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Home My WebLink About2026-03-18; Planning Commission; Resolution 7571PLANNING COMMISSION RESOLUTION NO. 7571 A RESOLUTION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, RECOMMENDING APPROVAL OF A LOCAL COASTAL PROGRAM AMENDMENT TO REPLACE REFERENCES TO THE MASTER DRAINAGE PLAN ADOPTED IN 1994 AND THE 2008 DRAINAGE MASTER PLAN WITH REFERENCES TO THE 2026 CITY OF CARLSBAD DRAINAGE MASTER PLAN. CASE NAME: 2026 DRAINAGE MASTER PLAN CASE NO.: LCPA2025-0024/MCA2026-0001 (PUB2022-0009) WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 21.52.020 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code, the City of Carlsbad has prepared a draft amendment to the Local Coastal Program Implementation Plan to incorporate by reference the 2026 Drainage Master Plan, which affects properties in the city’s Coastal Zone; and WHEREAS, as provided in Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 21.52.020, said verified application constitutes a request for a Local Coastal Program Amendment – LCPA 2025-0024 – 2026 DRAINAGE MASER PLAN ; and WHEREAS, revisions to the Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan are as set forth in Attachment A; and WHEREAS, the revision to the Local Coastal Program Implementation Plan is as set forth in Attachment B, the draft City Council Ordinance; and WHEREAS, the Planning Commission did, on the 18th day of March, 2026, hold a duly noticed public hearing as prescribed by law to consider; and WHEREAS, at said public hearing, upon hearing and considering all testimony and arguments, if any, of all persons desiring to be heard, the Planning Commission considered all factors relating to the Local Coastal Program Amendment; and WHEREAS, Pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, (CEQA, Public Resources Code section 21000 et. seq.), and its implementing regulations (the State CEQA Guidelines), Section 15183 set forth the criteria for determining if a project requires environmental documentation when the project is consistent with the development density established by existing zoning, community plan, or general plan policies for which an EIR was certified; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act, a First Addendum to an Environmental Impact Report (EIR), State Clearinghouse No. 2006041066 (EIR 04-02), relative to the project was prepared and the Planning Commission has reviewed and recommended the approval of the Addendum it per Planning Commission Resolution No. 7570 and WHEREAS, State Coastal Guidelines requires a six-week public review period for any amendment to the Local Coastal Program and a six-week public review period began in March 2026, and ran until April 2026 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the Planning Commission of the City of Carlsbad as follows: A) That the foregoing recitations are true and correct. B) The state-mandated six-week review period for the Local Coastal Program Amendment (LCPA 2022-0015) began in March 2026 and will end in April 2026; any comments received in response to the LCPA notice will be reported to the City Council. C) That based on the evidence presented at the public hearing, the Planning Commission RECOMMENDS APPROVAL of 2026 DRAINAGE MASTER PLAN - LCPA2025-0024/MCA2026-0001, based on the following findings. Findings: 1.LCPA 2025-0024 is consistent with the General Plan in that the Carlsbad General Plan authorizes existing drainage infrastructure and planned capacity improvements to support all designated land uses in the city. The 2026 Drainage Master Plan was designed to guide the city in the implementation of drainage facilities required to meet the present and future needs of Carlsbad as anticipated by the General Plan. Additionally, the 2026 Drainage Master Plan is consistent with the General Plan Public Safety Element by providing flood protection for developed areas. Further, is consistent with the General Plan Open Space and Conservation Element because design of the 2026 Drainage Master Plan component’s incorporates design features/methods and construction measures to minimize impacts to sensitive environmental resources. a. The Rancho Carlsbad Multi-Benefit Basin (BJ-1) generally aligns with General Plan Policy 2-P.4, which describes how ambiguous Land Use Map boundaries will be interpreted. The 2026 Drainage Master Plan identifies how the site will be configured to account for residential areas, stream restoration, and the basin. While the current map is high-level and lacks precise designations, a note in the Drainage Master Plan clarifies that a detailed project-level review may require a General Plan Amendment later. This acknowledgment ensures the project is considered compliant with the General Plan Land Use Map and Policy 2-P.4 at this stage. b. The 2026 Drainage Master Plan identifies eleven CIP projects. Pursuant with General Plan Policy 6-P.4, each of these eleven CIP projects will be compared against the city’s Standard Design Criteria to ensure public safety. c. Five of the eleven projects identified in the 2026 Drainage Master Plan are swales, basins or retention ponds that manage stormwater runoff. These types of stormwater management infrastructure projects directly align with General Plan Policy 6-P.7 by “promoting the use of green infrastructure such as swales to manage stormwater runoff.” d. Policy 4-P.64 requires that the city “preserve, where possible, natural watercourses or provide naturalized drainage channels within the city. Where feasible, implement restoration and rehabilitation opportunities. The 2026 Drainage Master Plan achieves this by discussing existing natural water courses and naturalized drainage channels. Further, Basin BJ-1 and Basin BVC-4 are projects that propose to take restorative and rehabilitative action of existing disturbed land to build naturalized storm water retention basins. 2.LCPA 2025-0024, reflects sound principles of good planning in that it (a) ensures consistency with and implements the policies of the Local Coastal Program, which are also proposed for amendment to reference the proposed Drainage Master Plan, (b) ensures internal consistency regarding references to the proposed Drainage Master Plan, and (c) implements the programs of the General Plan as identified in the previous finding. 3.LCPA 2025-0024 meets the requirements of, and is in conformity with, the policies of Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act and all applicable policies of the Carlsbad Local Coastal Program not being amended by this amendment, in that the amendments ensure consistency with the Zoning Ordinance and do not conflict with any Coastal Zone regulations, land use designations or policies, with which development must comply. 4.LCPA 2025-0024 is consistent with the McClellan-Palomar Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (ALUCP) in that the amendments do not materially affect allowable land uses and the density or intensity of development regulations and do not have implications for ALUCP noise, airspace, or safety compatibility within the Airport Influence Area of McClellan-Palomar Airport. Further, such projects do not require a consistency determination filing with the San Diego Regional Airport Authority, acting as the Airport Land Use Commission. NOTICE Please take NOTICE that approval of your project includes the “imposition” of fees, dedications, reservations, or other exactions hereafter collectively referred to for convenience as “fees/exactions.” You have 90 days from date of final approval to protest imposition of these fees/exactions. If you protest them, you must follow the protest procedure set forth in Government Code §66020(a) and file the protest and any other required information with the City Manager for processing in accordance with Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 3.32.030. Failure to timely follow that procedure will bar any subsequent legal action to attack, review, set aside, void, or annul their imposition. You are hereby FURTHER NOTIFIED that your right to protest the specified fees/exactions DOES NOT APPLY to water and sewer connection fees and capacity charges, nor planning, zoning, grading, or other similar application processing or service fees in connection with this project; NOR DOES IT APPLY to any fees/exactions of which you have previously been given a NOTICE similar to this, or as to which the statute of limitations has previously otherwise expired. PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Planning Commission of the City of Carlsbad, California, held on March 18, 2026, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Hubinger, Merz, Lafferty, Fitzgerald, Burrows, Foster, Meenes NAYES: EŽŶĞ͘ ABSENT: None. ABSTAIN: None. ___________________________________ ROY MEENES, Chairperson Carlsbad Planning Commission ATTEST: ___________________________________ ERIC LARDY, Assistant Director of Community Development Attachment A LCPA 2025-0024 2026 DRAINAGE MASTER PLAN Draft Revisions to the Carlsbad Local Coastal Program Land Use Plan ____________________________________________________________________________________ Amendment 1 1. That the list of amendments at the beginning of the “City of Carlsbad Local Coastal Program 2019”is amended by the addition of the following amendment to read as follows: 2026 Drainage Master Plan - LCPA 2025-0024 Approved by City Council, [insert date] Ordinance No. [insert number] Resolution No. [insert number] Approved by Coastal Commission, [insert date] 2. That the title “City of Carlsbad Local Coastal Program 2019” is amended to reflect the year of Coastal Commission approval of LCPA 2025-0024. Amendment 2 3. That the list of amendments on the title page of the Agua Hedionda Land Use Plan of the Carlsbad Local Coastal Program is amended by the addition of the following amendment to read as follows: 2026 Drainage Master Plan [insert date of Coastal Commission approval) Attachment B ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE LOCAL COASTAL PROGRAM IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TO REPEAL THE INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE OF THE 2008 DRAINAGE MASTER PLAN UPDATE AND INCORPORATE BY REFERENCE THE 2026 DRAINAGE MASTER PLAN CASE NAME: 2026 DRAINAGE MASTER PLAN CASE NO.: LCPA 2025-0024 (PUB 2022-0009) WHEREAS, on Aug. 5, 2008, the City Council adopted Resolution 2008-229, approving Local Coastal Program Amendment LCPA 07-06 to incorporate by reference the City of Carlsbad Drainage Master Plan (“2008 Drainage Master Plan”) into the Local Coastal Program Implementation Plan; and WHEREAS, the 2008 Drainage Master Plan is referenced throughout the Local Coastal Program and development in the Coastal Zone is required to comply with it; and WHEREAS, an update to the 2008 Drainage Master Plan is required to reflect changes in environmental regulations, construction cost index, engineering standards, the General Plan, and other relevant requirements and factors; and WHEREAS, beginning in 2019, the city undertook an update of the 2008 Drainage Master Plan, including collection and review of updated baseline information for storm drain infrastructure, hydrologic soil groups, and land use; and WHEREAS, the update of the 2008 Drainage Master Plan identifies 11 projects as the most critical to address current storm drain conveyance deficiencies, while considering effects of future development activity in the city; seven of the 11 drainage projects are in the Coastal Zone; and WHEREAS, approval of the LCPA is necessary for the 2026 Drainage Master Plan to be effective in the Coastal Zone; and WHEREAS, on March 18, 2026, the Planning Commission held a public hearing and adopted Planning Commission Resolution [Insert No.], recommending approval to the City Council of LCPA 2025- 0024; and WHEREAS, as required by state law, a six-week notice of availability was issued for LCPA 2025- 0024 began March 16, 2026, and ending on April 27, 2026; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad held a duly noticed public hearing as prescribed by law to consider LCPA 2025-0024; and WHEREAS at said public hearing, upon hearing and considering all testimony and arguments, if any, of all persons desiring to be heard, the City Council considered all factors, including written public comments, if any, related to LCPA 2025-0024. NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, ordains as follows that: 1. The above recitations are true and correct. 2. The findings of the Planning Commission in Planning Commission Resolution No. [Insert No.] shall also constitute the findings of the City. 3. The incorporation by reference of the 2008 Drainage Master Plan is hereby repealed. 4. The 2026 Drainage Master Plan, dated Nov. 14, 2025, and attached hereto as Attachment 1, is hereby incorporated by reference into the City of Carlsbad Local Coastal Program Implementation Plan. EFFECTIVE DATE: Because the facilities and fees associated with this action are interdependent and integral to a collective system, regardless of whether they are located inside or outside of the Coastal Zone, this ordinance shall be effective thirty days after its adoption or upon Coastal Commission approval of LCPA 2025-0024, whichever occurs later; and the City Clerk shall certify the adoption of this ordinance and cause the full text of the ordinance or a summary of the ordinance prepared by the City Attorney to be published at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of Carlsbad within fifteen days after its adoption. /// /// /// /// /// INTRODUCED AND FIRST READ at a Regular Meeting of the Carlsbad City Council on the ___ day of __________, 2026, and thereafter PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad on the __ day of ________, 2026, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: NAYS: ABSTAIN: ABSENT: APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY: _________________________________ CINDIE K. McMAHON, City Attorney _______________________________________ KEITH BLACKBURN, Mayor _______________________________________ SHERRY FREISINGER, City Clerk (SEAL)