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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