Coastal Conservancy Recommends 13 Projects for MTC-ABAG Priority Conservation Area Grants

Contact
John Goodwin, MTC: (415) 778-5262 & Dick Wayman, Coastal Conservancy: (510) 286-4182

PACIFICA, CAThe State Coastal Conservancy today recommended 13 Bay Area resource protection and public access projects to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) for inclusion in the pilot Priority Conservation Area Grant Program established in 2012 by MTC and the Association of Bay Area Governments. MTC will consider the Coastal Conservancy’s recommendation at the Commission’s April 23 meeting; and if approved, the 13 projects will qualify for a total of $5 million in MTC grants to supplement $2.45 million in state resource bond funds approved by the Coastal Conservancy.

Priority Conservation Areas (PCAs) are locations designated as having regional significance and broad community support for preservation as agricultural land; as historic, scenic, cultural or recreational sites; or for natural resource, habitat or ecosystem protection. MTC last year dedicated $10 million of federal funds for the PCA Grant pilot program and selected the Coastal Conservancy to screen proposals for up to $5 million in grants of $100,000 to $1 million submitted by local governments in Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. MTC reserved the remaining $5 million in the PCA Grant program for proposals submitted by local governments in Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties and evaluated by the North Bay counties’ congestion management agencies.

“Partnership is at the heart of the PCA Grant program,” said MTC Chair and Orinda city councilmember Amy Rein Worth. “Not only does it require local sponsors to provide a $3 match for each $1 of MTC money, but the arrangement with the Coastal Conservancy and the CMAs combines MTC’s strength on the funding side with their expertise in project development.” 

Recommendations for PCA grants made today by the Coastal Conservancy include:

  • $1 million to the San Francisco P.U.C. for construction of a Bay Area Ridge Trail extension on Skyline Ridge in San Mateo County’s Peninsula Watershed;
  • $1 million to the Port of San Francisco for the construction of public access improvements at Crane Cove Park at Pier 70;
  • $1 million to the City of Berkeley for San Francisco Bay Trail construction at the Berkeley Marina;
  • $1 million to the East Bay Regional Parks District for construction of public access improvements at the Breuner Marsh Restoration in Contra Costa County;
  • $750,000 to East Bay Regional Parks for San Francisco Bay Trail construction between Gilman and Buchanan streets in the McLaughlin Eastshore State Park;
  • $712,700 to the City of San Jose for construction of the Coyote Creek Trail between Brokaw Road and the Union Pacific railroad tracks;
  • $500,000 to the San Mateo County Parks Department for the acquisition of a 174-acre Linda Mar property to be added to Memorial County Park;
  • $500,000 to the Contra Costa Transportation Authority and the Brentwood Agricultural Land Trust for an access easement to the Brentwood Wallace Ranch;
  • $500,000 to the City and County of San Francisco to advance planning for a new park along the India Basin shoreline;
  • $167,589 to the City and County of San Francisco to advance plans for improving pedestrian and bicycle access along and across Twin Peaks Boulevard;
  • $119,600 to East Bay Regional Parks for San Francisco Bay Trail construction between Pinole Shores and Bayfront Park;
  • $100,000 to the Contra Costa Resource Conservation District for construction of a Pinole Creek fish passage under Interstate 80; and
  • $100,000 to the City of Pacifica for the design and construction of a Bay Area Ridge Trail connection to Milagra Ridge.



MTC is the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area’s transportation planning, coordinating and financing agency. ABAG is the official regional planning agency for the Bay Area’s cities and counties. The California Coastal Conservancy is a state agency that works in partnership with public agencies, nonprofits and private landowners to protect, restore and enhance coastal and Bay Area resources, and to provide access to the shore.