RESOLUTION NO. 25-127
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN CLEMENTE, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING TWO LICENSE AGREEMENTS WITH THE ORANGE COUNTY FIRE AUTHORITY FOR USE OF CITY-OWNED LAND LOCATED NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF AVENIDA LA PATA AND AVENIDA VISTA HERMOSA (APN 678-163-01) AS A TEMPORARY HELICOPTER LANDING ZONE FOR EMERGENCY OPERATIONS AND FINDING THE ACTIONS EXEMPT FROM THE California Environmental Quality Act PURSUANT TO CEQA GUIDELINES SECTIONS 15301 (EXISTING FACILITIES), 15304(E) (MINOR ALTERATIONS TO LAND) AND 15269 (EMERGENCY PROJECTS) WHEREAS, pursuant to City Policy 901-1, the City delegates the authority to engage in negotiations with current and prospective licensees for City-owned property to the City Manager; and WHEREAS, the City owns the unimproved portion of property near the intersection of Avenida La Pata and Avenida Vista Hermosa, Assessor’s Parcel Number 678-163-01; and WHEREAS, the Orange County Fire Authority (OCFA) has requested temporary use of the property for helicopter landing purposes during emergencies, red flag weather events, and other fire risk scenarios; and WHEREAS, the property’s location and condition make it uniquely suitable for use as a temporary helicopter landing pad to support timely emergency response; and WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 102(i)(2)(A) of the Final Updated Surplus Land Act (SLA) Guidelines, dated August 1, 2024, the licensing of the property pursuant to the proposed license agreements, does not constitute a disposition of public land, in that the License Agreements are for terms less than 15 years in total, the use of the property does not include development (as that term is defined in the SLA), and therefore the requirements of the SLA are not applicable; and WHEREAS, City staff has reviewed the proposed license agreements and find both to be beneficial to the City and the public, in that the license agreements provide for significant public benefits in the improvement of response times for critical fire-fighting equipment and air support to the City and surrounding communities, and the license agreements includes standard terms for public agency use, including indemnification, insurance, and termination clauses.
NOW THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of San Clemente does hereby find, determine and resolve as follows:
SECTION 1. The above recitals are true and correct and incorporated herein fully by reference.
SECTION 2. CEQA Findings. Based on a review of the record as a whole, the following findings and determinations are made. The approval of the license agreements is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) as it is not a “project” pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15378 (14 CCR § 15378). The action of executing a license agreement, in and of itself, has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment. Minor modifications to the site, such as laying gravel, installing fencing, and placing a portable water storage container, will be evaluated though the appropriate environmental review process, as part of a separate submittal for site modifications to the property, prior to their installation.
The use of the site for temporary, emergency helicopter operations is categorically exempt from CEQA under §15301 (Class 1: Existing Facilities), in that the site is an existing, graded parcel with only minor and temporary site improvements proposed, §15304(e) (Class 4: Minor Alterations to Land), in that the project consists of the minor temporary use of land having negligible or no permanent effect on the environment, and statutorily exempt from CEQA under §15269 (Emergency Projects), in that the project consists of a short-term, specific action necessary to prevent or mitigate an emergency, in this case, the threat of wildfire during red flag warning days. There is no probability of a direct or foreseeably indirect significant impact on the environment.
SECTION 3. The two license agreements between the City of San Clemente and the Orange County Fire Authority for use of a portion of the parcel identified as APN 678-163-01 as a temporary, emergency helicopter landing site, one for thirty days and one for two years are hereby approved.
SECTION 4. The City Manager, or the City Manager's designee, is hereby authorized and directed to execute the two license agreements with the Orange County Fire Authority in forms substantially similar to those presented to the City Council on August 19, 2025.
SECTION 5. 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 ___ day of _____________________, ____.
ATTEST:
City Clerk of the City of Steve Knoblock, Mayor of the San Clemente, California City of 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. 25-127 was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of San Clemente held on the _______ day of _______________________, 2025, 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 Attorney
Resolution No. 25-127 Page 2
Attachment 1