From: Chris Cruse
To: City Clerk; Steve Vaus; Caylin Frank; Peter De Hoff; Brian Pepin; [email protected]; Hector Salgado; Chris Hazeltine; Bob Manis
Cc: Chris Cruse; Eric Weller; Torrey Powers; Jana Johnson; Nick Carruthers; Lori Grennan Subject: Oct 3 2023 City Council Meeting, #Public Oral
Date: Sunday, October 1, 2023 8:22:01 PM
EXTERNAL EMAIL
October 1, 2023
Re: 10/3/23 Council Meeting, Public Oral
Dear Mayor Vaus and Poway City Council Members, City Manager Hazeltine, Bob Manis and Hector Salgado,
We are requesting that the city require the developers of the proposed Life Time Fitness Center in The Farms to hold a new neighborhood meeting, to present the current proposal and to answer questions from the public about the project.
This meeting should be held at least 30 days before the project is “before the council” for approval. The 7-day review period before a council meeting is insufficient time for the public to obtain documents about the project, or to ask questions and receive timely answers about the project. It should be noted that the proposed CUPs, SPA and traffic study documents were not part of the previous February 2023 neighborhood meeting or the March 2023 pre-development conference.
In addition, the city denied the public access to the traffic study that was cited by council members in the March pre-development conference.
People who requested to see the traffic study were told to file a PRR (public record request). It took 10 days for the city to respond to that PRR request. Thus, based on the previous resposes from the City, we believe that a 7-day public review period will deny the public access to the documents that the council will use to make their decision for or against approval.
There were many neighborhood meetings in the months before Prop P 2 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
and The Farm Specific Plan were before council for approval in June 2020. The council has lauded Mr. McNamara for the many public presentations and question/answers sessions. We would like to see any proposed changes to The Farm Specific Plan also discussed in an open question/answer session along the same lines.
Many of the questions that might be asked involve city planning documents (The Farm Specific Plan, deed restrictions, etc), so we are also requesting that a city planner to be available to answer questions about changes to those documents.
In letters to multiple residents, Mayor Vaus has stated that there is a lot of misinformation on social media about the Life Time project.
However, at no time has Mayor Vaus identified any specific statements that he considers to be misinformation or made any attempt to correct what he perceives as misinformation. A new neighborhood meeting would give the developer and city a chance to clarify any misperceptions or other misinformation that has been posted on social media, and it would give the public access to accurate information that is related to the Life Time proposal.
In order to make the neighborhood meeting more efficient, we request that the city release copies of the proposed SPA, DR and proposed CUPs in advance. Simultaneously, residents should be able and encouraged to submit questions they have in advance. Ultimately, this will permit the developer and city to answer those questions, and for the public to ask follow up questions at the neighborhood meeting.
Thank you for your attention and we look forward to a favorable response.
Sincerely,
Nick Carruthers,
Chris Cruse,
3 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Lori Grennan,
Jana Johnson,
Torrey Powers, and
Eric Weller
4 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
From: Lori Grennan
To: Carrie Gallagher
Subject: RE: Oct. 3 City Council Slide Presentation-Grennan Date: Monday, October 2, 2023 2:22:58 PM
Attachments: Meadowbrook Sept 27, 2023.pdf
You don't often get email from [email protected]. Learn why this is important
EXTERNAL EMAIL
Hello Ms. Gallagher,
Attached are my slides for the city council's three minute public comment.
Thank you for your help.
Best wishes,
Lori Grennan
I
5 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Save Meadowbrook Pond!
Sept. 2023
Preserve Wild Poway
6 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
This is what is being planned for the pond and
habitat
Twin Peaks-21 acres in endangered habitat Sept. 2023May 2022 7 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
West Side
of
Twin Peaks
Preserve Wild Poway
Sept. 2023
8 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Meadowbrook Pond
9 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Van Dam Peak Map- Arrow Points to Meadowbrook Pond Property, which is Surrounded on three sides by the Meadowbrook Ecological Preserve.
Red- endangered
Coastal Sage
Scrub
Blue-Proposed
Developments
Yellow-Recent
Development
Cl
,,
_3,
l
3!
3j
3l
3l 1
3]
10 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Meadowbrook Lane
Save Meadowbrook Pond!
11 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Threatened
Western Spadefoot
Toad
12 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Goal: Meadowbrook Pond Property Becomes a Nature Preserve 13 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
14 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
15 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
16 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
17 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
18 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
19 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
20 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
21 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Save Meadowbrook Pond!
22 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Permanently Preserve the
Meadowbrook Pond Property to Create a
Nature Preserve
23 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
From: Jeffrey Schmidt
To: Carrie Gallagher
Subject: letter of comment also
Date: Monday, October 2, 2023 2:56:27 PM
Attachments: HelpSaveMeadowbrook_v04.docx
EXTERNAL EMAIL
Carrie,
I won’t be speaking on this but wonder if it can be added as a letter of comment?
If not I will do it later. Thanks.
[email protected]
Phone: 858-692-7664
24 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
City Council Mee�ng 10/3/2023, Public comments. To: Poway City Council/Poway City Clerk From: Jeffrey Schmidt 10/1/2023 11:37:26 AM
Please “save the Meadowbrook Pond”!
As you may be aware, a sixteen-home subdivision is far along in the planning process and will be located in Poway’s Van Dam Peak Biological Core and Linkage Area (BCLA). The parcel to be developed includes a seasonal wetland with a seasonal pond that acts as a vernal pool. The entire parcel helps to sustain many threatened and endangered species in the Meadowbrook preserve area. I believe strongly that this parcel can be and should be preserved as a nature park and part of the existing reserve for future generations to enjoy and learn from. I also believe that there may be an opportunity now to acquire the 26-acre property for conservation purposes.
I would like to ask all that enjoy nature to please rally to help persuade the landowner to sell this parcel and for the Poway City Council to help to preserve it as a nature park. Just envision the possibility of having a “Meadowbrook Nature Park”. This location is within a short walk from Meadowbrook Middle School and would offer a much-needed venue for school children to study and learn about our sensitive native habitats. It contains a seasonal pond with fairy shrimp and toads, including the threatened spadefoot toad. It is one of a few flatter areas of open space, easy to access and under-represented in Poway’s habitat reserves.
This is the time to come together and convince the landowner and the City of Poway to secure this property as a park! But it needs to be done now!
The reasons I believe the landowner might consider selling this property are:
• The CDFW has stated that there are funds available this year to acquire sensitive habitat. • The landowner is confronted with the issue of protecting a newly listed species, the Western Spadefoot Toad. He will have to mitigate or protect the breeding pond which is in the center of the project.
Preserving the entire parcel by purchasing and annexing it to the Meadowbrook Ecological Reserve is the most reasonable solution both for the landowner and the health of the reserve.
The reasons this parcel should be preserved are almost too many to list, but here are a few highlights. • The property is an integral part of the Meadowbrook Ecological Reserve, joining the reserve cornerstone on the west and south edges and adjacent to the Carmel Mountain open space park on the north. Its location and development plan will cause unreasonable edge effects directly in the BCLA.
• The project will annihilate a seasonal toad pond that is known to produce hundreds of the recently listed Western Spadefoot toad, Tree Frogs, Western Toads, and fairy shrimp. • The parcel is loaded with Spiny redberry plant, and California buckwheat, so is prime habitat for the endangered Hermes Copper Butterfly. The Hermes Copper Butterfly has been documented on the adjacent Meadowbrook Ecological Reserve.
• The Parcel makes up a large seasonal watershed which sustains the wildlife in the BCLA. 25 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
City Council Mee�ng 10/3/2023, Public comments. To: Poway City Council/Poway City Clerk From: Jeffrey Schmidt 10/1/2023 11:37:26 AM
• This is a rare opportunity to save this critical biological component of the Van Dam Peak BCLA. • Finally, the parcel and the toad pond could make a wonderful nature viewing and educational resource for locals, visitors, and the children attending the nearby schools.
26 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
From: Carrie Gallagher
To: Ellis Webster; Wendy Kaserman
Subject: FW: public speaking materials for city council meeting 10/3/2023 Date: Monday, October 2, 2023 3:46:44 PM
Attachments: Twin Peaks BCLA_for_CityCouncil3.pdf
HCP basics_chapt2_design_rules.docx
Twin Peaks BCLA_for_CityCouncil3.pptx
From: Jeffrey Schmidt <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, October 2, 2023 1:09 PM
To: Carrie Gallagher <[email protected]>
Subject: public speaking materials for city council meeting 10/3/2023
EXTERNAL EMAIL
Carrie,
Hello again. Nice to have actually met briefly last week. Here are materials for tomorrow night as a continuation of my discussion.
I have submitted the slide show I want to use in pdf and ppt formats.
In the future, is pdf format ok
for the slide presentation?
Thank
you,
[email protected]
Phone: 858-692-7664
27 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Twin Peaks Biological Core and
Linkage Area (BCLA)
and
Proposed Resource Protection
Area(PRPA)
28 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
BCLA - Means the Biological Core and Linkage Area which is that portion of the Mitigation Area of greatest value and within which to the extent feasible development should be avoided, and mitigation should be concentrated.
PRPA – Proposed Resource Protection Areas are the critical habitat areas targeted for acquisition to further protect the integrity of the Biological Core and Linkage Area (BCLA) 29 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
BCLA = Biological
Core and Linkage
Area
PRPA = Proposed
Resource
Protection Area
PRPA
BCLA
30 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
BCLA = Biological
Core and Linkage
Area
PRPA = Proposed
Resource
Protection Area
WRONG! = Poorly
Placed Development
PRPA
BCLA
31 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
Please don’t destroy our
Open Space Reserves!
Please follow our Poway
Subarea HCP!
I I I I I I
32 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
City Council Mee�ng 10/3/2023, Public comments. To: Poway City Council/Poway City Clerk From: Jeffrey Schmidt
Poway Subarea Habitat Conserva�on Plan/Natural Community Conserva�on Plan, Ch 2 - Design Rules
Contrary to local opinion, a landowner cannot do whatever he/she wants with natural habitat on his/her land. Federal and State laws require that our endangered habitat is protected to the greatest extent feasible, and habitat destroyed shall be appropriately mi�gated.
Why?
Southern Coastal Sage Scrub is endangered! Studies indicate that only 10- 15% of our original sage scrub community remains.
Coastal Sage Scrub (CSS) habitat contains the most diverse set of plants and animals in the con�nental United States. With only 10-15% of CSS remaining, there are over 120 threatened or endangered species that depend on the Coastal Sage Scrub habitat.
Therefore, by law, any landowner that wants to develop in this endangered habitat must have a Habitat Conserva�on Plan (HCP).
A landowner may choose to develop using the Poway Subarea Conserva�on Plan or may submit an HCP to the wildlife agencies.
Mi�ga�on shall result in a viable habitat reserve by following special reserve design guidelines described in the project’s HCP .
Some of the Reserve Design Guidelines of Poway’s Sub Area HCP are:
• Housing projects are to be planned to avoid damaging the most valuable habitat and strive to preserve large con�guous areas of natural habitat.
• Development shall be concentrated first in areas of non-sensi�ve habitat and secondly in disturbed sensi�ve habitat.
33 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment
City Council Mee�ng 10/3/2023, Public comments. To: Poway City Council/Poway City Clerk From: Jeffrey Schmidt
• Development shall be sited to avoid disrup�on of biological core areas, as well as habitat linkages, buffer areas, watershed areas, and wildlife corridors.
• Development shall be located as close as possible to exis�ng or planned public or private roads to minimize fragmenta�on of habitat areas.
• Preserved habitat should adjoin undeveloped natural open space.
• The layout of a rural residen�al building site shall consider the use of adjoining parcels. The func�onal value of the habitat between the parcels should be maintained and enhanced.
• Fences should not be erected where they restrict wildlife movement.
Also, land management is a requirement of an HCP. Our Poway Sub Area HCP says…
• The resul�ng nature reserves are to be protected from damage, and monitored by a biologist to ensure that they remain healthy.
The inten�on and method of our Poway Subarea HCP is clear and can be easily understood. But development projects that don’t follow the HCP objec�ves are being approved by the City of Poway.
I’m calling on Poway council and ci�zens to understand the reasons and the inten�ons of Poway’s HCP and demand proper implementa�on. This is for the good of the environment, our immediate benefit and that of future genera�ons.
Please contact me or Preserve Wild Poway for more informa�on. 34 of 34
October 3, 2023, Public Comment