1.0 REQUEST. SANTA BARBARA COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Determination of Flood Control Easement in Carpinteria Marsh

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1 SANTA BARBARA COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION Determination of Flood Control Easement in Carpinteria Marsh Deputy Director: Dave Ward Staff Report Date: April 11, 2008 Division: Development Review South Case No.: 08GOV Staff Contact: Michelle Gibbs Supervising Planner: Anne Almy Environmental Document: N/A Planner s Phone #: APPLICANT: Santa Barbara County Flood Control Tom Fayram 123 E. Anapamu Street Santa Barbara, CA OWNER: Santa Barbara County Land Trust C/0 Michael Feeney P.O. Box Santa Barbara, CA The project is located entirely within the Carpinteria Salt Marsh. APN associated with the project is: , First Supervisorial District. Application Complete: March 26, 2008 Processing Deadline: 40 days from application submittal (May 5, 2008) 1.0 REQUEST Hearing on the request of the Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District to consider Case No. 08GOV [application filed on March 26, 2008] for a determination pursuant to Government Code Section 65402(c) as to whether the acceptance of an easement from the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County to allow Flood Control to access Franklin Creek via an existing dirt road for the removal of soil and sediment therefrom, and to temporarily store said material on the Property within an existing debris basin adjacent to the dirt road until it is dry enough to be moved, is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan of the County of Santa Barbara. The application involves AP No , located in Basin 1, in the Carpinteria Salt Marsh, in the Carpinteria area, First Supervisorial District.

2 Page RECOMMENDATION AND PROCEDURES Pursuant to Government Code Section 65402(c) and based upon the discussion in Section 6.0 of this report, staff recommends that the Planning Commission take the following actions: 1. Determine that the acquisition of the easement to access Franklin Creek is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan; and 2. Transmit the report of consistency required by Government Code Section 65402(c) to the County Flood Control District and the Board of Directors of the Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District. This staff report and the letter reflecting the Planning Commission's action shall constitute the required report. 3.0 JURISDICTION This request is being considered by the Planning Commission based upon California Government Code Section 65402(c), which states that a local agency shall not acquire real property until the location, purpose, and extent of such action have been analyzed as to conformity with the County's General Plan and have been reported to the planning agency having jurisdiction over the adopted General Plan. See Attachment B for the full text of Government Code Section ISSUE SUMMARY The Flood Control District has been conducting flood control operations along Franklin Creek on Land Trust property since the 1960s. Operations began pursuant to the Carpinteria Valley Watershed Protection Program. The Carpinteria Valley Watershed Protection Program was developed prior to the Coastal Act. The District has been regularly using a dirt access road that they created from Sandyland Cove Road to Franklin Creek, dredging sediment from Franklin Creek, and temporarily storing sediment in two debris basins that they created in salt marsh habitat to the southwest and northwest of the dirt access road to dewater the sediment. The easement considered in this request includes the dirt access road and the debris basin located to the southwest of the dirt road.

3 Page 3 In 2003, the Flood Control District, along with the Land Trust and the University of California, developed the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Enhancement Plan, which is intended to serve as the final phase of the Carpinteria Valley Watershed Protection Program, and consists of combined flood control and wetland restoration projects. In 2003, Flood Control applied for and received approval of a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) from the County to implement the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Enhancement Plan. Flood Control was also issued a Coastal Development Permit (CDP) from the Coastal Commission to implement the Plan. The approved project description in the County s CUP and in the Coastal Commission s CDP states that sediment would continue to be removed from Franklin Creek on an as-needed basis under the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Enhancement Plan, but that it would be dewatered on the existing dirt access road (see the County Action Letter on the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Enhancement Plan contained in Attachment D and approved site plans under the CUP contained in Attachment E). There is no mention of continued use of either existing debris basin for temporarily stockpiling sediment and dewatering. Furthermore, in the EIR for the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Enhancement Plan (SCH # ), the two debris basins were identified as disturbed salt marsh habitat, or wetlands, qualifying as Environmentally Sensitive Habitat. The use of the debris basin located to the southwest of the existing dirt road for temporary storage of sediment from Franklin Creek is currently unpermitted by both the County and the Coastal Commission, and would constitute disturbance of wetland habitat. However, the application states that: The area needed to stockpile dredged materials has historically exceeded the area provided by the dirt road, especially after heavy rain events. Therefore, Flood Control anticipates the need to apply for a revision to the existing Conditional Use Permit and Coastal Development Permit to utilize areas outside of the currently approved stockpile area, including a sediment detention basin located outside of the approved stockpile area. The proposed easement gives Flood Control the area it needs to continue dredging and stockpile operations into the future. Until revisions to the above referenced permits are approved by the County and the Coastal Commission, Flood Control will continue to operate under the conditions of the current Conditional Use Permit and Coastal Development Permit. Therefore, although the proposed easement includes use of an area that is currently unpermitted, because Flood Control will operate under their approved permits until they are able to revise their existing permits, the proposed location and use of the easement can be found to be consistent with the policies of the Comprehensive Plan, including the County s Coastal Land Use Plan.

4 Page Site Information 5.0 PROJECT INFORMATION Site Information Comprehensive Plan Designation Coastal, Rural, Open Lands, minimum parcel size of 100 to 320 acres Zone Original Permit Jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission; RES-100, minimum parcel size of 100 acres Site Size acres Present Use & Development Surrounding Uses/Zoning Access Other Site Information Public Services 6.1 Environmental Review Carpinteria Salt Marsh North: City of Carpinteria, residential South: Carpinteria Salt Marsh East: City of Carpinteria, residential and Nature Park West: Carpinteria Salt Marsh Sandyland Cove Road (private drive) N/A Water Supply: N/A Sewage: N/A Fire: N/A Other: N/A 6.0 PROJECT ANALYSIS A Government Code Section 65402(c) determination is not a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). However, acceptance of the easement would be subject to environmental review in accordance with CEQA. 6.2 Comprehensive Plan Consistency Coastal Act Policy 30231: The biological productivity and the quality of coastal waters, streams, wetlands, estuaries, and lakes appropriate to maintain optimum populations of marine organisms and for the protection of human health shall be maintained and, where feasible, restored through, among other means, minimizing adverse effects of waste water discharges and entrainment, controlling runoff, preventing depletion of ground water supplies and encouraging waste water reclamation, maintaining natural vegetation buffer areas that protect riparian habitats, and minimizing alteration of natural streams.

5 Page 5 Coastal Act Policy 30233: (a) The diking, filling, or dredging of open coastal waters, wetlands, estuaries, and lakes shall be permitted in accordance with other applicable provisions of this division, where there is no feasible less environmentally damaging alternative, and where feasible, mitigation measures have been provided to minimize adverse environmental effects, and shall be limited to the following: (1) New or expanded port, energy, and coastal-dependent industrial facilities, including commercial fishing facilities. (2) Maintaining existing, or restoring previously dredged, depths in existing navigational channels, turning basins, vessel berthing and mooring areas, and boat launching ramps. (3) In wetland areas only, entrance channels for new or expanded boating facilities; and in a degraded wetland, identified by the Department of Fish and Game pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 30411, for boating facilities, if, in conjunction with such boating facilities, a substantial portion of the degraded wetland is restored and maintained as a biologically productive wetland; provided, however, that in no event shall the size of the wetland area used for such boating facility, including berthing space, turning basins, necessary navigation channels, and any necessary support service facilities, be greater than 25 percent of the total wetland area to be restored. (4) In open coastal waters, other than wetlands, including streams, estuaries, and lakes, new or expanded boating facilities. (5) Incidental public service purposes, including, but not limited to, burying cables and pipes or inspection of piers and maintenance of existing intake and outfall lines. (6) Mineral extraction, including sand for restoring beaches, except in environmentally sensitive areas. (7) Restoration purposes. (8) Nature study, aquaculture, or similar resource-dependent activities. (b) Dredging and spoils disposal shall be planned and carried out to avoid significant disruption to marine and wildlife habitats and water circulation. Dredge spoils suitable for beach replenishment should be transported for such purposes to appropriate beaches or into suitable longshore current systems.

6 Page 6 (c) In addition to the other provisions of this section, diking, filling, or dredging in existing estuaries and wetlands shall maintain or enhance the functional capacity of the wetland or estuary. Any alteration of coastal wetlands identified by the Department of Fish and Game, including, but not limited to the 19 coastal wetlands identified in its report entitled, "Acquisition Priorities for the Coastal Wetlands of California" shall be limited to very minor incidental public facilities, restorative measures, nature study, commercial fishing facilities in Bodega Bay, and development in already developed parts of South San Diego Bay, if otherwise in accordance with this division. For the purposes of this section, "commercial fishing facilities in Bodega Bay" means that not less than 80 percent of all boating facilities proposed to be developed or improved, where such improvement would create additional berths in Bodega Bay, shall be designed and used for commercial fishing activities. (d) Erosion control and flood control facilities constructed on watercourses can impede the movement of sediment and nutrients which would otherwise be carried by storm runoff into coastal waters. To facilitate the continued delivery of these sediments to the littoral zone, whenever feasible, the material removed from these facilities may be placed at appropriate points on the shoreline in accordance with other applicable provisions of this division, where feasible mitigation measures have been provided to minimize adverse environmental effects. Aspects that shall be considered before issuing a coastal development permit for such purposes are the method of placement, time of year of placement, and sensitivity of the placement area. Coastal Act Policy 30240: (a) Environmentally sensitive habitat areas shall be protected against any significant disruption of habitat values, and only uses dependent on such resources shall be allowed within such areas. (b) Development in areas adjacent to environmentally sensitive habitat areas and parks and recreation areas shall be sited and designed to prevent impacts which would significantly degrade such areas, and shall be compatible with the continuance of such habitat areas. Coastal Act Policy : Where any dike and fill development is permitted in wetlands in conformity with this division, mitigation measures shall include, at a minimum, either acquisition or equivalent areas of equal or greater biological productivity or opening up equivalent areas to tidal action; provided, however, that if no appropriate restoration site is available, an in-lieu fee sufficient to provide an area of equivalent productive value or surface areas shall be dedicated to an appropriate public agency, or such replacement site shall be purchased before the dike or fill development may proceed. Such mitigation measure shall not be required for temporary or short-term fill or diking: provided, that a bond or other evidence of financial responsibility is provided to assure that restoration will be accomplished in the shortest feasible time.

7 Page 7 Coastal Land Use Plan Policy 9-6: All diking, dredging, and filling activities shall conform to the provisions of Sections and of the Coastal Act. Dredging, when consistent with these provisions and where necessary for the maintenance of the tidal flow and continued viability of the wetland habitat or for flood control purposes, shall be subject to the following conditions: a. Dredging shall be prohibited in breeding and nursery areas and during periods of fish migration and spawning. b. Dredging shall be limited to the smallest area feasible. c. Designs for dredging and excavation projects shall include protective measures such as silt curtains, diapers, and weirs to protect water quality in adjacent areas during construction by preventing the discharge of refuse, petroleum spills, and unnecessary dispersal of silt materials. During permitted dredging operations, dredge spoils may only be temporarily stored on existing dikes or on designated spoil storage areas, except in the Atascadero Creek area (including San Jose and San Pedro Creeks) where spoils may be stored on existing storage areas as delineated on the Spoil Storage Map, dated February, (Projects which result in discharge of water into a wetland require a permit from the Regional Water Quality Control Board.) Coastal Land Use Plan Policy 9-9: A buffer strip, a minimum of 100 feet in width, shall be maintained in natural condition along the periphery of all wetlands. No permanent structures shall be permitted within the wetland or buffer area except structures of a minor nature, i.e., fences, or structures necessary to support the uses in Policy The upland limit of a wetland shall be defined as: 1) the boundary between land with predominantly hydrophytic cover and land with predominantly mesophytic or xerophytic cover; or 2) the boundary between soil that is predominantly hydric and soil that is predominantly nonhydric; or 3) in the case of wetlands without vegetation or soils, the boundary between land that is flooded or saturated at some time during years of normal precipitation and land that is not. Where feasible, the outer boundary of the wetland buffer zone should be established at prominent and essentially permanent topographic or man-made features (such as bluffs, roads, etc.). In no case, however, shall such a boundary be closer than 100 feet from the upland extent of the wetland area, nor provide for a lesser degree of environmental protection than that otherwise required by the plan. The boundary definition shall not be construed to prohibit public trails within 100 feet of a wetland. Coastal Land Use Plan Policy 9-14: New development adjacent to or in close proximity to wetlands shall be compatible with the continuance of the habitat area and shall not result in a reduction in the biological productivity or water quality of the wetland due to runoff (carrying additional sediment or contaminants), noise, thermal pollution, or other disturbances.

8 Page 8 The proposed purpose of the subject easement is to allow access to Franklin Creek along the existing dirt road and temporary storage of dredged soil and sediment along an existing dirt road and in the debris basin located to the southwest of the dirt road which is disturbed salt marsh habitat. Although the debris basin is disturbed, pickleweed (Salicornica virginica), an obligate wetland plant species, is beginning to reestablish itself and is the dominant plant species within the basin (see photographs of the detention basin taken on January 4, 2007 in Attachment F). The debris basin meets at least one of the criteria (hydrophytic vegetation) qualifying the area as a wetland according to the County and Coastal Commission s definition. The debris basin is also located in an area with excellent potential for restoration should the basin berms be lowered to the elevation of the rest of the surrounding salt marsh and vegetation allowed to fully reestablish. The entire Carpinteria Salt Marsh Enhancement Plan was designed to balance wetland disturbance due to flood control operations, with wetland restoration, such that no net loss of wetlands would result and impacts to wetlands would be fully mitigated. Conditions in the current Conditional Use Permit and Coastal Commission s Coastal Development Permit ensure that impacts to wetlands are fully mitigated following the current permitted project description. The current permitted project description does not include use of the detention basin, which without additional mitigation, would constitute a new net loss of wetlands. However, Flood Control will follow the current approved project description and current conditions of approval and will pursue a revision to the existing Conditional Use Permit and Coastal Development Permit to enable use of the detention basin. If these revisions are approved, only then would Flood Control be able to use the entirety of the easement, including the detention basin. Therefore, under these provisions, acceptance of the easement would be consistent with the policies of the Comprehensive Plan, including those policies listed above from the Coastal Land Use Plan. 6.3 Zoning: Article II A Government Code Section determination only requires review of consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and is not subject to the provisions of the County of Santa Barbara Zoning Ordinance.

9 Page APPEALS PROCEDURE The report of the Planning Commission pursuant to Government Code Section 65402(c) is not appealable to the Board of Supervisors. The Planning Commission s determination will be forwarded to the Board of Directors of the Flood Control and Water Conservation District for informational purposes only. Under California Government Code Section 65402(c), the County Flood Control District may overrule an action of the Planning Commission. ATTACHMENTS A. Findings B. Government Code Section C. Request for a Determination D. Action Letter for the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Enhancement Plan CUP E. Approved Site Plans for the Carpinteria Salt Marsh Enhancement Plan CUP F. Photographs of the Proposed Easement