vital shoreline development, public infrastructure, and facilities such as neighborhoods, commercial centers, airports, seaports, regional transportation facilities, landfills, contaminated lands, and wastewater treatment facilities absent adaptation will require costly repairs and likely will result in the interruption or loss of vital services, large-scale social dislocation, and degraded environmental quality; and
WHEREAS, the increasingly frequent and severe impacts of climate change in the Bay and Delta do not conform to jurisdictional boundaries or the planning and regulatory authority of any one agency or organization; and
WHEREAS, the impacts of sea level rise in Contra Costa County have been well documented through numerous studies developed by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission, Contra Costa County, the Delta Stewardship Council, and other organizations; and
WHEREAS, Contra Costa County recognizes the urgency of taking bold action to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change, ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for all residents; and
WHEREAS, climate change impacts in Contra Costa County will be most acutely felt by children, seniors, low income populations, communities of color, and residents with unstable economic or housing situations; and
WHEREAS, the Vulnerability Assessment developed for the Envision Contra Costa 2040 General Plan indicates that the most vulnerable County residents, including households in poverty, low-income households, and persons experiencing homelessness, are more likely to be severely impacted by a changing climate, including flooding and sea level rise; and
WHEREAS, the California Strategic Growth Council’s, Regional Climate Collaborative Grant Program, for establishing the Contra Costa Resilient Shoreline Coalition that provides a unique opportunity for Contra Costa County to partner with The Watershed Project and access funding, technical assistance, and resources to build the capacity of the unincorporated communities of Bethel Island, Montalvin Manner-Bayview-Tara Hills, North Richmond and Rodeo along the shoreline to be resilient against the impacts of rising seas and develop cross-sector partnerships and collaboratives at a scale that addresses the needs and priorities of Contra Costa County’s unique shoreline communities; and
WHEREAS, the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County is eligible to be a partner and receive the Bay Area Council Foundation funding for certain sustainability projects and programs and related work; and
WHEREAS, authorization, like a resolution, is required showing that the grantee is authorized to sign a partnership agreement with The Watershed Project, the Contra Costa Resources Conservation District and the Confederated Villages of Lijan before such funds can be claimed through the Strategic Growth Council; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Supervisors of Contra Costa County, that the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, is authorized to be a partner and apply for and accept a California Strategic Growth Council’s, Regional Climate Collaborative Grant Program, planning grant, and if selected for an award, is authorized to execute funding agreements and other documents necessary for this purpose; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT the Board appoints the Conservation and Development Director, or designee, as agent to conduct all negotiations, execute and submit all documents including, but not limited to, applications, agreements, and payment requests that may be necessary for completion of the aforementioned applications.
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