A brief meeting of the Coronado City Council on Sept. 19 covered updates on the Tijuana sewage crisis, an expedited permitting process for electric vehicle charging stations, and an update to the ongoing debate about children’s literature at the library.
Streamlined permitting for electric vehicle charging stations
Coronado is moving to update its municipal code to expedite the permitting process for electrical vehicle charging stations.
The change brings city code into compliance with two state bills – AB 1236, passed in 2015, and AB 970, passed in 2021 – that require municipalities to accelerate approvals for charging stations.
The move also aligns with an initiative in Coronado’s Climate Action Implementation Plan, which calls for an increase in charging stations within the city, said Jasmine Bridges, sustainability planner for the city.
Councilmember Casey Tanaka moved approval of the amendment’s first reading, with Councilmember Carrie Downey seconding it. The motion passed unanimously.
“I’m in full support of this,” Downey said, “but we also need to be looking at the city addressing our need to build more charging stations. (…) The city needs to set the example and we need to start figuring out how many charging stations we’re going to put up.”
Officials still searching for requisite funding to address Tijuana sewage
A supplemental funding bill to address the millions of gallons of raw sewage flowing into the Pacific Ocean from Tijuana is currently being negotiated in the U.S. Congress, Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey said. The issue has caused widespread beach closures as far north of the border as Coronado.
“In the past week, the governor’s office has really taken a strong lead in organizing local elected officials,” Bailey said, adding that he and others are meeting with members of Congress in effort to secure votes needed for the bill.
“Right now, things are looking in the right direction,” he said.
Downey added that she and the National League of Cities Energy, Environment and Natural Resources (EENR) Committee are working toward ongoing funding to keep infrastructure working once it’s repaired. Part of the reason that the sewage crisis has grown so dire over the decades is because funding for maintenance is scarce, so infrastructure that does exist falls into disrepair.
