Agenda

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C. 69

To:	Board of Supervisors
From:	John Kopchik, Director, Conservation & Development Department
Date:	January 21, 2020

Contra

Costa

County

Subject:

General Plan Amendment Study for Field Semester Project

APPROVE	OTHER
RECOMMENDATION OF CNTY ADMINISTRATOR	RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE

Action of Board On: 01/21/2020

APPROVED AS RECOMMENDED

OTHER

Clerks Notes:

VOTE OF SUPERVISORS

AYE:

John Gioia, District I Supervisor
Candace Andersen, District II Supervisor
Diane Burgis, District III Supervisor
Karen Mitchoff, District IV Supervisor
Federal D. Glover, District V Supervisor

Contact:

Will Nelson, (925) 674-7791

I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of Supervisors on the date shown.
ATTESTED: January 21, 2020
David Twa,

BY:	, Deputy

RECOMMENDATION(S):

1. AUTHORIZE initiation of a General Plan Amendment (GPA) process, County File #GP19-0003, to evaluate a proposal to change the General Plan land use designations for four parcels located on Reservoir Street in the Port Costa area, identified as Assessor's Parcel Numbers 368-120-001, 368-120-002, 368-133-007, and 368-133-008, from Parks and Recreation (PR) and Open Space (OS), to Public and Semi-Public (PS).

2. ACKNOWLEDGE that granting this authorization does not imply any sort of endorsement for the application to amend the General Plan, but only that the matter is appropriate for consideration.

FISCAL IMPACT:

None. The project applicant will pay application fees to cover the cost of processing the GPA if authorized.

BACKGROUND:

On November 12, 2019, the Department of Conservation and Development received documents from Mr. Yaeir Heber of The Field Semester (TFS, the applicant), describing a proposed private educational use on a site comprised of four parcels totaling approximately 15 acres in the Port Costa area (see Attachment A). The subject parcels are designated PR and OS on the General Plan Land Use Element Map and are zoned R-6 Single-Family Residential District and A-2 General Agricultural District. Through several discussions

with Mr. Heber on the details of the proposed use, staff determined that the most appropriate General Plan land use designation would be PS (see Attachment B for existing and proposed land use designations).

The subject parcels are located along the west side of Reservoir Street in Port Costa, between Canyon Lake Drive and Carquinez Scenic Drive. The northernmost parcel is occupied by Port Costa School, a historic building that operated from 1911 to 1966 and is now owned by the Port Costa Conservation Society (PCCS). Continuing south from the school building, the property narrows and ascends a steep, wooded canyon. Within the canyon is a small reservoir fed by Bull Valley Creek. Steep, rural parcels abut most of the property's perimeter, with Carquinez Strait Regional Shoreline Park running along the property's east side. Single-family residences surround the property's northern end. Attachment C is an aerial photo of the subject property and its surroundings.

The proposed project involves a partnership between TFS, Bull Valley Agricultural Center (BVAC), and PCCS to establish an immersive semester-study program for high school juniors and seniors that focuses on agriculture, land stewardship, and environmental awareness. Approximately 45 students would attend each semester. The historic school building would house the program's classrooms, administrative offices, dining facilities, study areas, and gathering spaces. Students and faculty would be housed in new cabins constructed in the vicinity of the reservoir (when the program was not in session, these cabins would be used by BVAC as a retreat center). Other new buildings would include centralized bathing and toilet facilities, an outdoor kitchen, a covered outdoor group gathering space, a barn, a dock, and other miscellaneous structures. Gardens, orchards, row crops, and aquaculture "fields" would also be established. The applicant has indicated that similar semester-study programs exist in Vermont and Maine, but there is no equivalent in the western United States.

Staff recommends authorization to proceed with the GPA process. Staff emphasizes, however, that such authorization does not imply the Board's support or endorsement for the application to amend the General Plan, but only that this matter is appropriate for further consideration.

CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:

If the Board does not authorize initiation of the GPA process, then an application to amend the General Plan cannot be filed and the subject parcels will retain their current land use designations.