HomeMy WebLinkAbout2009-12-22; City Council; Resolution 2009-3231 RESOLUTION NO. 2009-323
2 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CARLSBAD OPPOSING THE PROPOSED CARLSBAD
3 ENERGY CENTER PROJECT, AND APPROVING THE
4 CITY COUNCIL'S DETERMINATION THAT THE
PROPOSED CARLSBAD ENERGY CENTER PROJECT IS
5 INCONSISTENT WITH ALL APPLICABLE LOCAL AND
RELATED LAND USE LAWS, ORDINANCES,
6 REGULATIONS, AND STANDARDS AND POSES
SERIOUS IMPACTS TO THE HEALTH, SAFETY, AND
7 QUALITY OF LIFE TO THE COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
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9 WHEREAS, in September 2007 NRG Energy, Inc. submitted an Application for
10 Certification (AFC) for the Carlsbad Energy Center Project (CECP) to the California
11 Energy Commission (CEC); and
12 WHEREAS, the CEC has jurisdiction in approving new power plants over 49
13 megawatts; and
14 WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad recognizes the need to develop energy
resources that meet the growing demands of our region; and
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WHEREAS, as home to the existing Encina Power Station (EPS) since the 1950s
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and the numerous other regional facilities, Carlsbad understands a community's
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responsibility in hosting regional resources and the impacts associated with such; and
20 WHEREAS, due to recent advances in technology, a state-of-the-art power plant
21 is not a coastal dependent land use; and
22 WHEREAS, any proposed non-coastal dependent industrial land use (including
23 energy generation) should be located away from the Encina Power Station site to avoid
impacting significant coastal resources; and
25 WHEREAS, the proposed CECP would constitute a non-coastal dependent
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industrial land use at the EPS site for an estimated additional 40 years; and
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1 WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad has required for over twenty-five years that a
2 comprehensive land use plan be conducted for Specific Plan 144 (which includes the
Encina Power Station site) to clearly identify acceptable future land uses and guide site
4 redevelopment; and
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WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the AFC and found it to be
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inconsistent and detrimental to the best interests of the community; and
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WHEREAS, the proposed CECP contains severe and possibly unavoidable8
9 environmental impacts; and
10 WHEREAS, in November 2009 the CEC released the CECP Final Staff
11 Assessment (FSA); and
12 WHEREAS, the City reviewed the FSA and other relevant project-related
13 materials; and
14 WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad has determined that the CECP is inconsistent
with local land use laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards (LORS); and
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WHEREAS, the City of Carlsbad has determined the proposed CECP creates
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significant negative impacts to the community's health, safety, and welfare, due to, in
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part, land use, public safety, visual, and air quality concerns and other potentially
2Q significant environmental impacts; and
21 WHEREAS, The California Energy Commission should recognize City Council's
22 authority in determining compliance with, or consistency with, applicable local and
23 related land use laws, ordinances, regulations, and standards and its objections to the
CECP due to, in part, the negative land use, public safety, air quality, and visual impacts
it will create.
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1 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of
2 Carlsbad, California, as follows:
3 1. That the above recitations are true and correct.
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2. That the City Council has reviewed the record of information available to the
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California Energy Commission, and based on that review finds that the
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proposed CECP does not comply with applicable land use and related
regulations of the City of Carlsbad. The City Council also finds that the
9 proposed CECP will create significant negative air quality, land use, public
10 safety and visual impacts, and will have other potentially significant
environmental impacts.
12 3. That, if constructed, the CECP will negatively affect the community's quality of
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life.
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4. That the City Council is of the opinion that the California Energy Commission
. , should recognize and accept the City's expertise in its determination that the16
17 CECP does not comply with applicable local and related land use regulations
18 and should give serious consideration to the Council's position in its
19 deliberations on said CECP.
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PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Joint Special Meeting of the
Carlsbad City Council and Carlsbad Housing and Redevelopment Commission held on
the 22- day of December. 2009, by the following vote to wit:
AYES: Commission Members Lewis, Kulchin, Hall, and Blackburn.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: Commission Member Packard.
CLAUDE A LEWIS, Chairman
ATTEST:
L1§A HILDABRAND, Secretary
(SEAL)
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