Item 12. Festival Beach Food Forest DRAFT Recommendation — original pdf

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BOARD/COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Austin-Travis County Food Policy Board Recommendation Number: XXXXXXXX-XXX: Supporting Food Plan Implementation through Urban Agriculture Coordination and Festival Beach Restoration WHEREAS, the Festival Beach Food Forest is a volunteer-led permaculture food forest developed in partnership with the Austin Parks and Recreation Department beginning in 2014, sponsored by 501(c)3 nonprofit organization Fruitful Commons; and WHEREAS, in 2021 the Austin City Council approved expansion of the Festival Beach Food Forest to approximately three acres to support community food production, ecological restoration, and climate resilience on public parkland; and WHEREAS, a wastewater pipeline relocation associated with the Texas Department of Transportation Interstate 35 Capital Express Project has impacted the approved Phase 2 expansion area of the Festival Beach Food Forest, resulting in the removal of 92 trees and shrubs and the loss of approximately $550,000 in public and community investment, including $375,000 in volunteer labor; and WHEREAS, despite quarterly coordination meetings over 18 months, community stewards were notified of the wastewater pipeline relocation only two weeks before construction was scheduled to begin, highlighting gaps in communication and coordination between City departments, infrastructure projects, and community partners stewarding food-producing landscapes on public land; and WHEREAS, the Festival Beach Food Forest and adjacent Festival Beach Community Garden are also expected to be impacted by a proposed Austin Energy transmission line relocation associated with the Interstate 35 Capital Express Project, for which Austin Energy has agreed to provide $2,414,240 in parkland mitigation funding for permanent use of parkland, pending approval by the Austin City Council on April 23, 2026; and WHEREAS, the combined impacts of the wastewater pipeline relocation and the proposed Austin Energy transmission line relocation represent cumulative disruptions to the Festival Beach Food Forest and adjacent community food production spaces, compounding the loss of established plantings, volunteer investment, and community use of public land; and WHEREAS, community-scale food production projects such as the Festival Beach Food Forest advance goals of the Austin/Travis County Food Plan by increasing local food production, climate resilience, and community stewardship of public land; and WHEREAS, in 2025 the Austin Travis County Food Policy Board adopted Recommendation 20250210-003 urging the City to establish an interdepartmental coordination mechanism, including a dedicated staff role, to support urban agriculture and implementation of the Food Plan across departments; and WHEREAS, the Austin Climate and Resilience Office previously proposed a budget enhancement to create an Urban Agriculture Program Manager position to coordinate Food Plan implementation and urban agriculture activities across departments; and WHEREAS, the City of Austin FY 2025‑26 Proposed Budget — Tax Rate Election Scenarios includes a line item in the Office of Climate and Resilience for “Food Plan – Urban Farm Support” with approximately $137,113 in ongoing funding and $150,000 in one‑time program resources to support an Urban Agriculture Program Manager position and related Food Plan implementation activities, demonstrating prior City commitment contingent upon the passage of the tax rate election; and WHEREAS, this funding was not implemented in the final budget due to the failure of the 2025 tax rate election (Proposition Q), leaving a gap in dedicated staff capacity to coordinate City departments and community partners for urban agriculture projects; and WHEREAS, the disruption to the Festival Beach Food Forest demonstrates the need for dedicated staff capacity to coordinate communication between infrastructure planning, park management, and community-led food production sites across the City. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Austin-Travis County Food Policy Board recommends that the Austin City Council direct the City Manager to ensure that Austin Water, Austin Energy, and Austin Parks & Recreation work with Festival Beach Food Forest and Fruitful Commons to ensure full restoration and redevelopment of the Festival Beach Food Forest impacted area, including reimbursement for documented damages and restoration of impacted plantings and infrastructure, recognizing the significant volunteer and community contributions to the site; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Board recommends the City include funding in an upcoming City budget to establish a dedicated Urban Agriculture Coordinator or Program Manager position to support implementation of the Austin/Travis County Food Plan and coordination of urban agriculture activities across City departments; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this position be funded at a level comparable to the previously proposed enhancement, including approximately $137,000 in annual personnel funding for one full-time equivalent position, along with appropriate program resources to support cross-departmental coordination and community engagement; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that this role prioritize coordination among departments including the Austin Parks and Recreation Department, Austin Water, Austin Energy, and the Austin Climate and Resilience Office, as well as communication with community partners stewarding food-producing landscapes on public land, in order to prevent similar disruptions and advance implementation of the Austin/Travis County Food Plan. Date of Approval: Record of the vote: Vote in Favor: Vote Against: Abstaining: Absent: Attest: City of Austin, Office of Climate Action and Resilience, Food Policy Manager/ ATCFPB Staff Liaison