HomeMy WebLinkAboutLCPA 98-04; Thompson/Tabata; Local Coastal Program Amendment (LCPA) (8)Jack Henthom & Associates
5365 Avenida Encim, Suite A
Curlsbad, CA 92008
(760) 438-4090
FLU (760) 438-0981
Memorandum
To: MIKEGRIM
FROM: JAYNE HAUSSLER
SUBJECT: THOMPSON/TABATA
DATE: MAY 13,2002
The attached packet contains previously submitted data and correspondence addressed to the
Coastal Commission regarding the status of the agriculturally-created wetland on the subject
property.
Please note that the letter dated December 15, 2000 is the revised letter created for our files
subsequent to the original submittal to the Coastal Commission in December of 2000. The
original letter, dated December 14, 2000, was incorrectly addressed and referred to Vista Pacifica
by its original processing name, “Sea Pines.” Although the original research was conducted using
the “Sea Pines” files, it is less confusing for the Coastal Commission and other officials if in the
letter, the surrounding developments were identified as they are currently known. The remainder
of the content of the letter is unchanged from that originally submitted.
Submitted to you under separate cover is a new letter from Dudek &a Associates, drafted in
response to the questions raised by Coastal Commission staff regarding the status of the
agriculturally-created riparian area in terms of Army Corps (USACE) jurisdiction. As the letter
describes, the USACE has jurisdiction over wetland habitats only if it can be shown that the
habitat is connected to other water bodies. The biological surveys conducted for the
Thompsonnabata project determined that the riparian habitat was isolated from all other water
bodies; consequently, the habitat is not within the jurisdiction of the USACE.
The habitat is, however, within the jurisdiction of the California Department of Fish and Game
and the Regional Water Quality Control Board. Both agencies have been contacted regarding
the status of the habitat area and approved the management plan whch will result in no net loss
of habitat within the project site.
If after reviewing the attached packet, you find that you have any questions or need additional
information, please feel free to call our office.
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II .ck Henthorn & Associi?s
5365 Auenida Encinas, Suite A
Cnrlsbad, California 92008
Fax (760) 438-0981
(760) 438-4090
December 15,2000
Sherilyn Sarb, District Manager
California Coastal commission
San Diego Area Office
7575 Metropolitan Avenue, Suite 103
San Diego, CA 92 108-4402
Subject: Standard Pacific Homes/ Poinsettia Properties
Dear Ms. Sarb:
The above referenced owner, Standard Pacific Homes, is pursuing development entitlements
from the City of Carlsbad for a 246 unit residential development located on 82.2 acres known
specifically as “Thompson/Tabata” (formerly “Poinsettia Properties”). These entitlements include
a City-issued Coastal Development Permit and a Commission-issued Local Coastal Program
Amendment necessary to effectuate a change of zone from Limited Control (L-C) to residential.
The amendment does not propose to amend the Land Use Plan.
In preparation for the environmental review portion of the application, Dudek & Associates, Inc.
prepared a biological survey report in October, 2000, following a series of reconnaissance visits to
the subject property. The report brought to our attention the existence of what was described as
an “isolated patch of riparian habitat” dominated by southern willow scrub species and non-
native grasses, totaling 0.10 acre in area and located within what the report describes as a
“manmade water retention or desiltation basin.”
Representative of the Department of Fish and Game and the Regional Water Quality Control
Board have reviewed our site plan and mitigation measures and found them to be acceptable in
light of the marginal state of the riparian area in question.
Research conducted by our staff has concluded that the isolated area of riparian habitat arose in
conjunction with the recently abandoned high-intensity agricultural operation located
immediately to the east.
Until recently, the subject property was known as the Thompson Rose Company, a high-intensity
agricultural operation consisting of 14 acres of greenhouses and 10 acres of field-cropped
horticultural products, including container plants (attachment Nos. 1 and 2). According to the
files of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS) , the operator of the Thompson Rose Company annually purchased large quantities of
water to sustain his operation in the absence of a reliable source of on-site groundwater. The
tailwater from the irrigation system drained westerly and south-westerly across the property and
onto the adjacent undeveloped parcels (now known as Spinnaker Hill and Vista Pacifica),
following the natural topography as described in the Hydrology Report prepared by Buccola
Engineering for the Thompson property (Attachment No. 3) and the Geotechnical Investigations
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conducted by Geocon in 1998 for the Thompson site and in 1982 for the Vista Pacifica (then
“Sea Pines”) development. A hydrology report prepared for the Vista Pacifica development
assigned the Thompson runoff a soil coefficient (C) of 0.95 due to the nearly impervious
conditions created by the agricultural operation.
In the years between 1979 and 1983, the operator of Thompson Rose Company installed a small
storage basin in the south-westem comer of the site to prevent drainage onto the new residential
development immediately south of the operation (Spinnaker Hill). The irrigation tailwater from
the southern half of the greenhouse operation naturally drained to this basin; the northern
portion of the operation, which included the container plants and cut flowers, naturally drained
toward the Vista Pacifica parcel, immediately to the west and into the area of the isolated patch
of riparian habitat.
When the western parcel began processing for development in 1983, the operator of Thompson
Rose Company and the developer of the Vista Pacifica project entered into an agreement
whereby the north-westem drainage outlet of the Thompson operation would be incorporated
into the grading and drainage plans of the new development (Attachment No. 4). A drainage
pipe was installed at the base of the newly graded area and conveyed runoff from the agricultural
operation into the Vista Pacifica drainage system. The head wall of the inlet functions to create a
small retention area within the basin. This drainage basin is the site of the isolated riparian area.
Changes in State tailwater regulations in the mid-1980’s prompted the operator of Thompson
Rose Company to file an application for the development and installation of a tailwater recovery
system to collect and redistribute the irrigation runoff. According to NRCS documentation, the
operator requested the system to be engineered to a holding capacity of 100,000 gallons of runoff.
To improve the efficiency of the system, the NRCS project engineer recommended installing a
reservoir near the location of the north-westem drainage basin to contain and re-use some of the
runoff which at the time was collecting and draining off-site onto the Vista Pacifica development,
as per the agreement made in 1983. Constructing a second basin or storage tank in the south-
western corner was determined to be unfeasible due to the leach field associated with the
drainage to and overflow from the existing basin. The estimated cost for the system was
approximately $38,000 in 1989.
Complications involving the complexity of the design and high cost of the installation of the
system eventually resulted in the abandonment of the project in July, 1989. The operator
(Thompson) consequently constructed his own simplified version of the system, improving only
the southern containment facilities that serviced the largest of the greenhouses. The northern
drainage basin, which collected the irrigation runoff primarily from the field operation, was not
incorporated into the recovery system. This northem basin, originally designed in conjunction
with the Vista Pacifica development, continued to accept the unmitigated agricultural runoff and
consequently evolved into the 0.1 acre riparian habitat identified in the Dudek report.
The California Code of Regulations, Title 14 9 13577 (b) 2 et seq. provides exceptions to the
definition for wetlands for those habitats created by the presence of and in conjunction with an
agricultural operation, provided that there is no evidence that the habitat pre-dated the
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agricultural operation. It is our conclusion that the evidence presented herein satisfies the
criteria for this exception as it pertains to the feature in question on the Thompson property.
Our findings have determined that it was the intense use of imported irrigation water and its
rapid, unmitigated discharge from the agricultural operation along the natural topography that
resulted in the development and maintenance of the 0.1 acre riparian feature. The geologic
evidence, isolated nature of the habitat, and grading of the area in the mid-1980s leads to the
reasonable assumption that a wetland habitat was not a naturally occurring environment in the
vicinity prior to the establishment of the agricultural operation. Additionally, we have included
Xerox copies of aerial photographs of the site as it existed in 1953 and 1970, which we believe
further demonstrate that the riparian habitat did not pre-date the agricultural operation
(Attachment Nos. 5 and 6). As the copying process did significantly diminish the quality of the
photographs, we will gladly share the original 1970 photograph with you at your request. The
original 1953 photograph may be obtained'from the NRCS service center in Escondido, which
provided us with our first-generation copy.
Applications associated with this project, including a Coastal Development Permit and Local
Coastal Program Amendment, will be processed through the City over the next few months. The
City will be asked to make findings based upon the information contained in this letter.
In an effort to coordinate City and Coastal Activities, I will be contacting you to arrange a
meeting to discuss this letter and seek your concurrence relative to the 13577 (b) 2 exception.
Sincerely, k4k -
Henthorn
Attachments:
1: Site location and ownership
2: 1984 aerial photograph copy of agricultural operation
3: Batiquitos Lagoon watershed drainage
4: Permission to Grade Agreement and associated map segment
5: 1953 aerial photograph copy of general vicinity
6: 1970 aerial photograph copy of site
cc: Gary Wayne, Assistant Planning Director, City of Carlsbad
Don Rideout, Principal Planner, City of Carlsbad
Mike Grim, Associate Planner, City of Carlsbad
Bill Ponder, Coastal Program Analyst, San Diego Coastal Commission Office
Kathy Baker, Standard Pacific Homes
Brian Utsler, Standard Pacific Homes
Anita Hayworth, Dudek & Associates
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Legend
1. Ehc Reynolds
2. Kelly
3. Cailsbad Heights
4. Ci?! of Carlsbad
5. City of Carlsbad
6. Sunbelt
7. Roesch
8. Oceanbluff
9. OeJong20
10, Abada a
11. Eramalea
12. SchindlFr
13. Fernendei
14. Poinsettia Hills
15. Aitchison
16. Mc Kinney
17. Carlsbad MW3
18. Kaiser
19. Nelson
20. Hidalgo
21. Bolton
22. Cardosa
23. Lcljan
24. Krarner
25. Engler
26. Tnomoson r- @ Tabata
28. Sarkaria
29. Rudvalis
30. Carnation Properties
31. Moore
32. Tabata
33. Hadley
37. tvlur3y2
38. Taorta
39. Yamarnoto
40. Guerg2r
41. SuSino
Note:
Locations are approximate
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WORK ON ADJACENT PROPERTY
Permission to Grade
City Engineer city of Carlsbad
1200 Elm Street
Carlsbad, California 92008
DATE: May 13, 1983 TRACT: Carlsbad Tract 83-2
Attention: Subdivision Engineer
OWNERS, Trustee, Thompson Trust OWNERS ADDRESS: P.O.Box 1487, Carlsbad, Calif. 92008
David B. Thompson, Karen R. ThorfIpsOn, and Dorothy M. Thompson,
LEGAL DESCRIPTION OF WORK TO BE DONE:
A portion of the southeast Quarter of the Northeast Quarter of Section
2g1 Tomship 12 South, Range 4 West, San Bernardino Meridian, County of Sari Diego, State of California: Assessors Parcel S'S 214-170-(09,36,@47),
The undersigned, being owners of the above specified, hereby agree with Standard Pacific of San Diego, thr Devsloper of C.T. 83-2 "Sea Pines", as follows:
1, The undersigned, in consideration of the benefits to accrue to their
above described property, do hereby grant the Developer,and its agents
and represenatives, permission to enter upon the property of the under- signed for the purposes Of constructing a permanent fill together with protective drainage structures and landscaping as shown on the attached drawing, in accordance with the standards Of the City of Carlsbad. The undersigned acknowledge and agree tnat thay, as owners, have full auth-
ority and power to grant such permission.
2. of the city of Carlsbad, and the permission to enter upon the undersigned's property shall remain in effect until such time as the subdivision work
of Developer has been accepted and approved by the City of Carlsbad.
Developer shall perform such work in accordance with the requirements
4, Developer agrees to replace Or restore roadways, fences, 2nd other
improvements that have been removed or altered during regular course of grading and work done on property owned by undersigned. It is agreed
that the restoration of improvements and compaction of soils brought in
must meet the undersigneds approval for acceptability.
AGREED :
Developer - Standard Pacific of San Diego
By : Douglas G'J Ledsam, Project Manager
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