Title
Summary Title: Accept a Grant and Allocate Funds for the Bay Farm Island Adaptation Project to Address Sea Level Rise
Adoption of Resolution Authorizing the Interim City Manager, or Designee, to Execute All Necessary Documents with the State Coastal Conservancy to Accept $2,640,000 in Grant Funding for the Bay Farm Island Near-Term Adaptation Project Planning (C71100); and
Adoption of Resolution Amending the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Revenue and Expenditure Budgets of Grants Fund (222) and the Capital Improvement Project Fund (C71100) by $2,640,000 and to Increase Authorized Expenditures in the General Fund By $50,000 and Increase Authorized Transfer Revenue and Expenditure Budget in the Bay Farm Island Adaptation Project (C71100) by $50,000.
Five items to be considered concurrently: Bay Farm Island adaptation project grants and funding and four agreements: Conger Moss Guillard Landscape Architecture, Greenbelt Alliance, Community Action for a Sustainable Alameda, and San Francisco Estuary Institute.
This phase of the project only involves planning studies to inform further future actions, which are yet to be approved, and is thus exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review under CEQA Guidelines section 15262 - Feasibility and Planning Studies. Further environmental review will be conducted for the individual resilience projects upon development of infrastructure design work. (Planning Building and Transportation C71100)
Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Adam W. Politzer, Interim City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Consistent with City Council direction, the City of Alameda (City) has been leading the Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee (OAAC) to plan for sea level rise adaptation in the Oakland-Alameda subregion since 2021. The City with OAAC has been working on two high-priority projects - the Estuary Adaptation Project (Estuary Project) and the Bay Farm Island Adaptation Project (BFI Project) - and leading development of a Shoreline Adaptation Plan (Adaptation Plan).
City Council first authorized funding for the Bay Farm Island Project to protect the area from flooding in 2020. The purpose of this agenda item is for the City Council to authorize acceptance and execution of necessary agreements for grant funds from the Coastal Conservancy to fund for the next phase of the BFI Project and to allocate $50,000 for Fiscal Year 2025-26 from the General Fund for Public Works staff costs related to the project.
Prop 68 funds for this project must be encumbered by the State Coastal Conservancy by May 2026, which requires the grant agreement to be signed by the end of April 2026.
BACKGROUND
This agenda item is a culmination of the following actions:
In 2019, City Council adopted the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP), which outlines an interagency collaborative approach to prepare for sea level rise and to address priority flooding locations.
In 2020, City Council authorized funding for initial studies to inform sea level rise adaptation plans for Veterans Court and the Bay Farm Island area.
In 2021, City staff initiated OAAC to plan for sea level rise adaptation in the Oakland-Alameda subregion.
In 2022 and 2023, City Council adopted the Climate Adaptation and Hazard Mitigation Plan, and through a series of budget, grant and contract authorizations, enabled OAAC’s work on the BFI Project, Estuary Project and the Adaptation Plan.
In 2025, City Council endorsed the concept design for the BFI Project, authorized First and Second amendments to the Conger Moss Guillard (CMG) agreement to assist with project coordination and grant writing and to conduct a Geomorphology and Ecology Study for the South Shore area, respectively, and appropriated the California Ocean Protection Council grant funds to complete the Adaptation Plan.
The purpose of this agenda item is to request City Council authorization to execute all necessary agreements to accept awarded grant funding, a transfer from the General Fund, and related actions for funding for the next phase of the BFI Project.
DISCUSSION
BFI Project: The purpose of this project is to remove the lagoon area of BFI from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 100-year floodplain, bolster the northern shoreline and Bay Trail from erosion, enhance shoreline habitat with nature-based solutions and enhance public recreation, including improvements to the San Francisco Bay Trail. Given the complexity and cost of the BFI Project, the project is being implemented in phases since inception of the project in 2021 as follows:
• Phase 1 of the project developed a design concept to 30 percent design and included a comprehensive community engagement process. Phase 1 was funded with FEMA community project funding;
• Phase 2 of the project is in process and is initiating regulatory agency review and completing surveys and geotechnical studies to inform the next phase of design and environmental documentation. Phase 2 is paid for by City General Fund; and
• Phase 3, which is the purpose of this agenda item, has a two-year timeframe and continues design to 60 percent, completes the environmental documentation, coordinates permitting, conducts community engagement and includes an Island Drive interim measure as an option to allow the lagoon areas of Bay Farm Island to be removed from the FEMA floodplain before the Doolittle Drive adaptation project is completed by Caltrans, which is expected to take longer.
• Future Phases of the project include completing design, permitting and construction. These phases will require additional funding from grants and local sources. Staff will consider all options available, including assessments for residents who will be removed from the FEMA flood plain because of the project.
To complete Phase 3 of the BFI Project, staff recommends:
• Accepting and appropriating $2,640,000 in Prop 68 grant funding from the State Coastal Conservancy.
• Appropriating $50,000 from the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025-26 General Fund budget for Public Works staff time for design work and plan review. Staff will also request $50,000 of additional funding in the FY 2027-29 Biennial Budget to complete the 60 percent design. No grant match was required for the Prop 68 grant, however staff time was also not funded by the grant. These additional monies are necessary for the grant acceptance to fund Public Works staff supporting project work.
• Authorizing the contract amendments for the Technical Consultant and Community Partners, which were hired under the previous sea level rise adaptation grants through a competitive process (These contracts are discussed in more detail in four separate but related staff reports).
Building Resilience Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) Grant Program
This project was included in a $55.5 million BRIC grant to FEMA in February 2024, which was led by the City, on behalf of OAAC, to complete the design and construction of the near-term BFI Project. In July 2024, the City received the news that FEMA recommended the project for further review; however, in April 2025, FEMA discontinued the BRIC program including the Bay Farm Island Adaptation Project. On December 11, 2025, the District Court ruled that FEMA’s unilateral termination of the BRIC program was void and illegal. The order required FEMA to reinstate the program. FEMA ignored the order and the States filed a motion to enforce. In a March 6 court order, the judge gave FEMA two weeks to comply with his ruling and reinstate the program. On March 18, 2026, FEMA announced it would relaunch the canceled grant program that had helped states invest billions of dollars in projects that made local communities more resilient to floods, fires and other disasters. To date, a new Notice of Funding Opportunity has not been issued, and no decisions have been made about whether Alameda and OAAC will re-apply for a BRIC grant for this project area.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may consider a range of alternatives:
• Authorize the recommended funding.
• Authorize the funding with revisions.
• Direct staff to pursue a different approach.
It is important to note that without accepting the BFI Project grant and allocating matching local funds, Phase 3 of the Bay Farm Island Adaptation Project cannot be completed. This project was identified as a priority project in the City Council Strategic Plan. City staff manage the BFI Project, perform technical project reviews, lead OAAC collaborations and participate in community engagement.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
City staff is requesting authorization to execute all necessary grant documents with the State Coastal Conservancy for the BFI Project, which totals $2,640,000 in state grant funds. City staff is requesting to increase the Capital Improvement Project Fund (C71100) for the BFI Project, to accept the new grant award and to transfer between funds that will result in a total budget increase for C71100 by $2,690,000.
|
Budget Request |
Revenue/ Expenditure |
Fund Number |
Fund Description |
Project Number |
Project Name |
Budget Amount |
|
New Grant Award |
Increase Revenue Budget |
222 |
Grant Fund |
|
|
$2,640,000 |
|
|
Increase Expenditure Budget |
310 |
Capital Fund |
C71100 |
BFI Project |
$2,640,000 |
|
New Appropriation Request |
Increase Revenue Budget |
100 |
General Fund |
|
|
$50,000 |
|
|
Increase Expenditure Budget |
310 |
Capital Fund |
C71100 |
BFI Project |
$50,000 |
The $50,000 appropriations request covers Public Works staff time for design work and plan review during the first year of the two-year grant. Staff will also make a similar budget request from the General Fund as part of the FY 2027-29 Biennial Budget for Public Works staff time as part of completing 60% design.
The $50,000 budget request for FY 2025-26 is outside the regular budget cycle because the grantor requires grant acceptance before May 2026 and the funding for staff is necessary to support grant implementation.
MUNICIPAL CODE/POLICY DOCUMENT CROSS REFERENCE
The proposed actions described in this report are consistent with CARP (2019), the Climate Adaptation and Hazard Mitigation Plan (2022), the Alameda 2040 General Plan (2022) and the 2023-2026 Strategic Plan Priority to Build Resiliency to Climate Change and Water Level Rise (Project No. CC6). This action is subject to the Levine Act.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This phase of the project only involves planning studies to inform further future actions, which are yet to be approved, and is thus exempt from CEQA review under CEQA Guidelines section 15262 - Feasibility and Planning Studies. Further environmental review will be conducted for the individual resilience projects upon development of infrastructure design work.
CLIMATE IMPACT
Successful completion of the adaptation project will improve the community’s resiliency to the impacts of climate change and sea level rise.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution authorizing the Interim City Manager, or designee, to execute all necessary documents with the State Coastal Conservancy to accept $2,640,000 in grant funding for the Bay Farm Island Adaptation Project (C71100); and
Adopt a resolution amending the Fiscal Year 2025-26 revenue and expenditure budgets of Grants Fund (222) and the Capital Improvement Project Fund (C71100) by $2,640,000 and to increase authorized expenditures in the General Fund By $50,000 and increase authorized transfer revenue and expenditure budget in the Bay Farm Island Adaptation Project (C71100) by $50,000.
Respectfully submitted,
Allen Tai, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
By,
Danielle Mieler, Sustainability and Resilience Manager
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Ross McCarthy, Finance Director