RESOLUTION NO. 23-74
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF San clemente, CALIFORNIA, approving usace coastal storm damage reduction project in San clemente; ADOPTING THE FINAL FEASIBILITY STUDY AND Certifying the Final EIS/EIR and sea/fonsi; Adopting the MMRP, Findings of Fact and statement of overriding considerations; authorizing the filing of a Notice of Determination to support the Project; and authorizing entry into a state lands lease WHEREAS, Coastal erosion is a very significant problem in the City of San Clemente that threatens the public beaches and coastal public access, key public facilities, existing structures, and critical public infrastructure; and WHEREAS, in 2001, the City of San Clemente entered into a Federal Cost Share Agreement (FCSA) with the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for purposes of collaborating on the San Clemente Coastal Storm Damage Reduction Feasibility Study Project (Project); and WHEREAS, the Project was originally authorized under the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act of 2000 and the City has been participating in Project development efforts with Federal and State agency partners for more than 20 years; and WHEREAS, the State of California, through the State Parks, Division of Boating and Waterways, has been a steadfast State partner through the California Public Beach Restoration Act Program; and WHEREAS, the Project is intended to reduce coastal storm damage to property and infrastructure along the study area shoreline for a period of 50 years; improve public safety in the study area by providing a wider sandy beach which will serve as a natural wave buffer; and reduce coastal erosion and shoreline narrowing to improve public recreational opportunities for beach users within the City for the next 50 years; and WHEREAS, the Project includes construction of a 50-foot-wide beach fill along a 3,412-foot-long stretch of shoreline. The Project would place an initial 251,000 cubic yards of compatible sediment on the beach. Over the 50-year life of the Project, renourishment would occur every 6 years; and WHEREAS, material for the beach fill will be dredged from a borrow site located within the Oceanside Littoral cell located off the coast south of the Project site; and WHEREAS, the Project is anticipated to be the first entirely new USACE supported public beach restoration project in California in more than four decades and would provide local coastal storm damage reduction benefits and local, regional, state and federal economic benefits; and WHEREAS, the Project has been designed to be resilient to future sea level rise over its 50 year life using various sea level rise scenarios and is consistent with the California Coastal Commission Sea Level Rise Policy Guidance document which recognizes beach nourishment as preferred sea level rise adaptation strategy for developed coastlines; and WHEREAS, the Draft EIS/EIR was issued in 2011 and recommended the “National Economic Development” (NED) plan; and WHEREAS, at a March 15, 2011 San Clemente City Council hearing, the City expressed its support for the Project recommended by the USACE in the Feasibility Study and evaluated in the EIR/EIS and this milestone set the stage for Project approval by the USACE; and WHEREAS, the Project is consistent with Federal, Statewide, regional and local shoreline management goals which recognize the importance of public beach restoration along the South Orange County shoreline as the preferred method of addressing the critical coastal erosion problems caused by a lack of sediment supply; and WHEREAS, in the absence of the Project, continued hard shoreline protection is expected to occur; and WHEREAS, with implementation of the Project, the City, State and USACE will be providing a viable nature based, green, soft solution as a means of advancing natural infrastructure protection; and WHEREAS, the Project Feasibility Study identifying the recommended Project for San Clemente was approved by the USACE Civil Works Review Board CWRB on May 12, 2011; and WHEREAS, the Final EIS/EIR was filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and was made available to interested parties for review and comment pursuant to regulations of the President's Council on Environmental Quality for implementing NEPA (40 CFR Parts 1500-1508) as well as the State Clearinghouse/Governor’s Office of Planning and Research for a 45-day public review period beginning on August 9, 2011 and ending on September 23, 2011; and WHEREAS, the Project was assigned State Clearinghouse Number 2010084002 and responses to the public comments are included in the Final EIR/EIS; and WHEREAS, the Final EIS/EIR determined that all but two of the potential significant impacts of the Project can be avoided or reduced to a level below significance by the implementation of feasible mitigation measures as outlined in the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP); and WHEREAS, in November 2011, the City and the USACE received approval from the CCC when they issued their Consistency Determination (CD-029-11) for the Project; and WHEREAS, the USACE Chiefs Report approving the Feasibility Study Project was issued on April 15, 2012 and the final NEPA action of publishing the Record of Decision (ROD) occurred on September 6, 2012; and WHEREAS, these approvals signaled the formal conclusion of the Project’s “Feasibility Phase” which enabled the Project to progress to the “Pre-Construction Engineering and Design” (PED) phase beginning in June 2018. The Project’s PED Phase concluded in 2020 following the collection of pre-construction baseline data; and WHEREAS, the Regional Water Quality Control Board issued a Clean Water Act Section 401 Water Quality Certification and Waste Discharge Requirements Order No. 2003-0017-DWQ for the Project on November 3, 2022; and WHEREAS, the USACE prepared a Supplemental Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact (SEA/FONSI) in 2023 to address green sea turtles; and WHEREAS, copies of the Final Feasibility Study, FEIS/FEIR, SEA/FONSI, MMRP, Findings of Fact and Statement of Overriding Considerations and other documents and materials that constitute the administrative record of proceedings upon which this decision is based are and have been available for public review from the custodian of these records, the Department of Public Works at City Hall, 910 Calle Negocio, San Clemente, CA 92673; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of San Clemente has independently reviewed, analyzed and considered the Final EIS/EIR, SEA/FONSI, MMRP and other documents and materials that constitute the administrative record of proceedings and all public comments, written and oral, received before making this decision; and WHEREAS, on July 18, 2023, the City Council held a duly noticed public hearing and heard and considered information presented by staff and the public.
NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente, California, does hereby find, determine and resolve as follows:
That the foregoing recitations are true and correct and incorporated herein.
That the USACE prepared a Feasibility Study identifying the USACE recommended Project in San Clemente.
That the Final EIS/EIR and SEA/FONSI were prepared to evaluate the potential effects of implementation of the Project, as identified in the USACE Project Feasibility Study, and reviewed in compliance with the provisions of CEQA and the CEQA Guidelines and the City’s local CEQA procedures.
That substantial evidence in the record as a whole supports the decisions in this resolution.
That the Final EIS/EIR constitutes an adequate, accurate, objective, and complete EIS/EIR in compliance with all legal standards.
That the information and analysis contained in the Final EIS/EIR and SEA/FONSI reflects the City's independent judgment and analysis as to the environmental consequences of the Project That the City Council of the City of San Clemente hereby adopts the Final Feasibility Study attached as Exhibit A and certifies the Final EIS/EIR attached as Exhibit B, incorporating the mitigation measures attached as Exhibit C and directs the filing of a Notice of Determination with the County Clerk; That of the City of San Clemente hereby certifies the SEA/FONSI attached as Exhibit D.
That after considering the Final EIS/EIR and in conjunction with making these findings, the City Council hereby finds that pursuant to Section 15092 of the CEQA Guidelines, approval of the Project will result in significant effects on the environment; however, the City eliminated of substantially lessened these significant effects where feasible, and has determined that the remaining significant effects are found to be unavoidable under Section 15091 and acceptable under Section 15093.
That Exhibit E (Findings of Facts and Statement of Overriding Considerations) and Exhibit C (Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program) of this Resolution provide findings required under Section 15091 of the CEQA Guidelines for significant effects of the Project.
That Exhibit C of this Resolution provides the findings required under Section 15093 of the CEQA Guidelines relating to accepting adverse impact of the Plan due to overriding considerations. The City has balanced the economic, legal, social, technological, and other benefits of the Plan against the unavoidable environmental risks that may result, and finds that the specific economic legal social technological and other benefits outweigh the potential unavoidable adverse environmental effects, The City Council hereby adopts the Findings of Fact and the Statement of Overriding Considerations attached hereto as Exhibit D.
That, pursuant to Public Resources Code section 21081.6, the City Council hereby approves the Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program attached as Exhibit C to this Resolution and requires the Project to comply with all of the mitigation measures contained therein. The City Council finds that these mitigation measures are fully enforceable on the Project and shall be binding upon the City and affected parties.
That the City Council approves the USACE Project in San Clemente.
That the City Manager, or his designee, is authorized and directed to enter into a State Lands Lease for the Project with the California State Lands Commission in a form substantially similar to that attached to this Resolution as Exhibit F or with such changes as are necessary to implement the purpose and intent of this Resolution.
That City staff is authorized and directed to take such actions as are necessary or proper to fulfill the purpose and intent of this Resolution and/or proceed with the Project.
That the City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this Resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
PASSED AND ADOPTED this 18th day of July, 2023.
ATTEST:
___________________________ __________________________
City Clerk of the City of Mayor of the City of San
San Clemente, California Clemente, California
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) §
CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE )
I, LAURA CAMPAGNOLO, City Clerk of the City of San Clemente, California, do hereby certify that Resolution No. 23-74 was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Clemente held on the _______ day of _______________________, _________, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the official seal of the City of San Clemente, California, this _____ day of _________________, ________. __________________________
CITY CLERK of the City of
San Clemente, California
Approved as to form:
___________________________
Elizabeth A. Mitchell, City Attorne
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Resolution No. 23-74 Page 2
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