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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2000-01-05; Planning Commission; ; CDP 99-30 - POINSETTIA LANE BRIDGE WIDENING1 be City of Carlsbad Planning Department A REPORT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION Item No. P.C. AGENDA OF: January 5, 2000 Application complete date: August 1, 1999 Project Planner: Don Rideout Project Engineer: Bob Wojcik SUBJECT: CDP 99-30 - POINSETTIA LANE BRIDGE WIDENING - Request for approval of a Mitigated Negative Declaration, Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, and Coastal Development Permit to allow the widening of the Poinsettia Lane bridge crossing the San Diego Northern Railroad tracks to full Major Arterial Standards between Carlsbad Boulevard and Avenida Encinas. I. RECOMMENDATION That the Planning Commission ADOPT Planning Commission Resolution No. 4715 APPROVING the Mitigated Negative Declaration issued by the Planning Director, and ADOPT Planning Commission Resolution No. 4716 APPROVING Coastal Development Permit CDP 99-30, based on the findings and subject to the conditions contained therein. II. INTRODUCTION The City of Carlsbad Public Works Department has applied for approvals to widen the existing bridge on Poinsettia Lane between Carlsbad Boulevard and Avenida Encinas, as shown in Attachment 3. The bridge spans the San Diego Northern railroad tracks. The existing bridge was constructed in 1984. Approvals needed for the project include a Coastal Development Permit and certification of a Mitigated Negative Declaration. The project site is within the Mello II Segment of the City's Local Coastal Program. To the east of the site are existing Travel/Recreation Commercial uses along Avenida Encinas. West of the site is Carlsbad Boulevard and South Carlsbad State Beach Campground. To the north is the Poinsettia Properties Specific Plan which is approved and graded. South of the site are Lakeshore Gardens Mobile Home Park, Poinsettia Plaza Shopping Center, and a smaller portion of the Poinsettia Properties Specific Plan. III. PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND BACKGROUND Poinsettia Lane is designated as a Major Arterial in the Circulation Element of the General Plan. The road is currently improved to four lanes at the approaches to the bridge, narrowing to two lanes across the bridge itself. The current roadway section varies from 36 feet to 94 feet. On eastbound Poinsettia lane at Avenida Encinas there is a dedicated left turn lane, two through- lanes, and a shared right turn lane. On Poinsettia Lane at Carlsbad Boulevard, there is a dedicated right turn lane and a dedicated left turn lane. Although the existing bridge was constructed with only two lanes, the embankments were constructed to accommodate the ultimate right-of-way necessary for a four lane roadway. The existing bridge was constructed on the southerly half of the embankments, leaving the northern half vacant and available for future o CDP 99-30 - POINSETTIATANE BRIDGE WIDENING January 5, 2000 Page 2 expansion. A total right-of-way of 130 feet is provided on the top of the embankments. The existing bridge is a three-span structure, approximately 142 feet in length and 45 feet wide. It provides 23 feet of vertical clearance above the railroad tracks. The proposed project would widen the bridge to 76 feet, including four 12-foot traffic lanes, two bicycle lanes varying in width from 5 to 8 feet, two five-foot sidewalks, and a raised center median. All widening will occur on the northern half of the right-of-way. The existing bridge will become the eastbound lanes and the new bridge will carry the westbound lanes. The approaches to the bridge would be widened and restriped accordingly. Landscaping will be provided in the median-and on the embankments. The sidewalks will be separated from the traffic lanes by concrete safety barriers from 2 to 3 feet in height. A 12 inch water line and 8 inch recycled water line will be undergrounded beneath the new roadway. Drainage improvements will be installed. The project will involve minimal earth moving. Pile driving will be necessary to install the structural supports for the new bridge. The project is subject to the following regulations and requirements: A. Carlsbad General Plan - Circulation Element, including Scenic Corridor Guidelines B. Mello II Segment of the Local Coastal Program and the Coastal Resource Protection Overlay Zone - Carlsbad Municipal Code Section 21.203 C. California Environmental Quality Act and Title 19 of the Carlsbad Municipal Code. IV. ANALYSIS The recommendation for approval of this project was developed by analyzing the project's consistency with the applicable policies and regulations listed above. This section will describe the project's compliance with each regulation. A. General Plan The proposed project is consistent with the applicable goals, objectives and policies of the Circulation Element of the General Plan. The Circulation Element calls for Poinsettia Lane to be improved to Major Arterial standards, and the proposed project will accomplish that. The proposed project will bring this reach of Poinsettia Lane to ultimate width and improvements. Poinsettia Lane is designated as a Community Scenic Corridor addressed in the Scenic Corridor Guidelines. The Guidelines state that the goal for Community Scenic Corridors is to: • Create identifiable and visually pleasing intersections at points where scenic corridors cross. • Create a unique identity for individual corridors by selecting a predominant theme tree to be used throughout the length of each corridor. • Encourage consistency with any "theme" areas which may be designated in the Architectural Standards through appropriate landscaping and street furniture. • Preserve distant views of the ocean, lagoons, and back country • Encourage special landscaped setbacks. CDP 99-30 - POINSETTlSANE BRIDGE WIDENING January 5, 2000 Page 3 For Poinsettia Lane the Guidelines specify Southern Magnolia as the theme tree, with Flame Tree as a supporting tree. However, in this reach of Poinsettia Lane, from 1-5 to Carlsbad Boulevard, the median size is limited and will not support such large trees. In addition, there are other strong landscape elements present in the vicinity, such as the palm trees at Lakeshore Gardens, Poinsettia Plaza, and the Campgrounds. Finally, there are some views of the ocean from this reach of Poinsettia Lane that could be obscured by large trees with dense foliage. For these reasons, it is recommended that the landscaping for the bridge emphasize small palm trees, shrubs and groundcovers. This landscape treatment will provide visual continuity with adjacent landscaping and will preserve existing views from the road. There is currently minimal landscaping of the existing bridge, and the added landscaping that will occur with the project will create a significant visual improvement for this reach of Poinsettia Lane. Regarding other aspects of the Scenic Corridor Guidelines, the bridge is a point at which two scenic corridors cross (Poinsettia Lane and the San Diego Northern railroad tracks). A third scenic corridor, Carlsbad Boulevard, is immediately adjacent. Views from the train and Carlsbad Boulevard will not be negatively affected and will, in fact, be enhanced by the addition of landscaping. There is no architectural theme for this area that is applicable to the bridge structure. The appearance of the new bridge will duplicate the existing bridge, so that no overall change in appearance will result. In addition to the landscaping provided on the bridge itself, special landscaped setbacks will be provided along Poinsettia Lane (20 feet) and Carlsbad Boulevard (40 feet) by the Poinsettia Properties Specific Plan. B. Mello II Segment of the Local Coastal Program and the Coastal Resource Protection Overlay Zone Policy 5-5 of the Mello II Segment specifically address Poinsettia Lane within the Coastal Zone. It states "Poinsettia Lane should be completed as a major arterial as indicated on the Local Coastal Program map by 1995. It should also provide direct coastal access to Carlsbad Boulevard. No assessment of agricultural lands shall be made to support this road extension." Therefore, implementation of the project will satisfy this policy of the Mello II Segment. No active agricultural land remains in the vicinity of the bridge. A small amount of coastal sage scrub has grown on the bridge embankments since their construction in 1984. Impacts to this vegetation have been analyzed with respect to the policies in the Coastal Resource Protection Overlay Zone. None of the vegetation to be impacted is on slopes greater than 25%, and therefore the standard for "dual criteria" slopes does not apply. There are no gnatcatchers or other listed or sensitive species in the impact area. The vegetation is of poor quality and not meriting onsite preservation. The wildlife agencies have visited the site and concur that the impact qualifies as a "de minimus" impact. The impacts to 0.34 acres of coastal sage scrub will be mitigated at a 1:1 ratio at the City's proposed mitigation bank at Lake Calavera. Documented vernal pools exist nearby on the railroad right-of-way. The location of the vernal pools has been carefully mapped. They will be fenced during construction to prevent any construction-related impacts. Erosion control measures will be implemented during construction to prevent any runoff from the construction area entering the pools. After construction, the hydrologic regime of the pools will not be altered because the existing bridge embankments will remain virtually unchanged. Runoff from the new roadway will be directed into new drainage iff,/CDP 99-30 - POINSETTIA"LANE BRIDGE WIDENING January 5, 2000 Page 4 structures, so there will be no pollutant impact to the pools. In conclusion, all aspects of the Coastal Resource Protection Overlay Zone are being complied with. V. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW The initial study (ElA Part II) submitted for the project indicated that potentially significant impacts could occur with respect to biological resources and noise. The California Environmental Quality Act indicates that a Mitigated Negative Declaration be prepared in such a case if revisions in the project plans or proposals made by, or agreed to by, the applicant before the proposed negative declaration is released for public review would avoid the effects or mitigate the effects to a point where clearly no significant effect on the environment would occur. The applicant in this case has revised the plans to reduce impacts to biological resources and to reduce construction noise impacts. The revisions were incorporated into the project prior to the documents being circulated to the public for review. The revisions and proposed mitigation measure reduce the potential impacts to a less than significant level. In consideration of the foregoing, a Mitigated Negative Declaration was issued by the Planning Director on November 23, 1999. A notice was placed in the newspaper and mailed to the County Clerk, responsible and trustee agencies, and interested individuals. No comments were received during the 30 day comment period. ATTACHMENTS: 1. Planning Commission Resolution No. 4715 (Mitigated Neg. Dec.) 2. Planning Commission Resolution No. 4716 (CDP) 3. Location Map 4. Mitigated Negative Declaration and PII (previously distributed) 5. Reduced Exhibit 6. Exhibit "A" DR:mh SITE POINSETTIA LANE BRIDGE WIDENING CDP 99-30 y^'^ryi^ ":":' ''' '' ''' Base Map Source: Dokken Engineering. 8/3/99(DEC832)Figure 2 LSAr^Proposed Project