RPVCCA_SR_2010_07_06_04_Border_Issues_Status_ReportCITY OF
MEMORANDUM
RANCHO PALOS VERDES
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
REVIEWED:
Project Manager:
HONORABLE MAYOR &CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
JOEL ROJAS,~COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
DIRECTOR ~-
JULY 6,2010
BORDER ISSUES STATUS REPORT
CAROLYN LEHR,CITY MANAGER ~.
Kit Fox,AICP,Associate Planner ~
RECOMMENDATION
Receive and file the current report on the status of Border Issues.
BACKGROUND
The following is the regular bi-monthly report to the City Council on various "Border Issues"
potentially affecting the residents of Rancho Palos Verdes.The complete text of the
current status report is available for review on the City's website at:
http://palosverdes.comlrpv/planninglborder issuesl201 0/201 00706 Borderlssues StatusRpt.cfm
DISCUSSION
Current Border Issues
Chandler Ranch/Rolling Hills Country Club Project,Rolling Hills Estates and Torrance
On June 17,2010,the City received the attached notification that portions of the Draft
Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)for the Chandler Ranch/Rolling Hills Country Club
project were being recirculated.This is due to the incorporation of notable new information
in the DEIR regarding the project's environmental impacts with respect to air quality,
biological resources,cultural resources,and hydrology and water quality.Our previous
DEIR comments of June 22,2009,focused upon the impacts of the proposed removal of
the Horse Overlay on the semi-rural quality of life on the Peninsula,and the project's traffic
4-1
MEMORANDUM:Border Issues Status Report
July 6,2010
Page 2
impacts upon Palos Verdes Drive East.These aspects of the proposed project have not
changed in the recirculated portions of the DEIR.As such,Staff does not intend to offer
additional comments on this project.However,it should be noted that comments on the
recirculated portions of the DEIR will be accepted by the City of Rolling Hills Estates until
August 4,2010.Staff will continue to monitor this project in future Border Issues reports.
New Border Issues
There are no new Border Issues on which to report at this time.
Attachments:
•Notice of Recirculation for Chandler Ranch/Rolling Hills Country Club DEIR
(received 6/17/10)
•Daily Breeze article regarding cultural resource impacts of the Chandler
Ranch/Rolling Hills Country Club project (published 6/5/10)
•Daily Breeze article regarding recirculation of the Chandler Ranch/Rolling Hills
Country Club DEIR (published 6/27/10)
M:\Border Issues\Staff Reports\201 00706_Borderlssues_StaffRpt.doc
4-2
CITY OF ROLLING HILLS ESTATES
NOTICE OF COMPLETION/NOTICE OF A~ILABILITY OF
RECIRCULATED PORTIONS OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL Irtrfeef:1PORT
Project TRI.:CHANDLER RANCH/ROLLING HILLS COUNTRY CLUB PROJECT JUN ~
Planning Application No.29-07 •State Clearinghouse No.2008011027 A 1 7 2011
Project Location -City,County:Cities o..f Rolling Hills Estates and Torrance,County of Los Ange~,t-G.BUILDt~EA~ING A.
Intent of Document and Guidance for Reviewers/Responders:The Recirculated Portions of the Draft
Environmental Impact Report (EIR)document has been prepared to (1)identify the portions of the Draft EIR that have
been modified with notable new information;(2)recirculate/disclose that notable new information to interested persons,
organizations,and agencies;and (3)accept comment on the recirculated portions of the Draft EIR.
Pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines §15088.5(f)(2),the City of Rolling Hills Estates respectfully requests that
reviewers limit their comments to the revised chapters/sections of the recirculated EIR.There is no need for reviewers
to resubmit comments that were submitted on the previously circulated Draft EIR.
Recirculated Portions of Draft EIR:The Recirculated Portions of the Draft EIR document consists of the following
revised chapters/sections of the Draft EIR:
..Chapter 2 -Project Description (reflecting changes to the proposed storm water quality and drainage plan)
..Section 3.2 -Air Quality (incorporating additional and revised air quality analyses)
..Section 3.3 -Biological Resources (reflecting additional analysis and coordination with the California Department of
Fish and Game)
..Section 3.4 -Cultural Resources (reflecting the presence of a recently recorded offsite but nearby archaeological
site)
..Section 3.7 -Hydrology and Water Quality (reflecting additional information regarding the Total Maximum Daily
Loads for Machado Lake and related revisions to the proposed storm water quality and drainage plan)
..Chapter 4 Alternatives (reflecting the updated impact analyses noted above)
Description of Nature,Purpose,and Beneficiaries of Project:In brief summary,the proposed project consists of
redeveloping/reusing the existing Chandler's facility and the adjacent Rolling Hills Country Club with the following:
..114 single-family homes (33.77 acres of residential lots),113 of which would be within a new residential
community;
..A reconfigured/relocated 18-hole golf course (151.86 acres);
..A new clubhouse complex (10.16 acres)that includes a 61 ,411-square feet (ft2)structure;and
..3.9 acres set aside as natural open space.
In addition to these uses,the proposed project includes:pocket parks and overlook lots within the residential
community (1.39 acres);an internal network of residential streets (10.42 acres);maintained slopes (16.45 acres);and
internal infrastructure improvements.For stability purposes,the proposed homes would be built on existing golf course
land and the displaced portions of the golf course would be relocated atop the reclaimed Chandler's facility.
The proposed project would require a variety of discretionary entitlements,which generally include the following:
..City of Rolling Hills Estates:Vesting Tentative Tract Map,General Plan Amendments,Zone Changes,Zone Text
Amendment,Grading Plan,Development Agreement,Conditional Use Permits,Neighborhood Compatibility
Determination,and Annexation/Deannexation.
..City of Torrance:Zone Change,Division of Lot,Conditional Use Permit,and Annexation/Deannexation.
..Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission:Annexation/Deannexation.
4-3
IJUN 17 2010
CITY OF ROLLING HILLS ESTATESPLANN'N~..~~~~I~~t~~~OTICE OF COMPLETION/NOTICE OF AVAILABILITY OFRECIRCSE)(~PORTIONS OF THE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT
The Significant Effects on the Environment,if any,Anticipated as a Result of the Project:The Recirculated
Portions of the Draft EIR document evaluates the project's potential to cause environmental impacts in regards to the
following topics:air quality,biological resources,cultural resources,and hydrology and water quality.In addition to
these topics,the previously circulated Draft EIR evaluated the project's potential to cause environmental impacts in
regards to the following topics:aesthetics,geology and soils,hazards and hazardous materials,land use and planning,
mineral resources,noise,population and housing,public services,recreation and open space,transportation and
circulation,and utilities and service systems.The Draft EIR identifies that all of the project's potentially significant
impacts can be mitigated to a less than significant level except for the following:
III Construction of the project would generate Particulate Matter (PM 1o and PM 2.s)in excess of the South Coast Air
Quality Management District's Mass Daily Thresholds (Impact AQ-1 of the Draft EIR).
III Construction of the project would generate Particulate Matter (PM 1o and PM 2.s)in excess of the South Coast Air
Quality Management District's Localized Significance Thresholds (Impact AQ-2 of the Draft EIR).
III Noise generated during construction of the project (temporary and periodic noises)would impact existing nearby
sensitive receptors and future onsite residents (Impact NOI-1 of the Draft EIR).
III Noise generated by maintenance of the reconfiguredJrelocated golf course would impact existing nearby residents
(Impact NOI-3 of the Draft EIR).
III Noise generated by maintenance of the reconfigured/relocated golf course would impact future onsite residents
(Impact NOI-4 of the Draft EIR).
The Recirculated Portions of the Draft EIR document does not change any of these conclusions regarding significant
impacts and,in relation to the second bullet item above,adds that construction of the project would also generate
Nitrogen Dioxide (N02)in excess of the South Coast Air Quality Management District's Localized Significance
Thresholds.
Presence of the Site on Hazardous Waste-Related Lists:The project site is not included on any lists of hazardous
waste sites enumerated pursuant to Section 65962.5 of the California Government Code.
Lead Agency:City of Rolling Hills Estates
Date,Time,and Location of Public Hearing,if any:Public hearings to consider the project will be held by both the
Rolling Hills Estates Planning Commission and the Rolling Hills Estates City Council.No specific pUblic hearings to
consider the project have been scheduled to date.The City of Rolling Hills Estates will provide appropriate public
notice when such hearings are scheduled.Regular meetings of the Rolling Hills Estates Planning Commission occur
on the first and third Monday of each month;and regular meetings of the Rolling Hills Estates City Council occur on the
second and fourth Tuesdays of each month.Regular meetings are held at 7:30 p.m.in the Rolling Hills Estates City
Council Chambers,4045 Palos Verdes Drive North,Rolling Hills Estates,CA,90274.
Addressllocation where the Draft EIR is available for review:
City of Rolling Hills Estates City Hall
4045 Palos Verdes Drive North,Rolling Hills Estates,CA 90274
Hours:Monday -Thursday:7:30 a.m.to 5:30 p.m.;Friday:7:30 a.m.to 4:30 p.m.
Peninsula Center Library
701 Silver Spur Road,Rolling Hills Estates,CA 90274
Hours:Monday -Thursday:10:00 a.m.to 9:00 p.m.;Friday:10:00 a.m.to 6:00 p.m.;Saturday:10:00 a.m.to 5:00 p.m.;
and Sunday:1:00 p.m.to 5:00 p.m.
City of Rolling Hills Estates Website
http://www.ci.rolling-hills-estates.ca.us
4lM7at's New tab;4Project Updates tab;4Chandler RanchlRolling Hills Country Club tab
Public Review Period:June 21,2010 to August 4,2010
Please send written comments to:Niki Cutler,AICP,Principal Planner,City of Rolling Hills Estates,4045 Palos
Verdes Drive North,Rolling Hills Estates,CA,90274,fax:(310)377-4468,email:nikic@cLrolling-hills-estates.ca.us
4-4
Peninsula development battle ground?-The Daily Breeze Page 1 of4
Peninsula development
battle ground?
By Melissa Pamer Staff Writer
Posted:06/05/2010 12:50:54 PM PDT
Jacob Gutierrez,a Tongva descendent,prepares for a
ceremony on a Rolling Hills Estates site believed to have
been Tonavan settlement.(STEVE McCRANK)
PHOTO GALLERY
Intuition,along with a series of mysterious
interactions with hawks,led Gary Johnson to the
discovery that has become a kind of obsession
for him and a provocation for others.
A longtime enthusiast of American Indian history
and culture,the Rolling Hills Estates resident
said he felt called to a grassy,brush-dotted hill
not far from his home.
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Hiking the horse paths in the Linden H.Chandler
Preserve about five years ago,Johnson heard the
screeching of hawks,seemingly speaking to him.
"I would walk on these trails ...and I would
gradually start seeing these hawk feathers,
almost like they were laid out for me like
'Hansel and Gretel,'"Johnson said."I got this
overwhelming feeling that there was something I
was supposed to find up there."
At the edge of a trail,he found what he says was
either a chert knife or projectile point - a
handcrafted ancient tool.He began excitedly
searching the ground,finding flakes of stone
that he believes show the area was a site where
American Indians created hunting and cooking
implements.
Since then,he has spent a lot of time at the
place he calls Thunderhawk Hill,an appellation
chosen for an honorary American Indian name
that Johnson said was given to him by a Oglala
Lakota medicine woman.
Having found state records showing previous
archaeological
discoveries nearby,Johnson has come to believe
the area was once a significant settlement for
local Tongva people.He compares it to Malaga
Cove,long known to have been an American
Indian village location.
"There's no reason this site couldn't be as
important.Nothing has been excavated,"Johnson
http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_15234755 6/7/2010
4-5
Peninsula development battle ground?-The Daily Breeze Page 2 of4
said."We have no idea what's underneath there."
The discovery -which Johnson likened to a
"spiritual experience"-has now taken on a life
of its own,becoming entangled in one of the
most controversial issues in the affluent,bucolic
city.
Critics of a luxury-home development proposed
for the area next door to Thunderhawk Hill -on
the site of Rolling Hills Country Club and a
former rock quarry -have rallied behind Johnson.
The residential project,known as Chandler
Ranch,has long generated frustration among
local equestrians who are worried its lack of
horse amenities will alter the nature of horse-
friendly Rolling Hills Estates.
Now,along with a local Tongva representative
and a Long Beach archaeologist,some
equestrians are calling for further exploration of
decades-old archaeological sites before the
stalled 114-home subdivision can move forward.
"Everyone wants the development to go through.
The equestrians certainly do,but what they want
is it to be done in an environmentally responsible
manner,"said Vic Otten,a board member with
the Palos Verdes Peninsula Horsemens
Association."You don't just show up with
bulldozers and start knocking (stuff)down."
First raised with the city about seven years ago,
the Chandler Ranch project is a complicated,
expensive vision for the last remaining
developable land in Rolling Hills Estates.
The 228-acre site is occupied by the country
club's golf course and by Chandler's Palos Verdes
Sand and Gravel Co.,a massive rock quarry that's
now a landfill for construction waste.The
company and the country club have jointly
proposed the development.
The project would require about 3.2 million cubic
yards of grading and fill to replace the quarry
with a new championship-quality golf course -
set to be designed by golf legend Arnold
Palmer's company.The current golf course would
become the site of the luxury homes.
Expected to cost upward of $300 million,the
project involves a land swap between Torrance
and Rolling Hills Estates.
It would also take the land out of a city "horse
overlay"designation,and would not include the
completion of long-planned horse trails,much to
the consternation of local equestrians.
As required by state law,an environmental
review for the project that was released last
summer examined the existence of "cultural
resources"in the area.
It stated that,in 2006,a consultant found state
records for four recorded archaeological sites
within the project boundaries.Testing was done
for artifacts,and consultants suggested a full-
time archaeological monitor and a Tongva
representative be present during demolition and
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4-6
Peninsula development battle ground?-The Daily Breeze
grading.
Page 3 of4
Johnson and his supporters have said the testing
was inadequate and should be performed more
thoroughly in light of the discovery of
Thunderhawk Hill.
They said the combination of archaeological
sites in the vicinity -which include the decades-
old finding of human remains and other evidence
of habitation -give credence to the theory that a
village may have once existed in the area.
"The idea that there are little isolated sites is
ridiculous.We know that there's one site,"
Johnson said."We just want to make sure there's
nothing down there that's going to be
destroyed."
In response to Johnson's discovery,the city and
proponents of the project have been either
tight-lipped or skeptical.
Michael Cope,the.project manager for Chandler
Ranch,did not return calls for comment.
Mayor John Addleman said he was meeting with
project officials later this month to discuss a
planned update to an environmental report on
the project.As for the potential impact of
Thunderhawk Hill,Addleman refused to
speculate.
"I wouldn't want to comment on it until a whole
lot more comes out that is factual,"Addleman
said.
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The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy,
which co-owns the Chandler Preserve with the
city of Rolling Hills Estates,has tried to remain
quiet about Thunderhawk Hill.The 29-acre
preserve property was both sold and donated to
the conservancy by the heirs of the Chandler
family,the owners of the quarry and landfill
operation.
"We would prefer less publicity than more
because we don't want people pot-hunting on
the site,"said conservancy board member Allen
Franz,a professor of anthropology at Marymount
College."A number of our sites do have cultural
resources and we have in our management
strategy to preserve them.We don't want people
traipsing around looking for arrowheads."
Through a representative,Rolling Hills Country
Club General Manager Greg Sullivan declined to
speak about the potential impact of
Thunderhawk Hill.
But he issued a written statement defending
"extensive"studies performed for the
environmental report.
"There is no evidence whatsoever to support
claims that there are unknown archaeological
artifacts or remains buried beneath Rolling Hill
Country Club or Chandler's Sand and Gravel
Facility.Statements to the contrary are
unfounded and misleading,"Sullivan wrote.
"Rolling Hills Country Club has and will continue
to abide by all environmental impact guidelines
6/7/2010
4-7
Peninsula development battle ground?-The Daily Breeze Page 4 of4
outlined by the city of Rolling Hills Estates and its
neighbors."
Lacking below-ground exploration,evidence is
slim that Thunderhawk Hill was the important
area for local Tongva people that Johnson
believes it was.
A piece of obsidian Johnson found on that site
was tested to suggest habitation 3,000 years
ago,he said.But no other scientific work has
been done at the site.
However,with the help of an anthropology
professor at California State University,Long
Beach,Johnson has registered Thunderhawk Hill
in a state database of archaeological sites.
"I didn't find a lot of stuff,but it certainly
seemed like there was potential to find more,"
said professor Carl Lipo,who teaches
archaeological methods and visited the site at
Johnson's urging.
In March,Lipo wrote a letter to Rolling Hills
Estates criticizing the Chandler Ranch
environmental review.
The project "warrants additional consideration,"
Lipo said.
He called for deeper core samples to be taken
from the golf course site,and for the use of
ground-penetrating radar,among other
techniques.
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A Rolling Hills Estates official overseeing the
project said portions of the report are being
rewritten and the revision will be released in
coming months.The official would not say
whether archaeological concerns would be taken
into account when the report is reissued.
Meanwhile,Johnson and Jacob Gutierrez,a
representative of the GabrielinolTongva band of
the San Gabriel tribe,have built a "medicine
wheel"or "gathering circle"at Thunderhawk Hill,
which overlooks the country club and has views
to downtown Los Angeles.
Tribal ceremonies have been held there.
"If you spend any time here at these sacred sites,
you will feel the power and the energy here,"
said Gutierrez,who founded San Pedro-based
nonprofit Keepers of Indigenous Ways."This is
like a church for us.There's voices here that
speak to us.When the developers go over this
land with their tractors,they silence our voices."
Johnson said he'd like to see an interpretive
center on the site.His efforts to put up a sign he
designed for Thunderhawk Hill were thwarted by
the land conservancy.
"We know that it's more than likely part of this
huge settlement,"Johnson said."But I've run into
a lot of people who haven't believed me."
melissa.pamer@dailybreeze.com
6/7/2010
4-8
Chandler review avoids key issue for many in Rolling Hills Estates -The Daily Breeze Page 1 of3
Chandler review avoids
key issue for many in
Rolling Hills Estates
By Melissa Pamer Staff Writer
Posted:06/26/201008:31:33 PM PDT
RHE:Development's draft ER looks at drainage,
not horses.
By Melissa Pamer
Staff Writer
Seven years after it was initially proposed,a
complicated,divisive luxury home development
in Rolling Hills Estates is a bit closer to
realization.
The city in recent days released a revised
environmental review of the project,signaling a
step toward public hearings on a proposed 114-
home subdivision known as Chandler Ranch.
The new report makes some minor changes to
the project without addressing the overriding
concern among some local residents that the
development's lack of horse amenities will
betray the longstanding equestrian lifestyle of
Rolling Hills Estates.
The project,expected to cost more than $350
million,would include a new championship-
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quality 18-hole golf course and clubhouse for
Rolling Hills Country Club.It would fill in a
massive 73-year-old former rock quarry that's
now a construction-waste landfill owned by
Chandler's Palos Verdes Sand and Gravel Co.
The development would take 228 acres out of a
city "horse overlay"-meaning residents could
not keep horses -and wouldn't include the
completion of a long-planned equestrian trail.
"The issue of equestrian overlay is probably the
most sensitive issue on the project,we certainly
recognize that,"said project manager Michael
Cope of Chandler's."There's going to be a lot of
public discussion,obviously."
Dale Allen,president of
the Palos Verdes Peninsula Horesmens
Association,said his group had just begun to
review the report and was not prepared to
comment.The group has previously criticized the
project.
The development,first proposed jointly in 2003
by the country club and Chandler's,involves a
32-acre land swap between Rolling Hills Estates
and Torrance.
Various proposals for homes to be erected in
place of the dusty quarry have been floated since
at least 1981,according to Daily Breeze archives.
The current proposal would require 3.2 million
cubic yards of grading and fill to even out the
site.
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http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_15384933 6/28/2010
4-9
Chandler review avoids key issue for many in Rolling Hills Estates -The Daily Breeze Page 2 of3
The draft environmental impact report,released
Monday,updates several sections of a state-
required document originally issued in April
2009.
The biggest change is a new plan to create a
drainage system that would let stormwater
runoff percolate below the project site,rather
than draining into polluted Machado Lake down
the hill in Harbor City.That change was made to
address regional water quality regulators'recent
and ongoing effort to update pollution standards
for the lake,according to a consultant
overseeing the environmental report for Rolling
Hills Estates.
The new drainage plan -which includes an
underground 10,000-square-
foot gravel "infiltration pad"-would mimic
current conditions,in which storm runoff flows
into the quarry.
Two debris basins would direct runoff from the
project and neighborhoods uphill into the
infiltration pad,eliminating runoff to Machado
Lake except in the most extreme storms.The
system would help Rolling Hills Estates comply
with new water quality standards for the lake,
Cope said.
"Our position is that it's a tremendous benefit to
the city,"Cope said.
Runoff from the project was a concern that had
been raised by local equestrians,along with
worries about the implications of Indian artifacts
found on the project site and nearby.
Allen and others had promoted the findings of a
local Indian enthusiast,Gary Johnson,who
believes he found an important Tongva
archaeological site in a nature preserve next to
the planned development.Johnson named his
find at the Chandler Preserve "Thunderhawk
Hill."
He and his supporters had called for further
exploration of the neighboring golf course site -
which covers several previously recorded
archaeological finds -before construction would
begin on Chandler Ranch.
The new review takes that into account,saying
additional underground testing known as
"trenching"needs to be done before grading.
Cope said he did not know why that measure
was added.
"We've done extensive archaeological research
on the project,"Cope said."To my knowledge
nothing was found."
Johnson said he was surprised and happy with
the change,though he expected to have further
specific comments from an archaeologist friend.
"This is certainly,certainly a step in the right
direction,"Johnson said.
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http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_15384933 6/28/2010
4-10
Chandler review avoids key issue for many in Rolling Hills Estates -The Daily Breeze
Other changes in the environmental report
include an updated air quality analysis and
several changes to hydrological plans.
The project now includes a small riparian habitat
on the golf course that would replace lost
habitat that currently forms at the bottom of the
quarry during the rainy season.Also planned is
maintenance of about 1.4 acres of wetland
habitat in a proposed water treatment basin.
Comments on the revised portions of the report
are due to the city by Aug.4.A final report,
including responses to the comments,will be
issued in coming months.
Cope said he hopes to see public hearings begin
in autumn.
Find out more
A new environmental review for a proposed
development of 114 luxury homes in Rolling Hills
Estates is available at ci.rolling-hills-estates.
ca.us or at City Hall,4045 Palos Verdes Drive
North.Comments must be submitted by Aug.4
via mail,e-mail tonikic@ci.rolling-
hills-estates.ca.us,or fax to 310-377-4468.
melissa.pamer@dailybreeze.com
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