Laguna Grande Regional Park Plan

The next Laguna Grande JPA Board Meeting is scheduled Tuesday, November 14 at 6 p.m. at the City of Seaside Council Chamber at 440 Harcourt Avenue in Seaside. The agenda will be posted 24 hours in advance (or sooner) at https://www.ci.seaside.ca.us/129/City-Council-Committee-Agendas.

It’s been a busy summer! On June 15, the City of Seaside City Council adopted the Laguna Grande Regional Park Trail and Maintenance Strategy Project Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigated Monitoring and Reporting Program, as well as the Laguna Grande Regional Park Trail and Maintenance Strategy. On July 5, the Monterey Peninsula Regional Park District Board took the same actions.

Also this summer, all four (Joint Power Agency) JPA agencies filed a Notice of Declaration (NOD) with the County.

The JPA staff is in the process of developing a scope of work and drafting a Request for Proposals for professional services for a consultant to help shepherd the JPA through the permitting process. The permit process is expected to take approximately a year to complete. The various permits may include: Coastal Development Permit (CA Coastal Commission), Lake/Streambed Alteration Permit 1600 (CA Department of Fish and Wildlife), Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit (US Army Corps of Engineers), Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification (Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board), and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review.

Preparations are underway for a JPA Board meeting in the fall.

Update, June 7, 2023: Council adopted both the Laguna Grande Regional Park Trail and Maintenance Strategy Project Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, as well as the Laguna Grande Regional Park Trail and Maintenance Strategy, and now we work on getting the environmental permits. The various permits may include: Coastal Development Permit (CA Coastal Commission), Lake/Streambed Alteration Permit 1600 (CA Department of Fish and Wildlife), Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit (US Army Corps of Engineers), Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification (Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board), and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review.

At the June 6, 2023 afternoon City Council Meeting, Monterey City Council will hear item #5 Adopt the Laguna Grande Regional Park Trail and Maintenance Strategy Project Mitigated Negative Declaration and Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, and Adopt the Laguna Grande Regional Park Trail and Maintenance Strategy. Read the agenda and see the full agenda packet posted on isearchmonterey.org at https://isearchmonterey.org/OnBaseAgendaOnline/Meetings/ViewMeeting?id=5429&doctype=1. The public can participate in-person or online at youtube.com/cityofmonterey.

The City of Monterey has compiled a timeline as a resource for those interested in seeing the progress made since the Laguna Grande Joint Powers Agency was re-engaged in mid 2021 to develop a strategy for the park. The timeline is published as a PDF as well as an infographic in summary. Read the PDF | View the infographic

The next Laguna Grande JPA Special Meeting is Thursday, March 30. This meeting will be held in person at Seaside City Hall, 440 Harcourt Avenue, Seaside at 6:00 p.m.

The agenda and packet materials are posted at http://seasideca.civicclerk.com/Web/Player.aspx?id=4949&key=-1&mod=-1&mk=-1&nov=0

VIRTUAL MEETING ACCESS
This meeting can be watched via the City of Seaside You Tube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1Cu7854Ohtjpr_XV1tDvRg
Or by joining the Zoom webinar link: https://ci-seaside-ca-us.zoom.us/j/85481855565
Or call in phone number: 669-900-9128
Zoom Meeting ID: 854 8185 5565

Laguna Grande Trail and Vegetation Maintenance Strategy; responses accepted through February 17, 2023

• Notice of Intent - Posted January 18, 2023
• Mitigated Negative Declaration (ISMND) - Posted January 18, 2023
• ISMND Appendix A - Posted January 18, 2023
• ISMND Appendix B - Posted January 18, 2023
• ISMND Appendix C - Posted January 18, 2023

Contact: Chris Schmidt, Senior Associate Planner, City of Monterey Planning Office, Colton Hall, 1st Floor, 580 Pacific Street, Monterey, CA 93940, Phone: (831) 646-3885, schmidt@monterey.org

Good news! New playground equipment has been installed at the park! This project was completed using Neighborhood and Community Improvement Program (NCIP) funding and features a nature theme with earthtone colors. To promote climbing and imaginative play, the set includes faux rocks and a faux tree stump. The structure also includes multiple slides, new swings and a carousel for twirling. Children and families will certainly enjoy these new upgrades.

Significant work continues on the Laguna Grande Regional Park Trail and Vegetation Maintenance Strategy including:

• research and confirmation of private property ownership and easements for public access and maintenance;
• confirmation of the park boundary that involves three jurisdictions and a mixture of private and public property;
• creation of multiple maps and park depictions to accompany the environmental study;
• refinement of trail locations based on feedback from the JPA agencies and public input;
• initial evaluation of biological and archeological resources within the park;
• meeting negotiations to update and solidify future general park maintenance by multiple agencies, and;
• preliminary work for numerous environmental permits based on the impending plan finalization and CEQA document.

Next steps include a public review period of the draft environmental document in the winter of 2023 and certification of the document by the Laguna Grande JPA Board, the Monterey Regional Park District Board, the City of Seaside City Council and the City of Monterey City Council in the spring of 2023.

After certification of the environmental document, a multitude of environmental permits must be obtained before any significant maintenance or Capital Improvement Projects implemented. The permit process is expected to take approximately a year.

The various permits may include: Coastal Development Permit (CA Coastal Commission), Lake/Streambed Alteration Permit 1600 (CA Department of Fish and Wildlife), Clean Water Act Section 404 Permit (US Army Corps of Engineers), Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification (Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board), and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review.

Next Laguna Grande JPA Board meeting is targeted for spring 2023.

Please join Blue Zones Project Monterey County, City of Monterey Parks Division and Sustainable Monterey in helping keep our community clean.

Meeting Location: Laguna Grande Park, Virgin Avenue, Monterey, CA 93940

Date/Time: Saturday, March 12, 2022. 10AM-12PM

SIGN UP LINK

The Laguna Grande Regional Joint Powers Agency is having a regular meeting on Monday, March 7 at 6:00 p.m. The meeting can be attended in person or via Zoom. Get an update and provide input on Park Trail and Vegetation Maintenance Strategy Project. Details are available on the City of Seaside's website(External link).

VIRTUAL MEETING ACCESS

This meeting can be watched via the City of Seaside YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/CityofSeasideCalifornia(External link)

Or by joining the Zoom webinar link: https://ci-seaside-ca-us.zoom.us/j/89644796718(External link)

Or Call-in Phone Number: 1 669 900 9128

WEBINAR ID: 896 4479 6718

At the most recent Laguna Grande JPA Meeting on December 6, 2021, a DRAFT Trail & Vegetation Maintenance Strategy was presented. (posted in PDF)

We will continue to update this page when additional meetings are scheduled.