STATE OF CALIFORNIA—NATURAL RESOURCES AGENCY EDMUND G. BROWN JR., GOVERNOR CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION CENTRAL COAST DISTRICT OFFICE 725 FRONT STREET, SUITE 300 SANTA CRUZ, CA 95060 PHONE: (831) 427-4863 FAX: (831) 427 -4877 WEB: WWW.COASTAL.CA.GOV Th13.1a Filed: 4/18/2018 Action Deadline: 10/15/2018 Staff: M. Watson - SC Staff Report: 4/26/2018 Hearing Date: 5/10/2018 STAFF REPORT: CDP HEARING Application Number: 3-18-0195 Applicant: California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Project Location: Highway 1 between Hurricane Point and Rocky Creek Bridge (post miles 57.5 to 60.6) in Big Sur, Monterey County. Project Description: Widen highway travel lanes and shoulders; install new guardrails and replace existing guardrails; construct catch slopes and reinforced slopes; replace culvert and storm water inlets, all to improve Highway 1 safety at this location. Staff Recommendation: Approval with Conditions. SUMMARY OF STAFF RECOMMENDATION Caltrans proposes to construct safety improvements along a 1.5-mile stretch of Highway 1 in Big Sur near Hurricane Point. In an effort to reduce the number and severity of collisions and provide a safer travelling experience, Caltrans proposes to increase the average lane widths from roughly 10.5 feet to 12 feet, and to increase the average paved shoulder widths from two feet to four feet throughout the project’s boundaries. The proposed improvements include: 1) installation of new and replacement metal beam guardrail to improve safety; 2) lane widening to 12 feet with four- foot-wide shoulders; 3) repaving; 4) replacement of an 18-inch storm water culvert; 5) extension of a 6-foot x 7-foot box culvert located at a highway undercrossing; and 6) related development. 3-18-0195 (Hurricane Point Safety Improvements) The project limits extend from Hurricane Point in the south to Rocky Creek in the north, between Highway 1 post miles 57.5 and 60.6. In the middle of these two locations is 1,200 acres of coastal and upland property owned and maintained by the U.S. Forest Service, and known as the Brazil Ranch. The Brazil Ranch was purchased by the federal government in 2002 and provides access to upland trails above the project site. The primary issues raised by the application include the project’s consistency with the Coastal Act’s public access, visual resource, and water quality protection policies. Staff has worked closely with Caltrans to address these issues, and project conditions are identified to preserve public parking as much as possible, to avoid and minimize visual issues, and to appropriately address temporary construction issues. In addition, Caltrans has agreed to provide a $100,000 contribution toward California Coastal Trail (CCT) improvements in the area to offset public access impacts, as well as to further Caltrans and Commission goals relative to the CCT. Caltrans is in agreement with the staff recommendation, and staff recommends that the Commission approve a conditioned CDP for the project. The motion to act on this recommendation is found on page 4 below. 2 3-18-0195 (Hurricane Point Safety Improvements) TABLE OF CONTENTS I. MOTION AND RESOLUTION ............................................................................................ 4 II. STANDARD CONDITIONS.................................................................................................. 4 III. SPECIAL CONDITIONS ...................................................................................................... 5 IV. FINDINGS AND DECLARATIONS .................................................................................... 8 A. PROJECT LOCATION AND DESCRIPTION ................................................................................ 8 B. STANDARD OF REVIEW ...................................................................................................... 10 C. PUBLIC ACCESS AND RECREATION .................................................................................... 10 D. VISUAL RESOURCES ........................................................................................................... 18 E. WATER QUALITY ............................................................................................................... 21 F. CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) .................................................... 22 APPENDICES Appendix A – Substantive File Documents Appendix B – Staff Contacts with Agencies and Groups EXHIBITS Exhibit 1 – Project Location Maps Exhibit 2 – Project Plans Exhibit 3 – Photographs of Project Area Exhibit 4 – Midwest Guardrail System 3 3-18-0195 (Hurricane Point Safety Improvements) I. MOTION AND RESOLUTION Staff recommends that the Commission, after public hearing, approve a coastal development permit for the proposed development. To implement this recommendation, staff recommends a YES vote on the following motion. Passage of this motion will result in approval of the CDP as conditioned and adoption of the following resolution and findings. The motion passes only by affirmative vote of a majority of the Commissioners present. Motion: I move that the Commission approve Coastal Development Permit Number 3- 18-0195 pursuant to the staff recommendation, and I recommend a yes vote. Resolution to Approve CDP: The Commission hereby approves Coastal Development Permit Number 3-18-0195 and adopts the findings set forth below on grounds that the development as conditioned will be in conformity with the policies of Chapter 3 of the Coastal Act. Approval of the permit complies with the California Environmental Quality Act because either 1) feasible mitigation measures and/or alternatives have been incorporated to substantially lessen any significant adverse effects of the development on the environment, or 2) there are no further feasible mitigation measures or alternatives that would substantially lessen any significant adverse impacts of the development on the environment. II. STANDARD CONDITIONS This permit is granted subject to the following standard conditions: 1. Notice of Receipt and Acknowledgment. The permit is not valid and development shall not commence until a copy of the permit, signed by the Permittee or authorized agent, acknowledging receipt of the permit and acceptance of the terms and conditions, is returned to the Commission office. 2. Expiration. If development has not commenced, the permit will expire two years from the date on which the Commission voted on the application. Development shall be pursued in a diligent manner and completed in a reasonable period of time. Application for extension of the permit must be made prior to the expiration date. 3. Interpretation. Any questions of intent of interpretation of any condition will be resolved by the Executive Director or the Commission. 4. Assignment. The permit may be assigned to any qualified person, provided assignee files with the Commission an affidavit accepting all terms and conditions of the permit. 5. Terms and Conditions Run with the Land. These terms and conditions shall be perpetual, and it is the intention of the Commission and the Permittee to bind all future owners and possessors of the subject property to the terms and conditions. 4 3-18-0195 (Hurricane Point Safety Improvements) III. SPECIAL CONDITIONS 1. As-Built Plans. WITHIN THREE MONTHS OF COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION, the Permittee shall submit two copies of As-Built Plans for Executive Director review and approval showing all development authorized by this CDP, all property lines, and all highway elements (e.g., road travel lanes and shoulders, parking locations, culverts and storm water inlets, outlets, and associated rock slope protection, guardrails, catch slopes and reinforced slopes). The As-Built Plans shall be substantially consistent with the submitted project plans (titled Project Plans…In Monterey County Near Big Sur From 1.0 Mile South of the Bixby Creek Bridge to 0.3 Miles South of the Rocky Creek Bridge and dated received in the Coastal Commission’s Central Coast District Office on April 6, 2018; see Exhibit 2) as modified by the terms and conditions of this CDP, including with respect to public parking (see Special Condition 2) and visual resource treatments (see Special Condition 4). The As- Built Plans shall include a graphic scale and all elevations shall be described in relation to National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD). The As-Built Plans shall include color photographs (in hard copy and jpg format) that clearly show the as-built project, and that are accompanied by a site plan that notes the location of each photographic viewpoint and the date and time of each photograph. At a minimum, the photographs shall include a sufficient number of viewpoints as to provide complete photographic coverage of the permitted Highway 1 widening and related features at this location. Such photographs shall be at a scale that allows comparisons to be made with the naked eye between photographs taken in different years and from the same vantage points. 2. Public Parking Plan. PRIOR TO COMMENCEMENT OF CONSTRUCTION, the Permittee shall submit two copies of a Public Parking Plan for Executive Director review and approval that identifies publicly available vehicle parking areas that shall be provided on the seaward side of Highway 1 as follows (see also Exhibit 1): a. At least 20 to 30 public parking spaces within the southbound Highway 1 pullout north of Hurricane Point (at or about PM 58.5). b. At least 15 public parking spaces within the southbound Highway 1 right-of-way at the former Brazil Ranch