HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/03/2001, C4 - AUTHORIZATION TO APPLY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL GRANT FUNDS FROM THE STATE COASTAL RESOURCES GRANT PROGRAM council
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C I T Y OF SAN L U IS O B 1 S P O
FROM: Wendy George,Assistant City Administrative Officer
Prepared By: Neil HavW Natural Resources Manager
SUBJECT: AUTHORIZATION TO APPLY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL GRANT
FUNDS FROM THE STATE COASTAL RESOURCES GRANT
PROGRAM IN SUPPORT OF THE PROJECT KNOWN AS THE
AHEARN PROPERTY ACQUISITION
CAO RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution authorizing staff to complete and submit an application for grant monies in the
amount of $250,000 from the State Coastal Resources Grant Program, which would be used in
support of acquisition of the Ahearn property at Stagecoach Road and Highway 101.
DISCUSSION
Mr. Dennis Ahearn of San Luis Obispo is the owner of an approximately 700-acre ranch in the
upper watershed of San Luis Obispo Creek. A portion of this property is within the City's
identified greenbelt; most of it is within the boundaries of Los Padres National Forest. It is bisected
by the Cuesta Grade (map) and contains several of the spring sources of San Luis Obispo Creek.
Mr. Ahearn recently approached City staff regarding the possibility of sale of the property for
conservation purposes. Several sources of grant fiuiding are available to support this acquisition;
these include the State Coastal Resources Grant Program, administered by the County of San Luis
Obispo. This program provides funding to support conservation of the State's coastal resources,
and specifically includes easement and fee acquisition of private lands for the protection and
enhancement 'of anadromous fish such as southern steelhead in coastal watersheds. City staff
consider the Ahearn property to be a good candidate for this funding source, and we are, therefore,
requesting authorization to seek funds from the program in its current round.
Appraisal of the property is underway, as staff and Mr. Aheam.have different views on the value of
the property. Both parties have agreed to use the appraised value as the basis for negotiation. In
the meantime, staff continues to pursue other potential funding sources and is seeking direct
funding support from the United States Forest Service, since most of the property lies within the
boundaries of Los Padres National Forest. The project has also attracted the attention of the
National Park Service, as the property lies on the route of DeAnza National Historic Trail.
0
Council Agenda Report-Authorization to Apply for Grant Funds
Page 2
FISCAL IMPACT
The grant, if successful, will provide outside funding to support City acquisition of the property,
thereby providing a beneficial fiscal effect. City staff are working with Mr. Ahearn on the concept
of a phased transaction that would be accomplished over a period of years, or possibly a partial
acquisition, and will report to the Council as the concept is more fully developed. In the meantime,
however, staff believes it is prudent to pursue existing funding sources in an effort to assemble a
funding package for the property. Staff does foresee the possibility of ultimate use of some City
funds at some phase of the transaction; however, staff is confident that substantial outside sources
of funds will be available for the project, due particularly to its strong Federal and coastal nexus.
The County of San Luis Obispo, which administers the Coastal Resources Grant Program locally,
has an application deadline of April 23, 2001, for its current cycle. The County package will be
forwarded to the State in June, and we would expect to be notified about the success of the grant in
early 2002.
ALTERNATIVE
The Council could decide not to pursue the grant monies. This is not recommended as submitting
the application does not commit either the City or Mr: Ahearn in any way; if, however, we choose
not to apply we will lose the opportunity entirely.
Attachments
1. Resolution
2. Location Map
3. Grant Program Summary
C ��
RESOLUTION NO.
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO
AUTHORIZING SUBMITTAL OF A GRANT APPLICATION
TO THE COASTAL RESOURCES GRANT PROGRAM
IN SUPPORT OF THE PROJECT KNOWN AS AHEARN PROPERTY ACQUISITION
WHEREAS, the legislature of the State of California has established the Coastal
Resource Grant.Program, which provides funds to local agencies, special districts, and nonprofit
organizations to acquire and/or develop facilities in the State's coastal regions for public
recreation and wildlife habitat protection purposes; and
WHEREAS,the State Resources Agency has been assigned the responsibility for the
administration the program, including the establishment of necessary procedures governing grant
applications; and
WHEREAS,said procedures require the applicant to certify by resolution the approval of
the application before submission of said application to the State; and
WHEREAS,the applicant will enter into an agreement with the State of California for
acquisition or development of the project;
NOW,THEREFORE,BE IT RESOLVED,that the City Council of the City of San
Luis Obispo hereby:
1. Authorizes the filing of an application to the State Coastal Resource Grant Program in
support of the Ahearn property acquisition project for purposes of habitat protection and
enhancement; and
2. Certifies that said applicant understands the assurances and certification in the application
form; and
3. Certifies that said applicant has or will have available prior to commencement of any
work on the project included in this application, sufficient funds to operate and maintain the
project; and
4. Appoints the City Administrative Officer as agent of the City to conduct all negotiations,
execute and submit all documents, including,but not limited to,applications, agreements,
amendments, payment requests and so on, which may be necessary for the completion of the
aforementioned project.
C �-3
Resolution No. (2001 Series)
Page 2
Approved and adopted this 3'day of April,2001..
On motion of seconded by __ __ _ _ and on the
following roll call vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
The foregoing resolution was adopted this day of ,2001.
Allen K. Settle,Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
Lee Price, City Clerkor nse i Attomey
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Location Map
City of San Luis Obispo
GREENBELT PROTECTION PROGRAM
Ahearn Property
San Luis Obispo, CA.
U. S. G. S. Quadrangles: San Luis Obispo, Lopez Mountain -S
1"=2,000'approx.
Nft�cl�rnen+- 3
_ SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND BUILDING
R e. —p VICTOR HOLANDA, AICP
" 3 n ��-Q DIRECTOR
d
BRYCE TINGLE., AICP
MAN 07 i_UU1 ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
ELLEN CARROLL
Clty W S L 0. ENVIRONMENTAL COORDINATOR
DATE: March 6, 2001 Administratjon FORREST WERMUTH
CHIEF BUILDING OFFICIAL
TO: Interested Parties
FROM: John Euphrat, AICP, Principal Planner
VIA: Bryce Tingle, AICP, Assistant Planning Director
SUBJECT: Upcoming Coastal Grant Programs
This memorandum is to announce grantfunding opportunities in two coastal grant programs:
I. Coastal Impact Assistance P gram
We were recently notified b he California Resources Ag cy of a grant funding
opportunity through the Coa I Impact Assistance Program is grant program will
allocate$6,000,000 statew' a to coastal cities and countie or projects that could be
implemented within an 1 onth timeframe. Projects al must be consistent with
the mission "to ensure c prehensive and coordinated anagement, conservation
and enhancement of C omia's ocean and coastal res rtes for their intrinsic value
and for the benefit o urrent and future generation Authorized uses of funds
include:
o watershed otection, water quality activitie erosion control;
o assessme , research, mapping and m itoring of coastal or marine
resource nd habitats;
o coastal marine habitat protection, con rvation and restoration;
o imple tation of Federally approved anagement plans; and, others as
descri- d in Attachment 1.
Please not ere is a quick turnaround time r these project proposals. The County
needs yo proposals for this grant progr no later than 10:00 am on Monday,
March , 2001. Late proposals will n be considered. See Attachment 1 for
the Pr ct Proposal Form and instructi s. The County Board of Supervisors will
consi r the proposals during their mee . g on April 3,2001 to authorize submittal of
the r uests.
II. Coastal Resources Grant Program
As in past years, we expect the year 2001 funding cycle of the Coastal Resource
Grant Program will again be made available to counties and cities by the Resources
COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER • SAN LUIS OBISPO • CALIFORNIA 93408 ! (805)781-5600 • 1-800-834-4636
EMAIL: ipcoping@slonet.org • FAX: (805)781-1242 . WEBSITE: http://www.sionet.org/vv/ipcopin
COASTAL GRANT PROGRAM PAGE 2
Agency of California. These funds were made available by state legislation which
allows excess royalties from federal offshore oil and gas leases to be allocated to
coastal counties and cities impacted by the effects of offshore energy development.
The County of San Luis Obispo will be competing against other counties and cities
which also have direct impacts from offshore oil and gas activities. If you have a
suggestion for a grant submittal, it will need to clearlyidentify the impacts of offshore
energy activities on our county and the relationship the requested grant has to those
impacts. The County of San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors will be conducting a
public hearing to consider a list of projects to submit to the state. Grants have been
broken into Part A and B category grants:
• Part A grants shall be used for purpose of planning, assessment, mitigation,
permitting, monitoring and enforcement, public services and facilities and for
other activities related to offshore energy development. Up to $500,000 may
be requested for each project.
• Part B grants may be awarded to counties and cities with approved local
coastal plans for coastal resources management activities.The purpose is to
help local coastal counties or cities exercise effectively their responsibility for
improving the management of the State's coastal resources. Up to$100,000
may be requested for each project.
This year we will not be using the pre-application format, but instead will need all
applicants to use the full application format, which is outlined in Attachment 2. The
County needs proposals for this grant program no later than 5:00 pm on Monday,
April 23, 2001. Late proposals will not be considered. To assist the applicants
in preparing project proposals,an example of a funded project proposal from the last
cycle is included in the Attachment 2 materials. The Board of Supervisors is expected
to consider the proposals at their meeting on June 5, 2001 to authorize submittal of
the requests.
Grants will be awarded to the County by the state for one time projects and may not
be used for on-going efforts beyond the grant award period. Projects that require the
services of a consultant or private vendor are subject to the county s competitive
bidding process and procedures. Also, project funds are paid on a reimbursement
for services basis and no costs may be incurred until an agreement between the state
and county is in place.
If you have any questions about either grant program, please call John Euphrat at
805/781-5194.
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