HomeMy WebLinkAboutEQCB Min 2005-05-25
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1CITY OF SEAL BEACH
Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of May 25, 2005
Chairperson Voce called the Environmental Quality Control Board (EQCB) meeting of
May 25, 2005 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: Chairperson Voce, Members Barton and Vineyard
Absent: Members Hurley and O'Malley
Also
Present: Department of Development Services
Lee Whittenberg, Director
Christy Teague, Senior Planner
Mr. Whittenberg stated that both Member Hurley and Member O'Malley had called to
report that they would not be present at tonight's meeting and it would be appropriate to
make a motion to excuse their absence.
MOTION by Barton; SECOND by Vineyard to excuse Members Hurley and O'Malley
from the meeting of May 25, 2005.
'MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Voce, Barton, and Vineyard
None
Hurley and O'Malley
II Approval of Agenda
Mr. Whittenberg noted that Item VI., 8 under Scheduled Matters, should be removed as
these minutes were approved at the February 16, 1005 meeting.
MOTION by Vineyard; SECOND by Barton to approve the Agenda as amended.
MOTION CARRIED: 3 - 0 - 2
AYES: Voce, Barton, and Vineyard
1 These Minutes were transcribed from an audiotape of the meeting.
05-25-05 EQCB Minutes
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meeting of May 25, 2005
NOES:
ABSENT:
None
Hurley and O'Malley
III Oral Communications
None.
IV Consent Calendar
1. RECEIVE AND FILE: "City Of Seal Beach Comments Re: Draft Program
Environmental Impact Report - San Gabriel River Corridor Master Plan,"
Dated April 25, 2005.
2. RECEIVE AND FILE: "City Of Seal Beach Comments Re: Notice Of
Preparation Of Draft EIR - Long Beach Airport Terminal Area Improvement
Project," Dated April 25, 2005.
3. RECEIVE AND FILE: "City Of Seal Beach Comments Re: Notice Of
Preparation Of Draft Program EIR -2006 Long-Range Transportation Plan,"
Dated April 25, 2005.
4. RECEIVE AND FILE: Memorandum Re: "Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station
- Installation Restoration Program - Status Report Re: RAB Project Update,"
Dated May 2, 2005.
5. RECEIVE AND FILE: Memorandum Re: "Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station
- Installation Restoration Program - Status Report Re: RAB Project Update,"
Dated May 11, 2005.
6. RECEIVE AND FILE: Memorandum Re: "Summary - Base Alignment And
Closure Proposals; Seal Beach And Los Alamitos," Dated May 17, 2005.
7. RECEIVE AND FILE: Final Technical Memorandum - Tier Ii Ecological Risk
Assessment, Site 74, Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach.
MOTION by Barton; SECOND by Vineyard to approve the Consent Calendar as
presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
3-0-2
Voce, Barton, and Vineyard
05-25-05 EQCB Minutes
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meeting of May 25, 2005
NOES:
ABSENT:
None
Hurley and O'Malley
V Scheduled Matters
9. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - March 30, 2005.
Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
appropriate.
Chairperson Voce noted that the absent Members (Hurley and O'Malley) were both
present at the meeting of March 30, 2005, but he has received no comments from them
regarding this item. Member Barton stated that she was not present for this meeting
and would abstain from voting on this item. Chairperson Voce recommended
continuing this item to the next regularly scheduled meeting since the Board would not
have a quorum vote.
10. APPROVAL OF MINUTES -April 13, 2005.
Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
appropriate.
Chairperson Voce indicated that because Members Hurley and O'Malley were also
present at the meeting of April 13, 2005, he wished to continue this item to the next
regularly scheduled meeting to allow for their comments. The Board members were in
agreement.
11. City Response Letter Re: Draft Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA),
Non-Time Critical Removal Action - Solid Waste Management Unit 57, Naval
Weapons Station, Seal Beach.
Recommendation: Authorize the Chairman to sign the draft response letter,
with any additional comments determined appropriate, and instruct staff to
forward to the City Council for information purposes. Receive and File Staff
Report.
Mr. Whittenberg stated that this site is proposed for excavation and off-site disposal of
contaminated soil from previous activities at the Naval Weapons Station (NWS). He
indicated that this is a fairly small area with the estimated cost of the removal action
falling just under $123,000. He noted that historically the Board has taken the position
that off-site disposal is the preferred method. Chairperson Voce commented that since
the NWS is bearing the cost of this and this is federal property, this would be the safest
thing to do.
05-25-05 EQCB Minutes
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meeting of May 25, 2005
MOTION by Barton; SECOND by Vineyard to authorize the Chairperson to sign the
response letter as presented and instruct Staff to forward to the City Council for
information purposes. Receive and File Staff Report.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Voce, Barton, and Vineyard
None
Hurley and O'Malley
12. City Response Letter Re: Draft EIR - Long Beach Home Depot - City Of Long
Beach
Recommendation: Authorize approval of letter with any modifications
determined appropriate, instruct Chairman to sign proposed Response Letter.
Instruct Staff to forward to the City Council for final review and approval of
response letter. Receive and File Staff Report.
Mr. Whittenberg stated that this project has been scaled down from what was originally
submitted to the City of Seal Beach approximately one year ago. He noted that the
original project had included a 30,000 square foot market, which has been eliminated.
He said that the main concerns noted in the letter are tied to the issues from the 2004
comment letter, primarily dealing with traffic impacts to Seal Beach. He stated that Staff
had requested that a traffic analysis using the Congestion Management Program
requirements in Orange County be completed, but this was not done. He indicated that
Item 13 on this agenda relates to a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for a proposed project
on the Seaport Marina Hotel property at the intersection of Pacific Coast Highway
(PCH) and Second Street. He noted that because the impacts from this project are not
included in the Home Depot EIR, the response letter states that the EIR should be
revised to include impacts from the Seaport Marina project. He said that it is unclear
under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) whether this is required now or if
this can be done when the final EIR is ready for certification. He stated that the initial
submission of the plans proposed the installation of a sewer line from the project area
across the Loynes Street bridge to access the sewer facilities in the residential area, but
Staff had expressed concerns over the possibility of a sewer line breakage leaking into
the Los Cerritos Channel and ending up on the beach in Seal Beach. He noted that this
issue had been adequately addressed by the proposal to construct a double walled
sewer line. He said that the Seal Beach Department of Public Works has approved of
this plan.
Board Comments
Member Barton stated that the parking plan for this project shows 5 parking spaces per
1,000 square feet. She noted that originally the plan showed 715 spaces and the
revised plan has a total of 742 spaces. She said that she is concerned with the reduced
width of parking spaces because of the larger vehicles on the road now. Mr.
05-25-05 EQCB Minutes
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meeting of May 25, 2005
Whittenberg stated that he was not familiar with the parking width standards for the City
of Long Beach. He noted that for Seal Beach the required width is 9 feet and as he
recalls, under U. S. Department of Transportation standards, most vehicles cannot be
wider than 6 feet 8 inches.
Member Barton thanked the Director of Development Services for his expertise In
recognizing the potential for leakage problems with the proposed sewer line.
MOTION by Barton; SECOND by Vineyard to authorize Chairperson to sign proposed
Response Letter as presented. Instruct Staff to forward to the City Council for final
review and approval. Receive and File Staff Report.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Voce, Barton, and Vineyard
None
Hurley and O'Malley
13. Response To Notice Of Preparation Of Draft EIR - Seaport Marina Project -
City Of Long Beach.
Recommendation: Authorize approval of letter with any modifications
determined appropriate, instruct Chairman to sign proposed Response Letter.
Instruct Staff to forward to the City Council for final review and approval of
response letter. Receive and File Staff Report.
Mr. Whittenberg reported that the proposal is to remove the Seaport Marina Hotel and
construct 425 residential units and up to 170,000 square feet of retail development. He
stated that the comment letter basically addresses traffic impacts into Orange County
and Seal Beach. He noted that because the project proposes subterranean parking
structures the comment letter also mentions concerns with the potential for buried
cultural resources. He indicated that the recommendation was made that when the EIR
is prepared, it should include the requirements for both the Los Angeles and Orange
County Congestion Management Plans, as this project will definitely have traffic impacts
along PCH all the way down to Seal Beach Boulevard.
Board Comments
Member Barton asked if Marina Drive is to be widened with the completion of this
project. Mr. Whittenberg stated that this has not been specified, but will probably be
evaluated in the EIR document. He said the NOP gives the impression that the width of
the street will probably remain the same. Member Barton asked if the residential units
would be constructed above the retail uses. Mr. Whittenberg stated that the plans
appear to show that there will be some residential above some of the retail with other
stacked condominium development that will be strictly residential.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes of Adjourned Meeting of May 25, 2005
MOTION by Barton; SECOND by Vineyard to authorize approval of letter as presented,
instruct Chairperson to sign proposed Response Letter. Instruct Staff to forward to the
City Council for final review and approval of response letter. Receive and File Staff
Report.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Voce, Barton, and Vineyard
None
Hurley and O'Malley
VI Staff Concerns
None.
VII Board Concerns
Member Vineyard inquired about any new information on the timing of the lights along
Seal Beach Boulevard (SBB) from Lampson Avenue south to Pacific Coast Highway
(PCH). Chairperson Voce stated that the Board had agreed that the members would
contact their respective City Council (CC) representative, but essentially no action has
yet been taken. Member Vineyard noted that Councilman Levitt had been contacted
regarding this issue. Chairperson Voce suggested raising the issue at the June 13,
2005 council meeting and perhaps the CC could direct Public Works Staff to provide
information on how the signal lights along SBS and PCH are timed. The Director of
Development Services stated that Staff could request that Public Works prepare a brief
report for the next EQCB meeting agenda.
Member Vineyard then inquired about the issue of the crosswalk at Lampson Avenue
and SBB. Chairperson Voce recalled that the recommendation was to more directly
route the crosswalk for pedestrians crossing SBB. Mr. Whittenberg stated that this
could be included in the report from Public Works.
Member Vineyard then stated that the lights over the Old Ranch Golf Course driving
range are very bright, in particular for motorists driving westerly along Lampson Avenue
as it curves around the golf course. He commented that this could prove to be
dangerous if the glare distracts motorist or obscures their view. Member Barton asked if
the lights could be redirected. Member Vineyard stated that when asked about this, golf
course personnel stated that once the trees grow taller they would obscure the lights.
Mr. Whittenberg stated that Staff would look into this and report back to the Board at its
next meeting.
Chairperson Voce stated that recently he has noticed very intense diesel fumes wafting
through his neighborhood on The Hill several times a day and they can last from 5-30
minutes. He inquired about which agency he should contact to help monitor this
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of May 25, 2005
situation. Mr. Whittenberg stated that he could contact the Air Quality Management
District (AQMD). He asked if these fumes might be coming from the John Laing Homes
construction site. Chairperson Voce stated that the wind blows in from the ocean, so it
would have to be coming from PCH or someplace south of The Hill. Mr. Whittenberg
stated that Chairperson Voce should contact the Planning Department when this next
occurs so that the Building Inspectors can attempt to track down the source of these
fumes.
VIII Adjournment
Chairperson Voce adjourned the meeting at 6:57 p.m. to the next regularly scheduled
meeting of June 29, 2005.
Respectfully Submitted,
~~MA.'\r~(l__
o
Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secretary
Department of Development Services
The Board on June 29, 2005, approved the Minutes of the Environmental Quality
Control Board of Wednesday, May 25, 2005. ~.
05-25-05 EQCB Minutes
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