Meeting Minutes Del Mar San Dieguito Lagoon Committee Chair: Jim Tucker Vice Chair: Terry Kopanski Secretary: Ellen Breen WEDNESDAY, April 15th, 2015 6:00PM DEL MAR LIBRARY CALL TO ORDER 6:04 ROLL CALL Members Present: Jim Tucker, Terry Kopanski, Ellen Breen, Jeffrey Barnouw, Alice Brown, Lucy Zizka, Justin Kulongoski, Mark Corcoran, Jim Jelley Citizens Present: John Gillies, Bill Michalsky, and Cory Ha o City Council Liaisons: Dr. Don Mosier, Mr. Dwight Worden, Non-voting member: Lee Haydu REVIEW AND VOTE TO APPROVE MINUTES FROM THE MARCH MEETING - Approved REPORTS FROM OTHER AGENCIES/CITY STAFF Water Quality Data Report (Kulongoski via Schroeter) Justin had contacted Dr. Schroeter but did not hear back as of yet. Southern California Edison Lagoon Restoration Annual Update, Monday May 11th 1:30-3:30pm Powerhouse Park (Kopanski) - A program for the workshop has been set. Flyers will be coming out next week. Citizen Advisory Committee/San Dieguito River Park (Brown, Kopanski) - No meeting
San Dieguito River Valley Conservancy, Friends of the San Dieguito River Valley, PRC/CAC/San Dieguito River Park (Barnouw) - Jeff indicated that there was a lot to report. A representative from the Friends of the San Dieguito River Valley will attend Lagoon Day. JPA Board Meeting/San Dieguito River Park (Brown, Kopanski, Council Liaisons) - An interesting meeting is anticipated on this upcoming Friday. It is hoped to get things finalized with the City of San Diego with regards to the budget for next year. A special meeting was held to discuss a compromise with the Coastal Commission to preserve part of the boardwalk. The Coastal Commission wanted mitigation for 4 acres of wetland use. A deal was finalized which involved no further financial obligations. In June approval for the next executive director is on the agenda. Justin asked if there is still time to comment on the extension of the coast to crest trail. He suggested that this might be an opportunity to suggest that the bus lane is removed? Dwight illustrated via the white board that there will be a graded separation, and it is probably too late for major changes. Justin suggested that it could not hurt to make suggestions about the bus lane. Lee Haydu said that at the Community meeting there was talk with the Traffic police about removing that cross walk. 22nd Agricultural District/Fairgrounds Board Meeting (Zizka, Jelley, Council Liaisons) Lee Haydu was appointed to both the Community Relations Committee and the Horseshoe/horsepark Committee David Watson talked about the Boardwalk compromise. He seemed pretty positive about the community relations and not too much further cost. Watermark Project Jim reported that there was a scope event.
Jeff indicated that it was hard to get on the agenda what needs to be considered for an environmental impact report. The City is obliged by the state to develop affordable housing. This would consist of 48 units and 112 parking spaces. Talked about the wetlands as no longer being an issue. Terry requested that when something comes up on an agenda that concerns us that we send an email to the lagoon members. Deadline is the 26 th for scoping issues. Don is on the planning subcommittee. He indicated that this has not occurred since developers have been slow to come up with formal plan. Terry indicated that this is so close to Lagoon and for scoping, the environmental impact should take into account the time of year in which the data will be collected for the report. Jim asked Bill s input on the Watermark project. Justin asked if the restriction is forever. The answer was 55 years Reach The Beach Trail/Horses On Beach Alice indicated that there was a lot to report after what was brought up at the City Council meeting. Dwight indicated that horses are allowed north of the river. There was quite a bit of discussion. Currently, the Coastal Commission permit indicates that horses are not allowed west of I-5. The JPA s position is that the Coast to Crest trail is intended to go from the beach to Vulcan mountain and that they may ask for permission to have horses on the trail at a future time. A good deal of support for the trail has come from equestrians. There was also discussion about health of the horses, dogs etc. It may not be a good idea to allow horses on the trail. One option is to leave the issue alone. Don indicated that the issue has been passed to the Lagoon committee. The trail that the Fair has planned does not have a permit for horses. The grant to plan the underpass would have distinct options whether or not horses are allowed. Horses would require a 16 ft. underpass. Cory indicated that this was actually 12 ft. Don stated that the NCTD requires 16 ft. For NCTD property federal rules will be applied. Cory contacted Alexander been over decade since issue has been reviewed. Justin suggested that there are actually two issues that are related but not the same.
1) Are horses on the beach OK? 2) Are horses on the trail OK? Alice suggested that we take a feeling about what our committee thinks. Dwight relayed that City manager suggested that horses be allowed but require a permit. Jim asked time line. Don indicated that the issue was not time sensitive but will impact other projects. Cory pointed out that there is a differentiation between commercial and recreation use. Furthermore, he thought that horse manure is not as unsafe as dog or human. He also suggested contacting horse clubs about clean up and that it was important to reach out to the horse community. Justin asked about the use of the west part of the trails. Bill thought JPA has input about the width. Bill mentioned that land near the Brigantine was privately owned. Lucy When the Fair board is required to do restoration it has to consult with JPA not detailed. Permit says west of 5 - indicated that JPA could come back later. Dwight said we should let JPA figure out long term plan. Terry does not think we are prepared to make a decision tonight. Alice indicated that we (The Lagoon Committee) had a discussion in 2012 after a presentation by Shawna Anderson (planner). Alice presented the Minutes from Feb 15, 2012. When discussed reach the beach, the precise trailhead had not quite been figured out. However, the committee at the time did not seem opposed to having horses on the trails. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS (NON-ACTION ITEM) River Path Presentation By Jon Gillies Alice noted That the Lagoon committee voted on the presentation that Jon Terwilliger presented at the March meeting. River Path Del Mar Extension
John presented a set of slides about the Difference between salt water marsh and coastal sage scrub Don suggested a wetlands restoration project is beyond the budget. If permit says we can at a future time replace coastal sage with wetland then this should not be hard to accomplish. Dwight will contact coastal staff --- and see about allowing further mitigation and timing constraints. The purpose would be to see if we could do it in a way that will allow future options. If mitigation is restored wetlands will this help in the future? Public Comment - from Cory. Operational permit for use of horses on the trail will be an encumbrance Would like a compromise. Would like to consider commercial use separate from recreational use. Suggest alternative such as user schedule to maintain the trail. Provided an outline to the group. Crystal Vanlu sent email - article Vet microbiology, which indicated that healthy horses are different then dogs and humans and harbor healthy microbes in their gut. Don Stated that multi-drug resistant bacteria are present in the horses due to overdosing by veterinarians, and there is data recorded about this from the horse park. EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS Lagoon Day - 4/19/2015 Powerhouse Park (Corcoran, Zizka, Brown, Kopanski, Breen) Lagoon Day is set to be held this Sunday. Banners, articles, invitations to people in the area, etc. have all been put into action. Looking forward to a good day. A walk at 10:00 is planned at the Lagoon. The Powerhouse event will start at 5 pm. Representatives from organizations, a visual time line, T-shirts are ready. At 6 pm there will be a salute to people involved with the Lagoon, and Lucy will ask them to stand up and be recognized. J. Winterer will give a presentation. ADJOURNMENT