HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-10-10; City Council; 18756; Proposition C Open Space and Trails Ad Hoc CommCITY OF CARLSBAD - AGENDA BILL
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Report on Proposition C Open Space and
Trails Ad Hoc Citizens Committee and
Request for Term Extension
DEPT. HEAD fi£jpfl
CITY ATTY. s&>
CITY MGR. U/ —
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
That the City Council ADOPT Resolution No. 2006-294 ACCEPTING the ranking
criteria and public outreach program developed by the Proposition C Open Space and Trails Ad
Hoc Citizen's Advisory Committee and EXTEND the term of the Committee.
ITEM EXPLANATION:
On October 18, 2005, the City Council created the Proposition C Open Space and Trails Ad
Hoc Citizen's Committee (also known as the Open Space Committee). The stated purpose of
the Committee was to establish priorities for open space property acquisition and trail linkage
projects and make recommendations to the City Council on potential candidate acquisitions and
projects for future expenditures. In addition, the City Council directed staff to ensure that the
Committee received all relevant materials and background information necessary to make
informed recommendations.
The Committee has met regularly since its first meeting in February 2006 and members of the
public have attended and participated in all meetings. After establishing norms and operating
agreements, the Committee received presentations and materials from staff and the public
regarding the intent and contents of many relevant open space and trails documents including,
but not limited to; the Habitat Management Plan (HMP), Open Space and Conservation
Resource Management Plan (OSCRMP), and Citywide Trails Program.
The Committee also received aerial photo exhibits of the entire City, with pertinent HMP and
trail overlay information and, in a workshop format, compared this information to the locations of
existing and potential future private and public development projects. Once the Committee
members were familiar with the relevant policy and regulatory documents and the geographical
scope of open space and trail opportunities within the City, staff conducted Committee member
open space tours of the City to connect the documents and exhibits with field experiences.
Based upon the information provided, the Committee reviewed potential criteria for use in
ranking the candidate properties for acquisition. These criteria, described in the attached
report, closely follow the relevant documents such as the HMP, OSCRMP and Trails Program.
They include items such as the provision of biological connectivity, service of both habitat
preservation and trail linkage purposes, and the presence of special plant or animal
species/habitat listed in the HMP. Each potential open space and/or trail linkage property will
be evaluated using these criteria and then ranked based upon that evaluation.
FOR CITY CLERKS USE ONLY.
COUNCIL ACTION:APPROVED HT
DENIED D
CONTINUED D
WITHDRAWN D
AMENDED D
CONTINUED TO DATE SPECIFIC D
CONTINUED TO DATE UNKNOWN D
RETURNED TO STAFF D
OTHER - SEE MINUTES D
Page 2 - Report on Proposition C Open Space and Trails Ad Hoc Citizens Committee
and Request for Term Extension
Provided that the Council accepts the proposed ranking criteria and public outreach program
discussed in the attached report, the Committee is now prepared to gather a list of candidate
properties for acquisition and process that list through the ranking process. While staff will
provide a list of possible candidate properties, it is important to allow the public to offer
suggestions of potential acquisition properties. Therefore, a proposed public outreach program
has been developed; this program is detailed in the attached report and staff has already
received several inquiries from the public on how to propose potential properties for
consideration.
Once the public outreach program has concluded and a list of properties is prepared, the
Committee will rank these properties and prepare a report for the City Council recommending
candidate property acquisitions. Included in this report will be an analysis of possible funding
sources outside of the Proposition C funds (such as direct grants from the Wildlife Agencies or
partnerships with non-profit organizations) and an evaluation of the likelihood of the applicability
of these funds for each property.
Given that the Committee is set to expire on October 18, 2006, there is a need to extend the
term of the Committee to allow for the public outreach program, to evaluate and rank the
candidate properties, and prepare a recommendation report for City Council. After review of
the necessary tasks and events, the Committee determined that the proposed expiration date of
January 31, 2007 would allow adequate time for completion of their responsibilities.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The request for acceptance of the report and extension of the term of the Committee will not
produce any fiscal impacts, in that the Committee members serve without compensation and
the remaining funds budgeted for the administrative support of the Committee are sufficient to
cover all anticipated costs.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT:
The request for acceptance of the report and extension of the term of the Committee does not
constitute a project, as defined by Section 15378 of the State California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA) Guidelines, and therefore no environmental documentation is necessary.
EXHIBITS:
1. City Council Resolution No. 2006-294
2. City Council Resolution No. 2005-312
3. Report on Open Space Committee Priority Criteria and Public Outreach Program
DEPARTMENT CONTACT: Michael Grim 760-602-4623 mgrim@ci.carlsbad.ca.us
1 RESOLUTION NO. 2006-294
2 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CARLSAD, CALIFORNIA, ACCEPTING THE RANKING
3 CRITERIA AND PUBLIC OUTREACH PROGRAM AND
EXTENDING THE TERM OF THE PROPOSITION C OPEN
4 SPACE AND TRAILS AD HOC CITIZENS ADVISORY
COMMITTEE.
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6 WHEREAS, the City Council created the Proposition "C" Open Space and Trails
7 Ad Hoc Citizen's Advisory Committee on October 18, 2005 for a maximum term of one year
8 unless extended; and
9 WHEREAS, the purpose of the Committee is to establish priorities for open
10 space property acquisition and trail linkage projects and make recommendations to the City
11 Council on potential candidate acquisitions and projects for future expenditures; and
12 WHEREAS, the Committee is requesting additional time to solicit public
proposals for potential open space property acquisitions and trail linkage projects and complete
14 the ranking of all candidate properties.
15 NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, does
hereby resolve as follows:
17 1. The above recitations are true and correct.
18 2. That the ranking criteria and public outreach program detailed in the
"Report on the Proposition C Open Space and Trails Ad Hoc Citizen's Advisory Committee
Proposed Ranking Criteria and Public Outreach Program" are accepted.
20 3. That the expiration date of the Proposition C Open Space and Trails Ad
Hoc Citizens Advisory Committee shall be extended to January 31, 2007 and, on that date, the
Committee shall cease to exist unless on or before that expiration date the City Council acts by
22 further resolution to renew its term.
23 4. The membership, powers, duties, and responsibilities of the Committee
shall remain as originally stated in City Council Resolution No. 2005-312, dated October 18,
24 2005.
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PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council
of the City of Carlsbad on the 10th day of October, 2006, by the following vote:
AYES: Council Members Lewis, Hall, Packard, Sigafoose
NOES: None
ABSENT: Council Member Kulchin
CLAV
ATTEST:
>, Mayor
:O~RRA4NE M. WOOD, City Clerk
(SEAL)
EXHIBIT 2
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RESOLUTION NO. 2005-312
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA, CREATING THE PROPOSITION C
OPEN SPACE AND TRAILS AD HOC CITIZENS COMMITTEE
AND APPOINTING MEMBERS TO SAID COMMITTEE
WHEREAS, the registered voters of the City of Carlsbad, California did, on
November 5, 2002, approve Proposition C authorizing the spending of city funds from various
sources including the General Fund in an amount over $1 million to construct a swimming pool
complex, traits and open space, safety training facility, and Cannon Road east of College
Boulevard; and
WHEREAS, one of the projects listed in Proposition C consisted of trail linkages
and open space acquisition; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has expressed interest in the creation of an Citizens
Open Space Committee to make recommendations to the Council on potential linkage projects
and open space property acquisitions.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, does
hereby resolve as follows:
1. That the above recitations are true and correct.
2. That there is hereby created a Proposition C Open Space and Trail Ad
Hoc Advisory Committee whose charge shall be to establish priorities for open space property
acquisition and trail linkage projects and make recommendations to the Council on potential
candidate acquisitions and projects for future expenditures, as specified in Proposition C via the
following powers, duties, and responsibilities:
a. The Ad Hoc Advisory Committee shall be appointed by the Mayor
with the advice and recommendations of the City Council and the members .shall
be five residents of the City of Carlsbad, one member at large, and one member
from the City Planning Commission, as follows:
1. Dr. Joel Altshul
2. Saundra Cima
3. Leonard Martyns
4. Fred Sandquist
5. Dennis Villavicencio
6. Carl Miller (at large)
7. Marty Montgomery (Planning Commissioner)
b. The Ad Hoc Committee shall exist for a maximum of one year, or
until all fund allocation recommendations are made, whichever occurs first, from
1 the date of this resolution and, at the end of this time period, shall cease to exist
unless on or before that expiration date the City Council acts by further resolution
2 to renew its term in either the same or an amended state. The terms of the
Committee members shall be for one year. Committee members shall serve
3 without compensation;
c. Staff from the City of Carlsbad shall be ex-officio, non-voting,
4 members of the Committee and shall provide support and advice as is
appropriate. The Committee shall be given all reasonable tools, resources,
5 background information, and staff support necessary for it to accomplish its
objectives. A budget pot to exceed $5,000 is hereby appropriated from the
6 Genera! Fund to support the work of the Ad Hoc Committee;
d. The Ad Hoc Committee shall select a Chairperson and establish
7 its own meeting schedule (in keeping with section T), as necessary and
appropriate, to accomplish the" work assigned to it by the City Council;
8 e. The Ad Hoc Committee shall conduct its business in open and
public meetings which shall be subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act ("Act", Gov
9 Code Sections 54950, et seq.) and shall only meet in closed session upon advice
of the City Attorney in accordance with the Act;
10 f. The principal charge of the Ad Hoc Committee is to make
recommendations to the City Council for proposed expenditures of Proposition C
11 allocated funds;
g. No member of the Ad Hoc Committee shall participate in
12 discussions on or cast a vote on expenditure recommendations where he or she
is likely to have a conflict of interest. Members should consult with the City
1 3 Attorney if they have reason to believe a conflict will arise.
14 PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City Council of the
15 City of Carlsbad on the 18th day of Oct- 2005, by the following vote, to wit:
16 AYES: Council Members Lewis,Hall, Kulchin, Packard
and Sigafoose
17 NOES: None
18 ABSENT: None
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22 CLAUDE A. LEWS, Maydr
91J ATTEST:
24 1 F^ v'
'A^25 LORRAINE M. WOOD, City Clerk
26 (SEAL)
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EXHIBIT 3
Report on the Proposition C Open Space and
Trails Ad Hoc Citizen's Advisory Committee
Proposed Ranking Criteria and Public Outreach
Program
The Proposition C Open Space and Trails Ad Hoc Citizen's Committee (also
known as the Open Space Committee) was created to establish priorities for
open space property acquisition and trail linkage projects and make
recommendations to the City Council on potential candidate acquisitions and
projects for future expenditures from a portion of the Proposition C funding.
Background and Ranking Criteria
The Committee has reviewed the City's General Plan Open Space and
Conservation Element of the General Plan, Open Space and Conservation
Resource Management Plan (OSCRMP), Habitat Management Plan (HMP), and
Citywide Trails Program. The Committee members have also reviewed aerial
photography mapping and the locations of existing and potential future
developments and have conducted field trips of open space areas within the City.
Based upon this information and public input received at several Open Space
Committee meetings, the Committee derived a system and criteria for evaluating
and ranking the potential open space and trail properties. The goal of the
Committee was to design a system that was simple and transparent with criteria
relevant to the purpose. Therefore a list of priorities or criteria was developed by
the Committee and each member ranked these criteria in order of importance.
The individual rankings were coalesced into a master list. The criteria in the
master list were organized into three groups of differing importance and ranked
within those groups. Each criterion was then given a numerical value, as shown
below. The list provided below offers a brief description of the criteria; a more
detailed description, with examples, would be provided with the public outreach
materials.
Group A
• Contains narrow endemics, vernal pools, and other
species of special interest: 24
• Provides connectivity of biological/wildlife corridors: 23
• Serves both habitat and trail linkage purposes: 22
• Provides for trails or trail linkages: 21
• Contains native habitat: 20
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Proposed Ranking Criteria and Public Outreach Program
September 29, 2006
Page 2
Group B
• Meets multiple priorities contained in the OSCRMP: 14
• Located within the HMP Focus Planning Area: 13
• Located within or adjacent to existing HMP preserve system: 12
• Type of habitat is priority in HMP (e.g. wetlands, riparian): 11
Group C
Contains paleontological, archeological, cultural resources: 5
Provides connectivity of scenic or other open spaces: 4
Enhances water quality: 3
Property not in need of habitat rehabilitation/revegetation: 2
Possesses special or unique circumstances 1
The ranking process would involve assessing if the potential candidate properties
possess the criteria listed above and, if so, the property would be awarded the
corresponding point value. All awarded point values would be summed for each
property and then ranked, with the highest point total being the top priority
acquisition.
The Open Space Committee considered, but did not include, several other
criteria. For example, the criteria do not include whether the property owner is
willing to sell the property for open space or trail purposes. The Committee
decided that a property owner's willingness to sell can be based upon many
factors which may change over time or in different circumstances. Therefore, the
willingness of the seller would be considered when the actual acquisition of the
property is investigated.
Another criterion not included deals with the availability of additional funding
sources. While staff has identified many supplemental funding sources, these
monies require application and/or coordination with other organizations and the
availability of these funding sources is difficult to ascertain. Once the list of
potential property acquisitions is assembled by the Committee, staff will provide
an analysis on the potential alternative funding opportunities for each property;
this analysis will accompany the list of property acquisition recommendations to
the City Council.
Public Outreach Program
In order to gather a comprehensive list of potential open space and trail
acquisition properties, staff and the Committee are recommending a public
outreach program. While staff will provide a list of possible candidate properties,
it is important to allow the public to offer suggestions of potential acquisition
Proposed Ranking Criteria and Public Outreach Program
September 29, 2006
Page 3
properties. Staff has already received several inquiries from the public on how to
propose potential properties for consideration.
The proposed public outreach program would involve newspaper advertisements
and articles, a press release on the City website, an announcement with
application process information on the Planning Department webpage, postings
at the Planning Department front counter, and mailings to interested parties. As
stated above, staff has already begun receiving requests for application
information and these individuals, along with local and state conservancy groups
and organizations, would be included in the mailing list.
The basic information needed for a proposal would include property identification
(address or Assessor's Parcel Number), a list of which criteria apply to the
properly, and a discussion on how the property meets those criteria. Additional
information, such as aerial photographs or biological surveys, could also be
submitted if available.
The proposed duration of the public outreach program is 30 days. Provided that
the City Council accepts the proposed ranking criteria and public outreach
program, the process can start on October 18 and end on November 17, 2006.
The Open Space Committee would meet in early December 2006 to evaluate
and rank the candidate properties. Given this schedule, the Committee
recommendation could be presented to City Council in early January 2007.
1
Proposition C Open Space and Proposition C Open Space and
Trails Ad Hoc CitizenTrails Ad Hoc Citizen’’s s
CommitteeCommittee
Report and Extension Report and Extension
RequestRequest
BackgroundBackground
Proposition C Open Space Committee Proposition C Open Space Committee
was formed by City Council to:was formed by City Council to:
––Establish priorities for open space property Establish priorities for open space property
acquisition and trail linkage projects; andacquisition and trail linkage projects; and
––Make recommendations on potential Make recommendations on potential
candidate acquisitions. candidate acquisitions.
Council also requested review of all Council also requested review of all
relevant open space and trails materials.relevant open space and trails materials.
2
Review of MaterialsReview of Materials
The Committee has reviewed a number of The Committee has reviewed a number of
materials, including:materials, including:
––General Plan Open Space and Conservation General Plan Open Space and Conservation
ElementElement
––Open Space and Conservation Resource Open Space and Conservation Resource
Management PlanManagement Plan
––Habitat Management PlanHabitat Management Plan
––Citywide Trails ProgramCitywide Trails Program
––Aerial photographs and development maps of Aerial photographs and development maps of
CityCity
Ranking CriteriaRanking Criteria
Divided into three groups of differing Divided into three groups of differing
importance.importance.
Highest priority given to special interest Highest priority given to special interest
habitats, trail linkages, and connectivity of habitats, trail linkages, and connectivity of
biological/wildlife corridors.biological/wildlife corridors.
Lower priority criteria include cultural, Lower priority criteria include cultural,
historical, or historical, or paleontologicalpaleontological resources, resources,
water quality, and scenic open spaces.water quality, and scenic open spaces.
3
Public OutreachPublic Outreach
Important to allow public opportunity to Important to allow public opportunity to
suggest potential property acquisitions.suggest potential property acquisitions.
Public outreach to be advertised in Public outreach to be advertised in
newspaper, on website, and through newspaper, on website, and through
mailings.mailings.
30 day public comment period30 day public comment period
––October 18 through November 17, 2006October 18 through November 17, 2006
Property identification and justification Property identification and justification
required for submittal.required for submittal.
Extension RequestExtension Request
Open Space Committee currently set to Open Space Committee currently set to
expire on October 17, 2006.expire on October 17, 2006.
Additional time is needed to allow for Additional time is needed to allow for
public input, consider potential properties, public input, consider potential properties,
rank the properties, and present to City rank the properties, and present to City
Council.Council.
Committee is requesting an extension to Committee is requesting an extension to
January 31, 2007.January 31, 2007.
4
Proposition C Open Space and Proposition C Open Space and
Trails Ad Hoc CitizenTrails Ad Hoc Citizen’’s s
CommitteeCommittee
Report and Extension Report and Extension
RequestRequest