REPORT TO COUNCIL
SUBJECT
Title
Consider Friends of Stevens Creek Trail Funding Request to Support the Local Match for a Grant Application to the Santa Clara Valley Water District to Remove a Fish Barrier on Stevens Creek; and Approve Budget Modification No. 45 to Appropriate up to $9,900
Report
BACKGROUND
In February 2016, the City Council approved the City’s support of a share of the local match for a grant project to conduct planning studies to improve steelhead trout passage along Stevens Creek and approved $9,800 in funding towards the project (Attachment 1). The grant project was sponsored by the Friends of Stevens Creek. Sunnyvale’s portion of the local match was funded by the City Council’s Service-Level Set Aside allocation. The grant was awarded by the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Water District) in 2016. The study was completed in November 2017 and looked at the feasibility of removing eight fish migration barriers along Stevens Creek.
The Friends of Stevens Creek is now seeking partnerships with local agencies to support the local match funding needed for a grant that will construct improvements of one of the eight study sites. A letter was submitted to the Mayor and City Council during the February 6, 2018 City Council meeting (Attachment 2) requesting that the City of Sunnyvale contribute $9,900 towards this project. Similar requests have been made to and are being considered by the cities of Cupertino and Mountain View, town of Los Altos and Mid-Peninsula Open Space District.
EXISTING POLICY
General Plan, Chapter 7, Environmental Management, Goal EM-8 Protection of creeks and Bay; Assure the reasonable protection of beneficial uses of creeks and San Francisco Bay, established in the regional board’s basin plan, and protect environmentally sensitive areas.
Pursuant to Sunnyvale Charter Section 1305, at any meeting after the adoption of the budget, the City Council may amend or supplement the budget by motion adopted by affirmative votes of at least four members so as to authorize the transfer of unused balances appropriated for one purpose to another, or to appropriate available revenue not included in the budget.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
If the grant is awarded, the implementation of the project will include CEQA review and environmental permitting to be performed as part of the project. The Friends of Stevens Creek is coordinating with the City of Cupertino to serve as lead agency for the project. The City of Sunnyvale is not a lead or responsible agency for this project, which will occur entirely within the city limits of Cupertino.
DISCUSSION
Based on the recently completed study, the Friends of Stevens Creek has identified and are coordinating with key agencies such as the Water District, NOAA Fisheries and the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission to address the barriers and improve fish passage in critical locations along Stevens Creek.
One other key barrier of interest is located at Deep Cliff Golf Course in Cupertino. The Friends of Stevens Creek is seeking a grant from the Water District to implement improvements to remove a barrier that impacts the movement of young trout through this area. Deep Cliff Golf Course has granted approval for the Friends of Steven Creek to pursue grants to implement this project on their property. The engineer’s estimate for the project is in the range of $140,000 - $160,000. The Friends of Stevens Creek is applying for a grant from the Water District for much of the project costs and seeking support from local agencies for the local match portion of the total project costs (25 percent).
The 2016 request to fund the planning studies indicated that the City would not be solicited for funding for construction as it was expected that the construction costs would be funded under the Water District’s Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE) Settlement Agreement. However, the Settlement Agreement is limited to projects to improve adult fish migration barriers. The Deep Cliff Golf Course project seeks to improve passage for juvenile fish. As a result, the Friends of Stevens Creek is seeking grant funding for the project.
FISCAL IMPACT
If approved, staff recommends that funding from the City Council’s Service-Level Set Aside offset the grant match. The FY 2017/18 Adopted Budget included $100,000 for the Council’s use at its discretion for unanticipated expenditures of this nature. The Service-Level Set Aside has a current balance of $99,100.
Budget Modification No. 45 has been prepared to appropriate Stevens Creek Fish Passage Grant Matching Funds in the amount of $9,900 from the Council Service-Level Set Aside to Project 832080 - Stevens Creek Fish Passage Grant Matching Fund.
Budget Modification No. 45
FY 2017/18
|
|
Current |
Increase/ (Decrease) |
Revised |
|
General Fund |
|
|
|
|
Expenditures |
|
|
|
|
Project 829630 - Council Set Aside |
$99,100 |
($9,900) |
$89,200 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Project 832080 - Stevens Creek Fish Passage Improvement Project |
$0 |
$9,900 |
$9,900 |
PUBLIC CONTACT
Public contact was made by posting the Council agenda on the City's official-notice bulletin board outside City Hall, at the Sunnyvale Senior Center, Community Center and Department of Public Safety; and by making the agenda and report available at the Sunnyvale Public Library, the Office of the City Clerk and on the City's website.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
Staff makes no recommendation.
Staff
Prepared by: Elaine Marshall, Interim Regulatory Programs Division Manager
Reviewed by: Melody Tovar, Interim Director, Environmental Services
Reviewed by: Teri Silva, Assistant City Manager
Approved by: Kent Steffens, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS
1. 2016 Friends of Stevens Creek Grant Support Report to Council
2. Stevens Creek Support Request Letter dated February 1, 2018