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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1988-05-10; City Council; 9428; Commissioner McBaneCIT" OF CARLSBAD - AGENr" BILL 4B# 9 &if MTG. 5/10/88 DEPT. CM TITLE COMMISSIONER McBANE IDEPT. HD. - CITY MG RECOMMENDED ACTION: Discuss item and take action as the City Council feels appropriate. ITEM EXPLANATION: Last month, Commissioner McBane requested information on land zoned for open space in the City of Carlsbad. As a result, staff spent approximately 4 hours compiling a map for the commissioner. citizens' initiative on open space. Parts of this map were later used in a Concern has been raised about the appropriateness of a commissioner's role and involvement in this type of matter. Carlsrbad City Counoil Meeting May 10, 1988 Camsent Calendar Item #12-M0 Bane Testimony: Henry R. Thompson--330 Chestnut Ave, Carlsbad-Private Citigen, Members of the Council: Henry l?, Thompeon residing at 330 Chestnut Am, Carlsbad, I am here to addrerss you regarding the proposed removal of Planaing Commisa.il.oner McBane . As a priuate oAtizen, I appear exeruiaing the right of free agesch on hehalf of myself and an unknown number of other dtizsns who canaot appear or do not wiah to appear for various reasons induding apathy and fear of intimidation, I have been under the impreasion that any resident auld obtain accesa to City fdles or copies of City documents, with the excsption af thorn pertaining to pending legal actiow .or personnel matters. Providing of course that a reasonable fee was paid for copies. A; reason fbr the request for public-.infomation did not have to be dated, My understanding of the complaint against Mc Bane is that a resident made a request to th.e City for a City map showing currently existing open apau-ec He W~LS given an outdated or inaccurate City map. When thial was discovered he asked Mc Bane if an up to date more accurate City map was available, Mc Bane subasquently ab$&~d mother map from the City, indentifying open apaaje,and presented it to his conrstituent Far eon being castigated Commissioner lo Bane tabould be complimented for responding to a request from a resident wh9 was exerciaing, his right to obtain gublic information, and for )%!6%#%!%eliction of duty by tb City to ~blic;sc~tiny. \ Tb cu~3.ou.s thing about this whole matter is why a single current Citymap ahow* exdating open spaas wa8 not or ie not available to the publec. The City has a large Plwtning and Building Department occupying its own voluminous quarters in the Palomar Xndustrial Center. With the I'Growth Management Plan I@ under study it is incredulous that a new) open spa- mag was not previously prepared, c. 1 -. Page 2. Carlabad Vity Council Meeting May 10, 1988 Testinaony: Henry N. Thornpaon. I raugg,e& that the Counai.1 direct an investigation to bx, made as to the reawn. why thica wa8 not done, or if in fact a new open space map was prepared and does exist why it is not baing made publice. AB a citizen I request that a City mag showing tbe existing open space bs obtained or prepared and that the 8asle he made auailabls to any resident upon requeet at a nominal -a*, wdthbut inquiqy lq~ the City a8 to the purpose of the request. hrther aucrh a map should he po6ted in publicly frequented City buildings. Open spa- ia owned by and is provided to. improve the quality of life of resideata, whw entitled to ~XAOWJ what they own and to haye control over its proposed usage,, ms 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 0. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. The following are problems I have with this whole affair: Mr. McBane, as a planning commissioner, reviewed the total Growth Management Program and was aware of the need for updating the Open Space area. The method of acquiring the map was improper. The removal of the disclaimer explaining the map was outdated. It is a composite of the 1974 prime open space and conser- vation map and the partially updated open space areas from the Land Use Element Plan. As such, it is not an official City map. The map contains regional park open space, and sensitive land designations which are inconsistent with the Parks and Recrea- tion Element, adopted Master Plan and Growth Management Open Space Standards. (Never meant to be together as an official map of the City.) The City is currently in the process of revising the General Plan to comply with State law by eliminating these inconsis- tencies. This map does not reflect any of these inconsistencies. It locks the City into only 25% open space throughout Carls- bad, while the General Master Plan allows up to 39%. The initiative may require the City to acquire/purchase open space areas with no known funding sources. This is especially true with respect to the provision for not allowing any density credit for the 15% open space requirement of Master Plans. Also of concern in this respect is the boundary determination language of the initiative. Staff has been directed to review and update all the older, existing Master Plans. We have started with the La Costa Master Plan. Part of that review is to update the boundaries of the open space areas.to better reflect the City's new open space provisions. This will definitely result in the need to make some amendments to the existing open space designa- tions of the General Plan. The initiative would hamper this from proceeding. One specific project that could be impacted is the recently approved Pacific Rim Project. The Land Use Element shows a potential regional park on this property. If they don't get final maps for the entire project, passage of the initia- , tive may jeopardize the project from going forward without - -- a vote to remove the language regarding a regional park. ,I . .. 14. 15. Because of the scale of the City's Land Use Map, we have always considered the boundaries of the open space designa- tions to be conceptual. daries are determined when a master plan is submitted. then has the flexibility to establish the boundaries to best protect environmentally sensitive open space areas. Our plan- ning flexibility to negotiate for the best open space areas would be hampered. The precise location of the boun- Staff This SOS sponsored initiative is an attack on Carlsbad's Growth Management Program. . ..I . . .. .. .. , . ., $-I .. .. . :. , , .... . '.. .. . . .- .I ., :: ,. BLACKETER&HILE LAW OFFICES BELINDA BLACKETER GREGORY A. HlLE 1174 SOUTH COAST HIGHWAY LAGUNA BEACH. CALIF. 92651 (714) 497-1893 May-10, 1988 Mayor Lewis and City Council City of Carlsbad 1200 Elm Avenue, Carlsbad, California, 92008 RE: Exhibit A, Save Open Space Initiative Dear Mayor Lewis and Council: Over a month ago I was asked to prepare a IISave Open Space" initiative by the proponents for circulation in the City of Carlsbad. I asked for the Open Space & Conservation Element and map, and the Land Use Element and map. What was delivered to my office was unreadable and all the adopted open space & conservation areas were not shown on any one map. I directed my clients to obtain a clearer, more up to date map from the City. Since that request, it has been brought to my attention that various newspaper reports alleging misconduct by Planning Commissioner Kip McBane, with respect to the preparation of a map which was later attached in modified form as Exhibit A to the Carlsbad "Save Open Space" Initiative have appeared in local papers . I would like to point out that the City has a duty to have available to any member of the public a map showing the open space areas designated in the general plan elements, both open space/conservation and land use. The fact that the City Council has not seen fit to update the Open Space and Conservation Element and its maps since 1973 is not the fault of the citizens. I understand that subsequent to my request of the .. Page Two initiative proponents, Kip Mc Bane, in his position as a Planning Commissioner, was asked by a member of the public where a map which showed all the open space and conservation areas actually adopted by the City in the past could be obtained, as the existing maps available were impossible to read. It is my understanding that all Mr. McBane did was ask the staff to prepare a composite map, which he then loaned to Courtney Heineman, who made the original request. That map was later delivered to my office by messenger sent by the proponents of llSave Open Space", which I used in part to prepare the proposed initiative for the proponents. Nowhere on the original map does a l'Disclaimerl' appear stating "that the proportions of the map were not drawn to scalev1. In fact, the upper right hand corner bears a scale of 1" = 10OO1' and I understand that the original Open Space Conservation Map was done on a base map that was to the same scale. Therefore, no disclaimer was ever present on the mapI and could not have been removed by anyone. I directed that the initiative proponents make the modifications to a copy of the original map before it was included as Exhibit A in the printed version of the Initiative. I never consulted Planning Commissioner McBane regarding these changes, nor was I directed to my anyone. I did not know that he was involved, except for reference to his name in the legend on the map. These modifications are as follows: 1. The phrase "Not an Official City of Carlsbad map" was deleted from the lower left-hand corner of the map, for if and when it is adopted by the voters it will be an official map of the City. No attempt to defraud the voters was intended, as the City Attornev's Summarv reprinted twice in the initiative clearly-points out that Exhibit A is not an official city maE. 2. The phrase I1Prepared for Kip McBane April 6, 1988" in the lower left hand corner of the map was amended to read "Prepared April 6, 1988", as it is immaterial who the map was prepared for, since it should have been available to anyone. 3. The inconsistent reference "MAP PREPARED APRIL, 1987" which appears in the lower right hand corner was removed because it referred to the date of preparation of the base "GENERAL PLAN MAP" and not to the l'COMPOSITE'l or "OPEN SPACE OVERLAY MAP'' which is attached to the initiative as Exhibit A. 4. The legend in the lower left hand corner of the Page Three map which read "OPEN SPACE/CONSERVATION AREAS SHOWN ON MAP FOR GPA-20 DATED 11-15-73ff was amended to delete the reference to the date because it was immaterial. All changes were made at my direction to avoid any confusion by the voters and to distinguish Exhibit A from the version shown on the original. I also directed the proponents to change to the title of the map contained in the upper right had corner so that no voter confusion would occur. In addition, the allegations that the initiative is in conflict with the City's "GROWTH MANAGEMENT PLA"' are specious. I would like to remind the City Council that any such growth management plan is required to be consistent with the City's adopted Elements and supporting maps. Since Exhibit A, attached to the initiative is simply a composite of the Open Space & Conservation Element map and the Land Use Element Map, both adopted by the City of Carlsbad, Exhibit A is not in conflict with the adopted General Plan Elements of the City. If a conflict exists, then the City's ''GROWTH MANAGEMENT PLANt1 must be in conflict with the City's adopted General Plan Elements. The allegations of inconsistency have the "cart before the horse'' in a matter of speaking. The map should have been available to the citizens without Mr. McBane's efforts. What it was used for is not the fault of Planning Commissioner McBane. I suggest that Councilman Mamoux should disqualify himself from any discussions regarding the propriety or impropriety of the alleged actions of Commissioner McBane, due to his obvious support for a competing ballot measure, and his past antagonism toward Commissioner McBane. Councilman Mamoux has an obvious conflict of interest with regard to this issue. Continued harassment of Commissioner McBane, for responding to a request by Courtney Heineman for a map showing all adopted open space & conservation areas that the citizens could To read into this some "great and nefarious plot" is unfounded and unsupported by the evidence at hand. Citizens' initiatives generally use existing maps as reference, the problem here is that a map was not "existing" and had not been done by the City. read is counter productive and rather silly. Sincerely, Belinda Blacketer