City of Carlsbad, CA COASTAL RESOURCE PROTECTION OVERLAY ZONE

The following specific development standards shall be applied to areas within the coastal resource protection overlay zone as part of the coastal development permit. Such standards shall control, notwithstanding the provisions of the underlying zone and shall include:

Preservation of Steep Slopes and Vegetation. Any development proposal that affects steep slopes (twenty-five percent inclination or greater) shall be required to prepare a slope map and analysis for the affected slopes. The slope mapping and analysis shall be prepared during the CEQA environmental review on a project-by-project basis and shall be required as a condition of a coastal development permit.

Outside the Kelly Ranch property, for those slopes mapped as possessing endangered plant/animal species and/or coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities, the following policy language applies:

Slopes of twenty-five percent grade and over shall be preserved in their natural state, unless the application of this policy would preclude any reasonable use of the property, in which case an encroachment not to exceed ten percent of the steep slope area over twenty-five percent grade may be permitted. For existing legal parcels, with all or nearly all of their area in slope area over twenty-five percent grade, encroachment may be permitted; however, any such encroachment shall be limited so that at no time is more than twenty percent of the entire parcel (including areas under twenty-five percent slope) permitted to be disturbed from its natural state. This policy shall not apply to the construction of roads of the city's circulation element or the development of utility systems. Uses of slopes over twenty-five percent may be made in order to provide access to flatter areas if there is no less environmentally damaging alternative available.

No further subdivisions of land or utilization of planned unit developments shall occur on lots that have their total area in excess of twenty-five percent slope unless a planned unit development is proposed which limits grading and development to not more than ten percent of the total site area.

Slopes and areas remaining undisturbed as a result of the hillside review process, shall be placed in a permanent open space easement as a condition of development approval. The purpose of the open space easement shall be to reduce the potential for localized erosion and slide hazards, to prohibit the removal of native vegetation except for creating firebreaks and/or planting fire retardant vegetation and to protect visual resources of importance to the entire community.

Notwithstanding subsections a and b of this section, encroachments to slopes of twenty-five percent grade and over may be permitted in order to preserve natural habitat as required by the city's habitat management plan and the required amount of preservation could not be achieved by strict adherence to the requirements of subsections a and b of this section.

Within the Kelly Ranch property, for those slopes possessing endangered plant/animal species and/or coastal sage scrub and chaparral plant communities, the following policy language applies:

Coastal sage scrub and southern maritime chaparral plant communities shall be preserved in their natural state within designated open space areas shown on the LCP Kelly Ranch open space map and addressed in Policy 3-5 of the certified LCP land use plan.

The open space shown on the Kelly Ranch open space map shall be secured through conservation easements or dedicated in fee at the time of subdivision approval. The easements shall be granted to the city or other public entity and maintained and managed as part of the LCP Kelly Ranch open space system.

Restoration of disturbed areas within the designated open space through revegetation of disturbed areas and enhancement of existing vegetation with native upland species shall be required, in consultation with the Department of Fish and Game, as a condition of subdivision approval. The restoration and enhancement plan shall include a maintenance and monitoring component to assure long-term productivity of the habitat value.

Upon dedication of a conservation easement or in fee dedication, or upon recordation of offers to dedicate the Kelly Ranch open space to the city or other public entity, development of steep slopes over twenty-five percent grade may occur in areas outside the designated open space. Such encroachment shall be approved by the Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as consistent with the State and Federal Endangered Species Act. Dedication will assure preservation of a viable upland habitat corridor and scenic hillsides.

Roads in Open Space. Access roads shall be a permitted use within designated open space subject to an approved coastal development permit, only when necessary to access flatter areas and when designed to be the least environmentally damaging feasible alternative. Wildlife corridors shall be required when necessary to facilitate wildlife movement through the open space area.

Siting/Parking. Due to severe site constraints, innovative siting and design criteria (including shared use of driveways, clustering, tandem parking, pole construction) shall be incorporated to minimize paved surface area. Dwelling units shall be clustered in the relatively flat portions of the site.

Brush Management. A fire suppression plan shall be required for all residential development adjacent to designated open space subject to approval by the city fire department. The fire suppression plan shall incorporate a combination of building materials, sufficient structural setbacks from native vegetation and selective thinning designed to assure safety from fire hazard, protection of native habitat, and landscape screening of the residential structures. No portions of brush management Zones 1 and 2 as defined in the city landscape manual shall occur in designated open space areas. Zone 3 may be permitted within designated open space upon written approval of the fire department and only when native fire retardant planting is permitted to replace high and moderate fuel species required to be removed.

For all other steep slope areas, the City Council may allow exceptions to the above grading provisions provided the following mandatory findings to allow exceptions are made:

A soils investigation conducted by a licensed soils engineer has determined the subject slope area to be stable and grading and development impacts mitigatable for at least seventy-five years, or life of structure.

Grading of the slope is essential to the development intent and design.

Slope disturbance will not result in substantial damage or alteration to major wildlife habitat or native vegetation areas.

If the area proposed to be disturbed is predominated by steep slopes and is in excess of ten acres, no more than one-third of the total steep slope area shall be subject to major grade changes.

If the area proposed to be disturbed is predominated by steep slopes and is less than ten acres, complete grading may be allowed only if no interruption of significant wildlife corridors occurs.

Because north-facing slopes are generally more prone to stability problems and in many cases contain more extensive natural vegetation, no grading or removal of vegetation from these areas will be permitted unless all environmental impacts have been mitigated. Overriding circumstances are not considered adequate mitigation.

Drainage, Erosion, Sedimentation, Habitat.

Buena Vista Lagoon. Developments located along the first row of lots bordering Buena Vista Lagoon, including the parcel at the mouth of the lagoon, shall be designated for residential development at a density of up to four dwelling units per acre. Proposed development in this area shall be required to submit topographic and vegetation mapping and analysis, as well as soils reports, as part of the development permit application. Such information shall be provided in addition to any required environmental impact report, and shall be prepared by qualified professionals and in sufficient detail to locate the boundary of wetland and upland areas and areas of slopes in excess of twenty-five percent. Topographic maps shall be submitted at a scale sufficient to determine the appropriate developable areas, generally not less than a scale of one inch equals one hundred feet with a topographic contour interval of five feet, and shall include an overlay delineating the location of the proposed project. The lagoon and wetland area shall be delineated and criteria used to identify any wetlands existing on the site shall be those of Section 30121 of the Coastal Act and based upon the standards of the local coastal program mapping regulations. Mapping of wetlands and siting of development shall be done in consultation and subject to the approval of the Department of Fish and Game. Development shall be clustered to preserve open space for habitat protection. Minimum setbacks of at least one hundred feet from wetlands/lagoon shall be required in all development, in order to buffer such sensitive habitat area from intrusion. Such buffer areas, as well as other open space areas required in permitted development to preserve habitat areas, shall be permanently preserved for habitat uses through provision of an open space easement as a condition of project approval. In the event that a wetland area is bordered by steep slopes (in excess of twenty-five percent) which will act as a natural buffer to the habitat area, a buffer area of less than one hundred feet in width may be permitted. The density of any permitted development shall be based upon the net developable area of the parcel, excluding any portion of a parcel which is in wetlands or lagoon. As specified in subsection A of this section, a density credit may be provided for that portion of the parcel which is in steep slopes. Storm drain alignments as proposed in the City of Carlsbad Drainage Master Plan which would be carried through or empty into Buena Vista Lagoon shall not be permitted, unless such improvements comply with the requirements of Sections 30230, 30231, 30233 and 30235 of the Coastal Act by maintaining or enhancing the functional capacity of the lagoon in a manner acceptable to the State Department of Fish and Game. Land divisions shall only be permitted on parcels bordering the lagoon pursuant to a single planned development permit for the entire original parcel.

Batiquitos Lagoon Watershed. Development located east of I-5 (generally referred to as the Savage property) shall be designated for a maximum density of development of eight units per gross acre, excluding wetlands and constrained slopes. Development shall take place according to the requirements of the P-C planned community zone, Chapter 21.38, supplemented by these additional requirements. Land divisions shall only be permitted pursuant to a master plan for the entire original parcel subject to the requirements herein:

Drainage, erosion and sedimentation requirements shall be as specified in subsection (B)(4) of this section.

Detailed topographic maps shall be prepared by qualified professionals including biologists, hydrologists and engineers in sufficient detail to locate the boundary of lagoon or wetland and upland areas. The scale shall not be less than one inch equals one hundred feet with a contour interval of five feet, and shall include an overlay delineating the location of the development. The lagoon and wetland areas shall be delineated according to the requirements of Section 30121 of the Coastal Act and the local coastal program mapping regulations, subject to the review and approval of the State Department of Fish and Game.

Development shall be clustered to preserve open space and habitat.

A minimum setback of one hundred feet from the lagoon/wetland shall be required.

At least two-thirds of any development shall be clustered on the half of the property furthest away from the lagoon at the base of the bluff in order to preserve the outstanding visual and natural resources.

Existing mature trees shall be preserved.

Public recreation facilities shall be provided as a condition of development including picnic tables, parking, and a public access trail along the lagoon shore. The trail shall be secured by an irrevocable offer to dedicate public access but shall be developed and landscaped as a condition of development and shall be at least fifteen feet wide with unobstructed views of the lagoon.

To facilitate provision of public use areas and preservation of environmentally sensitive lands, and to maintain the outstanding visual resources in the area surrounding the lagoon, an additional density credit of one dwelling unit per acre of developed land shall be provided for each two and one-half percent of total lot area, excluding wetlands, which is maintained in open space and public recreation in excess of fifty percent of the total lot area, excluding wetlands.

Areas West of I-5. For areas west of the existing Paseo del Norte, west of Interstate 5 and along El Camino Real immediately upstream of the existing storm drains, the following policy shall apply:

All development must include mitigation measures for the control of urban runoff flow rates and velocities, urban pollutants, erosion and sedimentation in accordance with: (1) the requirements of the city's grading ordinance, stormwater ordinance, standard urban stormwater mitigation plan (SUSMP) dated April 2003, and as amended, and the City of Carlsbad Drainage Master Plan, as those documents are certified as part of the city's LCP; (2) the city's jurisdictional urban runoff management program (JURMP) and the San Diego County Hydrology Manual to the extent that these requirements are not inconsistent with any policies of the LCP; and (3) the additional requirements contained herein. Such mitigation shall become an element of the project, and shall be installed prior to the initial grading.

In addition, the following standards shall apply:

Priority projects identified in the SUSMP will incorporate structural best management practices (BMPs) and submit a water quality technical report as specified in the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit and in the SUSMP;

ii.

Structural BMPs used to meet SUSMP requirements for priority projects shall be based on the California Stormwater Quality Association (CASQA) Stormwater Best Management Practice Handbook, dated January 2003, or the current version of that publication, and designed to infiltrate, filter or treat the runoff produced from each storm event up to and including the eighty-fifth percentile twenty-four hour storm event;

iii.

Priority projects will include projects increasing impervious area by more than two thousand five hundred square feet or by more than ten percent of existing impervious area, that are in, adjacent to or drain directly to environmentally sensitive areas (ESA), identified in the City of Carlsbad Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan (SUSMP) dated April 2003, using the definitions of "adjacent to" and "draining directly to" that are found in the SUSMP;

iv.

The city shall include requirements in all coastal development permit approvals to inspect and maintain required BMPs for the life of the project;

The city will encourage and support public outreach and education regarding the potential water quality impacts of development;

vi.

Development shall minimize land disturbance activities during construction (e.g., clearing, grading and cut-and-fill), especially in erosive areas (including steep slopes, unstable areas and erosive soils), to minimize impacts on water quality of excessive erosion and sedimentation. Development shall incorporate soil stabilization BMPs on disturbed areas as soon as feasible;

vii.

Projects within two hundred feet of the Pacific Ocean shall be dealt with as "Projects Discharging to Receiving Waters within Environmentally Sensitive Areas" as defined in Appendix I of the SUSMP, including being treated as a priority project if they create more than two thousand five hundred square feet of impermeable surface or increase the impermeable surface on the property by more than ten percent;

viii.

Although residential developments of less than ten units, including single-family residences, are generally exempt from the SUSMP priority project requirements, they shall meet those requirements, including achievement of the numerical sizing standard, if they are in, within two hundred feet of, or discharging directly to an ESA, including the Pacific Ocean; or shall provide a written report signed by a licensed civil engineer showing that as the project is designed they are mitigating polluted runoff, including dry weather nuisance flows, to the maximum extent practicable;

ix.

Detached residential homes shall be required to use efficient irrigation systems and landscape designs or other methods to minimize or eliminate dry weather flow, if they are within two hundred feet of an ESA, coastal bluffs or rocky intertidal areas.

Mitigation shall require construction of all improvements shown in the City of Carlsbad Drainage Master Plan and any amendments to them for the area between the project site and the lagoon (including the debris basin), as well as revegetation of graded areas immediately after grading; and a mechanism for permanent maintenance if the city declines to accept the responsibility. Construction of drainage improvements may be through formation of an assessment district, or through any similar arrangement that allocates costs among the various landowners in an equitable manner.

All Other Areas in the Coastal Zone.

All development must include mitigation measures for the control of urban runoff flow rates and velocities, urban pollutants, erosion and sedimentation in accordance with: (1) the requirements of the city's grading ordinance, stormwater ordinance, standard urban stormwater mitigation plan (SUSMP) dated April 2003 and as amended, and the City of Carlsbad Drainage Master Plan, as those documents are certified as part of the city's LCP; (2) the city's jurisdictional urban runoff management program (JURMP) and the San Diego County Hydrology Manual to the extent that these requirements are not inconsistent with any policies of the LCP; and (3) the additional requirements contained herein. Such mitigation shall become an element of the project and shall be installed prior to the initial grading.

In addition, the following standards shall apply:

ii.

iii.

Priority projects will include projects increasing impervious area by more than two thousand five hundred square feet or by more than ten percent of existing impervious area, that are in, adjacent to or drain directly to environmentally sensitive areas (ESA), identified in the City of Carlsbad standard urban stormwater mitigation plan (SUSMP) dated April 2003, using the definitions of "adjacent to" and "draining directly to" that are found in the SUSMP;

iv.

The city shall include requirements in all coastal development permit approvals to inspect and maintain required BMPs for the life of the project;

The city will encourage and support public outreach and education regarding the potential water quality impacts of development;

Mitigation shall also require construction of all improvements shown in the City of Carlsbad Drainage Master Plan and amendments to it. No subsequent amendments are a part of this zone unless certified by the Coastal Commission. The general provisions, procedures, standards, content of plans and implementation contained with them are required conditions of development in addition to the provisions below. Approved development shall include the following conditions, in addition to the requirements specified above:

All off-site, downstream improvements (including debris basin and any other improvements recommended in the City of Carlsbad Drainage Master Plan) shall be constructed prior to the issuance of a grading permit on-site. Improvements shall be inspected by city or county staff and certified as adequate and in compliance with the requirements of the drainage plan and the additional requirements of this zone. If the city or county declines to accept maintenance responsibility for the improvements, the developer shall maintain the improvements during construction of the on-site improvements;

ii.

If the off-site or on-site improvements are not to be accepted and maintained by a public agency, detailed maintenance agreements including provisions for financing the maintenance through bonding or other acceptable means shall be secured prior to issuance of the permit. Maintenance shall be addressed in the report required to be submitted with the permit application. The report shall discuss maintenance costs and such costs shall be certified as a best effort at obtaining accurate figures;

iii.

Construction of off-site grading improvements may use an assessment district or any other acceptable manner of financing. Such mechanisms shall be secured by bonding or other acceptable means prior to issuance of a coastal development permit;

iv.

If a public agency agrees to accept maintenance responsibilities, it shall inspect the facilities prior to on-site construction or grading and indicate if such facilities assure continued maintenance. No on-site development may take place prior to acceptance of the drainage improvements;

All areas disturbed by grading shall be planted within sixty days of initial disturbance and prior to October 1st with temporary or permanent (in the case of finished slopes) erosion control methods;

vi.

Storm drainage facilities in developed areas shall be improved and enlarged according to City of Carlsbad Drainage Master Plan, incorporating the changes specified in this section. Improvement districts shall be formed for presently undeveloped areas which are expected to urbanize in the future. The improvement districts shall implement City of Carlsbad Drainage Master Plan. Upstream areas in the coastal zone shall not be permitted to develop incrementally prior to installation of the storm drain facilities downstream, in order to assure protection of coastal resources. New drainage facilities, required within the improvement districts shall be financed either by some form of bond or from fees collected from developers on a cost-per-acre basis;

vii.

When earth changes are required and natural vegetation is removed, the area and duration of exposure shall be kept at a minimum;

viii.

Soil erosion control practices shall be used against "on-site" soil erosion. These include keeping soil covered with temporary or permanent vegetation or with mulch materials, special grading procedures, diversion structures to divert surface runoff from exposed soils, and grade stabilization structures to control surface water;

ix.

Apply "sediment control" practices as a perimeter protection to prevent off-site drainage. Preventing sediment from leaving the site should be accomplished by such methods as diversion ditches, sediment traps, vegetative filters, and sediment basins. Preventing erosion is, of course, the most efficient way to control sediment runoff.

In addition, the following shall apply to development within Kelly Ranch:

New development and significant redevelopment of private and publicly owned properties, must incorporate design elements and/or best management practices (BMPs) which will effectively prevent runoff contamination, and minimize runoff volume from the site in the developed condition, to the greatest extent feasible. At a minimum, the following specific requirements shall be applied to development of type and/or intensity listed below:

Residential Development. Development plans for, or which include, residential housing development with greater than ten housing units shall include a drainage and pollution runoff control plan prepared by a licensed engineer, designed to infiltrate, filter or treat the volume of runoff produced from each and every storm event up to and including the eighty-fifth percentile twenty-four hour runoff event, prior to conveying runoff in excess of this standard to the stormwater conveyance system. The plan shall be reviewed and approved by the consulting soils engineer or engineering geologist to ensure the plan is in conformance with their recommendations. The plan shall be designed in consideration of the following criteria, and approved prior to issuance of a coastal development permit:

Maximize the percentage of permeable surfaces and green space to allow more percolation of runoff into the ground and/or design site with the capacity to convey or store peak runoff from a storm and release it at a slow rate so as to minimize the peak discharge into storm drains or receiving water bodies;

ii.

Use porous materials for or near walkways and driveways where feasible;

iii.

Incorporate design elements which will serve to reduce directly connected impervious area where feasible. Options include the use of alternative design features such as concrete grid driveways, and/or pavers for walkways;

iv.

Runoff from driveways, streets and other impervious surfaces shall be collected and directed through a system of vegetated and/or gravel filter strips or other media devices, where feasible. Selected filter elements shall be designed to (1) trap sediment, particulates and other solids; and (2) remove or mitigate contaminants through infiltration and/or biological uptake. The drainage system shall also be designed to convey and discharge runoff from the building site in a non-erosive manner;

Selected BMPs shall be engineered and constructed in accordance with the design specifications and guidance contained in the California Stormwater Best Management Practices Handbook (Municipal);

vi.

The plan must include provisions for regular inspection and maintenance of structural BMPs, for the life of the project.

Parking Lots. Development plans for, or which include parking lots greater than five thousand square feet in size and/or with twenty-five or more parking spaces, susceptible to stormwater, shall incorporate BMPs effective at removing or mitigating potential pollutants of concern such as oil, grease, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and particulates from stormwater leaving the developed site, prior to such runoff entering the stormwater conveyance system, or any receiving water body. Options to meet this requirement include the use of vegetative filter strips or other media filter devices, clarifiers, grassy swales or berms, vacuum devices or a combination of these. Selected BMPs shall be designed to collectively infiltrate, filter or treat the volume of runoff produced by each and every storm event up to and including the eighty-fifth percentile twenty-four hour runoff event. BMPs shall be engineered and constructed in accordance with the guidance and specifications provided in the California Stormwater Best Management Handbooks (Commercial and Industrial).

All Development. A public education program shall be designed to raise the level of awareness of water quality issues around the lagoon including such elements as catch basin stenciling and public awareness signs.

A landscape management plan shall be created that includes herbicide/pesticide management. Such measures shall be incorporated into project design through a water quality/urban runoff control plan and monitoring program to ensure the discharge from all proposed outlets are consistent with local and regional standards. Such measures shall be required as a condition of coastal development permit approval at the subdivision stage.

Landslides and Slope Instability. Developments within five hundred feet of areas identified generally in the PRC Toups report, Figure 8, as containing soils of the La Jolla group (susceptible to accelerated erosion) or landslide prone areas shall be required to submit additional geologic reports containing the additional information required in the coastal shoreline development overlay zone.

Seismic Hazards. Development in liquefaction-prone areas shall include site-specific investigations done addressing the liquefaction problem and suggesting mitigation measures. New residential development in excess of four units, commercial, industrial, and public facilities shall have site-specific geologic investigations completed in known potential liquefaction areas.

Floodplain Development. Within the coastal zone, in the one hundred-year floodplain, no new or expanded permanent structures or fill shall be permitted. Only uses compatible with periodic flooding shall be allowed.

Reserved.

Within the Kelly Ranch, scenic public views from Interstate 5, Cannon Road and Agua Hedionda Lagoon shall be preserved, as feasible, through the following measures:

Landscaping and Setbacks. Use of trees or fire-retardant vegetation with substantial height as a landscape screen and/or setbacks from the ridgelines and open space areas;

Building Colors. Exterior wall and roof colors shall be of low-intensity earth or vegetative tones. Stucco with accent materials such as tile, natural stone, or other compatible natural building materials shall be preferred. Roof colors shall be low-intensity colors which blend with the environmental setting of the project;

Residential Building Height. Maximum height limits and variation in roof heights shall be utilized, as necessary, to minimize visibility of structures from scenic public roadways, public vista points and public trails.

Within the Kelly Ranch, landscaping shall be utilized as a visual buffer and be compatible with the surrounding native vegetation and preserved open space by incorporation of the following measures:

All residential development shall be required to identify and implement a landscaping plan that provides for installation of plant species that are native or noninvasive and drought tolerant to the maximum extent feasible. Ornamental (noninvasive) vegetation shall be permitted in the interior of residential subdivisions only;

Approved landscaping shall be installed immediately upon completion of construction and maintained by the property owners in good growing condition for the life of the development;

Landscape screening of structures, including specimen trees and fire-retardant vegetation of substantial height, shall be required to screen and soften the view of structures from Interstate 5, Cannon Road, Agua Hedionda Lagoon, public trails and public vista points;

The landscape treatment shall cause the development to blend in with the natural setting and present a visually cohesive appearance as viewed from Agua Hedionda Lagoon, Cannon Road and Interstate 5.

(Ord. NS-365 § 22, 1996; Ord. NS-589 §§ 1—8, 2001; Ord. NS-783 § 6, 2006; Ord. NS-801 §§ 1, 2, 2006; CS-005 §§ 2—8, 2008)