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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 11122002 - SD4 S . a Contra costa TO :BOARD OF SUPERVISORS County FROM: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AD HOC COMMITTEE ON OPEN SPACE FUNDING SUPERVISOR DONNA GERBER SUPERVISOR JOHN GIOIA DATE: November 12, 2002 SUBJECT: Report on Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION 1) DESIGNATE the Dougherty Valley Regional Enhancement Fund as a source of funds to cover the costs of taking the Proposed Open Space Funding Measure to a mailout ballot; 2) ALLOCATE and TRANSFER$450,000 from the County Regional Enhancement Fund to the Community Development Department to pay for assessment engineering, outside bond counsel, direct costs of a mailout ballot and Community Development staff costs for this effort; 3) AUTHORIZE the Auditor-Controller to create a budget unit within the Community Development Department budget for the management of the transferred funds for this effort; 4) AUTHORIZE the Community Development Director, or his designee, to approve expenditures and perform other administrative actions to support the Proposed Open Space Funding Measure, including proceeding with solicitation, selection, and payment of an assessment engineer and, in cooperation with the County Administrator's Office, with solicitation, selection, and payment of outside bond counsel. 5) REQUEST that a recommendation be brought back to the Board at a later date on conducting the mailout ballot. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE O HER SIGNATURE (S): StIVERVISOR PLONGERB-ER SUZWELRVISOR JOHN GIOIA ACTION OF BOARD ON November 12, 2002 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED x OTHER x On this date, the Board of Supervisors approved the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee on Open Space and requested that a recommendation on the mailout ballot be brought back to the Board upon completion of the assessment engineering which would include a cost allocation in the timeline. The following individual presented testimony in support of the recommendations: Ron Brown, Save Mount Diablo, 61 Kevin Court, Walnut Creek, CA 94596 VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE x UNANIMOUS (ABSENT None ) AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES AYES: NOES: OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON ABSENT: ABSTAIN: THE DATE SHOWN. Contact: John Kopchik (925-335-1227) ATTESTED_- November 12, 2002 cc: Community Development Department (CDD) JOHN SWEETEN, CLERK OF County Administrator THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS County Counsel AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR G:\Conservation\open_spacelbos_financial_report_11-12-02.doc BY E ,DEPUTY Report on Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure November 12, 2002 Page 2 of 2 FISCAL IMPACT Staff estimates the direct costs of conducting a countywide mailout ballot to be about $300,000, the costs for preparatory work including assessment engineering and outside bond counsel to be about $120,000 and Community Development staff support costs to be about$30,000. The County Regional Enhancement Fund,with a current balance of a little over $1 million, has sufficient funding to cover the estimated $450,000 in costs for the Proposed Open Space Funding Measure. Should the proposed measure succeed, the County Regional Enhancement Fund will be repaid from the proceeds for all costs as allowed by law. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS On October 1, 2002,the Board of Supervisors concurred in principle with the concept of the Draft Open Space Measure and directed additional exploratory work on the measure. One component of the additional work authorized related to identifying a source of funds to cover the costs of taking the proposal to a mailout ballot. Securing funds for the ballot process and associated preparatory work is a critical first step that underlies the feasibility of the entire effort. The County Regional Enhancement Fund was established as part of the Development Agreement for Gale Ranch I in the Dougherty Valley and was intended to be used, at the Board's discretion,to support actions such as transportation improvements and economic development activities. The Ad Hoc Committee believes that the establishment of an ongoing funding source for parks, open space, and trails is a key component of the County's smart growth strategy, will maintain and enhance the quality of life for County residents and employers, and will provide environmental and economic benefits. Attachments: • October 1, 2002 Board of Supervisors action (w/out attachments) • Excerpt from Gale Ranch development agreement describing the County Regional Enhancement Fund tom:\Conservation\open_space\bos_financial_report_11-12-02.doc Contra ()Countv Costa TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ' 3 " '` FROM: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AD HOC COMMITTEE ON OPEN SPACE FUNDING SUPERVISOR DONNA GERBER SUPERVISOR JOHN GIOIA DATE: October 1, 2002 SUBJECT: Report on Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure SPECIFIC REQUEST(S) OR RECOMMENDATION(S) & BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION RECOMMENDATION 1) ACCEPT report from Ad Hoc Committee on a Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure, including discussion of the need for open space funding, public involvement in framing the draft proposal, highlights of the draft measure, and recommended next steps. 2) CONCUR in principle with the general concept of the Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure. 3)AUTHORIZE the following actions to continue to frame and define the Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure: a) PRESENT draft measure to the November Mayors' Conference and if possible,to an upcoming meeting of the City/County Relations Committee; b) DIRECT staff to further explore the costs of and possible revenues for bringing the draft measure to an election; c) DIRECT staff to work with the Assessor, as needed, to develop preliminary statistics on the numbers and types of various categories of parcels in the County; d} DIRECT staff to circulate a Request For Proposals from assessment district engineers for creation of a countywide benefit assessment district for open space purposes. CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: X YES SIGNATURE REEOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE APPROVE �- — OTHER SIGNATURE (S): SUPERVIS DONNA GERBER SUP RVISOR JOHN GIOIA ACTION OF BOARD ON __L4--octo,ber 122002 APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED x OTHER X ACCEPTED report from the AdHoc Committee on a Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure, including discussion of the need for open space funding, public involve- ment in framing the draft proposal highlights of the draft measure, and rec- ommended next steps; and CONCURRED in principle with the general concept of the Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure. (See addendum for speakers: 1 VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE x UNANIMOUS {ABSENT NONE } AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN TAKEN AND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES AYES: NOES: OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON ABSENT: ABSTAIN: _ THE DATE SHOWN. C©nta : John Kopchik(925-335-1227) ATTESTEDo d t 6 b 6 r 1 292,E—° cc: Community Development Department {CDD} JOHN SWEETEN, CLERK OF County Administrator THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS County Counsel AND COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR Assessor Public Works Agricultural Commissioner U Ale- G:\Conservation\open_space\bos_initial-report 10-1-02.doc BY 19 ,DEPUTY Report on Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure October 1, 2002 Page 2 of 2 FISCAL IMPACT Modest staff costs to perform the tasks recommended above. BACKGROUND/REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS Can September 5, 2002, the Board of Supervisors' Ad Hoc Committee on Open Space Funding approved submission of a Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure to the full Board for an initial presentation and authorization of next steps needed to continue to frame and dune the draft proposal. A copy of the draft proposal, Draft Framework For An O en Space Prote ion and Enhancement Funding Measure For Contra Cost Coun ,and a map illustrating key components of the proposal, are attached. This report provides additional background Information on the public process through which this proposal has developed. Origins of County interest in this issue:The concept of developing a new local source of funding to acquire agricultural lands or conservation easements to conserve open space resources was initially raised In 1998 during Board discussions of the proposed Tassajara Agricultural Preserve. The Board requested a report from staff, "Options for Funding the Acquisition and Protection of Open Space and Agricultural Lands in Contra Costa County", to summarize the available funding mechanisms. As Board discussion shifted to amending the Urban Limit Line ("ULL"), the open space funding issue was referred to an Ad Hoc Committee examining the LILL and growth policy. Emerging as one component of the Board of Supervisors' Smart growth strategy, open space funding was referred to the Finance Committee and considered together with tools for promoting infill development. When the Board of Supervisors authorized polling in advance of the 1998 County Libraries ballot measure, the Board requested that the poll also explore the issues of open space protection and economic revitalization. The results of the poll showed that while combining all three issues into one measure was not feasible, support for open space funding was quite strong (approx. 83%) given the early stage of discussions. The survey analyst concluded that"it should be possible to shape an acceptable proposal over the next few years." The Board wished to continue exploration of this issue, and appointed Supervisors Gerber and Gioia to serve on a new Ad Hoc Committee on Open Space Funding. Advisory Committee on Open Space Funding:To provide specific advice and input on the need for and feasibility of developing a new source of local public funds for open space acquisition, the Ad Hoc Committee convened an open committee of individuals and organizations interested in this topic. This committee, the Advisory Committee on Open Space Funding, began meeting in January of 2000 and has met approximately every other month since that time. Any and all interested individuals and groups were invited to attend and participate (i.e., the Advisory Committee had no pre-defined membership and was completely open). A major portion of the Advisory Committee's activities throughout its process has involved recruiting participation from groups that might not have known about the effort otherwise, including landowners and agriculturalists, the business and labor communities, and city governments. Of course, a broad cross section of conservation organizations was also represented. At this time, the regular notification list for the Advisory Committee includes more than 200 individuals and groups (please see Attachment B to the proposal for a copy of the list). An additional 200 individuals are on a separate list to receive periodic updates on the progress of the effort. Some key milestones in the work of the Advisory Committee include the following: • A kickoff workshop in April of 2000 at Diablo Valley College that attracted more than 150 participants (the Advisory Committee statement on the need for open space funding which was presented and augmented at the DVC meeting is attached); • Development of a list of eight general categories of open space in need of new funding. The categories identified were: +.+ Scenic Landscapes & Regional Parks + Creeks/Watersheds ❖ Farmland + Historic preservation Report on Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure October 1, 2002 Page 3of3 Local & Municipal Parks/Recreation «• Shorelines •a Trails/Public Access Facilities •3 Wildlife habitat and corridors • Circulation of a request for proposals("RFP")for open space"flagship" projects any where in the County consistent with at least one of the eight categories discussed above. This RFP was circulated to the entire 400-person mailing list. Approximately 50 proposals (totaling $250M) were received. These proposals became the foundation for framing the current Draft Funding Proposals. ■ Development of the Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure, a task that began in earnest in the summer of 2001 and has continued to be the focus of Advisory Committee work since that time. Subcommittee: A working subcommittee of the Advisory Committee directly compiled drafts of Advisory Committee work products for review by the larger group,and met several times a month during portions of the process. The contributions of Subcommitte members deserves special recognition. Subcommittee participants included; Christina!Batt Muir Heritage Land Trust Arthur Bonwell Save Mount Diablo Ran_ _ Brown Saye Mount Diablo Richard Chamberlain Town of Moraga Jim Cutler Planning,Mediation&Environmental Srvcs. (David Dolberg Trails for Richmond Action Committee(TRAC) Bob Doyle East Bay Regional Park District �JodyM:u w 3ones „,�,,.,.: City of Waintrt CreatikW:,:U...�,�.....,.w,.:...u:.,:.,:,,w:,,,:.,:,,,,,.:�.:W.,:.,... Anthony Norris City of Richmond,Parks Department Steve Pardieck Muir Herm Land Trust Mike Vukellch Contra Costa Farm Bureau Hermann':.Welm Contra Costa Economic Partnership Additional outreach: Staff and members of the Ad Hoc and Advisory Committees have made a number of presentations to outside organizations on the work to frame an Open Space Funding Measure. A partial list of groups to receive these detailed presentations so far includes: the Contra Costa County Citizens Land Alliance (Board and Annual Symposium); Sierra Club (Public Lands and West Contra Costa Committees), Contra Costa Council (full council and Land Use Task Force); and the Contra Costa economic Partnership. Of course, Advisory Committee participants represented a broad array of interested organizations, and we expect most meeting attendees regularly updated their constituencies on the progress of the Advisory Committee. Additional detailed presentations by staff will likely be requested should the Board choose to move forward in its consideration of this proposal. Web site: Staff created a website for the Ad Hoc and Advisory Committee, and used that website as one means to transmit meeting materials to participants. The website contains an extensive collection of past and present work products and background information on the effort. The website may be accessed at the following url: hftp://www.co.contra-costa.ca.us/depart/cd/Water/openspace.htm Attachments: • Draft Proposed Open Space Funding Measure ("Draft Framework for an Open Space Protection and Enhancement Measure for Contra Costa County") • Draft map illustrating key components of the Draft Proposed Funding Measure • May 2000 statement by the Advisory Committee on the need for open space funding i1BICD1IAPPLtGROUPStConserv\Johntosforumauthf00.doc EXCERPT from January 11, 1995 Development.Agreement between County of Contra Costa and Shapell Industries, Inc. Relating to the Development Commonly Known as Country Club at Gale Ranch provisions of the Settlement Agreement regarding the dedication and improvement of parkland. Developer shall have no obligation relating to Country Club at Gale Ranch and the provision of parkland other than as described in this Section 3.1(d). (e) Affordable Housing. Developer shall, in connection with its development of Country Club at Gale Ranch, implement the terms and provisions of the Affordable Housing Program adopted by the Board on .March 22, 1994, as such Affordable Housing Program, notwithstanding any County regulations to the contrary, may be amended from time to time, by mutual agreement of the Parties, regarding its application to the Country Club at Gale Ranch Site (the "Affordable Housing Program"). (f) "Traffic Impact Mitigation. Developer's obligations regarding traffic impact mitigation shall be limited to those established by the Project Conditions and County shall impose no additional traffic impact fee or mitigation of any kind. Developer's compliance with the Project Conditions relating to traffic impact mitigation constitutes compliance with the requirements of the Settlement Agreement regarding traffic impact mitigation for the Country Club at Gale Ranch. All funds paid by Developer to County for traffic impact mitigation pursuant to the Project Conditions may be spent by County only for the specific purposes for which collected. (g) County Regional Enhancement Contribution. Developer shall pay to County a contribution of $1,000 per residential unit (the "County Regional Enhancement Contribution"), payable at building permit issuance, which, regardless of any annexation and notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, County, and not any annexing city, shall receive and spend for one or any number of the following purposes and in those locations determined by the Board: transit improvements, other transportation improvements, assistance with the provision of affordable housing, and economic development activities. The County Regional Enhancement Contribution shall be adjusted annually in accordance with the construction cost index for the San Francisco Bay Area (1994=100) published in the Engineering News Record. 10