TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Keith Stahley, City Manager
FROM: Brian D. Martin, PE, Acting Public Works Director
SUBJECT:
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Grant application to the Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program for acquisition and conservation of property north of Wallace Marine Park.
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Natural Environment Stewardship; Welcoming and Livable Community
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SUMMARY:
summary
The owner of approximately 400 acres of land immediately north of Wallace Marine Park has expressed interest in selling it to the City after the property is no longer used for aggregate mining operations. The City is applying for a Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program grant to acquire the property and to set aside a portion of the overall property as a conservation area. Council authorization is required to apply for the grant. Other potential uses within the proposed conservation area include ground water pumping and associated infrastructure in support of a secondary municipal water source for Salem.
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ISSUE:
Shall City Council authorize the City Manager to apply for a Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program grant for an amount of up to $7 million to acquire fee title to approximately 363 acres of property north of Wallace Marine Park?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Authorize the City Manager to apply for a Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program grant for an amount of up to $7 million to acquire fee title to approximately 363 acres of property north of Wallace Marine Park.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
Walling Properties, LLC, is the owner of approximately 400 acres of property in unincorporated Polk County. The property is situated on River Bend Road NW and abuts the northern property line of Wallace Marine Park and Wallace Marine Natural Area (Attachment 1). An owner’s representative has expressed interest in offering a sale of the property to the City, subject to the reclamation of an active aggregate mining operation.
Staff have identified several potential advantages to City ownership, including the following:
• Restoration of riparian and wetland vegetation and creation and improvement of habitat for anadromous fish species and other wildlife across approximately 363 acres or 90 percent of the total site area;
• Development of a secondary municipal water source on the west side of the Willamette River, utilizing existing groundwater wells and water rights located on the site; and
• Development of an urban park on approximately 38 acres to provide for the current and future recreational needs of the Salem community.
Attachment 2 identifies the associated wildlife habitat and urban park opportunity areas.
Staff propose to apply to the Willamette Wildlife Mitigation Program (WWMP) for funding assistance to acquire and conserve the proposed wildlife habitat area, which encompasses approximately 1.4 miles of Willamette River frontage and includes approximately 90 percent of the total site area. Additional funds would be needed to acquire the urban park opportunity area.
Through the WWMP, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), in cooperation with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), is currently accepting applications for wildlife habitat acquisition and conservation projects. Applications are due April 14, 2023. Following technical review, ODFW plans to provide funding recommendations to BPA. Funding decisions are expected by September 20, 2023. If a grant is awarded to the City, the timeline to close on the proposed acquisition would extend to September 30, 2025. A total of $10.5 million is currently available within the Willamette River Basin for WWMP project grant awards.
ODFW staff have indicated that public access to conservation areas acquired and/or protected through BPA funding is encouraged for passive recreation and education activity. Hard and soft trails, trail bridges, and other features that facilitate limited public access are allowed uses; however, the grant funding does not cover construction of trails.
All acquisitions supported through WWMP must include provisions for permanent conservation protection. At the time of acquisition, the City must grant the United States of America a conservation easement that will be under the jurisdiction and control of BPA. Details of the easement can be negotiated. As the City proposes a multi-benefit project, we will seek to allow uses associated with a secondary municipal water source within the terms of the conservation easement.
The southern area of this property has previously been identified by the Salem River Crossing Project as the preferred location for a future bridge over the Willamette River. The determination of this location as the preferred location came after years of study and analysis that considered no fewer than 12 other potential bridge corridors. If a grant is awarded and the property is established as a conservation area, this location will no longer be available, in perpetuity, for use as a bridge crossing.
A portion of the proposed street alignment for Marine Drive NW is located on the northwestern area of this property, within the urban park opportunity area. Attachment 3 identifies the proposed street alignment in relation to the property. If the City acquires the urban park opportunity area, the proposed grant award will not preclude future right-of-way dedicate and street improvements needed to complete the collector street.
Unsheltered community members have established an encampment within the northern portion of Wallace Marine Park and Wallace Marine Natural Area. A fence currently separates the encampment from the proposed conservation area. Staff are uncertain as to the impacts that may results from City ownership. The encampment could migrate and expand to the north.
As shown in Attachment 1, most of the property is located outside City limits and the Salem Keizer Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). Less than one acre of the property is with City limits. This portion of the site is designated in the Salem Area Comprehensive Plan as Parks - Open Space - Outdoor Recreation and is zoned Public Amusement. Polk County regulates land use over the remainder of the site, which is zoned Exclusive Farm Use. This zoning generally restricts uses to farm and forest-related uses. Wetland creation, restoration, and enhancement and wildlife habitat conservation and management are permitted uses, as are basic outdoor recreation uses. It has yet to be determined if Polk County could conditionally permit a more intensive urban park use.
Approximately 99 percent of the property is within the 100-year floodplain or floodway of the Willamette River (Attachment 4). The floodplain, also referred to as “Special Flood Hazard Areas” on Flood Insurance Rate Maps, represent land subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. To minimize damage to structures during flood events, development within the floodplain is regulated through a floodplain development permitting process. In contrast, floodway encompasses the river channel and the adjacent land areas that must be reserved to discharge flood waters. The floodway is an extremely hazardous area due to the velocity of flows which carry debris, along with an elevated erosion potential. With few exceptions, subdivisions and new residential and nonresidential structures are prohibited within the floodway.
Portions of the site have been heavily disturbed. There is limited vegetation in active or previously active mining areas. The mining pits onsite are in the Willamette River floodway and fill with water during high flows. These pits then become entrapment hazards for fish, including species listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act because, when floodwaters recede, there is no low water connection to the Willamette River. Furthermore, the pits have steep slopes and pose public safety risks and land-borne wildlife entrapment risks. Reclamation of the aggregate operation and/or subsequent restoration work will likely entail regrading the sides of the pits to mitigate these issues.
The WWMP prioritizes funding for projects that have cultural significance to tribal governments with an interest in the Salem area. Given staffs’ understanding that the Santiam Kalapuya and other tribes and bands of the Willamette Valley lived and gathered materials in this general area from time immemorial, the City will be coordinating with the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs to ensure our vision for the site aligns with their overall goals, especially with regard to floodplain and riparian/wetland vegetation management and restoration of fish and wildlife habitat. Staff have reached out to the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and will further coordinate with representatives of the Tribal Governments at regularly held archaeology roundtables.
City staff have discussed the City’s intention of applying for this grant with representatives of Walling Properties, LLC, and confirmed their willingness to participate in this grant application.
WWMP funding can be used to pay acquisition costs up to the “Yellow Book” appraised value. If BPA funding is awarded, the City will solicit an appraisal conforming to the Uniform Standards for Federal Land Acquisition, also known as the “Yellow Book” appraisal. It is not known if the property owner will accept the resulting evaluation. The initial funding request of up to $7 million is based on an opinion of value from a real estate brokerage representing the owner.
A complete environmental assessment of the property and other due diligence will be completed prior to City staff recommending to Council that the City accept grant funding. Furthermore, City staff will ascertain the details of state-required reclamation of the aggregate operations and determine whether we anticipate this work will be completed prior to closing on a real estate transaction, or if it would be advantageous for the City or another party to assume responsibility for that work after closing.
The WWMP allows applicants to apply for acquisition costs for the property and stewardship costs associated with basic operations and maintenance. ODFW has developed a stewardship limit of $78 per acre annually. The City will seek to obtain up to ten years of stewardship funding or approximately $283,140. If a grant is awarded, details of stewardship funding will be described in a project-specific stewardship agreement between the City and BPA. Generally, BPA will provide a lump-sum amount to be placed in a long-term investment account to generate funding for stewardship needs.
The estimated cost for ten years of operations and maintenance, including invasive species removal and control, maintenance of public use facilities, and other annual maintenance on 363 acres, is $577,000. This estimate is based on a pre-acre average cost for Minto-Brown Island Park over the past eight years and includes a three percent annual inflation factor. The cost for site security and compliance services has not yet been evaluated and is not included in the estimated cost.
WWMP requires a management plan be developed within 18 months after closing. The estimated cost for completing a conservation area management plan for the proposed project has not yet been determined. Costs associated with long-term restoration and ecological enhancement, trail construction, and other features needed to facilitate passive recreation in the proposed conservation area can be estimated as part of the management plan process. Funding for the restoration work will likely be grant-dependent.
If the grant request is successful, staff will return to Council with information on the award stipulations and further details for a Council decision on acceptance of the grant.
BACKGROUND:
The property owned by Walling Properties, LLC, is currently used for agriculture, aggregate mining, and residential use. Sand and gravel extraction has occurred over a large portion of the site, leaving large pits filled with water. Staff understands that the aggerate mining operation on the site is nearing the end of economic viability.
The urban park opportunity area identified in Attachment 2 includes approximately 38 acres. Due to the proximity of the site to Wallace Marine Park and the proposed development of Marine Drive, development of an urban park at this location will help to accommodate sporting tournaments, addressing a need identified in the Salem Comprehensive Park System Master Plan. Subject to individual site master plans approved by City Council, urban parks may contain facilities with a regional draw within the community, such as a skate park, dog park, or aquatic facilities. Due to the current Polk County land use zoning, expansion of the UGB and City annexation may be required to permit certain urban park uses.
In 2010, the BPA and the State of Oregon signed the Willamette River Basin Memorandum of Agreement to settle BPA wildlife habitat mitigation obligations in the Willamette River Basin. To accomplish this mitigation the parties established the WWMP. ODFW manages the program and has opened a solicitation process to identify conservation projects to be recommended to the BPA for funding under terms of the agreement.
As the mitigation objectives of the WWMP have nearly been met, the current project solicitation is the last scheduled call for projects. To be eligible, projects must be in the Willamette River Basin and must serve to preserve, protect, and perpetuate wildlife and wildlife habitat for the citizens of Oregon.
Portions of the property lie within a high-priority wildlife habitat conservation area identified by ODFW. Regionally located between the Ankeny Wildlife Refuge and the Willamette Mission State Park, the area has high importance for floodplain and bottomland forest functions. The potential to reconnect the property to the Willamette River provides the opportunity to create significant habitat for Upper Willamette River Chinook Salmon and Upper Willamette River Steelhead, which are listed as threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.
In 2013, the City obtained a grant from WWMP to purchase approximately 307 acres of land from the Boise Cascade Corporation within the northern portion of Minto Island. The property is now part of Minto-Brown Island Park and is managed as the Minto Island Conservation Area (MICA). Both BPA and ODFW hold a conservation easement on the property. Consistent with the conservation easement, the area is managed for fish and wildlife habitat, with limited public access for passive recreation. Specifically, a paved path through MICA connects Riverfront Park to other portions of Minto-Brown Island Park by way of the Peter Courtney Minto Island Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge.
Robert D. Chandler, PhD, PE
Assistant Public Works Director
Attachments:
1. Map of property north of Wallace Marine Park
2. Map of opportunity areas
3. Map of proposed Marine DR NW
4. Map of floodplain and floodway