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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1983-12-06; City Council; 7574; Letter from City of Chula Vista^7 x-^ (L Cl ' OF CARLSBAD - AGENL BILL ('O AP# 7<S~7Y MTO 12/6/83 DEPT PLN TITLE: LETTER FROM CITY OF CHULA VISTA REGARDING SUPPORT FOR THEIR BAYFRONT LOCAL COASTAL PLAN. DEPT. HD.lAftH CITY ATTY\J TV\ CITY MGR.^2?±r OC£Q_Q_ O I RECOMMENDED ACTION: Should the City Council wish to support the efforts of the City of Chula Vista in obtaining approval of their Bayfront Local Coastal Plan, your action would be to ADOPT Resolution No. 7^/ / (? ITEM EXPLANATION By letter dated October 13, 1983, the City of Chula Vista has requested the City Council to pass a resolution of support for their request to have their Local Coastal Plan approved by the California Coastal Commission. Similar to the City of Carlsbad's experience regarding the Agua Hedionda Land Use Plan, the City of Chula Vista has been trying since the passage of the State Coastal Act to obtain approval of an acceptable plan for their bayfront area. The plan was recently revised to address the concerns which were expressed by the Coastal Commission when the plan was previously rejected while still allowing the city to reasonably plan for the development of the bayfront area. The Land Use Planning Office has reviewed Chula Vista's proposed plan and found it to be environmentally-sensitive. They have proposed reasonable compromises and mitigating measures to address the major remaining issues brought up by the Coastal Commission which include 1) access across a major wetland, marsh area; 2) buffering of wetland areas; and 3) providing a permanent open space area for the nesting of endangered bird species. A summary of the major features of the plan is attached. EXHIBITS 1. City Council Resolution No. 2. Letter from Mayor Gregory R. Cox 3. Summary of Plan 1 RESOLUTION NO. 7416 2 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA SUPPORTING THE EFFORTS OF 3 CHULA VISTA IN OBTAINING APPROVAL FROM THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION OF THE BAYFRONT 4 LOCAL COASTAL PLAN. 5 WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista is seeking support in its effort to obtain State Coastal Commission approval of the Bayfront Land Use Plan; and 8 WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista has worked for several years to get the Bayfront Plan approved; and 10 WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista has made revisions to 11 the Plan to address areas of concern expressed by the Coastal 12 Commission while still allowing the city to plan for the orderly 13 development of the Bayfront. 14 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council that 15 the City of Carlsbad supports the efforts of the City of Chula 16 Vista in obtaining approval from the State Coastal Commission for 17 its Bayfront Land Use Plan. 18 PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the 19 City Concil of the City of Carlsbad, California, held on the 6th 20 day of December, 1983, by the following vote, to wit: 21 AYES: Council Members Casler, Lewis, Kulchin, Prescott and Chick 22 NOES: None 23 ABSENT: None O- 24 MARY CASTER, Mayor 25 ATTEST: 26 f\ ft* _fj""jT*^B*F^^^ "^~ -" — - ** x " lL*rTr^^J^J~ " ~* ~ ~~1 " ~~ J27 ALETHA L. RAUTENKRANZ, Cita' Clerk 28 (SEAL) .2 City of Chula Vista, California OFFICE OF THE MAYOR- Gregory R. Cox October 31, 1983 The Honorable Mary H. Casler Mayor, City of Carlsbad 1200 Elm Avenue Carlsbad, California 92008 Dear Mayor/Casler: Ad/v/H/ The Chula Vista Land Use Element of the Local Coastal Plan will be considered by the California Coastal Commission at their December 13th meeting in San Diego. The City of Chula Vista has worked for the past 13 years to develop a plan which is both environmentally sound and economically viable. We feel that we have achieved that balance in our 1983 plan. The State Coastal Commission has rejected prior Local Coastal Plans in 1979 and 1981. In our 1983 plan, we have addressed and responded to the concerns of the Coastal Commission as expressed in their 1981 rejection. The 1983 Local Coastal Plan will work. In an effort to demonstrate a broad-base of community support, I would like to ask your City to consider issuing a resolution of support for the Chula Vista Land Use Plan. The development of the Chula Vista Bayfront area will provide facilities that will be utilized and enjoyed by all San Diego County residents. I have enclosed a copy of our Land Use Plan and other pertinent information which should prove useful, should you decide to issue a resolution of support. Resolutions of support should be addressed to the Chairman of the California Coastal Commission and received by my office by December 5 so that we can assemble them as part of a strong demonstration of support by cities and other governmental agencies. I sincerely appreciate your consideration of this request. regards, .,. R. Cox GRC:pw MAYOR Encls. CIVIC CENTER • 276 FOURTH AVENUE • CHULA VISTA, CALIFORNIA 9201 0 • TELEPHONE (61 9) 691-5044 II. SUMMARY OF SUBSTANTIVE ISSUES AND LAND USE PLAN PROVISIONS The primary objective of the Chula Vista Bayfront Land Use Plan is to achieve a development plan that is consistent with the California Coastal Act, financially feasible, fiscally responsible and will result in a visually attractive setting compatible with the major natural features of the area. While a number of substantive issues have been identified during the course of the Plan's preparation, it has been the intent of the City to resolve them through specific mitigation measures incorporated into the final plan. The Land Use Plan includes a large of number of very specific land use, circulation, utility, environmental management, and form and appearance provisions. These are highly integrated in a way to mutually support the explicit goal of merging environmental protection with land development and public access objectives. In order to help focus the discussion of the Plan on the overriding issues, this chapter provides a short summary of substative issues together with the Plan's response. These issues are: • Tidelands Avenue Extension • Gunpowder Point Development • Least Tern Protection • Wetland Buffer Characteristics • Wetland and Upland Enhancement TIDELANDS AVENUE EXTENSION Tidelands Avenue is a necessary circulation element for the Bayfront. Extending it to D Street fill area is essential to permit this area to develop in a way that is compatible with the Midbayfront and Gunpowder Point. Leaving the D Street fill isolated and cut off from the rest of the Bayfront would likely result in the area remaining an underutilized, surplus industrial site too expensive to develop to be competitive with alternate industrial locations. Providing for the extension of Tidelands Avenue will: (I) permit the area to develop with sufficient intensity to carry the burden of site improvement costs; (2) provide significant new opportunities for public access to the waterfront; and (3) establish a land use that will promote the financial feasibility of the remaining Bayfront development. Integrating the need for access in the Bayfront with protection of wetland resources has focused attention on two primary concerns. The first of these is the protection of the F-G Street Marsh and the second is the crossing of Sweetwater Marsh. The Plan provides for the following measures to assure the most compatible relationships. By realigning Tidelands Avenue further to the west in a gentle arc, F-G Marsh will be protected from any filling necessary for roadway construction. The realignment will join the present terminus of the improved section of Tidelands Avenue on Port lands. The Sweetwater Marsh crossing included in the Land Use Plan has been relocated from a right-of-way parallel to and westerly of the SD & AE Railroad. The right-of- way, secured by Caltrans and reserved for the present time is designated in the Plan as protected wetlands. Final disposition of this area should be included in an overall managemet program that includes ownership, restoration, and maintenance for all the wetland resources and buffer areas. The current alignment for the Tidelands Avenue crossing is directly on top of the existing railroad bed. By integrating the roadway with the existing railroad, the crossing I) avoids unnecessarily separating the wetland into isolated units, 2) minimizes the necessary fill required for the roadbed, and 3) affords opportunities for enhancing the quality of the adjacent wetland habitat. The Tidelands crossing provides for bridging on a causeway structure for up to fifty percent of the length of the corssing, removing the railroad levee in these sections of the wetland and consolidating fill in a widened roadbed for the remaining portions. The roadway construction will include some necessary filling of portions of the wetland that presently experience poor tidal flushing. An equivalent amount of fill will be removed from the railroad levee by increasing the amount of bridging on a causway structure from approximately 15 percent of the length of the crossing to 50 percent of the length of the crossing. The increased briding will provide for improved tidal flows to the connector marsh that Cal trans is restoring as part of the adjacent highway project. These provisions for the Tidelands Avenue crossing are the least environmentally damaging alternative for providing the necessary connection between the D Street Fill and the Midbayfront. On balance it will provide a better functioning wetland than presently exists. GUNPOWDER POINT DEVELOPMENT The major issues that involve the character and form of development on Gunpowder Point include (I) the ecological connection between the wetland and adjacent wetland areas utilized for both foraging and refuge by wetland wildlife, (2) the existence of the Belding's savannah sparrow and light-footed clapper rail, and (3) the potential impact on adjacent wetlands by utilizing the existing levees as roadway access to development on the Point. Denial of the 1979 Bayfront LCP was partially based on opinion that the Gunpowder Point upland area was critical to the health of the surrounding Sweetwater' Marsh habitat and to the existence of the Belding's savannah sparrow and light-footed clapper rail. The final report by Jones and Stokes, "The Analysis of Select Biological Issues Relating to the Chula Vista Bayfront Plan," March 10, 1983, specifically addresses the ecological link between marsh and upland. As part of the original field work completed by Jones and Stokes and included in that report, an ecotone between the marsh and upland was identified and mapped. The major findings relating to this link are provided below: I. "The upper boundary of the marsh-upland ecotone can be mapped with a reasonable degree of accuracy because of the distinct changes in vegetation across the ecotone. The ecotone is generally narrow, varying from 1-3 meters in 11-2 width at most of the transect locations on Gunpowder Point. - Because of occasional use by Belding's savannah sparrows, this zone should be preserved. 2. There is little evidence of interaction producing a transfer of materials from Gunpowder Point to Sweetwater Marsh. • Little energy or nutrient transfer is taking place from the upland to the marsh. There is no well-defined physical mechanism, such as downstream transfer of detritus, to carry nutrient material off Gunpowder Point and into the marsh. • Assuming no deterioration of water quality or alteration of water flow, the food web within the marsh would not undergo major changes following a loss of the upland, especially if the ecotone remained intact. Fish and invertebrates in the marsh display no identifiable link to activities on upland habitat. • Some transfer of energy and nutrients occurs from Sweetwater Marsh to the Gunpowder Point upland due primarily to the activities of birds and mammals. These links involve upland predators (e.g., gopher snakes, long- tail weasel) occasionally foraging in the marsh. Wide-ranging raptors (e.g., white-tailed kite) may perch on uplands and forage over both wetlands and uplands. Energy flow in these links is predominantly "uphill" from marsh to upland (i.e., upland species are making use of wetland species). 3. Field surveys indicate that Belding's savannah sparrows may make brief, temporary use of a narrow band of upland habitat (10-15 meters wide) immediately adjacent to the upland-ecotone boundary during very high tides when their preferred marsh habitat is inundated. Most Belding's savannah sparrow activity occurs 10 meters or more into the marsh from the upland- ecotone boundary. 4. Loss of all upland habitat within the Chula Vista Bayfront would reduce species numbers and diversity for the Bayfront. The reduction would result primarily from the loss of strictly upland species (e.g., cottontails, meadowlarks). There need not be any loss of wetland species or wetland habitat, provided: (Da band of upland habitat above the ecotone-upland boundary is retained as a refuge for Belding's savannah sparrows, light-footed clapper rails, and shorebirds during times of extreme high tide and severe storms; (2) human activity (including domestic pets) within the marsh proper is limited; and (3) good water quality is maintained. The upland band could provide some habitat for species that rest or roost on the upland and used the wetland for foraging." Although the Jones and Stokes analysis indicates that there is only a limited portion of upland directly related to the wetland wildlife habitat, the Land Use Plan has adopted a conservative approach to this issue. The Plan provides for a limited building envelope to be located in the southwest zone of the island adjacent to the open Bay. A total of fourteen acres of the total 40.9 acres of upland, (34 percent) will be developed as a destination resort hotel. The remaining area is devoted to wetland buffer, an eight acre public park and 9.6 acres to be regraded and revegetated for use as an upland wildlife habitat. The land use provisions of the Plan permit a floor area ratio of 0.5 over the 14 acre site. This intensity will permit the construction of a hotel with approximately 400 L rooms with conference facilities and commercial support for the hotel and conference visitors. The location and scale of the permitted development will not impact the critical ecotone mapped by Jones and Stokes, nor interfere with the observed flight patterns of bird species. Confining the development to 34 percent of the upland area will provide for an extensive upland reserve. This provision contrasts with the 1979 LCP where up to 80 percent of the upland was to be developed. The detailed site and development design provisions included in Chapter IV provide for an 8 story structure, conditionally up to 12 if it can be shown that the increased height will result in a superior solution visually and environmentally. The permited height of the hotel structure is the result of the primary objective to reduce the projects land coverage. Vehicular access to Gunpowder Point is accommodated by allowance for a two-lane, controlled access road on the south levee. Pedestrian access is also provided for on the south levee by a boardwalk adjoining the roadway. Parking on the island is limited to the minimum necessary to serve the hotel/conference facility. Parking is encouraged off the island at a remote facility in the Midbayfront for staff use and for guest use beyond the permitted 220 surface parking spaces. The combination of these provisions will minimize the traffic impact on the adjacent wetland wildlife. LEAST TERN PROTECTION One of the unresolved issues identified in the environmental documents prepared for the joint Ca I trans/Corps of Engineers project was the permanent protection of the habitat for the endangered Least Tern utilizing the D Street Fill area. Denial of the 1979 Bayfront Plan LCP was partially based on the opinion that about 66 acres of the D Street Fill should have been, but was not, set aside as a least tern nesting site. The review of the literature and file data (Jones and Stokes, March 1983) indicates that size per se is not the key to a successful California least tern nesting reserve, but rather one of a combination of interacting factors. "The five interacting factors critical to fledgling success are: 1. Access to open water (availability of small fish for food). This factor apparently is not a problem at D Street Fill with the adjacent marsh and bay. 2. Suitability of nesting substrate. 3. Area of site (smallest known successful site is 0.33 acre). 4. Predator access (terrestrial, both wild and domestic, and avion). 5. Human harassment. Also important is the birds' perception of the area as a safe site; for example, a water barrier seems to provide a sense of security for the terns. An unobstructed horizon or open space character may contribute to this perception. 11-4 7 If terrestrial predation and human harassment are clearly eliminated by appropriate design of a nesting reserve, an area smaller than the originally requested two-thirds of D Street Fill acres could successfully provide nesting area. A formally established and managed nesting reserve that is designed to include all the pertinent recent and ongoing research may not have to be larger than 10 acres to successfully fledge California least tern. Sites smaller than I acre have been successful when other critical factors have been met." In response to the need to establish an appropriate reserve for the California least tem, the Land Use Plan provides for a total of 10 acres of upland habitat at the southwest corner of the D Street Fill to be set aside as a sanctuary. The sanctuary will straddle the boundary between the San Diego Unified Port District Lands and the privately held land within the Bayfront. While -this location requires joint commitments from the City and the Port District, it is superior to other alternatives totally within the Bayfront. At this designated location, the sancutary will be surrounded by the greatest amount of natural habitat, exposed on three sides by Bay or extensive wetlands. In an effort to coordinate the environmental mitigation measures included in the joint Caltrans/Corps of Engineers project, the Land Use Plan relocates a 9.6 acre area which will be converted from upland to wetland. The Plan provides for this conversion to be utilized to I) create a channel separating the tern sanctuary from the remaining upland area of D Street Fill, and 2) enhance the feeding grounds for the sanctuary and increase isolation by locating the remaining portion of the conversion area directly east of the sanctuary. WETLAND BUFFERS A 100 foot upland buffer around much of the existing wetlands has been included as necessary mitigation for the Cal trans/Corps of Engineers project. The integration of this buffer into adjacent development patterns is included as part of the Chula Vista Land Use Plan. The Land Use Plan provides for an extension of this typical 100 foot wide buffer around wetland areas not presently included in the Cal trans/Corps of Engineers project. These areas include the F-G Street Marsh and around the converted upland on the D Street Fill. The Land Use Plan includes prototypical buffer cross sections that integrate public access, wetland screening, fencing to control access to the wetlands, and the interface with adjacent private development. These prototypical sections identify the critical features of protection and joint use to make these buffers effective transitions between natural and man-made environments. Ownership and responsibility for improvements and maintenance are all aspects of the buffers which will require joint cooperation among private development and many public agencies, and will be included in an overall wetland management program. Within the City of Chula Vista's jurisdiction, ownership and responsibility for improvements and maintenance are all aspects of the buffers which will require joint cooperation between the public and private sectors and will be included in an overall wetland management program. 1-5 WETLAND AND UPLAND ENHANCEMENT In addition to the environmental protection measures included in every aspect of the Land Use Plan, additional opportunities for wetland and upland enhancement have been identified and are included in the Environmental Management Provisions. These enhancement provisions are summarized in tables 6 and 7 of the Land Use Plan. Principally they include: • A 9.6 acre increase in high quality salt marsh adjacent to the Sweetwater Marsh and improved tidal flow in the connector to paradise Marsh. • A 3.4 acre increase in high quality mudf lat on the east margins of Vener Pond. • A 3.0 acre increase in high quality saltwater marsh on the margins of Vener (E Street Marsh). • A 2.5 acre increase in high quality saltwater marsh, a cleaned and restored 15 acre saltwater marsh, and integration of a 1.5 acre seasonal freshwater habitat in the F-G Street Marsh area. • The provision of a freshwater supply to support seasonal inflow in the F-G Street Marsh by utilizing the available high quality water from a proposed reverse osmosis operation in the Bayfront. • Visual enhancement, landscape screening, and fencing of the wetland buffers. • Isolation of a 10 acre sanctuary from human or domestic animial impact for the Least Tern Sanctuary. • The restoration of 9.6 acres on Gunpowder Point to an upland reserve. (Note: This is in addition to the 100 foot buffer.) • The removal of debris and control of drainage in the degraded lagoon at the western edge of Gunpowder Point. 1200 ELM AVENUE • $&/ >• TELEPHONE: CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92008 WT*WJTM (714)438-5535 Office of the City Clerk Ctt? of Carte&ab December 7, 1983 Mayor Gregory R. Cox City of Chula Vista 276 Fourth Avenue Chula Vista, CA 92010 Dear Mayor Cox: The City Council of Carlsbad, at their regular meeting of December 6, 1983, adopted Resolution No. 7416 in support of Chula Vista's efforts in obtaining approval of the Bayfront Local Coastal Plan. A copy of that resolution is enclosed for your information. Respectfully, Aletha L. Rautenkranz ? City Clerk ALRrar Enc: (1) 1200 ELM AVENUE CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA 92008 Office of the City Clerk TELEPHONE: (714)438-5535 City of Cartebab December 7, 1983 California Coastal Commission 631 Howard Street San Francisco, CA 94105 BAYFRONT LOCAL COASTAL PLAN - CITY OF CHULA VISTA Enclosed is a copy of Resolution No. 7416 adopted by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad at their meeting of December 6, 1983. That resolution expresses the city's support for the efforts of Chula Vista in obtaining approval from the Commission of their Bayfront Local Coastal Plan. d£ ALETHA L. RAUTENKRANZ City Clerk ALR:ar Enclosure (1) xc: California Coastal Commission 6154 Mission Gorge Road, Suite 220 San Diego, CA 92120 1 2 3 4 5 RESOLUTION NO. 7416 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA SUPPORTING THE EFFORTS OF CHULA VISTA IN OBTAINING APPROVAL FROM THE CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION OF THE BAYFRONT LOCAL COASTAL PLAN. WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista is seeking support in its effort to obtain State Coastal Commission approval of the Bayfront Land Use Plan; and WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista has worked for several years to get the Bayfront Plan approved; and WHEREAS, the City of Chula Vista has made revisions to the Plan to address areas of concern expressed by the Coastal Commission while still allowing the city to plan for the orderly development of the Bayfront. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council that the City of Carlsbad supports the efforts of the City of Chula Vista in obtaining approval from the State Coastal Commission for its Bayfront Land Use Plan. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Concil of the City of Carlsbad, California, held on the 6th day of December, 1983, by the following vote, to wit: AYES: Council Members Casler, Lewis, Kulchin, Prescott and Chick rNOES: None ABSENT: None & • ATTEST: MARY CASER, Mayor ALETHA L. RAUTENKRANZ, City Clerk (SEAL) 12.