DATE: June 18, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: City Manager's Office
TITLE: ACCEPTANCE OF CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION GRANT FUNDS TO SUPPORT AMENDMENT 2 TO THE PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH GHD INC. FOR THE RE:BEACH OCEANSIDE PILOT PROJECT (PHASE 2 SAND NOURISHMENT AND RETENTION PILOT PROJECT) AND ACCEPTANCE OF DONATION FUNDS TO SUPPORT COASTAL STAFF CAPACITY
RECOMMENDATION
title
Staff recommends that the City Council accept $1,835,000 in grant funds from the California Coastal Commission and appropriate these funds to the grant fund account per Resolution 24-R0588-1; approve Amendment 2 to the Professional Services Agreement with GHD Inc., in the amount of $1,630,000, for a total revised contract price of $4,918,790, for the Phase 2 Sand Nourishment and Retention Pilot Project (RE:BEACH), which is funded by the grant; approve donated funds from Resilient Cities Catalyst; authorize the creation of a limited term full-time Management Analyst position and an hourly extra help Consulting Assistant position to support coastal management using grant and donated funds; and authorize the City Manager to execute the amendment upon receipt of all supporting documents. These recommendations do not require the use of City General Funds; all associated costs discussed herein are fully covered by an external grant and donated funds.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
In 2020, the City conducted a year-long Feasibility Study (Phase 1) to identify deficiencies in current coastal management actions and methods to improve eroded beach conditions, as well as determine a suite of solutions to build long-term resiliency along the coast. The Feasibility Study concluded that 1) a high-quality source of sand, coupled with a beach nourishment program, should be identified to provide more efficient and consistent beach nourishment opportunities, and 2) retention structure(s) should be designed and implemented to help prolong sand nourishment efforts, since historical surveys and anecdotal data have shown that placed sand does not persist on most of Oceanside’s beaches.
In January 2023, the City Council approved a contract with GHD Inc. (GHD) to pursue the recommendations offered in the Phase 1 Feasibility Study, through the development Phase 2 Sand Nourishment and Retention Pilot Project. The main tasks outlined in the Phase 2 scope included: Community and Stakeholder Engagement, Baseline Monitoring, Engineering, Analysis and Design, and Environmental Compliance and Permitting. In June 2023, City staff launched the RE:BEACH Oceanside International Design Competition to find a multi-beneficial and innovative design for retaining sand and improving Oceanside’s coastal resiliency, arriving at the current concept design that includes the use of an artificial reef, two headlands and beach and nearshore nourishment. An amendment (Amendment No. 1) to the Phase 2 Sand Nourishment and Retention Pilot Project was approved by Council in December 2024.
In November 2023, the California Coastal Commission announced the availability of new rolling grant funds intended to support local government coastal resiliency initiatives and provide assistance in developing and amending Local Coastal Programs (LCPs). In October 2024, the City Council approved a Resolution (24-R0588-1; Exhibit 1), enabling City staff to apply for these funds and preemptively accept them in an effort to advance and build upon key recommendations and monitoring requirements for the Phase 2 Sand Nourishment and Retention Pilot Project, now commonly referred to as the RE:BEACH Oceanside Pilot Project.
In April 2025, the California Coastal Commission (CCC) unanimously approved a $1.835 million grant award in support of 1) baseline monitoring for the RE:BEACH Oceanside Pilot Project, and 2) amendments and updates to policy documents associated with the City’s LCP (Exhibit 2). The focus of this grant includes tasks associated with the development of a comprehensive Baseline Monitoring Program, which will support an update to the City’s Vulnerability Assessment, provide an addendum to the City’s Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan, inform a targeted change to the LCP, and support implementation efforts for the RE:BEACH Oceanside Pilot Project. Below is a overview of the additional proposed efforts to accomplish the baseline monitoring tasks and associated policy document updates, with more details provided in the contract amendment proposal (Exhibit 3; Attachment A):
• Shoreline Change Monitoring: Comprehensive monitoring for the beach and seafloor surface is considered necessary in order to identify significant changes in response to the implementation of the proposed Pilot Project. Shoreline monitoring will involve quarterly UAV surveys and bathymetric mapping along established transects.
• Numerical Model Calibration: In order to predict the morphological response to the implementation of the proposed Pilot Project, numerical modeling will be utilized to refine and optimize the individual components (i.e., artificial reef, artificial headland). To enhance the model’s predicted capabilities, it needs to be calibrated against local data.
• Surf Monitoring Program: A baseline surf amenities assessment is necessary to understand where or how surfing could be impacted by the proposed Project. It is expected that baseline (existing) surfing resources will be measured based on the number of surfers and their observed location offshore over an established period of time (i.e. 1-2 years). Surf conditions and the amenities provided are proposed to be assessed using Surfline cameras, GPS monitoring, and interviews.
• Biological Monitoring: In order to identify potential Project-related impacts to nearshore marine biological resources, it is necessary to have an understanding of the existing biological conditions in the area, including intertidal and offshore habitat. As any impacts would need to be mitigated, a baseline assessment of the presence and abundance of reefs shall be determined fine-scale sonar mapping and in-situ field sampling.
• Beach Usage Monitoring: To inform knowledge on beach usage, a system for tracking public usage is proposed to understand how the Project may affect visitation and access along the shoreline by providing a quantitative assessment of beach usage around the pilot project site.
• Baseline Monitoring Report: At the end of the two-year baseline monitoring period, a summary report that compiles the results from all the of the monitoring efforts, with a focus on the lessons learned from the program, will be completed.
• Updated Vulnerability Assessment (VA): Update the City’s VA that includes best available science on sea level rise scenarios and understanding of City assets.
• Addendum to Coastal Hazards Adaptation Plan: Prepare a focused addendum to the Adaptation Plan that includes the variety of coastal management activities and resilience efforts currently underway with the City.
• Targeted LCP change: Develop a focused LCP change that takes into account better understanding of current conditions, adaptation planning efforts of the City and Region and incorporates the findings and recommendations from the Baseline Monitoring Report.
In addition to funding for the Baseline Monitoring Program and targeted LCP affiliated policy document updates, the CCC grant award includes $205,000 to bring on additional as-needed staff for grant management, contract development and coordination, data management and organization of public outreach (Exhibit 2, Budget Table). These positions are considered “provisional” in that they will only be funded during the grant program. In addition to these grant funded positions, Resilient Cities Catalyst, a RE:BEACH Project partner, also has committed $120,000 for two years (Exhibit 4), provided as a grant subaward to the City of Oceanside to fund additional staff capacity for the Coastal Zone Administrator. Acceptance of these donated funds are consistent with the intent of Council Policy 200-15 in that the funds will further the City’s goals related to planning for coastal resiliency with no consideration or expectation of a quid pro quo or special treatment by the donator as expressed in its attached letter of explanation (Attachment 5). To ensure successful coordination, compliance and implementation of this multi-year, grant-funded resilience initiative, staff recommends the creation of a full-time, provisional Management Analyst position to assist the Coastal Zone Administrator. This role is necessary to provide direct support for baseline monitoring, policy updates, and outreach - key deliverables funded through the CCC grant. With any remaining and/or additional funds from grant and donation sources, staff recommends that funds be appropriated to augment capacity with an additional Consultant Assistant position, on an as-needed basis. Assuming all positions will be filled, one full time and one part time staff will be added to build coastal staff capacity using the grant and donated funds.
FISCAL IMPACT
This action does not require the use of City General Funds. All associated costs discussed herein are fully covered by either an external grant or donated funds.
The CCC grant is in the amount of $1,835,000. $205,000 of which will be used, in part, to fund a provisional two-year limited-term, full time Management Analyst position. There is no City financial match required for the grant.
Donated funds from Resilient Cities Catalyst is in the amount of $120,000 to be used to fund additional staff for the Coastal Zone administrator.
Amendment 2 to the PSA with GHD is in an amount not to exceed $1,630,000. Additionally, a two-year, limited-term Management Analyst position will be created at a fully burdened cost of approximately $294,500. An additional $30,500 will be allocated to fund an hourly extra help Consulting Assistant position over the same two-year period. Both positions will be established on a provisional basis and will sunset at the conclusion of the two-year term or upon depletion of available funds, whichever occurs first. The following table shows the account numbers to deposit and appropriate the grant and donated funds, as well as the cost of Amendment 2 and the two provisional positions.
|
Account Number |
CCC Grant |
Resilient Cities Donation |
Amend 2 with GHD |
Management Analyst |
Consulting Assistant |
|
RE:BEACH Baseline Monitoring Revenue 836195824272.4376 |
$1,835,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
36195824272.5305 |
1,630,000 |
|
$1,630,000 |
|
|
|
36195824272.5105 |
131,800 |
|
|
$131,800 |
|
|
36195824272.5207 |
73,200 |
|
|
73,200 |
|
|
Resilient Cities Catalyst Revenue 839202225276.4401 |
|
$120,000 |
|
|
|
|
839202225276.5105 |
|
60,000 |
|
60,000 |
|
|
839202225276.5207 |
|
29,500 |
|
29,500 |
|
|
839202225276.5110 |
|
30,500 |
|
|
$30,500 |
|
TOTALS |
$1,835,000 |
$120,000 |
$1,630,000 |
$294,500 |
$30,500 |
|
Total Revenue |
$1,955,000 |
|
|
Total Expenditure |
|
$1,955,000 |
COMMISSION OR COMMITTEE REPORT
Does not apply.
CITY ATTORNEY’S ANALYSIS
The City Attorney has reviewed the contract amendment and approved as to form.
end
Prepared by: Jayme Timberlake, Coastal Zone Administrator
Submitted by: Jonathan Borrego, City Manager
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Staff Report
2. Exhibit 1 Resolution 24-R0588-1 CCC Grant REBEACH Project
3. Exhibit 2 California Coastal Commission Standard Grant Agreement
4. Exhibit 3 GHD Contract Amendment 2 with Attachment A
5. Exhibit 4 Policy 200-15
6. Exhibit 5 Management Analyst Class Specification