ABSTRACT: On June 20, 2019, the
CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION CENTRAL COAST AREA received an
APPEAL FROM COASTAL PERMIT DECISION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, involving Consideration of a coastal development permit and ordinance modifying the Beach Fire Management Pilot Program to prohibit wood-fuled fires on Carmel Beach and authorize propane-fueled fires only for a period of one year by appellants LaNette Zimmerman, Dr Roy Thomas, Judy Refuerzo and Jeanne McCulloch
. A
SYNOPSIS of
APPEAL FROM COASTAL PERMIT DECISION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT is featured and the
APPEAL FROM COASTAL PERMIT DECISION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT document copy is embedded.
SYNOPSIS
APPEAL FROM COASTAL PERMIT DECISION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Appellant(s) LaNette Zimmerman
Dr Roy Thomas
Judy Refuerzo
Jeanne McCulloch
Decision Being Appealed
1. Name of
local/port government:
City of Carmel
by the Sea
2. Brief
description of development being appealed:
Consideration of
a coastal development permit and ordinance modifying the Beach Fire Management
Pilot Program to prohibit wood-fuled fires on Carmel Beach and authorize
propane-fueled fires only for a period of one year.
3. Development's
location (street address, assessor's parcel no., cross street, etc.):
Carmel by the
Sea Beach between 10th Avenue and Martin Way, Monterey County
Reasons Supporting This Appeal
The City Council of Carmel-by-the-Sea voted on June 4, 2019 to change the Beach Fire Management Pilot Program, in effect, cancelling all wood fires and implementing a propane-only alternative. This action was taken without seeking approval of the Coastal Commission for this change to the existing LCP. Therefore, this appeal is presented to the Commission for consideration to revoke this change and continue the present Beach Fire Management Pilot program in its current form until the end of the Pilot, which is November 30, 2020.
In addition, some other items to consider:
The City of Carmel by the Sea didn't properly notice item 11(CDP 19-194) under Public Hearings for the June 4th City Council Meeting (see attachment 4). For example: item 10 #2 clearly states waive reading in full. However, item 11 does not mention waiving the reading- but inside the packet states "Waive the first reading and introduce an Ordinance. Also, immediately before the vote Councilwoman Reimers amended the Ordinance to change the hours from 4pm-10pm to10am-10pm and the Council did not open the floor to public discussion.
The City of Carmel did not do a CEQA analysis on the use of propane only.
A propane only Ordinance for one year will severely limit the use of the beach during the late afternoon and evening hours. Not everyone one can afford to purchase a propane tank in addition to the propane fueled fire device. These can be very expensive and as such limit people from enjoying the beach. If visitors have traveled from a distance to visit the beach only to find out that wood burning fires are not allowed and even though they have the means to purchase a tank and device, the stores may already be closed or they may not know where to go to purchase such a device. If they do know about the Ordinance, they may not feel comfortable traveling with a large propane tank in their car for a long distance drive.
The current CDP approved Beach Fire Management Pilot Program is consistent with the LCP and does not expire until Nov 30, 2020. The City should see the current Pilot Program through to completion before trying a new program. The entire Council agreed during the June 4th meeting that the current program is working: improving air quality and keeping the beach sand clean. In Mr. Stedman's letter dated May 7, 2019, which was attached to the Council Packet he says, "regardless of which option the City chooses, the need for particulate monitoring should not be necessary as long as there is not a significant expansion to the number of beach fires allowed in Carmel-by-the-Sea"- basically confirming that air quality is not an issue. The only reason for approving a "propane only" pilot the Council provided to the 26 people who spoke that night in favor of continuing the pilot in its current form, was that they simply wanted to try other options. In fact, Carmel already has a "propane only" program, during at least six-months of every year when the fire containers are not out on the beach. The result of that "propane only" program is substantially less use of the beach during the late afternoon and evening. The City has had plenty of time to see how propane only works. This year they did not put out the wood burning devices until the week of May 13th- after: St Patrick's Day, Spring Break, Easter, Cinco-de-Maya, Mother's Day, and the Big Sur International Marathon -limiting people from all over the world the opportunity of enjoying an evening on the beach. With the City's late installation of the wood burning devices on the beach this year, the pits won't be on the beach for the normal 6 month period.
The Mayor and City Council members admitted that beach attendance is down in the evenings, which supports our position that beach public access has been reduced with the current CDP. Since the propane portion of the current CDP has been an unpopular option and a failure relative to the wood fire pits, evening beach access will be further eroded by forcing an all-propane plan. Further, shared wood burning devices are collegial and invite community activity. Beachgoers have voted overwhelmingly for wood fires as evidenced by their actual usage of the wood burning devices and their general disregard for the unlimited use of the propane option
APPEAL
FROM COASTAL PERMIT DECISION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
STATE OF CALIFORNIA-THE RESOURCES AGENCY
CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION
CENTRAL COAST DISTRICT OFFICE
June 20, 2019
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