Adopt  a resolution (Attachment 1) determining that the City’s FY 2020/21 and 2021/2022 Capital Improvement Plan is consistent with the City’s General Plan.

The Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) is a budgeting and strategic planning tool intended to address the City’s capital needs. It is a short-range planning document that identifies capital projects and equipment purchases, determines the source of project funds and provides a planning schedule. CIP projects include such things as buildings, roads, equipment acquisitions, and facility enhancements.

California Government Code 65401 and Carmel Municipal Code Section 17.52.060 requires that the CIP be reviewed by the Planning Commission for a determination of consistency with the General Plan. State law does not require that a CIP be consistent with the General Plan, only that a review of consistency has been performed. The purpose of this hearing is for the Planning Commission to consider whether the Draft CIP is consistent with the General Plan.

Review Process: The Commission’s role is to determine if the proposed CIP is consistent with the City’s General Plan. For example, the General Plan includes a policy that prohibits commercial activity on the beach. If a project in the CIP included the construction of commercial facilities on the beach, the Commission would indicate that the CIP was not consistent with the General Plan. It is not the Commission’s role to make recommendations regarding financial aspects of the CIP.

 Staff Analysis:

 Staff has prepared a matrix (Attachment 2) for the Commission to use for determining General Plan consistency, which includes each project that has been discussed as part of the draft CIP this year.  Not all of these projects will be approved this year, as there is not sufficient funding in the budget.  However, at the direction of City Council, all projects have been included for determination of General Plan consistency to provide flexibility in finalizing the CIP.  The matrix includes project descriptions, notes on additional impact considerations, anticipated CEQA and permitting actions, and staff’s recommended Genera Plan consistency findings along with the relevant General Plan Elements and specific policy sections.  The intention of the matrix is to give the Commission one simple tool that includes all of the information needed to determine if the draft CIP is consistent with the City’s General Plan.

 For convenience, the projects are also broken into four general categories of project types which are listed below along with an overview of the recommendation as to the consistency of these projects with the General Plan.

 The four categories are:

1. Facilities and Buildings
2. Physical Infrastructure/Hardscape
3. Natural Resources
4. IT/Systems, Equipment, Vehicles

1. Facilities and Buildings:   The following projects are identified under the category of facilities, for maintenance and/or upgrades:

·         Fire pump replacement at Sunset Center

·         Police dispatch renovation

·         Water filtration system replacement at Public Works yard

·         Reopening of City facilities to comply with CDC guidelines

·         Hazardous materials testing at Sunset Center

·         Libraries master plan

·         General City-wide facilities repairs 

·         ADA upgrades to City facilities

·         Backup generator at Park Branch Library

·         Energy efficiency upgrades to City buildings

·          Police building renovation

·         Harrison Memorial Library renovations

·         Backup generator at Harrison Memorial Library

·         Scout House renovation

·         New police vehicles

·         Replace radio antenna at police station

 Analysis – CONSISTENT: As illustrated in the attached matrix, all of these potential projects are consistent with the General Plan.  The Public Facilities and Services Element encourages the City to provide adequate levels of public services and facilities to serve the needs of the community (O6-2).  Most of these projects fall squarely into this category.  Additionally, Policy P6-13 states an objective to continue the maintenance and improvement of public protection by the Police and Fire Departments, which is relevant to the projects which improve those facilities. Lastly, for those sites like Sunset Center which are historic, the General Plan Land Use and Community Character Element encourages the “…preservation of historic resources including buildings, structures, objects, sites, districts, and archaeological resources that represent the unique architectural, cultural, and historic and prehistoric identity of Carmel-by-the-Sea.” (G1-4) and to “Protect and enhance historic resources.” (G1-5) Therefore, the proposed FY 2020/21 and 2021/2022 facilities and building projects are consistent with the General Plan goals, objectives and policies.

2. Physical Infrastructure/Hardscape: The following projects are identified under the category of Physical Infrastructure/Hardscape:

·         Annual paving project

·         City drainage system repairs

·         Sixth Ave/Devendorf Park Plaza

·         Split-rail fencing along Ocean Ave. medians

·         Coastal scenic pathway phase 2 improvements

·         Wayfinding signs

 Analysis – CONSISTENT: The Public Facilities and Services Element of the General Plan includes an objective (O6-2) to support adequate levels of public services and facilities to serve the needs of the community, including police and fire protection, refuse and sanitary disposal services, building safety and public utility services. Policy (P6-13) states to continue the maintenance and improvement of public protection by the Police and Fire Departments; enhance community awareness of matters concerning personal safety and protection of property.  In addition, for those projects affecting the coastline, The Coastal Access and Recreation Element of the General Plan states a goal (G4-1) to provide for maximum public access to, and recreational use of, the shoreline. Furthermore, providing safe access along the shoreline is supported by the City’s Coastal Resource Management Element (G5-3 and O5-8). Therefore, the proposed FY 2020/21 and 2021/2022 Physical Infrastructure/Hardscape projects are consistent with the General Plan goals, objectives and policies.

3. Natural Resources: The following projects are identified under the category of Natural Resources:

·         Greenhouse gas emissions forecast study

·         Mission Trail Nature Preserve (MTNP) stream stability project

·         Forestry management plan

·         Wildfire risk assessment

·         North dunes habitat restoration

·         Decommission well and remove tank from MTNP

·         Sea level rise /coastal engineering report

·         Storm water ordinance

·         Beach sand survey and wall inspections

 Analysis - CONSISTENT: The Coastal Resource Management Element of the General Plan (P5-28, P5-30) encourages the removal of invasive species and restoration of the North Dunes. As referenced in the Open Space and Conservation Element of the General Plan, the removal of invasive species within the Mission Trail Nature Preserve (MTNP) is supported in the MTNP Master Plan. Further, Sections G7-1, G7-2, of the Open Space and Conservation Element of the General Plan encourage the city to: “… protect, conserve and enhance the unique natural beauty and irreplaceable natural resources of Carmel…”, and “Develop, preserve and enhance areas of scenic interest and determine methods to protect key scenic corridors and routes”, respectively. Finally, Section G4-2 of the Coastal Access and Recreation Element encourages the city to: “Develop a Master Plan for the Del Mar and North Dunes area.” Therefore, the proposed FY 2020/21 and 2021/2022 Natural Resource projects are consistent with the General Plan goals, objectives and policies.

4. IT/Systems, Equipment, Vehicles: The following projects are identified under the category of IT/Systems, Equipment, Vehicles:

·       New police vehicles

·       Replace radio antenna at police building

·       Public access to digital property files

·       New ambulance

·       Replace police radios

·       Records retention schedule

·       Upgrades to City computer servers

·       GIS development, phase 2

·       Uninterrupted power supply for City computer system

 Analysis - CONSISTENT: The Public Facilities and Services Element of the General Plan includes an objective (O6-2) to support adequate levels of public services and facilities to serve the needs of the community, including police and fire protection, refuse and sanitary disposal services, building safety and public utility services. Policy (P6-13) states to continue the maintenance and improvement of public protection by the Police and Fire Departments; enhance community awareness of matters concerning personal safety and protection of property. Therefore, the proposed FY 2020/21 and 2021/2022 IT/Systems, Equipment, Vehicles projects are consistent with the General Plan goals, objectives and policies.