HomeMy WebLinkAboutEQCB Min 2007-07-25
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1CITY OF SEAL BEACH
Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of July 25, 2007
Chairperson Voce called the meeting of the Environmental Quality Control Board
(EQCB) to order at 6:32 p.m. on Wednesday, July 25, 2007. The meeting was held in
City Council Chambers and began with the Salute to the Flag.
Roll Call
Present: Chairperson Voce, Members Barton, Hurley, Neal, and Vineyard
Also
Present: Department of Development Services
Jerry Olivera, Senior Planner
Absent: None
II Approval of Agenda
Member Hurley requested that Item No.2 be removed for further discussion.
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Barton to approve the Agenda as amended.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
5-0
Voce, Barton, Hurley, Neal, and Vineyard
None
None
III Oral Communications
None.
IV Consent Calendar
1. Receive and File - "Final Third Annual Groundwater Monitoring Report - IR
Sites 5 & 7 - Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach."
1 These Minutes were transcribed from an audiotape of the meeting
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of July 25, 2007
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3. Receive and File - "Notice of Preparation of A Program Environmental Impact
Report (PEIR) For the 2008 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) and 2008
Regional Comprehensive Plan (RCP)."
4. Receive and File Presentation Re: "At Berth Vessel (Shore Power) Regulation."
5. Receive and File Presentation Re: "Update On the Implementation of the 2005
ARB/Railroad Statewide Agreement."
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Vineyard to approve the Consent Calendar as
amended.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
5-0
Voce, Barton, Hurley, Neal, and Vineyard
None
None
V Scheduled Matters
6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - May 30,2007.
Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
appropriate.
Members Hurley and Vineyard abstained from voting on this item as they were not in
attendance at the meeting of May 30,2007.
MOTION by Barton; SECOND by Neal to approve the Meeting Minutes of May 30,
2007, as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
3-0-0-2
Voce, Barton, and Neal
None
None
Hurley and Vineyard
7. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - June 27,2007.
Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
appropriate.
Member Hurley noted the following corrections to the minutes:
Page 1, Line 20 -
Page 2, Line 18 -
Should be noted that Barton and Vineyard were both excused.
Should read "might be improved in the future. . . "
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of July 25, 2007
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Page 2, Line 27 - Should add the following text: "Mr. Olivera stated that he would
provide answers for Member Hurley."
Page 3, Line 17 - Add the following: ". . . elections that the Board voted on March 28,
2007, to take place at the May 2007 meeting, and asked. . ."
Members Barton and Vineyard abstained from voting on this item as they were not in
attendance at the meeting of June 27, 2007.
MOTION by Barton; SECOND by Neal to approve the Meeting Minutes of June 27,
2007, as amended.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
3-0-0-2
Voce, Hurley, and Neal
None
None
Barton and Vineyard
8. Consideration of Election of Chairman and Vice-Chairman
Recommendation: Provide Direction to Staff. Receive and File Staff Report.
Mr. Olivera noted that City Council had recommended that all committee and board
elections be deferred until after the General Election in November 2007, as there would
probably be changes to the board or committee members based upon election results.
Member Hurley referred to Paragraph 2 of the Staff Report and noted that the Board
exercised this authority at the March 28, 2007 meeting. Staff failed to schedule
elections as voted by the Board, and the board deserves to be told why this occurred,
as to date no explanation has been given. He indicated that when elections are held,
he will decline any nomination.
He then referred to Paragraph 1 of the Staff Report and stated that at another time the
explanation was given that City Council had asked the boards and commissions to defer
elections until after November 2007. He said that he believes the reasoning behind the
delay until December 2007 is faulty for this Board's elections, as a maximum of only two
members on the EQCB could change, permitting a reasonable expectation of continuity
on the Board's operation. He noted that if new members join the Board in December,
there would be a strong temptation to delay elections while the new members are
broken in, which could delay elections until March or April of 2008, completing three
years without elections, which he believes to be absurd.
Member Hurley stated that elections should be held at the regular meeting of August 29,
2007.
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Meeting Minutes of July 25, 2007
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Member Neal asked how the Council members were associated with the EQCB.
Member Barton explained that the newly elected Council members will be deciding
upon their appointees to the EQCB.
Chairperson Voce asked if Council had actually voted on deferring elections until after
the General Elections. Mr. Olivera stated that Council had recommended this, but had
not voted on it. Chairperson Voce confirmed that this had been the consensus of
Council, and Mr. Olivera stated that this was the case. Chairperson Voce stated that
elections could be conducted at the August 29, 2007, EQCB meeting, as requested by
Member Hurley; however, he believes that the Board should honor City Council's
request. Chairperson Voce called for a brief recess to allow for review of the bylaws to
determine what the procedure should be.
The meeting reconvened and, as no definitive information was found, Chairperson Voce
asked if the Board wished to table this item until the August 29,2007 meeting. Member
Hurley noted that an election could not be held if the item was placed on the agenda as
only a discussion. Chairperson Voce recommended presenting two agenda items: one
for discussion and one to conduct the elections on August 29,2007.
Member Hurley noted that his statement that he would decline any nomination had
nothing to do with his being unhappy with any treatment received while serving as Vice-
Chairperson.
Chairperson Voce asked for a motion to table this item and requested that Staff review
the City Council minutes to reference any discussion on the issue of elections and also
to review the EQCB bylaws and report to the Board as to what the procedure for
elections should be. He then requested that both a discussion item and an election item
be placed on the next meeting agenda.
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Barton to table consideration of election of Chairman
and Vice-Chairman until the next scheduled meeting of August 29,2007.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
5-0
Voce, Hurley, and Neal
None
None
9. Discussion Re: Sustainable Development and Receive and File Documents:
"How Should California Grow," "Designing Sustainable Buildings," "Green
Cohousing," "Oregon Green," "Leed Versus Green Globes," "Green Firsts,"
and "Addressing Climate Change: Think Globally, Act Locally."
Recommendation:
Report.
Provide direction to Staff. Receive and file Staff
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of July 25, 2007
1 Staff Report
2
3 Mr. Olivera stated that the Director of Development Services had compiled several
4 articles related to building "green."
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6 Chairperson Voce indicated that these articles have been provided in response to his
7 request that the City begin to incorporate more environmentally friendly standards into
8 its development requirements. He noted that in response the Director of Development
9 Services has provided these articles on an information basis. He stated that the EQCB
10 may elect to act on some of this information by making recommendations to City
11 Council on the future of new development.
12
13 Mr. Olivera added that this has been a growing trend with a number of cities throughout
14 the state of California. He explained that cities have begun providing incentives to
15 builders to incorporate green elements into new developments. Chairperson Voce
16 asked if the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has made any
17 statements related to building green. Mr. Olivera stated that he is not aware of SCAG
18 getting involved in this issue.
19
20 Member Barton asked how much weight any recommendations by the EQCB would
21 carry. Chairperson Voce noted that the EQCB could bring this issue to the attention of
22 City Council and the Planning Commission. Member Barton commented that some of
23 these standards could be incorporated into the Zoning Code (ZC) revisions.
24 Chairperson Voce recommended that, in the interim until the next scheduled meeting,
25 Board members compile a list of proposed standards to be presented to Staff for
26 discussion, and this would help the Board formulate its recommendations to the
27 Planning Commission. He also suggested notifying the Planning Commission that the
28 EQCB is in the process of compiling its proposals for incorporating environmental
29 standards/incentives into the ZC revisions.
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31 Member Hurley requested a definition of "sustainable," noting that his definition means
32 that something has the capacity of existing comfortably for an indefinite period of time
33 into the future. He also asked what the consensus was for the term "green." He then
34 noted that the author of "Designing Sustainable Buildings" advocates building up to
35 accommodate more people on less land. Member Hurley asked why the City's ZC
36 could not allow structures greater than 35 feet on properties north of the Hellman Ranch
37 property. Chairperson Voce explained that people in Seal Beach oppose tall structures
38 that would obstruct their view, sunlight, and the breeze, and that would take away from
39 their civil rights as members of the community. He indicated that the Board must decide
40 what would be best for Seal Beach in proposing future new development and provided
41 suggestions such as solar panels to provide energy for homes and electric vehicles,
42 water quality enhancement features, and prevention of air pollution.
43
44 Member Barton asked if there were any information on "greening" that would be more
45 appropriate to small towns. Chairperson Voce suggested finding out what the City of
46 Long Beach is doing. Mr. Olivera commented that the reason there may not be as
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much information available for smaller towns is that larger cities like Chicago and Los
Angeles get the biggest benefit from building green, while smaller cities usually do not
have the resources to implement many of these recommendations, and with a smaller
population, the impacts from building green may not be as visible as they would be in a
city of 2-3 million people. He said that Staff would research information available for
smaller communities.
MOTION by Barton; SECOND by Hurley to Receive and file Staff Report and table this
discussion until the next scheduled meeting of August 29,2007.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
5-0
Voce, Barton, Hurley, Neal, and Vineyard
None
None
2. Receive and File - Final Recommendations By The Association Of
Environmental Professionals (AEP) Re: "Alternative Approaches To Analyzing
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Global Climate Change In CEQA Documents."
Member Hurley referred to Paragraph 1, Line 3 of Page 1 of the Report and asked if the
City is subject to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. Mr. Olivera
responded that NEPA requirements apply only to projects initiated by the federal
government or that receive federal funds. Member Hurley then asked when the
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) includes global climate change
requirements and would these apply to any of the projects within Seal Beach. Mr.
Olivera stated that currently there are no projects that are subject to these
requirements, and\, as he understands, jurisdictions throughout the state are still in the
process of studying this issue.
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Neal to Receive and File Final Recommendations by
The Association Of Environmental Professionals (AEP) Re: "Alternative Approaches To
Analyzing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Global Climate Change in CEQA Documents."
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-1
Voce, Barton, Hurley, and Neal
Vineyard
None
VI Staff Concerns
None.
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VII Board Concerns
Member Barton inquired about the char broiler emissions from Hennessey's Grill. Mr.
Olivera stated that he has not yet heard from the Air Quality Management District
(AQMD), and is uncertain as to how to proceed until he hears from them. Chairperson
Voce noted that this could be included as one of the recommendations to be made to
Staff at the next meeting.
Member Hurley reiterated his concerns to Staff regarding the delay in conducting Board
elections for Chairman and Vice-Chairman. Mr. Olivera stated that he would review the
minutes of March 28, 2007, to determine why this item was not placed on the May 2007
agenda.
VIII Adjournment
There being no objections, Chairperson Voce adjourned the meeting at 7:39 p.m. to the
next scheduled August 29,2007, meeting date.
Respectfully Submitted,
C'~f'-~~
Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secretary
Department of Development Services
The Board on August 29, 2007, approved the Minutes of the Environmental Quality
Control Board of Wednesday, July 25,2007. ~ .
-
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