HomeMy WebLinkAbout1981-06-09; City Council; 6179-1; Sedway/Cooke report on Interim Growth MgtAGENDA BILL
. INITIAL; TH:LS
AGENDA BILL NO: /, / ?9- ^..^fl.-,. JK ^fe / DEPT. HD.
W
DATE: JUNE 9, 1981
DEPARTMENT: PLANNING DEPARTMENT
CTY. ATTY. \j/^O
CTY. MGR^ ^fl-Jv
SUBJECT:
SEDWAY/COOKE REPORT ON INTERIM GROWTH MANAGEMENT
STATEMENT OF THE MATTER:
The provision of this report is part of the "Comprehensive Planning Program"
adopted through the 1979-80 budget process by City Council. Essentially, the
Interim Growth Management program is intended to address and give guidance to
the City Council for the timely provision of public facilities. The Comprehen-
sive Planning Program encompasses four major components.
1. Interim Growth Management
2. General Plan Review
3. Master Environmental Impact Assessment
4. Permanent Growth Management
The sum of these items is intended to provide a "Public Facilities Management
Program" or growth management for the city.
Sedway/Cooke will present the report for City Council information. City staff
will be prepared to return in the near future with a staff recommendation on
acceptance of the report for contract payment purposes. A subsequent city staff
presentation will review the entire report, its recommendations, and possible
courses of action.
FISCAL IMPACT
None at this time. On acceptance of report in fulfillment of contract, a final
payment will be made to Sedway ($16,000).
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
None at this time. Environmental Review may be necessary in the future steps of
the Comprehensive Planning Program depending on specific courses of action.
RECOMMENDATION
Direct staff to return with a recommendation on the acceptance of the report
(for contract payment purposes).
ATTACHMENTS
None; a copy of the report has been distributed to City Council in advance (June
1, 1981).
NO ACTION
MEMORANDUM
DATE: June 1, 1981
TO: Frank Aleshire, City Manager
FROM: James C. Hagaman, Planning Director
RE: SEDWAY/COOKE REPORT ON INTERIM GROWTH
Attached is the subject report. Mr. Sedway will present the report at
the June 9 Council meeting.
City staff will present a report and recommendation at a subsequent
meeting.
'JCH:TH:jd
CC: City Council
Ron Beckman •
City Attorney
City Engineer
Roger Greer
Parks and Recreation
CITY OF CARLSBAD
INTERIM GROWTH MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
CITY OF CARLSBAD
INTERIM GROWTH MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
Prepared by
SEDWAY/COOKE
Urban and Environmental
Planners and Designers
San Francisco, California
in association with
LYNN SEDWAY + ASSOCIATES
Urban Economists
San Rafael, California
May 1981
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
Background I
CPO Series V Forecast 3
Growth and Services in Carlsbad . 7
Development Phasing 14
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS OF GROWTH POTENTIAL
Methodology 18
Analysis of City Revenues 18
The Public Facilities Fee 28
Determination of Public Facilities Fee 33
Summary 36
SUMMARY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary Findings . • 38
Recommendations 41
Project Review 46
APPENDIX: PUBLIC SERVICES - EXISTING CONDITIONS
Water Supply A-1
Sewer Services . ' A-2
Schools A-4
Parks and Recreation A-5
Police Protection A-7
Fire Protection A-9
Library Services A-10
Street Circulation . A-12
Drainage A-13
Physical Administration Facilities A-15
LIST OF TABLES
Table I Final Series V Regional Development Forecasts
1978-2000 ft
Table 2 Final Series V Regional Development Forecasts
1978-2000, Carlsbad General Plan Area 5
Table 3 Significant Subarea Population 7
Table ft Development Phasing, City-Wide Totals . 20
TableS Projected Property Tax Revenue, 1980-1985 21
Tabled Projected Property Tax Revenue, 1985-1995 22
Table 7 Projected Property Tax Revenue, 1995-2000 23
Table 7A Projected Property Tax Revenue, 2000-Buildout 2ft
Table 8 Projected General Fund Revenues 27
Table 9 Expected Future Revenues and Capital Improvement
Costs 28
Table 10 Additional Public Facilities, 1980-1985 29
Table II Additional Public Facilities, 1985-1995 30
Table 12 Additional Public Facilities, 1995-2000 31
Table 13 Additional Public Facilities, 2000-Buildout 32
Table Ift Projected Public Facilities Fee Fund,
1980-1985 • 33
Table 15 Projected Public Facilities Fee Fund,
1985-1995 ' 3ft
Table 16 Projected Public Facilities Fee Fund,
1995-2000 3ft
Table 17 Projected Public Facilities Fee Fund,
2000-Buildout 35
Table 18 Summary . 35
Table 19 Street Widening Totals • 37
Table 20 Summary Table Changes With Developer Assessments 37
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure I Regional Setting
Figure 2 Significant Subareas
Figure 3 Water Service Districts
Figure ft Sewer Service Area
Figure 5 School Districts
Figure 6 Fire Protection
Figure 7 1980 Average Daily Traffic Volumes
Figure 8 Development Phasing
2
6
9
10
II
13
15
16
APPENDIX: LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Phasing of Satellite Plant Construction
Table 2 Space Availability in Schools Serving Carlsbad
Table 3 Park Acreages and Locations
Table ^ Proposed and Undeveloped Parks and Open Space
Table 5 Evaluation of Carlsbad's Local Parks
Table 6 Demand for Recreational Facilities
Table 7 Criminal Activity in Carlsbad
Table 8 Running Times from Existing Fire Stations
Table 9 Special Services and Activies Provided by Library
Table 10 Comparison of Existing With Estimated Space
Requirements
Table 11 Estimated Space Requirements at Target
Populations
A-3
A-5
A-7
A-9
A-ll
A-ll
A-13
A-15
A-17
A-23
A-24
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND
The rapid growth of Carlsbad in recent years has placed a tremendous burden on the
City's public services. However, the City's growth potential, attractive lifestyle
and living environment are, in part, reflections of its past ability to provide
adequate public services and facilities, fn an era of fiscal stringency, it has become
increasingly difficult for cities to maintain, much less improve, public services.
Part of the problem has been that cities have failed to take a realistic perspective
of their growth potential and to evaluate their public service requirements in light
of that potential.
Carlsbad has undertaken a study to analyze and recommend a process that would
allow the City to anticipate future development and public service demands. The
services addressed in the study include:
water
sewer
schools
parks and recreation
police
fire
library
circulation
drainage
physical administration facilities
The result is not a comprehensive growth management program. The findings and
recommendations can be adapted as more information becomes available and as the
General Plan revision program proceeds. The forces affecting growth and the
reasons for wanting to manage growth go far beyond the supply and demand of
public services. Environmental considerations, adequate and affordable housing,
community design and aesthetics, energy conservation, and community diversity
and liveability should all be integrated into a comprehensive growth management
program. These matters, only touched on in this study, should and doubtless will be
analyzed in depth as the general plan is updated. However, because public services
are key factors in shaping the pattern and rate of development, they are a good
starting point from which to structure a growth management framework.
The intent of this summary report is to identify an approach by which the City can
anticipate future public service limitations and ensure that growth occurs In a
manner that is compatible with public service availability. In developing the
approach, three basic questions were considered.
I. What is the ultimate growth potential of the City? The growth potential
provides an estimate of future public service requirements. Two important
facets of growth influence the provision of public services: the spatial
distribution of the growth and the rate of growth. Spatial considerations relate
to where the growth will occur and thus where public services must be
provided. The rate of growth determines how rapidly the services must be
provided.
1
. Y
Figure 1 x1>x
REGIONAL SETTING I
2. How does one evaluate the adequacy of a public service, and what is the
present status of Carlsbad's services? The approach proposed provides a quick
assessment of each of the ten services and also indicates if the service is
approaching a minimum acceptable level. The mechanism relies on the
concept of an "early warning" system that alerts the City when demand is
reaching a level that will deplete the availability or quality of the public
service unless some action to remedy the situation is undertaken.
3. How adequate is the City's current method of financing and programming
public service expansion and improvements? The City has recently
implemented a public facilities fee assessment that is designed to finance the
public facilities needs of future growth in the City. In light of the City's
growth potential and public service demands, a third task is to assess the
adequacy and equity of the public facilities fee and to recommend revisions, if
necessary, as well as to review and assess means for programming facilities..
CPO SERIES V FORECAST
On November 4, 1980, the Carlsbad City Council adopted the so-called Series V
Forecast prepared by the San ' Diego ' Comprehensive Planning Organization.
Although the staff had uncovered various discrepancies in their review of the
forecasts, the City nevertheless adopted the forecasts for planning and regional
compatibility purposes. The City adopted the forecasts in the belief, and with the
assurance of the Comprehensive Planning Organization, that the CPO method would
have no substantial effect on short-term forecasts and that the next forecast
(Series VI) would incorporate the City's concerns. At the City's, request CPO
undertook a further analysis and predicted a "buildout" population of 160,000. This
figure corresponds very closely with a'modification of that used by the City for
establishing the public facilities fee and with an adjustment in the prediction made
by Sedway/Cooke in the earlier preliminary report. Hence, the 160,000 buildout
population has generally been accepted by all parties involved.
Tables I and 2 below indicate the final Series V forecasts for the City's general plan
area and for the City's incorporated area.
In order to get a better idea of where this growth will occur, the City is divided
into four significant subareas that correspond approximately to the City's satellite
reclamation plant drainage areas. The boundaries of these areas are depicted in a
Figure 2, and the population in each of these areas is presented in Table 3. The
development potential is a rough surrogate for the public service demand. In terms
of population, Encina North and La Costa will place the greatest demand on public
services. However, in terms of providing public services, the most dramatic effect
of growth will be noticed in Lake Calavera and Palomar where services will have to
meet the needs of ultimate populations more than nine times greater than existing
populations. The tremendous amount of industrial development potential in Encina
South and Palomar will require expansion of present service levels, particularly for
water, sewer, and circulation. The ability of the City and the special districts to
provide timely and adequate services is intimately linked to how rapidly
development proceeds. Excessive rates of growth can overwhelm the City's fiscal
and personnel resources. Issues1 and implications of the rate and location of
development are discussed in the next section.
TABLE I
FINAL SERIES V
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FORECASTS
1978-2000
CITY OF CARLSBAD
Total Population
Household Population
Group Quarters Population
Occupied Housing Units
Single Family Units
Multiple Family Units
Percent Single Family
Household Size
Total Civilian Employment
Basic Employment
Local Serving Employment
Total Acreage
Total Developed Acreage
. Residential Acreage
Basic Acreage
Local Serving Acreage
Vacant Acreage
Developable
Unusable
Gross Residential Density
Gross Employment Density
1978
28,462
28,229
233
10,656
7,349
3,308
69.0
2.6
8,983
2,889
6,094
18,811
4,510
2,452
181
455
13,524
9,733
3,790
4.3
14.1
1985
51,841
51,440
401
20,821
14,788
6,033
71.0
2.5
14,702
3,932
10,770
18,033*
7,422
4,893
273
917
10,611
6,821
3,790
4.3
12.4
1995-
84,147
83,627
520
36,254
26,926
9,328
74.3
2.3
21,231
5,821
15,410
18,033*
11,868
8,799
313
1,524
6,165
2,375
3,790
4.1
11.6
2000
93,891
93,316
575
41,501 .
29,943
11,557
72.2
2.2
25,445
7,081
18,364
8,0330*
•13,200**
9,800**
313**
1,829**
4,833**
1,043**
3,790**
4.2
11.9
Change
Numeric
65,429
65,087
342
30,845
22,594
8,249
16,462
4,192
12,270
8,690
7,428
132
1,374
-8,691
-8,690
0
1978-2000
Percent
229.88%
230.57%
146.78%
289.46%
307.44%
249.37%
183.26%
145.10%
201.35%
192.68%
302.94%
72.93%
301.98%
-64.26%
-89.28%
0.00%
*The City of Carlsbad has determined that CPO inaccurately reported the City's incorporated area as
18,033 acres. The actual incorporated area is 18,81 I acres. Over the next 20 years, it is expected that
the City will annex the remaining unincorporated land located within the sphere of influence
boundaries/General Plan Area. When this occurs, the City would be 24,301 acres.
***These figures pertain to existing incorporated City area.
TABLE 2
FINAL SERIES V
REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT FORECASTS
1978-2000
CARLSBAD GENERAL PLAN AREA
Total Population
Household Population
Group Quarters Population
Occupied Housing Units
Single Family Units
Multiple Family Units
Percent Single Family
Household Size
Total Civilian Employment
Basic Employment
Local Serving Employment
Total Acreage
Total Developed Acreage
Residential Acreage
Basic Acreage
Local Serving Acreage
Vacant Acreage
Developable
Unusable
Gross Residential Density
Gross Employment Density
1978
28,724
28,491
233
10,758
7,434
3,324
69.1
2.6
10,240
3,813
6,428
24,301*
5,358
2,482
236
462
18,740
13,593
5,147
-4.3
14.7
^1985
54,216
53,815
401
21,707
15,564
6,142
71.7
2.5
16,861
4,881
11,980
24,301
8,725
5,118
328
1,096
15,372
10,225
5,147
4.2
11.8
1995
93,325
92,805
520
40,241
30,311
9,930
75.3
2.3
24,703
7,287
17,417
24,301
14,379
9,995
383
1,807
9,718
4,572
5,147
4.0
11.3
2000
111,326
110,751
575
49,444
37,154
12,289
75.1
2.2
29,799
8,937
20,862
24,301 .
17,329
12,601
383
2,156
6,768
1,622
5,147
3.9
11.7
Change
Numeric
82,602
82,260
342
38,686
29,720
8,965
19,559
5,124
14,434
11,971
10,119
147
1,694
-11,972
-11,971
0
1978-2000
Percent
287.57%
288.72%
146.78%
359.60%
399.78%
269.71%
191.01%
134.38%
224.55%
223.42%
407.70%
62.29%
366.67%
-63.88%
-88.07%
0.00%
*Reported incorrectly by CPO as 24,097 acres.
V jF
l~"~ >*^
V jFBuena Vistal 1 rrrl_v»iB<-*>w^^| JTT .•.•.
Ca avera
.-J
Squires Dam
vv- •••'••• •.•.•'•X't-'''.''.'X-'-X^-^'.'J
ig^i;i;;sssi;isse
Figure 2
SIGNIFICANT SUBAREAS
Encina
Lake Calavera Hills
Palomar Airport
La Costa
City of Carlsbad .north
TABLE 3
SIGNIFICANT SUBAREA POPULATION
•ADJUSTED TO GENERAL PLAN AREA POPULATION*
End no
Lake Caiavera
Palomar
La Costa
TOTAL
Series
39,363
6,902
1,071
16,537
63,873
1985
Adjusted
33,412 -
5,858
909
14,037
54,216
Series
54,897
23,600
6,686
26,349
111,532
1995
Adjusted
. 45,935
19,747
5,599
22,048
93,325
2000
Series
61,686
31,677
11,931
28,219
133,513
Adjusted
51,435
26,413
9,948
23,530
1 1 1,326
The Series V population projections are disaggregated into subareas defined by
the City. However, the figures for the subareas generated by CPO include lands
beyond the City's general plan area. Accordingly, the figure for each subarea has
been adjusted downward so that they are consistent with the population totals of
the general plan area as shown in Table 2.
GROWTH AND SERVICES IN CARLSBAD
Recently the traditional growth ethic has been challenged. In many instances
throughout the country, rapid growth has overburdened public facilities and
services. Many communities1 are faced with the need.to provide additional services
at high "catch-up" costs at a time when financial'pursestrings are being drawn ever
tighter.
Furthermore, uncontrolled growth has resulted in:
loss of environmental resources;
conversion of prime agricultural lands;
lengthy commutes and automobile dependency because housing and employ-
ment opportunities are not in proximity to one another;
inefficient use of infrastructure and land resources; and
loss of town/neighborhood character.
Although there are many reasons for managing growth, this study focuses only on
public facilities. The potential implications of uncontrolled growth are serious;
therefore attempts are made to stage development in conjunction with provision of
adequate public services. A direct application of this philosophy would be to
encourage development in areas where public services and facilities are largely
available and to discourage development that requires new services. The City has
the predominant power to control the location and rate of growth through its
decisions on public service availability. However, as is shown in the figures below,
outside jurisdiction also can exert an influence. The following discussion indicates
how each service impacts, and is impacted by, growth.
Water ond Wastewater Services
These services can affect the rate and location of development. Growth can result
in costly extensions of underutilized facilities. According to representatives of the
water districts serving Carlsbad, there is adequate water supply from the County
Water.Authority to meet anticipated development. Existing distribution lines cover
most of the area likely to develop and are of sufficient capacity so that expensive
programs to extend lines and upgrade the lines are minimal. In general, the
greatest cost advantages can be gained by encouraging development to occur where
water storage and distribution facilities are already on-line and have excess
capacity. Because much of the water supply facilities are in place and are provided
by independent districts, the cost differences of growth alternatives in terms of
water supply appear negligible.
The capacity of the Encina wastewater treatment plant was a very real and serious
obstacle to development at the outset of this study. The Carlsbad Sewer Service
Area had used nearly all of its allocated treatment plant capacity. However, in
June I960, the regional plant was rerated to 16 million gallons per day (mgd) from
13.75 mgd, and capacity will be increased to 18 mgd by 1982-1983. Concurrently,
the City has embarked upon a satellite wastewater reclamation program that will
provide wastewater services to each of the City's significant subareas. The plants
serving the City will all be on-line by 1985. The effect of these events has been to
remove any constraints to development. For the most part, there is no rationale
for encouraging development towards one area over another from this standpoint.
However, because the City is responsible for the operation of the plants, to the
extent that energy costs for pumping are significant, a scattered pattern of
development would cost more than one emphasizing development in areas of infill
or adjacent to existing developed areas.
Public Schools
In general, cost efficiencies due to growth are possible only if underutilized facili-
ties are available in local school districts and growth is encouraged in those
• districts. Capital expenditures, probably resulting in increased per-unit service
costs, would be required if classroom facilities were needed to accommodate a
growth in students. Because the school problem is acute everywhere in the City,
any growth would involve capital expenditures and potentially have the effect of
slowing the rate of development. Operating costs, which' account for the majority
of total school costs, typically rise in proportion to increases in students if student-
teacher ratios remain somewhat constant. Increased student-teacher ratios could
result in lowered per-unit operating costs, although at the risk o'f a possible decline
in the quality of education. To the extent that growth is encouraged near schools
with available space, it can minimize the transportation costs of busing students,
Parks and Recreation
The provision of parks and recreational facilities require large initial investments.
Hence, variable costs fluctuate little as a function of population. Parks and other
recreational facilities, or in-lieu payments, have traditionally been provided by the
developer, and the City maintains the facilities. As development increases and,
subsequently, park use increases, the City's expenses may increase slightly but
proportionately less than the population increase. The fiscal implications of park
8
Figure 3
WATER SERVICE DISTRICTS
City of Carlsbad Water Service District
Costa Real MWD
<
San Marcos MWD
Olivenhain
Buena Colorado MWD
SOURCE: City of Carlsbad
City of Carlsbad , north
Figure 4
SEWER SERVICE AREA
EfEE Carlsbad Sewer Service Area (Encina Facility)
rCity of Carlsbad,
Waste Water Reclamation
Master Plan Study
&£& Leucadia Ccunty Water District
San Marcos County Water District
Reclamation Treatment Plants:
Under Construction
City of Carlsbad
Proposed
.north
w..... i . .T-IT-^ ......*.......>. ^ ........ ^^r- '\j£b •••••'•'•'••••••'••-'•*•''••• m
Hed^nda:|::::::::::::::::::::::::^::::::::^::::\^;::::::::::::::::::::::::::::iooo:::::::-::*:::::::::::::::::::::::^:::::::::::::::^ ::::::::::::::•::::::::::::::!
ii2''Don::. R.a•r?a>Sr:=r5Sp5*
Figure 5
SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Carlsbad Unified
Vista
San Marcos Unified
San Dieguito/ Encinitas Union
SOURCE: City of Carlsbad
City of Carlsbad
11
.north
acquisition, development, and maintenance are unlikely to be very different in any
growth pattern and will not affect development.
Police Protection
Police protection service can gain certain efficiencies with growth. Managed
growth permits increased efficiency with respect to the use of communications
equipment and stations. Unmanaged growth, in contrast, does not facilitate
optimal use of officers because the areas to be patrolled are so dispersed. Because
costs of police protection are determined more by the level of security than by
population served, costs will be lower for a compact pattern of development than a
dispersed pattern of equal population. Although law enforcement demand
correlates roughly with population, it is also influenced by the behavior of residents
and visitors.
Fire Protection
To a large degree, the provision of fire protection services represents a fixed cost.
Once a station is established with full-time personnel, the total cost of providing
services to an area is roughly the same whether fire crews respond to one or five
fires per day. This characteristic allows for efficiencies of service if development
occurs as infilling or adjacent to already developed areas, and if the level of growth
does not overburden the capacity of existing personnel, and equipment. Therefore,
growth usually results in a lowering of the per-unit costs of providing fire
protection services if stations are more efficiently utilized. Even if increased
service demands require additional personnel or equipment to maintain existing
service quality but do not necessitate the construction of new stations, somewhat
lower per-unit service costs could result. Figure 6 illustrates the large area of the
City already adequately served.
Library
Library services involve large capital investments, and the variable costs are deter-
mined by the quality of service. Carlsbad has established high standards for itself
as a community so that the per capita costs may be higher than elsewhere. The
efficient use of a library depends entirely on its accessibility. In terms of
constraining the rate of development, the availability of libraries is not a major
determinant.
Circulation
It is difficult to generalize about the relationship between public road per-unit
costs and increased community size. A minimum amount of roads are necessary for
even a small community. An increasing population will require more roads, but
proportionately less than the increase of population, and per-unit costs are likely to
decrease. This favorable situation lasts until congestion in developed areas occurs.
Then, in order to maintain the prior level of service, either new roads which are
very expensive to build in developed areas, or a public transit system, both of which
are likely to raise per-unit costs would be required. Even more growth, however,
may again lower per-unit costs, if public transit usage increases. Carlsbad is
generally in the first situation where congestion is limited to certain areas and
12
u-iLake Calavera
Figure 6
FIRE PROTECTION
Estimated 5 Minute Run Time:
Station 1
&m Station 2
Station 3
Fire Stations:
• Existing
D Proposed
SOURCE: City of Carlsbad
City of Carlsbad
13
.north
times, as shown in Figure 7. Infill could exacerbate traffic conditions where it
occurs in areas with already congested streets. The absence of street capacity may
encourage developers to look toward less congested areas, although numerous
transportation system management techniques can be employed to bring traffic
conditions to acceptable levels.
Drainage
Drainage is similar to circulation in that a minimum network is necessary to
prevent flooding. As development occurs, additional facilities will be required but
proportionately less than the increase in population. Most of these costs will be
borne by the developer.
Physical Administration Facilities
It is not possible to generalize about the effects of growth on the costs of providing
general government services. Because some services are supplied whether an area
is targe or small (such as components of municipal or agency administration), the
marginal cost of serving a level of growth may be slight, resulting in lower average
(or per-unit) service costs. Other general government services may lose efficiency
at higher levels of output that could accompany growth. It is also possible that the
increased size of communities may raise expectations for certain urban services,
which might have been inefficient to provide and not expected for small levels of
population and development. These latter two considerations, loss of efficiency and
higher expectations, may result in additional per-unit costs. Certain operations
such as the service/maintenance yard can be provided more efficiently when growth
is managed and not dispersed.
DEVELOPMENT PHASING
The main rationale for managing growth in Carlsbad is so that the City has
adequate lead time to provide for adequate services. Aside from public services,
various other factors come into play when the phasing of development is
considered. For example, growth will be influenced by agricultural land
preservation policies, development of large planned communities, and regional
growth forces.
The most realistic and preferred growth scenario should be one that:
takes advantage of excess capacity in infill areas;
phases development with the availability of sewage capacity as provided by the
satellite program;
defers development in agricultural lands;
recognizes the phasing of the City's major planned communities; and
is keyed to the County's schedule for urban development in unincorporated
areas.
Figure 8 describes these considerations as they relate geographically in Carlsbad.
Areas are identified by years by which they can expect to be developed. The areas
shown in white are assumed to be existing development, presently developable, or
14
Figure 7
1980 AVERAGE DAILY TRAFFIC VOLUMES
6.5, 17.0, 80.4 etc. VEHICLE TRIPS IN THOUSANDS
, M....... CARLSBAD CITY LIMITS
SOURCE: Comprehensive Planning Organization
City of Carlsbad
15
. north
Figure 8
DEVELOPMENT PHASING
2000
1995
1985
Agricu I tu ra I Preserve
SOURCE; SAIJDAG
City of Carlsbad —. north
16
open space. Areas potentially developed by 1985 reflect the project phasing for
Lake Calavera Hills and Rancho La Costa, development proposals in the airport
vicinity, and the corresponding availability of water, sewers, and roads. Areas
potentially developed by 1995 include the remaining vacant land in the City, except
for two areas: a narrow stretch of land west of 1-5 and south of Palomar Airport
Road and the agricultural lands north of Batiquitos Lagoon. Development in these
areas is deferred until after 1985 because they require the construction of new
roads, are beyond the five minute response time of existing fire stations, or are
slated for development during the 1985-1995 period in accordance with a planned
community. Areas potentially developed by 2000 include all areas within the
Carlsbad sphere of influence. Designation of these lands for development only
after 1995 reflects County land use policies regarding urban development of
unincorporated lands, lack of major capital facilities, and the City's objective of
preventing premature eliminatiari of prime agricultural land. The County Regional
Growth Management Program identified the unincorporated areas in Carlsbad as
future urban development areas. The concept is to encourage urban densities by
holding the land in reserve until it becomes desirable for urban development.
Carlsbad has ample vacant land that should be encouraged to develop prior to the
development of the unincorporated areas. County lands identified as potentially
developable prior to 1995 are so categorized because they are immediately adjacent
to City areas that have public services.
The City's agricultural lands objective recommends preservation of agricultural
lands wherever feasible. The guidelines outlined in the General Plan direct the City
to favor urban development in the least productive areas and to utilize measures to
prevent premature development. These objectives and guidelines have been
respected and consequently these areas are likely to be the last to develop in the
City.
Figure 8 reflects assumptions regarding a number of public land use and service
policies. It identifies when areas may be developed as determined by these
policies. How much of the areas are developed is determined largely by market
decisions which respond to the regional and national economies and to the
developers' perceptions of how much the City can "absorb"; that is, how many units
of housing or square feet of commercial space can realistically be built and
occupied. Thus, within each of the time periods, only a portion of the developable
land will be absorbed.
17
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS OF GROWTH POTENTIAL
The fiscal impact analysis of projected growth for Carlsbad is analyzed herein.
Included are analyses of city expenditures and revenues. The public facilities fee is
reviewed for its adequacy in funding necessary infrastructure improvements to
serve projected new development. The analysis is performed at four different
points in time: 1985, 1995, 2000, and buildout. All comparisons of costs and
revenues are made in current dollars.
METHODOLOGY
To assess the impacts of population growth on the City of Carlsbad's ability to
provide adequate public services, several factors were examined:
1. Projected population and buildout figures;*
2. City and service district projections regarding existing and future public
facilities needs;
3. Projected capital improvement expenditures;
4. Anticipated City revenues and their sources; and
5. The adequacy of the Public Facilities Fee.
Marginal costs associated with projected growth were assessed rather than relying
on average costs. Marginal costs take into account the present and potential
capacity of relevant public facilities, and the costs of providing additional needed
capacity.
ANALYSIS OF CITY REVENUES
The expected City revenue sources and public services costs through the years
1985, 1995, 2000, and buildout** are analyzed to better evaluate the current 2.1
percent public facilities fee. This will better indicate what projects the fee should
fund to offset additional costs incurred as a result of development. This section
analyzes existing revenues and estimates future revenues in current dollars for the
time periods 1980-1985, 1986-1995, 1996-2000, and 2000-bui Idout.
*lt should be noted that the City is expected to grow in area during the next 20
years through annexation within the sphere of influence/General Plan Area.
Therefore, the analysis will be based on population projections for the GeneralPlan Area.
**General revenue sources cannot accurately be calculated for "buildout" as
property taxes cannot be calculated as the time period from the year 2000 to
buildout is unknown.
18
The major revenue sources1 are the General Fund, Federal Revenue Sharing, Block
Grant monies, gas tax revenues, water funds and sewer construction funds. A
description of these city funds can be found in the City of Calsbad Capital
Improvement Program 1980-1985 (Nov., 1980). With the exceptions of the General
Fund and Federaf Revenue Sharing monies, all the funds are limited and/or have
restrictions as to the type of projects they can fund.
The General Fond is the largest source of city revenues. There are no restrictions
on the allocation of General Fund monies except that expenditures must be legal
expenses of the City of Carlsbad. As the General Fund is the largest funding
mechanism, it has been broken down by its revenue components of property taxes,
sales taxes and various city fees to more accurately project future levels.
Property Tax
The property tax is the largest revenue source, accounting for approximately 29
percent of total General Fund revenues. In 1979-80, Carlsbad received
approximately $2.7 million in property tax revenue.
Proposition 13 stipulates that property taxes may be levied at a maximum of one
percent of fair market value. Under Proposition 13, property that has not
transferred ownership since 1975-1976 is assessed at the 1975-1976 assessed value,
plus a two percent annual increase. New development and property transfers are
taxed at one percent of current fair market value. Future property taxes are
projected based on the assumption that the mandates under Proposition 13 will
remain in effect. The new development upon which the property tax revenues are
projected are presented in Table 4.
Projections for property tax revenues are calculated for the years through 1985,
1995, 2000, and buildout.
Property tax projections are based on the following assumptions:
1. New average single-family home price: $135,000.
New average multifamily home price: $85,000
Source: Mary Ann Schieren, Carlsbad Board of Realtors. Based on multiple
list ing data, 1/22/81.
2. Current construction cost for commercial development: $50 per square foot.
Current construction cost for industrial development: $30 per square foot.
Source: Means Cost Data, 1980.
3. The City receives'approximately $.21 of each property tax dollar paid.
(This is based on total amount of assessed valuation of secured valuation of
secured property for 1979-80. Carlsbad's share of the property tax (estimated
1980-1981) = 3.1 million.- This figure includes $715,000 state bailout funds.
Source: Jim Elliot, City of Carlsbad, 2/6/81.
4. Ten percent yearly turnover rate of property. This 10 percent yearly turnover
increases in value at 12% per year.
Source: California Association of Realtors, Los Angeles; conversation with
Topas Ghosh in Research & Planning, 2/4/81.
19
<
H0
— IT) — -f*"VO O CO COCO^ 00^ M3 00^
i/T vcT . —
*oo
+-3
O2
'5
CD
*- 32
M — C "^•^ o o> ,2
s-i ll— *- o o.. ig"jcsXT! > l^^asvs
•^4-
4)
.0
£ * £ XCM m —
co" <f
" §^™\
0
O
CM
vo tX,
CM — C ^CO O <U Jk
- § ££— .2 Q.ON— *z o —
T3 4) Cx -o > yo<*> £Q. O^
4)
U •*
Z in
5 £
3 inI j-* P: < *y z 5 £§ ^ i- -< s <
H o g
in •£ —
^1§Ssf||l
.. T3 4) C
Q.-D > OO <£ 4) O
°~ Q|"4Jr>UJ —
&
Q
in
CO
ON
«-•£
*II»^ *n /ii ^fc.. \J HJ ^Q."D > n
O <f 4)
co ON in eg<t in CM coco co^ —
vo" CM"
•
'
r>- co vo cp5 co vo CMr^ r~ ^
£ CO
<r co r~ CMvo co r-- vo
CM CM •*
*k **r*^ •*•
Q. Q*^ I«J
$il
8*11— x x <uQ_i 1 1 ^0 ^ 5j0_ c
*8 SS | ' §L CO ON ^
OD <f
•
4-c
4> 4-
| \ 1 %
H -v J° 0 C CT«= x^ x«2 4> <" 8- °55 ,_ ~ ^> — ~ > h — ^c^> P *• Pc " % 4> Mi! If ? 1 i 15
'.1*1*3111118 i o | -£S. • u u -
4) "OjQ 4)
— i-~ 4)
^ ^tr o2 o-§ c— 4)
5 -cJ ?
! 1<f> C7)CO ;—o **•
.2 S .
.*• JG b••H J.- b*1- ox p
TJ . cD </> E•S 153
.!2 £ c
f •!- O•i— t/S ^^«- . OT :r*- .t: o0-0 = '. •"•5<n D ' TJ i.«J _ 4> 4)CO ^ 4- CaO O 4)u. ^ i »u o j^uS. 8 -S a,
•~ 4) 4) £
^ K §,-
*" R «'~u O u (/)
O ^ 04)U- 0 0 u
«• | %£
'- °- 1°
i *.£4) S -J3w c E o§ i £ 5c .± *t: a
.2 U- £ E
„. M- 1J O£ o ^ y.
4) *• ^4)€ g -g&E S^.
o t «> ^
S D « R>0 Q. ^2
CM 41 ° flj
u Q £ >0 o 8 °
S £ -?
S | 8|
S O i- rn
U ° c
^^ rA rt) i«If) V ^j
4) 4) "S3JS j-^, *±-l ^Z*•£ « a o o0 c -^ cc o E „, .=
."i? 1 *«
8 S § - .£°0 * ~ . s&X 4) — 0) ^ 00£ « C g> 4)
|=^1 §
ll I 1 Si•5 g 3 R | 011 ,m s s r fs.
20
TABLE 5
PROJECTED PROPERTY TAX REVENUE
1980-1985 (CUMULATIVE)
In OOP's of Dollars
New Single Family Homes x Average Value
7,264 x $135,000 = $ 980,640
New Multi-Family Homes x Average Value
1,233 x $ 85,000 = 104,805
New Commercial Development
Acres x Factor* x $/Sq. Ft.
77 x 10,890^ x $50 = 41,927
New Industrial Development
Acres x Factor* x $/Sq. Ft.
462 x 10,890^ x $30 = . 150,935
New Market Value on Tax Rolls = 1,278,307
Property Tax Rate = .012
$ 15,340
Proportion Returned to City = .21
New Property Tax Revenue = $ 3,221
Property Tax Increment derived from projected
change of ownership (commercial and residential)
+ 10%/Yrs. Reassessed by 12%*
$2,700,000 x .5 x (1.12- .02)5 _ | $ 824
+ Yearly 2% Increase on All Property Tax Revenue*
$2,700,000 x (1.02)5- I . . $ 270
+ 1979 Base Revenue . = $ ' 2,700
TOTAL PROPERTY TAX REVENUE $ 7,015
*Floor area ratio is assumed to be .25 average. Hence the factor is 10,890 Sq.Ft.
(or 25% X 43,560^)
21
TABLE 6
PROJECTED PROPERTY TAX REVENUE
1985-1995 (CUMULATIVE)
In OOP's of Dollars
New Single Family Homes x Average Value
x $135,000 = $ 1,990,845
New Multi-Family Homes x Average Value
3,788 x $ 85,000 = 321,980
New Commercial Development
Acres x Factor* x $/Sq. Ft.
66 x 10,890^ x $50 = 35,937
New Industrial Development
Acres x Factor* x $/Sq. Ft.
623 x 10,8900 x $30 . = ' 203,534
New Market Value on Tax Rolls = 2,552,296
Property Tax Rate = _ .012
$ 30,628
Proportion Returned to City = _ .21
New Property Tax Revenue = $ 6,432
+ 1 0%/Yrs. Reassessed by 1 2%*$7,015 x 1.00 x (1. 12 -.02)10. | = $ M>154
+ Yearly 2% Increase on All Property Tax Revenue
$7,015 x (1.02)10. | $ |(543
+ 1 985 Base Revenue = $ 7.015
TOTAL PROPERTY TAX REVENUE ." $ 26,144
*Factor = 10,890 = 43,560 (no. of / ac) x .25 (amount of built area/site)
22
TABLE 7
PROJECTED PROPERTY TAX REVENUE
1995-2000 (CUMULATIVE)
In OOP's of Dollars
New Single Family Homes x Average Value
68,437 x $135,000 - = $ 923,805
New Multi-Family Homes x Average Value
2,359 x $ 85,000 = 200,515
New Commercial Development
Acres x Factor* x S/Sq. Ft.
25 x 10,8900 x $50 = 13,613
New Industrial Development
Acres x Factor* x $/Sq. Ft.
188. x 10,890^ x $30 = . 61,420
New Market Value on Tax Rolls = 1,199,353
Property Tax Rate = .012
Proportion Returned to City
New Property Tax Revenue
+ 10%/Yrs. Reassessed by 12%*
$26,144 x 1.00 x (1.12-.02)5. | .. $ 8>004
+ Yearly 2% Increase on All Property Tax Revenue
$26,144 x (1.02)5. , . $ 2,614
+ 1995 Base Revenue . = $ 26,144
TOTAL PROPERTY TAX REVENUE $ 37,784
*Factor = 10,890 = 43,560 (no. of ^/ ac) x .25 (amount of built area/site)
23
TABLE 7A
PROJECTED PROPERTY TAX REVENUE
2000-BUILDOUT* (CUMULATIVE)
• In OOP's of Dollars
New Single Family Homes x Average Value
8,207 x $135,000 = $ 1,107,945
New Multi-Family Homes x Average Value
4,516 x $ 85,000 = 383,860
New Commercial Development
Acres x Factor** x $/Sq. Ft.
37 x 10,890^ x $50 = 20,147
New Industrial Development
Acres x Factor** x $/Sq. Ft.
125 x IO,890P x $30 = ' 40,838
New Market Value on Tax Rolls = 1,552,790
Property Tax Rate = .012
Proportion Returned to City
New Property Tax Revenue
+ 10%/Yrs. Reassessed by 12%*
$37,784 x 1.00 x (1.12-.02)30 _, = $ 621,509
+ Yearly 2% Increase on All Property Tax Revenue
$37,784 x.( 1.02)30- I $ 30,643
+ 2000 Base Revenue = $ 37.784
TOTAL PROPERTY TAX REVENUE • $, 693,849
*Buildout is assumed to be the year 2030.
**Factor = 10,890 = 43,560 (no. of ^ I ac) x .25 (amount of built area/site)
24
5. Property tax revenue of newly developed residential property is inflated to
some extent because of the difficulty in deriving and subtracting the assessed
value prior to development. An offsetting factor is the fact that some
turnover properties increase by more than 12 percent per year due to the
-limitations on their 1975-1976 assessed value.
6. A ten percent interest rate for present-worth calculations of future revenue is
used.
In summary, projected tax revenues are shown below.
Incremental Total
Period Property Tax Property Tax Revenue
1979 $ 2,700,000 $ 2,700,000
1980-1985 4,315,000 7,015,000
1986-1995 19,129,000 26,144,000
1996-2000 11,640,000 37,784,000
2000-Buildout 656,065,000 693,849,000
Sales Tax
The statewide sales tax is generally levied at a six percent rate. (Exceptions
involve transit districts.) The State General Fund retains 4-3/4 percent, and one
percent is distributed to local government. (The remaining one-fourth percent is
stipulated for local mass transit.) Thus, Carlsbad receives one percent of all
taxable retail sales within its jurisdiction.
The amount of retail sales, and hence the amount of sales tax, is affected by the
number of residents, the availability of shopping facilities in nearby areas, income
levels, and factors such as the proportion of commercial to residential property.
Sales tax projections presented here are conservative estimates of future revenues
to the City of Carlsbad. Revenues have been derived using 1980 per capita sales
tax spending multiplied by increased population figures. They do not take into
account the following:
!. Inflation, which will change real revenues if prices of retail goods increase at a
higher or lower rate than other costs and incomes.
2. The influx of wealthier people into the area having higher disposable incomes,
increasing per capita spending.
3. Buildout of commercial acreage in Carlsbad resulting in a higher sales volume
for the area.
i
4. Possibility of other regional retail facilities being built in adjacent areas
resulting in a smaller market area for Carlsbad retailers and/or lower sales
volume.
5. Especially weak auto sales in the base year.
25
6. Incomplete regional shopping mall, with base year sales below potential for
such a facility.
Miscellaneous General Fund Revenues
Miscellaneous General Fund Revenues include fees associated with new
development (e.g., plan checking fees, subdivision fees, etc.), miscellaneous fees
(e.g., library and ambulance fees, etc.), miscellaneous taxes and fines (e.g.,
cigarette tax, motor vehicle fines, etc.).
Other Funds
Federal Revenue Sharing came into existence in 1972 through Title I of the State
and Local Fiscal Assistance Act of 1972, and when it expired in 1976, a new bill.
(P.L. 94-488) extended revenue sharing until September I960. The formula for
determination of revenue distribution is based primarily on population. The new
law allows local government to set policy regarding expenditures. Some Revenue
Sharing programs appear likely to continue, although the amount of funds allocated
to this program is uncertain. To date, they have been decreased by two percent,
pending Senate review.* Thus, these funds have been held constant in revenue
projections.
Need for Public Facilities - 1985, 1995, 2000
The demand for new capital facilities and appropriate costs have been projected for
the years through 1985, 1995, 2000 and Buildojt based on expected city growth.
The following costs are summarized from Tables 10, II, 12, and 13.
1985 - 27,000,000 or $5,400,000/yr.
1995 - 47,000,000 or $4,700,000/yr.
2000 - 17,000,000 or $3,400,000/yr
Buildout- 33,000,000 or $l,IOO,000/yr.
Total 124,000,000
*Needs attributed to new growth have been projected by Service Standards Costs.
Data have been updated with information derived from the Engineering News
Record Index, Means Costs Data (published by Engineering News Records), and
appropriate inflation factors.
Note: Figure estimates for this table are based on the General Plan Area which
includes unincorporated areas.
*Based on conversation with U.S. Congressman John Burton's Office.
26
oT3
.0
oo
JC
'i
c
8'CoaEoo
4)
+—O4-
1ZI
'oo<4-
o
in•oJO
8.<u
E
'•*-
"o
tc*•£
CO
TJ
0)
4-
i_
OM—
t3
0)
Q
3u
oo
COVXo4-
X
4—s.o
ol
*
•V.o4-0
0)
^a>ocac
V4-
4-
3
CD
£— j
jz4-
'i
"•^Of/)
<u>
8s.
co0)
C<u>
(Uk*
0COON
-oV
"a_E
4-CO
LU
**
COC
a>
oa
IT3
Q.in
OCO
OCM
O
O
T31>
1
Buildout§ON
O
COa
-8
4-
<ul_
u
O
•u(U
a
Ixo
CO
<u
E.
V
s P
a.0o
+: a> ^•5. a <u
8 oCOON
O
TJ0)coO.0
-8
<u
»_
o
•a<u
1
oo
co0)I
c
0)I
4-
IUIo
<u
I
£
13
O
COzI
01
o
I
"a.|
1o
§
27
TABLE 9
EXPECTED FUTURE REVENUES AND
CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT COSTS*
1985 1995 2000 Buildout
General Fund Revenues
Other Fund Revenues
Total Revenues
Costs of Capital
Improvements
(Tables' 10- 13)
(Deficit)/Surplus
15,584,452
915,030
16,499,482
26,61 LJ9I
(10,111,709)
39,216,273
9 1 5,030
40,131,303
46,960,062
(6,828,759)
37,601,808
915,030
38,516,838
17,406,779
19,110,059
690,185,491
915,030
691,100,521
32,919,470
658; 18 1,051
*m current dollars
This analysis shows the potential deficit in the absence of offsetting fees, assuming
.the City maintains current service levels and pursues necessary infrastructure as
population growth dictates.
In the absence of offsetting fees, the deficit rises with population growth and
declines as the growth rate approaches zero in direct relation to the City's demand
for infrastructure. In short, it is during rapid growth periods that higher costs are
incurred to provide the necessary infrastructure. As full buildout is reached, most
capital facilities are already in place; thus the infrastructure costs associated with
the remaining development decline. If buildout occurs in a shorter time span than
projected here, it is possible that per capita costs could be offset by larger property
tax revenues.
THE PUBLIC FACILITIES FEE
As indicated, additional revenues will be needed to fund future capital
improvements as population grows. In 1979, a 3.41% public facilities fee (PFF), was
recommended by City Hall staff to'generate needed revenues. The 3.41% figure
was derived through an estimation of building permit values and the cost of
providing necessary capital facilities. It was determined that the value of the
capital facilities (e.g. parks, new and expanded roads, traffic signals, fire stations,
libraries, administrative space, et. al.) less the amount required to provide adequate
service levels was 3.41% of the expected future building permit values. The City
Council determined that developers should pay for certain infrastructure
improvements, previously financed by the PFF. The Council also revised the PFF
to 2.1% of building permit value.
The costs analyzed herein to be paid from PFF revenues are those directly
associated with City services. Other needs attributed to new development,
including water and sanitation, are financed through assessment districts and other
fees based on the costs of those service districts. School districts are not
coterminous with City boundaries and are not addressed in detail in this study.
28
TABLE 10
ADDITIONAL PUBLIC FACILITIES
TIME PERIOD- 1980 THROUGH 1985*
Costs
(in dollars)
94 acres park @ $60,000/acre = 5,640,000
Improvements <g) 56,000/acre = 5,264,000
20,000 sq.ft. police building @ $85/sq.ft. = 1,700,000
70,000 sq.ft. parking @ $3.36/sq.ft. = 235,200
Land, 2-1 /4 acre @ $60,000/acre = 135,000
Fire station . = 443,023
Land, 3/4 acre @ $60,000/acre = 45,000
46,000 sq.ft. administrative facilities @ $60/sq.ft.** = 2,760,000
105,800 sq.ft. parking @$3.36/sq.ft. = 355,488
Land, 10 acres @ $60,000/acre = 600,000
Traffic signals ($5,112,800 x.35) = 1,789,480
Street widening ($21,840,000 x .35) = 7,644,000
TOTAL = $26,611,191
*Needs attributed to new growth have been projected by Service Standards Costs
and from "A Public Facilities Fee, an Analysis". Data have been updated with
information derived from the Engineering News Record Index, Means Costs Data
(published by Engineering News Records), and appropriate inflation factors.
Traffic signals and street widening have been divided according to amount of
growth in different periods.
**Sedway Cooke, based on a study prepared for City.
Note: Figure estimates for this table are based on the General Plan Area which
includes unincorporated areas.
29
TABLE I I
ADDITIONAL PUBLIC FACILITIES
TIME PERIOD - 1985 THROUGH 1995*
196 acres park @ $60,000/acre
Improvements @ 56,000/acre
Costs
(in dollars)
11,760,000
10,976,000
1 paramedic unit
2 Fire stations @ $443,023
Land, I 1/2 acre @ $60,000/acre
56,000
886,046
90,000
Main library, 75,000 sq.ft. @ $65/sq.ft.
Land, 4 acres @ $60,000/acre
Parking, 120,000 sq.ft. @ $3.36/sq.ft.
Books, 1.3 x 75,000 @ $9/book
4,875,000
240,000
403,200
877,500
Branch librai /, 15,000 sq.ft. @ $65/sq.ft.
Land, 3/4 acre @ $60,000/acre
Parking, 24,000 sq.ft. @ $3.36/sq.ft.
Books," 1.3 x 15,000 @ $9/book
975,000
45,000
80,640
175,500
Street widening ($21,840,000 x .42)
Traffic Signals ($15,112,800 x .42)
TOTAL
9,172,800
6,347,376
$46,960,062
*Needs attributed to new growth have been projected by Service Standards Costs
and from "A Public Facilities Fee, an Analysis". Data have been updated with
information derived from the Engineering News Record Index, Means Costs Data
(published by Engineering News Records), and appropriate inflation factors.
Traffic signals and street widening have been divided according to amount of
growth in different periods.
Note: Figure estimates for this table are based oh the General Plan Area which
includes unincorporated areas.
30
TABLE 12
ADDITIONAL PUBLIC FACILITIES
TIME PERIOD - 1995 THROUGH 2000*
Administrative facilities, 6,000 sq.ft. @ $60/sq.ft.
13,800 sq.ft. parking @ $3.36/sq.ft.
Costs
(in dollars)
360,000
46,368
I Fire station
Land, 3/4 acre @ $60,000/acre
443,023
45,000
90 acres parks @ $60,000/acre
Improvements @ $56,000/acre
5,400,000
5,040,000
Branch library, 15,000 sq.ft. @ $65/sq.ft.
Land, 3/4 acre @ $60,000/acre
Parking, 24,000 sq.ft. @ $3.36/sq.ft.
Books, 1.3 x 15,000 @ $9/book
975,000
45,000
80,640
175,500
Police building, 5,000 sq.ft. @ $85/sq.ft.
17,500 sq.ft. parking @ $3.36/sq.ft.
425,000
58,800
Street widening ($21,840,000 x .16)
Traffic signals ($5,112,800 x .16)
3,494,400
818,048
TOTAL $17,406,779
*Needs attributed to new growth have been projected by Service Standards Costs
and from "A Public Facilities Fee, an Analysis". Data have been updated with
information derived from the Engineering News Record Index, Means Costs Data
(published by Engineering News Records), and appropriate inflation factors.
Traffic signals and street widening have been divided according to amount of
growth in different periods.
Note: Figure estimates for this table are based on the General Plan Area which
includes unincorporated areas.
31
TABLE 13
ADDITIONAL PUBLIC FACILITIES*
TIME PERIOD - 2000 THROUGH BUILDOUT**
Costs
(in dollars)
230 acres park @ $60,000/acre = 13,800,000
Improvements @ $56,000/acre ' " = 12,880,000
10,000 sq.ft. police building @ $85/sq.ft. = 850,000
35,000 sq.ft. parking @ $3.36/sq.ft. = 117,600
I paramedic unit = 56,000
Branch library, 15,000 sq.ft. @ $65/sq.fti = 975,000
Land, 3/4 acre @ $60,000/acre = 45,000
Parking 24,000 sq.ft. @ $3.36/sq.ft. = 80,640
Books, 1.3 x 15,000 @$9/book = 175,500
Expansion of main branch, 50,000/sq.ft. at $65/sq.ft. = 3,250,000
Books, 1.3x50,000 @$9/book . = 585,000
.Parking, 31,250 sq.ft. @$3.36/sq.ft. " = 105,000
TOTAL = 32,919,470
* All that can be realistically based on population studies.
**Needs attributed to new growth have been projected by Service Standards Costs
and from "A Public Facilities Fee, an Analysis". Data have been updated with
information derived from the Engineering News Record Index, Means Costs Data
(published by Engineering News Records), and appropriate inflation factors.
Traffic signals and street widening have been divided according to amount of
growth in different periods.
Note: Figure estimates for this table are based on the General Plan Area which
includes unincorporated areas.
32
All future development will require public facilities. Some developments, due to
location or scale will require construction of new capital facilities, while others can
utilize existing infrastructure without straining service levels. Each new
development should pay its "fair share" based on location, project's usage of capital
facilities, and its increased burden to service level quality.
Two criteria, equity and efficiency, must be considered in any decision to set an
optimal public facilities fee. Equity is concerned with each person contributing a
"fair share" to costs incurred. The difficulty lies in defining "fair share". Equity is
usually determined by evaluating "benefits received" and "amount expended".
Efficiency, in this section, refers to the administrative ease of imposing and
collecting the fee. The actual determination of the amount to be paid.by each
development could be time-consuming and difficult with resulting administrative
burdens. Thus, the costs of implementing a public facilities fee must be considered
along with the benefits of such a fee. In addition, the question of equity- who will
bear the costs and who will gain the benefits - must be considered.
A fee imposed on new development based on a percent of building permit value to
contribute to existing and future capital infrastructure is highly efficient due to
limited administrative costs. It is also fairly equitable as the major burden falls on
those who benefit most from the capital investment.
DETERMINATION OF PUBLIC FACILITIES FEE
Setting the Public Facilities Fee
The public facilities fee needed to provide public services for new development is
determined from (I) a comparison of revenues generated with the existing two
percent fee, and (2) the projected costs for public facilities attributed to new
growth. Tables 14-17 evaluate the revenues from the PFF in 1985, 1995, 2000, and
Buildout. The adequacy of the PFF is summarized in Table 18.
TABLE 14
PROJECTED PUBLIC FACILITIES FEE FUND - 1980-1985
New Single Family Homes
No. x Av. Sq.Ft. x $/Sq.Ft.
7,234 x 1,800 x $40 = $523,008,000
New Multi-Family Homes •
No. x Av. Sq.Ft. x $/Sq.Ft.
1,233 x 800 x $35 = 34,524,000
Commercial Development = 41,927,000
Industrial Development = $ 150,935,000
Total Building Permit Value = $ 750,394,000
PFF @ 2.1% .021
PFF REVENUE 1980-85 = $ 15,758,274
TABLE 15
PROJECTED PUBLIC FACILITIES FEE FUND - 1985-1995
New Single Family Homes
No. x Av. Sq.Ft. x $/Sq.Ft.
14,747 x 1,800 x $40 = $1,061,784,000 .
New Multi-Family Homes
No. x Av. Sq.Ft. x $/Sq.Ft;
3,788 x 800 x $35 = 106,064,000
Commercial Development = 35,937,000
Industrial Development = $ 203,534,000
Total Building Permit Value = $1,407,319,000
PFF@2.I% .021
PFF REVENUE 1980-85 = ' $ 29,533,699
TABLE 16
PROJECTED PUBLIC FACILITIES FEE FUND - 1995-2000
New Single Family Homes
No. x Av. Sq.Ft. x $/Sq.Ft.
6,843 x 1,800 x $40 = $492,696,000
New Multi-Family Homes
No. x Av. Sq.Ft. x $/Sq.Ft.
2,359 x 800 x $35 = 66,052,000
Commercial Development = 13,613,000
Industrial Development = 61,420,000
Total Building Permit Value = $633,781,000
PFF @ 2.1% ^ .021
PFF REVENUE 1980-85 = $ 13,309,401
34
TABLE 17
PROJECTED PUBLIC FACILITIES FEE FUND
2000-Buildout
New Single Family Homes
No. x Av. Sq.Ft. x $/Sq.Ft.
8,207 1,800 ?40 =
New Multi-Family Homes
No. x Av. Sq.Ft. x $/Sq.Ft.
4,516 x 800 x $35 =
Commercial Development =
Industrial Development =
Total Building Permit Value =
PFF@2.I%v
PFF REVENUE 2000-Buildout
$ 590,904,000
126,448,000
20,147,000
$ 40,838,000
$ 778,337,000
.021
$ 16,345,077
TABLE 18
SUMMARY*
Pop:
Capital Improvements Needs
Accumulated funds for Public
Facilities Fee @ 2.1%
Totals: (Deficits)/Surplus
Other Revenues**
1985
54,216
27
16
(ID
16
1995
Pop: 93,325
47
30
(17)
- 40
2000
Pop: 111,326
17
13
(4)
39
Buildout
Pop: 158,523
33
16
(17)
*Amounts are in million dollars.
**The City of Carlsbad can utilize a portion of these other revenues to offset any
deficit. However, it is unlikely that significant funds will be available after
covering operating costs and other needs.
35
If developers are assessed for street improvements (i.e. widening) on arterials going
through or adjacent to their developments,* the amount of needed City funding for
arterials would decrease from $20,311,200 to $13,800,000 or approximately $6.5
million. Thus, the total public facilities need through the year 2000 would be
approximately $117 million dollars (based on current dollars). The existing PFF at
2.1% will still generate approximately $75 million over the same time period,
leaving a deficit of $15 million. To finance this solely through the PFF, it would
need to be raised to approximately 3.3%.**
SUMMARY
The overall public facilities need until Buildout will be approximately $124 million
dollars (based on current dollars). The existing 2.1% public facilities fee will
generate approximately $75 million over the same time period leaving a de.ficit-of
approximately $49 million. To finance this deficit solely by the PFF, it would have
to be raised to approximately 3.5%+. Given the difficulty in projecting population
growth and revenues over extended time periods, the factors analyzed herein should
be reassessed at a maximum of five year intervals.
*Per the recommendations of Les Evans, City Engineer to the City Council,
December 9, 1980. The need for the PFF is 3.3%, down from 3.5%, due to
developers' additional contribution to infrastructure.
**Based on $3,569,831,000 total building permit value through Buildout. The 3.3%
would generate approximately $1 17,804,423.
+This would generate approximately $124,944,085 between 1980 and Buildout.
36
TABLE 19
STREET WIDENING TOTALS
1980-1985 $7,644,000
1985-1995 9,172,800
1995-2000 3,494,400
$20,311,200.
Developers Share City.Share (PFF or other source)
1985 2,474,25^69,744
1995 2,930,04/242,760
2000 1,106,92/887,496 . . -
6,511,200 assessed to 13,800,000 financed from PFF
developers** or other City funds*
*As per recommendations of Les Evans, City Engineer to the City Council, Dec. 9,
1980.
TABLE 20 . •
CHANGES IN CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT COSTS/
REVENUES WITH SUMMARY
(PER TABLE 19)*
i
1985 1995 2000 Buildout
Capital Improvement Needs 24 44-16 33
Public Facilities fee @ 2.1% _[6 30 .\3 ' J6
Totals (Deficit)/Surplus (8) (14) (3) (17
Other Revenues** 17 41 39
*Amounts are in million dollars.
**Other revenues are itemized in Table 8, General Fund Revenues. The City of
Carlsbad can utilize a portion of these other revenues to offset any deficit.
However, it is extremely unlikely tha significant funds will be available after
covering operating costs and other needs.
37
SUMMARY FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
SUMMARY FINDINGS
The City of Carlsbad has experienced tremendous growth in recent years. In 1975
the City's estimated population was 19,200; by 1980, the population had increased
to an estimated 35,500—an 85 percent increase in only five years. While most of
this growth is centered in the older portion of the City between Agua Hedionda and
Buena Vista Lagoons, it is also evident elsewhere.
This interim growth management program was initiated by the City Council with
the intent of identifying the City's potential for growth, discussing the impacts of
this growth on the City's public services, and recommending a strategy for ensuring
that the provision of adequate public services is phased with future development.
The following is a summary of findings in these categories.
Potential for Growth
The City's growth potential was reviewed in light of existing public policies
regarding land use. The City's General Plan provided the basis for making a growth
estimate which was then phased to reflect community plans, city agricultural
preservation policies, and environmental constraints. The City's population in the
year 2000 will be approximately I I 1,000 persons, housed in over 50,000 residential
units. The single-family residential housing stock is expected to more than
quadruple, and the multifamily units will more than double. (Even more
multifamily units could be expected depending on redevelopment areas in the
central business district.) Commercial acreage is currently at 67,5 percent of its
ultimate capacity. In contrast, industrial development has only just begun to tap its
enormous potential of over 1,800 acres (based on measurement of existing versus
potential land use).
In order to evaluate the impacts of this growth, an effort was made to distribute
the growth into different subareas and then within each subarea to phase the
development over time. The four subareas and their year 2000 populations are
indicated below:
Year 2000
Subarea Location Population
Encina Between Buena Vista and Batiquitos Lagoons,
generally west of El Camino Real 51,435
Lake Calavera The area around the Lake Calavera Hills ~
development and extending south to El Camino
and east to the City limits 26,413
Palomar The airport area, south of Lake Calavera, and
extending east to the City limits 9,948
*
La Costa The southeast quadrant of the City, east of
El Camino Real and south of the airport subarea 23,530
38
Not unexpectedly, the City's population will be much more dispersed when it is fully
developed. The prevailing character of the community with the exception of the
central business district will be low density residential, at slightly more than four
dwelling units per acre. The commercial acreage will be concentrated in the
northern portion of Encina around the present downtown and the regional shopping
center. The industrial development will be concentrated in the Palomar subarea.
A critical concern in public facilities planning is the timing of development.
Without this knowledge, adequate planning and provision of public services is
difficult. For this reason, the study determined the expected rate of growth for the
Carlsbad area.
Four time frames were defined: 1980-1985, 1985-1995, 1995-2000, and 2000-
Buildout. These periods were'chosen because they match the Comprehensive
Planning Organization's time periods, but more importantly, because.they are
appropriate for public services planning. Thus, the first five year period, or the
short term, corresponds to the five year time frame of the City's capital
improvement program. The next period, 1985-1995 is the intermediate planning
phase, and after 1995 can be considered long-range.
The City will continue to experience a very high rate of growth over the next five
years, although not quite as substantial as during the 1975 to 1980 period. (It is felt
that this level of development may be slightly high given the market conditions
prevailing at the beginning of the period and the effect of the sewer moratorium
which was only recently rescinded.)
Population Cumulative Population
1980 35,500
1980-1985 18,716 54,2-16
1985-1995 39,109 93,325
1995-2000 18,001 111,326
2000-Buildout 47,197 158,523
During the first time period, much of the City's growth will occur in the La Costa
and Lake Calavera subareas. Between 1985 and 1995, Encina South will begin to
develop and the La Costa subarea should still experience substantial development.
A large portion of the City's industrial potential will be realized during this
period. Dui ing the 1995 to 2000 period, much of the City's development activity
will be concentrated in the Encina South area. After 2000, Encina South and
Polomar will be the areas where development is most active.
Impacts on Public Services
A summary of Carlsbad's present service levels is presented below, as a point of
departure for future projections.
Present
Service Adequacy
Water . Adequate
Sewer Adequate
39
Service
Schools
Parks and Recreation
Police Protection
Fire Protection
Library Services
Circulation
Drainage
Physical Administration
Facilities
Present
Adequacy
Flora Vista Magnolia, La Palma Continuing
High School, San Dieguito High School, Flora
Vista are inadequate.
Inadequate (although addition of beaches and
school facilities would improve conditions)
Inadequate
Adequate except around Palomar Airport
and southwestern portion of the City.
Adequate, but beyond Benchmark I"
Adequate
Adequate, except in older portion of the
City where localized problems occur.
Inadequate
Strategies to Ensure Adequate Service Protection
A thorough evaluation of the City's public facilities fee, which the City adopted in
order to finance capital facilities required by new development, was undertaken.
In the wake of Proposition 13 and its potential impact on the ability of cities to
raise revenues, cities are concerned with fiscal consequences of new development.
The fiscal impact of projected growth in the City of Carlsbad was addressed. The
City of Carlsbad recently instituted a public facilities fee to offset additional
infrastructure costs associated with new development. The adequacy of this fee
was also analyzed.
Future revenues were projected to estimate potential deficits resulting from
increased expenditure levels associated with development.
Costs of providing new and expanded public facilities to service population
increases were estimated and compared to projected marginal revenues from the
public facilities fee and taxes.
The analysis1 concluded that the public facilities fee is necessary to expand existing
facilities and provide for new ones required by population growth. A 3.5% PFF is
recommended to cover necessary infrastructure to accommodate projected
growth. The 2.1% PFF in existence, along with developers' contributions, will be
inadequate unless other capital funds are forthcoming.
40
RECOMMENDATIONS
Fiscal
-In order to insure adequate funds to finance capital facilities, the following
recommendations are made:
0 Public facilities fee revenues should be used to fund new and expanded library,
public administration, police, fire, and park facilities, traffic signals and road
widening. Public facilities should be provided when population levels are
adequate to insure efficient service levels.
o The public facilities fee is designed to cover costs incurred that exceed
revenues generated by existing development. The costs included are
infrastructure costs attributed to total new growth over time. Though this is a
fairly equitable and efficient method of generating needed revenues, costs are
still spread over the entire population base.
o Any cost burdens that can be directly attributed to a particular development
should be paid by that development which receives the benefits. New roads are
expected to be funded almost entirely by the new development as the PFF will
only fund widening and improvements to exist ing. roads. A sprawl development
would have higher road construction expenses, and tend to dilute service levels
(e.g. fire response time, library accessibility, etc.). However, the direct costs
to the Public Works and Public Safety generally attributed to sprawl appear to
be negligible.
o The 2.1% public facilities fee has. been determined to be adequate to fund
capital improvements provided revenues from the General Fund and other City
funds can be used as well. At this time, the potential for alternative funding
sources for infrastructure improvements is extremely limited. In the absence
of alternative revenue sources, a 3.5% PFF would be needed.* As part of a
continuing growth management process, the fee should be reevaluated every
two to five years to insure its relevance to community needs and costs.
Facilities Programming
New California legislation which recently went into effect provides that any city
which places a limitation on the number of housing units that may be constructed is
required to take into consideration, in the determination of that number of units,
the impact on the surrounding region. The implication of this new provision is
clear: any system which Carlsbad may impose, whether it explicitly includes a
specific number of units or its overall effect were to be the same, would be invalid
without a study which documents impacts on the larger San Diego County housing
market. Any system which is voter-approved would have to reflect a fair share of
the statewide population growth or would have to set a growth rate of no more than
the average population growth rate experienced by the state as a whole.
*The 3,5% PFF is a maximum, subject to change based on developers' infra-
structure contributions, as well as future population figures and growth center
locations that may differ from the projections made for the purpose of this study.
Hence, the early determination by the Carlsbad City Council that the city should
not consider factors other than adequacy of public facilities in approving
developments allows the system to be construed only as an extension of the capital
improvements program. (It is also a means by which costs of facilities and services
are legitimately offset by a public facilities fee.) The system proposed should make
clear -that public facilities will be provided only when population levels are
adequate to insure sufficient service levels. Thus, because development will not be
approved where adequate services cannot be provided at reasonable per capita costs
and with reasonable expediency, sprawl development will be avoided as a desirable
side-effect of the system.
The California planning law, at Government Code Section 65401, indicates that
each city officer or commission shall submit a list of the proposed public works
recommended for planning, initiation or construction during the ensuing fiscal
year. The "official agency" must list and classify all such recommendations and
prepare a coordinated program of proposed public works for the fiscal year. The
coordinated program is required to be submitted to the city planning agency for
review and report to the official agency as to conformity with the adopted general
plan.
Because of this provision and the recent California decision in Friends of "B" Street
v. City of Hayward, the general plan and the capital improvements program of the
City take on new meaning. First, the public works projects of Carlsbad must be in
accord with its General Plan. Second, the planning department must have compiled
the list of projects and must also have reviewed all projects' conformance with the
general plan within 40 days. The immediate consequences of failing to review an
annual public works list or a specified project for general plan consistency could be
severe: the statute says the project should not be built (emphasis added). The city
council can avoid the consequences of this by insisting that they themselves and
their constituent departments, and not just the planning department, use the
general plan.
However, the current Carlsbad General Plan is often vague, lacking in policies
clearly identifiable as dealing with public facilities and services, and otherwise
inappropriate for handling the programming issues which will arise. Accordingly, to
provide suitable city development policies and public facilities policies, it is
recommended that the City of Carlsbad undertake the following:
1. Immediately begin the process of revising what is currently an inadequate
general plan incapable of being assessed for its public facilities implications.
2. Include as a component element two elements "permissive" under state law: a
Public Services and Facilities Element (Government Code Section 65303(e));
along with a Public Building Element (which together could be called a Public
Improvements Element). These two elements, when combined, would
encompass the wide range of facilities and services considered in this report.
3. Adopt a set of official guidelines for the formulation of the City's capital
improvements program which reflect policies on capital improvements and
services to be adopted in the general plan.
The planning staff should include the following in a capital improvements
rating system:
.conformance with general plan facilities and development
locational goals;
anticipated level of utilization;
current inadequacy as measured by the benchmarks shown below;
avoidance of duplication or overlapping of facilities and services;
appropriate channeling of growth;
desirability of renovating an obsolete portion of the City's physical
plant;
reduction of overall costs of maintenance; and
availability of external funding.
The following are amplifications of these recommendations:
I. General Plan Revision. It is recommended that the general plan "be revised
comprehensively as soon as possible. This is required because most of the
assumptions which undergirded current general plan proposals are seriously in
question and others have been irrefutably rejected. Moreover, the City has
identified a need for detailed surveys of economic, social and environmental
conditions. Many of these have been preliminarily addressed in this report;
others would be part of any thorough and professionally done survey which is an
integral part of a general plan program. (Efforts to secure "master"
environmental assessments or "super-EIRs" have been widely publicized, but
recently have been shown to be largely unusable when completed, and highly
costly as well.)
The City may presently be vulnerable to litigation in terms of internal
inconsistency and irrelevance of its general plan. Thus, the attention of the
planning staff should be devoted immediately to updating the general plan to
reflect whatever new policies may be or will be derived from the local coastal
program effort, the public services and facilities study, new census data and
population forecasts and projections, and new public services and facilities and
public buildings policies.
Additionally, the general plan should provide a basis for the assessment of
proposed projects of independent special districts which impinge on the growth
patterns of Carlsbad. In the case of a dispute with an independent special
district, although the City cannot directly control the district's actions, a court
is more likely to support the City if its zoning ordinance deals explicitly with
the issue and the ordinance is grounded on a sound and up-to-date general
plan. Given the recent renewed interest in local self-determination in
conjunction with an interest in reforming the local planning law, it may be
expected that the general plan will become an even more central document and
process in controlling actions of school and special districts. The current,
somewhat confused, provisions regarding consistency between local public
projects and the local general plan are then likely to be clarified.
43
2. Formulation of Public Improvements Element. This element should not only
designate where new facilities will go but should also determine when and at
what scale they will be developed. This element could be derived from data in
this study, considered together with the modified land use and related policies
included in the revised general plan. That element should be in a form which
could provide the basis for decisions made on private development proposals
(i.e. zoning ordinance revisions) and made on public development proposals (i.e.
annual development programs and five year capital improvement programs.).
3. Capital Improvement Guidelines. Carlsbad will have, with this and following
studies, a sounder basis for establishing a public facilities fee than will most
communities. However, what is still missing is a sound basis for determining
what to do with the funding. The current and recent capital improvement
programs reflect an intuitive approach - an extrapolation of past needs
tempered by some internal balancing among City departments. This does not
necessarily lead to soundly located facilities which promote proper
development in desirable locations.
Instead it is recommended that a systematic approach be used which relates to
planning policy. It should include the following steps:
o Planning Staff Project Review. All City departments should submit the
projects they wish to have considered for the following year's budget.
Additionally, the planning department should gather information from
related special districts regarding their anticipated capital improvement
projects. (Although it is unclear that the City can regulate these
projects, it should be aware of the proposals to coordinate and hopefully
influence them.)
o Proposal Review by Planning Staff. After all feasible projects are
identified, the city manager should review the projects for operating cost
implications. Additionally, he should set a public hearing on the entire
range of proposals to solicit local response to the projects. At the same
time, the projects should be reviewed by the planning staff to determine
consistency with the Public Improvements Element, and with internal
timing issues (that is, there should be coordination in terms of "opening
up" new areas for growth). This should involve determinations of the
various City departments regarding the phasing of their projects.
In order to assess the adequacy of the public services and to determine how
development proposals would affect the supply of various services, a set of
benchmarks - criteria and projection formulas, were devised. These benchmarks
are designed to inform the City when public service demand is beginning to affect
supply. The formulas provide a standard set of equations to assess the impacts of
development on public services.
Service Measure of Adequacy
Water Benchmark 1: design capacity of distribution
system will be reached in 5 years.
Benchmark II: water demand fully using
design capacity.
Service
Sewer
Schools
Parks and Recreation
Police Protection
Fire Protection
Library Services
Circulation
Drainage
Measure of Adequacy
Benchmark I: projected average daily flows
equals design capacity in 5 years.
Benchmark II: average daily flows equal
design capacity.
Benchmark I: projected enrollment will
equal school capacity in 5 years.
Benchmark II: enrollment equals school
capacity.
Benchmark 1: less than 5 acres of developed
parks/1000 population within 3 years.
Benchmark II: fewer than 5 acres/1000
population.
Benchmark 1: less than 1.6 officers/1000
population within 2 years.
Benchmark II: less than or equal to 1.6
officers/1000 population.
Benchmark 1: 750-800 additional dwelling
units outside 5 minute running time.
Benchmark 11: 1500 additional dwelling units
outside 5 minute running time.
Benchmark I: less than 0.6 square feet per
capita within 5 years.
Benchmark II: space requirements equal
space capacity.
Benchmark I: traffic volume to road
capacity is between .7 and .8.
Benchmark II: traffic volume to road
capacity is greater than .9.
Benchmark I: containment of 100 year
storm within existing street right-of-way is
possible.
Benchmark H: 100 year storm will cause
significant damage.
Service Measure of Adequacy
Physical Administration 'Benchmark 1: 64,540 square feet required
Facilities presently; 101,000 square feet when
population reaches 60,000; 115,000 square
feet at 100,000 population.
Benchmark II: Facilities are less than these
amounts.
In addition to the above criteria relating to facilities and services, identified on an
interim basis as being worthy of analysis, the following criteria or benchmarks are
also suggested for inclusion in the CIP review:
Housing: facilities which foster development including a significant.amount of
low and/or moderate income housing should be encouraged.
Agricultural Preservation: facilities which foster development in areas with
significant potential for continued economically viable agricultural
productivity should be discouraged.
Hazard Avoidance: facilities which foster development in areas of significant
natural hazard which cannot otherwise be avoided or mitigated should be
discouraged.
Natural Resources/Open Space: facilities which promote incursions into
important natural areas, areas which contain major natural features of public
value or open spaces which provide visual or other relief from urbanization
should be avoided.
PROJECT REVIEW
The City should institute a review of large-scale residential projects which includes
as a component element an assessment, in terms of formulas or other more general
criteria, of each identified service. This will enable city staff to determine if a
given request (i.e., by proposed development) for that service can adequately be
met.
The prior section provided the program by which city staff can anticipate the
availability of each public service and the process to provide and distribute these
services. That program essentially provided a system for public agency
adherence. The complementary component is a means for influencing private
sector actions through a regulatory or other management mechanism. The City
previously, in this study program, rejected the use of a point-based residential
development permit process. The only feasible remaining approach is use of the
California Environmental Quality Act and the environmental impact report
requirements of the City of Carlsbad to assess the impact on public services and
facilities and to require appropriate mitigation measures.
The EIR Guidelines of the City of Carlsbad should be amended to include explicit
reference to impacts on public services and facilities. This should relate to both
direct and secondary impacts derived from the required description of the growth-
inducing impact of the project. The following is the basis for such a system of
public services impact assessment and mitigations.
Included in the services aspects for analysis of the development are the following:
Water Supply;
Overall adequacy of water provided by independent districts of the City, measured
by time frame with which water system is projected to be operating at design
capacity.
Mitigation: Use of water conservation measures which will reduce usage.
Sewage Treatment and Sewer;
Sewage treatment capacity, measured by time frame within which projected daily
average flow will equal current plant capacity.
Sewer line capacity based on the distance (measured along existing public rights-of-
way) between sewer lines with capacity to serve the development and the sewer
hookup point for the proposed development.
Mitigation: Existence of septic tanks, approved by the.City of Carlsbad and the San
Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board, which will serve the proposed
residential development whose lots are of suitably large size.
Schools;
Current or projected availability or deficit, as determined pursuant to the
applicable school district's capital improvement program, of permanent school
facilities with sufficient capacity for the students generated by the proposed
residential development use.
Current or projected availability as determined pursuant to the applicable school
district's capital improvement program, of portable classrooms with sufficient
capacity for the students generated by the proposed residential development.
Mitigation: School capacity is expanded by portable classrooms or non-legally
required intradistrict busing.
Parks and Recreation;
Adequacy of neighborhood and community parks, determined by existing and
projected acreage per person, existing and future availability of active recreational
opportunities; and ratio of maintenance workers to developed park lands.
Mitigation: Provision for the proposed residential development of all required park
acreage, recreational facilities, and maintenance standards.
47
Police Protection;
Existing and projected ratio of police officers per unit of resident population.
Fire Protection;
Fire department response time to all dwellings within the proposed residential
development.
Mitigation: Adequate on-site protection provided by the applicant, including
combination detectors and automatic fire sprinkler systems located within each
proposed dwelling.
Library Services;
Existence and projection of library space per capita.
Street Circulation;
Impacts on immediate circulation patterns and City's overall road network,
including primary and secondary arterials, measured by determination of design
capacity of the roadway during peak traffic hours as currently imparoved and the
effect of the proposed residential development.
Drainage;
Adequacy of existing or projected downstream capacity for a 100 year flood.
Physical Administration Facilities;
Physical administration space meeting existing or projected need.
Under Section I5085.5(g) of the California Administrative Code, dealing with
environmental impact reports, the responsible agency cannot approve a project for
which an EIR has been prepared if the agency finds that any feasible mitigation
measure within its powers would substantially lessen any significant effect the
project would have on the environment. Under various broad interpretations of
environmental effect, many of the impacts which could be documented pursuant to
the above would be required to be taken into account and mitigations therefor
instituted.
Aft
APPENDIX
APPENDIX: PUBLIC SERVICES - EXISTING CONDITIONS
This section is organized to provide the reader with a concise overview of the ten
previously identified public services.
WATER SUPPLY
Water for residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural consumption is
supplied to Carlsbad by five water supply agencies. With the exception of the City
of Carlsbad Water Utilities Division, all of the agencies purchase water from the
San Diego County Water Authority. The City Water Utilities Division receives its
water directly from the Costa Real Municipal Water District (MWD), which nearly
serves the entire Carlsbad sphere of influence. The County Water Authority has
responsibility for the importation of all water into San Diego County and the
regional distribution of this water through two aqueducts. Figure 7 shows the
boundaries of the five agencies serving Carlsbad.
The developed northwest portion of the City is served by the City Water Utilities
District. This agency is currently the largest distributor of water in the City, last
year having sold approximately 5,000 acre-feet. (An acre-foot of water is 325,850
gallons.) Domestic consumption accounts for the vast majority of water used (85
percent); industrial and agricultural demand are relatively minimal (about 7-8
percent each). The agency has no direct allocation from the County Water
Authority but receives its supply from Costa Real MWD.
Future development will occur predominantly in the Costa Real service area.
Consequently, it is the ability of this district to purchase water that will determine
the City's ability to meet future demands for water. Currently Costa Real MWD
distributes roughly 2,500 acre-feet,, in addition to what it supplies to the City Water
Utilities Division. Its allocation from the County Water Authority far exceeds its
service area's present demand. In 1979, the district's allocated right was estimated
to be 2.27 percent of the County Water Authority's water supply (or 20,362 acre-
feet); in I960, it is approximately 2.4 percent. The immediate question that comes
to mind is, "will this be adequate to meet future demands?" The district appears
more than adequate to supply water, because a district's allocated right to purchase
water is tied to the growth of its assessed valuation, in general, a district's
entitlement is approximately equal to the ratio of the assessed valuation of the
district to the total assessed valuation of all County Water Agency member
agencies. Consequently, residential, commercial, and industrial growth within a
district will result in an increase in assessed valuation which enables the district to
receive an increased allocated right to purchase water. As described earlier, the
high rate of growth experienced in the North County and Carlsbad is likely to
continue so that, relative to other areas, the assessed valuation (and thus water
allocation) will increase. Moreover, the County Water Authority has never refused
a request for water and quite member agencies occasionally draw several times
their allocated right.
In terms of the distribution system, Costa Real has an adequate network. The
district's connections to the two regional aqueducts provides a water supply
capacity of roughly 66,600 acre-feet per year. By comparison, total water
consumption within the district in 1979 was only 11,135 acre-feet. Major water
A-l
pipelines have been installed to serve nearly all developable portions of the
district. Reservoirs owned and operated by Costa Real and the City Water Utilities
Division provide a storage capacity of over 200 million gallons (195 of which is
stored in Squires Dam).
Olivenhain and San Marcos MWDs provide water to the southeastern portion of the
City. Combined, they sold approximately 3,000 acre-feet last year. Because
substantial growth is expected in the Olivenhain service area as a result of the
Rancho La Costa development, the district in conjunction with the San Marcos and
Costa Real MWDs have recently completed a joint construction program to provide
additional water supply and storage. Buena Colorado MWD and Vista irrigation
district also provide water to the City, but at minimal levels. Vista supplies water
for agricultural purposes, and Buena Colorado serves the area around the raceway.
Benchmarks
Benchmark 1 is reached when the projected demand'for water will fully utilize the
design capacity of the water distribution system within five years.
Benchmark II is reached when the demand for water exceeds the design capacity of
the water distribution system.
SEWER SERVICES
The City of Carlsbad falls within the sewer service areas of Carlsbad, San Marcos
County Water District, and Leucadta County Water District (see Figure 8). Alt
flows collected in Carlsbad are treated at the Encina Water Pollution Control
Facility. The Encina facility, which also services the Vista, Buena, San Marcos,
Leucadia, and Encinitas Sanitation Districts, began operation in 1965 with a
capacity of 4.5 million gallons per day (mgd). Plant expansions in 1971 and 1976
raised its operational capacity to 13.75 mgd. Because average daily flows have
been at or above capacity since 1977, all member agencies of the Encina Joint
Powers Regional Sewage System with the exception of Vista and Encinitas
Sanitation Districts imposed construction moratoriums in their service areas.
Facility improvements have recently enabled the design capacity to be rerated to
16 mgd which is enough to accommodate approximately 9,000 more residential units
within the Encina service area, roughly 2,250 of which are expected in the City of
Carlsbad.
In order to ensure sufficient capacity to accommodate future development
opportunities, the Joint Powers Regional Sewage System has already begun to
expand the treatment facility still further to 18 mgd. The 18 mgd expansion is
.expected to be complete in 1983. With this expansion all infrastructure (i.e., sewer
lines, pump stations, force mains, etc.) will be enlarged to accommodate the future
capacity level of 45 mgd. Of Encina's 13.75 mgd capacity, the City of Carlsbad has
an allocated treatment capacity of 3.43 mgd. The rerating to 16 mgd and the
facility expansion to 18 mgd will raise the City's allocation to 4.0 mgd and 4.5 mgd,
respectively.
In addition to the Encina facility expansion, the City has adopted a master plan to
provide additional interim sewage treatment capacity and at the same time
A-2
encourage wastewater reclamation through the construction of individual satellite
treatment facilities. These facilities would be located in the Encina service area
near existing sewer trunks and possible reclaimed water markets. A total of five
wastewater reclamation plants are proposed for ultimate development: Buena
Vista, Calavera, Palomar Airport, Batiquitos, and Encina. The Buena Vista
treatment plant is located in Oceanside but will be integrated as part of the master
plan. ' The Calavera treatment plant is already under construction to serve the
northeastern section of Carlsbad. Although the planning for this facility was
completed independent of the master plan, the treatment plant will ultimately be
incorporated into the overall wastewater reclamation system. Table I describes
the phasing and capacity of the system.
TABLE I
PHASING OF SATELLITE PLANT CONSTRUCTION
(million gallons per day)
Treatment Plant By 1985 By 1995 By 2000
Calavera 1.23 |.2 1.2
Palomar Airport 2.5 5.0 5.0
Batiquitos' . 0.2 0.4 0,4
Buena Vista - - 0.5^
Encina2 -0- 0.9 min 0.9
Total System Capacity 3.9 " 7.5 8.0
The Batiquitos Reclamation Facility would serve areas to the north and west of
Batiquitos Lagoon and would have a capacity of 0.4 mgd. However, because of
uncertainties over its economic feasibility, this plant may never be constructed.
provision of reclamation facilities is a part of the Encina treatment plant
expansion program. Thus, the Encina reclamation facility does not add any
additional capacity, beyond the capacity improvements already scheduled for the
Encina system. Actual capacity increases resulting from the satellite wastewater
reclamation program totals 6.6 mgd by 1995. For the period between 1995 and
2005 capacity can be enlarged up to a limit of 18.0 mgd to accommodate any
specific industrial reuse that develops.
oActual capacity is limited to 0.5 mgd until additional disposal capacities are
provided.
Buena Vista plant is currently deactivated but can be made operational as the
need for it arises. However, the market for reclaimed water in the area is
limited, and wastewater from Carlsbad would be available only in limited quantity
at Buena Vista.
A-3
Given the Encina plant expansions and the construction schedule of the wastewater
reclamation program, the City will have an allocated capacity to accommodate at
least 7.7 mgd by 1985. ,
All the satellite facilities will be privately constructed but publicly owned. They
will ultimately be linked together to provide reclaimed water as demand requires.
All excess reclaimed water would be discharged through specific lines designed for
discharge purposes. If the satellite treatment plant program is continued in the
City, much of the future demand for treatment capacity within the City could be
satisfied by the satellite facilities, and Carlsbad may not need to participate in the
next scheduled expansion of the Encina plant.
Benchmarks
Benchmark 1 is reached when the projected average daily flows and service
commitment requirements will equal the capacity of the treatment plant, within
five years.
Benchmark II is reached when average daily flows and service commitment require-
ments equal treatment plant capacity.
SCHOOLS
Existing service levels are described in terms of current enrollment, space
availability (number of student spaces available before reaching capacity) and
school capacities for those districts serving Carlsbad. The City of Carlsbad, and its
sphere of influence, is served by the Carlsbad Unified School District, San Marcos
Unified School District, the San Dieguito Union High School District and the
Encinitas Union Elementary School District. The boundaries of the respective
districts is illustrated. Service levels are adequate for those schools where current
enrollment is less than capacity. Carlsbad Unified enrollment is currently near 90
percent of estimated capacity. Schools within the San Marcos district that serve
Carlsbad are at 92 percent of capacity. All available classroom space within the
San Dieguito and Encinitas schools serving Carlsbad are utilized. The percentages
of capacity utilized are based only on the schools serving the Carlsbad sphere of
influence. Table 2 shows school enrollment and capacity figures for individual
schools and for the districts (including schools not serving Carlsbad).
Benchmarks
Benchmark 1 is reached when enrollment projections indicate that school capacity
of the affected district will be reached within five years. A school district's total
facility capacity is defined as the maximum number of student spaces (permanent
and portable) within the district which can accommodate students on a conventional
time schedule. Because busing between schools within a given district is possible,
an overcrowded situation in one school service area can be relieved by using
available space at another school. Therefore, it is the district capacity that is
important for assessing adequacy rather than the capacity of individual schools.
A-4
Benchmark II is reached when enrollment projections equal or exceed the district-
wide capacity. •
PARKS AND RECREATION
The City owns approximately 90 acres of landscaped area, parks and median strips
and has an additional approximate 600 acres in land banks for future parks.
Current service levels are inadequate. This evaluation is based on three criteria:
developed park acreage, availability of recreational activities, and personnel
standards. The City, according to national standards, is deficient in terms of
developed park acrage and active recreational facilities. These standards do not,
however, include the beaches which definitely offer active recreational activities.
The most common method of quickly assessing the adequacy of a community's park
and recreation services is to compare the community's developed park acreage
against the recommended national standards. Generally, it would be appropriate to
compare the present supply of recreational services against the standards
recommended in the City's General Plan, which in the case of Carlsbad is 30 acres
per 1000 population.* However, the Plan is being revised and the standards are
likely to be changed to reflect more closely the national standards. In the absence
of explicit park acreage policies, this study followed the public facilities fee
analysis which was based on the national standards. Additionally, by using the same
standards a better comparison of park acreage requirements and the fiscal
implications of future growth under the two analysis can be made.
*The 30 acres per 1000 is to be divided accordingly: 5 acres devoted to regional
facilities, 15 acres to local facilities which may include combinations of local
parks, riding and hiking trails, school pay areas that have been designed for public
recreational use, and other public facilities which meet the general populous
needs. The national standard being applied in this study of 5 acres/1000
population refers to developed local parks (i.e., neighborhood and community
parks) only and does not include the other facilities described as local facilities in
the General Plan. In effect, when all these other facilities are substracted the 15
acres, the park share may very well be near 5 acres.
A-5
TABLE 5
EVALUATION OF CARLSBAD'S LOCAL PARKS
Existing demand for parks = 5 acres/1000 population x current population
estimates
= 5 acres/1000 population x 35,500 (State Depart-
ment of Finance 1/1/80 estimate)
= 177.5 acres
Existing parks
Unmet demand
= 57.7 acres (if HUB Park is included, 149.7 acres;
however, it should be remembered that the
standard here applies to local parks)
= 119.8 acres
= 1.6 acres/1000 population
The City's recreational services can also be evaluated in terms of how well they
meet national standards for active recreational facilities. As a word of caution,
national standards represent the average facility requirements for cities of a
particular size. They do not account for any special considerations such as
location, climate or demographic profile which all affect the demand for different
types of recreational facilities. These considerations should be addressed in the
upcoming General Plan revision. In the interim, the following national guidelines
are used to evaluate services for communities with population between 20,000 and
35,000.
Other recreational facilities identified as desirable by parks and recreation staff
include community centers, theaters, multi-use athletic fields, and racquetball
courts.
TABLE 6
DEMAND FOR RECREATIONAL FACILITIES
Type of Facility
Softball Diamond
Baseball Diamond
Community Center
Skating Rink (Artificial)
Swimming Pool (Indoor)
Swimming Pool (Outdoor)
Tennis Courts
Basketball Courts
Public Golf Course
Carlsbad Active
Guidelines
Estimated
Number of
Facilities Demand
I diamond per 3,000
I diamond per 6,000
, I center per 25,000
I rink per 25,000
I pool per 10,000
I pool per 5,000
I court per 1,000 .
I court per 500+
I course per 25,000
7-12
4-6
1-2
2-3
20-14
40-60
Existing
Facilities
I adult, 4 little league
3 schools
-0-
-0-
-0-
I proposed
4 (plus high school)
2 (plus schools)
-0- (I private)
Source: James AT Peterson and.Richard J. Schroth, Guidelines for Evaluating Public
Porks and Recreation, Cooperative Extension Service, Purdue University, 1978, p. 7.
A portion of Carlsbad's demand for active recreation facilities may be met by
including school facilities. A joint use agreement with Magnolia, Levante, and Pine
schools has been established, whereby the Parks and .Recreation Department is
responsible for any maintenance and utility costs associated with recreational use.
In exchange, the facilities are available to the public during specified hours. Kelly
Elementary School is also made available for public use, although its maintenance is
-performed by the County.
A third criterion for evaluating the adequacy of service is the ratio of maintenance
workers to acres of developed park lands. This ratio is used to convey the relative
maintenance levels of various landscaped areas. This generalization is made
without regard to the type of park or the landscape materials and planting to be
maintained. Existing maintenance levels are one maintenance person to eight acres
of developed park lands. This ratio is adequate but not at the optimal level of one
to seven suggested by the Parks and Recreation Department.
In addition to maintaining and upgrading city parks, the Parks and Recreation
Department of the City of Carlsbad sponsors numerous sports activities, classes and
special events. The Department's recreation programs are self-supporting, fees
charged to be deposited into five separate trust accounts. Salaries for the
particular activity are- then drawn from the appropriate account. Surplus amounts
in these accounts will either be used for supplies for activities or go back into the
general fund.
Current 1980-81 estimated operating costs can be broken up into five categories
including park maintenance, tree maintenance and weed abatement, new programs,
other recreation, and administration. Overall per capita operating cost estimated
from the 1980-81. operating budget is $24.38. The department has a staff of 26
composed of the following:
Administrative personnel - 4
Parks: supervisorial - 2
Parks: trees and weeds maintenance - 5
Parks: turf maintenance - 12
Recreation: supervisorial - 3
Benchmarks
Benchmark I is reached when the ratio of park acreage to population will will fall
below 5 within three years. Three years is a conservative estimate of the time
required to adequately plan, acquire and develop recreational sites.
Benchmark II is reached when the ratio of park acreage to population is 5 or less
per 1,000 population.
POLICE PROTECTION
The Carlsbad Police Department is responsible for protecting the City, and for
cooperating with thirteen other county law enforcement agencies in a mutual aid
pact. The agreement provides that neighboring law enforcement agencies will
respond to calls from the Carlsbad Police Department should the need arise, and
vice versa.
A-7
Table 7 shows 1977 and 1978 data on criminal activity, available from the Federal
Bureau of Investigation, for Carlsbad. While 1979 - 1980 FBI Crime Index data is
not available, Caption Kellogg of the Police Department stated that all criminal
activities have increased. Adequate response times become increasingly difficult
as the development pattern becomes more dispersed. While development is
presently concentrated within the northwestern part of the City, more recent
'developments have occurred at distances as great as 10 - 15 miles away.
Consequently, the existing police force must cover a large geographical area, and
unless the force is expanded, the time required to respond to calls would increase.
TABLE 7
CRIMINAL ACTIVITY IN CARLSBAD, 1977-1978
1977
Murder 3
Rapes 12
Robbery . 4 I
Aggravated assault 85
Burlgary 596 •
Larceny/theft 1,134
Motor vehicle theft 155
Crime Index Total 2,026 2,262
Source: FBI, Crime in the United States, 1977 and 1978, Uniform Crime Reports.
Currently, the Police Department has approximately 48 officers giving the
department a ratio of officers to 1000 population of 1.4. According to the
representatives of the department a minimum acceptable ratio would be 1.6
officers per 1000 population. This standard appears reasonable given that the
national average is 2.1 for cities with similar population (25,000 - 50,000) is 1.7 and
for the western states.
Based on a standard of 1.6 sworn officers per 1000 population, Carlsbad should have
a force of 57 officers. The police force requires not only additional personnel but
also expanded facilities. A department representative noted that funding for the
additional officers alone will not achieve adequate service levels. The current lack
of space for operations'(as described later under physical administration facilities)
must also be rectified. Additional operation facilities should be designed for the
specific needs of law enforcement—leased space will not be adequate. The
estimated 1980-81 department per capita cost is $46.55. The Police Department is
funded by the General Fund.
A-8
Benchmarks
The number of police officers per 1000 population is used as a criterion to evaluate
adequacy of service. While space availability is another important criterion (as
mentioned above), the primary purpose of this service standard is to evaluate the
adequacy of police personnel.
Benchmark I is reached when population projections indicate that the ratio of police
officers to 1000 population will be 1.6 within two years. Two years is the estimated
time frame to recruit qualified personnel and to ensure that adequate funding will
be appropriated.
The Benchmark II is reached when the ratio of officers to 1000 population is less
than 1.6.
FIRE PROTECTION
The Carlsbad Fire Department presently consists of three fire stations providing
service within the City's sphere of influence. Station locations and associated
manpower are as follows.
Station #1. 1275 Elm - South of Elm Avenue between Pio Pico Drive and Highland
Drive. Four firefighters and one engine with 1250 gallons per minute (gpm) pumping
capacity.
Station #2. Within the triangular area bounded by El Camino Real to the east,
Arenal Road to the north and Estrellade Me- to the southwest. Four firefighters
and one engine with 1250 gpm pumping capacity.
Station #3. South of Chestnut Avenue between El Camino Real and Catalina Drive.
Three firefighters, two paramedics and one engine with 1000 gpm pumping capacity.
Current fire station locations provide a first engine response time of five minutes
or less to approximately 70 percent of the structures within the City's sphere of
influence. The department can respond and control fires requiring less than 1500
gpm pumping requirements; most of these responses are for single family dwelling
fires. At a minimum, all structures in Carlsbad should be within a five minute
running time. Consequently, there are areas in the City that receive less than
adequate service—particularly Palomar Airport and the southwest quadrant of the
City around 1-5 and Poinsettia.
Existing fire department service levels necessitate a mutual service agreement
with neighboring communities. For structural fires occurring north of Chestnut
Avenue, the City of Oceanside automatically responds. Similarly, Encinitas
responds to fires occurring in, the southern portion of the City. As part of the
agreement, Carlsbad reciprocates and responds to calls from other cities. Although
this arrangement is beneficial as it makes other firefighters and equipment
available to suppress larger fires in the City, it can also compromise Carlsbad's
ability to meet the needs of its residents, l.n particular, whenever Carlsbad
automatically responds to San Marcos' calls to the south, the southern portion of
Carlsbad is left with low levels of protection.
A-9
The department has 45 employees, eleven firefighters, and two firefighter/para-
medics staff the three stations at any one time. fts per capita cost for 1980 - 81 is
estimated at $36.36. The Fire Department is currently funded by the General Fund.
The Insurance Services Office (ISO) performs periodic evaluations of cities' fire
departments. Their evaluation of the Carlsbad water supply shows that the City
Water systems during a period of 2-5 days of maximum consumption with the outage
of a plant or a supply main, are slightly below the recommended fire flow of 4000
gpm in addition to maximum consumption for the area. The ISO report also
recommends that additional standard hydrants be installed to provide an
approximate distribution commensurate with the fire flow needs at all locations.
Standards contemplate a distribution of 120,000 square feet per hydrant for a fire
flow of 3000 gpm. This corresponds to an average spacing of 350 feet between
hydrants. Residential districts with buildings of normal size and separation
generally require 1000 gpm or 160,000 square feet per hydrant corresponding to a
hydrant spacing of 400 feet. Where buildings are considerably set back from
streets, on site or yard hydrants may be necessary to satisfy the standards.
Benchmarks
Fire Chief Thompson identified the minimum acceptable level of service as a five
minute running time to all buildings in Carlsbad. Running time is the time required
to reach the site of the fire and is calculated by dividing the fire engine speed
(miles per hour) by the distance to the fire.
Benchmark I is reached when 750-800 additional dwelling units develop outside the
5 minute running time.
Benchmark II is reached when 1500 additional dwelling units develop outside the 5
minute running time. Benchmark II indicates that service response may not enable
firefighters to prevent severe structural damage.
An additional criterion to assess the demand on fire service imposed by future
development is adequacy of water supply and is described by the concept of
"required fire flow." Required fire flow is the rate of flow needed for fire fighting
purposes to confine a major fire to the buildings within a block or other group
complex. Therefore Benchmark I can also be triggered if the proposed development
results in the City being unable to meet the minimum required fire flow,
recommended by the Fire Department.
In terms of paramedic service, Benchmark I is reached when population projections
indicate the ratio of paramedic units to 60,000 persons will fall below one within 2
years. Benchmark II is reached when the ratio of paramedic units to 60,000 persons
is at or less than one.
LIBRARY SERVICES
The City of Carlsbad is served by one central library containing 23,400 square feet
located at 1250 Elm Avenue. The library is currently open a total of 61 hours per
week and staffed with 20 full-time and 15 part-time employees. Projected book
A-10
circulation for fiscal year 1979-80 is conservatively estimated at 349,000, a 4.5
percent increase over the previous fiscal year.
In addition to conventional services, the library provides special services and
activities identified in a table.
At a population of 35,500, library space standards suggest a central library of
21,300 and 28,400 square feet.*
Carlsbad's central library falls within this range; however, since 1977, the demand
for library space has been greater than available supply. Current budget
allocations'are described as inadequate to meet the facility needs for shelf space
and to serve an estimated 1,000 daily users. Furthermore, the children's
department at the Carlsbad City Library must expand from its limited 1,200 square
foot area or reduce services.
*
The need for space is important, but Library Director Georgina Cole notes that the
location of future library space is of paramount concern. Specifically, Director
Cole feels that if the construction of branch libraries occurs before a new, larger
main facility is properly located, more towards the "south-east", then the ability to
adequately serve future citzen needs will not be realized.
The library is currently funded by the General Fund and receives some money from
the California Library Services Act. Book fines and xerox machine revenues
generated are put into the General Fund. Present 1980-81 per capita cost is
estimated at $19.54 per capita.
Benchmarks
The total amount of library space (calculated from square feet/capita standards) is
used as a criterion to evaluate the minimum level of adequate service. Availability
of adequate space is an important standard which measures the ability of the
library to provide shelving space, reader space, staff work space, and special
activity spaces such as children's reading rooms.
Benchmark I' is reached when population projections indicate that the ratio of
central library space in (square feet) to population will fall below 0.6 within five
years. Five years represents the time estimated to plan, finance and construct new
library facilities. This time frame may be reduced by building smaller branch
facilities or adding additional bookmobiles. For branch libraries, Benchmark I is
reached when population within a UI/2 mile radius, is expected to reach 25,000
persons within five years.
*The upper range was calculated using 0.8 square feet per capita, recommended in
the 1978 Holt Report, "Master Plan //I I for the Carlsbad City Library". The lower
range was determined using an alternative library space standard of 0.6 square
feet per capita for cities in the 35,000 to 100,000 population range. (Source:
Wheeler and Goldhor, Practical Administration of Public Libraries, pp. 554, 1962).
A-n
Benchmark II is reached when the ratio of central library space (in square feet) to
population is 0.6. For branch libraries, Benchmark II is reached when population
within a 1-1/2 mile radius is 25,000.
STREET CIRCULATION
The local circulation system is for the most part centered in the area Encina North
subarea. Within this area there are two major shopping districts, the central
business district along the coast and a regional shopping center at the intersection
of State Route 78 and El Camino Real. The central business district is served by a
grid street system with its principal accesses being Elm Avenue in the east-west
direction, State Street in .the north-south direction, and Jefferson Street from the
regional shopping center. The regional shopping center which is somewhat to the
east of the central area is served by State Route 78 in the east-west direction and
El Camino Real in the north-south direction. Average daily traffic volumes for
major roads are indicated.
Two north-south major arterials, Carlsbad Boulevard and El Camino Real, and two
east-west major arterials, La Costa Avenue and Palomar Airport Road, provide the
principal means of movement within the City. No other major roads provide access
to areas east of El Camino Real. Carlsbad Boulevard (Highway 101) actually
performs a dual travel function by providing direct local and secondary regional
coastal access.
Access to and from the Carlsbad area is provided by two freeways, Interstate 5 in
the north-south direction and Route 78 in the east-west direction. These two
freeways provide the bulk of regional travel service to and from the City.
Interstate 5, in particular, offers almost direct coastal access by means of five
interchanges within the City limits. However,-there are specific problems with
several of the interchanges: Tamarack Avenue west of the freeway needs to be
widened but is hampered by existing development; Poinsettia Avenue does not yet
connect the freeway; and the Palomar Airport Road bridge over 1-5 will eventually
need to be widened.
The present street circulation capacity has been described by representatives of the
City Engineering Department as adequate; however, there are instances when
congestion problems occur. Seasonal congestion along the -coast in the area
bounded by Palomar Airport Road to the south, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe
Railroad to the east, the Buena Vista Lagoon to the north and the beach areas to
the west has occurred during summer months. Another issue within this area is the
beach parking problem. The Coastal Commission report on Carlsbad's public works
notes that:
Approximately 50 percent of people frequenting the beach on the week-
ends arrive between ll:00'a.m. and 1:00 p.m. The average vehicle occu-
pancy for recreational trips to the coastal resource areas is consistently
found to be over three persons per vehicle. Even with this level of ride-
sharing, parking accessibility and traffic congestion are the principal
factors influencing beach use. Safety problems involving pedestrian and
bicyclist conflict with vehicular traffic are not uncommon.
(California Coastal Commission, "Technical Support Paper, Public
Works," April 23, 1980, p. 44)
A-12
With future city and regional population growth, traffic volumes for streets in the
coastal area may frequently peak at 85 to 95 percent of available street capacity.
Drivers can expect to wait through more than one traffic signal cycle during short
peaks, and there may be longstanding automobile queues on critical approaches to
intersections.
'Members of of the City engineering staff noted that problems also occur during
special sporting events such as major gatherings at the raceway and during the
holiday season at the regional shopping center. These situations however are not
problems which necessitate the construction of a costly' circulation systems. On
the other hand, certain new developments, particularly industrial ones such as the
proposed Anderson's Split Pea Restaurant near the El Camino Real and Palomar
Airport Road intersection could be a source of future congestion.
Benchmarks
Benchmark I is reached when the ratio of traffic volume to capacity during peak
traffic hours is in the 70 to 80 percent range. At this volume, circulation can still
be described as good; i.e., movement is relatively unhampered. Occasionally
drivers may have to wait through more than one red signal indication, and back-ups
may develop behind turning vehicles. Most drivers feel somewhat restricted, but on
the whole, traffic conditions are tolerable.
Benchmark II is reached when the ratio of traffic volume (peak hour) to capacity
during peak times is above 80 percent. Service levels range from fair to poor to a
"forced flow" of traffic depending on the percent of road capacity utilized. In the
80-90 percent range, cars are required to wait through more than one traffic signal
cycle during short peaks. The 90-95 percent range produces some longstanding
vehicular queues on critical approaches' to intersections and delays may be up to
several signal cycles. A forced flow, over 100 percent, represents jammed
conditions. Backups from locations downstream or in the cross street may restrict
or prevent movements of vehicles'out of the intersection approach lanes; therefore,
volumes carried are not predictable.
DRAINAGE
Natural drainage is affected by the topography of the area. Within the Carlsbad
area, there are four natural drainages that follow an east-west pattern from the
mountains to the Pacific Ocean. The principal streams draining the area include
Buena Vista, Aguas Hedionda and San Marcos Creeks. Buena Vista originates in the
San Marcos Mountains and empties into Buena Vista Lagoon at the north end of the
City. The Agua Hedionda Creek terminates at the Agua Hedionda Lagoon in the
central portion of Carlsbad, and the San Marcos Creek drains into Batiquitos
Lagoon at the southern end of the City. To a large extent, urbanization can disrupt
these natural flow patterns by reshaping the landform and altering the course of
waterways. Consequently, it becomes necessary to provide storm drain systems to
remove stormwaters from the land surfaces and to protect property from possible
inundation.
Flood plain management has relieved many of the more serious potential flooding
and drainage problems. With the commencement of the Flood Insurance Program,
A-13
the mapping of the flood plains, and the enactment of flood plain management
ordinances by the City, potential hazards in the flood plains of Buena Vista, Aqua
Hedionda, and San Marcos Creeks have been avoided. Nevertheless, localized
drainage problems still exist, particularly in the older, developed portions of the
City. An existing storm drain system collects and disposes of stormwaters from
these areas which include the downtown business area. The spine of the system is a
network of pipes running along State Street, Washington Street, Laguna Drive, and
Grand Avenue. This system is inadequate, however, as complaints of localized
flooding are common during major storms.
The majority of the problems lies along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad
tracks where the water draining from the mountains to the east tend to collect.
The City is currently designing the State Street storm drain system to.intercept
flows before they reach the tracks. The line will extend from Oak Street along the
tracks to the Buena Vista Lagoon where it will discharge the stormwaters. The
largest diameter pipe that can be installed in this part of the City is 72^', not large
enough to handle the 100 year storm which requires an 88" pipe. The present
pattern of development precludes the ability to put in a larger sized facility. This
system will relieve the major flooding problems in the downtown business area,
where the City has had to sandbag and pump stormwaters in the past. The need for
such a facility has long been recognized, but the biggest obstacle has been
funding. The portion of the State Steet system that is currently being designed is
being financed with funds from the General Fund.
There are several problem areas within the older portions of the City that need to
be addressed before the drainage system can be considered adequate. However, the
key obstacle to rectifying the situation lies in the cost of the projects. In the
newer areas of development, developers can be assessed an acreage fee to cover
the costs of installing the drainage system. In the older portions where
development has already occurred, this financing mechanism is not available.
Specific areas identified by Les Evans, the City Engineer, for drainage
improvements include Laguna Drive and State Street. (For a full schedule of
proposed improvements, the City's recently prepared Master Drainage Plan should
be consulted. The Plan, when adopted by the City Council, will establish the list of
projects required to upgrade the City's drainage system and indicate the priority of
the various projects.) Currently, the City Engineering Department is proposing to
install storm drains running south from Laguna along Madison and Roosevelt
Streets. The City is also considering the feasibility of extending the State Street
system south from Oak Street to Agua Hedionda. This storm drain would eventually
provide a continuous drainage system along the railroad track that would intercept
all flows and discharge them into the lagoons. The Coastal Commission and State
Department of Fish and Games are concerned with potential siltation problems and
other adverse impacts on the lagoon ecology caused by the inflow of stormwaters.
Consequently, special attention will be required in designing these facilities and
environmental impact reports will have to be prepared.
Although this system will go a long way towards providing the City with a much
more adequate system, it still leaves areas of localized flooding. Furthermore,
because it does1 not provide capacity up to the County Flood Control District's
standards, it will not provide an optimal desired level of protection.
A-14
In the undeveloped portions of the City, the opportunity to design adequately sized
facilities should prevent any significant drainage problems and afford the City an
acceptable level of service.
Benchmarks
Design criteria for the construction and operation of storm drain systems are
specified in the San Diego County Flood Control District Design and Procedure
Manual. For drainage areas greater than one square mile, facilities should be
designed to handle the 100 year frequency storm. (In any given year, a storm of
this magnitude has a one percent chance of occurring.) For drainage areas less than
one square mile in size, the system should be sized so that the 100-year flood can be
contained within the street right-of-way; the 50-year flood can be contained within
the paved street width up to the top of the curb; and where storm drains are
required, a 10-year storm, at the minimum, can be accommodated.
PHYSICAL ADMINISTRATION FACILITIES
The City Hall is centrally located in the older part of the City, or Encina North.
Surrounded by residentially and commercially zoned areas, it is near the City's
central business district. It was constructed in 1968 and composed of two
structures: the smaller structure (approximately 2,500 gross square feet) currently
houses the Council Chambers and a small conference room and the main building
(approximately 14,000 square feet) is divided into three sections that house the
general government, community development and law enforcement operations.
Seventy-five parking spaces occupy the west side of the complex with an additional
twelve spaces in the rear.
Although each of the three sections within the main structure is nearly 5,000.gross
square feet, the net useable space amounts to only 3,000 to 4,000 square feet. This
amount of space is difficult to work with because it is too large for a single
organization unit but too small to accommodate two. The layout of the building
with a single corridor running through the middle of the eastern portion of the
building prevents anything except small offices that open onto the hallway.
According to the SUA Inc. report, larger areas of space (between 5,000 and 10,000
square feet) are preferred for planning more efficient layout patterns.
The City Hall complex currently houses general government offices which provide
the core support services of the City governments; community development
including those departments responsible for City development planning and project
maintenance; and police operations. The space presently occupied and the space
required for these operations are indicated in Table 10. The present space is
clearly inadequate.
A 1C
TABLE 10
COMPARISON OF EXISTING WITH ESTIMATED SPACE REQUIREMENTS*
Facility
Present Amount of
Space Occupied
Amount of Space
Required*
City Hall
General Government
Community Development
Law Enforcement
Service Yard
6,037
4,548
3,356
20,038
33,979
10,862
10,489
10,122
33,067
64,540
*SUA, Inc., Facilities Requirements Plan, 1978, p. 1-8.
Other physical administration facilities not included within the City Hall complex
include:
Facility
Parks and recreation building and yard
1166 Elm Avenue
Parks and recreation storage garage
Knowles and Pio Pico
Housing Authority
2777 Jefferson Avenue
Utility Maintenance Yard
405 Oak Street
Holiday Park House
3213 Eureka Place
Buena Vista reservoir site
Buena Vista Way
Function/Size
offices and yard
.5 acres
storage/work space
housing authority program
700 net sq. ft. of useable space
maintenance
1.33 acres
offices/recreation center
650 net sq. ft of useable space
storage/transfer station
None of these other facilities except the Housing Authority and Buena Vista
Reservoir have adequate space for their existing uses.
The costs of general government, including the executive and legislative bodies,
their staffs, city clerk and city attorney, are not sensitive to small additions in
population. Per capita general government costs can decline slightly with small
A-16
additions to population. General government operations are funded by the General
Fund and will serve a 1980-81 population of approximately 35,500 at an estimated
per capita figure of $31.23.
Benchmarks
Space requirements developed in the SUA Inc. report were based on assumptions on
the number of personnel and the space requirements for each class of personnel.
As population increases, so will the number of government employees and
operations required to meet the needs of the growing community. The criteria to
establish adequate levels of physical administration facilities are found in the SUA
Inc. report which identifies space requirements at different target populations.
(The exception described below is* the space requirement for law enforcement.) The
City should embark upon a construction program for its physical administration
facilities through the City's capital improvement program several years prior to
reaching the target populations. Thus, Benchmark I will be reached when
population projections indicate the City will reach 60,000 within five years (for
Phase I) and 100,000 (for Phase II). The sequence of steps that have to be
considered in order to ensure that sufficient lead time is available to provide
adequate facilities when the target population is reached includes: establishing
financial capability, selecting and acquiring sites, selecting specific alternatives,
selecting planning/design team, developing plans, selecting construction team,
constructing, selecting office equipment, and moving. The target space
requirements are reported in Table I I below.
TABLE 11
ESTIMATED SPACE REQUIREMENTS AT TARGET POPULATIONS
Population •
60,000 100,000
General Government
Community Development
Service Yard Operation:
Office
Shops/Storage
Law Enforcement
21,850
13,780
4,871
40,815
45,686
20,000
24,426
14,799
4,931
46,010
' 50,941
25,000
The SUA, Inc. report projected 95 police department employees when the City
reached 60,000 persons and 134 employees when the City reaches 100,000. Using
the service standards contained in this report, the sworn officers alone would be
A-17
greater than the SUA, Inc. figures. By buildout, the City should have about 160
sworn officers, and a total staff of about 175-180 persons. Nevertheless, changes in
space requirements between 60,000 and 100,000 reflects a greater need for records
and files rather than personnel. Much of the increase in personnel is likely to be in
the number of patrol officers which according to the SUA, Inc. report do not have
individual work stations, and therefore would not affect space requirements. It is
assumed that the following personnel classes which would affect space
requirements would exceed by 1-4 officers the number indicated in the SUA, Inc.
report: detective, juvenile officer, special investigator, and sergeant officer in
patrol operations. The increase in patrol officers would also presumably increase
locker room, exercise room, training rooms, lounge space requirements. The net
effect of these increases in space, requirements, without following the same
methodology used by SUA, Inc., can only be estimated. Thus, until better
information is available, it is assumed 20,000 square feet is more appropriate for a
population of 60,000 and 25,000 square feet for a population of 100,000.
A-18