Agenda

Back to Calendar Return

NORTHERN WATERFRONT ECONOMIC DEVEL INITIATIVE AD HOC CTE

Meeting Date:	12/17/2020
Subject: Northern Waterfront Initiative Updates
Submitted For:	John Kopchik, Director, Conservation & Development Department
Department:	Conservation & Development
Referral No.:	#5
Referral Name:	N/A
Presenter:	Amalia Cunningham	Contact:	A. Cunningham, 925-674-7869

Information

Referral History:

At the Feb. 6, 2020 meeting of the Northern Waterfront Ad Hoc Committee, the Committee discussed staff's proposed budget and work plan for 2020-21, and directed staff to include the funding in the Department of Conservation and Development's overall 2020-21 budget proposal.

Referral Update:

Since the February 2020 meeting of the Northern Waterfront Ad Hoc Committee, the COVID-19 pandemic has slowed or halted many of the implementation items anticipated to occur in 2020-21 due to more limited available funding from our partners and more immediate priorities to support the various Health Orders limiting business operations for public health and safety. One issue with a significant update from recent months is that after much staff-level discussion with DCD staff and District V, the State Lands Commission held a virtual community meeting to present its goals for the Crockett waterfront property (former Nantucket restaurant and outbuildings) which has been a longtime public access point to the Bay along the Northern Waterfront.

Projects not currently moving forward include: East Contra Costa branding as the local government partners reprioritized their General Fund spending during the pandemic; Priority Production Areas (PPAs) since MTC-ABAG has been silent since designating Pacheco and Bay Point among the approved PPAs earlier this year; developing County property in Hercules as an incubator/job generator as other priorities have taken precedence; and outreach around employee ownership business models since we know that small business owners are swamped right now with navigating changing health orders and keeping employees safe.

There are also related planning projects that are beyond the scope of the Committee for decision-making but are relevant context for moving forward. Earlier in 2020, two refineries in unincorporated Contra Costa submitted applications to DCD to change their operations away from petroleum refining. Those applications are moving through the land use review process with implications for economic growth, employment, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Goals for the remainder of 2020-21 include hiring economic development staff, continuing to support County partners like Workforce Development Board, and if the pandemic's circumstances allow, funding a business retention study to survey the landscape of our surviving businesses' needs. The workforce characteristics study (as proposed at the February meeting) is also still on tap but awaits Census 2020 data.

Finally, the Northern Waterfront Strategic Action Plan from 2019 received an award of excellence from the Northern Section (Bay Area Region) of the California chapter of the American Planning Association, as well as went on to win the same award at the state level.

Recommendation(s)/Next Step(s):

RECEIVE report on recent and planned Northern Waterfront activities in fiscal year 2020-21.

Fiscal Impact (if any):

No new funding allocation is requested.