HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2003-12-08
11-10-03 / 11-24-03 / 12-8-03
Approved
Attest:
I
Seal Beach, California
November 24, 2003
The regularly scheduled meeting of -the City Council on this
e was canceled by action of the City Council.
i .y Clerk and
the City of
clerk
Seal Beach, California
December 8, 2003
The City Council and Redevelopment Agency met in regular
adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling
the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag.
I
ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Campbell
Council/Agency Members Antos, Doane, Larson,
Yost
Absent: None
Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager/Executive
Director
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development
Services
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
CLOSED SESSION
The City Attorney announced that the Council/Agency would
meet in Closed Session to discuss the items identified on the
agenda, a conference with legal counsel relating to
anticipated litigation pursuant to Government Code Section
54956.9(b), and to confer with the City's real property
negotiator, Bancap COffiinercia1 Real Estate Services/City
Manager relating to Rodi properties, LLC, 1190-98 Pacific
Coast Highway. The City Attorney invited any member of the
public wishing to speak to the items to do so at this time.
I
Ms. Joyce parque, Seal Beach, stated her belief that one item
relates to the sale of Zoeter School, the lease option
specifies year 2004, there should be bids requested to do the
12-8-03
I
appraisal and it sho~ld not be done until next year. Ms. Sue
Corbin, Seal Beach, said she was' involved in the Save Zoeter
effort, the intent was that the frontage be saved to pay for
the back parcels for the children for a period of seventy-
five years, stated that the land will be worth more in July,
2004, questioned what has been done abqut a professional
appraisal, there is a duty to the ci tizensto.' ge't top dollar
for that property, it should be fair market value, and
claimed that the lessee holding the rents down to achieve a
lower appraisal was not right. Ms. Corbin said this falls
under federal law in some way because it is the redevelopment
agency, suggesting that the Council/Agency be cautious
because they will be held liable.
By unanimous consent, the Council/Agency adjourned to Closed
Session at 6:37 p.m. and reconvened at 7:24 p.m. with Mayor
Campbell calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney
reported that the Council and Agency met in Closed Session to
discuss the items identified on the agenda, and no reportable
action was taken. By order of the Chair, with consent of the
Council/Agency, at 7:25 p.m. the Closed Session was recessed
until the conclusion of the City Council ~eeting.
I
The Council/Agency reconvened the regular adjourned, recessed
City Council/Redevelopment Agency meeting at 10:20 p.m. to
continue the Closed Session discussion. The City
Council/Redevelopment Agency was reconvened at 10:39 p.m.
with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order. The City
Attorney reported that the Council/Redevelopment Agency had
met in Closed Session to continue discussion of the items
identified on the agenda, gave direction to the City Manager,
no other reportable action was taken.
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the
Council/Agency to direct that the regular adjourned meeting
be adjourned until January 12th, 2004 at 5:00 p.m. to meet in
Closed Session. By unanimous consent, the meeting was
adjourned at 10:42 p.m.
clerk
Approved:
~~M/o~
Mayo
Attest:
I
12-8-03
Seal Beach, California
December 8, 2003
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
session at 7:26 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting
to order with the Salute to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Campbell
Councilmembers Antos, Doane, Larson, Yost
I
Absent: None
Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development
Services '
Mr. Dancs, Director of Public Works/City
Engineer
Chief Sellers, Police Department
Mr. Vukojevic, Deputy City Engineer
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Larson moved, second by Yost, to approve the order of the
agenda as presented.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
I
PRESENTATIONS I PROCLAMATIONS
At the request of Mayor Campbell and an indicated consensus
of the Council, Assemblyman Tom Harman was invited to address
the Council. Assemblyman Harman said he felt it would be
appropriate to brief the Council on some things that have
been going on in Sacramento in that they are half way through
the two year legislative session, and recently convened in
special session upon the call of the new Governor.
Assemblyman Harman noted the on-going scenario where the
State promises they will do nothing wrong to the cities and
local governments yet it that seems to happen every year,
currently there is substantial concern on his part with
regard to the Vehicle License Fee backfill, that there may be
a significant problem in that the State promised that it
would not take money away from the local governments yet it
appears that they will do just that this year. The
Assemblyman mentioned that there have been some near misses
and some hits on legislation ',.hat was passed this past year,
before leaving office Governor Davis signed some eight
hundred new bills that will become law on January 1st, one
that may be of interest to the City is AB 710 which deals
with the reorganization of the Orange County Transit
Authority Board of Directors, for a number of years there has
been some controversy in Orange County as to how that Board
should be constituted, a friendly dispute between some of the
larger and smaller cities, and explained that on the last day
of session AB 710 made it out of the Assembly and into the
Senate where it was killed on the floor, however according to
Senators Ackerman and Dunn they hope to bring this bill back
as an urgency in early January and it is felt that there are
sufficient votes, in the legislature for AB 710 to pass, it
will be somewhat of a compromise bill to possibly provide for
two representatives from each Supervisorial District, one
I
12-8-03
I
elected on a weighted vote and one elected on a one city, one
vote situation, for a total membership of fifteen.
Assemblyman Harman also mentioned ACA lQ which he sponsored
dealing with urban runoff, his District, the 67th, is a
coastal district of which Seal Beach is a major component as
well as Huntington Beach, Surfside and Sunset Beach, the San
Gabriel River the northerly boundary and the Santa Ana River
the southerly boundary, his primary concern is clean water
and the problem of urban runoff. He noted that currently
under existing State law, Proposition 2l8, local government
can enact fees for water, sewer and trash, that can be done
without a vote of the people, it is an exception to Prop 218
which requires a vote of the people, ACA lO adds another
exemption which would allow the local jurisdiction, if it
chose to do so, to adopt a fee for the treatment of urban
runoff, the cure for the problem of urban runoff requires
some type of dedicated revenue source where at present the
jurisdictions need to rely on grant and bond funds that come
and go, this bill will likely be debated in the Assembly in
the early spring, it is supported by the League of Cities,
the County Associations and numerous other cities, and he
would request the support of Seal Beach as well. with regard
to the new State administration Assemblyman Harman said it is
exciting to have Governor Schwarzenegger in office, it is
felt he is working with both sides of the isle trying to
forge a bipartisan approach to politics as usual in
Sacramento and resolve what is perceived as a gridlock in the
legislature, it is hoped that the legislature will work with
the Governor to resolve issues. The Assemblyman said he
spoke with the Governor this evening who is trying to put
together a coalition of legislators to support his plan for
refinancing the State debt and some type of constitutional
spending limit, although his personal preference would not be
a bond issue it is most likely better than raising taxes.
Assemblyman Harman said a few months back he felt the VLF
backfill was guaranteed to be received by the counties,
cities, and local governments, yet it is now in c9nsiderable
jeopardy because of the dispute over the cuts that would have
to be made in other programs to find the money to reimburse
the cities, the Governor does support the backfill to the
cities and local gove~nments as reimbursement for the $4
billion car tax that was taken away, there are two bills in
both houses of the legislature to allow and. implement the
backfill, the Republicans support the backfill, the other
side of the aisle does not. Assemblyman Harman expressed his
pleasure to have represented the residents of the 67th
Assembly District for the past three years and looks forward
to doing so for the next three years.
I
BUS RAPID TRANSIT - ORANGE COUNTY TRANSIT AUTHORITY
Mr. Kurt Brotcke, OCTA, stated that his intent was to provide
the Council with a brief update of bus rapid transit efforts
in the County.
I
*
What is bus rapid transit - there have been
presentations in the past about transit improvements to
serve West Orange Coun~y - one of the key
recommendations included in the OCTA long range
transportation plan is to make bus service faster - an
example is that a trip from Leisure World to downtown
Santa Ana would take over an hour today, OCTA is working
to remedy those travel time issues with new types of
service, one of those is bus rapid transit;
l2-8-03
*
Some features being looked at is limited stop operations
where the bus does not stop every quarter of a mile
rather about every mile, a transit signal priority
system whereby as a bus approaches an intersection
occasionally it will get a green extended light to
enable going through an intersection more quickly - what
is proposed is operation in regular traffic, no
exclusive lanes, this type of service would offer a
minimum of twenty percent travel time improvement over a
local bus, that would reduce the travel time from
Leisure World to downtown Santa Ana by about fifteen
minutes one way;
I
*
What is being proposed in the short term are two
demonstration routes, one a north/south route that would
primarily travel Harbor Boulevard, anchored at the ends
by the Brea Mall and Newport Beach, and an east/west bus
line that would go from downtown Santa Ana to Long
Beach, therein lies the interest to Seal Beach - the
original proposal was that the route would be on
westminster Avenue straight through Seal Beach
Boulevard, however after hearing comments from members
of the community late last year a modification was made
to this proposal so that it will go north on Seal Beach
Boulevard to Leisure World, out and north on the
Boulevard, then travel to the Long Beach Transit Mall
and connect to the Blue Line;
*
This proposal includes different station types, there
are bus shelter designs that could be implemented, these
two routes are recommended for implementation as part of
the demonstration plan;
I
* OCTA is seeking letters of interest with regard to this
implementation plan, at this point it is still in the
planning phase and about to enter the design phase which
is proposed for the OCTA fiscal year 2005 budget, that
is where the design of the shelters and the transit
signal priority system will be considered and bring that
to something that could go into future construction
documents;
* There are also some funding issues, currently the start
up year for this service is contingent upon grant
funding, at this point there is no definitive schedule
because OCTA is seeking federal money and additional
State money for this service, however the desire is to
have the design ready to go so that when funding is
available the service can be launched and placed on the
streets.
Mr. Brotcke said he believed that there was a separate agenda
item in the form of a letter of support, that is what the
cities along the corridor are being asked to submit to OCTA
so that when OCTA enters the budget process for 2005 there
will be some direction from the cities on this particular
project. In response to an inquiry of Mayor Campbell as to a
contract to obtain information relating to the 405 Freeway
project, Mr. Brotcke said he would be the contact.
I
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Campbell requested that those present wishing to speak
to the dog park item do so under that public hearing, those
wishing to speak to the Department of Water and Power
Committee item should do so under Oral communications as it
I
I
I
l2-8-03
is not a public hearing item.
Mayor Campbell declared Oral Communications to be open. Ms.
Carla Watson, Catalina Avenue, said she has been involved
with the DWP project for.over twenty-five years, her
understanding was that this matter was to be tabled until a
completed application is submitted, and why is Councilman
Doane bringing this matter before the Council since the
property is not in his district, the. property is in District
One and contiguous to District Three. Ms. Watson stated it
makes no sense to consider changing zoning when there is not
even a completed plan, a group of people bought this property
with the knowledge that the zoning was going to be seventy
percent open space and thirty percent buildable land, and to
then turn to friends on the Council and expect to have the
zoning changed is wrong, this property has long been the
jewel of the City, a place to be enjoyed for generations to
come, and expressed her opposition to considering this item.
Mr. John Hagaman said he was present representing Grace
Community Church, the Church has been involved in the
community for many years and will celebrate its sixtieth
anniversary in February, this past year a memorial service
for 9/ll was held and the Church is traditionally involved in
the Veterans of Foreign Wars functions. Mr. Hagaman
announced the upcoming l2th annual Handel's Messiah on
December l4th at McGaugh School Auditorium, the choir has
grown from thirty to over seventy, a complete orchestra,
soloists, and himself who has the privilege of directing the
entire event, the Grace Community Church and United Methodist
Church jointly sponsor the Messiah event, and the event has
been opened up to include persons from the community as well.
Mr. Hagaman invited the Council and the community to attend.
Dr. Denise Senett, 1st Street, said she wished to reiterate
what has been stated about the DWP property, would strongly
urge that the tabling of this matter not be reversed, a few
men bought the property and knew full well that zoning does
not become a mandate to reconsider the zoning, the majority
of people do not want that open space taken away. Dr. Senett
said she would appreciate it if the Council could objectify
this and tell the residents what they need to do to put this
issue to rest otherwise the property owners will pick at the
City forever, keep having meetings that no one wants, it is
wonderful to have the open space, when one travels down Ocean
Avenue the ocean can not be seen until one reaches the open
space by the pier, by taking away that vision from the lst
Street entry to Seal Beach by allowing houses to be built
then something wonderful is lost. Mr. Walter Uppenbauer,
Galleon Way, said he can remember when there was only one
stop light in the town, since then it has gradually increased
in size, the zoning on 1st Street has clearly been what the
City has wanted for many years, just because someone buys the
land does not mean that the zoning should be changed, let
them live with it, and recalled that the last time this
matter was considered it was said that nothing would be
forthcoming until after the first of the year. Ms. Geri
West, Electric Avenue, noted her resentment of having to
attend this meeting; she was present on September 22nd as
well. Ms. West recalled that some twenty years ago many
meetings were held by the citizens of Seal Beach with regard
to what to do with the Department of Water and Power
property, there were volumes of public input over many hours
of public hearings before the DWP Plan Advisory Committee,
Planning Commission, and City Council, the public hearings
cost the taxpaying citizens many thousands of dollars, and
hundreds of hours of citizens time attending meetings in
l2-8-03
these Chambers on that piece of property, after all of that
the decision was made that the property would be zoned
seventy percent open space and thirty percent could be
developed. Ms. West offered that now the community is
confronted with a situation where the citizens are told that
the local group have asked that the zoning be changed so they
can build single family homes on the entire property, why is
the City even considering this, this proposal comes from long
time members of the community who have never done anything
for the community except to exploit it for their own profit,
to that Ms. West offered to provide examples. She charged
that when the investors bought this property they knew very
well what the zoning was, if they did not then they have more
problems than they can be helped to resolve, and in this
tight money situation they have nerve to ask the City to
waste its time and taxpayers money to help them line their
pockets with more than was anticipated when they bought the
property.
I
Ms. Helen Brown, 8th Street, said she was a member of the DWP
workshops twenty-five years ago along with a number of other
citizens who spent approximately four months studying this
property, the process started with a group that wanted all
homes, another wanted all park, they eventually came up with
about fifteen alternatives, it was known that it could not be
all park as some monetary support was needed. The plan
approved was felt to be viable and she could see no reason
why the plan should be changed now just because the property
has changed hands. Mr. Jim Sokolof, Seal Beach, claimed that
there was an odor in Council Chambers, the fact that the
Chamber doors are not flush with the building is a
contributor, it is clear that the custodial people have tried
to clean with chemicals but that has not worked, all that is
needed is an ozone machine to clear the odor. Mr. Sokolof
stated that his alley is being torn up to compact the asphalt
patches put in by the Gas Company which the City says must be
repaired, he said during the time that the alley was being
demolished one of the bulldozers hit the water pipe on his
side of the meter, broke the pipe, the Gas Company did a
quick fix which amounted to a piece of polyvinyl pipe patched
in instead of his galvanized steel pipe, also, there are two
ways of grounding the electrical service system, one is a
grounding rod that goes down into the ground, the other is a
grounding grid, his electrical system is the grid variety
which was interrupted by the break in the pipe and
replacement with the polyvinyl pipe, the contractor knew what
he did and tried to hide it, yet through the intervention of
the Police Department and the cooperation of the Building
Department the conspiracy was stopped, it is believed that it
can be confirmed that a conspiracy is a felony, the
subcontractor for the Gas Company has been in town for a
while and the question could be posed as to how many times
they have done this, he would suggest that the Building
Department pay attention to this company, that before any
concrete is poured the aprons on both sides of alleys be
inspected as this will happen again. Mr. Sokolof also
mentioned that a week before construction started there were
signs in the alley stating no parking/tow away and to move
trash cans to the street effective December lst. Upon being
advised of the speaking time Mr. Sokolof said he would
discuss a third item at another time.
I
I
Mr. Dave Bartlett, representing Bay City Partners, the new
owners of the former Department of Water and Power property,
said as has been stated before they believe that the DWP
< -"",.- '" ,.,>;
l2-8-03
I
Committee is simply a mechanism and venue for a public forum
and a process as prescribed by an existing City resolution
that requires the DWP Committee to be consulted on all
matters affecting development of this site, the Partners are
not running away, they are embarrassing that requirement,
they would like to see the Committee formed for public input,
for any change of the plan to address concerns, they are
asking that the Committee be activated. Mr. Bartlett stated
that the Committee needs to be educated on this site as well,
the facts are that this property was originally residentially
zoned in the 1960's and 1970's, it then went to a more
commercial land use as it is currently zoned, from a three
hundred room hotel to a one hundred fifty room hotel, it is
now proposed by this application as a very low density
residential project, those things need to be explained and
understood in the context of the current proposal, also, the
issue of open space is very passionate as is public access,
those issues too need to be discussed, with due respect to
the plan that was developed twenty-five years ago, that was
twenty-five years ago, the property was owned by a
governmental entity, it is now private enterprise, there were
some good components of the twenty-five year old plan yet
that plan was also changed in 1983, change does occur, and
hopefully change can make this a better project for the City.
Mr. Bartlett mentioned that the application before the City
includes feasibility reports, fiscal reports showing the
impact on the fiscal condition of the City, title reports,
site plans, topographic maps, descriptions of open space,
public access, documentation of numerous types of land use,
this type of documentation did not exist in 1983 or 1996 yet
the Committee was formed, consulted, there was a public
process and public hearings. He said the Partners think that
the only difference is that previously a governmental entity
owned the property, now private enterprise owns the property,
the process should not change, it should be the same, it is
felt that this application should be treated equally. Mr.
Bartlett mentioned that there will be another community
meeting, similar to the town hall meeting held by
Councilmembers Yost and Antos, in January, the Partners are
working up the logistics of the. site, it is felt that it can
be held at the Mary wilson Library or the Marina Community
Center, the specific location to be announced, the public is
invited, comments are welcomed, however it is felt that the
Committee should be activated so that they'can begin to
understand the facts and the history so they will be prepared
when the project moves towards the public hearing process.
Mr. Roger West, Electric Avenue, stated that several
misstatements have been heard, there is no application before
the City to do anything, the property owners are desirous of
lengthy discussions before submitting an application so that
they know it will be accepted, it was also stated that now
that the site is privately owned rather than publicly owned
it should be different, yet it just so happens that the
Partners want to gain $30 to $50 million dollars and claim
that the project is benefiting the neighborhood, they want
the City and community to spend thousands of dollars helping
them do this, it is laughable. Mr. John O'Neil mentioned
that when he bought his home in Bridgeport in 1986 he had
wanted to remodel, the draftsman suggested a second story,
when he called the City it was explained why a second. story
in Bridgeport was not allowed, it is the way the homes were
designed. Mr. O'Neil said that situation and the DWP have
one thing the same and one different, they are trying to do
something that they should not be allowed to do, what is
different is that there is considerable money involved, if
I
I
l2-8-03
they can rezone for residential they have the money to spend
on public relations, that is not the way the system should
work, the purchasers of the property bought the site with the
zoning existing, they should not be allowed to change the
zoning or the open space. Mr. Ed Simmons, Seal Beach, said
he wished to pose some questions relating to the DWP
property, there are financial questions. Given the
importance of this issue, Mr. Simmons suggested that, as is
customary in other cities to which he travels and works, the
council person representing the area in which the property is
located should know everything there is to know about the
property, facts and not innuendos. He recommended that the
Council ask staff what the cost would be for the seventy
percent park, positive or negative, the vote was taken for
the seventy percent park and thirty percent commercial when
it was thought that there would be.a motel, possibly one
hundred fifty or less homes, it was voted on and then
changed, whether the response of staff is positive or
negative monetarily to not have the seventy percent open
space could the vote then be changed, he would guarantee that
it can be changed, this is a very important monetary issue
for the City, the only thing he wants is that something gets
built there, the same unsightly fence has existed since the
power plant was there. Mr. Simmons noted that the beach
trash can area is to the front of the DWP property, where
will they go, if the restaurant that took over the property
at the beginning of the 1st Street parking lot did not exist
the area would be looking like a dump, the restaurant lessee
does a nice job taking care of the area. Mr. Simmons offered
there are many issues with regard to the DWP, everyone is
right in what they want, however asked that for once could
this be looked at from a monetary standpoint and that
important questions be considered in the upcoming months when
issues come forward. Mr. Simmons stated that the only reason
this City is so desirable is because of the Boeing property
and the Navy property, should they leave the community there
would be thousands of people moving into the City within five
years, this City is fortunate to be surrounded by this vacant
land.
I
I
Mr. Joel Davidson, 1st Street, mentioned that on September
22nd the Council voted to table the DWP issue until a
completed application was submitted to the City, his
understanding is that that has not been done, it is
inappropriate for this to be brought back to Council without
the application having been submitted, it is basically
private interests that are pushing this issue forward without
any concern that the Council already voted on this and
determined that this would not be discussed until after the
application was complete, that would seem to be a direct
impact on the Council making the decisions that are
necessary. Mr. Davidson said it is obvious that there are
people who have very strong opinions about this property, a
petition is being gathered which has about one hundred fifty
signors thus far, the position basically states that the
people in the community want to keep the property zoned as it
is now. For this matter to appear on the agenda does not
seem to be fair. Mr. Brian Kyle, Se~l Beach, one of the
property owners, stated that their desire is to get into a
public hearing situation, and with regard to the application
it has been completed, the application was initially
submitted in August to get the proces's' started, the
application has been resubmitted since the last meeting and
is felt to be complete. Mr. Kyle said this property goes
back a long way, he has been here since the power plant came
I
.....,_.-<."",~'......" "N.' . _ ,.,.
12-8-03
I
down, it has been zoned residential, a three hundred room
hotel, a multitude of uses, yet with every plan over the past
forty years there has been nothing built, the reason is that
they were never feasible, the plans could not be built. Mr.
Kyle offered that they are attempting to bring the Committee
together for one reason, to sit down with the community and
find out what can make this property work, move the project
forward, bring financing into the City, they are merely
asking for public hearings. With regard to the mention of a
petition, Mr. Kyle said they too have a petition of a like
number of signors saying they want something done on the
property, they do not want a hotel in that the site is
surrounded by residential, the proposal has designated open
spaces, bike trails, trails down the River, a park in the
middle, people are concerned about transients moving into a
park in an open area, where there are open park areas like
Eisenhower Park a Police substation had to be built, there
was gang activity, problems in the area. Mr. Kyle said they
are merely asking for due process to meet with the community
with an unbiased Committee. Ms. Mitzi Morton, Seal Beach,
said her understanding is that the application has not been
reviewed to determine if it is complete or not, therefore no
action should be taken until City staff has an opportunity to
do that review, also, if the owners wanted to know what would
work and wanted to work with the community on this property
they could have held workshops before they presented their
thirty-nine home plan, which is still part of their
application, they made up their minds as to what they wanted
to do and are trying to persuade the City to amend the
Specific Plan for residential. Ms. Joyce Parque, Seal Beach,
asked how many times the Hellman property was rezoned, there
is a double lot in the area of the Pacific Inn that citizens
did not want rezoned for, a bed and breakfast, the Bixby
property was a fight for years and went to a vote of the
people, there needs to be caution as the DWP site is in the
redevelopment area, the Council sits as the Agency and can
deem that property to be blighted and take the property then
be required to build low to moderate income housing because
they take taxpayer money and have not built enough low/
moderate income housing. She said she asked that minutes be
taken of Closed Sessions and that the Agency meetings be
televised, that has not been done, the Agency can vote in
debt and the citizens do not know they have done it, the debt
at this time is about $40 million. Ms. Parque claimed there
was a secret meeting with regard to selling Zoeter Place,
where is that money going to go, who knows what the appraisal
of that property will be, it should be sold at market value.
She mentioned that there is an election coming up, new people
will be running, if one likes the status quo that is fine but
if one wants change they should ask questions, there are
perks that the Council has given out, she would like a ban on
travel to conferences and training sessions, there was about
$5,000 spent on travel to conferences like the League of
Cities, the League wants to take away Proposition 13, she
also made a request as to how many department heads received
performance pay for 2002-2003 budget year, who were they and
how much money they received, employees are going to
conferences, trips, bonus pay, school, etc. on taxpayer
money, performance pay is one to seven percent payable over a
three month period, also, Ruby's was given away, Ruby's
should have been required to pay for curbs. Ms. Sue Corbin,
Seal Beach, said the Brown Act requires that there be minutes
of Closed Sessions. She also asked that Mayor Campbell not
run for the position of City Clerk. Ms. Corbin noted that
prior members of the Council signed away Zoeter, during the
I
I
l2-8-03
earlier Closed Session the Council discussed giving away the
frontage of Zoeter, not at fair market value but based upon
the appraisal of the lessee, she claimed that the front part
of Zoeter was to pay for the back portion of Zoeter, no one
should have contracted away the ioeter front portion, there
should be an outside professional appraisal at a cost of
about $lO,OOO and it should be sold at fair market value if
the intent is to sell, it should not be sold tonight, the
option is for July, 2004. As to the DWP property her feeling
is that the Coastal Commission will decide what goes there,
Crazy 8 offered to build the seventy/thirty zoning, that was
not acceptable, no matter what is proposed for the seventy /
thirty will not be acceptable, these residents do not want a
hotel, do not want residential, the Constitution is all about
the commerce laws, it is more powerful than even the Bill of
. Rights, there were comments about the owners wanting to make
money but is that not the American way, Councilman Yost
should have gotten the $3 million from the San Gabriel River
Conservancy when the property was for sale for $3 to $4
million, the time to complain is over, someone bought the
property and they are engaging in commerce and somehow they
will make money, the Council should have had the foresight to
purchase the DWP.
I
Mr. Jim Mosler, USA TOday, said he wished to speak to the
proposed newsrack provisions, there is a single color code
requirement, people know the USA Today blue and white racks,
that is their branding, they would like to keep that
throughout the City, it is understood that the desire is to
have racks that are somewhat different in the downtown
business district on Main Street, yet it would be appreciated
if consideration could be given to allowing them to have
their own racks and colors outside the Main Street area.
Another issue is that if there was a desire in the future to
establish another news rack location on public property that
would require a precise diagram, to that he said that the
diagrams produced by the City are very good however they are
in the newspaper business, not architects, so possibly a
digital picture with measurements would be more appropriate.
Also, for news racks placed along the curb there is an
eighteen to twenty-four inch requirement, where there is
head-in parking that is most likely a viable distance because
cars hang over the edge, in many areas there is a 'no
stopping' zone or a red curb and in those areas there is no
need for that distance, if in those instances the distance
could be six inches it may allow a news rack placement if the
sidewalk is not quite wide enough because the ordinance also
provides for a four foot sidewalk clearance. Mr. Mosler
asked that those issues be given some reconsideration. Mr.
Paul Carrigan, Los Angeles Times, said he wished to reiterate
the comments of Mr. Mosler, that they have been talking as a
group and share his concerns, he mentioned that with what was
initially proposed and where the provisions are now, the
effort has come a long way, appreciation to the City Manager
and staff for working with them, for addressing the newspaper
concerns, making certain that they do not lose their First
Amendment rights while giving the City some aesthetically
pleasing newsracks. Mr. Carrigan said they are behind the
proposal as it stands with the exception of the comments of
Mr. Mosler, and reiterated that they would prefer that there
not be a uniform news rack color outside the downtown area as
the newspapers would like to maintain their own identity with
their racks, and because they are in over a hundred cities
throughout the southland they do not want to have a mandatory
color throughout the city which in time could result in every
I
I
......".-....""~-
"' -"'..'Z..~"
l2-8-03
city wanting a specific color, they are happy to accommodate
the needs in the Specific Plan zone but would like to
maintain their identity outside that zone.
I
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to declare a recess at 8:33 p.m. The Council reconvened at
8:48 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order.
Mr. Tim Latimer, Orange County Register, expressed
appreciation to the City Manager, City Attorney, and
Development Services Director for working with the newspapers
with regard to the proposed newsrack ordinance, noting that
some cities have adopted ordinances that have hurt their
cause. Mr. Latimer stated again that they appreciate the
opportunity to work with the City. Mr. Rocky Genter, Seal
Beach, mentioned that he is somewhat new to the political
process, surprised that politics in Seal Beach seems to be
practiced with innuendoes and mistruths, disappointed that
that is the approach, that is not the way that he or his
partners do business, they are looking to follow the
ordinances, Councilman Yost asked for the application to be
complete before this item was considered, it is believed that
that is the case and the Development Services Director will
let them know next week once he has had time to review the
application, the Partners have answered each and every issue
raised since the original application of August 20th, they
are looking to follow due process and it is hoped that will
mean more than the applause and innuendos that have occurred
at this meeting. ,There being no further comments, Mayor
Campbell declared Oral Communications closed.
I
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
No report was presented.
CITY MANAGER REPORT
No report was presented.
I
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilman Larson inquired of the City Attorney if the City
has agreed at any point to sell the Zoeter property. The
response of the City Attorney was no. Councilman Larson also
asked if, in the opinion of the City Attorney, the Council
discussions are in compliance with the Ralph M. Brown Act.
The City Attorney responded that they are, and for the
benefit of the public, stated that neither the City or the
Redevelopment Agency can sell Zoeter without first having a
public meeting at which the actual agreement would be placed
on the agenda, the City would receive input at a Councilor
Agency meeting before any decision is reached. Councilman
Yost noted that a member of the public had asked how
something could be put to rest, to that he said he was not
certain that could be done, laws are living things, they
change, can be changed by votes of Council, what it really
takes is an involved and informed public who watch the
agendas, are aware of what is happening in their community,
and want the community to reflect their desires, that is the
only way that one can maintain the way Seal Beach is.
Councilman Antos reported having received a call about
filming on the beach, the filming permit allowed night
filming with bright lights, etc. until 2:00 a.m., it would
seem to him that if the City is going to issue permits for
filming it should not involve bright lights, a moon, etc.
until 2:00 a.m. especially if they shine into the windows of
residents. Councilman Yost asked if the application for the
DWP plan is complete, the response of the City Manager was
l2-8-03
that the second submittal was made on December 8th, it has
not been deemed complete at this time. Councilman Doane said
he would like to offer an explanation of the item that he
placed on this agenda as there seems to be a misconception,
he and other members of the Council were not present at the
information meeting hosted by Councilmembers Yost and Antos
however he did watch the cablecast, Councilman Antos did an
excellent job of explaining the process that the owners of
the property must go through, the first step in that
presentation was the DWP Committee which needs to be
reorganized in that the situation under which it was
organized has changed considerably, the only thing on the
agenda is to look at that Committee, there is nothing on the
agenda to discuss rezoning or the application, the reason the
reorganization is on the agenda is so that when the
application is complete to the satisfaction of the City the
Committee will be in place so that the proposal can then go
forward with the first phase of the process, this would be an
appropriate time to revise the Committee. Councilman Doane
clarified that his intent was to merely get things in place
so that the application can be handled properly without
having disputes going back and forth. Councilman Larson said
in furtherance of the explanation by Councilman Doane,
acknowledged that he had previously seconded the motion to
table, it was only the reorganization that was tabled, the
Committee still exists, they could meet tomorrow if desired,
the staff report explains that there are two members that
need not be on the Committee in that the nominating
organizations no longer exist. He noted that there is always
an assumption by the people in Seal Beach that because the
Council hears applications that they are required by law to
hear, that they have already made up their mind, that is not
the case. Mayor Campbell explained that Redevelopment Agency
meetings are open meetings, held the fou.rth Monday of each
month, they begin at 6:45 p.m., they are not televised, that
is basically a cable issue, the public is welcome. with
regard to why the City did not buy the DWP property, the
reason is that 'the City did not have the money to buy it, at
the time the City was struggling to build some reserves, the
difference between the Trailer Park and the DWP is that the
Park residents are paying off the bond debt with their rents,
there is no City money going to pay the bond debt. Mayor
Campbell mentioned that the Council takes a lot of verbal
abuse week after week, some ask how the members of the
Council stand it, there are some who just like to take their
five minutes and see how unkind, vicious, uninformed they can
be, and try to scare people. The Mayor also mentioned that
she is, and has been, in good health.
I
I
APPOINTMENT - ORANGE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY -
I-405 MAJOR INVESTMENT STUDY WORKING GROUP
The City Manager stated that the request is to appoint two
members of the Council to serve on the OCTA 405 working Group
Committee, the aCTA is in preparation of a long term plan as
to what the I-405 is going to look like in the future, they
are looking at a lot of options, that includes putting in
extra lanes on the I-405, it is vitally important that two
members of the Council be appointed to the Committee, there
will not be a great number of meetings, the first of which
will be in January. Councilman Doane recommended that
Councilman Larson be appointed inasmuch as his District is at
an angle adjacent to where the 22 joins the 405 Freeway, and
asked if the three hundred foot distance requirement keep him
from serving on this committee. The City Attorney stated
that that issue could be researched, he would believe that he
I
-f".""ii.!;",,';.
,.., ,,,-,:g;-
I
I
I
l2-8-03
could serve on the working group however would prefer' to look
at the facts before issuing an opinion. Mayor Campbell
offered to serve as well because the I-405 project goes along
the southern perimeter of College Park East where in recent
years effort was made to save the adjacent six homes, also
Mr. Lehey of OCTA has already been approached because the
widening of the 22 is proposed to go to the 605, which goes
along the 405, and it was requested that OCTA begin now to
seek a waiver for some Navy property which is agricultural
use, that she has requested quarterly updates with regard to
that, this is something that is going to go on after she
leaves the Council. Councilman Doane noted that Mayor
Campbell's Council term may be up before these meetings
commence, however noted that her work has been appreciated.
Councilman Larson agreed to serve, and Mayor Campbell noted
that her term does not expire until May.
Councilman Doane moved to appoint Councilman Larson and Mayor
Campbell to the OCTA I-405 Major Investment Study Working
Group. Councilman Antos seconded the 'motion.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
The City Attorney offered to speak with Councilmember Larson
and obtain more information relating to this committee,
however based upon the staff report it appears that the group
would not be making decisions that could have an impact on
the value of his residence, if it turns out that there would
be a conflict the Council could appoint another member.
DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER ADVISORY COMMITTEE -
RESTRUCTURING
Councilman Doane moved that this item be removed from the
table. Councilman Larson seconded the motion.
AYES:
NOES:
Doane, Larson
Antos, Campbell, Yost
Motion failed
Councilman Yost requested that the Council be provided as
much lead time as possible when an item relating to the'
Department of Water and Power property is proposed for the
agenda, he was not aware of this item until Friday of last
week. The City Manager explained that the agenda deadline
for staff reports is basically Tuesday, nothing is foreseen
for upcoming agendas at the staff level, agendas are out on
Friday, Councilmembers of course have the prerogative to put
items on the agenda, to the question as to whether staff
understands the Brown Act, it is believed they do, therefore
to talk to each member of the Council would be considered a
serial meeting. Councilman Yost said possibly the members of
the Council could make it be known to the other members when
something is to be placed on the agenda. Councilmember Antos
asked if the Council could be notified by memo or other means
once the DWP application is deemed to be complete, his belief
is that the reason for tabling the Committee issue by
Councilman Yost was because theie'was no complete
application, and once complete the item could be brought back
for discussion. The Manager mentioned that he believed that
the Council was notified when the initial application was
deemed to be incomplete, when there is a determination that
more information is needed or the application is complete the
Council will also be notified. Councilman Yost 'suggested e-
mail. Mayor Campbell clarified that when the initial vote
was taken she had voted to not table it because it was not
l2-8-03
known when this would be brought forward that would result in
the expenditure of staff time which translates to dollars,
her feeling was to cut that process short and go straight to
the Committee, now that it has been resubmitted that block of
staff time is no longer an issue.
CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "D" thru "P"
Yost moved, second by Larson, to approve the recommended
,action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented.
I
D. Approved the waiver of reading in full of
all ordinances and resolutions and that
consent to the waiver of reading shall be
deemed to be given by all Councilmembers
after the reading of the title unless
specific request is made at that time for
the reading of such,ordinance or resolution.
E. Approved the minutes of the regular meeting
of November lOth, 2003.
F. Accepted the resignation of Linda Devine, the
District One Department of Water and Power
Advisory Committee representative, and
declared the position vacant.
G.
Approved regular demands numbered 44260
through 44516 in the amount of $2,074,329.26,
ADP payroll checks numbered 6755041 through
6755128 and 6999788 through 6999876 in the
amount of $376,628.2l, and authorized
warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same.
I
H. Received and filed the Monthly Investment
Report for October, 2003.
1. Adopted Resolution Number 5188 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO
THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND PINNACLE
PETROLEUM," (extension of term). By
unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution
Number 5188 was waived.
J. Adopted Resolution Number 5189 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING THE GRADING AND
STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION MANUAL,
2003 EDITION." By unanimous consent, full
reading of Resolution Number 5189 was waived.
K.
Adopted Resolution Number 5190 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING DESIGN CRITERIA FOR
SEWER FACILITIES, 2003 EDITION.'" By
unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution
Number 5190 was waived.
I
L. Approved the plans and specifications for
Annual Paving Rehabilitation FY 2003/2004,
project Number 50172 (previous Project Number
49673), and authorized staff to initiate
the bidding process.
->.",,--
l2-8-03
M. Authorized the support letter to the orange
County Transportation Agency for the Bus
Rapid Transit Program; and received and filed
the staff report.
N.
I
O.
P.
AYES:
NOES:
I
Received and filed the Annual Report for the
City of Seal Beach Community Facilities
project No. 2002-01, Herron pointe.
Adopted Resolution Number 5191 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH TO CONSIDER ALTERATION TO
THE RATE AND METHOD OF APPORTIONMENT OF
SPECIAL TAX FOR COMMUNITY FACILITIES
DISTRICT NO. 2002-0l (HERON POINTE)." By
unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution
Number 5191 was waived.
Adopted Resolution Number 5192 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA STATING ITS
INTENTION TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO
CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC
EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH." By
unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution
Number 5192 was waived.
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
PUBLIC HEARING / RESOLUTION NUMBER 5182 - ARBOR PARK - TRIAL
DESIGNATED CANINE USE
Mayor Campbell declared the pUblic hearing open to consider a
trial canine use of a designated area of Arbor Park. The
City Clerk certified that notice of the public hearing was
advertised as well as posted at Arbor park, and that no
communications had been received. The Director of Public
Works presented the staff report, explained that this process
began in August at which time the Council approved an
agreement with the American Youth Soccer Organization for use
of the soccer field at Arbor Park, and offered to briefly
discuss the design of the area, maintenance of the area, dog
park rules, the cost/charge, overall project cost,
enforcement, AYSO soccer entrance, and the overall project
schedule. The Director noted that the design for this
project was done in a way to keep the cost as low as
possible, field engineering, there is not sufficient money to
do formal plans and specifications, in response to comments
at a prior meeting there will be double gates, adequate
distance from any water fountain to a dog fountain placed in
the park, the boundaries were established by himself with the
assistance of the Public Works Supervisor which are basically
along the concrete swale in that that was a logical location
yet not too far west which would mean jogging around the
existing water fountain, the cost to maintain the Park is
$12,000 per year or $1,000 per acre, this is a two acre
parcel, sample dog park rules from other jurisdictions were
included with the staff report, it has been determined that
the rules previously suggested will stand however suggestions
or modifications will be considered and brought to Council at
the time of consideration of the permanent installation of a
dog park. He noted that a question had been posed as to how
to recoup the money, there could be a $2 charge added to the
license fee and issue something similar to a fishing license
I
l2-8-03
or a special card for the dog, or a license to wear around
their neck to identify who is authorized to be in the park,
any consideration of fees would be left until such time as
the dog park would be made permanent, the cost at this point
would be $3,500 for a temporary fence to enclose the area or
$7,000 to $10,000 for a permanent installation, as noted the
cost to do formal plans and specifications in another
community is costing $60,000, again the attempt has been to
keep the cost of this project as low cost as possible. As to
enforcement, there would be no dogs allowed on the playing
field at any time, they would need to be leashed in the
parking lot, they could only be off-leash within the dog
park, on occasion AYSO closes the parking lot therefore there
would need to be access into the soccer field, and should the
Council determine to approve the budget amendment to build
the temporary dog park, a fence would be installed in three
to four weeks, a trial period would be four to six months, at
the end of the trial period this matter would be brought to
the Recreation and Parks Commission for their recommendation
to Council, at that time the Council could determine whether
or not to go forward with a permanent dog park as well as
consider allocation of fees to pay for the maintenance of the
dog park.
I
Councilman Larson made reference to a regulation that
prohibits toys, his dogs played Frisbee, does the regulation
mean no Frisbees or something else. The Public works
Director responded that he did not have that information, the
Animal Services division of the police Department provided
the rules, staff is open to any modifications that Council
may have. The City Manager said his belief is that the
provision was specific, he was uncertain why, possibly what
was meant was children's toys. There was a continued
question as to the definition of toys, a Frisbee, a ball, or
whatever. Mayor Campbell mentioned that the hours of
operation will be dawn to dusk and the military will close
the fence, that was confirmed to be correct, a question too
as to how often it is anticipated that the park will be
closed for maintenance and the scheduled hours of
maintenance, the response was that staff will try to find a
time when the park is least used and the contractor will then
be scheduled appropriately, if it is determined to not be a
heavy use period it would likely not require designation of a
specific day or time, the maintenance will also be guided by
the amount of use as to whether it would require reseeding,
the soccer fields are currently scheduled in accordance with
upcoming soccer games. Mayor campbell explained that the
City leased this land from the Air Station around 1985 for a
twenty-five year period, the lease had just a few years
remaining, the AYSO group notified the City that they wanted
to make some improvements to the field yet did not want to do
so with such a short lease, the City then decided to seek a
new twenty-five year lease, during that effort it was found
that the City had no authority to enforce any of its
ordinances, that provision was then added into the lease.
Mayor Campbell mentioned that a couple of years ago the City
acted to allow dogs in Gum Grove Park on-leash, Gum Grove is
a passive recreation area, Arbor Park is an active recreation
area, more recently the Spoiled Dog Society wanted the use of
Zoeter Field in early mornings, that was denied in that there
are children that use that field, there were public health
and safety issues. While owners love their dogs
unfortunately there are people who do not love dogs as do the
owners therefore one must pay attention to the public health
and safety issues, the problem at Arbor Park was that dogs
I
I
,.'- -"-.<-'" ,~,.....-"-~~
l2-8-03
I
were running around unleashed, some residents voiced
complaints, there is an ordinance prohibiting unleashed dogs
therefore when someone complains there needs to be
enforcement, in addition there were complaints from AYSO of
dog droppings throughout Arbor Park before their games, this
is a large facility, some feel it is under-utilized, there
are different groups that want to use the Park, so it seems
logical to split up use of the area, the eastern two acres
will be fenced and used for a dog park, by doing that the
dogs can not run the soccer field, however there are a few
people who will still want to let their dogs run the soccer
field and it will be up to the dog owners to let the City
know who they are and when they frequent the Park so that
Animal Services can deal with such violation. Mayor Campbell
said by doing this it is hoped it will solve the problems of
the soccer people and the dog owners will have a designated
area to let their animals run. She claimed that a recent
news article reported that thirty-one percent of Seal Beach
residents are under Proposition l3, that is more than any
other city in Orange County, if the Old Town area, which is
somewhat transient, and Leisure World are factored out, that
would likely put the Hill, College Park East and College Park
West at upwards of thirty-five percent, the people stay,
their children are grown and move, the family adopts a dog(s)
who become their furry family, an integral part of society.
The most prominent complaints from CPE are that people want
to park in front of their house nor do they want dogs using
their lawn, the dog park may help to take away the lawn
problem. The challenge is to meet the needs of the two
groups by giving each their own area, fencing off the east
end of the Park, the kids can use the soccer field, the dogs
can use the dog park. With regard to rules, there are to be
no dogs on the soccer field, dogs must be on-leash until they
are in the fenced dog park area, and on Saturday morning when
games are taking place the soccer people do not allow cars in
Arbor Park, this has been sanctioned by the Police
Department, it is a matter of safety for the children,
therefore the dog owners too will need to use, West Ed for
parking, keeping their animals on-leash until they enter the
dog park, and the owners must pickup after their pets, it is
hoped that this will make a number of people happy.
I
I
Mayor Campbell invited members of the audience wishing to
speak to this item to come to the microphone and identify
themselves. With reference to a previous comment of Council,
Mr. Jeff Davis, Fourth Street, said ironically it is a ball
that started this Park, about twenty-eight years ago a child
in his neighborhood hit a baseball through the window of his
new car, about a month later it happened again, he talked to
the father who in turn pointed out that there was no place on
the east end of CPE where a baseball could be hit,
subsequently the then Councilperson was told that a park was
needed, a group was formed called Friends of Seal Beach
College Park East Community Park Foundation, there were a
great many neighbors giving time, money, and support, of
which he read a list of some of the participants and
supporters, said this is truly a community park, this is just
one more thing that will continue to grow with its use. Mr.
Davis asked for the support of the Council, and said the
people will do a great job. Mr. Kevin Painter, Long Beach,
commended the City for considering a dog park, dogs need
unrestricted play, it is also good that it will be on grass
rather than gravel. Mr. Painter suggested however one
additional provision of the rules to place a limit on the
number of dogs that are brought to the park, especially when
12-8-03
they are brought by dog walkers, there are just so many that
can be watched at one time, that will also cut down on the
dog droppings that may not be observed. Councilman Larson
responded that the most one person can bring is three dogs.
A gentleman from the audience expressed appreciation to the
city Manager and staff for the work that they have done on
the dog park thus far. He provided copies of a news article
that appeared in an Orange County newspaper this date, some
excerpts therefrom included 'that the park would be
beneficial to the many seniors that live in Seal Beach where
the median age is about fifty-four and th~ percent of
residents over sixty-five is about thirty-eight percent,'
Purdue University researcher says 'dog parks are conducive to
social interaction because of the acceptance of nodding,
saying hello, and asking questions, the social interaction is
especially crucial for older people who may not feel
comfortable going around a neighborhood behind a leash and
may not have incentives for going to a park along,' and that
'making cities more dog friendly makes very good sense,'
also, the USC Director of the Center for Sustainable Cities
states that there were hardly any Southern California dog
parks before the 1990's, now new communities routinely
incorporate dog parks into their designs and older cities are
converting existing park space to dog parks, the former
regional director of the AYSO stated that the group supports
the City's dog park plan, and the Mayor was quoted as saying
the dogs will have their area and the kids will have theirs.
Ms. Jennifer Snyder, President of the College Park East
Neighborhood Association, stated that she was not present to
advocate on behalf of the organization, yet the Association
sent a newsletter to the seventeen hundred homes in CPE,
input was solicited from all residents regarding the dog
park, they were provided contact information for any
questions so that they would have accurate information as
opposed to speculation or rumor, the result was six phone
calls and fourteen e-mails, none were negative, although
those numbers may not be a representative sample it seems to
speak to the fact that there was no one who took the
opportunity to harangue anyone relating to the proposal. Ms.
Snyder said as a private citizen it is her hope, and having
been active in setting events at Heather Park, that if the
owners have a place to take their dog to run around that is
finite and defined and controlled, that those who do an
informal pickup of dog droppings at Heather Park prior to
events will have less to clean up. Again noting that the
Neighborhood Association sent out the information, and from
the demonstrated support appearing in the Council Cha~bers it
seems that this is an idea that at least deserves an
opportunity to survive and perhaps become permanent. Mr.
Larry Basche twenty year Candleberry Avenue resident, thanked
the Council for the opportunity to speak in support of Arbor
dog park, said he has always been an avid dog lover,
currently has two dogs. Mr. Basche reported doing some
research on dog parks, discovered that there are over ninety
dog parks in California, ov~r six hundred in the country, and
over four hundred in Canada, there have been dog parks for
over ten years, in Long Beach, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach,
Irvine, Laguna Beach, a new park in San Clemente, several
others in Los Angeles County, he also made inquiries to the
dog parks and the cities, the overwhelming response from
everyone was positive, in addition to the community it
enriched the lives of those who participated, and requested
that the Council allow the opportunity to let the people use
this dog park and show how good it can be for all. Mr. Bob
Labradore, resident of Rossmoor, property owner and former
I
I
I
.~~""""""
12-8-03
I
resident of Seal Beach, said because of his affinity with
this town and neighboring communities he found himself
becoming the director for AYSO soccer serving the communities
of Seal Beach, Rossmoor, and Los Alamitos, and restated his
quote that the AYSO does indeed support a dog park, this AYSO
organization has over two thousand children participating,
and he is pleased to see that Seal Beach found a solution to
the situation so that AYSO can cohabit ate with the dog
owners. Mr. Labradore explained that AYSO had been closing
the gates to Arbor Park on Saturdays for a period of ten
weeks during the fall season, the reason is that there had
been some near misses and an incident of a child being struck
by a car, the parking strip is narrow and with the evolution
from the station wagon to the SUV the parking situation has
changed, this was for the safety of the kids, and West Ed has
been generous over the years by allowing the soccer people
and others to park at their facility after hours, the dog
owners are starting to use West Ed parking as well. He
mentioned that the dog owners have been very cooperative,
they generally frequent the Park after the Saturday soccer
games, the Park is used also for softball and other youth
activities as well as by residents. Mr. Labradore noted the
long term agreement entered into between the AYSO and the
City for use of Arbor Park in conjunction with the lease
extension with the military, and in consideration of that
agreement AYSO has agreed to make a donation to the City for
the maintenance of the Park, the first installment of the
donation a check for $10,000, which he presented to the City
Manager. He also extended appreciation to the Public Works
Director and the Public Works Supervisor for selecting the
City's current landscape contractor in that they are doing a
fine job, the turf is coming back, AYSO is also accommodating
the City by vacating the Park so that the routine turf
maintenance can be accomplished, which is being done now.
Mr. Craig Adler, College Park East, said it was he who
requested the public hearing for the dog park, he is in favor
of it, supports it, he gathered petition signatures in
support, his feeling is that the trial period should be given
a chance and full effort to make it work, and after hearing
all of the support present he would hope for a favorable vote
of the Council. Mr. Glen Rabin said he is somewhat of a
chair of the group that has been advancing the dog park
cause, thanked the Council for even considering the dog park,
that says that the Council is sensitive to people who own
dogs, as can be seen from the people present there is a lot
of support for the dog park, for most it is a first
experience in civic affairs, this issue has galvanized the
people, they own dogs and love them, this is not about dogs
it is about people who own them, each person has something in
common and there is a benefit to be able to associate with
one another and exercise their dogs, somewhat of a community
within a community, it is felt the dog park will allow the
people to associate with one another and enjoy the benefits
of the park. Other speakers have spoken about how this would
be a good thing for the community, how dog parks are becoming
more common, just because other cities have them is no reason
for Seal Beach to have one, it is because dog parks work,
there may be instances where a dog park is not found to be
ideal, in this case with the support of the Council and the
community it is hoped that Arbor dog park will be as
wholesome and safe a facility as is imaginable, another spoke
in support of the trial period, the staff report does a good
job of analyzing the issue, in that report it was noted that
not enough people were able to be contacted about the dog
park issue, the petition containing about three hundred
I
I
12-8-03
seventy signatures of College Park residents were gathered in
recent weeks by about ten people, yet of interest is that
forty-eight percent of the petition signors do not own dogs,
that points out that there is broad based support for the dog
park trial period. Mr. Rabin said the persons present are in
support of the dog park concept, College Park East residents,
and who respectively request that the dog park be'given a
chance, he also invited the Council to visit the park with
their dogs once it is in place and have a good time. Mr. Roy
Joe Sealy, Seal Beach, said he thought he heard about a dog
park for College Park, there is a Seal Beach University that
is joked about, he mentioned that they walk their dogs on the
beach and get tickets, they take them to Zoeter, run them
loose, play Frisbee, get tickets, dogs are everywhere, cats
are everywhere, walking Old Town at night you can see people
picking up dog droppings, all kinds of people and from
everywhere, he grew up in Garden Grove and Seal Beach, why is
there not a dog park in Old Town, he temporarily lives in
Riverside and San Bernardino because of court matters but is
a resident here, some dog parks look better than golf
courses, there are rich people that take their little dogs
into stores and places, they do not get tickets, why, they
are also the people out late at night. Mr. Steward
Brainbaugh, Garden Grove, read a poem entitled 'Rainbow
Bridge', and said the dog park is about as close to heaven as
one is going to get. There being no further comments, Mayor
Campbell declared the public hearing closed.
I
Yost moved, second by Antos, to authorize the City Manager to
implement a trial canine use area at Arbor Park for a period
of four to six months and adopt Resolution Number 5182
entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT, NO.
04-l3 FOR INSTALLATION OF "TRIAL" CANINE USE AREA WITHIN
ARBOR PARK." By unanimous consent, ,full reading of
Resolution Number 5182 was waived.
I
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
With regard to the anticipated time frame for installation of
the fence, the Public Works Director advised that it will be
approximately three to four weeks however with the holiday
possibly the second week of January. A member of the
audience suggested that possibly something needs to be done
to initiate the licensing procedure the way it was a few
years ago.
PUBLIC HEARING / RESOLUTION NUMBER 5193 / RESOLUTION NUMBER
5194 - NEGATIVE DECLARATION / GENERAL PLAN REVISIONS
Mayor Campbell declared the public hearing open to consider
Negative Declaration 03-l and revisions to the City of Seal
Beach General Plan. The City Clerk certified that notice of
the public hearing was advertised as required by law, and
reported that no communications were received relating to
this item. The Director of Development Services presented
the staff report, explained that this item would adopt a new
General Plan for the City, noted that the Council had
appointed a Citizens Advisory Committee to work with the
consultants to review the document, the Plan at this point
generally includes all of the suggestions and comments that
came forth as a result of the Committee, the Committee met on
seven occasions to review the various Elements of the General
Plan, the Planning Commission considered this item under
public hearing and is recommending approval with a number of
I
A~",_* ,. ,.-"""
I
I
I
l2-8-03
modifications ,that are noted in the Resolution adopting the
General Plan, most of those are a reaction to comments from
Hellman properties to conform the General Plan to the
approved Coastal Development Permit for the Hellman property
including the John Laing Homes development, there are some
minor technical changes made by staff as well. The Director
expressed appreciation to the Advisory Committee and Chairman
Antos that spent considerable time working on this task.
There being no comments from the public, Mayor Campbell
declared the pUblic hearing closed. Councilman Antos
explained that there are two sections of the General Plan
that were not reviewed and included, the Local Coastal Plan
continues to be worked on as a separate document, and the
Housing Element will be considered at a future time.
Antos moved, second by Yost, to adopt Resolution Number 5193
entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SEAL BEACH ADOPTING NEGATIVE DECLARATION 03-l IN CONJUNCTION
WITH THE ADOPTION OF, THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH GENERAL PLAN."
By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5193
was waived.
Mayor Campbell made reference to page nine of twelve of the
Planning Commission minutes of September l7th under
Commissioner Comments, a question was posed about the flight
patterns of aircraft from the Long Beach Airport included in
the Noise Element, the response of the consultant was that
'the requirement.,of the Noise Element is to take into account
the over-flights that are nearest to the City, the over-
flights of the Long Beach Airport were considered however
they do not exceed the noise criteria that would normally be
governed by a State mandated noise element......the noise
criteria would range from 60, 65, 70 and 80 CNEL.' Mayor
Campbell said her concern is that they are not considering
arriving aircraft to Long Beach Airport that over-flies Seal
Beach, the flights may be exceeding the noise criteria due to
their coming in lower over Seal Beach now that the airspace
at El Toro has opened up and the flight paths have changed
somewhat, coming in at a lower altitude, adding to that the
day after Measure W passed American Airlines demanded twenty-
one slots at Long Beach Airport, some Hill residents would
claim that the noise level has increased due to the increased
flights and the lower approach altitude. The Director
explained that that issue was discussed at the Planning
Commission, and recall~d that within the past four to six
weeks a comment letter was approved by the Council relating
to a proposed expansion of terminal facilities at Long Beach
Airport, as part of the comment letter it was noted that
there were concerns relating to the change of over-flight
patterns, etc., and as part of their analysis in the EIR
document for the terminal improvements they will be required
to evaluate that issue, therefore if there are new noise
contours they will have to be adopted into an Airport
Environs Land Use Plan by Los Angeles County to establish new
CNEL zones, it is a 65CNEL, which as currently constituted
is far removed from the City of Seal Beach, and until they
adopt a new Airport Environs Land Use Plan there is no valid
basis on which to add something to the General Plan, once
they adopt an Airport Land Use Plan that shows new CNEL's
that would impact Seal Beach obviously it will be necessary
to revise the Noise Element in some manner. Mayor Campbell
noted that that would pertain to the Airport Land Use
Commission of Los Angeles County, the Orange County ALUC does
not get involved in Los Angeles issues. She mentioned too a
l2-8-03
five foot pothole in a runway at the Long Beach Airport while
it was being repaired they altered their flight paths and
came in using an alternate runway that runs perpendicular to
the existing runway, and at 10:20 in the evening she had a
737 come over her house at about seven hundred feet and over
the end of the Armed Forces Training Base runway, it was
frightening. The Director clarified again that those issues
were addressed in the comment letter relating to their EIR,
noted too that they have special provisions for landing after
10:00 in the evening, it is felt some of that information was
provided the Council as part of the staff report for the
terminal upgrade, and as that project goes through the
process it will be watched carefully as to any impacts on
Seal Beach. Mayor Campbell said that is the project and then
the EIR will be addressed, she is talking about the Noise
Element that states that noise is not an issue and she is
saying it is. The Director said he understood that on a
personal basis yet on an identified Airport Environs Land Use
Plan that the City could use for criteria to establish that
in its General Plan, there is nothing that exists at this
point where the City could make that argument unless the City
were to do its own noise measurements of the flights of Long
Beach planes over Seal Beach. Mayor Campbell argued that
this deals with land use environs and because it does not
mention it then basically it is being said it does not exist.
The Director responded that until it is identified or the
City takes steps to identify it on its own there is no basis
to make that conclusion, noise measurements of all flights
for twenty-four hour periods of time over an extended period
of time would involve a large expenditure of City funds to
determine the 65 CNEL from planes out of Long Beach Airport,
and offered to provide Council with cost estimates if desired
however it would be a large expense to monitor the flights
for noise. The Mayor asked if any of that cost could be
borne by the Long Beach Airport, the response of the Director
was that Long Beach Ai~port says that the ErR on their
Airport Terminal Project will re-evaluate the noise contours,
that is part of what they are planning to do. Councilman
Larson mentioned that it seems the Mayor has an intense
dislike for Long Beach and its airport yet never expresses
any dismay over the giant, noisy planes from the Joint Forces
Training Base, that is what makes all of the noise over his
District, he resents spending time worrying about Long Beach
while this City has its own problems. The Mayor claimed that
the noise over the Hill area is a City problem, to that
Councilman Larson stated that the aircraft fly lower over
Leisure World than they do over the Hill and he gets no
complaints.
I
I
Vote to adopt Resolution Number 5l93:
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
Yost moved, second by Antos, to adopt Resolution Number 5194
entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SEAL BEACH ADOPTING THE PROPOSED REVISIONS TO THE GENERAL
PLAN." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution
Number 5194 was waived.
I
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
ORDINANCE NUMBER 1510 - NEWSRACK REGULATIONS
The City Manager reported that changes to the Ordinance as
"-'"'-~."','~i'" ~. ,A'
I
I
I
l2-8-03
requested by the newspaper industry have been made, one
additional recommended change would be to Section llB-4(13-
b), a change to the distance from the curb, the language to
read "...newsracks shall be placed between six and twenty-
four inches from the curb at the sole discretion of the City
Engineer", the reason for that change is that the eighteen to
twenty-four inches was meant to apply to Main Street however
with parallel parking and narrow sidewalk on the side streets
the newsracks could end up in the middle of the sidewalk. He
noted that the color recommended at the staff level is that
it remain uniform throughout the City however that is a
Council choice, and the issue relating to USA Today is that
they have the modernistic style rack. The Development
Services Director mentioned that upon a discussion with the
newspaper representatives this evening, with regard to rack
colors within the Main Street area the newspapers are
suggesting a wood grain brown, a standard color that both the
L.A. Times and the Orange County Register use, it is not a
natural wood grain pattern it is merely the color, a dark
olive green color, the suggestion of staff is that that color
be mandated within the Main Street area and it is at the
discretion of the Council as to whether to mandate that color
outside the Main Street area or allow the newspapers to use
any rack that they may want to use in those areas and just be
subject to the location criteria; other than those items it
is believed the newspapers and staff are basically in
agreement. Councilman Antos said he too understands that the
wood grain brown is an industry standard color, that should
not pose a hardship on the papers, that color of rack can be
seen throughout communities, his preference would be that it
be used in all of the Main Street Specific Plan area, the
Council can decide what shall be used outside the Specific
Plan area and whether the blue and white USA Today rack will
be allowed or required to be the standard color. Councilman
Yost said he is sympathetic to the newspapers yet there are
areas that deserve some uniformity, the Pavilions Center will
be undergoing an upgrade, other commercial areas as well, and
inquired as to the desires of the Council to have uniformity
citywide. The Director clarified that this ordinance does
not apply to newsracks in a private shopping center, only to
newsracks on the public right-of-way, whatever is worked out
between a shopping center owner and the newspapers the City
has no control over. The City Attorney noted that based upon
the meetings held with the newspapers they have agreed to
uniform racks, just the color, and_based on the testimony of
the USA Today representative it appears that he understands
the desire for uniformity on Main Street, it is thought that
he was asking to use their own racks outside of Main Street,
if the Council is willing to allow USA TOday, as an example,
the opportunity to use their own color the ordinance could be
amended to allow a color at the discretion of the Director.
Councilmember Larson noted that considerable work has been
done on this issue, he however does not want to get into a
position of telling a company what color they must paint
their racks, the remainder of the ordinance is fine, color is
an individual issue, if it is a color that is acceptable to
the newspapers he is willing to approve the ordinance, he
does not want to get into a situation where there is a fight
between the City and the newspapers, he would vote no on the
ordinance only on that basis. Councilman Yost said since the
newspaper companies have agreed to the uniformity on Main
Street yet would like to use their own specific colored racks
elsewhere in the City, asked if that would change the vote of
Councilman Larson on the ordinance. Councilman Larson
responded that if that is a guarantee that they are the only
12-8-03
newspapers that will ever come into town, there are many
little publications, real estate, throwaways, etc., they may
just want a license and use a blue, green, or whatever color
of rack that will stand out, he merely anticipates that when
people are competing for attention someone will want a color
different from another
Councilman Antos moved to reintroduce Ordinance Number 1510
entitled "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AMENDING
CHAPTER llB OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH PERTAINING
TO NEWSRACKS" as amended to basically require a uniform rack
color within the Main Street Specific Plan area, colors as
determined by the Director outside the Specific Plan area,
and uniform racks with the Director allowed to call an
equivalent. Councilman Yost seconded the motion. By
unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number l510 was
wai ved. ...
I
The City Attorney clarified the changes to the proposed
ordinance, Section 1lB-2(c),City Approved Newsrack Model,
the words 'K Jack Engineering Company Mack Truck Green'
deleted and changed to 'a color of the equivalent of wood
grain brown', to the same section an additional sentence
added that 'the Director has the discretion to allow
different colors outside the Main Street specific Plan area',
and to Section 11B-4(l3b) revised to read 'newsracks shall be
placed between six inches and twenty-four inches from the
curb at the sole discretion of the Director.'
The Chair allowed the USA Today representative to make a
comment at this point. The representative said their rack
has been identified as a MlOO or KJ50, if they determine to
use the blue and white their rack is neither, the rack will
fit level but it looks like a television, it will fit on the
tray, that is the rack they would want to use outside the
Specific Plan area. Councilman Yost offered that his
understanding is that they be consistent racks that would
allow the color to be slightly different, yet some
consistency without each rack being different, no specific
publication having an advantage, with the Director having the
ability to use some discretion. The Development Services
Director explained that the language provides that. the
Director can approve a different rack if it is deemed to be
equivalent in size and appearance, therefore does not have to
be the exact same model if equivalent, and that the reference
to Director is to the Director of Public Works.
I
Vote on the motion to approve the reintroduction of Ordinance
Number 15l0.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Yost
Larson Motion carried
CLOSED SESSION
By unanimous consent, the City Council reconvened the regular
adjourned, recessed City Council/Redevelopment Agency meeting
at 10:20 p.m. The city Council/Redevelopment Agency was
reconvened at 10:39 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the
meeting to order. The City Attorney reported that the
Council/Redevelopment Agency had met in Closed Session to
discuss the item identified on the agenda, the Council gave
direction to the City Manager, no other reportable action was
taken.
I
12-8-03 / 1-l2-04
ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, ~ith cpnsent of the Council /
Agency to direct that the reg~lar adjourned meeting be
adjourned until January 12, 2004 at 5:00 p.m. to meet in
Closed Session. By unanimous consent the regular and regular
adjourned meetings wer; adjourned at 10:42 p.m.
,
App,oved, !~~f~
Atte,t, ;}~'(i~~(j2
clerk
II
Seal Beach, California
January 12, 2004
I
The City Council and Redevelopment Agency met jointly in'
regular adjourned session at 5:00 p.m. with Mayor Campbell
calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Campbell
Council/Agency Members Antos, Doane,' Yost
Absent:
Council/Agency Member Larson
Councilman Larson was present in the conference room,
awaiting the majority of the Council/Agency.
Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
I
The City Attorney mentioned that this would be the
opportunity for members of the public to speak to the items
identified on the agenda. No one addressed the Council/
Agency. The City Attorney announced that the Council/ Agency
would meet in Closed Session to discuss the items identified
on the agenda, a City Manager evaluation pursuant to
Government Code Section 54957.6, a conference with the City's
real property negotiator, Bancap Commercial Real Estate
Services/City Manager, Rodi Properties, LLC, pursuant to
Government Code Section 54956.8 relating to property located
at l190-98 Pacific Coast Highway, and a conference with legal
counsel with regard to cases of anticipated litigation
pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b). The
Council/Agency adjourned to Closed Session at 5:04 p.m. and
reconvened at 6:59 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the
meeting to order. The City Attorney reported that the
Council/Agency had met in Closed Session to discuss the items