REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: JENNIFER CLARK, Director
Planning and Development Department
BY: SOPHIA PAGOULATOS, Planning Manager
Planning and Development Department
SUBJECT
Title
Actions pertaining to the 2020 Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund Grant:
1. Approve a Sub-Grantee award to Saint Rest Baptist Church of up to $191,000 for the remediating of an existing building on the Saint Rest Campus from the City of Fresno’s Brownfield Revolving Loan Fund.
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends approval.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Fresno Metropolitan Ministry (Fresno Metro) has submitted a grant request for up to $191,000 to remediate a building on the Saint Rest Baptist Church campus. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded the City of Fresno an $800,000 Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) Grant to complement ongoing revitalization efforts in Downtown, Chinatown, and Southwest Fresno, specifically within the Transformative Climate Communities (TCC) project area. The TCC project area was targeted because of the number of planned investments, the economically and environmentally disadvantaged neighborhoods, and the most leverageable infrastructure, and has been the focus for multiple recent planning processes. Saint Rest Baptist Church in partnership with Fresno Metro received funding through TCC for the St. Rest + Food to Share Hub: Healthy Food Rescue and Redistribution. The project will improve the former Farmer John Meat Company Warehouse building for expanded capacities as a Healthy Food Rescue/Redistribution Hub, and a new building will be constructed that will include offices, a training center, and a commercial kitchen operations center. Phase I and II environmental site assessments and an Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives were completed to identify the level of contamination and the cost to remediate them for the proposed project. The Property was identified as a catalyst site in the City’s application for the RLF Grant awarded to the City in 2020, and the grant allows for funding to be granted for abatement of regulated building materials through subgrant awards.
BACKGROUND
City of Fresno Brownfields Program Development. The City has received two EPA Brownfield Grants since 2019; the Brownfields Coalition Assessment Grant and the EPA Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund. The assessment grant was applied for in partnership with Fresno County Department of Public Health, The Chinatown Foundation, and Saint Rest Community Economic Development Corporation and the goals for the plan include the assessment and identification of environmental hazards with defined strategies for cleanup on selected brownfield sites. The RLF Grant is intended to complement the Coalition Assessment Grant by providing financial opportunities to implement potential identified remediation for assessed sites.
Saint Rest is a vital partner. The Saint Rest Campus and Saint Rest Church Organization have been included and involved throughout the entirety of the City’s development of a Brownfield’s Program. The Saint Rest Campus was included as a catalyst site in the Elm Avenue Revitalization Strategy: A Brownfields Area-Wide Plan (2019). The purpose of the Strategy was to develop a “Roadmap to Development” for key brownfield sites on the Elm Avenue Corridor. The Strategy provided implementation actions to achieve the community’s vision for the corridor and three key catalysts sites along the corridor. The Strategy envisioned four potential concepts for the Saint Rest site all of which included a food distribution center.
Stacking Resources. On March 4, 2021, City Council approved the contract for St. Rest + Food to Share Hub TCC Projects #16 and #17. These projects will combine daily metropolitan and community level healthy food rescue, storage and redistribution, certified commercial kitchen operations, and community cooking skills and nutrition education classes. Through the development of the projects, it was decided that the existing warehouse building on the Saint Rest Campus would be repurposed, with the understanding that it would need to be fully evaluated for contamination and would require remediation. The project currently has secured and pending funding commitments of $3,945,217. The funding sources include the TCC grant, Kaiser Permanente, and Tarlton & Son, Inc. As part of the Brownfields Coalition Assessment Grant, Phase I and II environmental site assessments were completed in 2021. The site assessments identified and evaluated potential environmental concerns associated with the past use of the Property as an orchard, a bakery, and a meat processing company, as well as concerns associated with neighboring properties (several of which were used as gas stations or auto repair facilities). Results of these studies suggest that the primary environmental concern impacting redevelopment plans is the presence of asbestos containing materials (ACMs) within the building, and in particular, ACMs present in the form of a ceiling skim coat throughout the building. Mold is a secondary concern related to the ceiling areas and interior of the warehouse. For the property to be fully remediated an Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA) was completed to evaluate remedial alternatives needed to address ACMs and mold. The ABCA evaluated three alternatives: a no-action alternative, an enclosing/encapsulating the contaminates alternative, and full removal of contaminated material alternative. The ABCA concluded that the best course of action would be to fully remove all contaminated materials and provide a cost for the removal.
EPA Grant Benefits. The EPA's Brownfields Program is designed to empower communities and stakeholders to partner through economic redevelopment to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. The program, on average, leverages $16.86 for each EPA Brownfield grant dollar spent and 8.6 jobs per $100,000 expended on assessment, cleanup, and revolving loan fund cooperative agreements. Once brownfield proprieties have been cleaned up, residential property value increases have been observed between 5% and 15.2% within 1.29 miles of the sites and a 2017 study found that an estimated $29 to $97 million in additional tax revenue was generated for local governments in a single year after properties had been cleaned up. Properties that have been identified as brownfield sites and that are included in an EPA process gain access to additional support from future EPA Brownfield planning and clean-up efforts. The Elm Avenue Revitalization Strategy recommended prioritizing catalyst sites in the project area for additional EPA assessment and remediation funds. The environmental site assessments and ABCA have allowed the St. Rest + Food to Share Hub to identify what is required to fully remediate the site and approval of the subgrant will allow the project to receive the gap funded needed to move the project forward.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
This is not a “project” for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Not applicable.
FISCAL IMPACT
This will be the first grant or loan funded through the City’s RLF. The remaining balance of the RLF for grants or loans will be $529,000.
Attachments
Exhibit A - Grant Application Agreement
Exhibit B - Analysis of Brownfield Cleanup Alternatives