Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council
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Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council DRAFT Minutes Big Sur Multi-Agency Advisory Council FOR APRIL 9, 2021 CONDUCTED VIRTUALLY A video recording on the meeting can be accessed online here. Approximate HH:MM:SS start for some agenda items have been noted. I. CALL TO ORDER Supervisor Mary Adams called the meeting to order at 10:00am. She reviewed the meeting format, features, and processes. II. ROLL CALL and INTRODUCTIONS (00:02:37) Member Agencies Member Name/Representative Big Sur Resident, North Coast Martha Karstens Big Sur Resident, South Coast Bree Harlan Big Sur Chamber of Commerce Rick Aldinger Community Association of Big Sur Butch Kronlund Monterey County Planning Department John Dugan Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District Caine Camarillo California Coastal Commission Linda Locklin Caltrans Sara von Schwind California State Parks and Recreation Marcos Ortega Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Karen Grimmer United States Forest Service Tim Short 5th District, Monterey County Mary Adams 30th District, California State Assembly Dominic Dursa 17th District, California State Senate John Laird 20th District, United States Congress Jimmy Panetta III. APPROVAL OF THE JANUARY 15, 2021 MINUTES (00:05:13) Martha Karstens requests an update under her report to remove the comment about the church. Request approved. Motion by Butch Kronlund, Second by Martha Karstens, motion passes with member Rick Aldinger abstaining. IV. REPORT FROM MEMBER AGENCY (00:07:49) a. 17th District, California State Senate Senator Laird reports that the Morgan Hill legislative meeting is at the same time as today’s BSMAAC meeting, so he will need to hop off early, although his Monterey Policy Advisor, Kate Daniels, is on the call and will remain on the call. Senator Laird reports on meeting with state agencies regarding Big Sur, including resource management and access as issues to be aware of. Newly sworn in State Parks Director has been briefed by Senator Laird. He reports on issues pertaining to the lighthouse, Big Sur Byway Organization, California Coastal Trail, legislative office law enforcement taskforce. More generally, all senate members received an additional staff member to address EDD casework issues. Senator Laird reports on legislation he is leading regarding the EDD and recession plans. He brings to this group’s attention a few of the bills he has introduced or is partnering on: wildfire planning, sea level rise, range land protection. Lastly, he is hosting a virtual town hall on April 29th with State Insurance Commissioner regarding homeowner insurance and wildfire. V. NEW BUSINESS a. California Coastal Trail, Community Association of Big Sur (20 minute presentation + question/comments) - Butch Kronlund (00:16:16) Butch Kronlund presented a power point presentation regarding the California Coastal Trail. In response to the last BSMAAC meeting (held on January 15th) Tim Duff from the California Coastal Conservancy announced a map of the California Coastal Trail (CCT) would be released. This alarmed the CABS Executive Committee which resulted in the preparation of the following presentation. The Conservancy is proposing a “Braided” trail of networks while the community and CABS is proposing a single alignment. Over the last 7 years, the community representatives, elected representatives, and public agencies came together to design and plan for the CCT alignment. The key initiative of the planning effort is to use only public lands and existing public easements to align the trail. The power point includes visuals of segments via a map and photos of the views as you are on the trail. There were many attendees of the BSMAAC who used the “chat” function to comment and approximately 16 attendees shared their “support for a single alignment, community based planning process.” Public Comment on Agenda item V. a. • Martha Karstens: Who is doing maintenance on the trail? Butch answers: Multiple agencies with the north end maintained by the Regional Park District, the middle maintained by the US Forest Service, along Highway 1 is maintained by Caltrans. • Question from Q&A: Will bicycles be allowed on the trail? Butch responds: it depends on the agency who maintain the portion of the trail. • Rick Aldinger: The proposed alignment looks great, and urges all stakeholders to commit to managing and maintaining the trail effectively. We want to make sure as we invite more people to share Big Sur, the entire trail system is managed. • Linda Locklin: Coastal Access Program Manager for the Ca Coastal Commission. Shows appreciation to working group with such a huge piece of geography. Clarifies the For minutes and agendas from the last three calendar years, please visit: http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/planning/cca/BSMAAC/bsma_main.htm mapping project from the Conservancy and the Commission will go to the full Ca Coastal Commission in May. The mapping project shows where the existing segments are. It does not show where the trail should go. According to the legislation, we know it is a braided trail system. The Coastal Commission is appreciative of the work of the local planning group and will consider using the inland trails as a potential piece of the braided network of trails. Linda reports on the importance of Caltrans as one of the four agencies responsible for maintaining the trail. Caltrans is obligated to participate in parts of the Coastal Trail where the right of way is concerned. If the trail is only up on the ridgetop, Caltrans won’t see the nexus of their bridge projects or highway projects as needing to complete pieces of the Coastal Trail. • Tim Short: The Forest Service looks forward to receiving the proposal and working with the community. As a reminder, any segments that go through Forest Service land will be subject to the environmental review process. • Sara von Schwind: Caltrans is committed to the active transportation plan the identifies the needed gaps, but we are not proposing to approve any trail alignment. We recognize as one of the agencies the trail will be mostly funded and maintained by others, but we see this as a partnership and we are all in. Many highway projects are directly involved with the trail. • Q&A: Are horses permitted? Butch responds that it will depend on the agency who oversees the section of trail in question. • Q&A: Total distance? Butch responds he does not have a confirmed number for distance. • Q&A: How will the new trail be funded? Butch responds this could be answered in greater detail if there were more time, but it again depends on increase in usage could push more funding towards the trail. • Q&A: What measures would be taken to prevent trail users from crossing through private land, and second question, how will trail users who start campfires be monitored and addressed? Butch responds it will depend again on who manages the land. Butch mentions legislation titled the Save Our Forest Act from Congressman Panetta that if passed, would help provide more funding to help manage lands Monterey District Los Padres National Forest. • Pam Silkwood: Representing El Sur Ranch, making a comment about the braided trail system. Pam notes she disagrees with Linda Locklin’s comment about the braided system is a requirement of the legislation and that this requirement was stricken from the language of the bill. Pam would like to ask Linda Locklin if she can provide, in law, that the braided trail is allowed. • Steve Martin: Speaking as a Board member of the Mal Paso Creek Property Association representing 225 homeowners, expressing support for a community-based planning process and a single alignment. The draft, specifically Segment 1 of the draft, is the proposed alignment that is supported as the preferred alignment of the trail. • Michael Wisner: Vice President Carmel Highlands Association to express support for a single alignment. For minutes and agendas from the last three calendar years, please visit: http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/planning/cca/BSMAAC/bsma_main.htm • Carissa Chappellet: Lend verbal support for the single alignment and community process. • Supervisor Adams: Asks what will be the next step? Does the community have an opportunity to share their feedback again? Does this need to go to the California Coastal Commission? Butch responds, looking for further feedback from the community on the trail. Additionally, looking forward to working with Senator Laird and California Coastal Conservancy. • Kate Daniels: It would benefit panelists and attendees to understand we are at an impasse, we are in the middle to negotiate to get through the difference of a braided network of trails or a single alignment. Feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] b. Monterey Bay National Heritage Area (15 minute presentation + questions/comments) - Congressman Jimmy Panetta & Monterey Bay National Heritage Area working group (00:59:17) Congressman Panetta introduces three community members Mike Dawson, Bill Kampe, and Rick Hanks. Mr. Panetta describes this National Heritage Area (NHA) for the Monterey Bay would include the three counties Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, and Monterey County. An NHA is not a National Park or a National Monument. It celebrates a large, lived-in landscape of land that has cultural significance. It is a place designated by Congress where natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography. A National Heritage Area can also be a mechanism for limited federal funding. Congressman Panetta is considering legislation that would complete a feasibility study to see if the Central Coast, which his Congressional District is, could be determined a National Heritage Area. Mike Dawson, Bill Kampe, and Rick Hanks present additional information regarding the National Heritage Area for all three counties. The presentation includes sensitivity and respect for concerns of over-tourism in Big Sur.