HomeMy WebLinkAboutEQCB Min 2008-10-29
CITY OF SEAL BEACH
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Environmental Quality Control Board
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4 Minutes of October 29, 2008
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7 Chairperson Voce called the meeting of the Environmental Quality Control Board
8 (EQCB) to order at 6:31 p.m. on Wednesday, October 29, 2008. The meeting was held
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9 in City Council Chambers and began with the Salute to the Flag.
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I Roll Call
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13 Present: Chairperson Voce, Members Barton, Hurley, and Navarro
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15 Also
16 Present: Department of Development Services
17 Lee Whittenberg, Director
18 Jerry Olivera, Senior Planner
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20 Absent: Member Neal
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II Approval of Agenda
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24 MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Barton to approve the Agenda as presented.
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MOTION CARRIED: 4 – 0 – 1
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AYES: Voce, Barton, Hurley, and Navarro
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NOES: None
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ABSENT: Neal
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III Oral Communications
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33 None.
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IV Consent Calendar
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37 1. Receive and File – Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental
38 Impact Report (EIS/EIR) for San Pedro Waterfront Project.
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40 2. Receive and File - Information Re: “Marine Life Protection Act Initiative.”
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42 3. Receive and File - City Council Staff Report Re: Offshore Oil Drilling Issues.
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These Minutes were transcribed from an audiotape of the meeting.
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1 4. Receive and File – Interoffice Memorandum: Provision of Conference Materials
2 Re: “Building A Healthier San Gabriel River Watershed.”
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4 5. Receive and File – Materials Re: “Proposed AB 32 Scoping Plan” Document.
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6 MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Navarro to approve the Consent Calendar as
7 presented.
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MOTION CARRIED: 4 – 0 – 1
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AYES: Voce, Barton, Hurley, and Navarro
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NOES: None
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ABSENT: Neal
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V Scheduled Matters
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16 6. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – September 24, 2008.
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18 Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
19 appropriate.
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21 Member Barton noted that she would abstain from voting on this item as she was not
22 present for the meeting of September 24, 2008.
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24 MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Navarro to approve the Meeting Minutes of
25 September 28, 2008, as presented.
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MOTION CARRIED: 3 – 0 – 1 – 1
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AYES: Voce, Hurley, and Navarro
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NOES: None
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ABSENT: Neal
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ABSTAIN: Barton
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33 7. Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration 08-3, Fire Station 48 Replacement Project
34 - Review of Document and Provisions of Comments.
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36 Recommendation: Receive presentation from Staff regarding the proposed
37 project and the environmental review process. Receive comments from the
38 public and provide any Board comments regarding proposed Mitigated
39 Negative Declaration 08-3 (MND 08-3). Receive and File Staff Report.
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41 Mr. Whittenberg delivered the staff report. (Staff Report is on file for inspection in the
42 Planning Department.) He noted that the Board members were provided with a copy of
43 this document for review, and once the public review period ends, Staff will prepare a
44 Response to Comments for all comments received and forward this to City Council
45 (CC), which is scheduled to review this matter at its December 8, 2008, meeting. He
46 continued by stating that the purpose tonight is to receive comments from the EQCB to
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of October 29, 2008
1 be included in the Response to Comments that will then be provided to the Board prior
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2 to the CC meeting of December 8.
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4 The Director of Development Services then briefly reviewed the project noting that after
5 completing a thorough assessment of the existing fire station it was determined that it
6 required complete replacement to bring it up to current Building Code and Fire Authority
7 standards. He stated that the new station would be located generally where the existing
8 station is situated, with the difference that the current station measures 5,000 sq. ft. in
9 size, and the new station would measure approximately 13,000 sq. ft. He explained that
10 the aged building required replacement due to problems with an old roof, mold, and
11 termites. He then provided a brief description of the facility, noting that the new station
12 will include a training room that will also be used as an alternate emergency operations
13 center in case of a natural disaster. Mr. Whittenberg stated that the City is seriously
14 exploring the installation of solar panels on the roof of the building for provision of
15 electrical power. He noted that the MND indicates that temporary facilities would be
16 located at the City Maintenance Yard, but after discussions with the Golden Rain
17 Foundation there may be an opportunity to locate the temporary station within Leisure
18 World (LW), as approximately 85% of the calls for emergency service from this station
19 are for LW. He then provided a brief slide presentation of the facility layout noting that
20 the rear parking area is to have a security gate to allow access only to emergency
21 response personnel. Mr. Olivera interjected that the Planning Commission (PC) had
22 commented on the need to use permeable surfaces in this rear parking lot in those
23 areas where the pumper trucks would not normally travel to help lessen water runoff.
24 Mr. Whittenberg noted that one problem with permeable concrete is that it cannot
25 support the weight of the fire engines and will eventually crack, so, for this type of
26 facility, care must be taken as to where permeable surfaces are installed. He then
27 described the temporary facility to be set up within LW. With regard to the impact of the
28 proposed bridge widening of the Seal Beach Blvd/I-405 overcrossing on the Fire Station
29 48 project, Mr. Whittenberg stated that the bridge widening does not require additional
30 right-of-way dedication and there will be no construction in the area other than sidewalk
31 areas along Seal Beach Blvd. (SBB) within the existing right-of-way. He also indicated
32 that after meeting with the Fire Authority and Seal Beach PD on how to maintain
33 emergency vehicle access over the bridge during the construction period, it was
34 determined that there will be one traffic lane in each direction as well as a center lane
35 that will be striped for emergency vehicle use only. Member Barton asked when the
36 project is to begin. Mr. Whittenberg stated that the City anticipates the project
37 commencing in January-February 2009, with a 9-month construction time. Member
38 Navarro asked if there would be any traffic impacts on SBB. Mr. Whittenberg stated
39 that there would be none. Member Voce recommended creating a right-turn lane at the
40 intersection of Beverly Manor Road and southbound SBB in order to prevent problems
41 with traffic flow.
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43 Member Barton asked about the timeline for completion. Mr. Whittenberg stated that it
44 is estimated to be approximately 9-months. Member Barton commented that she is
45 concerned that this fire station lasted only 40 years and inquired about how long the
46 new facility would last. Mr. Whittenberg stated that this would be difficult to estimate, as
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1 this type of facility gets a lot of “hard use,” much more than a standard residence.
2 Member Barton stated she is concerned with how large the project is, particularly since
3 it is used primarily by LW, which probably will not have a dramatic increase in
4 population. She asked if this were not a case of “overbuilding.” Mr. Whittenberg stated
5 that City Council (CC) did review the preliminary plans and asked that one of the
6 apparatus bays be eliminated and that the current number of emergency response
7 sleeping rooms be retained, but this only changed the cost of the facility by
8 approximately $500,000 - $600,000. When CC saw these numbers, they determined
9 that the project should proceed as presented. He then noted that in addition to the high
10 emergency response level for LW, the City has also experienced a lot of new
11 development including the new Rossmoor Center and Shops at Rossmoor, and the
12 Pacific Gateway Business Park and Retail Center, where emergency responses are
13 also to be anticipated. Member Barton inquired about the effect of construction
14 activities upon LW residents. Mr. Whittenberg stated that these issues have been
15 addressed in the MND, and noted that there will be dust and noise during construction,
16 but this will be temporary and will occur primarily during grading.
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18 Member Hurley asked when the City began assessing the need for a new facility. Mr.
19 Whittenberg stated that this process began approximately one year ago.
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21 Member Navarro asked if the facility will have more equipment and personnel than the
22 previous fire station. Mr. Whittenberg stated that there will be additional facilities, and it
23 is anticipated that at a later time there may be more personnel. Member Navarro asked
24 what the cost of the facility will be. Mr. Whittenberg stated that the estimated cost is
25 approximately $6 - $7 million, but, so far, estimates are coming in 10-15% lower.
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27 Member Hurley provided the following written comments:
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p.10, last par.
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30 Seven criteria air pollutants are listed, not six. Includes Lead (Pb),
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31 which is never mentioned again.
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33 Under “Construction Emission Thresholds,” are these thresholds for
p.21, 1 sentence
34 the whole SCAB or for each project?
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36 Is this a typo for “ROC”? If not, what is it?
p.21, 1 bullet
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p.23, 2 par.
39 “A project with daily emissions rates below the thresholds for the
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40 appropriate increments is considered to have a less than significant
41 impact.”
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43 Your conclusion is probably true, but your basis for it is faulty.
44 Operations don’t need to be different to have an impact. It appears
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45 that, with a 50% increase in apparatus (a 3 bay), the number of
46 operations will probably increase proportionately and increase the
47 pollution. But I can’t find any concrete information re: existing
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1 levels of emissions and projected levels of emissions. Both are
2 needed to support this statement.
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p.25, item c)
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5 Important word is missing: “. . . project construction activities.”
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p.25, item d)
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8 Revise. Same comment as for p.23, 2 par., last sentence.
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p.67, 2 par.
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11 An important phrase is omitted and needs to be added: “. . . of the
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12 project site and a long-term care facility only 50-75 feet from the
13 project site, which . . .”
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p.67, 1 par.
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16 Construction noise could be in the 81-88 dBA range at the front of
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17 Country Villa.
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19 A. Isn’t the level of acceptable noise inside residential buildings at
20 or about 45 dBA?
21 B. Please check to see if it should be lower for nursing homes or
22 long-term care facilities.
23 C. I doubt that Country Villa has special walls or windows to reduce
24 noise from outside.
25 D. Noise attenuation from intervening structures (see middle of
26 par. 3) is non-existent and including this statement is
27 misleading.
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29 Conclusion: The proximity of Country Villa to the project site
30 requires special measures. Either add MITIGATION WITH
31 adequate physical sound barriers, or scrap this MND and do an
32 Environmental Impact Report.
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34 Member Voce referred to the checklist for Hydrology and Water Quality on Pg. 53 of the
35 MND, and asked whether a mitigation measure for bioremediation of runoff is possible
36 for a site like this. Mr. Whittenberg stated that he would have to review the grading plan
37 to see what is proposed and provide comments in the Response to Comments.
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39 Member Hurley recommended that the City attempt to get as many solar panels on this
40 facility as possible, as carbon production in the world has reached a “tipping point” and
41 the environment will be unsafe for humans unless something is done soon. Member
42 Voce agreed that the world’s carbon footprint has reached a tipping point and
43 emphasized that solar panels and other forms of alternative energy should be
44 incorporated into this project.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of October 29, 2008
VI Staff Concerns
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3 Mr. Whittenberg stated that the EQCB will probably not be meeting in November or
4 December, unless absolutely necessary, as the scheduled meeting day comes right
5 before the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
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VII Board Concerns
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9 Member Hurley indicated that he would attempt to provide copies of the World Wildlife
10 Fund Report to the Board members. He then emphasized that he does not feel it is
11 right that his vote in the election next week should be a part of deciding what people
12 have or don’t have in the Old Town part of the city, and he believes only Old Town
13 residents should vote on Measure Z. Mr. Whittenberg explained that the City Attorney’s
14 office reviewed this issue and under California state law, initiative, referendum, or ballot
15 measures by cities must be voted on by the entire community.
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VIII Adjournment
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19 There being no objections, Chairperson Voce adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m.
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21 Respectfully Submitted,
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26 Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secretary
27 Department of Development Services
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30 The Board on January 28, 2009, approved the Minutes of the Environmental Quality
31 Control Board of Wednesday, October 29, 2008. _____.
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