Item 11. Festival Beach Food Forest Restoration, Aly Tharp — original pdf
Backup
April 13, 2026 Food Policy Board Presentation Founded 2019MissionWe support neighborhood leaders and organizations to grow food,strengthen communities, and foster stewardship of the natural commonsVisionEvery neighborhood has green spaces that reconnect people to food,nature, and each other AUSTIN TRAVIS COUNTY FOOD PLAN Fruitful Commons supports Food Plan Strategies: Currently engaged as “Network Weaver” for Food Plan Implemenation Collaborative Expand access to nutritious andculturally relevant food in fooddistribution programs and foodretail locations for residents ofAustin-Travis County experiencingfood insecurity or facing barriers tofood access...GOAL 6: ACCESSExpand community food production,preserve agricultural lands, andincrease the amount of farmlanddedicated to regenerative foodproduction long-term in Austin-Travis County.GOAL 1: LANDDevelop community education,empowerment, and infrastructure tosupport effective implementation ofthe food plan as measured byincreased funding, data collection,partnerships, and communityparticipation in a local food systemnetwork.GOAL 9: EMPOWER FISCALLY SPONSORED PROJECTS Onion Creek Park Neighborhoods Alliance Memorial Garden Orchard Project TREE CARE MINI GRANT PROJECTS UT Microfarm WorkdayInstalling IrrigationSDF Garden Tree PlantingSt. John OrchardExpandedLabyrinth CommunityGardenPEASEl Buen SamaritanoCenter for MaximumPotential BuildingSystems Food ForestAlamo CommunityGardenKealing Middle SchoolAustin DiscoverySchoolSalvation ArmyFestival BeachCommunity GardenFestival BeachFood Forest 2025 MINI GRANT RECIPIENTS Fifth Annual Cohort of Urban Canopy Champions! Applications for the 2026-2027 cohort will be open July 15-August 31. Festival Beach Community GardenFestival Beach Food ForestFriends of Grand MeadowIslamic Center of Greater AustinJollyville ElementaryKalpulli Texas QuetzalcoatlOdom ElementaryOnion Creek Park Neighborhoods AlliancePartners for Education Agriculture andSustainability (PEAS)Rebuilding Broken CommunitiesThe Salvation Army AustinUrban Roots Festival Beach Food forest FESTIVAL BEACH FOOD FOREST FBFF expanded from 3/4 acre to 3 acres in 2022-2024 and will continue to grow in 2026 TXDOT CAPITAL EXPRESS PROJECT FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT SURVEY “Festival Beach Community Garden and Festival Beach Food Forest onWaller Street, between Clermont and Flores Streets, were added as Section4(f) resources for constructive use analysis, as they would be directlyacross from temporary construction staging areas. No direct impactswould occur at these Edward Rendon Sr. Metro Park facilities.“ WASTEWATER PIPELINE UTILITY RELOCATION Approved by Parks Board, Nov. 2024 - Board was misinformed that pipeline “would not” directly impact food forest; no public comments given Approved by Austin City Council, Jan. 2025; no public comments given First notification to FBFF & Fruitful Commons - January 6, 2026 - via Rifeline, TxDOT Community Liaison contractors Estimated $550K loss, including city-funded plantings & $375K in-kind community labor COMMUNITY RAPID RESPONSE COMMUNICATION AT AUSTIN CITY COUNCIL, BOARD & COMMISSION MEETINGS: Water & Wastewater Commission - 1/14/26 Parks & Recreation Board - 2/2/26, 2/23/26, 3/23/36 Environmental Commission - 2/4/26 Austin City Council - 2/5/26 Food Policy Board - 2/9/26 PUBLIC PETITION: 2,526 SIGNATURES ON THE GROUND: Feb. 7 - “Holding Our Ground” Community Gathering Feb. 10-15 - “Unplanting” Days & removing FBFF earthworks - 93 trees & shrubs moved Late February - Now - Wastewater pipeline has been installed 2/19/25 – “I-35 Expansion Threatens Austin’s Only Food Forest” – Austin Chronicle 2/14/26 – “‘Devastating’: Austin volunteers race to save Food Forest before I-35 construction” – KXAN 2/9/26 – “I-35 expansion impacting Austin’s Festival Beach Food Forest” – Spectrum News 2/3/26 – “Blindsided: Wastewater project disrupts Festival Beach Food Forest” – Austin Free Press 2/2/26 – “Volunteers blindsided as I‑35 project threatens newly planted Austin food forest” – KXAN 1/28/26 – “Austin food forest warns I-35 expansion project could disrupt green oasis” – KVUE PRESSCOVERAGE SECOND UTILITY RELOCATION - AUSTIN ENERGY HIGH POWER TRANSMISSION LINE - COUNCIL VOTE 4/23/26 Austin Energy & APR gave FBFF & FBCG advance notice & lines of communication to address concerns Received APR Board recommendation for approval, 3/23/26, with language added in support of FBFF & FBCG recovery $2.4M fee to APR mitigation fund Outstanding concerns about impact of cutting off access to FBFF materials drop-off area WHAT NOW for FBFF & Fruitful Commons ? Coordination with AW & APR staff for WWL easement restoration is ongoing. Coordination with AE & APR about transmission line utility relocation impacts is ongoing. Coordination with APR to seek support for Festival Beach Food Forest “Phase 2“ implementation & community infrastructure installation is ongoing. Establishing city-wide Parknership B Agreement with APR to facilitate community-led food growing on city parkland is ongoing. Cocina Cosecha outdoor kitchen educational pavillion design, rendering by Hythus Hu - Current design includes single slope canopy with solar power and rainwater harvesting features