Agenda Item
City Council
Item #: 7.2. 7/12/2022 File #: 22-0416
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
THRU: Rob Houston, City Manager
FROM: Susan Galvan, Interim Community Development Department Christopher Cash, Public Works Director
Gary A. Sheatz, City Attorney
1. SUBJECT
Sully Miller Site Update
2. SUMMARY
An update on the Sully Miller site to include current zoning and General Plan designations, current approvals, and site operations, including any pending enforcement actions.
3. RECOMMENDED ACTION
Receive and file.
4. FISCAL IMPACT
None
5. STRATEGIC PLAN GOALS
3. Enhance and Promote Quality of Life in the Community b. Deliver high quality and safe recreational, social, environmental, educational and cultural services
6. DISCUSSION AND BACKGROUND
A. The Property
The Sully Miller site (the “site”)is located at 6145 E. Santiago Canyon Road and consists of approximately 109 acres of privately owned land. The site is subject to a convergence of land use policies that encompass the City’s2010 General Plan and Zoning Code both of which control the long-term plan for development and land use within the City.
The City’s General Plan designates the site as:
1. Low Density Residential consisting of 15.4 acres that lie north of Santiago Creek, adjacent to Mabury Avenue;
2. Resource Area consisting of approximately 77.3 acres that lie primarily on the south side of Santiago Creek; and
3. Open Space consisting of 16.5 acres that include the narrow strip running through the site City of Orange Printed on 7/7/2022Page 1 of 3
powered by Legistar™
Item #: 7.2. 7/12/2022 File #: 22-0416
3. Open Space consisting of 16.5 acres that include the narrow strip running through the site from east to west and roughly following Santiago Creek.
Current zoning on the site consists of two land use designations. Approximately 11.3 acres are zoned Single-Family Residential and approximately 97.9 acres are zoned for Sand and Gravel.
Attachment A provides a list of the permitted uses for property with a Sand and Gravel zoning designation.
The property has been through several entitlement and project proposals, the last of which, titled the Trails at Santiago Creek, consisted of a mixture of single-family detached homes and open space.
The project was subject to a referendum that ultimately overturned the proposal. A CEQA lawsuit was also filed challenging the approval of the environmental document for the Trails project. This lawsuit was subsequently dismissed as it became moot when the referendum overturned the project approval.
B. Current Approvals
The site was originally comprised of twelve parcels that have been consolidated into four parcels under Tentative Parcel Map No. 0022-21.
Tentative Tract Map No. 18163 and Minor Site Plan Review No. 1016-20 were approved by the City Council in July 2020 to allow for the development of 22 lots on the property zoned single-family residential north of Santiago Creek, adjacent to Mabury Avenue.
C. Current Operations
The portion of the site located south of Mabury Avenue and north of Santiago Creek is consistent with the General Plan and zone district designation for single-family residential use. This includes the Tentative Tract Map and Site Plan Review approvals referenced above and is not subject to enforcement action by any regulatory agency.
With regard to the remainder of the site, the portion containing the Sand and Gravel operations, including stockpiling of material on site and backfilling of inert debris, allowed under the current zoning, those operations have been suspended while the property owner addresses the following:
1. Local Enforcement Agency (LEA)
While stockpiling and backfilling are allowable uses under the City’szoning code, the Orange County Health Care Agency, Environmental Health, acting as the Solid Waste Local Enforcement Agency (LEA), also has regulatory authority over the operations on the site. The LEA is the enforcement agency for solid waste laws and regulates the inert debris that is stockpiled and used as backfill.
As part of the ongoing operations, the property owner operated an Inert Debris Engineered Fill Operation (IDEFO) on the site. Construction material and debris were accepted on the site and stockpiled, to be used as engineered backfill under the IDEFO. In investigating a complaint against the property owner based on its operations, the LEA alleged that the property owner was in violation of solid waste laws. In June of 2022, the LEA and the property owner agreed to resolve the complaint by entering into a Stipulation and Order (“Order”)pertaining to the stockpiling of material on the site.
Under the Order, the property owner has agreed to survey the stockpiles for purposes of ensuring that the stockpile material does not include the presence of any solid waste or substances that have concentrations that pose a risk to human health or the environment. If sampling shows the presence City of Orange Printed on 7/7/2022Page 2 of 3
powered by Legistar™
Item #: 7.2. 7/12/2022 File #: 22-0416
concentrations that pose a risk to human health or the environment. If sampling shows the presence of any hazardous materials, the property owner will be required to develop a remediation plan to eliminate those hazards from the site. However, if the site survey does not show the presence of hazardous materials, the stockpiled material may be used for backfill of the site. Backfill operations would require a City-issued grading permit, however, grading on the site would not occur until authorized by the LEA.
The Order would also allow the IDEFO operation to resume, but only after the property owner has completed the survey of the site and submitted the appropriate operational plans for the IDEFO to the LEA for its review and approval.
2. State Water Board
As a Sand and Gravel operation, the site is designated as a heavy industrial facility and has an active General Permit for Storm Water Discharges Associated with Industrial Activities (General Permit), issued by the State Water Board. The permit requires the development and implementation of a Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) which identifies Best Management Practices (BMPs) that are designed to reduce or eliminate the discharge of processed materials, sediment, and other pollutants to storm drains or other water bodies. As a requirement of the City’sMS4 Permit from the State, the City performs annual site inspections of BMPs at heavy industrial facilities, unless a State inspection of the site occurs within the same 12 month period. City inspections of the Sully Miller site pertain to ensuring that the BMPs are in place and that any noted deficiencies are corrected.
The most recent City inspection of the site in July 2021 noted BMP deficiencies which were corrected. Additional requirements of the General Permit beyond implementation of the BMPs are in the purview of the State Water Board as they issue and carry the ability to levy penalties for non- compliance. State Water Board staff periodically inspects the site and in December 2021 and February 2022 found BMP deficiencies and other operating deficiencies that resulted in a Notice of Violation (NOV) that was issued to the property owner on April 15, 2022. As of June 23, 2022, the State Board provided correspondence to the property owner indicating that several of the BMP deficiencies noted in the NOV had been resolved but requested that the property owner update site mapping of the BMPs and correct any sampling deficiencies that still had not been resolved. A response to the State Board with a plan for addressing outstanding issues was due by July 8, 2022.
Finally, it is important to note that at this time the City does not have an application for development on any portion of the site.
7. ATTACHMENTS
· Attachment A: Permitted Uses in the Sand and Gravel zone City of Orange Printed on 7/7/2022Page 3 of 3
powered by Legistar™