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Home My WebLink About2002-11-05; City Council; 16962; Citizen Committee Report On Excess Dwelling Units7 CITY OF CARLSBAD - AGENDA BILL TITLE: REPORT FROM THE CITIZENS’ COMMITTEE TO STUDY COUNCIL POLICY NO. 43 AND EXCESS DWELLING UNITS DEPT. HD. CITY ATTY. CITY MGR RECOMMENDED ACTION: That the City Council ACCEPT the final report of the fifteen-member ad hoc Citizens’ Committee to Study Council Policy No. 43 And Excess Dwelling Units. ITEM EXPLANATION: At its regular meeting on June 25, 2002, the Carlsbad City Council determined to establish a 15- member ad hoc citizens’ committee to report on and make recommendations for amendments to City Council Policy No 43 regarding the number and allocation of excess dwelling units from the Excess Dwelling Unit Bank of the Growth Management Plan. The membership of this committee was named by action of the Carlsbad City Council on August 6, 2002, via Resolution 2002-207. shall study excess dwelling units in the City of Carlsbad and revisions to City Council Policy No. 43 In charging the committee via Resolution 2002-207, the City Council directed that ’I... the Committee or other appropriate vehicle to address its recommendations and shall make its written report and recommendations to the City Council no later than December 1, 2002, after which time the Committee will be dissolved unless extended by further resolution of the City Council.” The purpose of this Agenda Bill is to present the City Council with the final report of the Committee, which is attached as Exhibit 1. The report contains both a majority and a minority recommendation. A majority of the Committee members recommend that the City Council make no changes to Council Policy 43 and retain the number of excess dwelling units citywide and in the four quadrant banks at the levels reported by city staff in its earlier report entitled “Analysis of Excess Dwelling Unit Bank and the Growth Management Plan,” as subsequently updated (citywide total of excess units = 5,985, as of March 2001). A minority of the Committee members recommend that the citywide total number of units in the excess dwelling unit bank be reduced to 3,600 units, with one member recommending the total be reduced to 2,200 units. In addition to these recommendations, the Committee’s report contains a record of the Committee’s deliberations, its actions and minutes, and it‘s discussion of pros and cons regarding the several options it considered. ENVIRONMENTAL: The Committee’s report is an information document. Accepting the report commits the City Council to no particular action. Consequently, the acceptance of the report cannot and would not result in any physical action on the environment, and, therefore the action is not a “project” as described in the CEQA guidelines. No environmental review is required. FISCAL IMPACT: Accepting the Committee’s report commits the City Council to no particular action. Therefore, there would be no fiscal impact to the City. PAGE 2 OF AGENDA BILL NO. l6fg6* EXHIBITS: 1. Transmittal letter and final report of the Citizens' Committee to Study Council Policy No. 43 2. Letter to the Mayor and City Council from Committee Member Nora George, dated October 3. Letter to Mayor and City Council from Committee Member Sally Lyons, dated October 24, 4. Letter to Mayor Lewis from Committee Member Mike Howes, dated October 25,2002 5. Letter to Julie Nygaard from Committee Member Mary Regan, dated October 25, 2002. and Excess Dwelling Units, dated October 21, 2002 (Report previously distributed) 21,2002 2002 6. Final Report of the Citizens' Committee to Study Council Policy 43 and Excess Dwelling Units (on file in the City Clerk's Office). EXHIBIT 1 City of Carlsbad CITIZE7@ COMMIrnE TO REVIEW COUNCIL POLICY 43 October 21,2002 Hon. Mayor Lewis and the Carlsbad City Council 1200 Carlsbad Blvd. Carlsbad, CA 92008 FINAL REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO STUDY COUNCIL POLICY 43 AND EXCESS DWELLING UNITS Honorable Mayor Lewis and the members of the City Council: Attached to this letter is the final report containing the findings and recommendations of the Citizens' Committee to Study Council Policy 43 and Excess Dwelling Units. My fellow committee members and I wish to thank the Council for the opportunity to study and make recommendations to you and the City Council on this most important issue. I wish you to be assured that the committee undertook its charge with utmost soberness and sincerity. Following extensive study and discussion at eight meetings the members of the committee were unable to come to a 100% consensus on our principal recommendation, and, therefore, in addition to that principal recommendation our report includes a statement setting forth the positions of a minority of our membership. It is, however, the majority recommendation (six votes) of this committee that the City Council make no changes to the existing Council Policy 43, and that the balances of excess dwelling units in the four quadrant banks should remain as determined by city staff for March 2001, as reported to the City Council on June 25, 2002. A minority favored retention of 3,600 units. One voted to retain 2,200 units and one member abstained from all alternatives. Despite a division in our recommendations, my fellow committee members and I sincerely hope that the thoughts we offer you will prove to be of assistance as you consider your final actions on this matter. On behalf of the Committee To Study Council Policy 43, and the citizens of Carlsbad, I remain, Faithfully, "/dat Attachment: Final Report of the Committee to Study Council Polici 43 3 EXHIBIT 2 October 21,2002 . c -. i . Mayor Bud Lewis City of Carlsbad 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 Re: Recommendation of Policy - 43 Committee to the City Council Dear Mayor Lewis, Due to a death in my family on October 7", I was unable to attend the Policy - 43 Committee meeting that evening. It was the only meeting I had missed. Unfortunately, a final vote for a committee recommendation to Council was taken that evening and my opinion was not reflected. I was pleased to learn that both a majority and a minority recommendation are to be presented to Council, which is fitting for such a complex issue. Throughout the committee meetings I actively supported the minority recommendation of modifying the number of units in the Excess Dwelling Unit Bank (EDU). I felt a modification in the amount of dwelling units was appropriate because it refined the EDU Bank as a planning tool while still allowing flexibility to compete for financial incentives and meet legal mandates. More importantly, it provided for sound planning and acknowledged the community's increasing concern regarding growth. Although my opinion did not prevail, it certainly was a pleasure to participate on this committee. I enjoyed meeting and working with many knowledgeable residents and an outstanding city staff. Thank you for the opportunity to serve in this capacity. Cordially, Nora Jimenez &orge C: City Council Dennis Turner, Planning Department October 24.2002 Dear Mr. Mayor and Members of the City Council, This letter will serve as an attachment to the Final Report of the Citizens Committee to study Council Policy 43 and Excess Dwelling Units. While I fully agree with the final report, I have one comment to make regarding the statement on Page 5, first paragraph, last sentence, which reads “ The majority strongly urges the City Council to retain existing policies”. The existing policy statement contains three options to be considered for projects that could be allocated excess dwelling units. Listed as #2 under Second Priority in the existing policy statement is the statement: “Transit oriented development projects where increased residential density is being placed in close proximity to major transit facilities and commercial support services.” I strongly suggest that this statement fall under First F?iority. With many changes taking place within the building industry and many jurisdictions looking for ways to implement “smart growth” approaches to our circulation system, it seems appropriate to recognize this approach as a “tool” in helping to solve a problem. Thank you for the opportunity to express an opinion. Sally E. Lyons 7019 Lavender Way Carlsbad, CA 92009 5 October 25,2002 Honorable Mayor Lewis 1200 Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad, Ca. 920008 RE: Recommendation of the Policy 43 Committee to the City Council Dear Buddy: I appreciated the opportunity to serve on the Policy 43 Committee. Due to work related obligations I was unable to attend the last two meetings of the Committee. I have read the Final Report prepared by staff, which contains the majority recommendation to retain the number of units estimated by staff and not to consider any changes to City Council Policy 43. I strongly support the majority recommendation. This is a wise recommendation, which provides the City Council with the greatest amount of flexibility to address Carlsbad’s future. Mike Howes Cc City Council Mario Monroy Dennis Turner October 25,2002 Councilwoman Julie Nygaard City of Carlsbad 1200 Carlsbad Village Dr. Carlsbad, CA 92008 RE: Council Policy 43 Dear Councilwoman Thank you for the appointmen Y to the Committee to review Council Policy 43 and for your encouragement to continue as a member when I found that I would be missing some of the meetings. It was very interesting and the committee and the supporting staffwere all very diligent in their consideration of the task. As it happened, I was out of town when the vote was taken for the recommendation to the council and unable to add my vote or name to the report in it's final form. I did want to let you how that I support the Majority recommendation of "to retain existing policies and the number of units as they were estimated by staff as of March 2001". Since planning for future facilities has been done on the existing numbers for build-out and there would not be any significant fiscal improvement, keeping the excess dwelling unit bank as it is gives the city the most flexibility and also leaves open the opportunity by developers to increase the density of fbture projects. Also, it sends a message to our neighboring communities that Carlsbad is not setting itself up as an island and wants to find a place within its boundaries for citizens in all economic levels. Once again, thank you for the opportunity to serve the community. Sincerely yours, Cc: Mayor Bud Lewis Councilwoman Ramona Finnila Councilwoman Ann Kulchin Councilman Matt Hall Chairman Mario Monroy Vice-Chairwoman Julie Baker idennis Turner