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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1974-02-19; City Council; 3008; Review of Marine Environment Element\ C A R L S B A 3, - C A L I F’O R N IA OF - - I .T ii R CITY L /f‘ &#-5’ -,,/ Agenda 3i 11 No. J80f Date: February 19, 1974 Referred TO: - -~___ Subject: Submitted By : REVIEW OF MARINE ENVIRONMENT ELEMENT OF THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL ZONE CONSERVATION PLAN Planning Department FOR THE SAN DIEGO REGION Statement of the Matter On January 25, 1974 the San Diego Coast Regional Commission held a public hearing to consider the Marine Environment Element of the California Coastal Zone Conservation Plan for the San Diego Region. The public hearing is being held open until February 22, 1974, for the purpose of allowing more time for comments on the draft documents. Therefore, any comments the City Council desires to make should be submitted in writing to the San Diego Coast Regional Commission and their staff before February 22, 1974. Exhibit Report from Planning Department Staff Recommendations See City Manager Recommendations AB No. Date: February 19, 1974 City Manager's Recommendation As indicated in the Planning report dated February 13, 1974, which is attached, the Planning Department has been in constant contact with the staff of the San Diego Coast Regional Commission concerning technical aspects of the Marine Environment Element of the California Coastal Zone Conservation Plan. It is recommended that the Council request clarification from the Coast Commission of those questions raised in the Planning staff report. Council 'Action 2-19-74 Following a report by the Planning Director, the City Manager requested no action be taken due to complications discovered and he indicated that further study by the staff is necessary. -The City Manager was instructed to write a letter to the San Diego Coast Regional Commission requesting that the matter be continued without decision until after the April 5th, 1974 Council Meeting. TO : CITY MANAGER FROM: PLANNING DEPARTMENT SUBJECT: REVIEW OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT ELEMENT OF THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL ZONE CONSERVATION PLAN FOR THE SAN DIEGO REGION DATE: FEBRUARY 13, 1974 Background Information: On January 25, 1974, the San Diego Coast Regional Commission held a public hearing to consider the Marine Environment Element of the California Coastal Zone Conservation Plan for the San Diego Region. The public hearing is being held open until February 22, 1974, for the purpose of allowing more time for comments on the draft documents. Therefore, any comments the City Council desires to make should be submitted in writing to the San Diego Coast Regional Commission and their staff before February 22, 1974. Our staff has been in contact with Mr. Daniel Gorfain and Mr. Bill Healy of the San Diego Coast Commission staff regarding the technical aspects of the report. Me have also discussed the draft element with several individuals who have expertise in particular lagoon areas and have incorporated their comments into our report to the Coastal Commission staff. Our comments on the technical portions of the report will be submitted before February 22, 1974, so that the necessary corrections and additions may be included before final adoption of the element. Summary of the Marine Environment Element: The Marine Environment Element is the first in a series of elements to be ultimately adopted by the San Diego and California coastal commissions and submitted to the State Legislature in January 1976. The Marine Environment Element, which is only a portion of the Coastal Plan, includes a discussion of the following areas: marine habitats, marine plants and animals, the seals physical qualities, fisheries and fishing industries, lagoons and estuaries, and threats to the marine environment. There are several documents included in the draft element as foll ows : a) The technical background report for the Element; b) an appendix on the "Coastal Metlands of San Diego County"; c) a "popular" summary for wide public dissemination; and d) proposed Findings and Policies. L Page 2 The Coastal Commission utilized research by other organizations and individuals in the preparation of this element, therefore no original research was conducted. The technical background report entitled "Life in the Sea" is a lengthy discussion of the processes of marine environmental systems. Our staff has reviewed this document and is in general concurrence, however, this is not an area where we have special expertise. There are many organizations and individuals in San Diego County with special expertise in this area who have reviewed this document and submitted their comments. The two documents contained within the Marine Environment Element which are of significance fo Carlsbad are (1) the appendix on the "Coastal Wetlands of San Diego County", and (2) the proposed Findings and Policies. A general discussion of each of these two documents follows. (1) Coastal Wetlands of San Diego County (Appendix I) This report presents descriptions of wetland areas of San Diego County. Regarding Carlsbad, the Buena Vista Lagoon, Agua Hedionda Lagoon, and Batiquitos Lagoon areas are described. Each lagoon area is described according to the subheadings I' Ge ne r a 1 De s c r i p t i pn I' , It E c o 1 o g i c a 1 C h a r a c te r i s t i c s I' , I' 0 the r Important Characteristics", "Land Ownership, Land Use, and Zoning", "Special Problems", and "Management". Basically, the descriptive material on Buena Vista Lagoon conforms with other pub1 ished and unpublished studies of the lagoon. Under the subheading "Management", the report recom- mends that the lagoon be managed and developed as an ecological preserve. This section concludes with the following recom- mendation: "In general, every effort should be made to encourage the formulation of a comprehensive plan for the development of the lagoon and its environs as an ecological preserve and to consolidate the lagoon and shoreline owneEships in order to prevent fragmented, piecemeal development." The report did not discuss how this may come about, including the problems of coordinating the various governmental agencies having either jurisdiction or ownership in the lagoon area. This has been pointed out in our technical comments to the Coastal Commission staff. At the present time, the planning staff is preparing an ordinance regarding the management of coastal and lagoon areas. The planning staff of the City of Oceanside has renewed efforts to coordinate a specific plan for Buena Vista Lagoon with the City of Carl sbad. The descriptive material pertaining to Agua Hedionda Lagoon is consistent with past sutides prepared on the lagoon. However, the recommendations contained under the "Management" section fails to acknowledge certain past actions taken by the City of Carlsbad. For instance, the SDG&E Specific Plan contains many Page 3 policies and standards that are covered in the recommendations listed in the Coastal Commission report. The report appears to recognize the Small Craft Harbor Report prepared by DMJM in 1965 as an officially adopted City document. Consequently, it is believed that his report and plan constitute official policy on the part of the City. However, the plan was never officially adopted by the City Council of Carlsbad. It is recommended in the Coastal Commission report that Agua Hedionda Lagoon be retained and protected basically in its present form as a public resource and that a small craft harbor be developed only if it can be shown to best serve the public interest. Their recommendations are basically consistent with the past actions of the City of Carlsbad and SDG&E. The section concerning Batiquitos Lagoon is basically accurate and points out the unique characteristics of this wetland area. The report does not discuss the need for a comprehensive study and plan of the resource potential of the lagoon, both human and environmental. They recommend that the lagoon be dredged out to maximize its natural and public resource potential, which is consistent with past studies prepared of the lagoon. A letter dated January 19, 1974, from Mr. Perry Lamb to the San Diego Coast Regional Commission points out specific deficiencies in the report with which our staff concurs. Any problem areas will be worked out at the technical level between the Coastal Commission staff and our staff. (2) Policies and Findings Report This report includes two sections concerning (1) Findings and (2) Policies. Generally, the section on Findings is a summary of research and analysis on the condition of the coastal/ marine environment. Not all the findings presented are appli- cable to Carlsbad. The findings do not take into account the variety of environmental and ecological conditions which may be characteristic of individual lagoons, as in the case of Carlsbad. General concl us ions regarding exis ti ng problems are also too broad to be applicable to Carlsbad. For instance, finding 14, specifies lagoon problems as being attributed to private development activities; thus neglecting impacts by freeways, railroads, and etc. This condition is obviously the source of some of the problems existing in Carlsbad's lagoons. Policies recommended in this document generally regard the protection of natural environmental systems and the natural physical and biotic environment of coastal areas. The Coastal Commission policies are basically suggested actions aimed at this objective. Thirty-nine pol icy statements are proposed in this report with each having a possible effect on Carlsbad. However, the most obvious are included within the first eleven listed. Due to the complexity of this matter, it is difficult to render a thorough analysis of the overall effect these policies could have on the City of Carlsbad at this time. Page 4 The vagueness of some of the statements make it quite difficult to provide the City Council with an adequate assessment of potential impacts from the suggested policies. In summation of the intent of these policies, it is evident that the major thrust is to "protect, restore, and enhance" wetland areas along the coast. Since definitions are not provided in the usage of these terms, it is difficult to understand the basic and specific application of the recom- mended policies. Some of the policy statements do, however, present serious problems to Carlsbad. For instance, the statement (No. 4), "Coastal wetland areas should be committed to private use only after a comprehensive region wide wetland plan has been developed and acdepted which affords a protection of their natural resources, provides for areas for public recreation, recognizes research and study potentials and pro- tects their aesthetic integrity", could result in hardships and conflicts at the local level. For instance, if such a policy were adopted by the Coastal Commission (considering their regularoty authority), public actions concerning land use, zoning, capital improvement programming could not be considered until such regional plan were approved and adopted. On the other hand, the statement (No. 3) "Wetlands which are septic, eutrophied, or in danger of becoming biologically unproductive should be restored to an acceptable level of biological productivity", could easily apply to Bautiquitos Lagoon. Studies conducted on this water body have observed this problem and need. Additionally, policy No. 6 states, "Prior to further man-made alteration of San Diego's coastal wetlands, especially the alteration of the coastal lagoon complexes, a management plan for each should be approved by the appropriate governmental body (+es), which considers ecological, public and private values and interests to be protected and served. Such a plan should be based on the study of each lagoonshed, including its tributary and surrounding areas." This policy could mean that Carlsbad would have to prepare and adopt management plans on each lagoon area in concert with the Coastal Commission and other affected agencies prior to any private commitment or public action. Recommenda ti on : The staff recommends that the rewrite of the policies under the Findings and Policies Report and the recommendations contained in the management sections under the appendix on coastal wetlands be presented to the City for review prior to the final adoption of the Marine Environment Element. The staff also recommends that the City Council request that a representative from the Coastal Commiysion staff be present to answer any questions of the City Council before final adoption of the Element. In the event that the rewrjte is forthcoming before the City Council meeting of February 19,1974, the staff will request that a representative be present at that time.