Title
Adoption of Resolution Authorizing the Filing of an Application for the California Division of Boating and Waterways Public Beach Restoration Program Funding for the Sand Replenishment of South Shore Beach Totaling $6,282,535 and Committing a City of Alameda Local Required Match in the Amount of $471,190.
This application for grant funding is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines section 15262 - Feasibility and Planning Studies. (Planning Building and Transportation 10062032)
..Body
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Jennifer Ott, City Manager
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
In 2019, City Council adopted the Climate Action and Resiliency Plan (CARP), which identifies the South Shore Beach as a high priority and outlines an interagency collaborative approach to adapt the shoreline to sea level rise. In January 2025, City of Alameda (City) staff submitted a grant application totaling $6,282,535 to replenish sand lost due to erosion along South Shore Beach under the California Division of Boating and Waterways (DBW) Public Beach Restoration Program. The purpose of this agenda item is to complete the necessary steps required of the grant application, including City Council adopting a resolution authorizing the grant application for the Sand Replenishment of South Shore Beach Project (Project) and committing to funding half of the required local match if the grant application is approved. The grant amount requested from DBW is $5,340,155. The required funding match totals $942,380, which would be split between the City and East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD) amounting to $471,190 for each agency. If the grant is awarded, City staff would bring a request to City Council for allocation of the local matching funds, likely from the General Fund. Additionally, EBRPD staff committed to being responsible for all design and construction of the project while the City would serve as the fiscal agent for the grant management.
BACKGROUND
Alameda’s South Shore Beach is EBRPD’s most visited beach. It is a regional source of economic, ecological and recreational benefits. The South Shore Beach is an engineered beach, designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) to protect the City. The City is the trustee owner of the South Shore Beach between Westline Drive and Broadway. EBRPD maintains the beach in partnership with the City since the establishment of a 1967 memorandum of understanding. This beach has no natural source of sand replenishment such as deposition from a creek or river. The current loss of sand due to storms, current and wave action as well as future erosion threatens to damage City infrastructure including the San Francisco Bay Trail (Bay Trail), Shoreline Drive and private property in the City. The City and EBRPD have collaboratively identified a need to replenish sand on Alameda’s South Shore Beach due to erosion. The last sand replenishment occurred in 2013, and was originally projected to last 20 years but major storm events have significantly eroded the beach.
This agenda item is a culmination of the following City Council and other key actions:
In 2019, City Council adopted CARP, which identifies the South Shore Beach as a high priority for adaptation and outlines an interagency collaborative approach (Exhibit 1).
In 2021, City Council directed staff to initiate the Oakland Alameda Adaptation Committee (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 Subregional Adaptation Plan, which includes the South Shore Beach area.
In the past year, City and EBRPD staff worked with the Army Corps and the U.S. Coast Guard on sand needs, coordinated with Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) on erosion permits, initiated the process for the beach to become a beneficial reuse site for sand nourishment, submitted a Letter of Interest for DBW’s Public Beach Restoration Program, and completed emergency repairs.
The purpose of this agenda item is to request City Council adopt a resolution authorizing the filing of an application for DBW’s Public Beach Restoration Program that totals $6,282,535 and commit a local funding match that is funded equally with EBRPD in the amount of $471,190 for each agency. The Project includes engineering feasibility and design studies, permitting, sand replenishment and biological monitoring (Exhibit 2). EBRPD will be responsible for these efforts with the City responsible for the fiscal and grant management.
DISCUSSION
According to DBW, the Public Beach Restoration Program can assist in the planning and construction of engineered placement of sand. This program can fund up to 85 percent of non-federal project costs at non-state beaches and is authorized in statute by Harbors and Navigation Code sections 69.5-69.9. Each project must be approved for funding through the State budget process. When the Governor’s budget is released in January 2026, it may include a list of projects that are proposed to the Legislature for grant funding in Fiscal Year 2026-27, which would include this project, if approved and recommended by DBW. DBW expects the State budget to be finalized in June 2026. DBW typically prepares grant agreements for approved projects several months thereafter.
The Project would fund replenishment of Alameda's South Shore Beach, which has experienced accelerated erosion. The purpose of the Project is to protect the beach and the adjacent Bay Trail and Shoreline Drive, which provide critical emergency access and transportation connection for the residents and businesses in the area. Additionally, the Project will provide flood protection to adjacent property including the South Shore neighborhood. Furthermore, the Project includes engineering feasibility and design studies with permitting prior to replenishing the beach and post-project biological monitoring to ensure environmental protection. The City is responsible for the DBW grant application and management and is the fiscal agent for the Project. EBRPD is responsible for Project management.
The Project requests sand replenishment that totals 80,000 cubic yards, which is about the same amount of sand nourishment that occurred in 2013 when the beach underwent a large restoration effort that has been partially lost during recent significant storms in 2021 and 2024. The life of the sand replenishment Project is expected to be at least ten years. To extend the Project life, City staff will consider adding nature-based solutions such as log and rock groins as a separate effort.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may consider a range of alternatives:
• Authorize the adoption of the resolution to apply for the DBW Public Beach Restoration Program funding totaling $6,282,535 and commit funding to half of the required match in the amount of $471,190.
• Do not authorize the resolution, which would result in withdrawing the grant application, and direct staff to pursue a different approach.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The City, in partnership with EBRPD, is applying for grant funding in the amount of $6.3 million for this Project, which includes engineering/permits for $500,000, mobilization for $1 million, sand placement for $4.4 million and biological monitoring for almost $400,000. The DBW grant will cover 85 percent of the Project costs totaling $5.34 million. A local match totaling $942,380 will be split evenly between the City and EBRPD as cash and as in-kind staff contributions, if allowed by DBW, totaling $471,190 for each agency. The requested breakdown for the local match is shown in Table 1. The City and EBRPD are prepared to only make cash contributions if directed by DBW. The City’s cash contribution is expected to come from the General Fund. If awarded, City staff would come back to City Council to request allocation of the needed grant matching funds.
Table 1: Grant Funding Sources
|
Match Type |
Amount |
Match |
|
DBW Grant Funding |
$5,340,155 |
85% |
|
Local Match: Alameda |
$471,190 |
7.5% |
|
In-kind |
$44,840 |
|
|
Cash |
$426,350 |
|
|
Local Match: EBRPD |
$471,190 |
7.5% |
|
In-kind |
$136,880 |
|
|
Cash |
$334,310 |
|
|
Total |
$6,282,535 |
100% |
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 Strategic Plan Priority to Build Resiliency to Climate Change and Water Level Rise (2023). This action is subject to the Levine Act.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This action is a grant application for planning and feasibility studies to address erosion of the South Shore Beach, where the specific project scope and actions are yet to be defined and approved, and thus this action is exempt from CEQA review under CEQA Guidelines section 15262 - Feasibility and Planning Studies. Further environmental review will be conducted for the Project upon development of the design work.
CLIMATE IMPACT
Successful completion of the Project will improve the community’s resiliency to the impacts of climate change.
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a resolution authorizing the filing of a grant application for the DBW Public Beach Restoration Program funding for sand replenishment of South Shore Beach totaling $6,282,535 and committing a City local required match in the amount of $471,190.
Respectfully submitted,
Allen Tai, Planning, Building and Transportation Director
By,
Gail Payne, Project Manager
Danielle Mieler, Sustainability and Resilience Manager
Jenna Mackouse, Civic Spark Fellow
Financial Impact section reviewed,
Ross McCarthy, Acting Finance Director
Exhibits:
1. CARP Crown Beach Sheet
2. DBW Grant Application