Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutOrdinance #2657 ORDINANCE NO. 2657 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH AMENDING THE HUNTINGTON BEACH ORDINANCE CODE BY ADDING A NEW ARTICLE 969. 7 PERTAINING TO COASTAL CONSERVATION DISTRICT The City Council of the City of Huntington Beach does ordain as follows: SECTION 1. The Huntington Beach Ordinance Code is amended by adding a new Article 969. 7 to read as follows : ARTICLE 969. 7 "CC" COASTAL CONSERVATION DISTRICT Sections: 969. 7. 0 Purpose 969. 7. 1 Definitions 969. 7. 2 Permitted Principal Uses and Structures 969. 7. 3 Uses and Structures Subject to a Conditional Use Permit 969. 7. 4 Prohibited Principal Uses and Structures 969. 7. 5 Required Permits/Agreements 969. 7. 6 Performance Standards 969. 7. 7 Required Findings 969. 7. 0 PURPOSE. The purpose of the Coastal Conservation (CC) District is to implement the General Plan land use designation of Open Space: Conservation; and provide for the protection, main- tenance, restoration and enhancement of wetlands and environ- mentally sensitive habitat areas located within the Coastal Zone while allowing for appropriate utilization to occur. 969. 7.1 DEFINITIONS. Energy Facility: means any public or private processing, pro- ducing, generating, storing, transmitting, or recovering facility for electricity, natural gas, petroleum, coal, or other source of energy. Environmentally Sensitive (Habitat) Area: means a wetland or any area in which plant or animal life or their habitats are either rare or especially valuable because of their special nature or role in an ecosystem and which could be easily disturbed or degraded by human activities and developments. 1 . Feasible: means capable of being accomplished in a successful manner within a reasonable period of time, taking into account economic, social, and technological factors. Functional Capacity: means the ability of an environmentally sensitive area to be self-sustaining and to maintain natural species diversity. Significant Disruption: means having a substantial adverse effect upon the functional capacity. Wetland: means lands within the Coastal Zone which may be covered seasonally or permanently with shallow water and include saltwater marshes, freshwater marshes, open or closed brackish water marshes, swamps, mudflats and fens. 969. 7. 2 PERMITTED PRINCIPAL USES AND STRUCTURES. The following principal uses and structures shall be permitted in the CC District where no feasible , less environmentally damaging alternative exists and are subject to issuance of a use permit by the Board of Zoning Adjustments. Said permit shall insure that the uses are developed in a manner compatible with the purpose of this District. (A) Incidental public service projects such as, but not limited to, burying cables and pipes (B) Maintenance of existing streets and utility structures 969. 7.3 USES AND STRUCTURES SUBJECT TO A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT. The following uses and structures may be permitted in the CC District subject to approval of a Conditional Use Permit. (A) New or expanded energy and coastal-dependent industrial facilities where no feasible , less environmentally damaging alter- native exists (B) Diking, dredging and filling which are necessary for the protection, maintenance, restoration or enhancement of the environ- mentally sensitive habitat area' s functional capacity (C) Flood control projects necessary for public safety or to protect existing development where there is no other feasible method for protecting structures in the flood plain (D) Mineral extraction, including sand for restoring beaches, except in environmentally sensitive areas 2. (E ) Pedestrian trails and observation platforms for passive nature study; ie. , bird watching and the study of flora and fauna native to the site . Such uses may be located within an environ- mentally sensitive habitat area provided that said use (s ) are immediately adjacent to the area's peripheral edge. 969. 7. 4 PROHIBITED PRINCIPAL USES AND STRUCTURES. Any principal use or structure not expressly permitted is prohibited herein. 969.7 . 5 REQUIRED PERMITS/AGREEMENTS. Before the application can be considered complete, the project shall receive the following state and federal regulatory permits/agreements or a statement from the regulatory body that said permit/agreement is inapplicable. The required regulatory permits/agreements shall be forwarded to the Director prior to the submittal of said project to a decision making body. A United States Arm Corps of Engineers Section 404 and ( ) Y p 9 Section 10 permits; (B ) California Department of Fish and Game 1601-1603 agreement; (C) State Water Resource Control Board (permit depends on the operation ) ; (D) Regional Water Quality Control Board (permit depends on the operation) ; (E ) A permit from the California State Lands Commission may also be required. 969. 7. 6 PERFORMANCE STANDARDS: (A) Before the application can be considered complete, the project shall comply with the following standards to the satis- faction of the Director: (1 ) All feasible mitigation measures shall be incor- porated into projects so as to minimize adverse environmental effects. (a) If the project involves dredging, mitigation measures must include the following: (i ) dredging and spoils disposal must be planned and carried out to avoid significant disruption to wetland habitats and to water circulation ; ( ii ) limitations may be imposed on the ttim n of the , o eration the t ppe of operation, the quantity of dre g2d materia remove6, and he location of the spoil site ; 3. (iii ) dredge spoils suitable for beach replenishment shall, where feasible, be transported to appropriate beaches or into suitable longshore current systems; (iv) other mitigation measures may include opening up areas to tidal action, removing dikes , improving tidal flushing, or other restoration measures. (b) If the project involves diking or filling of a wetland, the following minimum mitigation measures shall apply. These mitigation measures shall not be required for temporary or short-term fill or diking if a bond or other evidence of financial responsibility is provided to assure that restoration will be accomplished in the shortest feasible time. ( i ) If an appropriate restoration site is available , the applicant shall submit a detailed restoration plan to the Director which includes provisions for purchase and restora- tion of an equivalent area of equal or greater biological produc- tivity and dedication of the land to a public agency or otherwise permanently restricting its use for open space purposes. The site shall be purchased before the dike or fill development may proceed. ( ii ) The applicant may, in some cases, be permitted to open equivalent areas to tidal action or provide other sources of surface water. This method of mitigation would be appropriate if the applicant already owned filled, diked areas which themselves were not environmentally sensitive habitat areas but would become so, if such areas were opened to tidal action or provided with other sources of surface water. (iii ) If no appropriate restoration sites under options (a) and (b) are available, the applicant shall pay an in-lieu fee of sufficient value to an appropriate public agency for the purchase and restoration of an area of equivalent productive value , or equivalent surface area. This third option shall be allowed only if the applicant is unable to find a willing seller of a potential restoration site . The public agency may also face difficulties in acquiring appropriate sites even though it has the ability to condemn property. Thus, the in-lieu fee shall reflect the additional costs of acquisition, including litigation, as well as the cost of restoration. If the public agency ' s restoration project is not already approved by the Coastal Commission, the public agency may need to be a co-applicant for a coastal development permit to provide adequate assurance that conditions can be imposed to assure that the purchase of the mitigation site shall occur prior to the issuance of the permit. In addition, such restoration shall occur in the same general region (e.g. , within the same stream, lake, or estuary where the fill occurred) . 4. ( 2 ) Any areas where vegetation is temporarily removed shall be revegetated with native or naturalized species of a quantity and quality equal to that removed. (3 ) Pedestrian trails, observation platforms and other incidental structures shall be designed to minimize the disturbance of wildlife and vegetation; examples of improvements so designed would be elevated walkways and viewing platforms, and vegetation and structural barriers to minimize disturbances from permitted uses and inhibit internal access. (4 ) Passive nature study uses shall include a program to control litter; examples include litter containers and "no litter- ing" signs posted in the project area. (5 ) Restoration and enhancement efforts of environ- mentally sensitive habitat areas shall minimize the risk of flood damage to adjacent properties. (6 ) Any construction, alteration or other improvements shall generally be carried out between September 15 and April 15 to avoid impacts to rare, threatened, or endangered species which utilize the area for nesting. This requirement shall not apply if it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Director that no such impacts would occur, in which case construction shall be timed to minimize disturbance to wetland dependent species; e .g. , migratory waterfowl and shorebirds. (7 ) Construction/maintenance activities shall be carried out in areas of minimal size . Preconstruction topography shall be reestablished subsequent to the conclusion of the project unless the topography is to be altered in conformance with an approved restoration project. (B) The applicant shall demonstrate that the functional capa- city is maintained or enhanced through the following unless relieved of any one or more of these requirements by the California Department of Fish and Game ; that the project does not signifi- cantly: ( 1 ) alter presently occurring plant and animal popula- tions in the ecosystem in a manner that would impair the long-term stability of the ecosystem; i .e. , natural species diversity, abundance and composition are essentially unchanged as a result of the project ; (2 ) harm or destroy a species or habitat that is rare or endangered; (3 ) harm a species or habitat that is essential to the natural biological functioning of a wetland or estuary; 5. r (4 ) reduce consumptive (e.g. , fishing, aquaculture and hunting) or nonconsumptive (e.g. , water quality and research opportunity) values of a wetland or estuarian ecosystem. (C) If the proposed project involves restoration of a degraded wetland, the applicant shall comply with Section 30411 of the Public Resources Code to the satisfaction of the Director. 969. 7.7 REQUIRED FINDINGS. It is the intent of this section to ensure an environment which is suitable for the self-perpetua- tion of environmentally sensitive habitat areas. (A) Prior to energy production facilities being approved, the approving authority shall make the following finding with statement of facts: Provision has been made for enhancement of a significant portion of the project area, to ensure preservation of plant and wildlife species. (B) For any other project the applicant shall establish and the approving authority shall find that the functional capacity of the environmentally snesitive habitat area is being maintained. SECTION 2. This ordinance shall take effect thirty days after adoption. PASSED AND ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach at a regular meeting hereof held on the 7th day of November , 1983. Mayor ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM: `r City Clerk City Attorney REVIEWED AND APPROVED: INITIATED AND APPROVED: City Administra or erector, bevelopbent Services 6. Ord. No. 2657 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF ORANGE ) ss: CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH ) I, ALICIA M. WENTWORTH, the duly elected, qualified City Clerk of the City of Huntington Beach and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council of the said City, do hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach is seven; that the foregoing ordinance was read to said City Council at a regular meeting thereof held on the 17th day of October 19 83 , and was again read to said City Council at a regular meeting thereof held on the 7th day of November 19 83 , and was passed and adopted by the affirmative vote of more than a majority of all the members of said City Council. AYES: Councilmen: Pattinson, Thomas, Kelly, MacAllister NOES: Councilmen: None ABSENT: Councilmen: Finley, Bailey, Mandic dc%1a�i City Clerk and ex-officio Clerk of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach, California ty Of I, Alicia M. Wentworth ,offi�CLERKTY Clerk ofhthe'City µuntingtto Beach and ex Counc:., do ne•eby certify that a synopsis of this ordinance ,:as been published in the Huntington Beach im;ependent on . in accor,'ance with the City Mott of saidCity, A.���............................City Clerk �„. .........................j.... ............ ..... deputy City Ci�vk