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Home My WebLink About2011-03-08; City Council; Minutes (2)MINUTES JOINT MEETING OF: THE CITY OF CARLSBAD CITY COUNCIL AND HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (Joint Special Meeting) DATE OF MEETING: March 8, 2011 TIME OF MEETING: 6:00 p.m. PLACE OF MEETING: City Council Chambers CALL TO ORDER: Mayor/Chair Hall called the Joint Special Meeting to order at 7:11 p.m. ROLL CALL: was taken by the Deputy Clerk/Secretary as follows: Present: Council/Commission Members Hall, Kulchin, Blackburn, Douglas, Packard. Absent: None. CONSENT CALENDAR: ACTION: On a motion by Mayor Pro Tern/Vice Chair Kulchin, the Council/Commission affirmed the action of the Consent Calendar, Item No. 13 follows: AYES: Hall, Kulchin, Blackburn, Douglas and Packard. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. WAIVER OF ORDINANCE TEXT READING: The Council/Commission waived the reading of the text of all Ordinances and Resolutions at this Meeting. 13. AB #20.480 -TRANSFER OF REAL PROPERTY AND OTHER REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ASSETS TO THE CITY. The City Council adopted RESOLUTION NO. 2011-042. and the Housing and Redevelopment Commission adopted RESOLUTION NO. 498. approving certain actions related to the transfer of real property and other assets of the Redevelopment Agency to the City to meet existing obligations set forth in the cooperation and other agreements between the Agency and the City. March 8, 2011 JOINT SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CARLSBAD CITY COUNCIL AND Page 2 HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENTCOMMISSION 14. AB #20.478 - AGUA HEDIONDA SEWER LIFT STATION. City Attorney Ron Ball referenced a letter the City Council/Commission received from Luce, Forward Attorneys at Law on March 7, 2011, regarding the mitigated negative declaration. He recommended that the Council/Commission continue the hearing on this matter for the limited purpose of addressing any unanswerable questions from the March 7th letter into the record in written form. Mr. Ball added that a question arose on whether the Planning Commission hearing was properly noticed to the property owner, NRG. He further explained that over 700 notices were mailed, and it was discovered that no address for NRG was shown on the latest equalized assessment rolls provided by the San Diego County Tax Assessor. Mr. Ball stated that NRG was added to the noticing list and will receive any future notices. Associate Planner Pam Drew, and Senior Civil Engineer Terry Smith presented the staff report and PowerPoint presentation (on file in the office of the City Clerk). In response to an inquiry from Council/Commission Member Douglas, Ms. Drew said the only way to access the existing sewer lift station is via the Encina Power Plant property. She added that a new pipe support bridge would provide an additional access to the sewer lift station through a gate at Chinquapin Avenue. Mayor/Chairman Hall opened the duly noticed Public Hearing at 7:24 p.m. Diane Nygard, representing Preserve Calavera, came forward to address the Council/Commission. Ms. Nygard suggested combining several small mitigation areas into a larger mitigation area. She added that instead of adding a second access to the facility, it would cost less to build just the pipe support system. Ron Rouse, from Luce, Forward Attorneys at Law representing, NRG Energy Inc. and Cabrillo Power, came forward to address the Council/Commission. Mr. Rouse explained that Cabrillo Power is the owner/operator of the property and NRG is the proponent of the Carlsbad Energy Center Project. Mr. Rouse addressed his March 7, 2011 letter adding that the property owner was not noticed, nor granted sufficient notification to comment on the project's mitigated negative declaration. Mr. Rouse added that the City and property owner have had a multi-year engagement regarding disparate views on the Carlsbad Energy Center property. Mr. Rouse stated the mitigated negative declaration is void of analyses regarding the impact of the City's project in connection with the Carlsbad Energy Center Project. He asked to make additional comments when the item is again before the Council/Commission, three days notice to analyze any additional supplemental materials for the proceeding, and an abeyance of a Council/Commission decision. In response to an inquiry from Council/Commission Member Packard, Mr. Ball confirmed that the City's Lift Station Project and Carlsbad Energy Center Project are in conflict with each other. He added that the City followed the law in noticing the mitigated negative declaration. March 8, 2011 JOINT SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CARLSBAD CITY COUNCIL AND Page 3 HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENTCOMMISSION In response to an inquiry from Mayor Pro Tern/Vice Chair Kulchin, Ms. Drew explained that the public hearing noticing labels produced with property tax information/mailing addresses from the County of San Diego only provided a parcel number for NRG not a mailing address. Ms. Drew said the correct mailing address for NRG was added to the noticing list. City Attorney Ball told the Council/Commission that two proceedings were occurring simultaneously. One proceeding concerned the California Energy Commission's determination of the Cartsbad Energy Center. This project is not under the City's jurisdiction. The second proceeding was the City Council/Housing and Redevelopment Commission's determination of the Agua Hedionda Sewer Lift Station and Forcemain Project. This project is under the jurisdiction of the City. Mr. Ball reviewed the noticing requirement followed by staff and added that even though NRG stated it was not noticed on the Planning Commission public hearing, the company had not shown any prejudice as to what could have happened had it been notified of the Planning Commission hearing. Mr. Ball advised that staff would review and inform the Council/Commission if the scope of the City's project and whether fits within the scope of the easement previously dedicated by NRG to the City and Water Agency. Senior Civil Engineer Terry Smith stated that since 2005, City staff had been in contact with representatives of NRG, the property owner. Mr. Smith reported that after several meetings with NRG, their advice regarding the lift station project siting, was to stay as far north as possible, away from their potential project expansion. Mr. Smith said the design that was 30% developed in 2008 has not substantially changed. He explained that from 2008 to present, staff has received very little comment or response from NRG regarding communications/questions on the City's project. Mr. Smith added that he received no response from NRG in 2010 when he asked for feedback on needing an additional 12.5 feet of easement. Discussion ensued regarding the size of the various sewer and recycled water lines and the use of new technology. Mayor/Chair Hall asked staff to address the loss of the eucalyptus trees. Ms. Drew responded that plant determination and placement was a decision of the Coastal Commission and the Fish and Wildlife Commission. In response to an inquiry from Mayor Pro Tern/Vice Chair Kulchin, Mr. Smith said that the Encina Wastewater Agency has been included since the beginning on this project. At the request of the City Attorney, City Planner Don Neu referenced the March 7, 2011 letter from Luce Forward and stated that additional time was needed to analyze and respond to the points raised in the letter. March 8, 2011 JOINT SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CARLSBAD CITY COUNCIL AND HOUSING AND REDEVELOPMENTCOMMISSION Page 4 Council/Commission Member Douglas requested that all correspondence between City staff and the property owner be included in any future agenda item package on this project. ACTION: AYES: NOES: ABSENT: On a motion by Mayor Pro Tern/Vice Chair Kulchin, the Council/Commission approved the continuance of this item to the April 26, 2011 Council Meeting; and, on the advice by City Attorney Ball, approved keeping the Public Hearing open. Hall, Kulchin, Blackburn, Douglas, Packard. None. None. ADJOURNMENT: By proper motion, the Joint Special Meeting of March 8, 2011, was adjourned at 8:15 p.m. IRY FREKSJNGER Senior Deputy Clerk/Secretary