Much of the costs in staff time and material for the Department of Conservation and Development’s work activities associated with the 2013 Northern Waterfront Economic Development Initiative can be absorbed under the department's existing budget and supplemented with funding that might be secured from other sources. The department will pursue grant funding and other funding mechanisms.

At the January 29, 2013 Board of Supervisors Special Meeting, the Board received a presentation from the Workforce Development Board, Contra Costa Community College District, Contra Costa Council, and the Department of Conservation and Development on economic and workforce development in Contra Costa County. As a follow-up to the presentation, the Board requested that the Conservation and Development Director return with a report on an economic development initiative for the northern waterfront. The purpose of this report is to outline a recommended approach for a new Board initiative aimed at promoting economic development along County’s working waterfront.   
  
Contra Costa County’s waterfront is a 92-mile long shoreline stretching from the City of Richmond to the City of Oakley. It is comprised of the shoreline along the San Francisco Bay (Richmond), San Pablo Bay (North Richmond, Pinole, Hercules, Rodeo), Carquinez Strait (Crockett, Port Costa, and Martinez), Suisun Bay (Clyde), and the Sacramento River (Bay Point, Pittsburg, Antioch, and Oakley). See attached map which shows the general location and boundary of the waterfront along Bay/River shoreline. There is a varied mix of industrial, public, parkland, recreational, habitat/open space, and residential uses located along the immediate shoreline in both the incorporated city limits and the unincorporated area. The following table provides a breakdown of the mix of land uses along the waterfront:   

  
For the purposes of this report the “working waterfront” is defined as land along the shoreline devoted to industrial, commercial, railroad, and maritime uses or activities. In the unincorporated area, the “working waterfront” is mostly comprised of the industrial uses located along the shoreline in the communities of Rodeo, Crockett, Bay Point, and unincorporated areas of Martinez and Antioch. These industrial uses have had a long tenure and are predominantly related to the petroleum/chemical manufacturing industries. This is also generally the case for the shoreline within the incorporated city limits with the exception of the City of Richmond where a large port complex occupies much of their working waterfront. Additionally, the Military Ocean Terminal Concord (formerly the Concord Naval Weapons Station) an important military trans-ocean shipping installation operated by the U.S. Army occupies a significant portion of the County’s shoreline along the Suisun Bay.   
  
What is noteworthy about Contra Costa County’s shoreline is the extent to which it is now occupied by parkland and open space/habitat uses (see CCC General Plan Land Use table above). These uses would not be considered part of the “working waterfront” as defined in this report.  
  
Industrial development in Contra Costa County historically began along the waterfront and this explains why several industrial facilities have had a long tenure here in Contra Costa County dating back to the early 1900’s (e.g. the four oil refineries in the County were established between1900-1920). Contra Costa County’s “working waterfront” is more than an historic artifact, it is still a vital part of the region’s economy. The continued vitality and future economic prospects of the waterfront are important to anyone concerned about economic development in Contra Costa County. However, as the working waterfront matures and the region’s economy evolves, it is in the County’s interest to gain a better understanding and insight about the waterfront’s future and strategically plan for that future.  
  
To that end, it is recommended that the Board of Supervisors authorize the Northern Waterfront Economic Development Initiative that would involve sponsoring a multi-stakeholder forum on the future of the County’s waterfront and culminate in the preparation of a Strategic Plan for Northern Waterfront Economic Development by the end of the calendar year. This forum would focus on a range of maritime and landside transportation and economic development matters affecting the waterfront. The purpose of the forum would be to gather the various stakeholder interests along the waterfront from both the private and public sectors that are concerned with its economic future; wherein, the stakeholders could share information and exchange ideas about the emerging trends and issues affecting the waterfront with a specific focus on how maritime and landside transportation influences the waterfront’s current and future economic prospects. The forum is premised on the notion that the waterfront is a vital part of the County’s, and for that matter, the region’s economy, that maritime and landside transportation and economic development along the waterfront are linked and inter-related, and therefore, that broad participation and coordination is needed to advance and improve the waterfront’s economic prospects. It is anticipated that this forum will result in:   

• An understanding or agreement among the many stakeholders (public and private) along the waterfront to cooperate and work collaboratively on maritime/landside transportation matters that would promote or provide economic benefits to the waterfront; and/or,
• Establish a regional approach by the county, cities, special district, other public agencies, and the private sector to, in general, foster economic development along the waterfront, and more specifically, to formulate on overall strategic economic vision for the waterfront - one that takes advantage of the waterfront’s existing maritime and landside transportation assets; and/or,
• Establish an inter-agency staff working group for the waterfront, comprised of city, county, special district, and other public agency staff, to coordinate on maritime and landside transportation matters, and other related matters affecting waterfront development (e.g. interagency coordination and planning for sea-level rise resiliency and adaption of vital public infrastructure serving the waterfront), to enhance and improve the waterfront’s maritime and landside transportation assets, and, to foster innovative economic development strategies/approaches that would provide benefit to the waterfront, particularly in the absence of redevelopment or dwindling economic development assistance programs.