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HomeMy WebLinkAbout22 - Buck Gully & Newport Coast Easements & Fee Ownership of LandCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT Agenda Item No. 22 April 26, 2005 TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL FROM: City Manager's Office Dave Kiff, Assistant City Manager 949/644 -3002 ordkiff @city.newport- beach.ca.us SUBJECT: Resolution 2005 - Relating to the Acceptance of Easements and Fee Ownership of Land in Buck Gully and the Newport Coast ISSUE: Should the City agree to take title to and administrative authority over certain easements and lands (including five view parks) in Buck Gully and the Newport Coast? RECOMMENDATION: Adopt Resolution 2005- authorizing the City to accept title to certain easements and land in Buck Gully and the Newport Coast. DISCUSSION: The 7,700 -acre Newport Coast community at the eastern edge of the city is a combination of two planned communities (the Newport Ridge Planned Community and the Newport Coast Local Coastal Program, 2nd Amendment). In the 1980s and 1990s as the communities were developed, the major landowner (The Irvine Company) and the planning jurisdiction (the County of Orange) established a program of public and private ownership of park lands. The two major parks in the Newport Coast area (Newport Ridge Park and the Coastal Canyon Swim and Tennis Club) are private. However, a new park (not yet constructed) at the top of Ridge Park Road will be a city facility. There are several other park resources in the Newport Coast — these include five "view parks" along Newport Coast Drive and San Joaquin Hills Road and the open space resources of Buck Gully, Los Trancos Canyon, and Muddy Creek Canyon. Today, the County of Orange holds title to the parks and to much of Buck Gully. County Newport Coast View Parks and Buck Gully April 26, 2005 Page 2 maintenance of these areas tends to be somewhat limited, since the County's Harbors, Beaches, and Parks District's (HBP) funding is stretched thin. In February 2004, County staff members Eric Jessen and Harry Huggins presented the following information to the Newport Coast Advisory Committee (NCAC) about the View Parks and about the open space lands. Huggins and Jessen explained that: • A joint powers agency called the Coastal Greenbelt Authority (CGA) administers the open space network between Aliso -Wood Canyon Regional Park and Buck Gully, including Buck Gully, Los Trancos and Muddy Canyons. The CGA consists of the County of Orange and the cities of Irvine, Laguna Hills, Laguna Beach, Laguna Woods, and Aliso Viejo. The CGA assures consistent enforcement guidelines, educational programs, and habitat protection /restoration across the land called the Nature Reserve of Orange County (NROC). • The CGA's voting board includes agencies that have contributed (in fee) land to NROC. Newport Beach is today an ex officio member of the CGA, because we do not own any affected land in fee. We would become voting members of the CGA if we were to accept title to the view park lands or Buck Gully. • The NROC includes lands from the Santa Ana Mountains to the coast, and includes territory that is within the Natural Communities Conservation Plan (NCCP). The NCCP is a reserve that includes mitigation areas and protected habitat that allowed for development to occur, including the Newport Coast. • The CGA Board makes determinations about maintenance, access, and trail development in the CGA - controlled lands. • Los Trancos and Muddy Canyons will eventually have accessible trails within them, but only upon completion of certain grading in the remaining planning areas within the Newport Coast Local Coastal Program. • The five Newport Coast View Parks are meant for passive viewing of the nearby open space — they are not intended to be lushly landscaped. Irrigation pipes that exist there are temporary — water is only provided to start the plants and in some cases restricted to keep plant balance. • View park maintenance today consists of quarterly trimming of the California native materials planted within the parks. • The County's maintenance and patrol of the parks is limited — Jessen told the NCAC that "there are not a lot of resources — only 2 rangers in the park system" for maintenance and patrol of the parks. • HBP Director Kevin Thomas tells us that maintenance costs for the lands are about $17,300.00 annually. • Maintenance and patrol of Buck Gully is also limited today — the County does some brush clearance work along Harbor View Hills using money from a one -time $20K "endowment" from the Irvine Company to do this work. View Parks. Newport Coast residents have expressed concern in the past about the level of maintenance of these facilities, especially the five view parks. When they did, Newport Coast View Parks and Buck Gully April 26, 2005 Page 3 we approached Supervisor Tom Wilson (who represents the Newport Coast) to talk about whether these parks and lands could be transferred over to the City. He agreed that they should and worked with County HBP to accomplish the transfer. On February 10, 2005, HBP Director Thomas mailed a letter to us asking to "advance the process of transferring ownership" of the view parks (letter attached). His letter also suggested transferring the administrative authority over and ownership of several open space easements (scenic preservation easements and resource preservation easements) associated with much of the developed portions of the Newport Coast. Thomas notes in his letter, too, that wireless telecom revenue from facilities in the parks would transfer to us as well. Currently, the revenue is about $32,400 per year. We have already been approached by one wireless provider to put another site in one of the view parks. Because of the net positive revenue result and because we believe that these view parks should be maintained by the City (likely to be done via the same contract that administers the Newport Coast HOA -owned lands for the City), we believe that we should accept fee ownership of the view parks. San Joaquin Hills Road View Parks Newport Coast View Parks and Buck Gully April 26, 2005 Page 4 Newport Coast Drive View Parks Buck Gully. Acceptance of Buck Gully is a more challenging and costly concept. Today, not much maintenance is done in the upper Gully — but as open space, not much is required. Brush clearance and drainage facility maintenance will be the largest ongoing expense in the Gully. Should the Gully eventually be opened to additional public use, we would incur trail development and maintenance costs. Further, like many urban streambeds, Buck Gully has water quality problems for which the City already is in part responsible. I believe that these costs — while undetermined today — are outweighed by the benefit of having jurisdiction over the Gully, With fee ownership, we can control the level and scope of brush clearance, we can (if we choose) establish specific fuel modification zones (FMZ), and we can effectively implement some of our ideas for improving water quality in the Gully without having to seek another agency's permission. Any activity in the Gully — FMZ, brush clearance, and more — will still have to have input by and be compliant with the CGA and its requirements. Newport Coast View Parks and Buck Gully April 26, 2005 Page 5 Open Space Easements. Accepting control of the open space easements (shown on an exhibit to this staff report) means that our Public Works Department (and Building and Planning) will be responsible for enforcing the use restrictions of these easements, just as we protect and enforce other easements (utility, etc) across the City today. Generally, the easements prohibit development and construction in the properties in order to preserve views and habitat. Committee Action: The Newport Coast Advisory Committee unanimously approved an action in February 2004 that asked the City to take title to and maintenance responsibility over the five view parks in the Newport Coast. Environmental Review: City Council's approval of this action is Categorically Exempt from CEQA under Class 25 (Transfers of Interest in Land to Preserve Open Space). Upon completion of the transfer paperwork, we will file this categorical exemption. Public Notice: This agenda item has been noticed according to the Brown Act (72 hours in advance of the public meeting at which the City Council considers the item). Funding Availability: If these lands are accepted before the FY 2005 -06 Fiscal Year, the pending budget would have to be adopted accordingly, with both revenue and expenses logged. At this time, the revenue associated with the properties appears to outweigh the expenses. Submitted by: Dave Assistant City Manager Attachments: Resolution 2005 - Map of Affected Lands February 10, 2005 Letter from Kevin Thomas Newport Coast View Parks and Buck Gully April 26, 2005 Page 6 RESOLUTION 2005- A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH RELATING TO COUNTY -HELD LANDS AND EASEMENTS IN BUCK GULLY AND THE NEWPORT COAST WHEREAS, the City of Newport Beach and the County of Orange have worked cooperatively to administer activities and lands in the city's formerly- unincorporated southeastern region, including the Newport Coast; and WHEREAS, the Newport Coast and Buck Gully include scenic easements and properties owned and managed by the County of Orange are included in the county's network of wilderness lands and open space; and WHEREAS, Buck Gully and the resource preservation easement (OS 55E 109) are enrolled within the Natural Communities Conservation Program (NCCP) of the Nature Reserve of Orange County (NROC); and WHEREAS, the City annexed land in the Newport Coast effective January 1, 2002, while the County retained ownership of many properties, including land in Buck Gully and five view parks (three along Newport Coast Drive and two along San Joaquin Hills Road); and WHEREAS, Buck Gully, an open space area with maintenance needs commensurate with wilderness lands, is an area that the City seeks to maintain in order consistent with the NCCP and NROC to protect the region's water quality and limit potential damage from erosion and wildland fires; and WHEREAS, the Coastal Greenbelt Authority (CGA) is a cooperative entity that assists in the management and administration of these open space lands; and WHEREAS, fee ownership of land within the CGA's boundaries is necessary for a CGA member to have voting authority at the CGA; and WHEREAS, both the County and the City are desirous of transferring certain scenic easements, a resource preservation easement, and fee ownership of lands (as shown in Exhibit A to this Resolution) from the County to the City to allow the City to manage these easements and lands and to cause the City to become a voting member of the CGA; and WHEREAS, the City believes that such transference of easements and lands shall include the maintenance responsibility for these same easements and lands and shall include any revenues now held by the County but associated with the lands or Newport Coast View Parks and Buck Gully April 26, 2005 Page 7 easements, including fuel modification or brush clearance annuities and revenue from wireless telecommunications facilities; now, therefore be it RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Newport Beach that it hereby authorizes the acceptance of certain scenic easements, a resource preservation easement, and fee ownership of lands in Buck Gully and the Newport Coast (as shown on Exhibit A to this Resolution) and be it further RESOLVED that it hereby authorizes City staff to work with the County to transfer these easements and lands in an expeditious manner; and be it further RESOLVED that it hereby authorizes the City's participation as a voting member in the Coastal Greenbelt Authority (CGA) and the Nature Reserve of Orange County (NROC); and be it further RESOLVED that it hereby directs City staff to negotiate in good faith with the County to achieve the transfer of currently- dedicated maintenance funds (including fuel modification zone or brush clearance funds) and lease agreements and lease revenue from wireless telecommunications facilities to the City. ADOPTED this 26 "' day of April, 2005. STEVE BROMBERG Mayor of Newport Beach ATTEST: LAVONNE HARKLESS City Clerk FO RD F-0. CANYON D?- Property to be Conveyed to the City of Newport Beach SAN JOAQUIN PJ qpt) ON tr 2B lb %�o N % % 102 0 1,000 2.000 MTTTSiiiiiiiia Feet Exhibit A City of Irvine Q OS 568 1 OS 55.E 101 I k — %Mt GS 62B . 0 6 B Fee Park Parcel OScenic Preservation Easement OResource Preser Uon Easement City Boundary Newport Beach Q OS 568 1 OS 55.E 101 I k — %Mt GS 62B . OS 62B AF Par 101.01 116 CeSGW D AND PRWUcuD BY q 0 6 B City of 1 6 Newport Beach °5628 AF Per 101.01 OS 62B ET'll 109 4 O OS 62B 117 0 6 B O 10 OS62B 664 AF S62 113 1115 112 S 62B OS 62B AF Par 101.01 116 CeSGW D AND PRWUcuD BY q ,$�` °k COUNTY OF ORANGE V to o `� RESOURCES & DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT DEPARTMENT 9LIFOR� February 10, 2005 David Kiff Assistant City Manager City of Newport Beach 3300 Newport Boulevard Newport Beach, CA 92660 Subject: Transfer of Ownership of Buck Gully and View Parks Dear Mr. Kiff, Bryan Speeg /e, Director 300 N. Flower Street Santa Ana, CA P.O. Box 4048 Santa Ana, CA 92702 -4048 Tcicphonc: (714) 834 -2300 Fax: (714) 834 -5188 As we have previously discussed and in view of preparing for FY 05 -06, it is time for the City and the County to advance the process of transferring ownership from the County to the City of several parcels within the City of Newport Beach. RDMD /HBP is proposing that the County and the City work together to complete this transfer within the next five months acknowledging both are in the process of preparing their respective 05/06 budgets. The County proposes to transfer the following properties that, while owned by the County, appear to provide primarily local rather than regional public benefit. (Attachment 1) 1. Buck Gully, including two view parks a. Canyon View Park - Parcel 1111 b. Harbor Watch Park - Parcel 1112 c. Adjacent open space easements 2. Three view parks along Newport Coast Drive a. Uppermost —Parcel 1114 b. Middle Park — Parcel 1115 c. Large lower Park w /parking — Parcel 1116 3. Open Space Easements North of Newport Coast Drive These areas are depicted on attached map (Attachment II). Our current annual operations and maintenance expenses for these approximates $17,340. The "cell site" lease at the gazebo in Canyon View Park is also proposed to be assigned to the city; this lease currently provides $ 32,400 in annual rental income. HBP Program Management staff are directed to work with the City on this effort and will contact your office in the near future for an appointment to discuss details, obtain your input and arrange a site review. As always, please feel free to contact me (714) 834 -6666 at your convenience. D. Kiff Conveyances Page 2 of 2 Thank you very much in advance for your cooperation in this matter. If there are any questions in the meantime, respective City staff should telephone Eric Jessen at 714- 834 -6786 or Harry Huggins at 714 - 834 -6790. Very tray yours, n G. Thomas. Director arbors, Beaches and Parks Attachments (2) cc: Supervisor Tom Wilson, District 5 Vicki L. 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