Since the June 2019 meeting of the Board of Supervisors, at which the full Board approved entering into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the seven cities who form the Northern Waterfront partnership, all seven cities have approved the MOU by unanimous votes of their City Councils. The City Councils that approved the MOU as a discussion item offered many positive comments about the benefits of working cooperatively with the County and the other cities to undertake joint projects for the benefit of their residents.
Additional recent economic development activity under the umbrella of the MOU includes:
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The staff-level working group for regional branding in East Contra Costa has developed a preliminary work plan for a one-year program that would result in a recommended branding campaign tying into the Northern Waterfront initiative's goals. The discussions are moving along and there will be a board order with the final recommendation for a consultant and the County's share of the cost later this fall. City of Brentwood is planning to act as the administrative lead.
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The short-line rail feasibility study on Wilbur Avenue in Antioch, unincorporated Contra Costa County, and Oakley is underway. The preliminary findings are expected around December. The project is managed by the Department of Conservation and Development transportation group with significant cooperation from both cities, especially Antioch as much of the study area is within Antioch. The study is funded by a grant of $37,500 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration with a matching cost allocation from the County.
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Tour of the Northern Waterfront with Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) staff, to make sure the area's unique characteristics are better understood by one of the main regional agencies preparing long-term plans for the Bay Area. This was a daylong event on Sept. 12, with a stop in and participation from each city. This was an opportunity for each city to highlight a key site for the regional officials, and to illustrate the overarching principle of partnership and regional collaboration that is a hallmark of the Northern Waterfront Initiative.
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In accordance with direction from the Board of Supervisors on Sept. 10 (Attachment A), letters of interest were submitted today (Sept. 16) for three Priority Production Areas (PPAs) within unincorporated Contra Costa County - Pacheco/North Concord, Bay Point, and Byron Airport. PPAs are a new program of MTC being piloted in 2020. Staff has been tracking the PPA program since it was first announced and is looking forward to participating in the pilot program.
The Northern Waterfront work is funded by the Board of Supervisors' approval of $500,000 in 2017. Staff continues to manage the programs within this allocation, with no new funding requests anticipated in the current fiscal year (2019-20). Of the implementation projects below that were approved by the full Board in February 2019, they are all ongoing for the fiscal year, with the exception of the Forum. The Forum was a one-time event in May 2019, and when the final accounting is complete, will be under the estimated budget number below thanks to the partnership with EC2 to secure lunch sponsors and defray costs.
Northern Waterfront Initiative Implementation Budget
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Northern Waterfront funding approved by Board in 2017 |
$500,000 |
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Previously committed to short-line rail grant match and consultant contracts |
$263,000 |
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Remaining for projects and programs: |
$237,000 |
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2019-20 projects and preliminary allocation approved by Board in Feb. 2019 |
$142,500 |
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Hercules potential bioscience site predevelopment costs |
$50,000 |
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Northern Waterfront Forum 2019 |
$12,500 |
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Crockett waterfront issues |
$10,000 |
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Marketing, such as branding and promotional video |
$70,000 |
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Remaining Northern Waterfront economic development funds for 2019-20: |
$94,500 |
Various other exciting complementary events are taking place around the region to help market the strengths and opportunities of the Northern Waterfront, such as EC2's Brokers' Breakfast in Pittsburg on October 7 and the Workforce Development Board's Untapped Talent forum in Antioch on October 9. Staff and partners have also been participating in or tracking regional collaborative efforts with similar goals, such as the East Bay Leadership Council's Economic Development Task Force, and a new effort called the Diablo Valley Tech Initiative hosted by Diablo Valley College.
Staff continues to investigate small business assistance programs that may be of benefit to Northern Waterfront entrepreneurs, as recommended by the adopted Northern Waterfront Strategic Action Plan. Recently staff has been researching, in conjunction with City staff partners, programs for microloans, revolving loan programs, and equity ownership programs. Staff has also asked BART staff to hold a small/disadvantaged business event in the County. Staff will bring more information to the Committee when there is more information or a recommendation on any of these business assistance programs.
Meanwhile, industrial vacancy rates countywide for the second quarter of 2019 were estimated at between 2-4% by various brokerage houses, helped greatly by Bombardier's lease of more than 100,000 square feet in Pittsburg for BART car assembly in the Northern Waterfront region. Sales tax from unincorporated County outlets was up 2.7% in the first quarter of 2019 compared to the first quarter of 2018. Finally, the unemployment rate in Contra Costa County was 3.4% in July 2019 according to the Employment Development Department, below the California rate of 4.4%.
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