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Home My WebLink AboutEA 15-08; Maerkle Reservoir Solar Project; Administrative Permits (ADMIN)Memorandum September 21, 2015 To: From: Via Re: Jesse Zunke, Public Works Supervisor Pam Drew, Associate Planner~ :o,.atD Don Neu, City Planner Q;r( . EA 15-08-MAERKLE RESERVOIR SOLAR PROJECT {'city of Carlsbad Thank you for submitting an Early Assessment to install ground mounted, fixed axis photovoltaic solar panels, placed on top of a pervious material such as gravel rock, and construct an associated transformer building on approximately 12 to 15 acres at Maerkle Reservoir. In response to your application, the Planning Division has prepared this comment letter. Please note that the purpose of an Early Assessment is to provide you with direction and comments on the overall concept of your project. This Early Assessment does not represent an in-depth analysis of your project. It is intended to give you feedback on critical issues based upon the information provided in your submittal. This review is based upon the plans, policies, and standards in effect as of the date of this review. Please be aware that at the time of a formal application submittal. new plans, policies, and standards may be in effect and additional issues of concern may be raised through a more specific and detailed review. Planning: General 1. General Plan and zoning designations for the property are as follows: a. General Plan: Open Space (OS) b. Zoning: Open Space (OS) 2. The project requires the following permit: a. Conditional Use Permit (CUP) Environmenta I 3. The proposed improvements are not located in the City's Habitat Management Plan {HMP) Preserve; however, they are located adjacent to a proposed Standards Area (on private property) and the City's existing Hard line Conservation Area {bordering Dawson Los Monos Reserve), as depicted in the City of Carlsbad's Habitat Management Plan {HMP), dated November, 2004. The adjacency st.andards listed in HMP Section F {3) address development Community & Economic Development Planning Division 1635 Faraday Avenue I Carlsbad, CA 92008 I 760-602-4600 I 760-602-8560 fax EA 15-08-MAERKLE RESERVOIR SOLAR PROJECT September 21, 2015 Page 2 on sites that are adjacent to wildlife preserves. The adjacency standards are intended to prevent negative effects on wildlife preserves and must be addressed in the planning of any development/habitat interface. The adjacency standards include the following categories: Fire Management (A), Erosion Control (B), Landscaping Restrictions (C), Fencing, Signs and Lighting (D), and Predator and Exotic Species Control (E). Please address how the proposed project will be consistent with the HMP adjacency standard sectioEJ during submittal of the CUP application. For example, a Landscape Management Plan should be prepared to insure that no invasive, exotic, or nonnative species will encroach into the Dawson Los Monos Reserve or other open space areas. See pages F-16 through F-22 ofthe City's HMP for more information on adjacency standards. 4. Environmental review for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) will need to be performed upon completing the preliminary design phase of the project. Potential significant impacts to the environment may include aesthetics and noise as discussed below. Additional environmental review may be required if electrical transmission lines or other appurtenances are proposed with the project. Additionally, there are pockets of sensitive habitat (e.g., coastal sage scrub) on the two sites. Please submit a biological resource survey and a visual assessment with the submittal of a CUP application. Any habitat impacts must be addressed pursuant to the HMP through avoidance, minimization, and/or mitigation. Depending on the type and amount of vegetation affected, project- related impacts may be eligible to utilize credits at the Lake Calavera Mitigation Parcel. 5. The proposed solar panels may have a substantial adverse effect on a scenic vista as viewed from the adjacent residential neighborhoods. To minimize potential aesthetic views of the project, landscaping is recommended between the residences and the solar panels. Please submit a landscape plan showing the location and mature height ofthe vegetation that will screen the solar panels from the residences with the submittal of a CUP application Land Development Engineering: 6. The project will be subject to the 2013 MS4 permit issued by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the San Diego Region. To comply with the new MS4 permit, the project will need to comply with the City of Carlsbad BMP Design Manual currently being drafted. Implementation of this Manual, which will be modeled from the Model BMP Design Manual San Diego Region prepared in June 2015, will begin this December 2015. Permanent post-construction BMP's will be required since, as indicated in a letter dated May 29, 2015 from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board for the San Diego Region, runoff from the panels can lead to channelized flow and erosion ofthe underlying soil during a rain event. 7. At this time, Land Development Engineering intends to add language in the City of Carlsbad BMP Design Manual that allows for solar farms with over 5,000 square feet of impervious panel area to be defined as a standard storm water BMP rather than as a Priority Development Project (PDP) provided that gaps are provided between the panels directing EA 15-08-MAERKLE RESERVOIR SOLAR PROJECT September 21, 2015 Page 3 drainage flow to the pervious area beneath and thaf adequate BMP's are added to prevent channelization and erosion. BMP's may include using a modified self-retaining method of treatment extracted from Section 5.2.3 ofthe Model BMP Design Manual San Diego Region by adding rows of depressions or basins aligned with the rows of panels. Calculations will need to be submitted to show that the basins would capture the volume of runoff from the panels for a 24 hour, 85th percentile storm event (design capture volume or DCV). Beware that until the BMP Design Manual is finalized, this direction may change. If the project were to be instead defined as a PDP, a Storm Water Quality Management Plan (SWQMP) must be prepared and submitted for review and approval. A PDP project would not only be subject to retaining the pollutants from a 24 hour 85th percentile storm event but also reducing post development flows to within 10% of the predevelopment runoff amounts (hydromodification), all of which would be analyzed in the SWQMP. 8. As requested, I have attached a list of engineers that have worked on past storm water quality projects in the city for your reference. 9. Provide a preliminary grading plan prepared by a registered civil engineer with your -application submittal for any discretionary permits. Show existing and proposed topographic contours. Show any proposed grading and list grading quantities. identify downstream drainage infrastructure. Show proposed storm water quality BMP's on the grading plan. 10. Submit a preliminary title report with your application submittal for any discretionary permits and plot any easements identified in the report. All necessary application forms and submittal requirements are available at the Planning counter located in the Faraday Building at 1635 Faraday Avenue or online at http:Uwww.carlsbadca.gov. You may also access the General Plan Land Use Element and the Zoning Ordinance online at the website address shown; select Department Listing; select Planning Home Page. Please review all information carefully before submitting. If you would like to schedule a meeting to discuss this letter with your staff planner, please contact Pam Drew, Associate Planner at ext. 4644, or your staff engineer, David Rick, Associate Engineer at ext. 2781. DD:PD:fn Attachments c: Don Neu, City Planner Patrick Vaughan, Engineering Manager Scott Donnell, Senior Planner David Rick, Associate Engineer File Copy Data Entry DMS