HomeMy WebLinkAboutEQCB Min 2004-06-02
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1CITY OF SEAL BEACH
Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meeting
June 2, 2004
Vice-Chairperson Hurley called the adjourned meeting of the Environmental Quality
Control Board (EQCB) of June 2, 2004 to order at 6:30 p.m. The meeting was held in
City Council Chambers and began with the Salute to the Flag.
Roll Call
Present:
Absent:
Vice-Chairperson Hurley, Members Barton, O'Malley, and Voce
None
Also
Present:
Department of Development Services
Mac Cummins, Associate Planner
II Approval of Agenda
MOTION by O'Malley; SECOND by Barton to approve the Agenda as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0
Hurley, Barton, O'Malley, and Voce
None
None
III Oral Communications
None.
IV Consent Calendar
1. RECEIVE AND FILE - Memorandum, re: Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station -
Installation Restoration Program - Status Report re: RAB Update. Memo dated
May 13, 2004.
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by O'Malley to approve the Consent Calendar as
presented.
1 These Minutes were transcribed from an audiotape of the meeting.
06-02-04 EQCB Minutes.doc
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meeting of June 2, 2004
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0
Hurley, Barton, O'Malley, and Voce
None
None
V Scheduled Matters
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - April 28, 2004
Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections as needed.
Member Voce requested that on Page 12, Line 25 the word "City" be changed to read
"environment".
Vice-Chairperson Hurley noted that Page 9, Line 39 should read "Vice-Chairperson
Hurley."
MOTION by O'Malley; SECOND by Voce to approve the Meeting Minutes of April 28,
2004 as amended.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0
Hurley, Barton, O'Malley, and Voce
None
None
3. RESPONSE TO DRAFT EIR - Sunset Harbour Marina Boat Launch Parking
and Dry Boat Storage Expansion.
Recommendation: Authorize Chairman to sign draft letter, with any changes the
Board deems appropriate. Forward to City Council for Mayor's approval and
signature. Receive and File Staff Report.
Staff Report
Mr. Cummins delivered the staff report. (Staff Report is on file for inspection in the
Planning Department.) He provided some background information on this item and
noted that after receipt of the Notice of Preparation (NOP) the City had responded with
a fairly lengthy letter detailing a number of concerns. He stated that some of these
concerns are addressed in the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) and some
were not. He said that the bulk of the draft letter recognizes the items on which the City
commented but were not adequately addressed. He noted that one of the issues not
adequately described was the actual land uses for the marina, but the County has now
more clearly addressed this in the DEIR. He stated that the project as described is
basically an expansion of the existing facility, which includes dry boat storage, parking,
06-02-04 EQCB Minutes.doc
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meeting of June 2, 2004
and a boat launch facility. He indicated that for this project the City is recommending
Alternative 2, which includes a consolidation of the wetlands. He said that typically on a
project of this type where there is the potential for drainage into the soil, the City would
prefer a consolidation of the wetland area rather than the small pockets of ponding, as
this is better for the riparian habitat and the environment. He indicated that another
primary concern on this project is that the City's authority to issue permits is not
adequately described in the DEIR, and Staff strongly believes that the City should have
permitting authority in a number of areas that should be under the City's jurisdiction. He
noted that this document is to appear on the next City Council (CC) Agenda of June 14,
2004.
Board Questions/Comments
Member Voce commended Staff for their work on the comment letter. He asked if the
Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) would be thoroughly reviewing this project. Mr.
Cummins stated that the ACE is involved in the process because of the wetlands.
Member Barton stated that the comment letter is very well written and she would
approve it. She clarified that parking of Recreational Vehicles (RVs) would not be
permitted. Mr. Cummins stated that Alternative 3 would allow for an RV park. Member
Barton said that she had visited the site and it appears that the proposed project would
bring about quite an improvement. She inquired about how water runoff during
construction would be handled. Mr. Cummins noted that the comment letter states that
very specific mitigation measures for construction area runoff must be included in the
Final EIR. Member Barton asked how this would be accomplished. Mr. Cummins
stated that depending upon the grading this could be done with staging areas or catch
basins or gravel could be used. He noted that not all runoff can be stopped, but if
mitigation is not adequately addressed in the FEIR, Staff will have an opportunity to
comment at that time. Vice-Chairperson Hurley asked if the comment letter states that
runoff should go into the sewer rather than into the storm drains. Mr. Cummins stated
that the letter includes a general comment that states the City would prefer that
"wastewater" in general go into the sewer system instead of into the natural habitat,
which is a general City policy. Vice-Chairperson Hurley asked if anything less than this
would be acceptable when permits are to be issued. Mr. Cummins stated that Staff will
review the County's proposal in the FEIR and will then make recommendations to the
EQCB and CC.
Member Voce asked if the Board would see the FEIR by this fall. Mr. Cummins stated
that he does not know the breadth of comments to be taken on the FEIR, which would
determine when the final document would be circulated. Member Voce confirmed that
in the interim the Board would not have a document upon which it could comment. Mr.
Cummins stated that a formal public hearing would be held when the FEIR is presented
with responses to the comments received circulated 10 days before the public hearing.
He noted that Staff would review the comments and to the extent they are inadequate
and depending upon the time available, Staff would schedule a meeting with the EQCB
or with CC. He said if this were not possible, Staff would get authorization from CC to
06-02-04 EQCB Minutes.doc
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meetmg of June 2, 2004
go to the County hearings and present subsequent comments. Member Voce asked if
there is insufficient time to review the document, could Board members go to the
County hearings to present comments. Mr. Cummins stated that CEQA requires only a
10-day notice, but typically jurisdictional agencies try to allow as much time as possible
to respond to comments in order to prevent potential litigation due to insufficient time for
review of responses. He indicated that if Board members have questions or comments
or would like a status on the project, they are welcome to call or e-mail him at his office.
Member O'Malley stated that the DEIR discusses electric and water utilities, but there
was no reference to a sewer. Mr. Cummins explained that there is a Seal Beach sewer
pipe there, and a principle concern of the City is the capacity of this sewer line. Member
O'Malley stated that he had visited the site and he also believes that the proposed
project will be a great improvement. He noted that he is concerned about the disrepair
of the existing facility. He said that sensors, gates, etc., need repair, but he saw nothing
in the DEIR regarding any upgrades to the existing facility. He indicated that more
specific information on repair and upgrades should be included. He also noted that the
marina area is not easily accessible to the Seal Beach Police Department (SBPD) and
with a reported 143 incidents on the marina in one year, this should be addressed. He
indicated that if the new project is to double the parking capacity, this could be a
nightmare for SBPD. Member Barton stated that there is a Sheriff's station there.
Member O'Malley countered that this is a Harbor Patrol Station that handles watercraft
violations. Mr. Cummins stated that from a CEQA standpoint any environmental
impacts have been addressed through the SBPD issuing parking citations and handling
any other law enforcement issues. He noted that this Board concern could be included
in the Staff Report to CC to provide an awareness of these safety and security
concerns.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley provided a list of typographical errors for correction in the
comment letter and noted that on Page 17, Line 3, in order to provide the explanation of
this term, the acronym MLD should be spelled out to read "Most Likely Descendent."
He then referred to Page 25, Item No. 22, Line 7, and recommended changing "The
County needs to clarify..." to read, "The County needs to certifv.. .," noting that this
would help address concerns related to runoff contamination. Mr. Cummins noted that
the term "certify" is used by CEQA to indicate the ultimate approval of a document, and
use of this term here might create some confusion regarding this. He noted that the
City is requesting clarification within this particular page on the document, and to certify
the document with that clarification. Vice-Chairperson Hurley then referred to Page 26,
Item No. 26, Line 3, and stated that the dates for the nesting season, March 1 - August
31, should be included in parentheses. He then noted that the sentence on Page 11,
Line 7 of the paragraph at the bottom of the page makes no sense. He indicated that
this should be reviewed for possible clarification of the text. The next correction was to
Page 13, Line 9, where the sentence should be changed to read, "The EIR must clearly
indicate.. ."
Vice-Chairperson Hurley then noted that he would not be available to sign the final draft
of the comment letter and since the Board currently has no Chairperson, a member
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meeting of June 2, 2004
should volunteer to serve as Chairperson Pro-Tern. Mr. Cummins stated that it would
be appropriate to have a volunteer sign as a Board Member, and election of the
Chairperson could take place at a later date. Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that for
the record it might be better to formally designate one of the Board members as
Chairperson Pro-Tern for the signing of this letter. Mr. Cummins cautioned that an
appointment of this kind was not on tonight's meeting agenda and any Board Member
could sign the letter. Member Voce stated that he would be available to sign the letter.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley asked if Member Voce would like to review the revised
document before it goes to CC. Mr. Cummins stated that he could forward a revised
copy of the letter to Member Voce prior to presentation before CC.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley then referred to Page 15, under Mitigation Measure 4.4-1, Line
5, No. (2) and said that he does not see the difference between No. (2) and No. (3). Mr.
Cummins explained that No. (2) refers to when something is unearthed, immediately a
barrier is placed around the area to prevent anything being disturbed, and No. (3) refers
to the procedure after the area has been secured. Member Voce noted that the key
word is "potential." Vice-Chairperson Hurley suggested that No. (3) should state "the
procedure to be used after the discovery of cultural resources." The Board agreed that
this would basically be re-stating what No. (3) already states. Mr. Cummins noted that
the concern with using the term "after" is that this could assume that cultural resources
would be found. Member O'Malley agreed and interjected that since this area was
landfill, he doubted that any cultural materials would be discovered.
MOTION by O'Malley; SECOND by Barton to authorize Board Member Voce to sign
draft letter as amended. Forward to City Council for Mayor's approval and signature.
Receive and File Staff Report.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
4-0
Hurley, Barton, O'Malley, and Voce
None
None
VI Staff Concerns
Mr. Cummins stated that the EQCB would sit as a 4-member board until Council person
Ybaben appoints a new Board member. He recommended that elections for
Chairperson and Vice-Chairperson be postponed until the new Board member is
seated.
He then indicated that in the past members have expressed an interest in touring the
Naval Weapons Station (NWS) RAB sites, and Staff has received notice of a tour to be
conducted on July 13, 2004 at 6:00 p.m. He said he has attempted to contact Pei-Fen
Tamashiro to get the information on the tour, but has not yet received a response. He
stated that if the Board is interested, he would continue to pursue this issue.
06-02-04 EQCB Minutes.doc
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meeting of June 2, 2004
Mr. Cummins then noted that the next scheduled EQCB meeting is on June 30, 2004,
however, he does not believe there will be any business items for that evening. He
indicated that if the EIR for the San Gabriel River is available for review, Staff might
schedule an adjourned meeting for early July.
VII Board Concerns
Member Barton asked if Member Unrath's service on the board is to be recognized in
any way. Mr. Cummins stated that the City Clerk will have a plaque created to award to
Mr. Unrath. Vice-Chairperson Hurley asked if the plaque could be awarded to Mr.
Unrath at the next EQCB meeting. Mr. Cummins said he would have to check to see if
the plaque was not yet mailed to Mr. Unrath. Member Voce stated that a letter of
appreciation from the Board could be prepared and forwarded to Mr. Unrath.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley inquired about the response to comments for the West End
Pump Station project. Mr. Cummins stated that Staff is due to receive the response to
comments from the consultants this week and this item is scheduled for the June 14,
2004 CC meeting. He noted that the EQCB would probably receive the draft response
to comments early next week.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley commended Staff on the comment letter prepared for the
Sunset Harbour Marina EIR.
VIII Adjournment
Vice-Chairperson Hurley adjourned the meeting at 7:20 p.m. to the scheduled meeting
of June 30, 2004.
Respectfully Submitted,
~~\)&~
Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secretary
Department of Development Services
The Board on July 28, 2004, approved the Minutes of the Environmental Quality Control
Board of Wednesday, June 2, 2004.~ .
06-02-04 EQCB Minutes.doc
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