CA Review JRT
Meeting Date: June 17, 2025
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Geoff Patnoe, City Manager
Staff Contact: Christie Calderwood, Chief of Police
[email protected], 442-339-2216
Subject: License Agreement between the County of San Diego and the City of Carlsbad to Use the County’s Emergency Vehicle Operations Center District: All
Rec
ommended Action
Adopt a resolution authorizing the City Manager or designee to approve a license agreement with the County of San Diego for use of the county’s Emergency Vehicle Operations Center.
Executive Summary
The Emergency Vehicle Operation Center is a 40-acre training facility located at 7361 Otay Mesa Road in San Diego that provides a full driving course, driving skills pad, city street grid, high speed course, classrooms and vehicle rentals. The center, owned and maintained by the County of San Diego, allows for emergency vehicle operation course training, a specialized driver training program designed for personnel who operate emergency vehicles. This training teaches police officers how to safely and effectively operate emergency vehicles under various conditions.
The City Council is being asked to authorize the Police Department to enter into a license agreement, and allow for future license agreements, with the County of San Diego for the use of the County’s Emergency Vehicle Operations Center for training purposes.
Explanation & Analysis
Some key components of the typical emergency vehicle operation course training are:
• Defensive driving techniques to avoid collisions
• Skid control and recovery for handling slippery roads • Emergency braking and obstacle avoidance
• Intersection navigation under emergency conditions
• Pursuit and high-speed maneuvering
• Safe use of lights and sirens to minimize risks
June 17, 2025
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Docusign Envelope ID: 23D7A24C-7B9F-4D5F-8532-A262CBE2142A This training helps ensure that officers can reach their destinations quickly while maintaining control and minimizing danger to themselves and others. The training has also been identified as a perishable skill in California’s Peace Officer Standards and Training, meaning that pursuit driving skills are prone to deteriorate over time if not regularly practiced.
While the Police Department has conducted driving technique training every two years, the department has been unable to conduct high-speed pursuit driving training for over 10 years due to the lack of a suitable course within city limits.
This license agreement allows the department to use the center to train all sworn personnel in vehicle operations during pursuits and ensures they understand their responsibilities, promoting a consistent standard across the department in such situations.
Moving forward, this training is to be conducted every two years.
This license agreement requires the city to broadly indemnify, defend, protect, and hold harmless the County of San Diego from and against a list of circumstances enumerated in Section 18 of the license agreement.
Fiscal Analysis
The funds for this training were built into the fiscal year 2025-26 Operating Budget. No additional appropriations are required.
Next Steps
The City Manager or designee will sign the agreement with the County of San Diego.
Environmental Evaluation
The proposed action is not a “project” as defined by California Environmental Quality Act Section 21065 and CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(a) and does not require environmental review under CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2) because the action is limited to the execution of a license agreement to allow the Police Department to use the Emergency Vehicle Operations Center in San Diego for training purposes. The action has no potential to cause either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
Exhibits
1. City Council resolution
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Docusign Envelope ID: 23D7A24C-7B9F-4D5F-8532-A262CBE2142A Exhibit 1
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-130
A RES
OLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARLSBAD,
CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER OR DESIGNEE TO APPROVE
A LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO FOR USE OF THE COUNTY’S EMERGENCY VEHICLE OPERATIONS CENTER
WHER
EAS, the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California has determined it is necessary, desirable and in the public’s interest to provide emergency vehicle operation course training to its police officers, which is specialized training for personnel who operate emergency vehicles; and WHEREAS, the County of San Diego owns and operates the Emergency Vehicle Operations Center at 7361 Otay Mesa Road, San Diego, California; and WHEREAS, the Emergency Vehicle Operation Center allows for emergency vehicle operation course training; and
WHEREAS, the County of San Diego requires the City of Carlsbad to enter into a license agreement for the use of the Emergency Operations Center for emergency vehicle operation course training; and
WHEREAS, the County of San Diego’s license agreement requires the City of Carlsbad to broadly indemnify, defend, protect, and hold harmless the County of San Diego.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Carlsbad, California, as follows:
1. That the above recitations are true and correct.
2. That the proposed action is not a “project” a s define d by California Environmental Quality Act Section 21065 a nd CEQA Guidelines Section 15378(a) and does not require
environmental review under CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(2) because the action is limited t o the execution of a license agreement to allow the Police Department
to use the Emergency V ehicle Operations Center in San Diego for training purposes. The action has no potential to cause either a direct physical change in the
environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment.
3. That
the City Manager, or designee, is authorized to execute the license agreement for the use of the Emergency Vehicle Operation Center with the County of San Diego (Attachment A).
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4. That the City Manager or designee is authorized to execute future amendments to the license agreement and other future license agreements for the use of the Emergency Vehicle Operation Center, which are approved as to form by the City Attorney’s Office.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED at a Regula r Meeting of the City Council of the Cit y of Carlsbad on the 17th day of June, 2025, by the following vote, to wit:
AYES: Blackburn, Bhat-Patel, Acosta, Burkholder, Shin.
NAYS: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
_______
_______________________________
KEITH BLACKBURN, Mayor
_______
_______________________________
SHERRY FREISINGER, City Clerk
(SEAL)
June 17, 2025
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City Attorney
1200 Carlsbad Village Drive Carlsbad, CA 92008 442-339-2891 760-434-8367 fax www.carlsbadca.gov
September 16, 2025
To: FILE
From: Jennifer R. True, Senior Assistant City Attorney
Re: County of San Diego EVOC License Agreement
On June 24, 2025, the City Council approved a license agreement between the City and the County for the Police Department’s use of the County’s Emergency Vehicle Operations Center.
The Council’s resolution also authorized the City Manager to approve this a greement, as well as future amendments and similar license agreements for use of the facility.
Following this approval, it was determined that the Fire Department would also benefit from access to the Emergency Vehicle Operations Center to train its drivers. To improve efficiency, the City and County agreed to revise the original agreement to includ e the Fire Department. The revised agreement also specifies a cost limit of $100,000 per agreement year, consistent with the City Manager’s approval authority.
Because of the County’s internal procedures, the original agreement was never fully executed and was instead replaced by the revised agreement.