Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Nicholas J. Calderon, Parks Director
Subject: Amendment to a Grant Agreement with the California State Coastal Conservancy for additional grant funds to construct visitor-serving amenities at the Tunitas Creek Beach Property
RECOMMENDATION:
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Adopt a resolution authorizing:
A) The President of the Board of Supervisors to execute an amendment to the grant agreement with the California State Coastal Conservancy for an additional $760,000 in grant funding, for a new total not to exceed amount of $3,760,000, to allow for grant funding to be used to construct coastal public access and visitor-serving amenities at Tunitas Creek Beach, and to extend the term of the grant agreement to December 31, 2043; and
B) The Parks Director, or the Parks Director’s designee, to execute further amendments to the grant agreement to modify the agreement’s terms, including to accept additional grant funds, so long as the modified term(s) are within the current or revised fiscal provisions.
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BACKGROUND:
The Tunitas Creek Beach Property (“Property”), located approximately eight miles south of the City of Half Moon Bay in unincorporated San Mateo County, totals approximately 58 acres in size and includes almost one mile of sandy beach, steep coastal bluffs, and the mouth of Tunitas Creek. The Property has sweeping views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and is framed by sandstone cliffs to the north. Numerous special status and protected plant and animal species, including the Western Snowy Plover, can be found on the Property.
In May 2019, this Board authorized the execution of a Purchase and Sale Agreement (“PSA”) with the Peninsula Open Space Trust (“POST”) for the County’s acquisition of the Property for $3,200,000. The County purchased the Property so it could be developed into a new County park and provide additional coastal access and recreation opportunities for the public. The acquisition was funded with an acquisition grant from the California State Coastal Conservancy (“Coastal Conservancy”).
At around the same time, the Coastal Conservancy separately awarded the County a $3,000,000 grant to be used for the preparation of project plans, designs, environmental documents, and permit applications for coastal public access improvements at the Property. To access these funds, the County entered into a grant agreement (“Grant Agreement”) with the Coastal Conservancy on May 14, 2019. The parties have subsequently amended the Grant Agreement on three (3) occasions, the most recent of which extended the deadline by which the County may access funds to July 31, 2022.
The Grant Agreement stipulates that grant funds may only be used for planning and permitting purposes, and expressly restricts the use of grant funds for constructing the planned visitor-serving improvements until the County completes the environmental review process required by the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”). That CEQA process was finalized in December 2021 when this Board certified the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration (“IS/MND”), which assessed the Tunitas Beach Improvement Project’s Preferred Plan.
DISCUSSION:
On or about March 22, 2022, the Coastal Conservancy informed the County that: (1) it intends to award the County an additional $760,000 in grant funds, for a new total not to exceed grant amount of $3,760,000; (2) that all grant funds, including any unspent funds from the original $3,000,000 grant, may be used to construct public access improvements and visitor-serving amenities at the Property in accordance with the Preferred Plan approved by this Board of Supervisors; and (3) the term of the grant would be extended to December 31, 2043.
To date, the County has accessed approximately $842,868 of the original $3,000,000 grant to plan, permit, and design the Tunitas Creek Beach Improvement Project’s Preferred Plan, leaving a balance of about $2,157,132. Combined with the additional $760,000 in grant funding which the Coastal Conservancy has now authorized, the County will have about $2,917,132 in Coastal Conservancy grant funding available for the construction of coastal public access improvements and visitor serving amenities at the Property.
To access these funds, the County and the Coastal Conservancy must again amend the Grant Agreement, in the form provided by the Coastal Conservancy and attached hereto. The County Attorney has reviewed and approved the amendment as to form and content.
The engineer’s estimate for construction of the Tunitas Beach Improvement Project’s Preferred Plan is approximately $9,000,000. In addition to the $2,917,132 in Coastal Conservancy grant funding, the County and POST are contributing $2,000,00 and $2,245,000 in matching funds, respectively. Furthermore, the County has secured $828,430 in grant funding through the California State Parks Prop 68 Per Capita grant program and is actively applying for additional funds including a $2,000,000 grant from California State Parks Regional Park Program. Should sufficient funding be available, the Preferred Plan will be constructed in one phase. If insufficient funding is available, the Department will construct the project in two phases which have yet to be scoped.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Coastal Conservancy will provide approximately $2,917,132, on a reimbursement basis, for the construction the Tunitas Beach Improvement Project’s Preferred Plan. Any additional funds required to complete the Project will be the County’s obligation.