Review of the City’s Beach Fire Pilot Program and provide direction to staff on potential modifications.

Receive report and make modifications to the Pilot Program as necessary.

BACKGROUND:

The City Council adopted the Beach Fire Management Pilot Program (hereinafter referred to as Pilot Program) on June 30, 2016. The three-year program is intended to restrict the number of wood fires on the beach and disallow fires directly on the sand. The following are the core components of the program:

• Wood fires only allowed in City-provided fire devices seven days a week

•  A maximum of 12 wood-fire devices are allowed between 10th Avenue and Martin Way.
• Wood fires must be 75 feet away from the base of the beach bluffs and a minimum of 200 feet apart from each other.
• Wood fire devices are available on a first come, first serve basis; communal sharing is recommended.
• Only burn clean firewood – no burning of driftwood, debris or trash.
• Propane-fueled grills are permitted – no charcoal briquettes.
• An unlimited number of user-supplied propane fires allowed 25 feet away from the base of the bluffs.
• Fires only allowed between 4:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.

The Pilot Program requires that staff provide the Planning Commission, Forest and Beach Commission and City Council with periodic updates. The purpose of this meeting is for the Council to receive an update on the Pilot Program and direct staff to make modifications as appropriate.  

STAFF ANALYSIS:

2018 Season Review:  The City Council made the following modifications to the Pilot Program in 2018:

1. Extended the Pilot Program to November 30, 2020 through the issuance of a new Coastal Development Permit (CDP 18-231). The decision to extend the Pilot Program was appealed to the California Coastal Commission and upheld on October 12, 2018.
   
   
2. Shifted boundary of the program area from 8^th Avenue back to 10^th Ave. The City’s Local Coastal Program (LCP) allows beach fires between 10^th Ave and Martin Way, and this action taken by the Council is consistent with the LCP.
   
   
3. Directed staff to only use 19” diameter “smokeless” devices with a maximum of 9 on the beach. The smokeless devices are installed on top of 3’ x 3’ concrete pads along the beach, which is necessary for proper function of the device. The Pilot Program still allows a maximum of 12 total devices.
   
   
4. Reviewed and commented on new beach fire rule signage, which has since been installed at the beach entrances within the Pilot Program area.
   
   
5. Reviewed and commented on amendments (mostly clerical) to the original Pilot Program document.
   
   
6. Directed staff to work with the Monterey Bay Air Resources District on installing air monitors down by the beach.

In April 2018, the City deployed 9 wood-fueled “smokeless” devices onto the beach between 10th Avenue and Martin Way. The new signs were also installed in April. The devices were removed in October 2018, which concluded the beach fire season. 

Air Quality Data:  In May and June of 2018, the Monterey Bay Air Resources District installed 3 air monitors by Carmel beach. The air monitors were located at the Scenic/Santa Lucia restroom, near 9^th Avenue and near 11^th avenue. Air quality data has been provided by the Air District for each air monitor (Attachment 2).  Measurements were taken from the restroom air monitor from May 12^th - June 4^th; from the 9^th Avenue monitor from May 31^st - June 18^th; and from the 11^th Avenue monitor from June 1^st – October 31^st.  

National and State ambient air quality standard for particulate matter (PM2.5) is 35µg/m3, averaged over 24 hours, midnight to midnight each day. The 24 hour averages taken from the air monitors are well below this standard. The Air District has reported that the spike in PM2.5 that occurred in August was not due to local beach conditions, but rather from various wild fires throughout the state.  All air monitors in the tri-county area recorded elevated PM2.5 during this timeframe.

Program Enforcement/Management: The Carmel Police Department utilizes a combination of its full-time officers and private security guards to patrol the beach.  The City spends an average of $30,000 annually on private security guards and an additional $27,000 in police officer staff time. During the 2018 beach fire season (April through October) there were 59 documented illegal fires on the beach.  This is a substantial improvement from the 172 illegal fires that were documented the previous year. This improvement is likely attributed to the new signage, as well as increased education and public outreach efforts by the City. 

The Public Works Department is responsible for daily cleaning and monitoring of the City fire devices as well as cleaning up any illegal fires along the entire beach.  Some of the issues faced by Public Works staff include: 1) trash discarded into and trash burned in the fire devices, 2) filling the fire devices with sand either to extinguish a fire or creates a flat surface for building a fire, 3) excess amounts of water dumped on the fires, 4) illegal fires on the sand, and 5) burning driftwood, charcoal briquettes, and commercial fire logs in the fire devices. Despite the new signage, Forestry reports that there has been marginal improvement with these issues. During the beach fire season, an average of 8 hours of staff time are devoted each day to cleaning and maintaining the fire devices and the area around the beach fire devices. This impacts other job duties such as tree maintenance, watering, and planting.  

Experiences and Issues: Fires on Carmel Beach continue to be popular with locals and tourists. The Pilot Program has been successful in protecting air quality around the beach and cleanliness of the sand. Propane gas-fueled fire are still not as popular as the wood-burning alternative, as the City’s beach patrol observed only a total of 32 propane fires during the 2018 season. With regard to air quality, while the PM_2.5 levels do not exceed health standards, those living within the vicinity of the beach fires have reported that the smell of smoke is, however, a persistent nuisance.

 COMMISSION REVIEW:

The Planning Commission received an update at their April 10, 2019 meeting and the Forest and Beach Commission at their April 11, 2019 meeting. Both commissions made the following recommendations:

Planning Commission (4-1 vote)

1.  Experiment with propane-only option for one year.
2. Research possibility allowing vendors to rent and deliver propane devices to the beach.
3. Study the issue of wood-burning fires throughout the city and not just on the beach.
4. Consider collecting air samples again with an additional monitor located away from the beach to test ambient conditions.  

Forest and Beach Commission (4-0 vote)

1.  Reduce the number of allowed fire devices to six (6).
2. Explore ways to promote and encourage user-supplied propane.
3. Consider collecting air samples again with an additional monitor located away from the beach to test ambient conditions. Provide data on peak periods rather than 24-hour averages.
4. Consider establishing a fee/reservation system for the fire devices.

After the Forest and Beach Commission meeting, the City Council received a public complaint of a possible Brown Act violation that may have occurred during that meeting.  Specifically, during the meeting, Commissioner Caddell referenced a discussion he had prior to the meeting with fellow Commissioner Refuerzo (who did not attend the meeting).  The public complaint was that Commissioner Caddell’s reference to his discussion with Commissioner Refuerzo before the meeting may have violated the Brown Act because it constituted a serial meeting.  City Attorney, Jon Giffen, investigated the public complaint by reviewing the videotape of the meeting and interviewing each of the Forest and Beach Commissioners.  Upon concluding his investigation, Mr. Giffen found that the discussion was limited to only the two Commissioners which is necessarily less than a quorum of the decision makers on the Commission.  Therefore, no Brown Act violation occurred.

 ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: 

The Pilot Program is categorically exempt from CEQA requirements, pursuant to Section 15311 (Class 11) of the State CEQA Guidelines.  Class 11 exemptions include the construction or placement of minor structures that are seasonal or temporary on publicly owned parks or at facilities designed for public use. The Pilot Program limits the number of wood-fueled fires to no more than 12, which substantially reduces air quality impacts from fine particulate matter and other pollutants in wood smoke as well as decreases aesthetic impacts from charcoal and ash left on the sand.

For the purposes of calculating expenses only, the project year is defined as the period of August through July.  The third year of expenses is projected to be similar to the second year, minus the $3,000 for signage which has already been purchased and installed.

*500 Staff Hours

**648 Staff Hours

***17 Weeks of Publishing (1/2 weeks of the program)

- On June 30, 2016, the City Council adopted the Beach Fire Management Pilot Program.

- On August 8, 2017, the City Council received an annual update on the Pilot Program.

- On February 6, 2018, the City Council directed that certain changes be made to the Pilot Program and that staff return in July 2018 with an extension.

- On July 3, 2018, the City Council extended the Pilot Program (CDP 18-231) to November 2020.