HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem IAGENDA REPORT q�
DATE:
August 13, 2001
TO:
Honorable Mayor and City Council
THRU:
John B. Bahorski, City Manager
FROM:
Mac Cummins, Assistant Planner
SUBJECT:
Application to California Coastal Commission for Grant Funds
SUNIMARY OF REQUEST:
Request authorization from the City Council to proceed with a grant funding request
to the California Coastal Commission. $500,000 has been made available to Local
Jurisdictions for the purpose of aiding in those jurisdictions which do not have
certified Local Coastal Plans achieve certification. Staff is estimating the total cost of
the project to be $60,000. The grant proposal requires at least a 1:1 ratio of matching
funds from the City.. As such, staff is requesting authorization to submit an
application for $30,000 in grant funding from the Coastal Commission, with $30,000
being paid by the City. Staff is proposing to use monies from the GIS /General Plan
account.
BACKGROUND:
Under the California Coastal Act, Cities within the coastal zone are required to apply
for and have certified a "Local Coastal Plan" by the Coastal Commission. The City of
Seal Beach has in the past applied for such certification, but has yet to receive it, due
to several currently outstanding issues. Many of these issues have been resolved,
either through litigation in other parts of the state, or by development within the City
over time.
The City will benefit greatly from having a Local Coastal Plan in place. It will put
into place a land use plan approved by the coastal commission which will allow city
staff to approve local coastal development permits. This will reduce the necessary
time to process a coastal development permit by approximately 3 to 6 weeks for the
average project (Certain large scale projects will still require public hearings before
the Coastal Commission). The coastal zone is defined as all land to the south of
Westminster Blvd., which means that currently every single minor addition on either
the hill or in old town requires an application to the Coastal Commission.
Certification of the LCP would eliminate this step for the average project.
The City has also listed certification of the LCP as one of its goals for the future.
Agenda Item %
Under the heading "Deliver Responsive, User - Friendly Customer Service" the City
identifies the review of the LCP by 2003 as one of the first objectives. The
certification of the LCP would complete this goal significantly ahead of schedule.
The Coastal Commission is offering a total of $500,000 to coastal cities in an effort to
help those local jurisdictions without certified LCP's achieve certification. The
program works on a 1:1 basis with matching funds coming from the City. Staff
believes that now is an appropriate time to apply for certification.
As mentioned above, the Coastal Commission is offering a total of $500,000 to local
jurisdictions to achieve certification on their LCP's. The Coastal Commission has
listed the following as criteria for award:
1. There is a substantial pre- certification permit workload
2. The local government is willing to assume local coastal development permit
processing responsibility
3. The grant will offer an opportunity to coordinate with other planning work
being done by the Commission
4. The local government is expressly willing to contribute or to obtain other
matching funds at a suggested 1:1 ratio necessary to complete the work
5. There is a history of successful performance under previous LCP grants
6. The local jurisdiction exhibits significant conflicts, challenges or changed
conditions
Staff believes that the City falls within the scope of many of these criteria and will
be drafting the grant application package accordingly. The project will cost
approximately $60,000, meaning that the impact to the City will be approximately
$30,000 with matching funds to come from the Coastal Commission.
Staff is completing the grant application materials and will forward it to the City,
Council when completed. The grant application is to be submitted by September 10,
2001 and it is necessary for the resolution to be adopted at this meeting in order to
comply with the September 10 deadline.
TOTAL REQUESTED Maximum $60,000 ($30,00 in City
matching funds)
FISCAL IMPACT:
The City will he providing, if approved, $30,000 to the project. Staff is
recommending that these funds be taken from the GIS /General Plan fund, account #
001- 000 - 20272.
Administration of the City's portion of this project will not be funded through the
above mentioned funding, but rather from the Department of Development Service's
budget.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends the Council adopt the attached Resolution No. "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH,
CALIFORNIA APPROVING THE CITY'S PARTICIPATION IN THE LOCAL
COASTAL FUNDING ASSISTANCE PROGRAM."
Mac Cummins
Assistant Planner
Attachments (1):
1. Proposed Resolution