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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08 - Harbor Area Management Plan - Final AdoptionCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. 8 November 9, 2010 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: Public Works Department Chris Miller, Harbor Resources Manager (949) 644 -3043, cmiller(@newporlbeachca.aov SUBJECT: HARBOR AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN — FINAL ADOPTION ISSUE Staff is recommending that the City Council adopt the completed Harbor Area Management Plan (HAMP) as recommended by the Harbor Commission. RECOMMENDATION Adopt the HAMP as a framework for building integrated and sustainable programs that address the beneficial uses of Newport Harbor. DISCUSSION The City of Newport Beach received a Proposition 50 grant from the State of California's Department of Water Resources to prepare an Integrated Regional Watershed Management Plan ( IRWMP) for the Newport Bay Watershed. The broad goal of the IRWMP was to: 1) identify and organize all of the ongoing studies and programs, 2) show the interrelationships of the studies, 3) identify information gaps, and 4) weave all of this information into a single consensus plan that provides the essential framework and strategic elements to prioritize and address watershed challenges (e.g. water supply, flood hazard, channel erosion issues, water quality challenges, habitat restoration options, community access and meaningful watershed education programs). An important element of the IRWMP is the preparation of a HAMP which evaluates and integrates many issues that the City faces in the Upper and Lower Bays. As such, the HAMP acts as an integrated action plan to assist the City in moving forward. It does not, however, approve any projects on its own. Purpose of the HAMP The purpose of the HAMP is to develop a resource management tool for the City to move forward with key sediment management, water quality, restoration and public use projects critical in meeting the following overall goals: • Guide the City and the Harbor stakeholders in the implementation of activities that balance the beneficial uses with the long term sustainability of the Bay. (Stakeholders include the City Council, Harbor Commission, community support groups, Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, Orange County Coastkeeper, County of Orange Watershed and Coastal Resources Division, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (Santa Ana Harbor Area Management Plan November 9, 2010 Page 2 Region), other environmental conservation groups, non - government organizations, industry professionals and private citizens that live, work and recreate in and around the Bay.) • Provide a practical framework to meet regulatory requirements in the current and anticipated National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4) Permits, sediment management permits, Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), and other regulatory programs for Newport Bay, and; • Support a sustainable estuary ecosystem able to be integrated with upstream sustainable watersheds and adjacent coastal area systems. The benefit of a HAMP is the integration of these various goals where previous plans have focused only on a single or smaller set of goals. The HAMP presents the linkages of these projects and highlights the inter - connection of the City's efforts. The HAMP also provides the City an assessment of these multiple projects using equally weighted end -goals and benefits. Previous plans have targeted only certain benefits, and therefore have not considered these projects in a more holistic manner. This HAMP is not a recipe for project implementation. Instead, it is a framework that the City can use as a guide to planning and developing more project specific plans which will themselves undergo environmental review before implementation as needed. Without the demonstration of the integration of the various projects in the HAMP, the full benefits and cost - effective solutions cannot be fully realized. This plan also provides a prioritization tool for the City in considering how best to use available resources. By comparing projects to an equally weighted set of benefits, projects can be better prioritized based on cost and final benefits realized. The HAMP also provides the City with a management framework as the basis for future state and federal grant applications for harbor -wide projects. Some state grant programs require jurisdictions to have an approved planning document that supports the proposed projects for which grant funds are being requested. As a resource management tool, the HAMP provides integrated solutions that result in cost savings and positive return on investment paid to the triple bottom line of economic, community and environmental benefits. The suggested alternatives in this plan provide the steps forward to meet the challenges in a cost effective manner through the integration of projects. However, over time, not all of the suggested alternatives may stay current as projects, ideas, regulations etc... may evolve into new ideas that should also embrace the overall project goals of the HAMP in general. The foundation for the HAMP is the Harbor and Bay Element of the City's General Plan. The management measures that are developed and presented in this plan are evaluated using the beneficial uses developed in the Harbor and Bay Element. This overall vision of the HAMP also mirrors the mission statement for the Harbor Commission and Harbor Resources: "To protect and improve the resources of Newport Harbor, Upper Newport Bay, and the ocean beaches to ensure their proper use and enjoyment by all things that derive life, recreation, or commerce from our City's most important asset." The development of this management tool for Newport Harbor requires coordination among multiple programs and requires addressing multiple challenges to achieving the overall goals. These programs and challenges have been identified through the regulatory agencies, stakeholder groups and the City, and include the following: (Also see Exhibit 1.) Harbor Area Management Plan November 9, 2010 Page 3 1. Dredging Requirements and Contaminated Sediment 2. Eelgrass Capacity and Management 3. Beach Replenishment Strategy 4. Water Quality Best Management Practices 5. Harbor Channel and Pierhead Lines 6. Hydrodynamic Modeling 7. Regional General Permits 8. Sea Level Change and Potential Shoreline Flooding 9. Upper Bay Sediment Control 10. Upper Bay Restoration Management The HAMP is composed of two sets of documents consisting of the main report and supporting appendices. The main report includes the Technical Report Summaries and the HAMP Management Tools (items 1 -10 above) while the Technical Reports are presented in the appendices. This HAMP has been reviewed several times by a subcommittee of the Harbor Commission over the past few years, and was also reviewed by the entire Harbor Commission in June 2008, then approved in May 2009. It was also presented to the City Council at a July 28, 2009 Study Session during which time the Council recommended some clarifications which are incorporated in this latest version and summarized below: • Sediment volumes were updated to better reflect the conditions based on current information. • Costs for Tier II testing were eliminated because this is a federal responsibility. • Costs for a Sediment Management Plan and a Master Dredging Plan and Schedule were eliminated because this expense is no longer needed. • Evaluation of the harbor lines includes language stating that both the Council and Federal Government would need to approve any changes, therefore allowing thorough public input. FISCAL IMPACT The development of the HAMP was funded by a State Water Resources Control Board Grant to the City of Newport Beach, and the City very much appreciates this support. No costs will be associated with implementation of this plan. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This project has been determined to be categorically exempt under the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act under several exemptions, including: The "common sense" exemption in that it causes no significant environmental impacts since it does not approve any projects, instead providing a framework for pursuing positive environmental goals, Class 8 (Actions By Regulatory Agencies for the Protection of the Environment). The Class 8 exemption consists of actions taken by regulatory agencies, as authorized by state or local ordinance, to assure the maintenance, restoration, enhancement, or protection of the environment where the regulatory process involves procedures for protection of the environment. The Harbor Area Management Plan establishes a framework to guide future sediment management, water quality, restoration, and public use projects. No construction activities or relaxation of standards allowing environmental degradation will be authorized by the adoption of this plan, and Harbor Area Management Plan November 9, 2010 Page 4 Statutory Exemption Under PRC 21102/14 CCR 15262 — Feasibility and Planning Studies. As discussed above, the HAMP is an analytical plan for reviewing and prioritizing projects that will be developed over time and subject to their own environmental review, as opposed to a "plan" approving projects. PUBLIC NOTICE This agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the public meetings at which the City Council considers the item). Submitted by: Chris Miller Harbor Resources Manager Attachments: Exhibit 1: HAMP Integrated Approach Diagram Exhibit 2: HAMP — Final Draft (available on the City's website: http: / /alchemyweb. city.newport- beach. ca.us /alchemyweb /alchemyweb. aspx? action — explore &database = Council Meetings 2010 Exhibit 1 HAM P I nteg rated Approach Integrating Element