REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL
April 27, 2017
FROM: SCOTT L. MOZIER, P.E., Director
Public Works Department
KRISTINA CHAMBERLIN, Assistant Director
Parks, After School, Recreation and Community Services (PARCS) Department
SUBJECT
Title
RESOLUTION - Approving the applications for grant funds for California Climate Investments Urban Greening Program (Council Districts 3 and 7)
Body
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the submission of grant applications to the California Natural Resources Agency’s California Climate Investments Urban Greening Program and authorize the execution of all application related documents by the Public Works Director, PARCS Director, or designees.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Staff is requesting authorization to submit grant applications to the California Natural Resources Agency’s Urban Greening Program. A project vicinity map is attached to this Staff Report. Projects were selected based on eligibility criteria included in the grant program guidelines.
BACKGROUND
On March 1, 2017, the California Natural Resources Agency (Agency) released a call for projects for the Urban Greening Program. A total of $76 million in state Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds from the Cap and Trade Program are available. There is no project minimum or maximum and matching funds are not required for eligible project elements. The deadline to submit applications is May 1, 2017 and projects must be completed by May 1, 2020.
Signed into law on September 14, 2016, Senate Bill 859 authorized the expenditure of $1.2 billion in Cap and Trade revenues, also known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) for projects aimed to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. The Agency was allocated $80 million to its Urban Greening Program specifically for green infrastructure projects that reduce GHG emissions and provide multiple benefits. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Funds have separate governing statutes: Assembly Bill 1532 which established for the investment of auction proceeds and Senate Bill 535 which outlined requirements for allocating funds to benefit disadvantaged communities. These two Senate Bills provide the framework for how the GGRF must be appropriated and expended.
The Urban Greening Program will fund projects that reduce greenhouse gases by sequestering carbon, decreasing energy consumption and reducing vehicle miles traveled while also transforming the existing environment into places that are more sustainable, enjoyable and effective in creating healthy and vibrant communities. Eligible projects will establish and enhance parks and open space, using natural solutions to improve air and water quality and reducing energy consumption and creating more walkable and bikeable trails. All projects are required to show a net GHG benefit and provide multiple other benefits. In order to quantify the GHG emission reductions, projects must include at least one of the following project activities:
1. Sequester and store carbon by planting trees.
2. Reduce building energy use by strategically planting trees to shade buildings.
3. Reduce commute vehicle miles traveled by constructing bicycle paths, bicycle lanes or pedestrian facilities that provide safe routes for travel between residences, workplaces, commercial centers, and schools.
Two projects will be submitted to the Urban Greening Program, one from Public Works, and one from PARCS. The project proposed by the Department of Public Works includes reconstructing and greening street medians on Belmont Avenue from Abby Street to First Street. The Belmont Avenue Greening Project would completely remove existing asphalt capped medians, reconstruct median islands, replace existing irrigation and replant median island trees in an area where medians are nearly flush with the roadway due to years of overlays. This would reduce the urban heat island effect, result in carbon sequestration, reduce water runoff during storms, and improve the overall aesthetic of the area. Due to grant funding limitations, matching funds for the concrete work included in the project will be required. This project is estimated to cost approximately $900,000. The project meets the emission reduction and disadvantaged community criteria for the program, is highly supported by community residents and is achievable in the timelines set forth by the grantor.
The project proposed by the Parks, Recreation, After School and Community Services Department includes replacing the existing irrigation system at Roeding Park and installing a new system that will use recycled water exclusively. The City of Fresno is located in the Tulare Lake Hydrologic region of the Central Valley, and the State Department of Water Resources estimates that the overdraft in the Tulare Lake Region is approximately 1.5 million acre-feet per year. The City of Fresno’s groundwater aquifer has dropped an average of one foot per year for the last 50 years, and during the height of the 2012 to 2015 drought, the City’s groundwater levels dropped four feet. Because of the significant overdraft conditions that exist, the State Department of Water Resources has identified the City’s groundwater aquifer as a high-priority for corrective action.
In response to the continuing decline in groundwater levels the City is currently investing approximately $600 million to address the overdraft condition, of which $200 million is being invested in the construction and operation of a recycled water system that will provide an alternate source of water for non-potable uses such as cooling towers, industrial process water, decorative fountains, and outdoor irrigation. The first phase of the recycled water system is scheduled to be placed into operation July 2017.
The Roeding Park Recycled Water Irrigation project would eliminate the use of potable water currently being pumped from area wells to irrigate 80+ acres of green space at Roeding Park. The use of recycled water will help in mitigating the impacts of over drafting the groundwater aquifer while complimenting water conservation efforts. The project will also include replacing trees that have been adversely affected by the drought, adding new trees for sustainability of the green canopy within the park, and improving/converting a parking lot which will include replacing impervious asphalt with permeable surfaces, including, but not limited to low impact storm water features, drought tolerant plant varieties and trees.
The attached resolution is in a form required by the grantor. The City Attorney’s office has also reviewed and approved the resolution as to form. Staff is requesting authorization to submit grant applications to the California Natural Resources Agency’s Urban Greening Program. A project vicinity map is attached to this Staff Report. Projects were selected based on eligibility criteria included in the grant program guidelines.
ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS
A resolution applying for grant funding is not a project for the purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act.
LOCAL PREFERENCE
Local preference is not implicated because this resolution does not include a bid or award of a construction or services contract.
FISCAL IMPACT
This resolution will have no immediate impact on the General Fund. Should the grant be awarded, local matching funds will be identified, if necessary, through future fiscal year capital budgets.
Attachments:
Resolution
Project Vicinity Map