Long Beach to hire consultant team for SEADIP update process

Long Beach planning staff has sent out a request for proposals (RFP) to hire a consultant team to take the lead in a collaborative planning process to update the Southeast Area Development and Improvement Plan (SEADIP).

The zoning code, established in 1977, governs coastal development on property near the Alamitos Bay Marina and neighboring the Los Cerritos Wetlands by restricting land use, density and building heights.
 City staff is now expected to bring a consultant team forward to the City Council in the next few months for approval to start the update process.

Now that the City is looking to update the decades-old zoning code, however, environmental lawyers say there’s still nothing preventing any property owners from putting forth projects that conform to the existing code, which would ultimately undermine efforts to revise the law.


Building ban proposed

Michelle Black, attorney for environmental law firm Chatten-Brown & Carstens, said a building moratorium on development in the SEADIP area would help close any loopholes. The attorney presented draft language of a “blanket” building moratorium to the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust at its member meeting on Thursday, March 28 at Kettering Elementary School

“We want any plan that is approved to have a chance to succeed– not be limited by what’s already there by the time it gets implemented, so a building moratorium is one possible knight in shining armor to fix this,” she said.

Although degraded by oil pumping and other utility operations, the Los Cerritos Wetlands, that once spanned 2,400 acres, overlapping Long Beach and Seal Beach along the mouth of the San Gabriel River, is home to threatened and endangered species, including the Belding’s Savannah sparrow, California least tern and the California brown pelican.

Over the years, however, SEADIP restrictions on property near the wetlands have held back numerous building proposals because of its limits on height, density and land use, ever extending costs and time for all parties involved.

In an attempt to resolve long-fought quarrels over projects along the corridor that is already heavily impacted by traffic, environmentalists and property owners have agreed that the city ordinance should be revised with conciliations from all sides of the spectrum.

“It is our opinion that the zoning is so old and so out of date that, basically, it’s like an area without zoning, which is why you see one huge inappropriate development after another,” said Elizabeth Lambe, executive director of the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, who supports the zoning update even though not all Land Trust members agree.

The most recent failed proposition was a $320-million, mixed-use project to turn the SeaPort Marina Hotel site at 2nd Street and Pacific Coast Highway into a “southeastern gateway” with upscale storefronts, a theater and a 12-story residential and hotel high-rise.

After opponents, including wetlands advocates, vigilantly argued against the project, the Long Beach City Council ultimately rejected the proposal in a divided 5–3 vote in December 2011, voting down an environmental impact report.

The project would have required variances, traffic mitigations, overriding considerations and coastal-development allowances. Most of all, the proposal didn’t conform to SEADIP, which disallows residential use and caps building heights at 35 feet.

Long Beach city officials and the California Coastal Commission, which has ultimate authority over such coastal-development projects, have since called for a full revision to SEADIP. In May of last year, the City was awarded a $929,000 grant from the California Strategic Growth Council to fund the update process.

Forming 'citizens committee'

The revision to the zoning code, which would result in amendments to the City’s General Plan and the Local Coastal Program requiring approval from the Coastal Commission, would involve creating a “citizens committee” made up of local residents, property owners, wetlands advocates and other community members to collaborate on establishing the new law. The revision would also involve a wetlands delineation study of the SEADIP area and an environmental impact report, among other actions.

Just five months after the previous proposal was shot down, however, SeaPort Marina Hotel property owner Taki Sun, Inc., a family-owned property-management firm led by Raymond and Amy Lin, applied for another proposal, only this time without the 12-story, residential building and featuring mostly retail.

Though the new proposal, called “The Shoppes at 2nd and PCH,” conforms to SEADIP, allowing such a project to move forward before the zoning is updated would possibly unravel the update process, creating the same disputes that have occurred for years, Black said.

“It’s likely that we’ll continue to have the same situation where developers propose projects that comply with the existing SEADIP and need to get variances for projects,” she said. “That will continue the controversy, delays and expense, and we’ll be in the same situation we’re in essentially.”

Black presented language of a possible building moratorium that would last for at least one year, with an option to renew until the SEADIP process is complete. The temporary moratorium would prohibit any “building permit, construction permit, conditional-use permit, administrative-use permit, variance, zone change, or other land-use entitlement for the establishment, or relocation of land uses within the SEADIP area.”

Request for exemptions

Mike Murchison, a lobbyist for three property owners in the SEADIP area, including Lyon Communities, which owns the “pumpkin patch” site and other property across from the SeaPort hotel on Pacific Coast Highway, said during the Land Trust meeting that expecting the city to conduct the update process in three years is “laughable.”

He said the City hasn’t even selected a consultant or brought the action in front of the City Council for approval to go forward even though it’s already been a year since the City received grant funding to start the process.

“To think that a revision to SEADIP is going to occur in three years, when it requires the EIR and all that, again, on coastal schedule, it’s just not going to happen,” Murchison said. “So when you’re talking about a temporary moratorium, you’re probably talking more along the lines of four to five years, in my opinion.”

He added that proposing a blanket moratorium, meaning it would apply to all property owners, could be problematic since local property owners already have project applications in the pipeline that conform to the existing SEADIP. Murchison questioned whether the City would be able to grant the property owners exemptions, similar to the City’s action in approving a moratorium last year on payday-lending and title-loan companies, which involved “grandfathering” in two out of three applications.

“[Property owners] are attempting to put forth a project that will conform with the current SEADIP, [and] that is going to fly in the face of any moratorium,” he said. “I can see it right now… it’s just going to be a big problem, because that’s what the property owners are banking on, that they can conform, and if it’s a blanket moratorium… I don’t know where it’s going to go. It will probably end up as a legal argument.”

Murchison added that such a building moratorium may also hinder wetlands restoration efforts that may also require conditional-use permits. 

Source: Signal Tribune newspaper

Restoring "illegal grading" of Los Cerritos Wetlands

The owner of property at 6400 Loynes Drive had claimed, according to the Los Cerritos Wetlands Land Trust, that he had been working under the order of “weed abatement,” for a still-to-be-determined development project, and in the process apparently "illegally graded" sensitive habitat areas, home to endangered birds, burrowing owls, and native vegetation.
Plans for the project have frequently changed over the past few years– mainly because of controversy over whether the area or brackish pond is actually considered wetlands, involving SEADIP requirements and amendments to the Local Coastal Program. How much the developer will be fined is also in question.
The Land Trust and its environmental leaders have taken a strong position against the developer's actions, with environmentalists and community members holding rallies out in front of the property, and are now working with the California Coastal Commission and the Long Beach Planning Commission on plans for the developer to recover and restore the destruction that had taken place. Next week, the Land Trust is sharing some of those plans with the public during a presentation with Professor Travis Longcore of the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability and Associate Research Professor and USC’s Spatial Sciences Institute, who is working as a consultant to prepare a biological report. The staff recommendation so far is to “Import 1,000 cubic yards of soil to re-establish and maintain a cap over an existing landfill” in response to the Coastal Commission’s emergency permit and re-vegetation and weed abatement, which the commission is set to vote during a meeting scheduled for November 19. The Land Trust presentation is being held November 15 at 7 p.m. at the Belmont Shores Mobile Home Estates Clubhouse.

Aquarium's Napoleon Wrasse dies

A beautifully exotic rather unique-looking fish called a Napolean wrasse or "humphead" wrasse has died at the Aquarium of the Pacific, according to aquarium staff. The large colorful wrasse was transported this summer from New Zealand, also found in coral reefs of other regions in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. The neon-colored fish with sheep-like heads are known for switching sexes, from female to male on occasion. They can grow up to six feet long.
Originally the fish was planned to be a part of the Tropical Reef Habitat, but became sick while it was held in a holding tank for more than three months to be treated, but eventually died. Foreign fish often are treated for any contaminants or diseases before entering any tank at the aquarium.

Out And About: Diving At The Aquarium, Hiking On Catalina

As a weekly endeavor I will be posting some things to do every Saturday or so to highlight some ways to get out and see the surrounding abundance of ecological wonders that Southern California has to offer.
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So here we go... First, I checked this out from the LA Times blog Outposts, which I might add is a great online version of their Outdoor section that folded years ago, that says that the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach is offering (for the first time ever) a dive program for general certified divers to be able to plunge into the aquarium’s Tropical Reef Habitat. This is definitely a first, and one that I don’t know why wasn’t allowed earlier. The dive might come with a hefty price (nearly $300 a pop), but I would say to be able to dive in the tank at the aquarium would be pretty cool. After all, it’s not everyday you can check out a tropical habitat with “over a thousand colorful fish and beautiful coral, including sea turtles, zebra and blacktip reef sharks, porcupine puffers, and a large blue Napoleon or humphead wrasse,” and not have to fly out to tropical island to do it.
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Secondly, the Catalina Island Conservancy notes that the 37-mile Trans-Catalina Trail is becoming pretty popular this summer season. Apparently it’s quite a journey: normally spanning six days and five nights, through the rugged terrain of the island’s interior. This LA Times blogger tried to do it in a weekend, but not quite sure if it can be done. The trail opened last year. The Times notes that Coastwalks offers a package to scale the crossing that some times reaches 2,000 feet above sea level at a price of about $600, or you can opt to take the hike yourself, if you can. I would suggest not doing it alone, but being one with nature certainly sounds inviting. This is something that I definitely have to get out and try...

The Colorado Lagoon and the "junky"est monster

The Colorado Lagoon in Long Beach is one of the murkiest swaths of water I have seen. I should know, I used jog along its shoulders on a regular basis when I lived near there. And for all intents and purposes, I don’t know who would want to swim in it, I mean who knows what type of toxins lie beneath its surface—well apparently DDT, Mercury and other poisonous metals and contaminants, at least according to this LA Times article. The lagoon has made Heal the Bay’s “Beach Bummer” list last year, and was the culprit of many a sewage spill over the years, since mostly when drains get clogged the junk remains stuck in this stagnant water that surrounds, unflatteringly, the rather plush homes of Naples Island.
Anyhow, the city is now moving ahead with its $15 million effort to clean up the gunk and contaminants in phases, which began in March.
The city announced today that it will be holding three public meetings, starting July 8, regarding Phase 2 of a study to clean up the lagoon. The study is available here.
The lagoon itself is a 28.3-acre tidal mere located in east Long Beach providing an estuarine habitat and “retaining and conveying storm flows.” The State of California lists it as an “impaired water body,” due to high levels of water and sediment contamination. In addition, the Lagoon's estuary habitat has deteriorated over time as native plant species have significantly declined due to the encroachment of invasive ornamental landscaping, according to the city’s Website.

Is the West Coast sinking into the ocean?

The National Research Council is currently conducting a study on sea level rise projections for the West Coast and whether the left half of the country is expected to sink into the Pacific Ocean. The states of California, Oregon and Washington are partnering with federal agencies with the council in a contract to conduct a science review of sea level rise for the West Coast states. The contract aims to gather facts from a panel of experts, assembled to assess the rising tides in these regions and to provide estimated values or a range of values for sea level rise for planning purposed for the next 100 years. There are three public meetings held to solicit reference information that could be considered in the study. The last meeting was already held in Long Beach. There are two more to be held on June 16 in San Francisco and June 17 in Eureka.
The study is expected to look into:
• Projections of sea level rise for locations on the West Coast.
• Climate change-related severe weather conditions on the West Coast, including increased storminess (didn’t know that was a word), increased wave heights, storm surges, changes in storm frequency/duration/precipitation intensity and development atmospheric rive events.
• West Coast site-specific climate change-related impacts on erosion and sedimentation characteristics (e.g. rates and processes) in coastal and estuarine environment, including coastal wetlands.
• Efficacy of coastal habitats and coastal restoration in increasing the resilience of communities and ecosystems along the West Coast.
• Observed sea level rise amounts, severe weather data, or erosion/sedimentation impact relevant to operation of coastal infrastructure for future projections.
• Predicted site-specific local sea level rise amounts and climate change-related criteria methodologies for precipitation frequency/duration/intensity relationships for stormwater drainage, including those that quantify expected local responses associated with sea level rise.
Above are some photos I took of the erosion caused near Point Fermin, often referred to as the “Sunken City” in San Pedro next to Palos Verdes. Point Fermin landslides are classic examples of rotational slides, according to the Cal State Long Beach Geology Department. The erosion is caused by wave erosion that breaks down the rocky layers. The cliffs have been breaking off into the ocean since the 1940s and movement was abated in the early 1960's, but damage to homes and streets had already occurred, with evidence of the historical land erosion still shown today at parts of foundations and streets.

Back Online....

After a while reprieve of getting things in order and trying, but failing to build my own website, I am back on the Web....and will be reposting stories about the environment. I hope to some time in the future connect with my website but at this time it is still on hold. In the meantime, I will be regularly contributing to this thread about the environment.

Thanks,

Sean