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Home My WebLink About1997-12-16; City Council; Resolution 97-7151 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 RESOLUTION NO. 97-715 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING AN INTERIM COASTAL SAGE SCRUB TARE PERMIT FOR 1.95 ACRES OF DIEGAN COASTAL SAGE ON THE PACIFIC VIEW ESTATES PROJECT. CASE NAME: PACIFIC VIEW ESTATES CASE NO: CT 96-03 WHEREAS, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the California gnatcatcher as a threatened species and, therefore, subject to certain protections afforded by the Endangered Species Act; and WHEREAS, the Secretary of the Interior has adopted a Special Rule as provided under Section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act for threatened species; and WHEREAS, the Special Rule provides guidelines for interim take of the California gnatcatcher pending completion and approval of larger scale plans pursuant to the Natural Communities Conservation Planning (NCCP) program of the State of California; and WHEREAS, among the provisions of the Special Rule is an expedited process for approval of interim impacts, which process may be used until the San Diego County region has taken 5% of the coastal sage scrub existing as of March 25,1993; and WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad’s portion of the 5% allowable take has been calculated to be 165.7 acres, and all impacts to coastal sage scrub during the interim period must be subtracted from this amount; and WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad has adopted a prioritization system and guidelines for determining which projects should be allowed to deduct from the City’s 5% allocation; and WHEREAS, Attachment, 1 to this resolution is a listing of all projects which have been authorized pursuant to the Special Rule to impact coastal sage scrub habitat in Carlsbad since March 25, 1993, and a statement of the remaining number of acres available to the City from the 5% allocation; and ,‘: c ” 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 WHEREAS, in approving interim impacts to coastal sage scrub habitat under the expedited process provided by the Special Rule, it is necessary for the City Council to adopt seven specific findings which are outlined in the NCCP Conservation Guidelines and restated below in the Findings section of this resolution; and WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed all pertinent information relating to the Pacific View Estates project and has determined that it is appropriate to issue an interim take permit for the project. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT HEREBY RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California as follows: A. B. That the above recitations are true and correct. That the City Council approves the issuance of the an interim take permit for the Pacific View Estates project. The City Council further directs that 1.95 acres shall be subtracted from the available balance of coastal sage scrub impacts as shown on Attachment 1 of this resolution, which is incorporated herein by reference. Findiws: In approving the issuance of this interim take permit, the City Council makes the following findings with respect to the Pacific View Estates project. The City Council finds that: 1. 2. 3. The proposed habitat loss is consistent with the NCCP Conservation Guidelines. The impact of the loss of 1.95 acres of coastal sage scrub is consistent with the NCCP Guidelines in that this small acreage is considered an insignificant impact to CCS and to gnatcatcher habitat especially since no gnatcatchers have been observed on site. The habitat loss will not cumulatively exceed the 5% limitation, either regionally or locally. The City of Carlsbad has 29.59 acres remaining in its 5 percent allocation. The proposed project will take 1.95 acres with other projects currently under review proposing to take about 5 acres. Consequently, this project will not exceed the City’s 5 percent allocation. Connectivity between high value habitat areas will not be precluded. The site is essentially an intill site in an area that is already developed. No habitat of value exists either on the subject site or on surrounding properties, therefore, connectivity is not precluded in these areas. -2- 9’ 1 1 1 1 1, 1 11 1’ 1’ 1’ 2i 2 2: 2: 24 2: 2( 2’ 2: 4. 5. 6. 7. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The habitat loss will not preclude preparation of the subregional NCCP plan. The Multi- species Habitat Conservation Plan, being worked on by regional agencies and jurisdictions, does not indicate the subject site as being important to the sub-regional plan. The habitat loss has been minimized and mitigated to the maximum extent practicable. The mitigation shall consist of the purchase of credits in the Carlsbad Highland Mitigation Bank. Habitat loss on the site has been minimized by sensitive site design which has limited impacts to 1.95 acres. The likelihood of survival and recovery of listed species will not be appreciably reduced. Neither gnatcatchers nor other sensitive species inhabit the site. The site is not important for wildlife movement or foraging and is not a use area for any listed species. The habitat loss is incidental to otherwise lawful activities. The habitat loss will be incidental to residential development of the property as envisioned in the Carlsbad General Plan. Grading will not be allowed until all applicable requirements are met. Environmental review has been completed and a Mitigated Negative Declaration was issued. -3- . 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 - - 8. That stafY’ is hereby directed to transmit the City Council’s action as expeditiously as possible to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Game to indicate that the permits have been issued subject to the required 30 day review period. In addition, following the conclusion of the 30 day review period with no objections to the issuance of the interim take permits from the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Game, staff is further directed to take appropriate actions to document the final approval of the project. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, held on the 16th &yof December , 1998 by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Council Members Lewis, Finnila, Nygaard, Kulchin, and Hall NOES: None ATTEST: (SEW -4- ATTACHMENT 1 ITEMIZATION OF IMPACTS TO COASTAL SAGE SCRUB 5% ALLOCATION DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT I ACRES Starting Balance City and Other Public Agency Projects 165.70 San Dieguito Union High School District for South Carlsbad High School site 1 Section 7 permit issued, 1993 CalTrans for Poinsettia Lane/I-5 Freeway ramps and auxiliary lanes Section 7 permit issued, 1995 CMWD - lining and covering of Maerkle Reservoir - 4(d) permit issued, 1995 Poinsettia Park - 4(d) permit issued, 1995 Cannon Road Reach I- 4(d) permit issued, 1995 Hidden Valley Road - Section 7 permit issued, 1995 Maerkle Reservoir - additional impacts, 1997 1.46 2.10 4.30 0.04 2.40 6.32 0.53 Private Development Projects - - Aviara Phase II drainage structure, 1994 Aviara Phase III grading - 4(d) permit issued September 1995 Parkview West - 4(d) permit issued May 1996 Carlsbad Ranch - 4(d) permit issued May 1996 Ranch0 Verde - Section 7 permit issued, 1995 Mar Vista/Emerald Ridge-West and East - 4(d) permit issued administratively November 1995 Carrillo Ranch Phase I grading - Section 7 permit issued, 1995 Arroyo La Costa - Section 7 permit issued, 1993 Cobblestone Sea Village - Pending Holly Springs agricultural impacts, 1997 Meadowlands - 4(d) - Pending Carlsbad Ranch - Hidden Valley Road 0.40 8.68 1.10 1.10 6.80 0.96 42.20 11.00 14.60 0.50 1.30 0.27 Note: Italics indicates that grading permit has not been issued