Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Jim Eggemeyer, Director, Office of Sustainability
Peggy Jensen, Interim Director, Parks Department
James C. Porter, Director, Department of Public Works
Steve Monowitz, Director, Planning & Building Department
Subject: Green Infrastructure Plan for the Unincorporated County and County Facilities
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution approving a Green Infrastructure Plan for the Unincorporated County and County Facilities.
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BACKGROUND:
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board's (Water Board) 2015 Municipal Regional Permit (MRP) regulates pollutants in stormwater runoff from municipal storm drain systems throughout San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, and Contra Costa Counties.
The MRP requires jurisdictions to adopt a Green Infrastructure Plan (GI Plan) by September 30, 2019 to show how jurisdictions plan to gradually shift from traditional "gray" storm drain infrastructure-which channels polluted runoff directly into receiving waters without treatment-to "green" infrastructure (GI) -which uses natural processes to treat stormwater, reduce flooding, and recharge groundwater. GI measures identified in the GI Plan must then be installed to improve water quality by reducing Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury in the San Francisco Bay to thresholds consistent with the MRP, meeting 2020, 2030, and 2040 reduction targets.
DISCUSSION:
Over the past two years, County staff from multiple departments have collaborated to develop the proposed GI Plan with support from a team of consultants. The plan includes design guidelines, funding strategies, a tracking system, a strategy for policy updates, and prioritized project locations for GI. It describes three primary GI categories: green streets, regional projects, and low impact development (GI integrated into new development and redevelopment sites), as options fo...
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