HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 12022014 - C.129RECOMMENDATION(S):
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Department of Conservation and Development Interim Director, or designee, to
execute a contract with Urban Tilth, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, in an amount not to exceed $435,000 to help
finance the development of the Roots and Restoration Farm project (Urban Farm) in North Richmond for the period
December 3, 2014 through December 31, 2015, as recommended by Supervisor Gioia. (100% Park Dedication
Funds)
FISCAL IMPACT:
No impact to the County's General Fund - funds are from the North Richmond park dedication census tracts (Account
Nos.: 8136 4213 36502 and 8136 4208 36502).
BACKGROUND:
Urban agriculture is defined by the American Planning Association as the practice of growing, processing, and
distributing fresh food products by people living in an urban area. Urban agriculture includes a wide range of
agriculture activities related to food production, ranging from simple home gardens, to community gardens, to urban
farms with extensive cultivation and to raising animals. Cities and counties across the state and nation, and here in the
San Francisco Bay Area, have recognized the importance of urban agriculture as a functional part of a local food
system. The purpose of urban agriculture is to foster development of a local food system, to promote environmental
sustainability, and to increase education and access to healthy foods for urban residents, particularly those living
within a "food desert." The unincorporated community of North Richmond falls within the definition of a "food
desert" because it is a low-income community where the residents are more than one mile from the nearest
supermarket. To address this and other social issues, Urban Tilth, a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation, is proposing to
APPROVE OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
Action of Board On: 12/02/2014 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED OTHER
Clerks Notes:
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS
AYE:John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II
Supervisor
Mary N. Piepho, District III
Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV
Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V
Supervisor
Contact: Bob Calkins, (925)
674-7877
I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board
of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: December 2, 2014
David Twa, County Administrator and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
By: Chris Heck , Deputy
cc:
C.129
To:Board of Supervisors
From:John Kopchik, Interim Director, Conservation & Development Department
Date:December 2, 2014
Contra
Costa
County
Subject:Request from Urban Tilth for Park Dedication Funds to Help Finance the Development of the Roots to Restoration
Farm Project in North Richmond
develop the Roots and Restoration Farm on a 3.1 acre site in North Richmond.
BACKGROUND: (CONT'D)
Project Sponsor: Urban Tilth was founded in 2005 to help build a more sustainable, healthy, and just local food
system in the Richmond area and has grown to be a local leader bringing together a variety of individuals, groups
and other stakeholders interested in developing and operating initiatives based around urban farming. These
initiatives have helped the community grow their own food; train and employ youth; teach local residents about
the relationships among food, health, poverty, and justice; foster public foraging programs; forge partnerships
with local small farmers to increase demand for their produce. Urban Tilth uses its 13 school (including Verde
School in North Richmond) and community gardens and small urban farms to teach and employ community
members to grow, distribute, cook, and consume thousands of pounds of local produce each year, and to create a
more equitable and just food system within a healthier and more self-sufficient community.
Supervisor Gioia's office has been working extensively with UrbanTilth in the development and implementation
of this project. The idea came out of a visit by Supervisor Gioia to Zenger Farms, an urban farm partnership with
the City of Portland.
Proposed Project: Urban Tilth's Roots and Restoration Farm ("Farm") will be a 3.1 acre Agricultural Park and
Riparian Restoration Learning Center providing an outdoor experience for children, youth, and adults in one of
the County's most urbanized neighborhoods - the site is located at 323 Brookside Drive in North Richmond. Once
fully developed, the Farm will offer "You Pick It" learning gardens, an outdoor community kitchen, an earthwork
amphitheater, garden and creek classrooms, a petting zoo, and a working farm providing fresh produce through a
youth-run market stand all wrapped up in a agricultural co-op incubator to create meaningful employment and
training for young people. The purpose of the Farm is to create a thriving outdoor hub and open space providing
education, training, employment, locally-produced food, and daily hands-on beneficial outdoor experience in a
community that offers few opportunities for engagement with safe green spaces. The Farm will be located on a
vacant and neglected site located within walking distance of Verde Elementary School and the main commercial
center of North Richmond where the County's Center for Health and Service Integration Team are located. It will
be a convenient location and activity hub for residents of all ages. In addition, by cultivating a nature and riparian
center area directly adjacent to the headwaters of three creeks, the Farm will foster community awareness of and
engagement with nature and science. At this park and leaning center, North Richmond residents and residents
from all over West Contra Costa County will discover the power of the natural world by working, learning,
playing, and cultivating an open, multifunctional site where they can learn to grow healthy food while nurturing
sustainable habitat and ecosystems.
Project History:
On February 5, 2013, the Board of Supervisors (Board) approved the conveyance of the Brookside Drive
site from the Contra Costa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District to the County.
In March 12, 2013, the Board of Supervisors approved allocating $225,000 in North Richmond area census
tract park dedication funds to purchase the subject site.
On August 12, 2014 Urban Tilth signed a ten-year lease with the County for the subject property. The lease
includes an option to extend for two additional 10-year terms.
On September 23, 2014, the County Planning Commission approved a resolution recommending the Board
adopt a General Plan Amendment to add new policies in the Contra Costa County General Plan Land Use
Element for the North Richmond Area to support and promote urban agriculture. On October 7, 2014, the
Board approved the recommendation from the Planning Commission. Consequently, community gardens,
demonstration/education gardens, edible landscape, home gardens, processing incidental to agriculture,
urban agriculture demonstration site, and urban farm are all permitted uses in North Richmond.
On October 8, 2014, the North Richmond Municipal Advisory Council (MAC) voted unanimously to
recommend that $435,000 in park dedication funds be used for the Roots and Restoration Farm project.
Project Budget: The Roots and Restoration total project budget is approximately $3.4 million. To date, Urban
Tilth has raised over $250,000. The requested park dedication funds will allow Urban Tilth to move to the next
phase of the project including environmental and site analysis, project design/management, and construction of
basic site infrastructure. The table below shows how the $435,000 in park dedication funds will be used if
awarded:
Environmental and Site Analysis/Studies $ 92,321
Architect and Engineering Design 195,520
Project Management/Coordination 147,159
Project Timeline: The jobs tasks that will be paid for with park dedication funds will be completed by the end of
December 2015. Construction of the entire project is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
It is the policy of the County to utilize park dedication funds to meet local park needs. The use of park dedication
funds to help finance the development of the Roots and Restoration Farm is consistent with that policy. If
approved, the balance in the North Richmond park dedication account will be approximately $12,000.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Not providing Park Dedication Funds will negatively impact the ability of Urban Tilth to proceed with the
proposed Roots and Restoration Farm project.
CHILDREN'S IMPACT STATEMENT:
The proposed project will support the following community outcomes established in the Children's Report Card:
1) Children and youth are healthy and preparing for a productive adulthood; 2) Families are safe, stable and
nurturing; 3) Communities are safe and provide a high quality of life for children and families.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment: Roots and Restoration Farm dated 10.21.14