OCEANSIDE
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In anticipation of big storms predicted for this weekend, a tall crane was stationed on the College Boulevard bridge yesterday, ready to pluck trees and debris out of the San Luis Rey River to prevent flooding.
SEAN DuFRENE / Union-Tribune
Officials in Oceanside were concerned that expected heavy rains would combine with debris in the San Luis Rey River, causing flooding, so a crane was moved in.
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Government agencies, however, are still negotiating for a more permanent solution to the threats of flooding and fire along the river, and that probably won't happen until fall.
The reason: The negotiations won't conclude in time to beat the March 16 start of the nesting season for endangered species in the riverbed, City Manager Peter Weiss said.
Included in the list of affected species are the least Bell's vireo and Southwestern willow flycatcher birds, the arroyo toad and the steelhead trout.
Vegetation in the river has caused concern about flooding for years. But after the October wildfires, the fears grew to include the possibility that debris in the river channel could fuel the spread of flames.
The city and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are ready to clear the waterway. But the state Department of Fish and Game has delayed issuing a permit for the work while it decides under which conditions it would allow wildlife habitat to be destroyed and sediment to be removed from along the river.
On Wednesday, the department finally issued a draft permit for the work.
But Oceanside is balking at the conditions, including one that the city buy 63 acres to make up for habitat lost when vegetation is cleared, Weiss said. The city previously had agreed to a 30-acre acquisition.
The proposed requirement is less than that suggested by the staff of the state Coastal Commission, which wants 233 acres set aside before the commission approves the Army Corps' environmental report for continuing maintenance of the riverbed.
The commission is to consider that much-postponed report at its meeting Friday in Marina del Rey.
Greg Fuderer, spokesman for the Army Corps, said it probably will protest a requirement for such a large acquisition of property as a condition of approving the environmental report.
Fuderer was in Oceanside yesterday overseeing the setup of the crane with a “clamshell” bucket and several trucks in case they are needed over the weekend.
He said the College Boulevard bridge will collect debris from upstream and stop it from proceeding downstream to the other bridges in the seven-mile stretch of river between College and the Pacific Ocean.
“I doubt it will have any significant effect on flooding,” Weiss said about the decision to bring in the equipment. “It's so we do not lose a bridge.”
State and federal wildlife agencies have agreed to emergency work.
The City Council is expected to discuss both the emergency work and the draft permit from the Department of Fish and Game at its meeting Wednesday.
Councilman Rocky Chavez, who placed the item on the agenda, said yesterday that he will not agree to the city's having to buy more land for replacement habitat. The city has already done plenty for wildlife protection, he said.
Chavez said the city was promised protection from a flood that might occur once every 200 years, but instead is getting a guarantee against a lesser flood, one that might happen once in 120 years.
“It's like paying for a Porsche and then being charged twice the money for a Chevy,” he said.
In a memo to the City Council, Weiss noted that the draft permit includes 141 measures to be taken to protect wildlife along the river, and some of them will be the city's responsibility “in perpetuity.”
He said that besides requiring the purchase of 63 acres, the permit demands that the city provide security and an endowment “to ensure the long-term management and maintenance of the habitat areas.”
Weiss said city staff members will meet next week with Fish and Game officials and “attempt to negotiate some of the more restrictive issues.”
The council meeting begins at 5 p.m. at 300 N. Coast Highway.
Lola Sherman: (760) 476-8241; lola.sherman@uniontrib.com
