Title
Approve a resolution to:
a. Authorize the Monterey County Resource Management Agency Director to submit a grant application to the State Coastal Conservancy in an amount of up to $500,000 to provide funding and planning assistance to undertake activities related to protecting coastal resources from future impacts from sea level rise;
b. Direct the Resource Management Agency Director, or his designee, to complete the grant application, in collaboration with Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, the County of Santa Cruz, and the City of Capitola; and
c. Authorize the Resource Management Agency Director to execute the grant application required to apply for the grant.
(REF130044/Climate Adaptation Planning Grant)
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors:
Approve a resolution (Attachment B) to:
a. Authorize the Monterey County Resource Management Agency Director to submit a grant application to the State Coastal Conservancy in an amount of up to $500,000 to provide funding and planning assistance to undertake activities related to protecting coastal resources from future impacts from sea level rise;
b. Direct the Resource Management Agency Director, or his designee, to complete the grant application, in collaboration with Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, the County of Santa Cruz, and the City of Capitola; and
c. Authorize the Resource Management Agency Director to execute the grant application required to apply for the grant.
SUMMARY:
The State Coastal Conservancy, Ocean Protection Council, and California Coastal Commission have announced the availability of grant funding through the Local Coastal Program Sea Level Rise Adaptation Grant Program. to encourage local governments and other entities to develop plans that conserve and protect coastal resources from future impacts from sea-level rise and related climate change impacts. The County is preparing a grant application in collaboration with Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML), the County of Santa Cruz, and the City of Capitola to prepare a regional application for a Local Coastal Program Sea Level Rise Adaptation Grant in the amount of up to $250,000 for individual municipalities or joint applications could apply for more than $250,000. The intent of the grant would be to fund activities related to updating Local Coastal Plans (LCPs) and other policy and regulatory documents within the participating jurisdictions to address potential future sea level rise.
If awarded, funding would be provided to MLML, which would be responsible for entering into the consultant contracts, managing the scope of work and schedule, coordinating with the County of Santa Cruz and the City of Capitola, and performing most of the grant administration work. County of Monterey, as the grant recipient, would be responsible for ensuring that the work required by the grant agreement is completed as required and all grant terms are complied with. This grant includes funding for administrative functions and does not require a local match. Details of this arrangement would be set forth in a funding agreement between the County of Monterey and MLML. In addition a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) would be entered into among the County of Monterey, the County of Santa Cruz, the City of Capitola and MLML. These agreements would be prepared if the grant is awarded and brought forward for consideration by the Board of Supervisors in conjunction with actions required to accept the grant.
DISCUSSION:
RMA-Planning, in cooperation with the County of Santa Cruz, the City of Capitola, and MLML, is preparing an application to obtain grant funds to study the effects of sea level rise on Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties and to prepare potential amendments to the County's Local Coastal Plan (LCP) to include policies and programs to conserve and protect coastal resources from the effect of future sea level rise.
The California coast will likely experience impacts from the combined effect of sea-level rise, extreme high tides, storms and coastal erosion in the future. These impacts will play out differently in each region of the coast depending on the shoreline structure, development pattern and many other variables. The purpose of the Local Coastal Program Sea Level Rise Adaptation Grant program is to support this work at local and regional level, particularly through local coastal planning pursuant to the Coastal Act.
This grant program is focused on updating Local Coastal Programs (LCPs), and other plans authorized under the Coastal Act such as Port Master Plans, Long Range Development Plans and Public Works Plans to address sea-level rise and climate change impacts. RMA-Planning is currently undertaking an update of its LCP and believes the collaboration with MLML and other participating jurisdictions will be of great assistance in developing appropriate policies and regulations for the entire Monterey Bay region related to potential future impacts of sea level rise on Monterey County's coast. A summary of the grant application being prepared is included as Attachment A.
An action by the County to submit an application for the Local Coastal Program Sea Level Rise Adaptation Grant has been determined to be Statutorily Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15262 of the CEQA Guidelines as an activity involving only feasibility or planning studies. Should a grant be awarded and lead to revisions to the County's LCP, the environmental effects of any such revisions would be studied separately as part of the CEQA review for the adoption of an updated LCP.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The County of Monterey would undertake the work funded by this grant in collaboration with the County of Santa Cruz, the City of Capitola, and MLML under agreements that would be considered in the future with the grant acceptance by the Board of Supervisors.
FINANCING
The Local Coastal Program Sea Level Rise Adaptation Grant requires no County matching funds. If the grant is awarded, RMA-Planning would utilize existing staff to complete the funded work for the County which is included in the grant as part of its FY 13-14 Long Range Planning Work Program and budget.
Prepared by: Martin Carver, AICP, Management Specialist, Ext. 6049
Approved by: Mike Novo, Director, RMA-Planning, ext. 5192
Benny Young, Director Resource Management Agency
This report was reviewed by Jacqueline R. Onciano, Planning Services Manager
cc: Front Counter Copy; California Coastal Commission; Jacqueline Onciano, Planning Services Manager; County of Santa Cruz; City of Capitola, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories; The Open Monterey Project; LandWatch; Project File REF130044.
The following are on file with the Clerk of the Board:
Attachment A: Grant Application Summary
Attachment B: Draft Board Resolution