The City Council agenda had only a few items, but the Consent Calendar was chock-full of approvals, with two things being taken off for further explanation. Principal Engineer Jim Newton gave a detailed presentation on the Golf Course Water Recycling and Turf Care Facility Project, complete with visual simulations for maximum visualization. He presented two options with the staff recommendation for concept A (shown below), which proposes a lowered project area with a raised landscape berm, which helps hide the structures from multiple vantage points. The visualizations, which were from ground level and 30 feet in the air, showed that the buildings won’t seem to have much of a visual impact for residents.
When Councilmember Sandke asked about his favorite fourth tee, Newton commented that it will lose a shot on par, but the new two tee will have a longer par five. The next step will be to install story poles from September 8 through 15, but later in the unanimously approved motion Councilmember Heinze asked for the poles to be in place for 10 days. The poles will have a red flag simulating the top of the structures and a white flag indicating the top of the berms, allowing residents to understand placement and heights from Glorietta Blvd. Councilmember Sandke also pointed out neighbors’ traffic concerns regarding excessive use of the access road and Newton responded that there are two options with the cart path and access driveway, and that the number of trips per day is estimated in single digits. King said that there is no legal requirement to do the story poles, but the city hopes it will alleviate public concerns as the project moves forward.
During Oral Communication, resident Jack Monger discussed the coalition of Coronado residents opposing issuing a Major Special Use Permit (MSUP) for Crown Manor, located at 1015 Ocean Blvd. He noted that Millie Kreager had turned in four documents to the Council, including a neighborhood petition with 35 signatures, a Coronado resident petition with 708 signatures, seven letters in opposition, and a letter from San Diego-based Real Estate Valuation Consultants Jones, Roach & Caringella, Inc. outlining the adverse impacts of granting a MSUP for Crown Manor. Monger pointed out that residents were pleased that the applicant has pulled his permit request because, “It is important for Coronado to maintain control and preserve its residential neighborhoods.”
In the City Manager’s Report Blair King presented an award that the city received from the American Public Works Association for the parklet at 2nd Street and Orange Ave. He also discussed the state’s new COVID-19 guidelines based on San Diego moving to Tier 2 which was effective Monday. He said that the Fitness Center at the Recreation Center will open on Tuesday, September 8 from 7 am to 4 pm, with two people allowed to work out at a time. He also referenced that salons can once again conduct business indoors. He said that with gyms now being able to allow 10 percent capacity inside, the council will review the utilization of parks and outside space at a later date. He noted that they have been getting some complaints about social distancing for outside restaurant dining along Orange Avenue, and now that they can have 25 percent occupancy or 100 guests inside, whichever is less, they will review this. With regards to the library opening, they are following the County Library System guidelines and are waiting to hear, because we don’t want to be the only library open in the county.
The new guidelines will also allow them to loosen the tennis court restrictions. The Cays tennis courts will be open and monitored seven day a week from 7 am to dusk, with reservations and walk-ins accepted. The high school tennis courts are still being used by tennis pros. The Glorietta tennis courts are open 8 am to 6:30 pm, with no mid-day closures.
King addressed parents’ questions regarding youth sports. He said that they have a call with the Sports Association on Thursday for determination of the seasons. For now, practices with no more than 12 participants are allowed, starting after Labor Day. They are still waiting to hear back from the Port on utilizing the sports fields at Tidelands Park.
Senior Planner Jesse Brown gave an update on the final environmental impact report (EIR) for the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (ALUCP) for NASNI. Brandon Reed, Matt Harris, and Amy Gonzales representing the airport were available via zoom to answer questions. Brown pointed out that they just received the revised 1600-page document back on August 20 and it is supposed to go for board approval September 3. The four compatibility issues in the plan are: noise, safety, over flight and airspace.
Councilmember Benzian asked what type of community outreach had been done, to which airport officials responded that this process started back in 2015, and since then a community group has met 12 times; 11 community meetings have been held; and three direct mailers were sent to 3,000 people in the affected area. Councilmember Sandke pointed out that the report needed to utilize updated data from the Navy and asked if being in the coastal zone made a difference. Councilmember Heinze asked about the effect on commercial properties and was told that there are only two in the safety zones. He also asked about how long of a time frame this adds for future residential construction changes. An airport official said that two to three weeks is normal, if the project was conditionally consistent, but longer if there were inconsistencies. When Councilmember Donovan asked where the ALUCP requirement originated, he was told that it is a State and Caltrans requirement to have a plan in place. It was also pointed out that the City Council can overrule the plan, just has San Diego has done in the past on several projects.
Brown said that the City and its consultants identified deficiencies with the draft ALUCP and its draft EIR, that was submitted to the San Diego County Regional Airport Authority (SDCRAA) within the extended comment period that ended on February 18, 2020, which included the following concerns:
- Coronado is built out and was incorporated prior to NASNI being established;
- The ALUCP would place severe limits on further investment and development;
- The noise and safety contours were based on an outdated AICUZ that had a horizon year of 2020;
- The ALUCP exceeds the SDCRAA’s authority which is limited to planning for areas not already devoted to incompatible uses;
- The ALUCP is neither warranted nor required at this time as the AICUZ used to develop the ALUCP has reached its horizon year and the mandate to prepare an ALUCP for NASNI was suspended in 2010;
- The alternatives analysis provided in the EIR is inadequate for CEQA purposes; and
- SDCRAA has prematurely approved the proposed ALUCP prior to completing the CEQA review by insisting the 2011 AICUZ must form the basis of the ALUCP and failing to accept mitigation measures or alternatives.
Mayor Bailey said that the concerns by the city don’t seem to be incorporated in the plan and they were struggling to understand the benefit to Coronado, and that 10 days isn’t enough time for staff to review and comment. Airport officials said they would take it to their CEO and Chairman of the Board. The council unanimously approved a motion to submit comments and a letter asking for a two-month delay for approval, so that there is adequate time to review this plan and its impact on Coronado residents and businesses.
Councilmember Heinze pulled the more than $378,099 American Asphalt South, Inc. contract for street preventative maintenance from the Consent Calendar, based on a letter received by cCouncil from the City of San Diego suspending contracts with this vendor. Director of Public Services and Engineering Cliff Maurer responded, “Staff did due diligence and American Asphalt was the low bidder and has had the contract for the last three years. We checked today and found nothing in the record to prohibit awarding this contract.” The council unanimously approved this motion.
The second reading for the Coronado Municipal Code Conflict of Interest amendment was unanimously approved after resident John Frangos asked for it to be pulled from consent. City Manager Blair King said that this is a general housekeeping item and gives the city more flexibility to adopting resolutions and change the category of boards than with an ordinance. The Political Reform Act requires the city to adopt and promulgate a conflict of interest code, and to review it for amendments no later than October 1 of each even-numbered year. When Frangos had questions about the Golf Course Advisory Committee, King said that it was the committee’s job to advise the Director of Recreation and Golf Services, Roger Miller, and not the council.
Items of note from the Consent Calendar:
- Adoption of an amendment to allow second-story additions in the Coronado Cays Specific Plan.
- Award up to $199,826 to Psomas to design the First Street storm drain pump station project.
- Take an additional $100,000 from the Wastewater Fund for the Parker Pump Station replacement project.
- Authorize $234,100 for a Sea Level Rise vulnerability assessment and adaptation plan by Moffit & Nichol.
- Receive two State Homeland Security Program (SHSP) Grants in the amounts of $23,129 and $19,840.
- Approve the Cultural Arts Commission recommendation to install MainStreet Banners on the Orange Avenue Corridor streetlight poles from September 15 through November 29, 2020 to promote Coronado’s business community.
- Authorize $57,674 to purchase 11 first responder replacement radios and accessories from Motorola Solutions.
