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CC RES 2011-097 RESOLUTION NO. 2011-97 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES CONDITIONALLY APPROVING CASE NO. ZON2011- 00326 FOR A COASTAL PERMIT FOR THE SAN RAMON CANYON STORM DRAIN IMPROVEMENT AND EMERGENCY SLOPE STABILIZATION PROJECT THAT WILL TRAVERSE THE CITY'S SHORELINE PARK PROPERTY AND OUTLET AT THE BASE OF THE BLUFF AT THE BEACH BELOW THE PARK IN THE CITY'S COASTAL ZONE (APN 7573-014-013). WHEREAS, it has been identified that The San Ramon Canyon drainage system poses ongoing threats to the City of Rancho Palos Verdes s and the community below 25th g Street, and access along Palos Verdes Drive South/25 th i Street is frequently impacted during and following storm events; and, WHEREAS, the current San Ramon Canyon drainage system is not capable of managing large amounts of debris that are generated from within the canyon, and since storm water g enerated from the canyon does not have a direct outlet to the ocean, 25th Street at the mouth of the canyon is impacted by flooding, rock and debris; and, WHEREAS, as a result of these storm impacts, a project study report was prepared to identify how best to address the drainage deficiencies; and, WHEREAS, on July 21, 2010, a duly noticed community meeting was held at the Miraleste Intermediate School auditorium to discuss the proposed storm drain project and solicit comments from the surrounding residents; and, WHEREAS, on March 1, the project study report was presented to the City Council, who identified this preferred alternative design, and directed Staff to solicit professional services to engineer and design this preferred alternative design, which is referred to as the San Ramon Canyon Storm Drain Improvement and Emergency Slope Stabilization Project; and, WHEREAS, In July 2011, City Staff released an Early Consultation Public Draft Initial Study/Environmental Assessment for the proposed storm drain improvements to the general public, and to State and Federal agencies; thereby allowing the resource agencies an opportunity to review the document and provide preliminary feedback to the City to strengthen the document. Further, the document was also made available on the City's website and a Notice was published in the Peninsula News advertising the availability of the document. WHEREAS, pursuant to the provision of the California Environmental Quality Act, Public Resources Code Section 21000 et.seq. ("CEQA"), the State's CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulation, 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 Case No. ZON2011-00326, otherwise known as an Environmental Assessment and Coastal Permit, would result in a significant adverse effect on the environment. Accordingly, a Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared and notice of that fact was given in the manner required by law; and, WHEREAS, pursuant to the provision of the National Environmental Protection Act, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ("NEPA"), the City of Rancho Palos Verdes prepared an Environmental Assessment and determined that, in incorporating mitigation measures into the project, there is no substantial evidence that the approval of Case No. ZON2011- 00326, otherwise known as an Environmental Assessment and Coastal Permit, would result in a significant adverse effect on the environment. Accordingly, a Draft Finding of No Significant Impact was prepared and notice of that fact was given in the manner required by law; and, WHEREAS,the Mitigated Negative Declaration/Finding of No Significant Impact and Initial Study/Environmental Assessment were prepared and circulated for public review between November 17, 2011 and December 19, 2011; and, WHEREAS, on November 16, 2011, the City mailed notices to all property owners within a 500-foot radius from the subject properties upon which the storm drain system will be constructed on, informing them of the City Council hearing to consider the pending environmental documents and the Coastal Permit application. Further, the notice was published in the Peninsula News on November 17, 2011; and, WHEREAS, in accordance with the requirements of CEQA, a Mitigation Monitoring program has been prepared, and is attached to the MND/FONSI document, and to Resolution No. 2011-96, as Exhibit "A"; and, WHEREAS, copies of the Mitigated Negative Declaration were distributed to the City Council and prior to taking action on the proposed project associated with Case No. ZON2011-00326, the City Council independently reviewed and considered the information and findings contained in the Mitigated Negative Declaration and determined that the document was prepared in compliance with the requirements of CEQA and local guidelines, with respect thereto; and, WHEREAS, after issuing notice pursuant to the requirements of the City's Development Code and the State CEQA Guidelines, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes held a public hearing on December 20, 2011, at which time all interested parties were given an opportunity to be heard and present evidence. NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES DOES HEREBY FIND, DETERMINE, AND RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS: Section 1: The proposed project consists of constructing a large diameter (54 inch) steel storm drain system to convey storm water from San Ramon Canyon to the beach, and will be designed to handle existing upstream flows for a 100-year storm event. Resolution No. 2011-97 Page 2of5 The project undertaking includes a new mid-canyon storm drain inlet structure and tunnel alignment north of PVDS/25th Street that will gravity flow through the tunnel to a cut and covered section of buried pipe located within a one hundred foot wide easement along the eastern property boundary at Shoreline Park south of PCDS/25th Street, and transition into a second tunnel to a new outlet structure at the base of the bluff. Section 2: The City Council finds that the request for a Coastal Permit to allow the development project within the "appealable area" of the City's Coastal Zone is warranted for the following reasons: A. The project is consistent with the Coastal Specific Plan. The subject property is located within Subregion 8 of the City's coastal zone, as established by the Rancho Palos Verdes Coastal Specific Plan, and is designated as a natural open space area. The project includes a maintenance access path that will also serve to facilitate pedestrian access from PV Drive South/25th Street, to Shoreline Park at the northeastern portion of the site. As such, it is consistent with Coastal Specific Plan Policy No. 4 for Subregion 8, which states in part, "Encourage...at least two walkways: one from 25th Street along the eastern portion of the site; the other access point should align with the City's trail in Subregion 7." The project is also consistent with policies nos. 1 and 4 in the Natural Environment Element of the Coastal Specific Plan, which state: Policy No. 1: "Allow only low intensity activities within [CRM-1]." Policy No. 4: "Allow non-residential structures not requiring significant excavation or grading within Coastal Resource Management Districts within [CRM-4]..." The Park site falls within general categories established by the Coastal Specific Plan called Coastal Resource Management districts. The Park falls within CRM- 1 (Extreme Slope), CRM-4 (Marginally Stable) and CRM-9 (Wildlife Habitat) of the Coastal Specific Plan Natural Environment Element. Consistent with the aforementioned policies, the project is considered low intensity since it will not result in an intensification of use of the property, and it will not be visible since the drainage system will be wholly underground. Further, the project entails a non-residential structure, which after some excavation, will be covered and re- vegetated so that the infrastructure is not visible. Lastly, the project is consistent with the specific criteria/purpose of each of the Coastal Resource Management districts (i.e., CRM-1, CRM-4 and CRM-9 districts). Each CRM is as follows: CRM-1 (Extreme Slope) indicates that "the retention of natural topographic conditions is important and nonstructured uses such as passive parks, trails, agriculture, etc., are appropriate." Resolution No. 2011-97 Page 3 of 5 CRM-4 (Marginally Stable) indicates that the "preferred land use would include recreational facilities such as picnic areas, hiking trails...and only small, nonpermanent units not requiring significant earthwork, such as picnic shelters, are desirable". CRM-9 ("Wildlife Habitat) indicates that "it is important to review any proposed development within or adjacent to wildlife habitat districts for the nature of the impact upon the wildlife habitat and possible mitigation measures to fully offset any impacts." The detailed geologic and biology reports have concluded that the new system will not negatively impact the area since the storm drain system will prevent uncontrolled erosion of the bluff face and the alignment will be re-vegetated, which would be consistent with and/or furthers the aforementioned standards of the CRM-1, CRM-4 and CRM-9 districts. In addition, although there will be permanent loss of coastal bluff scrub as a result of the project, these impacts have been mitigated by the City's NCCP Subarea Plan, which requires that a certain amount of habitat be restored within the City's nature Preserve. The proposed project will also facilitate access to the site and the trail network on Shoreline Park. Further, the project will not alter the uses on the site and will continue to operate as a park facility with passive recreational opportunities. Lastly, the new outlet will be located at the base of the bluff at the beach where it will discharge storm water to the ocean. With the outlet located at the beach below, it will prevent damage and erosion of the coastal bluff. Further, although the storm drain system would carry sediment during storm events that would directly outlet to the ocean, it is not anticipated that the sediment will adversely impact coastal resources since the system will collect water from a natural canyon upslope. Therefore, Staff believes that the proposed project is consistent with the Coastal Specific Plan. B. The proposed project, when located between the sea and the first public road, is consistent with applicable public access and recreation policies of the Coastal Act. The proposed storm drain project will traverse the eastern side of Shoreline Park, which is an open space park parcel between the sea and the first public road. The public access policies of the Coastal Act (Chapter 3, Article 2) generally require the provision of public coastal access as a condition of new development. However, 30212(b)(5) of the Coastal Act exempts maintenance activities such as this storm drain system from the definition of "new development." Notwithstanding, public coastal access would be maintained and would not be hindered since the storm drain system would be below ground. Consequently, access would be improved since a new maintenance access path would be installed at the northeastern portion of the park site, which will also serve to improve the current pedestrian accessibility to the site from along PV Drive South/25th Street. Further, with respect to the recreation policies of the Coastal Act (Chapter 3, Article 3), the subject property is designated and Resolution No. 2011-97 Page 4 of 5 it functions as an unimproved park, a,nd will continue to provide for reasonable passive coastal recreation. Section 3: The time within which the judicial review of the decision reflected in this Resolution, if available, must be sought is governed by Section 1094.6 of the California Code of Civil Procedure and other applicable shortened period of limitations. Section 4: For the foregoing reasons and based on the information and findings included in the Staff Report, Environmental Assessment and other components of the legislative record, in the proposed Mitigated Negative Declaration/Finding of No Significant Impact, and in the public comments received by the City Council, the City Council of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes hereby approves Case No. ZON2011-00326 subject to the conditions in Exhibit A attached hereto, thereby allowing a Coastal Permit to allow the construction of the San Ramon Storm Drain Imirovement Project and the associated outlet structure within the appealable area of the City's Coastal Zone. PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED this 20th day of December 2011. Ma or ATTEST: 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, hereby certify that the above Resolution No. 2011-97 was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the said City Council at a regular meeting held on December 20, 2011. J City Clerk Resolution No. 2011-97 Page 5 of 5 EXHIBIT "A" RESOLUTION NO. 2011-97 CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL CASE NO. ZON2011-00326 (ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT AND COASTAL PERMIT) 1. This p ermit shall be valid for a period of one (1) year from the date of the City's final action on this application. 2. This approval is for the Coastal Permit associated with the San Ramon Canyon Storm Drain Improvement and Emergency Slope Stabilization Project, as presented and approved by the City Council on Decem1 er 20, 2011. 3. Construction of the storm drain project shall be substantially consistent with the project approved by the City Council on December 20, 2011. However, the Director of Public Works, and/or the Director of Community Development is authorized to approve minor modifications to the project or any of the conditions if such modifications achieve substantially the same results as would strict compliance with said project and conditions. 4. All mitigation measures contained in the Mitigation Monitoring Program contained in the Mitigated Negative Declaration for the San Ramon Storm Drain Improvement and Emergency Slope Stabilization Project, as certified by the City Council on December 20, 2011 by adoption of Resolution NO. 2011-96, shall be incorporated into the implementation of the proposed project and adhered to, and are incorporated herein by reference. 5. The new outlet structure, including any riprap and gunite, shall utilize earth-tone colored concrete to blend with the bluff, in a color to be approved by the Director of Community Development. 6. Prior to re-vegetation activities of the disturbed areas, the City shall coordinate with the Palos Verdes Land Conservancy or other similar organization as deemed appropriate by the City, to ensure the use of a local native plant seed mix. 7. Unless absolutely necessary for the immediate protection of public health and safety, the construction activities associated with the construction of the storm drain shall not unreasonably interfere with existing lateral public coastal access along the shoreline. 8. Permitted hours and days for construction activity are 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Monday through Saturday, with no construction activity permitted on Sundays or on the legal holidays specified in Section 17.96.920 pf the Rancho Palos Verdes Development Code. 9. Trucks shall not park, queue and/or idle at the project site or in the adjoining public rights-of-way before 7:00 AM, Monday through Saturday, in accordance with the permitted hours of construction stated in Condition No. 9 above. 10. Failure to comply with any condition(s) of approval of this permit, or conducting any activity that is beyond the scope of this permit, as determined by the City at its sole discretion, shall be grounds for suspension or revocation of this permit. The City will generally provide notification of a violation and direction to the applicant to correct the violation within twenty-four (24) hours of the notice. However, the City shall not be obligated to provide such notice, particularly when imminent health and safety issues are involved. 11. Prior to the commencement of grading, the applicant shall retain a qualified paleontologist and archeologist to monitor grading and excavation. In the event undetected buried cultural resources are encountered during grading and excavation, work shall be halted or diverted from the resource area and the archeologist and/or paleontologist shall evaluate the remains and propose appropriate mitigation measures. Resolution No. 2011-97 Exhibit A Page 2 of 2