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ORD 501U ORDINANCE NO. 501U AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES ADOPTING FURTHER REVISIONS TO THE LANDSLIDE MORATORIUM ORDINANCE (CHAPTER 15.20 OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE) TO ESTABLISH AN EXCEPTION CATEGORY TO ALLOW FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SIXTEEN (16) MONKS PLAINTIFFS' LOTS IN ZONE 2 TO INCREASE THE MAXIMUM PERMITTED QUANTITY OF GRADING PER LOT FROM LESS THAN 50 CUBIC YARDS TO LESS THAN 1,000 CUBIC YARDS; AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF. WHEREAS, on December 17, 2008, the California Supreme Court denied the City's petition for review in the case of Monks v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes, so the City Council must consider the actions that are necessary to comply with the Court of Appeal's decision; and, WHEREAS, on January 21, 2009, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2009-06 repealing Resolution No. 2002-43, which had required property owners in Zone 2 to establish a 1.5:1 factor of safety before they could develop their lots and was the purported catalyst for the filing of the Monks lawsuit; and, WHEREAS, next action necessary to comply with the Court of Appeal's decision was to enact revisions to the current Moratorium Ordinance to allow the development of the Monks plaintiffs' sixteen (16) undeveloped lots in Zone 2; and, WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code Sections 21000 et seq. ("CEQA"), the State's CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Section 15000 et seq., the City's Local CEQA Guidelines, and Government Code Section 65962.5(f) (Hazardous Waste and Substances Statement), the City of Rancho Palos Verdes prepared an Initial Study and determined that, by incorporating mitigation measures into the Negative Declaration, there is no substantial evidence that the approval of Planning Case No. ZON2009-00007 would result in a significant adverse effect on the environment. Accordingly, a Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared and circulated for public review for thirty (30) days between August 10, 2009 and September 9, 2009, and notice of that fact was given in the manner required by law; and, WHEREAS, after notice issued pursuant to the provisions of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code, the City Council conducted a public hearing on September 1, 2009, and September 15, 2009, at which time all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence regarding the proposed revisions to Chapter 15.20 as set forth in the City Council Staff reports of those dates; and, WHEREAS, at its September 15, 2009, meeting, after hearing public testimony, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2009-72 making certain findings related to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and adopting a Mitigation Monitoring Program and Mitigated Negative Declaration for the proposed project; and, WHEREAS, at its September 15, 2009, meeting, after hearing public testimony, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 498 to establish an exception category to allow for the future development of the sixteen (16) Monks plaintiffs' lots in Zone 2; and, WHEREAS, Ordinance No. 498 became effective on October 15, 2009; and, WHEREAS, since the effective date of Ordinance No. 498, three (3) Monks plaintiffs have filed Landslide Moratorium Exception (LME) applications to develop new homes on their undeveloped lots, but none of these proposals are consistent with the grading limitation of less than fifty cubic yards (<50 CY) of grading that was imposed by Ordinance No. 498; and, WHEREAS, as a result of discussions between City Staff, the City Attorney, the Monks plaintiffs' attorneys and their geotechnical consultant, it was agreed that the most expeditious solution to this conflict was to increase the maximum permitted quantity of grading associated with each of the Monks plaintiffs' LME applications. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS: Section 1: The City Council has reviewed and considered the further amendments to Chapter 15.20 of Title 15 of the Municipal Code. Section 2: The City Council finds that the further amendments to Chapter 15.20 of Title 15 of the Municipal Code are consistent with the Rancho Palos Verdes General Plan in that they uphold, and do not hinder, the goals and policies of those plans, in particular to balance the rights of owners of undeveloped properties within the Landslide Moratorium Area to make reasonable use of their properties while limiting the potential impacts resulting from such use upon landslide movement, soil stability and public safety within and adjacent to the Landslide Moratorium Area. Section 3: The City Council further finds that the further amendments to Chapter 15.20 of Title 15 of the Municipal Code are consistent Court of Appeal's decision in Monks v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes in that they will allow the potential future development of the sixteen (16) Monks plaintiffs' undeveloped lots within Zone 2 of the Landslide Moratorium Area with new, single-family residences, thereby achieving parity with the rights enjoyed by the owners of the developed lots in Zone 2 of the Landslide Moratorium Area. Section 4: The City Council further finds, based upon its own independent review, that there is no substantial evidence that the further amendments to Title 15 would result in new significant environmental effects, or a substantial increase in the Ordinance No. 501U Page 2 of 4 severity of the effects, as previously identified the Mitigated Negative Declaration, adopted through Resolution No. 2009-72 in conjunction with Ordinance No. 498 for amendments to Title 15 of the Municipal Code, since the new amendments still provide regulations that would minimize impacts to properties within the City and the environment by protecting surrounding properties from the impacts of the potential future development of the Monks plaintiffs' sixteen (16) undeveloped lots. An Addendum (No. 1) to the prior Mitigated Negative Declaration has been prepared and is attached hereto as Exhibit `A'. The City Council hereby finds, based on its own independent judgment, that the facts stated in the Addendum are true because the revisions to Title 15 of the Municipal Code will provide for the development on the Monks plaintiffs' lots in a manner that will have no significant adverse environmental impacts. Section 5: The City Council further finds that the amendments to Chapter 15.20 of Title 15 of the Municipal Code are necessary to protect the public health, safety, and general welfare in the area. Section 6: Based upon the foregoing, Paragraph P of Section 15.20.040 of Chapter 15.20 of Title 15 of the Rancho Palos Verdes Municipal Code is amended to read as follows: P. The construction of residential buildings, accessory structures, and grading totaling less than one thousand cubic yards of combined cut and fill and including no more than fifty cubic yards of imported fill material on the sixteen (16) undeveloped lots in Zone 2 of the "Landslide Moratorium Area" as outlined in green on the landslide moratorium map on file in the Director's office, identified as belonging to the plaintiffs in the case "Monks v. City of Rancho Palos Verdes, 167 Cal. App. 4th 263, 84 Cal. Rptr. 3d 75 (Cal. App. 2 Dist., 2008)'; provided, that a landslide moratorium exception permit is approved by the Director, and provided that the project complies with the criteria set forth in Section 15.20.050 of this Chapter. Such projects shall qualify for a landslide moratorium exception permit only if all applicable requirements of this Code are satisfied, and the parcel is served by a sanitary sewer system. Prior to the issuance of a landslide moratorium exception permit, the applicant shall submit to the Director any geological or geotechnical studies reasonably required by the City to demonstrate to the satisfaction of the City geotechnical staff that the proposed project will not aggravate the existing situation. Section 7: In order to protect the public health, safety and welfare it is necessary for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to adopt an urgency ordinance to allow for the future development of the sixteen (16) Monks plaintiffs' lots in Zone 2 to increase the maximum permitted quantity of grading per lot from less than 50 cubic yards to less than 1,000 cubic yards. The urgency in this case is that City's processing of the three (3) current Landslide Moratorium Exception (LME) applications by Monks plaintiffs cannot move forward because the projects cannot be designed to meet both the current 50-cubic-yard grading limitation and the architectural and development standards of the Ordinance No. 501U Page 3 of 4 Portuguese Bend Community Association. Furthermore, the parties in the Monks case are next scheduled to appear before the judge for a status conference on the adjudication of damages on January 29, 2010, with a trial date set for February 9, 2010. In order to demonstrate to the court that the City continues to make a good-faith effort to process the Monks plaintiffs' LME applications timely, it is imperative for the proposed revisions to Ordinance No. 498 to be effective as soon as possible. Therefore, this ordinance is necessary for the public health, safety and welfare and shall take effect immediately upon adoption as an Urgency Ordinance. Section 8: The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause the same to be posted in the manner prescribed by law. PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 15TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2009. c _Ail • /- Mayor ATTEST: Of6L64A-- City Clerk STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES )ss CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES ) I, CARLA MORREALE, City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes, do hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council of said City is five; that the foregoing Ordinance No. 501U was duly and regularly adopted by the City Council of said City at a regular meeting thereof held on December 15, 2009, and that the same was passed and adopted by the following roll call vote: AYES: Campbell, Misetich, Stern, Long and Wolowicz NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None 4 '1 CITY CLERK Ordinance No. 501U Page 4 of 4 ORDINANCE NO. 501U — EXHIBIT `A' ADDENDUM NO. 1 TO MITIGATED NEGATIVE DECLARATION DECEMBER 15, 2009 Project Background: On September 15, 2009, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 2009-72, thereby adopting a Mitigated Negative Declaration for amendment to Title 15 of the City's Municipal Code (Ordinance No. 498). Prior to its adoption, the Mitigated Negative Declaration was circulated for public comment from August 10, 2009, through September 9, 2009. In adopting the Mitigated Negative Declaration, the City Council found that: 1) the Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared in the manner required by law and that there was no substantial evidence that, with appropriate mitigation measures, the approval of the proposed Zone 2 Landslide Moratorium Ordinance Revisions (Planning Case No. ZON2009-00007) would result in a significant adverse effect upon the environment; 2) that the Zone 2 Landslide Moratorium Ordinance Revisions were consistent with the,Rancho Palos Verdes General Plan and with the underlying Residential, <1 DU/acre and Residential, 1-2 DU/acre land use designations within Zone 2; and 3) that with the appropriate mitigation measures, which require Neighborhood Compatibility Analysis for new residences; limitations on exterior illumination; imposition of City and regional restrictions upon fugitive dust control and construction vehicle emissions; preparation of biological surveys for properties identified as containing sensitive vegetation communities; protection of cultural resources during grading operations; completion of geotechnical analysis of any proposed grading and construction prior to building permit issuance; imposition of fire protection requirements upon the construction of all new structures in accordance with the City's most recently- adopted Building Code; control and treatment of site runoff both during and after construction; limitations on construction hours and haul routes; and connection of all new structures to the Abalone Cove Sewer System, the Zone 2 Landslide Moratorium Ordinance Revisions would not have a significant impact on the environment. Proposed Amendments: The City Council is currently reviewing further amendments to Title 15 that would increase the permissible quantity of grading associated with the future development of each of the Monks plaintiffs lots in Zone 2 from less than fifty cubic yards (i.e., "minor grading") to less than one thousand cubic yards. The proposed amendments are intended to facilitate the timely review and approval of the development of new homes on the Monks plaintiffs' lots, while continuing to balance the impacts of said development upon the surrounding community with the potentially significant adverse financial impacts to the City as a whole if this development is not permitted to occur, as required by the Court of Appeal. Purpose: This Addendum to the previously adopted Mitigated Negative Declaration is being prepared pursuant to Section 15164 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines which allows for the lead agency to prepare an addendum to an adopted negative declaration if only minor technical changes or additions are necessary or none of the conditions described in Section 15162 calling for the preparation of a subsequent EIR or negative declaration have occurred. Pursuant to CEQA Section 15162, no subsequent negative declaration shall be prepared for the project unless the lead agency determines, on the basis of substantial evidence in the light of the whole record, one or more of the following: (1) Substantial changes are proposed in the project that will require major revisions of the previous negative declaration due to the involvement of new, significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; (2) Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous negative declaration due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or, (3) New information of substantial importance identifies one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous negative declaration, significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous negative declaration, mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible or not analyzed in the negative declaration would be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects but the project proponents decline to adopt of the measure or alternative. FINDINGS ON REGARDING THE PROPOSED PROJECT REVISIONS: 1. Staff analyzed the proposed revisions to determine if any impacts would result from the proposed changes allowing an increase in the maximum permitted quantity of grading per lot from less than 50 cubic yards to less than 1,000 cubic yards. This analysis included review of the proposed revisions by the City Geologist. The City Council has independently reviewed this item and has determined that, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15162, a new Mitigated Negative Declaration is not required for this revision because the proposed amendments will not result in any new significant environmental effects: (a) The proposed revisions do not result in any new significant environmental effects and, like Ordinance No. 498, no unmitigatable significant impacts have been identified. The increase in allowable grading does not present new significant environmental impacts because it still only allows for the future development of each of the Monks plaintiffs' lots with a single- Ordinance No. 501U Exhibit A Page 2of3 family residence, in a manner that is consistent with the development standards established by the Portuguese Bend Community Association. Furthermore, the City Geologist determined that the proposed revisions do not present any new significant unmitigatable impacts. Therefore, the proposed revisions do not represent a substantial change in the project, and will not result in new significant environmental impacts or a substantial increase in the severity of any impacts. (b) The proposed revisions will not result in any significant environmental impacts, and the circumstances under which the project is being undertaken have not substantially changed since the CEQA determination was made for Ordinance No. 498. The scope of allowable development (a single-family residence on each of the sixteen (16) lots) remains the same, and there are no changes with respect to the circumstances under which the revisions are undertaken that will require major revisions of the previous Mitigated Negative Declaration. (c) No new information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time the prior Mitigated Negative Declaration was adopted, identifies a significant environmental effect. Because the proposed revisions would not result in any new or more severe environmental impacts that those associated with Ordinance No. 498, there is no need for new or substantially modified mitigation measures. Therefore, pursuant to CEQA, the City Council finds that no further environmental review is necessary other than the City Council's adoption of this Addendum No. 1 oc Ordinance No. 501U Exhibit A Page 3of3 O Aj! AN C H PALOS VERDES STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS AFFIDAVIT OF POSTING CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES) The undersigned, being first duly sworn, deposes and says: That at all times herein mentioned, she was and now is the appointed City Clerk of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes; That on December 17, 2009, she caused to be posted the following document entitled: ORDINANCE NO. 501U, AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES ADOPTING FURTHER REVISIONS TO THE LANDSLIDE MORATORIUM ORDINANCE (CHAPTER 15.20 OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE) TO ESTABLISH AN EXCEPTION CATEGORY TO ALLOW FOR THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF THE SIXTEEN (16) MONKS PLAINTIFFS' LOTS IN ZONE 2 TO INCREASE THE MAXIMUM PERMITTED QUANTITY OF GRADING PER LOT FROM LESS THAN 50 CUBIC YARDS TO LESS THAN 1,000 CUBIC YARDS; AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF, a copy of which is attached hereto, in the following locations: City Hall Ladera Linda Community Center 30940 Hawthorne Blvd. 32201 Forrestal Drive Rancho Palos Verdes Rancho Palos Verdes Hesse Park 29301 Hawthorne Blvd. Rancho Palos Verdes I certify under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is a true and correct affidavit of posting. gag _CAPeciefizA City Clerk W:\FORMS\Form 150-Affidavit of Posting Ordinance No.501 U.doc