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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRCC MIN 1998/08/17 - - MINUTES OF A SCHEDULED REGULAR MEETING Resource Conservation Commission Chula Vista, California 6:30 P.M. Conference Room # 1 Monday, August 17, 1998 Public Services Building CALL MEETING TO ORDER/ROLL CALL: Meeting was called to order at 6:38 P.M. by Chair Yamada. City Staff Environmental Review Coordinator Doug Reid called roll. Present were: Commissioners Bull, Fisher, Marquez, and Yamada, and staff member Rick Rosier. Commissioner Burrascano was absent; no vote taken to excuse her from meeting at this time. Commissioner Thomas arrived late at 6:45 P.M. Also present were representatives for the Vanguard Self Storage, Otay Ranch and Eastlake Trails. APPROV AL OF MINUTES: Minutes from the meeting of July 13, 1998 were not approved due to lack of quorum from that meeting. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS: None. NEW BUSINESS: The agenda items were taken out of order so that a quorum with Commissioner Bull would be present for items #3 and 4. Item #4 - Review of Negative Declaration IS-99-01, Vanguard Self Storage: Doug Reid presented an overview of the negative declaration. There was a question on page 2 regarding the wording with the facility averaging "one customer per month." It was clarified by the project representative that there would be an average of one customer visit to their own unit per month and that was only part of the project traffic generation. Commissioner Fisher was concerned about lighting facing away from the Sweetwater River so as not to disturb animals moving through the corridors. It was explained that the freeway is raised and serves as a buffer between the project site and the River. Further, performance standards with regard to glare from the lights must be complied with. [Commissioner Thomas arrived at 6:45 P.M.] After a brief discussion, it was MSUC (Bull/Fisher) to recommend approval of Negative Declaration IS-99-0 1; vote - 5-0, motion carried. Item #3 - Negative Declaration IS-98-19, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints: Gary Williams was the representative for the Church. Doug Reid presented a brief overview of the project. The zoning for the church site was confirmed to be correct. The small open space on the comer of the lot is owned by Otay Water and will be left as open space. An evaluation of the Rancho Del Rey Parkway already has a potential to put stop signs at the corner on Huerta Street to mitigate the traffic impact at the project site. A study was also done to relocate the entrance of the parking lot. - - Resource Conservation Commission Page 2 It was MSUC (Bull/Thomas) to recommend approval of the Negative Declaration IS-98-19 as adequate; vote 5-0, motion carried. A second motion was made (Thomas/Marquez); vote MSUC 5-0, to add the following comments with regard to the Negative Declaration IS-98-19: a. to minimize night lighting and direct it away from open spaces so animals could freely move across connecting corridors; b. that hydro seeding be done with non-invasive species and be managed carefully; c. a request that the Safety Commission look into installing a stop sign at the intersection of the project site for traffic control. Commissior..~r Bull V"~S excused from th~ 'TI.eeting at 7:00 P.M. due to a conflict of interest on Item #1 Otay Ranch and Item #2 Eastlake Trails. Item #1 - EIR-97-03 - Otay Ranch: Doug Reid stated that the project is currently in the 45-day review stage on the State level and is scheduled for a hearing before the Planning Commission on August 26, 1998. He presented a summary of the project to the RCC, pointing out some ofthe significant changes in each Village as follows: Village 1 - is amended to increase allowable single family vs. multi-family units; Village 2 - moves the new high school (approximately 50 acres) and relocates the community park (approximately 25 acres) to Village 2 West; Village 6 - reduces density in the Village core; Village 7 - allows additional residential homes in the same location to replace the high school which is now moving to Village 2; Village 13/15 - areas of development are deleted and replaced with more open space. Bruce McIntyre of Lettiere, McIntyre & Associates answered questions on the Significant Land Use Impacts. He noted that the biggest incompatibility issue was moving the proposed high school and park adjacent to the Otay Landfill. Commissioner Thomas asked whether the County had done new and updated studies on toxic fumes from the Landfill and how they would affect the adjacent sites. Levels outside of the lOOO-foot buffer area were reported to be below the threshold of significant impact. Traffic - There were no significant impacts on traffic in modifying the Village areas. A light rail station and park and ride facility will be located in the Village 1 core. The GDP lists specific traffic information upon build-out and will also be delineated on the Final Map. Specific studies done on the cumulative impacts at Otay Lakes Road and Paseo Ranchero were found to be significant and non-mitigable without SR-125. Biology - SPA 1 Amendment Area will lose open space but will increase about 34 acres overall. - - Resource Conservation Commission Page 3 Village 13 and 15 would delete 256 acres of development area and Village 1 and 2 will gain 236 acres. Restoration for maritime succulent scrub will be done around the time of grading. June Collins of Dudek Associates added that the project currently being reviewed is the beginning of implementation of the overall MSCP. The total increase of the project development area is approximately 313 acres. About 347 acres of development would be committed to open space in addition to the overall 11,375 acres of the project. Commissioner Thomas requested that the report include other surrounding areas as it is important as the RCC reviews the document. With regard to questions on drainage, the entire drainage system of Poggi Canyon is currently analyzed as part of the Otay Ranch. Landform Visuals - Steep slopes on Otay Ranch as a whole will not exceed the encroachment of 83%. Any steeper slope grading may impact this project specifically but will not exceed the limits projectwide. The specific plans are also identified in a separate report on the Otay scenic roadways. Cultural - It was reported that some other residential resource areas will be lost but was not a significant direct impact. Air Quality - no significant direct impacts. Noise - The light rail will not present any cumulative noise impact to residential areas. After staff consultation, the following proposals were included in the project alternatives: a. Move proposed high school out of the land adjacent to Otay Landfill to Village 2, which is mostly residential. b. All but five acres of parkland adjacent to the landfill be returned to Village 7 to make it more centrally located. c. Move more community purpose facility back to Village 1. d. New industrial in quadrant adjacent to the Otay Landfill. A cap is placed on the number of traffic trips to the proposed industrial areas. Comments and questions by the RCC included the following: Commissioner Thomas asked whether a study on the effusion of methane gas was done on the Otay Landfill site. An analysis was redone this past year and a separate EIR is also being done. Commissioner Thomas also asked about paleontological finds and whether they go to the Natural History Museum. Any finds are currently preserved at the museum. Archeological sites were identified in the original study. Thomas would like those studies reviewed again. It was noted that additional field surveys were conducted for this project. - - Resource Conservation Commission Page 4 Commission Fisher had great concern with the lack of biological open space, especially the stretch located along Olympic Parkway, the adjacent Sunbow project and the industrial quadrant located next to the Landfill. Other major biological concerns included the following: Records of the whip tail were not brought forward from previous studies. There are no connective lands which leaves the original reserves to preserve corridors of habitats. The mitigation does not adequately replace acreage lost from grading on sensitive lands. Grasshopper sparrow was not covered by the MSCP. Other sensitive species such as the burrowing owls, badgers and cactus wrens would be forced from their natural habitat by the project which now becomes a regionally significant problem. The project does not preserve adequate lands for these habitants and does not clearly indicate the significant and non-mitigable impacts. He also felt that the MSS restoration was not adequately addressed. With regard to the cactus wrens, it was noted that criteria was met within the MSCP Study Area but not within Otay Ranch. Commissioner Fisher strongly noted that he disagrees with the conclusion of the document. Commissioner Thomas reiterated the necessity of overlay maps which indicate watersheds, land uses, development, migration pathways, etc. Commissioner Marquez expressed her concern over the interior protocol surveys on avian corridors. June Collins explained that the avian corridors did not exist but at one time were to be created. The study should look at serving more of the total corridor to include Wolf, Poggi, Telegraph and Rice Canyons. Ms. Marquez noted 11 pairs of gnat catchers were shown on the map but it was unclear whether these were in addition to those already found. The maps should adequately reflect its findings. It was clarified mixed chappare1 and coastal sage scrub is located south of Otay Lakes Road. With regard to the achnatherum population, the conclusion of the study shows no thornmint on SPA 1. Commissioner Yamada had concerns with the "borrowing on the future" approach. He felt that different scenarios should be studied adequately to prepare for the future. He commented that traffic moving east to west created a greater impact on 805. It was explained that when SPA 1 was done, SR-125 was not considered so the direct impact would be on 805. A motion was made (Fisher/Marquez) that the EIR-97-03 - Otay Ranch is inadequate due to a series of species inadequately analyzed or sufficiently mitigated; vote MSUC 4-0. A second motion was made (Thomas/Marquez), vote MSUC 4-0, to recommend the following with regard to Otay Ranch: a. Study the metapopulation ranchwide and do a quantitative analysis of individual species and habitats; b. Study the cumulative impact of the effects oflosing Poggi Canyon with regard to regional, biological, geological and paleontological concerns as it relates to other connecting canyons; c. Consider a local program for retaining paleontology and archeological resources; - .- Resource Conservation Commission Page 5 d. Request the City review the "mortgaging the future" short-term policies and perform an evaluation of different scenarios going out for future; e. Conduct studies ofthe biological value of what's going to be developed vs. not developed lands to make sure tradeoff is comparable; f Note that historical sitings of sensitive species need to be shown where appropriate on EIR maps. Item #2 - EIR 97-04 - Eastlake Trails Doug Reid introduced this item and staff and consultants were available for questions. Louis Hernandez, the project manager, was also present. Lee Sherwood explained the traffic study conducted with various scenarios. The direct impact reports are found on pages 81-83 of the report. He noted that the impact on Lane A venue and Otay Lakes Road is unmitigable and it would take building eight lanes to mitigate. Biological resources had not changed considerably since the last study. He explained that mitigation to impacts on the wetlands in Salt Creek is at a 2: 1 ratio. Ms. Marquez questioned whether the trolley extension would go through the project area; Mr. Sherwood stated it would not. Ms. Thomas asked about the storm drain outfall and whether hydrologic studies had been done. It was explained that the design and volume runoff meets the City's requirements. Maintenance requirements of pesticides to meet required standards will be enforced and the use of recycled (gray) water are being studied. Mr. Fisher was concerned about agricultural land used to preserve sensitive species and wildlife, particularly the habitat of burrowing owls, badgers and jack rabbits. He noted that Salt Creek is a wildlife corridor and that Eastlake is the only conduit of movement. He questioned how human recreation affected movement in those corridors. Mr. Fisher requested that there be minimum lighting through the Park. Other comments and concerns included the vegetation map was not adequately reflected; it was unknown whether the seasonal ponds introduce exotic species; hydrology concern and its impact downstream; enhance waterways through growth of willows. Ms. Marquez requested the report address approximately 100 feet outside of the perimeter of the project that is effected biologically. Her concerns were with regard to water that the ratio needs to be made more clear in its report; no mitigation is proposed for loss of agricultural lands; questioned whether storm drainage went into riparian lands; questioned the erosion control from upward first flush issues and how it affect the urban drainage system. A motion was made by Thomas that the EIR report was adequate. No second; Thomas withdrew her motion. .- - Resource Conservation Commission Page 6 It was MSUC (Fisher/Marquez), vote 4-0, motion carried, to accept the EIR 97-04 Eastlake Trails with the following requirements: a. surveys for sensitive species be done so it is consistent with the Subregional Plan; b. study Salt Creek wildlife and movement to see the total impacts; c. that the project consider first flush mechanism on drainage system; d. create wetland or pond onsite so that exotic species' biological impact of pond does not affect Salt Creek; e. planting of greens be considered with the flow downstream to Salt Creek natural areas of Otay Ranch as required by City conservation easement. STAFF REPORT: Doug Reid reported there might not be a meeting on August 31 and will confirm that with the Commission. Next meetings are scheduled fur September 14, October 5, and October 19. The Planning Department has been combined with Building and Housing to the Planning and Building Department. CHAIRMAN'S COMMENTS: Chair Yamada asked the RCC to consider a contribution to San Diego Hospice or some other memorial in the name of Ken Lee. Donations will be accepted at the next meeting. COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS: Commissioner Marquez asked that Doug Reid clarify Cindy Burrascano' s not being reappointed to RCC by Mayor Horton. Mayor Horton was not aware it would create two vacancies so she did allow Cindy to serve on the Commission until a replacement was appointed. Commissioner Marquez had great concern for the deliberate non-reappointment of Cindy Burrascano who has the most historical knowledge of past projects, served faithfully for six years as Chair or Vice Chair, has had limited absenteeism, and always came to the meetings prepared. Her lack of reappointment is an insult to all commissioners in all commissions, especially in light of the unfilled vacancy on the RCC since June 1997 and many other vacancies on this Commission . . III prevIous years. Commissioner Marquez requested a memo on the update of the MSCP. Doug stated that the Subarea Plan was planned for consideration about the first of the year. It is noted that RCC would need to re-elect a Vice Chair at the next meeting because Burrascano was not reappointed. Commissioner Fisher noted that there are two vacancies on the RCC because Cindy Burrascano was not reappointed to fulfill her term as allowed by City ordinance. He requested an explanation from Mayor Horton as to her decision not to reappoint Cindy. He also requested this item be put on the next agenda. -- - Resource Conservation Commission Page 7 Commission Thomas has been impressed with Cindy Burrascano's dedication to the RCC and would like to see her back on the Commission. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned by Chair Yamada at 10:35 P.M. Respectfully submitted, EXPRESS SECRETARIAL SERVICES ~~ Barbara Taylor .