CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
8/12/2024
1 SUBJECT:
Modifications to the City of Pacifica’s Revised Certification Draft Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP), including the Special Resiliency Area policies, and direction to staff regarding alternative modifications.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Receive a presentation from staff and discuss and confirm list of alternative modifications to the Revised Certification Draft LCLUP.
STAFF CONTACT:
Stefanie Cervantes, AICP, Acting Deputy Director
(650) 738-7341
[email protected]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City has been updating its Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP) since 2009. In February 2020 the City Council approved and submitted its Certification Draft LCLUP to the California Coastal Commission (CCC) for certification. In March of 2023, the CCC submitted modifications to the City’s Certification Draft LCLUP. Most recently in 2023 and 2024, the City has undertaken a community engagement strategy to inform the community and City Council about the LCLUP Update process and steps that could be considered to respond to California Coastal Commission (CCC) staff suggested modifications. Completion of the LCLUP Update would advance Goal 4, Strategy C of the City Council’s 2023 to 2030 Strategic Plan: Update Pacifica’s Local Coastal Plan and improve communications and collaboration with the California Coastal Commission.
The City Council has held Special Meetings in April, May and June of 2024 to complete a detailed discussion of alternative modifications that City staff has proposed in response to the CCC staff’s suggested modifications released in March 2023. During the special meetings, City Council was able to discuss the alternative modifications in all chapters, including the first half of Chapter 6, and the glossary.
Although this meeting was noticed as a public hearing to adopt the resolution for the LCLUP, due to a late transmission from the CCC staff, this meeting will instead be held to continue to discuss the alternative modifications in Chapter 6 and the glossary and confirm the list of alternative modifications supported by the City Council. Once confirmed by Council, staff will schedule adoption of the resolution in Attachment A at a subsequent City Council meeting.
INTRODUCTION:
Pacifica Needs an Updated LCLUP
The California Coastal Act requires every city along the coast to prepare a Local Coastal Program (LCP), which consists of two parts: a Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP) and an Pacifica City Council 2
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Implementation Plan (IP). The LCLUP must be consistent with the Coastal Act. The LCLUP must specify the intended uses of land within the Coastal Zone, and serves as a policy framework for future actions, such as development review and City infrastructure projects. The LCLUP must balance statewide interests for the Coastal Zone as expressed in the Coastal Act with local land use priorities. The LCLUP also guides the contents of the IP, which consists of the zoning ordinance, zoning map, and other policies and programs to implement the LCLUP.
The City’s LCLUP currently in effect was last comprehensively updated in 1980 (“1980 LCLUP”). While the LCLUP is separate from the General Plan, much of the descriptive text and policies overlap between both documents due to their similar purposes of specifying land uses, establishing goals and policies, and providing a policy framework for future actions.
There are many benefits to having an updated LCLUP. These include, but are not limited to, accurate maps, modernized policies to guide development, enhanced environmental protections, strengthened economic development and housing policies, and consistency with the City’s 2040 General Plan. Achieving consistency with the City’s General Plan, which the City Council comprehensively updated in July 2022, will become increasingly challenging over time if a corresponding LCLUP Update is not completed. Also, whenever a conflict between the 2040 General Plan and the 1980 LCLUP occurs, the 1980 LCLUP’s policies will prevail.
Staff’s assessment is that the 1980 LCLUP is not adequate to continue guiding the City’s actions in the Coastal Zone on a long-term basis. Many objectives of the 1980 LCLUP have been accomplished, such as protection of key beach and open space areas and formalization of public coastal access in many locations, while its assessments of some coastal neighborhoods are no longer reflective of the challenges and needs of those areas. Moreover, the 1980 LCLUP does not do enough to help Pacifica plan for the future. The plan is over 40 years old, and importantly, the 1980 LCLUP does not effectively identify climate change and sea level rise (SLR) as major issues that need to be addressed.
The City Council has recognized since at least 2009 that an update was needed, and started the process at that time. Yet, despite 15 years with various starts and stops in the process, the update is not yet completed. As more time passes, the need for an update continues to grow, and the problems the LCLUP seeks to address will only become more complex. The City Council has demonstrated the capacity to tackle difficult challenges in recent years, and has used lessons learned during community planning processes to inform subsequent planning and implementation activities, as exhibited in the following:
• The General Plan Update, which identified a community desire for in-fill, mixed-use development, preservation of open spaces, enhancement of parks and other community facilities, and improved planning to address hazard mitigation and evacuation from wildfires and other events, among other priorities.
• The Sharp Park Specific Plan (SPSP), which creates a plan for the historic Sharp Park neighborhood to enhance it as a regional destination and active neighborhood center. • The Housing Element Update, which demonstrated the need to plan for more than 2,000 housing units, while undertaking other supporting actions to accelerate housing approvals and provide services for the neediest members of our community. • The Economic Opportunities Study, which identified ways for the City to strengthen its fiscal position so it can continue to provide high-quality services, infrastructure, and facilities to meet community needs.
The priorities identified in the above-referenced planning documents cannot meaningfully move forward in the Coastal Zone while limited by the 1980 LCLUP. An updated LCLUP is needed to address these emerging community priorities while also addressing issues that are all the more Pacifica City Council 3
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pressing in the Coastal Zone such as climate change and SLR adaptation. While significant City staff resources continue to be absorbed by the LCLUP Update process, work on those other community priorities cannot proceed effectively. Housing Element implementation, pursuing economic development initiatives, planning for City infrastructure and facilities, etc., can all advance much more efficiently once an updated LCLUP is in place. Completion of the LCLUP Update is also needed before staff can focus on pursuing CCC certification of the Sharp Park Specific Plan (SPSP), which combined with redevelopment of 2212 Beach Boulevard (a major economic opportunity site for the City) will provide a major boost to the Palmetto Avenue commercial corridor and enhance the City as a visitor destination. Implementation SPSP is on hold until the LCLUP and, subsequently, SPSP are certified by the CCC.
Lastly, an update to Pacifica’s LCLUP to account for SLR is inevitable. State law, as enacted in late 2023 with Senate Bill (SB) 272, now requires LCLUPs throughout California to be updated to include a plan to address SLR.
Based on this information, staff’s assessment is that completion of the LCLUP Update as expeditiously as possible and consistent with the 2040 General Plan is in the City’s best interest.
DISCUSSION:
1. Community Engagement
Community engagement has been a significant component of the LCLUP Update process, particularly the latest phase occurring in 2023 and 2024. The City Council has expanded the community engagement plan it initially approved with three meetings into a four-meeting plan, with potential for a fifth meeting. This August 12 meeting is the second iteration of “Meeting #5,” effectively resulting in an eight-meeting community engagement plan, and continues the discussion of alternative modifications proposed by City staff that started on April 15. Additional information on the City’s work to update the LCLUP and the community engagement plan is available in the City Council agenda reports for the City Council meetings on October 9, 2023 (Agenda Item No. 10), November 13, 2023 (Agenda Item No. 1), December 5, 2023 (Agenda Item No. 1), March 2, 2024 (Agenda Item No. 1), April 15, 2024 (Agenda Item No. 1), April 22, 2024 (Agenda Item No. 6), May 23, 2024 (Agenda Item No. 1), and June 26, 2024 (Agenda Item 1). The March 2, 2024 report includes detailed case studies that describe specific scenarios that could result from application of different potential LCLUP policies in the Coastal Zone and responses to almost 150 questions submitted by the public. Additionally, the May 23, 2024 report includes responses to over 100 questions received by the public and City Council.
This community engagement process is intended to conclude the comprehensive LCLUP update process that started nearly 15 years ago. It involves concluding the LCLUP update process based on the structure and policy emphasis approved by the City Council in the 2020 LCLUP, with consideration of alternative modifications to certain policies as an alternative to the CCC staff’s suggested modifications from March 2023 (i.e., the “alternative modifications”). This process is not a reconsideration of policy emphasis or direction that was approved in the 2020 LCLUP (and continued in the Revised LCLUP) and instead is focused on specific changes to LCP policies that will ensure CCC certification.
The purpose of the LCLUP Update process and community engagement process is to bring the Council and community to a point of understanding the Revised Certification Draft LCLUP with Alternative Modifications so an informed decision can be made on whether to approve the Revised Certification Draft LCLUP with Alternative Modifications. This is a necessary step to conclude the comprehensive LCLUP update process that was started in 2009 and most recently included incorporation of conforming General Plan amendments in October 2023. Consideration Pacifica City Council 4
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of a resolution to propose alternative modifications that may be acceptable to the CCC is the best and most expedient way for the City to seek CCC certification of the LCLUP in a form that is acceptable to the CCC and the City Council.
The need for transmittal of alternative modifications by resolution arose during a City-CCC staff coordination meeting after LCLUP Meeting #3 on March 2, 2024. At the coordination meeting, CCC staff relayed that further internal discussions at the CCC concluded that transmittal by resolution was required pursuant to Public Resources Code section 30510 which states, in part, that “a proposed local coastal program may be submitted to the [CCC]” only if it is submitted “pursuant to a resolution adopted by the local government...” Staff has prepared the draft resolution included as Attachment A which will serve as the mechanism for transmittal of the alternative modifications to the CCC once they are finalized by the City Council. Adoption of the resolution would be considered at a subsequent City Council meeting.
2. Follow-up Items from June Meeting
Staff noted several points in City Council’s discussion at the June meeting that required followup. Items that were identified in the April and May meetings were discussed in the June 26 report. At the June 26 meeting, there were some additional points identified, which are discussed below.
A. Changes to 2040 General Plan Consistent Text
During the June 2024 CCC review of the entire Revised LCLUP document, CCC suggested several revisions to 2040 General Plan (GP) consistent text. 2040 GP consistent text was incorporated in October of 2023. As stated in the June 26, 2024 report, staff reviewed the CCC staff requests to amend the GP language and determine the following: (1) updates to introductory or background text should be done to both the 2040 GP and LCLUP documents at a later date, (2) some requested edits to GP consistent text should be made to be consistent with the Coastal Act, (3) some requested edits to GP consistent text should be made to address internal inconsistency, etc.; and (4) some requested edits to GP consistent text should not be made. During the June 26 meeting, City Council expressed interested in obtaining more details regarding the last two determinations. CCC staff requested edits to GP consistent text to address internal inconsistencies in the LCLUP document, these edits have now been added to the Attachment B Summary Table and are shown with modification numbers GP1, GP2, etc.
The Summary Table provides a brief explanation as to why staff agrees with removal and/or modifications of the text.
B. Exemptions of Minor Projects
As previously discussed, the California Coastal Act requires to prepare a Local Coastal Program (LCP), which consists of two parts: a Local Coastal Land Use Plan (LCLUP) and an Implementation Plan (IP). The LCLUP guides the contents of the IP, which consists of the zoning ordinance, zoning map, and other policies and programs to implement the LCLUP. The policies within the LCLUP are generally applied to the City’s process, City projects, and Coastal Development Permits. While the LCLUP contains a definition for Development, it is important to highlight that not all development requires a Coastal Development Permit. As outlined in PMC section 9-4.4303, there are exemptions and categories of excluded development, which allow minor development that will not impact coastal resources to be approved without a Coastal Development Permit. Once the City’s obtains certification of the LCLUP, staff will be able to further update and refine the IP, including sections related to exemptions and categories of excluded development. It is also important to note that these exemptions and categories of excluded development are only applicable to the areas within the City’s permit jurisdiction.
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C. Follow-up Items from April and June Meeting
During several of the last meetings, there were follow-up items that the Council wanted to discuss further. The June 26 report further detailed those items; however, due to lack of time some of those items were not discussed during the meeting and Council was not able to confirm the proposed staff recommended alternative modification. Those items include several policies in Chapter 6, starting at CR-I-20 (previously CR-I-44) Siting and Design and including the Special Shoreline Resiliency Area (SSRA). The items also include further Coastal Act compliance Modifications to LD-I-5 Lower Cost Visitor and Recreational Facilities; LD-I- 9 Coastal- Dependent Industry; and NH-I-3 Fault Zone.
As previously stated, staff has reviewed these modifications and believes they are necessary to ensure Coastal Act compliance and certification of the LCP document. These alternative modifications have been added to the attached Summary Table with a brief explanation and staff recommends that the City Council accept the changes. Both City and Coastal staff have worked closely to ensure that the additional modifications are consistent with the Coastal Act and with the goals of both agencies. Staff is prepared to discuss the remaining of Chapter 6, including the SSRA policies, and other policies changes as highlighted above during the August 12 meeting.
1. Additional Follow-up on Maps
At several of the previous meetings, the Council had directed staff to complete map updates to Figure 3-1 and provide a draft Tsunami Inundation Zone (TIZ) Map. Staff has been able to dedicate resources to both of these efforts and these maps are included within Attachment C.
Figure 3-1 has been replaced and the draft Tsunami Inundation Zone Map has been added to Chapter 6. The draft TIZ map was created using limited staff resources. There is an item on the August 12, 2024 agenda to execute a contract for updating mapping services, which includes the creation of a final TIZ map.
D. Additional Alternative Modifications
Prior to June 26, 2024 meeting, CCC staff suggested additional alternative modifications to the document. In general, staff is in support of the modifications to address redundancies, typos, and formatting issues and provide further policy clarity and they were incorporated into Summary Table with a brief explanation and staff recommends that the City Council accept the changes. However, staff had noted remaining items. Since the June 26 meeting, City and CCC staff were able to meet to discuss the last remaining items and CCC staff provided written comments on August 6, 2024, see Attachment D. The August 6 letter provides more reasoning for certain requested General Plan consistent text changes and recommended alternative language for the items below.
• LD-I-20 Undeveloped San Pedro Avenue Site: CCC staff recommends keeping their original suggested modification from March 2023 that states “some low density” instead of the staff drafted alternative modification that proposed a specific density range. Staff strongly believes that a specified density is necessary to address community concerns regarding potential future development of the site and to assure that the City’s internal land use documents, e.g. General Plan, and LUP are consistent with regard to density designations. The August 6 letter provided more alternative language that would further reduce the density to account for coastal resources protections; however, staff does not recommend that language. If there are coastal resources on the site, it would reduce the gross developable area that density is based on.
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• ER-I-1 Creek Protection and Restoration and ER-I-24 Management of ESHA: CCC staff recommends keeping their original suggested modification from March 2023 which clarified exceptions to buffer instead of the staff drafted alternative modification that removes “no less than 50 feet in any case.” As staff has previously explained, requiring a minimum buffer with no exception is too prescriptive and does not consider the quality of habitat or design alternative. While the CCC acknowledges that language should be included in LCLUP which protects against potential taking challenges, their modification conflicts with the general exception contained in the policy which allows for reductions in buffers to avoid a takings claim. Staff believes that buffers should be determined on a case-by-case basis and as necessary to avoid takings claims. In the August 6 letter, CCC staff had further alternative language for ER-I-24 that would add “wetlands” in several areas. City staff does not believe this is necessary as the introductory language for Section 4.3 Biological Resources “identified potential ESHA’s in the Planning Area in three general categories: wetlands, stream/riparian, and other terrestrial ESHAs.” • In the Glossary, definition of Substantial Structural Modification: CCC staff recommends additional clarification on what qualifies as a major structural component and a shorter exclusion list. While staff appreciates the effort to clarify and streamline the definition, City Council and the community have put extensive efforts into the current alternative modification of SSM and does not support substantial changes. Instead, staff recommends a minor revision to a portion of the definition to read “however excludes, but not limited to:” to clarify that the list of example exclusions is not exhaustive. Staff believes this change meets the intent of CCC staff. Staff is not recommending any additional modification based on the August 6 letter.
The August 6 letter contains additional reasoning and specific Coastal Act sections that is recommending that GP consistent text be reverted back to the 2020 version in order to comply with the Coastal Act. Due to the timing of when the letter was received, staff is unable to provide a recommendation on specific changes to these policies. Staff will need to do an analysis of the proposed revisions and continue coordination with Coastal staff, and will bring recommendations to Council at a future date.
3. Meeting #5.1: Completing Review of All Alternative Modifications Meeting #4 in the community engagement plan was designed to allow City Council to receive a presentation from staff on all of the proposed alternative modifications, including the SSRA policies, and to allow City Council to ask questions on any of the alternative modifications. The City Council previously completed its review of alternative modifications except Chapter 6 and a few select policy changes made after the CCC staff June 2024 review. During Meeting #5, City Council reviewed about half of Chapter 6. Staff recommends the focus of this meeting #5.1 be on review of the remainder of Chapter 6, including the SSRA policies, and a few select changes as outlined above.
Attachment B contains the alternative modifications prepared by City staff in response to CCC staff’s suggested modifications from the CCC’s report from March 8, 2023. The table also contains a brief summary and/or explanation as to why staff is or is not proposing an alternative modification. Attachment B redlines contain new changes since June 26 staff report, as well as the redline items that the Council was not able to confirm at the June 26 meeting.
4. Next Steps
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The key outcome of this meeting is to confirm the list of alternative modifications supported by the City Council. Once confirmed by Council, staff will schedule adoption of the resolution in Attachment A at a subsequent City Council meeting. Once the resolution is adopted and the LCLUP is transmitted to the CCC, CCC staff has indicated that they will need approximately 2-3 months to review and schedule a hearing on the City’s LCLUP once they receive the City Council resolution. The CCC may then certify the City’s LCLUP as submitted, deny the LCLUP submittal, or certify subject to City Council acceptance of additional suggested modifications.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Staff has received five public comments since the June 26, 2024 City Council Meeting and before the release date of this report those. Those comments and responses are attached to this report, see Attachment E and F.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA):
Adoption of the Revised Certification Draft LCLUP with Alternative Modifications would be exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15266 of the CEQA Guidelines (“Adoption of Coastal Plans and Programs”) which provides that “CEQA does not apply to activities and approvals pursuant to the California Coastal Act…by (1) Any local government, as defined by Section 30109 of the Public Resources Code, necessary for the preparation and adoption of a local coastal program…” Section 15265 further provides that “CEQA shall apply to the certification of a local coastal program… by the California Coastal Commission.” ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
No alternative action has been identified.
RELATION TO CITY COUNCIL GOALS AND WORK PLAN:
The Local Coastal Land Use Plan Update is consistent with the following item(s) in the Counciladopted Strategic Plan and Priority Work Plan for FY 2023-24:
• Goal 4: Pursue climate change adaptation and mitigation. o Strategy C: Update Pacifica’s Local Coastal Plan and improve communications and collaboration with the California Coastal Commission.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no direct fiscal impact from this item.
ORIGINATED BY:
Planning Department
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A - Draft Resolution for LCLUP Process Update (DOCX) Attachment B Summary Table With Alternative Modifications (PDF) Attachment C Redlined LCLUP (PDF)
Attachment D CCC comment letter to City of Pacifica 8-6-24 (PDF) Attachment E Public Comments (PDF)
Attachment F Responses to Council and Public Questions (PDF)