HomeMy WebLinkAboutEQCB Min 2007-08-29
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1CITY OF SEAL BEACH
Environmental Quality Control Board
August 29, 2007
Chairperson Voce called the meeting of the Environmental Quality Control Board
(EQCB) to order at 6:32 p.m. on Wednesday, August 29, 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
Lee Whittenberg, Director
Absent: Jerry Olivera, Senior Planner
II Election of Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson
Member Barton nominated Member Voce to serve as Chairperson. There being no
further nominations, nomination were closed.
MOTION by Barton; SECOND by Hurley to elect Member Voce as Chairperson for the
Environmental Quality Control Board.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
5-0
Voce, Barton, Hurley, Neal, and Vineyard
None
None
Member Hurley nominated Member Barton to serve as Vice-Chairperson. There being
no further nominations, nominations were closed.
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Voce to elect Member Barton as Vice-Chairperson for
the Environmental Quality Control Board.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
5-0
Voce, Barton, Hurley, Neal, and Vineyard
None
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 August 29, 2007
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ABSENT:
None
III Approval of Agenda
MOTION by Huiley; SECOND by Barton to approve the Agenda as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
5-0
Voce, Barton, Hurley, Neal, and Vineyard
None
None
IV Oral Communications
None.
V Consent Calendar
1. RECEIVE AND FILE - "Global Warming in the Supreme Court: What Does
Massachusetts v. EPA Mean for You (and Planet Earth)?" and "Cooling
Global Warming"
MOTION by Barton; SECOND by Vineyard to approve the Consent Calendar as
presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
5-0
Voce, Barton, Hurley, Neal, and Vineyard
None
None
VI Scheduled Matters
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - July 25,2007
Recommendation:
appropriate.
Approve Minutes with any corrections deemed
Member Hurley noted a correction to Line 1, Page 3 to read ". . . a reasonable
expectation. . ."
Member Vineyard requested a change to the recorded vote on Lines 35 and 36 of Page
6 to reflect that he had voted "No" on this item.
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Neal to approve the Meeting Minutes of July 25, 2007
as amended.
MOTION CARRIED: 5 - 0
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of August 29, 2007
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AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Voce, Barton, Hurley, Neal, and Vineyard
None
None
3.
Discussion Regarding "Green Building Programs." Receive and File
Documents.
Recommendation: Continue discussion regarding "Green Building Programs"
and provide additional direction to staff. Receive and File subject documents.
Member Barton noted that for the purposes of comparison, the documents did not include
the populations of the cities included in the discussion. Chairperson Voce indicated that
the Board should discuss ideas in order to make recommendations to City Council
regarding how to incorporate more environmentally friendly standards for development
within Seal Beach. He inquired about the status of the proposed Local Coastal Plan (LCP)
for the City. Mr. Whittenberg stated that the City is going through a second round with
consultants for revision of a draft for the LCP, which should be completed within
approximately 60 days for presentation to the California Coastal Commission (CCC). He
noted that the process for acquiring CCC approval can take anywhere from one to two
years. Member Hurley asked if the EQCB would be involved in this process. Mr.
Whittenberg stated that the Board would not be involved, as the LCP is really tied to
zoning regulations. He said that Green Building programs are essentially related to
standards for additions to buildings or construction of new buildings, with the primary focus
on electrical and mechanical systems and energy conservation standards. He noted that
California already has the most stringent energy standards in the nation, and any new
construction must meet these Building Code requirements. He stated that these are all
tied to the building permit process and not to zoning, and most of these programs are
allowing for reduced building permit fees for incorporating green standards. He stated that
Pasadena had the most aggressive program, as they have hired a staff architect to work
with the developer architects in creating more green building designs. He explained that
until Staff completes the work on the Zoning Code (ZC) revisions, which will probably be in
March-April of 2008, they will not be able to assist in creating Green Building
recommendation to City Council. He suggested the Board focus on recommendations for
the Building Plan Check Review process to encourage more environmentally aware
development within the City and noted that many of the programs Staff has reviewed have
a threshold for square footage to which standards would apply. He recommended that the
Board continue to research information on this topic and return to the discussion in 3-4
months. Chairperson Voce inquired about the standards the City is already incorporating.
Mr. Whittenberg stated that cities must comply with California standards, but can also
establish local standards; however, they must have special circumstances that apply to
their community in order to do this. He indicated that most of the local standards for Seal
Beach are related to soil, particularly concrete, and the City now specifies the type of
concrete that can be used. He then explained that California cities are also subject to
storm water quality standards as established by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of August 29, 2007
1 Member Hurley asked if solar access provisions could be included in the Zoning Code
2 (ZC) revision. Mr. Whittenberg stated that a section has been reserved in the ZC for this,
3 but other zoning issues must be dealt with first. Member Hurley confirmed that Staff plans
4 to include this in a future revision. Mr. Whittenberg stated that this was correct and noted
5 that most zoning codes from other cities simply state that solar access rights are to be
6 protected, but have not yet defined what this entails. Member Hurley inquired about
7 people being able to sell energy back to Southern California Edison. Mr. Whittenberg
8 confirmed that this is possible for homeowners who have installed solar panels. He
9 recommended that this discussion be placed on the agenda for the January 2008 meeting.
10 Member Hurley requested a reminder memo to be provided in November or December
11 2007. Staff agreed to provide this.
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13 4. Review of Document and Provisions of Comments - Draft Mitigated Negative
14 Declaration 07-2 - Lampson Avenue Well Project.
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16 Recommendation: Receive presentation from Staff regarding the proposed
17 project and the environmental review process. Receive comments from the
18 public and provide any Board comments regarding proposed Mitigated Negative
19 Declaration 07-2 (MND 07-2). Receive and File Staff Report.
20
21 Staff Report
22
23 Mr. Whittenberg indicated that this document reviews the environmental effects of
24 installing a new well facility along Lampson Avenue at the far east end of the Old Ranch
25 Country Club. The report notes that installation of this well will serve to back up the
26 existing 3 wells to provide the demand for City water in the event of malfunction and
27 during maintenance of one of the wells.
28
29 Member Barton asked what the cost of the installation would be. Mr. Whittenberg
30 stated that he did not have this information.
31
32 Member Hurley noted the following:
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34 Pg. 28, par. 3 Text should state ". . . a potential failure of the Bolsa Chica Well facility
35 would leave this area. . . II
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37 Pg. 16, Line 5 Does text imply that the City is only allowed a specific amount of water.
38 Staff explained that City pumps so many cubic yards of water daily for
39 domestic use, which is blended with imported water to meet City
40 demand, but the City is limited to a specific amount.
41
42 Pg. 17, par. 1 If impervious material is to be used to construct the roof of the building,
43 why does this state that it will create no additional runoff. (Staff will
44 inquire of engineer re: materials to be used.)
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Meeting Minutes of August 29, 2007
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Pg. 17, par. 1 Where in the MND is the capacity of existing storm water system
described? Staff referred to the last paragraph of Page 2.
Pg. 20, par. 9 Because construction noise is exempted from the City's noise
ordinance, the phrase ". . . noise restrictions . . ." should not be
included here. Staff will provide information in written response.
Member Neal comments.
Pg. 17, Item j) What is a seiche? Staff indicated that this is a tidal wave that occurs
within a fully enclosed body of water, like a lake.
VII Staff Concerns
None.
VIII Board Concerns
Member Hurley requested that Staff provide the Board with a list of future agenda items.
Member Voce noted that Staff does provide verbal updates at the monthly EQCB
meetings.
Member Barton asked if Staff had received any information from the AQMD re: the
smoke from the char broiler at Hennessey's. Mr. Whittenberg stated that the AQMD
would be responsible for enforcement of this issue. He indicated that Staff has made
several calls to the AQMD, but have had no response.
Member Vineyard inquired about the poor timing in trimming the trees in Heather and
Bluebell parks shortly before the start of the summer season. He said this eliminates a
lot of shade. Mr. Whittenberg noted that Staff would make inquires.
IX Adjournment
There being no objections, Chairperson Voce adjourned the meeting at 7:28 p.m. to the
meeting of September 2007.
Respectfully Submitted,
~~~~
Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secretary
Department of Development Services
The Board on September 26, 2007, approved the Minutes of the Environmental Quality
Control Board of Wednesday, August 29,2007. ~.
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