Meeting Notice and Agenda
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MEETING NOTICE AND AGENDA COMMITTEE ON BINATIONAL REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES (COBRO) The Committee on Binational Regional Opportunities (COBRO) may take action on any item appearing on this agenda. Tuesday, May 8, 2007 3 – 4:30 p.m. PLEASE NOTE CHANGE OF LOCATION CANACO Tijuana Xavier Villaurrutia #1271 Zona Rio Baja California, Mexico Staff Contact: Héctor Vanegas (619) 699-1972 AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS • REPORT ON SANDAG’S ANNUAL BINATIONAL EVENT MOBILE SEMINARS – CROSS BORDER COLLABORATIVE PLANNING • DRAFT OTAY MESA – MESA DE OTAY BINATIONAL CORRIDOR STRATEGIC PLAN: COMMENTS AND PROPOSED RESPONSES • GOOD NEIGHBOR ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD’S (GNEB) TENTH REPORT: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND BORDER SECURITY ON THE U.S. – MEXICO BORDER MISSION STATEMENT The Committee on Binational Regional Opportunities (COBRO) will advise the Borders Committee of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) concerning both short- and long-term binational related activities, issues, and actions; provide input regarding binational border-related planning and development; and identify ways to assist and coordinate with existing efforts in the binational area. The COBRO will serve as a working group to the SANDAG Borders Committee to facilitate a better understanding of the binational border-related issues and needs of the California-Baja California region. under meetings on www.sandag.org e agenda can be forwarded to SANDAG via the Welcome to SANDAG! Members of the public may speak to the COBRO on any item at the time that the Committee is considering the item. Please complete a Speaker’s Slip which is located in the rear of the room and then present the slip to Committee staff. Also, members of the public are invited y to address the Committee on any issue under the agenda item entitled Public Comments/Communications. Speakers are limited to three minutes. The COBRO may take action on y Mesa Port of Entr any item appearing on the agenda. Ota This agenda and related staff reports can be accessed at SR 905 SANDAG’s Web site. Public comments regarding th 5 United Statesxico juana 0 y Mé e-mail comment form also available on the Web site. E-mail8 comments should be received no later CANACO Ti than noon, two days prior to the COBRO meeting. Xavier Villaurrutia #1271, Zona del Río San Ysidro Port of Entr uana, B.C., México 22320 I-5 Tij Línea SENTRI c o adre Kino m Ave. P é t h u a Paseo Centenario u C . d v l Via Oriente B uana j a i c n Via Poniente as de Ti z y e e Pla as de Rosarito d u y n g e Paseo de los Héroes í r Pla p d e o d n R Ave. 1° I . L e . Ave. 2° v A A o Ave. 3° o o c p i o Blvd. Sánchez Taboada as m P R n Ave. 4° li a a e o a a c S t í . ón i d e O Ave. 5° P lv r c an B t g u l n e i o Ave. 6° u v N e Q R Ave. 8° Ave. 7° . e v Ave. 9° Ave. 10° o r A e Ave. 11° d a M Rosarito Ensenada liente a Ca . Agu Blvd Downtown & Zona del Río 2 COMMITTEE ON BINATIONAL REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Tuesday, May 8, 2007 ITEM # RECOMMENDATION 1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS +2. MEETING SUMMARY OF APRIL 3, 2007 APPROVE 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS/COMMUNICATIONS AND MEMBER INFORMATION COMMENTS Each speaker is limited to three minutes. +4. UPCOMING EVENTS INFORMATION REPORT ITEMS (#5 through #7) +5. REPORT ON SANDAG’S BINATIONAL MOBILE SEMINARS DISCUSSION / (Hector Vanegas, SANDAG) POSSIBLE ACTION Staff will summarize the outcome of the two mobile seminars conducted in February and March 2007 within the framework of the Otay Mesa – Mesa de Otay Binational Corridor Strategic Plan effort. The attached report describes the sites visited in South San Diego County and Tijuana and topics discussed. +6. DRAFT OTAY MESA – MESA DE OTAY BINATIONAL DISCUSSION / CORRIDOR STRATEGIC PLAN: COMMENTS AND POSSIBLE ACTION PROPOSED RESPONSES (Elisa Arias and Ron Saenz, SANDAG; Luis Ruben Rodriguez, IMPlan) The Draft Otay Mesa – Mesa de Otay Strategic Plan was released for public review and comments on March 6, 2007. Comments from stakeholders are shown along with proposed responses in the attached report. +7. GOOD NEIGHBOR ENVIRONMENTAL BOARD’S (GNEB) INFORMATION TENTH REPORT: ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AND BORDER SECURITY ON THE U.S. – MEXICO BORDER (Paul Ganster, Ph D., Chair of the Good Neighbor Environmental Board and COBRO Chair) The Good Neighbor Environmental Board is an independent federal advisory committee. It advises the President and Congress of the United States on good neighbor practices along the U.S. border with Mexico. This report describes the environmental impacts connected with efforts to secure the border. 3 ITEM # RECOMMENDATION 8. NEXT MEETING DATE AND LOCATION INFORMATION The next meeting of the Committee on Binational Regional Opportunities will be held on Tuesday, June 5, 2007, at 3:00 p.m. at SANDAG. + next to an item indicates an attachment 4 San Diego Association of Governments COMMITTEE ON BINATIONAL REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES May 8, 2007 AGENDA ITEM NO.: 2 Action Requested: APPROVE COMMITTEE ON BINATIONAL REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES File Number 3003200 (COBRO) SUMMARY OF APRIL 3, 2007 1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS The April 3, 2007, COBRO meeting was called to order by Co-Chair Ricardo Pineda. The meeting was held at SANDAG. Members present were: Consul Ricardo Pineda, Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego; Francisco Patiño, South County Economic Development Council; Carlos de Orduña, Asociación Industrial de la Maquiladora; Sergio Pallares, Caltrans; Gustavo Perez, City of Chula Vista; George Woodhead, City of Tecate; Edgar Fernandez, City of Tijuana; Lina Ojeda, COLEF; Yolanda Walther-Meade, Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad, A.C.; Angelika Villagrana, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce; Dave Fege, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Megan Jones, County of San Diego; Thomas Currie and Jason M-B Wells, San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce; Clay Phillips, Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve; and James Snider, Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Advisory Members present were: Julieta Mendez, International Community Foundation. 2. MEETING SUMMARY Angelika Villagrana, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, entertained a motion to approve the March 6, 2007, meeting summary. Yolanda Walther-Meade, Fundación Internacional de la Comunidad, seconded the motion. The meeting summary was approved. 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS/COMMUNICATIONS AND MEMBER COMMENTS Angelika Villagrana, San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, thanked SANDAG and IMPlan for the two Mobile Seminars held in February and March 2007. The two Seminars offered a great deal of information and valuable insight in binational issues in the Otay Mesa planning area. Ricardo Pineda, Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego, added that these two Mobile Seminars were a success. 5 4. UPCOMING EVENTS SANDAG staff provided an attachment for the upcoming events. 5. REPORT ON CITY OF TIJUANA’S SUBCOMMITTEE ON BINATIONAL AFFAIRS (SANDAG Staff performed consecutive translation in English) Councilmember Edgar Fernandez, City of Tijuana, thanked the COBRO for the generous invitation to speak at the meeting. The Tijuana’s Sub-Committee on Binational Affairs was formed under the umbrella of the COPLADEM, Comité de Planeación para el Desarrollo Municipal (the City of Tijuana’s Planning Committee for Municipal Development), to establish a forum where binational academic institutions and businesses could participate in binational issues. The Sub- Committee meets the last Wednesday of every month and has met eight times since its creation in May 2006. Councilmember Fernandez pointed out that academic institutions, local, state and federal agencies and chambers of commerce actively participate in the Sub-Committee in a variety of binational issues such as the economic development, Ports of Entry (POE) and the environment. One important issue being addressed in the Sub-Committee is the collaboration between the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) and the Institute for the Administration and Appraisal of National Property (INDAABIN), in the reconfiguration of the San Ysidro POE. In 2005, the City Council of Tijuana approved the ‘Declaratoria del Destino para la localización del Puerto Fronterizo denominado Otay Este II de la Delegación Mesa de Otay, de la Ciudad de Tijuana, Baja California’. This official Declaration gives public notice that the City’s Administración Urbana (Urban Development Permit Department) was granted authority to enforce restrictive land use controls in order to reserve and protect land intended for the future East Otay Mesa POE. Councilmember Fernandez stated that this Declaration will be in effect for the next five years. Other issues addressed by the Sub-Committee include its support of the Otay Mesa – Mesa de Otay Binational Strategic Plan and collaboration with the San Diego County Office of Education (SDCOE) in developing a binational technology exchange program at the middle school and high school levels. Elsa Saxod, Binational Watershed Advisory Council, asked whether they would be able to extend the five-year land acquisition for the future Otay II POE. Councilmember Fernandez pointed out that this Declaration can be extended for another five years. The next process will be to expropriate the land and buy it from the owners. 6. UPDATE ON THE CALIFORNIA BIODIVERSITY COUNCIL’S “BIODIVERSITY ALONG THE BORDER” COMMITTEE Janet Fairbanks, consultant to the California Biodiversity Council, provided an update on the recently formed “Biodiversity along the Border” Committee. Ms. Fairbanks summarized the staff report and provided some additional updates Ms. Fairbanks stated that the CBC is exploring the possibility to create a binational protected area in Mexico and align it with the Anza Borrego State Park. This project could be seen as a biosphere or sister protected area between the two countries. 6 In terms of next steps, the “Biodiversity along the Border” Committee will meet in the following months and will present the final recommendations to the CBC in summer 2007.