The Local Coastal Plan Workshop #1: Santa Monica s Coastal Area in the 21 st Century Civic Auditorium, East Wing Monday, February 29, 2016 6:30pm 8:30pm Approximately 60 residents and stakeholders from the Santa Monica community attended the first Local Coastal Plan workshop at the Civic Auditorium East Wing on Monday, February 29, 2016. The workshop s purpose was to give the community an overview of the context for updating the Local Coastal Plan, and to generate public input on issues related to coastal access, natural resource protection and other issues that the LCP will cover. The meeting started with a presentation from the LCP staff team (Alison Evans, Liz Bar El, Garrett Wong), describing the purpose of the LCP, reasons for updating it, an overview of the past and current context and conditions of Santa Monica s coastal zone, and some basics on expectations for coastal change due to sea level rise. Following the presentation, participants moved between four thematic stations: Santa Monica: A Beach Destination Since the 19 th Century ; New Since 92 ; Beach Ecosystems: Confronting Climate Change ; and Policy Environment. During the station exercise, participants provided comments on flip charts, comment cards, post its or directly on the display boards, which were summarized and reported back at the end. This summary includes all written comments received at the workshop. Quick Facts about the Local Coastal Plan The Coastal Act requires local jurisdictions to develop an LCP and submit it for certification to the Coastal Commission; Once both parts of the LCP are certified by the California Coastal Commission, Santa Monica will be authorized to issue Coastal Development Permits; The LCP update will coordinate all existing plans and policies into its policies to form the basis for consistent permitting processes; The LCP, in accordance with the Coastal Act, will prioritize public access, low cost visitor activities and accommodations, and protection of natural resources. The update process is funded in part by a grant from the California Coastal Commission; Glossary of Acronyms LCP: Local Coastal Plan LUP: Land Use Plan IP: Implementation Plan DCP: Downtown Community Plan CCSP: Civic Center Specific Plan CCC: California Coastal Commission PCD: Planning and Community Development Department OSE: Office of Sustainability 1
Workshop Program David Martin, Director of Planning and Community Development, kicked off the event and introduced the planning team to the community, including Senior Planner Liz Bar El, the Project Manager, Assistant Planner Cary Fukui, and a team of consultants put together by Dudek: Alison Evans, Amber Geraghty, Melissa Ahrens (Dudek), Alan Seltzer (Alan Seltzer Law), Lisa Wise (Lisa Wise Consulting), and Dr. David Revell (Revell Coastal). He thanked the staff from other departments and the Coastal Commission who assisted at the workshop. Presentation Below is a summary of the workshop presentation. A copy of the full presentation is available for download on the Local Coastal Plan Update project page. Coastal Commission Introduction Alison Evans began by explaining the LCP Update project within the context of the Coastal Act and Commission. 2
The California Coastal Commission (CCC) was established as a temporary commission in 1972 by a voter initiative. Its mission is to Protect, conserve, restore, and enhance environmental and human based resources of the California coast The LCP is a basic planning tool used by local governments to guide development in the coastal zone, and is required by the CCC. In order for the LCP to be certified by the CCC, it must adhere to the policies of the 1976 Coastal Act. Once the LCP is certified, permitting authority in the Coastal Zone, except for in appeal and CCC jurisdiction areas, is transferred to the local jurisdiction, Santa Monica. The CCC will retain permanent permit authority over tidelands, submerged lands, and public trust lands. Santa Monica is not the only local jurisdiction pursuing a certified LCP. In fact, Santa Monica is one of the last local jurisdictions on the California coast that has not received certification of its LCP. Only 34 of 126 local jurisdictions do not have a certified LCP, one of them being Santa Monica. Santa Monica and the Local Coastal Plan An LCP is composed of two separate documents: a Land Use Plan (LUP) that lays out issues, goals, and policies and an Implementation Plan (IP) that acts as a zoning ordinance specific to the Coastal Zone. In 1992, the CCC certified Santa Monica s LUP, but not the IP, therefore the CCC retains all coastal permitting authority in Santa Monica. Introduction to Station Exercise 3
Station #1: A Beach Destination Since the 19 th Century The first station reflected Santa Monica s enduring role as a popular beach destination for nearly 150 years. Santa Monica beaches back then were not as wide as they are today, mostly due to breakwater creation and relocation of sand from the dredging of Marina Del Rey Harbor. Beachgoers are now less crowded than in the 1930s, but because of coastal processes and sea level rise, a return to narrower beaches may occur in the future. At this station, participants were encouraged to think about Santa Monica s coast as a public resource providing fun activities for locals and visitors, and to consider the long history of public transportation helping people get to beach. 4
Public Comment, Station #1 Include the new San Vicente Boulevard Courtyard Apartment Historic District on the map of historic landmarks and districts; Include special consideration of cultural resources when addressing invasive species, specifically the Mexican Fan Palm and the Canary Island Palm, two species listed as invasive by the Coastal Commission that play a large cultural role in the historic Palisades Park; Protect historic landscapes by planting appropriate plants within and adjacent to landmark properties; Increase universal access temporarily during construction and permanently once the project is complete; Do not allow private developments to encroach on public access and public views of the coast. 5
Station #2: New Since 1992 The LCP Update will address new issues that have arisen since the 1992 LCP was written. Since then, the CCC has added climate change as a new policy area, as well as visitor serving accommodations. The revised LCP will address these new policy areas and will also incorporate the LUCE, DCP, CCSP, Bike & Pedestrian Action Plans and other City policies that reduce the emphasis on coastal parking and encourage multi modal transit and sustainability. Public and private projects that have been completed since 1992 were shown on maps at this station. At this station, participants were encouraged to think about how the urban landscape has changed since 1992, and how these changes were formulated around ideas of health, transit improvements, sustainability, and public coastal access. 6
Public Comment, Station #2 Include on map of new developments: o Pipeline projects, especially hotels (Frank Geary Big Hotel; Miramar BigFoot Hotel) o Main Street commercial corridor improvements; o Tsunami warning system. New projects and developments to incorporate into the LCP Update: o A free trolley for local residents; o Renovate pedestrian bridges between Palisades Park and the beach; o Additional affordable motels/hostels for visitors of all incomes; o Preserve old buildings and homes in the coastal zone; o Improve and expand public open space; o Widen bike and pedestrian paths (already crowded); o Additional free beach programming; o More seating and tables near the beach path; o Consider traffic implications of green streets; o Phase development/construction to reduce congestion; o Improve BBB lines to get locals from residential areas, to downtown, to the beach. o 7
Station #3: Beach Ecosystems: Confronting Climate Change The Coastal Commission has added climate change and sea level rise to the list of issues that the LCP update must address. The Santa Monica LCP team of consultants includes a sea level rise expert, Dr. David Revell, who will provide analysis of new sea level rise data and maps. This analysis will allow the City to include thoughtful policies to best plan for the changing coastline. PCD is collaborating with the Office of Sustainability and the Environment and the USC Sea Grant Team, who are gathering the new data through a project funded by the Ocean Protection Council. The data are also being used in the OSE s development of a Climate Action and Adaptation Plan. The LCP update must look at forces beyond sea level rise when assessing the impact of climate change on the Santa Monica coast. The greatest impact to the coast will be a combination of sea level rise, high tide events, and major coastal storms. A coastal storm modeling system, CoSMoS, combines all of these factors and produces maps that show the level of risk for all parts of the Santa Monica coastal zone. The storm forecast map shows that the South Beach is already at risk (blue line) if a major coastal storm were to hit in combination with a high tide. More detailed analysis of sea level rise will be discussed at the next LCP workshop, tentatively being held on April 13 th, 2016 (location TBD). Participants were also told about the Urban Tides Initiative, which recruits community scientists to photograph the shore during high tide events and submit the photos to assist scientists that study the changing coastline. The third station encouraged participants to think about the natural ecosystems and coastal changes that occur in Santa Monica. Aside from the impacts of sea level rise, this station prompted participants to think about sensitive habitats and species on the beach, water and air quality issues, and an anticipated smaller beach as sea levels rise and wave action washes away sand. 8
Public Comment, Station #3 Downtown Association trash pick up needs to hire more collectors to clean up downtown, not just the beach area. SLR: o Show how sea level rise predictions interact with pipeline projects; o Interest in seeing natural adaptive solutions to sea level rise and coastal protection; o Look to international examples, like the Netherlands, for best practices when addressing sea level rise; o Potential for breakwater restoration?; Ecosystems: o Develop more natural beach activities; o Improve and expand beach cleaning; o Preserve public views and access to the beaches; o Turn the 300 of beach land the city has jurisdiction over into parklands and playing fields; o Implement buoys and platforms to attract sea life; o o Preserve natural resources of the bay; Model SM Bay environmental management practices after the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary; o Scuba dive program in the SM Bay to promote eco tourism; Water Quality: o Mitigate sewage outflows from under the pier that will occur once sea level rises; o Restore natural hydrology of the area; o Use the airport as a sewage treatment facility; o Better water re use strategies. 9
Station #4: Policy Environment Since 1992, the City has shifted its focus towards sustainability and multi modal mobility. To reflect these changes, the LCP update will incorporate the new goals and actions laid out in the plans written since 1992. It is important to recognize that the LCP update process is not about making major policy changes in the coastal zone, but rather folding in existing coastal policies written since 1992. Public Comments, Station #4 More discussion needs to take place on the implementation plan, especially since it was not certified in 1992; o Ensure that the IP creates a one stop window for both local and coastal permits. Additional indoor places to enjoy coastal views; Overlay sea level rise projections with pipeline projects; Increase below ground density of auto row on Santa Monica Blvd to consolidated services onto one lot; Transit Policies: o Funicular connecting the beach with palisades Park ($0.25); o Circulator bus with stops planned for residents, improving North South and East West connections; o Reinstate Tide Ride; o Water taxi from Malibu to Santa Monica Pier; o Free open air trolley between beach and downtown; o Improve BBB lines to better serve residents. Ped/Bike Policies: o Widen Beach Bike Path; o Improve pedestrian safety; o Renovate Montana Ave stairs to the beach; o Prohibit barriers to public beach access; o Promote universal access in the LCP; 10
o Consider legalizing biking on sidewalks because biking on streets can be dangerous. Environmental Policies: o Protect water quality, especially from sewage outflows once sea level rises. Parking Policies: o Do not completely remove parking; must be available for the elderly/disabled; o Reconsider 2 nd Street parking meter proposal; o Reconcile parking requirements between the CCC and City. 11