HomeMy WebLinkAboutEQCB Min 2001-02-28
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CITY OF SEAL BEACH
Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes
February 28, 2001
The meeting of the Environmental Quality Control Board (EQCB) of February 28, 2001
was called to order by Chairperson Porter at 6:30 p.m. The meeting was held in City
Council Chambers.
Pledge of Allegiance
II Roll Call
Present:
Chairperson Porter, Vice-Chairperson Hurley, Members Unrath,
and Voce
Member Jones
Absent:
Also
Present:
Department of Development Services
Mac Cummins, Assistant Planner
Mr. Cummins stated that a letter was received from Member Jones asking to be
excused from tonight's meeting due to work-related issues.
III Approval of Agenda
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Voce to approve agenda as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0-1
Hurley, Porter, Unrath, and Voce
None
Jones
IV Oral Communications
None.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of February 28, 2001
V Consent Calendar
1. RECEIVE AND FILE - Letter to South Coast Air Quality Management District.
Re: "Draft EIR - AES Alamitos L.L.C. - Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR)
Installation Project at Alamitos Generating Station (Units 1,2,3, and 4)." Letter
dated February 12, 2001.
2. RECEIVE AND FILE - Letter to Department of the Navy, Re: Comments on the
"Focused Site Inspection Phase II Report." Letter dated February 12, 2001
3. RECEIVE AND FILE - Letter to Army Corps of Engineers, Re: City Comment
Letter "Draft EA for Surfside-Sunset Nourishment Project - Stage 11." Letter
dated February 12, 2001
4. RECEIVE AND FILE - Letter to Department of the Navy, Re: City Comment
Letter "Focused Site Inspection Phase II Report: Appendix A - Archaeological
Documentation." Letter dated February 7,2001
5. RECEIVE AND FILE - Memorandum to EQCB. Re: Chairman Porter's request
for information on San Gabriel River water quality. Memo dated February 28,
2001.
6. RECEIVE AND FILE - Staff Report to the EQCB. Re: Receipt of "City of
Westminster "Initial Study and Negative Declaration, General Plan Amendment
and Rezone of the Property located at 9223 & 9225 Bolsa Ave." Negative
Declaration dated February 7, 2001.
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Unrath to approve Consent Calendar as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0-1
Hurley, Porter, Unrath, and Voce
None
Jones
Member Voce thanked Staff for the information on the San Gabriel River water quality.
Chairperson Porter asked Staff about the State program to provide funds to restore
beaches that are subject to erosion. Mr. Cummins responded that he was not aware of
this program. Chairperson Porter stated that the City should apply for funds for
replenishment of the beaches in Seal Beach. Member Unrath reported that after
reinforcement of the boom across the Los Angeles River 25,000 pounds of trash had
been collected after the last major storm. He suggested that this might be useful for the
San Gabriel River.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of February 28, 2001
VI Public Hearings
None.
VII Scheduled Matters
7. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - January 24,2001
Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
appropriate.
Chairperson Porter noted changes to Page 2, Line 19. Vice-Chairperson Hurley
recommended changes to Page 6, Line 3 to read, "Environmental Quality Advisory
Board." Mr. Cummins stated that as he recalled the recommendation was made to
simply remove the word "Control" from the name Environmental Quality Control Board.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that what he had recommended was to have a name
that was comparable to the Archaeological Advisory Committee. He asked that this be
changed. Vice-Chairperson Hurley also requested that Line 5 on Page 6 be changed to
read, "After much discussion, the Board agreed that the name should remain the same
with Vice-Chairperson Hurley dissenting,"
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Voce to approve Minutes of January 24, 2001 as
amended.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0-1
Hurley, Porter, Unrath, and Voce
None
Jones
VIII Staff Concerns
Mr. Cummins asked if all members would be able to attend a special meeting scheduled
for March 14, 2001. Chairperson Porter stated that he was scheduled to be out of town,
but he could change his plans. Chairperson Porter, Vice-Chairperson Hurley and
Member Voce stated that they would be able to attend. Member Unrath said he would
not be able to attend. Vice-Chairperson Hurley recommended that Chairperson Porter
submit his comments to Staff prior to the meeting so that they could be distributed at the
meeting. Mr. Cummins recommended that Chairperson Porter provide a summary
sheet with all of his comments. Member Voce noted that having a copy of the pages
with changes indicated in marginal notes usually worked better. Chairperson Porter
agreed.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of February 28, 2001
Mr. Cummins confirmed that all member of the Board had received a copy of the
Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) for the Boeing Project. They confirmed that they
had.
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Hurley to change the date of the regularly scheduled
March 2001 meeting to March 14,2001, at 6:30 p.m.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
3-0-1-1
Hurley, Porter, and Voce
None
Jones
Unrath
IX Board Concerns
Member Voce expressed his concern regarding the replanting of the Eucalyptus tree
windrow along Seal Beach Boulevard fronting the Bixby Old Ranch Towne Center. He
said that he understood this matter was to be handled by the Recreation Commission.
He stated that he had met several times with Mr. Ron Bradshaw of the Bixby Ranch
Company, the arborist, Mr. Greg Applegate, and Mr. Lee Whittenberg. He noted that
other members of the Seal Beach Tree Committee had also met with them. He said
that since those meetings there had been no meetings regarding removal of the
diseased trees. Member Voce stated that he had received no notification of the intent to
remove the trees. He said that because the windrow area is not a park area, he is not
certain that this is an issue that should be handled by the Recreation Commission. He
stated that he believes it might be more appropriate to place this under the supervision
of the Tree Committee, or even the Environmental Quality Control Board. Mr. Cummins
asked what the objective would be. Member Voce stated that he would like to clarify
exactly how many trees are to be removed and what the plans for replanting are. Mr.
Cummins reported that the plan for replanting remains the same. He stated that the
trees were removed under the direction of the Director of Development Services, by the
authority granted to him by the City Code. Mr. Cummins noted that when Eucalyptus
trees are dead or severely dying, the tree branches could simply fall off without any
pressure whatsoever. He stated that this creates a liability issue for the City. As a
result, the Director of Development Services issued a tree permit for removal of the
diseased trees north of St. Cloud. He said that there are also some trees south of St.
Cloud that are dead and will also be removed. He stated that the plans for where the
bike path is to be located have not changed. Member Voce asked where the path was
to be located. Mr. Cummins stated that he did not know, but would provide this
information for Member Voce. Member Voce again stated that he felt it would be
appropriate that the plan for replanting of trees come before the EQCB for review. He
said the Tree Committee was never informed of any tree removals, and they had been
emphatic about being notified. He said that although Staff has the legal capability to do
this according to ordinance, they should have officially notified those parties involved
with this issue. He stated that he felt it would be appropriate for Staff to present an
update to the Tree Committee and EQCB, which would include comments from the
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of February 28, 2001
arborist, and provide information on the species of trees to be used for replanting. Mr.
Cummins reported that this information has not yet been provided to Staff. He stated
that the Lerp Psyllid infests Red Gum Eucalyptus trees exclusively, and as a result this
species cannot be used for replanting. He noted that although there were some things
that Staff could do, in terms of directing Staff to do those things, these directives would
have to come from City Council. He said that he could attempt to get some information
for the Board members. Member Voce stated that he would like to receive an update
with as much information as Mr. Cummins could provide. Vice-Chairperson Hurley
indicated that he would like to know which trees had been removed because of the
infestation and which were removed due to construction. Member Voce stated that this
information had been provided with the Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which
included a map of the tree locations. He remarked to Staff that it would be helpful to
use such a map to designate which trees had been removed or are slated for future
removal. Mr. Cummins stated that he would provide this information with the next
agenda packet. Chairperson Porter asked if the ration for replanting of trees was 4:1,
he was curious to know how this was to be configured. Mr. Cummins responded that
this was one of the issues to be addressed in the replanting program. He indicated that
one of the reasons that the trees were dying was because they were too densely
populated to begin with. He noted that although a 4: 1 replacement ratio might not be
feasible on the golf course or the Old Ranch Towne Center, any remaining trees would
be planted elsewhere in the City. Vice-Chairperson Hurley asked if Member Voce was
in agreement with Mr. Cummins' statement about the overcrowding of trees causing the
death of some of the trees. Member Voce stated that the trees were slightly weakened
because they were too dense. He said that this was less so with the outer trees, but in
places where there are lots of trees, those that sprout out after other trees have already
grown above them are weaker trees because they don't get the same amount of light
and space and sometimes even moisture. He noted that this was probably the case
with some of the Eucalyptus trees, but most of them were alive until the Lerp Psyllid
infestation and until trenching began. Vice-Chairperson Hurley asked when the
infestation was first discovered. Member Voce responded that it has been a few years
ago. Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that until the project began the Eucalyptus trees
along the street appeared to be healthy. Member Voce said that he had inspected them
before the Bixby Project began and there was definitely infestation. He noted that the
infestation also includes some of the trees in Gum Grove Park. Member Voce
commented that perhaps the requested information should be scheduled to be included
with the April agenda packet. Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that he felt the issue was
important enough to have the materials included with the agenda packet for the special
March 14, 2001 meeting. Mr. Cummins stated that although the item could be placed
on the agenda, he was not certain that there were any action that the Board could take
relative to the removal of the trees. He noted that the Board was welcome to discuss
this issue under "Board Concerns." He stated that although he would be happy to
provide an update, it might be better to direct any comments to the individual City
Council members. Vice-Chairperson Hurley recommended this item being placed on
the agenda under "Scheduled Matters." Mr. Cummins stated that any update that he
would provide would be included as a ""Receive and File" item under the Consent
Calendar, because it would not be subject to any action by the Board, but would simply
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of February 28, 2001
be presented for discussion. Chairperson Porter clarified that with the 4:1 tree
replacement, the replacements did not all have to be planted on the Bixby Project site,
but could be anywhere within the City. Mr. Cummins confirmed that this was correct.
Chairperson Porter stated that he did not recall seeing this in the EIR. Mr. Cummins
reported that the Bixby EIR might call for this, but City Code does not. He said that this
might have been a condition of the signed Development Agreement between the Bixby
Company and the City. Member Voce stated that it would be fine to place this item on
the Consent Calendar for the March 14, 2001 meeting. The Board was in agreement.
Member Unrath stated that the boom across the Los Angeles River has been
particularly good at catching trash from the rain runoff. He recommended that the
Conservancy look into placing one across the San Gabriel River in preparation for next
year's storm season. Chairperson Porter asked whom the Board members could
contact regarding this issue. Mr. Cummins recommend that the Board members
contact Councilperson Paul Yost who is a member of the Conservancy.
Member Unrath inquired about a plan by Public Works to take down the wall along
Lampson Avenue along the back of the golf course and the area backing the Armed
Forces Reserve Center (AFRC) and up to the Bixby Golf Course. He asked if this plan
would require any environmental action on the part of the Board. Mr. Cummins
responded that this was strictly a Public Works issue.
Chairperson Porter thanked Staff for the information provided on the San Gabriel River
water quality noting that it had been very helpful.
X Adjournment
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Hurley to adjourn to the special meeting of the
Environmental Quality Control Board scheduled for March 14,2001.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0-1
Hurley, Porter, Unrath, and Voce
None
Jones
Chairperson Porter adjourned the meeting at 7:15 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
~~~
Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secretary
Department of Development Services
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of February 28, 2001
The Board on April 25, 2001 approved the Minutes of the Environmental Quality Control
Board of Wednesday, February 28, 2001. ~.
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