CITY COUNCIL: Resolution Adopting Updates to General Plan & Negative Declaration

Meeting Date: 1 September 2009
Prepared by: Sean Conroy, Plng & Bldg Services Manager

City Council
Agenda Item Summary

Name: Consideration of a Resolution adopting updates to the Circulation, Public Facilities, Open Space/Conservation, Environmental Safety, and Noise Elements of the General Plan and a Negative Declaration.

Description: This project will update five Elements of the General Plan. The updates will include new and/or revised goals, objectives and polices along with improved supporting information in each Element. The project also includes a Negative Declaration prepared in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Overall Cost:
City Funds: N/A
Grant Funds: N/A

Staff Recommendation: Adopt the Resolution.

Important Considerations: The City’s General Plan consists of nine Elements.
While many of these Elements were updated as part of the approvals to the Local Coastal Plan, several others have not been updated in many years. State law requires that general plans remain current and relevant to City decision-making processes. State planning law requires that all City decisions be consistent with the General Plan.

Decision Record: The Planning Commission recommended approval of the project to the City Council on 12 August 2009.

Reviewed by:

__________________________ _____________________
Rich Guillen, City Administrator Date

CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY PLANNING AND BUILDING
STAFF REPORT
TO: MAYOR MCCLOUD AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
FROM: SEAN CONROY, PLNG & BLDG SERVICES MANAGER
THROUGH: RICH GUILLEN, CITY ADMINISTRATOR
DATE: 1 SEPTEMBER 2009
SUBJECT: CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION ADOPTING UPDATES TO THE CIRCULATION, PUBLIC FACILITIES, OPEN SPACE/CONSERVATION, ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY, AND
NOISE ELEMENTS OF THE GENERAL PLAN AND A NEGATIVE DECLARATION

INTRODUCTION & BACKGROUND
The General Plan is a long-term policy document that guides decisions of the City
Council, all Commissions, Boards and staff. The General Plan describes the planning
goals and policies for the City and is often referred to as the City’s “constitution”. The current General Plan is divided into nine Elements. These Elements include: Land Use; Circulation; Housing; Coastal Access/Recreation; Coastal Resource Management; Public Facilities; Open Space and Conservation; Environmental Safety; and Noise.

Carmel’s General Plan was combined with its Local Coastal/Land Use Plan to ensure
coordination between the two documents. The Coastal Land Use Plan includes: the Land
Use; Circulation; Coastal Access/Recreation; and Coastal Resource Management
Elements.

While many of the City’s General Plan Elements were updated as part of the Local
Coastal Plan approvals, several other Elements have not been updated in many years.
State law requires that general plans remain current and relevant to City decision-making processes. State planning law requires that all City decisions be consistent with the General Plan.

This project would update the Circulation, Public Safety, Noise, Public Facilities, Open Space and Conservation Elements. This is an update project, not a rewrite of each Element. Therefore, many of the goals, objectives and policies remain unchanged in this project.

The Council’s primary review should focus on the goals, objectives and policies
identified in each Element of the update. In each section, the Council may want to
discuss the following questions:

􀂾 Are some existing goals, objectives or policies outdated and should be removed or
revised?

􀂾 Are the new goals, objectives and policies consistent with the results of the public workshops and community survey?

􀂾 Are the goals, objectives and policies realistic and achievable?

􀂾 Are there goals, objectives and policies that are not included, but should be?

PROCESS
The Planning Commission is advisory to the City Council on this project. The
Commission reviewed drafts of the project on May 20th, July 8th and August 12th 2009,
and unanimously recommended approval of the project. The City Council is the final
decision-making body for all of the Elements, except the Circulation Element, which
requires the approval of the California Coastal Commission.

PUBLIC INPUT
The City held three public workshops in 2007 to gather input on the update project.
Approximately 100 people attended each of the three workshops. The City Council later authorized the distribution of a survey to all property owners, business owners and registered voters. More than 1,000 surveys were returned. During the Planning Commission hearings, numerous oral and written comments were received. The General Plan Update reflects the comments received during the workshops, survey and public hearings.

At the beginning of each Element, a table is included that describes the issues and
opinions from the workshops and the survey. These tables are only provided to facilitate discussion and will be removed upon adoption of the project.

FORMAT
For the most part, the updated Elements follow the same format as the existing General Plan. Each Element begins with a brief introduction, followed by the Goals, Objectives and Policies section. Finally, each Element contains supportive background data. The added goals, objectives and policies are identified by letter. (Example: in the Circulation Element, the new polices are numbered P2-A through P2-N). Once the project is approved, the letters will be removed and the goals, objectives and policies will be renumbered appropriately in descending order.

ELEMENTS
Circulation: This Element provides goals, objectives and policies addressing traffic volume and congestion in Carmel. Because the City is largely built out, the focus of these policies is to maintain a safe environment for vehicle and non-motorized
transportation (e.g. pedestrians and bikes) and encourage alternative modes of
transportation to help minimize the adverse affects associated with single cars.

Some of the goals, objectives and policies address:
􀂾 Improving pedestrian safety.
􀂾 Evaluating traffic-calming measures.
􀂾 Encouraging underground parking.
􀂾 Evaluating a paid parking program.
􀂾 Continuing to explore shuttle opportunities.

Public Facilities & Services: The Public Facilities and Services Element addresses
components of community life important to the education, culture, recreation and social well being of the residents of Carmel-by-the-Sea and its Sphere of Influence. This aspect of Carmel-by-the-Sea is distinguished by a number of public and semi-public structures and facilities and by the existence of various public and private agencies and commissions with responsibility for programs and operations. This Element sets out the goals, objectives and operational policies governing these facilities and agencies.

Some of the goals, objectives and policies address:
􀂾 Maintaining and improving City facilities.
􀂾 Periodically reviewing City facilities and uses.
􀂾 Reducing waste and improving recycling efforts.
􀂾 Evaluating the need for development impact fees to assist in the cost of
infrastructure improvements.

Open Space and Conservation: The Open Space Element has a broad scope that
overlaps with other related Elements. The General Plan combines the Open Space
Element with Conservation Element. The purpose of the Open Space Element is to
describe comprehensive goal and policies for the long-range management and
preservation of the open-space land. The Conservation Element focuses on natural
resources issues such as management, conservation, development, and utilization of
natural resources.

Some of the goals, objectives and policies address:
􀂾 Maintaining and improving existing parks.
􀂾 Evaluating potential uses of Rio Park.
􀂾 Reducing airborne pollutants and greenhouse gases.
􀂾 Encouraging sustainable practices.

Environmental Safety: The purpose of the Environmental Safety Element is to reduce
or avoid potential risk of death, injuries, property damage, and economic and social
dislocation resulting from fires, earthquakes, floods, landslides, and other hazards.
Additional locally relevant hazards should be evaluated in this Element as well. The goal of the Environmental Safety Element is to identify potential hazards and provide strategic policies for the risk reduction and hazards mitigation measures.
While the content of this updated Element is very similar to the existing one, it was
substantially rewritten to simplify and streamline the information.

Some of the goals, objectives and policies address:
􀂾 Ensuring emergency preparedness.
􀂾 Providing protection from natural hazards.
􀂾 Reducing potential impacts from hazardous materials.
Noise: The purpose of the Noise Element is to form the basis for the City's efforts in community noise control. The Noise Element is composed of an evaluation of the
present and future noise climate in Carmel, a discussion of the major noise sources in the City and some suggestions for their control, a section discussing the use of the Noise Element as a planning tool, and a section summarizing actions which the City may take to reduce existing noise levels and avoid future noise problems.

Some of the goals, objectives and policies address:
􀂾 Improving the noise ordinance.
􀂾 Managing construction activities to limit noise impacts.
􀂾 Requiring noise mitigation measures for new projects that would significantly
increase noise.

CEQA: The City prepared an Initial Study for this project and determined that a
Negative Declaration was appropriate. The Negative Declaration was circulated for
comments from 29 June 2009 until 29 July 2009. The City received one written
comment (see attached). No substantial evidence was presented to indicate that a
Negative Declaration was inappropriate for this project.

RECOMMENDATION
Adopt a Resolution adopting the updated Elements of the General Plan and a Negative
Declaration.

CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA
CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION 2009-
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA ADOPTING UPDATES TO THE CIRCULATION, PUBLIC FACILITIES, OPEN SPACE/CONSERVATION, ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY AND NOISE ELEMENTS OF THE GENERAL PLAN AND A NEGATIVE DECLARATION

WHEREAS, The City of Carmel-by-the-Sea is a unique oceanside community that prides
itself in its community character and environmental resources; and

WHEREAS, state law requires the City to prepare and maintain a General Plan; and

WHEREAS, the General Plan guides decisions of the City Council, City staff and all
Boards and Commission; and

WHEREAS, this project updates the Circulation, Public Facilities, Open
Space/Conservation, Environmental Safety and Noise Elements of the General Plan; and

WHEREAS, the City received extensive public input regarding the content of this project through public workshops, a public survey, and numerous public hearings; and

WHEREAS, the Circulation Element is part of the City’s Local Coastal Program and will
require certification by the California Coastal Commission; and

WHEREAS, the City prepared an Initial Study/Negative Declaration for this project in
accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA does hereby:

1. Adopt the attached updates to the Circulation, Public Facilities, Open
Space/Conservation, Environmental Safety, and Noise Elements of the General Plan.

2. Adopt the attached Negative Declaration for the project.

PASSED AND ADOPTED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARMEL-BY-THE-SEA this 1st day of September 2009 by the following roll call vote:

AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS:

SIGNED,

ATTEST:
________________________
_______________________
SUE McCLOUD, MAYOR
Heidi Burch, City Clerk