HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-02-27; City Council; ; Continuation of Proclamation of a Storm-Related Local Emergency for Removal of Sediment and Vegetation on the Buena Vista Creek Concrete Channel Near El Camino RealCA Review GH
Meeting Date: Feb. 27, 2024
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Scott Chadwick, City Manager
Staff Contact: Tom Frank, Transportation Director/City Engineer
tom.frank@carlsbadca.gov, 442-339-2766
Subject: Continuation of Proclamation of a Storm-Related Local Emergency for
Removal of Sediment and Vegetation on the Buena Vista Creek Concrete
Channel Near El Camino Real
District: 1
Recommended Action
Adopt a resolution continuing the proclamation of a storm-related local emergency for removal
of sediment and vegetation in the Buena Vista Creek Concrete Channel near El Camino Real.
Executive Summary
The atmospheric river in early February and the prior one in January 2024 increased sediment
and vegetation in the Buena Vista Creek, diminishing its capacity and risking significant damage
to nearby property and infrastructure. Emergency removal of sediment and vegetation was
necessary to ameliorate the risk. Exhibit 3 shows the area of the channel requiring emergency
sediment and vegetation removal.
The Acting City Manager, in his role as Acting Director of Emergency Services, proclaimed a
local emergency on Feb. 8, 2024, as shown in Exhibit 2, so that the work can continue to be
exempted from the city’s normal bidding procedures and the removal of sediment and
vegetation can be completed as swiftly as possible. The City Council ratified the emergency
proclamation on Feb. 13, 2024. Staff are now requesting the City Council continue the
emergency proclamation.
Construction projects that cost less than $200,000 may be awarded by the City Manager using
informal bidding procedures under Carlsbad Municipal Code, or CMC, Section 3.28.080
Construction Projects, subsections (B) and (H), which implement California Public Contract Code
Section 22032.
This emergency project will likely cost more than $200,000. California Public Contract Code
Sections 22035 and 22050 and Carlsbad Municipal Code Sections 3.28.110(A) and 3.28.120,
provide for an exemption from formal bidding procedures for emergency construction
procurements. The emergency proclamation allows the city to utilize these exemptions.
However, Public Contracting Code Section 22050 requires the City Council to review the
Feb. 27, 2024 Item #4 Page 1 of 9
emergency at each regularly scheduled meeting, to determine, by a four-fifths vote of the City
Council, the need to continue the emergency action.
Explanation & Analysis
Buena Vista Creek is situated at the northern border of the City of Carlsbad, adjacent to the City
of Oceanside. The creek is located within both the City of Carlsbad and the City of Oceanside
and outside the Coastal Zone until it reaches Jefferson Street and the Buena Vista Lagoon. The
creek comprises natural stream bed sections and some man-made concrete drainage channels
designed to convey runoff from a large eastern watershed to the Pacific Ocean.
One segment of Buena Vista Creek near El Camino Real outside the Coastal Zone was previously
constructed as a concrete trapezoidal channel, starting at South Vista Way and ending
approximately 230 feet east of El Camino Real, a total of approximately 900 feet. This man-
made concrete segment of the creek is entirely within the City of Carlsbad.
Over time, sediment and vegetation accumulate in the creek. The city has a Capital
Improvement Program project to remove the sediment and vegetation and make other repairs
to the channel. The project is currently in the environmental review stage. However, the recent
severe storm events have created debris flows that occur during short-duration, high-intensity
rainfalls.
More specifically, the atmospheric river in early February, brought an influx of heavy rain that
inundated the Buena Vista Creek with material, including vegetation, debris and sediment-
dominated slurry from the Buena Vista Creek Watershed, which is about 10 miles long. These
rapid debris flows have significantly diminished the capacity of the channel, which is very close
to the outfall of the watershed, resulting in a significant risk of the channel overflowing, with
the potential to cause significant damage to nearby property and infrastructure during severe
storms.
To mitigate the emergency conditions, the City Engineer recommended expedited, or
emergency, removal of some of the sediment and vegetation to increase the channel’s capacity
while the larger maintenance project proceeds through the environmental review and
permitting process.
The emergency proclamation enabled the city to procure a contractor to perform the necessary
emergency removal work and would be limited to the immediate action(s) to prevent or
mitigate loss of, or damage to, life, health, property, or essential public services. The near-term
scope of work – the immediate measure – is the minimum necessary to alleviate the
immediate emergency.
Staff have started the process to obtain an emergency permit from the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, for repair and protection activities, which is required before the work can
commence. Staff submitted a permit application to the Corps of Engineers on Feb. 15, 2024,
and sent a notification to the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board the same day
The Corps of Engineers’ District Engineer is now coordinating review of the project with
affected agencies, including the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Regional
Water Quality Control Board.
Feb. 27, 2024 Item #4 Page 2 of 9
Staff will meet with a contractor or contractors to obtain bids for the emergency construction,
which is estimated to cost approximately $350,000 to $550,000.
Fiscal Analysis
No additional appropriations are needed at this time. Funding for the entire project is currently
estimated to be approximately $771,000, which will be funded from the fiscal year 2023-24
capital budget through the Storm Drain System Rehabilitation and Repair Program.
City staff will request reimbursement if the emergency work qualifies under federal or state
emergency relief programs.
Recommendation
Staff recommend that the City Council confirm continuation of the emergency proclamation to
complete the emergency work at the Buena Vista Creek concrete channel near El Camino Real
as swiftly as possible to prevent damage to nearby infrastructure and property.
Next Steps
Upon continuation of the emergency proclamation, staff will continue to meet with contractors
to coordinate the emergency work. Staff will then authorize a contractor to proceed with
performing emergency work when the required permits from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
and other regulatory agencies have been obtained. Staff will then begin preparing the
emergency contracts, which will be presented for ratification to the City Council at a future
date.
Public Contract Code Section 22050(c)(1) requires the City Council to review the emergency
action at every subsequent City Council meeting to determine, by a four-fifths vote, whether
this is a need to continue the emergency action. Staff will return to the City Council again on
March 12, 2024, to review the emergency action.
Environmental Evaluation
The project has been determined to be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act,
or CEQA, under Public Resources Code Section 21080(b)(3) and CEQA Guidelines Section
15269(a), which apply to projects undertaken, carried out or approved by a public agency to
maintain, repair, restore, demolish or replace property or facilities damaged or destroyed as a
result of a disaster in a disaster-stricken area in which a state of emergency has been
proclaimed by the Governor.
Exhibits
1. City Council resolution
Buena Vista Creek Concrete Channel Emergency Work
Emergency work (sediment and vegetation removal, estimated) $550,000
Design and administrative costs (approximately 5%) $28,000
Construction management and inspection (estimated) $55,000
Construction contingency (25%) $138,000
Total estimated project costs $771,000
Feb. 27, 2024 Item #4 Page 3 of 9
2. Acting City Manager/Acting Director of Emergency Services’s Proclamation of a Storm-
related Local Emergency, dated Feb. 8, 2024
3. Location map
Feb. 27, 2024 Item #4 Page 4 of 9
RESOLUTION NO. 2024-036
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA,
CONTINUING THE PROCLAMATION OF A STORM-RELATED LOCAL EMERGENCY
FOR REMOVAL OF SEDIMENT AND VEGETATION IN THE BUENA VISTA CREEK
CONCRETE CHANNEL NEAR EL CAMINO REAL
WHEREAS, on Feb. 4, 2024, the Governor of the State of California found that conditions of
extreme peril exist in San Diego County and other counties due to the early February 2024 storms caused
by an atmospheric river and proclaimed a state of emergency to make additional resources available to
local governments, formalize emergency actions, and help the state prepare for the impact of the storms;
and
WHEREAS, the City Council empowers the City Manager, as Director of Emergency Services or, in
the City Manager's absence, the Assistant City Manager, as Acting City Manager and Acting Director of
Emergency Services, to proclaim the existence of a local emergency when the city is affected by a public
calamity and the City Council is not in session; and
WHEREAS, conditions or threatened conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and
property arose within the City of Carlsbad caused by a powerful, slow moving, atmospheric river in early
February that resulted in debris flows, or a "sediment-dominated slurry", which inundated the Buena Vista
Creek and significantly diminished capacity in the Buena Vista Creek concrete channel (begins
approximately 600 feet west/downstream of the El Camino Real bridge and extends upstream of the
bridge approximately 230 feet); and
WHEREAS, on Feb. 8, 2024, the Acting City Manager/Acting Director of Emergency Services
proclaimed a storm-related local emergency for removal of sediment and vegetation on the Buena Vista
Creek concrete channel near El Camino Real; and
WHEREAS, on Feb. 13, 2024, the City Council ratified the proclamation of a storm-related local
emergency for removal of sediment and vegetation on the Buena Vista Creek concrete channel near El
Camino Real; and
WHEREAS, Carlsbad Municipal Code, or CMC, Section 3.28.ll0(A) implements Public Contract
Code Section 22035 and provides for an exemption from formal bidding procedures for emergency
construction procurements; and
Exhibit 1
Feb. 27, 2024 Item #4 Page 5 of 9
WHEREAS, Public Contract Code Section 22050(c)(l) requires the City Council to review the
emergency action at every subsequent City Council meeting to determine, by a four-fifths vote, whether
this is a need to continue the emergency action; and
WHEREAS, staff request the City Council continue the proclamation of a local emergency; and
WHEREAS, under <California Public Resources Code Section 21080(b)(3) and Title 14, Section 15269
of the California Code of Regulations, the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Aet do not
apply to projects undertaken, carried out, or approved by a public agency to maintain, repair, restere,
demolish, or replace property or facilities damaged or destroyed as a result of a disaster in a disaster
stricken area in which the Governor of the State of California has proclaimed a state of emergency, and
on Feb. 4, 2024, the Governor found that conditions of extreme peril exist in San Diego County and
proclaimed a state of emergency.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, as
follows:
1.That the above recitations are true and correct.
2.That the storm-related Proclamation for a Local Emergency for removal of sediment and
vegetation in the Buena Vista Creek concrete channel near El Camino Real is contintied.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regular Meeting of the City Council of the City of Carlsbad
on the 27th day of February, 2024, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES:
NAVS:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
BLACKBURN, BHAT-PATEL, ACOSTA, BURKHOLDER, LUNA
NONE.
NONE.
NONE.
KEITH BLACKBURN, Mayor
SHERRY FREISINGER, City Clerk
(SEAL)
Feb. 27, 2024 Item #4 Page 6 of 9
FOR STORM-RELATED EMERGENCY PROTECTION ACTIVITIES TO REDUCE SEDIMENT AND
VEGETATION IN THE BUENA VISTA CREEK CHANNEL NEAR EL CAMINO REAL
WHEREAS, on February 4, 2024, the Governor of the State of California found that
conditions of extreme peril exist in San Diego County and other counties due to the early
February 2024 storms caused by a powerful, slow-moving atmospheric river and proclaimed a
state of emergency to make additional resources available to local governments, formalize
emergency actions and help the state prepare for the impact of the storms.
WHEREAS, California Government Code Section 8630 allows the City Council or an
official designated by ordinance adopted by the City Council, to proclaim a local emergency; and
WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad’s Emergency Services Ordinance, including Carlsbad
Municipal Code Section 6.04.100(A)(1), empowers the City Manager, as the City of Carlsbad’s
Director of Emergency Services, or, in the City Manager’s absence, the Assistant City Manager,
as Acting City Manager and Acting Director of Emergency Services, to proclaim the existence of a
local emergency, subject to ratification by the City Council, when there exists, or there is
threatened to exist, conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property within the
City of Carlsbad; and
WHEREAS, in the case of an emergency, California Public Contract Code Section 22050
allows the City Council, or a person delegated the authority by the City Council, to repair or
replace a public facility, take any directly related and immediate action required by that
emergency, and procure the necessary equipment, services and supplies for those purposes
without giving notice for bids to let contract; and
WHEREAS, under California Public Resources Code Section 21080(b)(3) and Title 14,
Section 15269 of the California Code of Regulations, the requirements of the California
Environmental Quality Act do not apply to projects undertaken, carried out, or approved by a
public agency to maintain, repair, restore, demolish or replace property or facilities damaged or
destroyed as a result of a disaster in a disaster-stricken area in which the government has
proclaimed a state of emergency; and
WHEREAS, the Acting Director of Emergency Services finds:
1.The National Weather Service has issued multiple winter storm warnings, high
wind warnings, wind advisories, and flood and flash flood watches throughout the State of
California in anticipation of a powerful, slow-moving, atmospheric river.
2.Existing conditions and threatened conditions of extreme peril to the safety of
persons and property have arisen within the City of Carlsbad caused this powerful, slow-moving
atmospheric river, and that the unexpected occurrence poses a clear and imminent danger,
requiring immediate action to prevent or mitigate the loss or impairment of life, health,
property and essential public services.
Exhibit 2
Feb. 27, 2024 Item #4 Page 7 of 9
~ Proclamation of
~ Local Emergency
City Hall
1200 Carlsbad Village Drive
Carlsbad, CA 92008
Feb. 27, 2024 Item #4 Page 8 of 9
Local Emergency -Reduction of Sediment and Vegetation in the Buena Vista Creek
Channel
Page 2
3. Prior to the early February 2024 storms, powerful winter storms that occurred
less than a month ago had amplified the impact of local flooding due to the record-breaking
amount of rainfall including a severe rainstorm which began on January 22, 2024 ("January
Storm"), in all dropping 2 to 3 inches of rain in a three-hour period, a total that exceeds that of
an ave rage wet month and rivals the rainfall needed to spur a 100-year flood event.
4. On January 22, 2024, the County of San Diego proclaimed an emergency due to
the January Storm, which the county characterized as a thousand-year storm, and which caused
drastic flooding and flash flooding in the county.
5. The existing conditions of the current atmospheric river causing local flooding,
in addition to the impacts of the January Storm, have created conditions of extreme peril in the
Buena Vista Creek Channel, in part, because the inundation of sedimentation and debris flows
from the multiple, powerful winter storms, which have diminished the channel's capacity.
6. That the City Council of the City of Carlsbad was not in session and could not be
immediately called into session.
NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS PROCLAIMED that, subject to review and ratification by the City
Council at its next regular meeting, a local emergency now exists in the City of Carlsbad,
California, in the area of the Buena Vista Creek Channel near El Camino Real.
IT IS FURTHER PROCLAIMED AND ORDERED that, under California Public Contract Code
Section 22050 and Carlsbad Municipal Code Sections 3.28.llO(A) and 3.28.120, city staff may
proceed at once to obtain the necessary permits, equipment, services, and supplies to reduce
the sediment and vegetation in the Buena Vista Creek Channel without giving notice for bids to
let contracts.
Dated: -------By: -~-~-\-~_lr--_·-_ -__
GEOFF PATNOE
Acting City Manager/ Acting Di rector of
Emergency Services
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Feb. 27, 2024 Item #4 Page 9 of 9