Title
GPZ090005 - MOSS LANDING COMMUNITY PLAN UPATE
Public workshop to discuss draft policy language for Public Access and Recreation of the Moss Landing Community Plan update.
Project Location: North County Land Use Plan, Moss Landing Community, Coastal Zone
Proposed CEQA action: Statutorily exempt per Section 15262 of the CEQA Guidelines
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Planning Commission:
a. Find that this workshop is a planning study for possible future action which the commission has not approved and qualifies as a Statutory Exemption per Section 15262 of the CEQA Guidelines;
b. Receive a presentation, take public testimony, and provide direction to staff on proposed Public Access and Recreation policy language for the draft Moss Landing Community Plan update.
PROJECT INFORMATION:
Planning Fie Number: GPZ090005
APN: Multiple (Moss Landing Community)
Project Location: Moss Landing Community Plan boundary area
Plan Area: North County Land Use Plan
OVERVIEW:
On January 30, 2019, the Planning Commission held the second public workshop to discuss draft community plan policies for: Pedestrian and Bicycle Facilities; Public Transportation; Rail Service; Noise; and Public Access and Recreation. On that date, the Commission directed staff to return to the Planning Commission with a focused discussion on Public Access and Recreation in order to receive additional information relative to applicable polices contained in the 1982 North County Land Use Plan (NCLUP) and the 1982 Moss Landing Community Plan (Chapter 5 of the NCLUP) as they relate to public access and recreation.
Consistent with the previous workshops, staff will focus on the specific policy areas described below, rather than discussing the entire MLCP update policies. All policy areas will be discussed over the entire series of workshops, but each workshop is intended to focus the conversation on a specified category of policies. As stated above, the Moss Landing Community Plan is a chapter of the NCLUP and draft policies of the MLCP update that are presented will replace the existing policies within Chapter 5 of the North County LUP. As such, draft policies presented for discussion are supplemental to the policies in the North County Land Use Plan and must be implemented in conjunction with the other LUP policies. The existing relevant 1982 North County Land Use Plan policies are attached as Exhibit C and the existing relevant 1982 Moss Landing Community Plan policies are attached as Exhibit D. The remainder of the NCLUP is not being updated at this time.
This workshop is the fourth of a series that will be held over the coming months at the Planning Commission to develop draft policy language for the Moss Landing Community Plan (MLCP) update prior to preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Report. These workshops are intended to provide an additional forum for public participation in drafting the Plan as well as allow policy makers, staff, and the public to discuss policy language prior to finalization of the draft MLCP. After all policies have been finalized by the Planning Commission, staff will develop corresponding regulations (Coastal Implementation Plan-CIP) and prepare and circulate a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Once this process has been completed, the Draft Plan, CIP and a Final EIR will be brought to the Planning Commission for a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.
The attached Discussion (Exhibit A) describes the policies, community input, and other information for the Commission to consider prior to providing direction to staff. It has been structured to focus the dialogue on policy updates by specific topics, similar to the Moss Landing Community Meeting format. It includes simplified versions of policy text laid out in matrices that compare summarized 1982 NCLUP policies, summarized 1982 MLCP polices, summarized recommendations from the 2009 Board of Supervisors Committee, draft policy language from the 2017 update, and staff’s current recommendations. Community suggestions gathered at recent community meetings, recommendations from other agencies (i.e. California Coastal Commission, California State Parks, and RMA-Public Works and Facilities), and the intent of staff’s recommendation to the Commission are discussed below the matrix table. Staff’s current recommendation takes into consideration: Community input (i.e. from the Community Meetings and written comments received), existing policies and regulations, the Moss Landing Community Plan Committee Recommendations from 2009, and all other applicable and relevant data/information received. Matrices showing text changes through the community input process are also attached for reference (Exhibit B).
PLANNING COMMISSION DIRECTION:
Based on the suggested policy language presented, and discussions that will occur during the workshop, staff requests the Commission provide direction to finalize these draft policies. This direction will allow staff to complete a final draft update of the MLCP in order to move forward with drafting the corresponding CIP and EIR. Upon completion, staff will bring the entire package to the Planning Commission for public hearing(s) to make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors.
CEQA:
This workshop is intended to seek input and direction from the Planning Commission to develop policy language that will be considered at a later stage by the Board of Supervisors and California Coastal Commission. This information gathering qualifies for a statutory exemption from environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15262, Feasibility and Planning Studies. Furthermore, the workshop, and its outcome, is not a project as defined in Section 15378. The policies being developed will be analyzed as a portion of the project description in an Environmental Impact Report being prepared for Community Plan update.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The following agencies had comments, and/or recommended modified language addressing the policy areas presented for this workshop:
California Coastal Commission
Moss Landing Harbor District
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
California State Parks, Monterey District
RMA-Public Works and Facilities
Monterey-Salinas Transit
CalTrans
Transportation Agency for Monterey County
Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments
Prepared by: Anna V. Quenga, Senior Planner, x5175
Shelley Glennon, Senior Planner, x5173
Mike Novo, Management Specialist x5176
Reviewed by: Craig Spencer, Interim RMA Planning Services Manager
Brandon Swanson, Interim Chief of RMA Planning
Approved by: John M. Dugan, FAICP, Deputy Director of Land Use and Community Development
The following attachments are on file with the RMA (Exhibits A through G are attached to the report):
Exhibit A - Discussion
Exhibit B - Public Access and Recreation Policy Matrix
Exhibit C - 1982 North County Land Use Plan Public Access and Recreation Policies
Exhibit D - 1982 Moss Landing Community Plan Public Access and Recreation Policies
Exhibit E - Moss Landing Community Plan Boundary Map
Exhibit F - 1982 North County Land Use Plan Shoreline Access/Trails Map - Figure 6
Exhibit G - 1982 Moss Landing Community Plan Public Access and Recreation Map - Figure 4
Exhibit H - 2017 Draft Moss Landing Community Plan
Exhibit I - North County Land Use Plan
Exhibit J - 2009 Moss Landing Community Plan Update Committee Recommendations
cc: Front Counter Copy; Planning Commission; Supervisor Phillips; Katie Butler, California Coastal Commission; Brandon Swanson, Interim Chief of RMA Planning; Craig Spencer, Interim RMA Planning Services Manager; Mike Novo, Management Specialist; Shelley Glennon, Senior Planner; Anna V. Quenga, Senior Planner; John Olejnik, CalTrans; Stephen Bachman, California State Parks, Monterey District; Lisa Rheinheimer, Monterey-Salinas Transit; Transportation Agency for Monterey County; Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments; Elkhorn Slough Foundation; Hamlin Properties, LLC; Moss Landing Harbor District; Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute; San Jose State University Research Foundation (Attn: Moss Landing Marine Labs); Keith Family Investments LLC; Griggs Drilling; Haute Properties, LLC; Moss Landing Commercial Park, LLC dba Moss Landing Business Park (Attn: Nader Agha); Quin Delta, LLC; Phil DiGirolamo; Nancy Russell, FANS (Attn: Mari Kloeppel), Dale Ellis, Charlie Eadie, Paul Hart, Interested Parties; The Open Monterey Project (Attn: Molly Erickson); LandWatch (Attn: Executive Director); Project File GPZ090005.