HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2004-02-09
1-26-04 / 2-9-04
ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council
to adjourn the meeting until Monday, February 9th at 6:30 '
p.m. to meet in Closed Session if necessary. By unanimous
consent, the meeting was adjourned at 9:26 p.m.
clerk
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Approved:
~~Ae~
M yor
Attest:
Seal Beach, California
February 9, 2004
The regular adjourned meeting scheduled for 6:30 p.m. this
date was canceled due to a lack of business items in need of
Closed Session discussion.
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Seal Beach, California
February 9, 2004
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
session at 7:06 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
Absent:
None
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Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development
Services
Mr. Danes, Director of Public Works/City
Engineer
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Ms. Arends-King, Director of Administrative
Services
Mr. Vukojevic, Deputy City Engineer
Mr. Cummins, Associate Planner
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
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APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Councilman Yost requested that Item "F" be removed from the
Consent Calendar for separate consideration, Councilman Antos
requested that Items "F, G, and H" be removed, and Councilman
Doane requested that Item '''E'' be removed. Yost moved, second
by Antos, to approve the order of the agenda as revised.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
PRESENTATION
SEAL BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETY - PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
Doane moved, second by Yost, to continue the presentation
item until a representative of the Society was present.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
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ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Campbell declared Oral Communications open. Mr. Jerry
Anderson, Sandpiper Drive, expressed his objection to the
compensation package for the City Manager approved at the
last meeting. He said that raises are granted as a result of
a process, that process is called a budget session at which
the Council decides what the revenues and expenditures are
and from that a program is decided upon, for anyone to be
granted a raise without that process is wrong, this is doubly
wrong because there was a lame duck vote, the same situation
the last time, all it takes is a three to two vote, as long
as the representatives from Leisure World do not have to pay
anything the Manager has those two votes, he has the vote of
the Mayor as well. Mr. Anderson asked for an explanation of
eighteen months severance pay, it is said that the City is
bankrupt, there are people out of work, yet the' Manager has
been granted a substantial increase, as a rule if a person is
fired it is generally because they have not performed
properly and if that is the case why would they be rewarded
with $200,000, yet the Council blames financial conditions on
the State, but the State did not grant the Manager eighteen
months severance pay, or the Police Department twenty-one
percent over three years and three percent at fifty, the
State did not do Twelfth Street, it is time to start running
Seal Beach in a proper fashion and stop blaming others. Mr.
Anderson inquired if his understanding that the Manager will
get ten percent more than the Police Chief is correct, and
offered that if the Police Department is run poorly and the
employees given inappropriate raises that begets more
inappropriate raises, it is the Manager that is the winner,
if anything, reward with bonuses for work well done, do not
allow people to benefit for work poorly done. Ms. Joyce
parque, Seal Beach, agreed with the prior comments, stated
that the Council claimed that they were the people qualified
to evaluate the Manager, that is an insult to the two
candidates qualified to run in College Park East, the
contract of the Manager was until 2006, this reminds her of
the tactics of the previous administration in Sacramento who
gave everything away at the end, the Mayor should not
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complain about having to take the time to recruit a City
Manager, when elected the Council is entrusted to protect the
taxpayers. Ms. parque claimed that nothing has been done to
protect the taxpayers, especially in Old Town, the money that
has been going into the $7 million fund is the roads, the
grass in the roads, the curbs, the dirty beach, Surfside
beach gets cleaned but not the Old Town beach, the beach
needs to be cleaned, that money is coming off the backs of
the people in Old Town, and then the concern of some members
of the Council is ocean water quality, she mentioned however
that there were a couple of potholes patched in the beach
lots. Ms. Parque said and now, the money from the parking
meters will be taken, which the people of Old Town do not
want, and where is it going, to the General Fund, Leisure
World got the $1 million for their bridge, College Park East
got the tennis facility and $1 million for improvements, Old
Town gets nothing, it supports the other areas and now pays
for a dog park. Ms. Parque suggested that the voters cast
their ballots for the candidate that the Mayor does not
support, and not the Mayor for City Clerk. with regard to
her previously mentioned questions, Ms. parque said the City
should not be a member of the League of California Cities,
employees should not be allowed to go to conferences unless
they pay for it themselves, and she is talking to Kathy and
Rob in that the Manager responded to them at the last
meeting, agreed that the League of, Cities is a lobbying
group, it likely costs the City $75,000 because all
Counci1members want to go when it is in Monterey, the recent
cost for the Mayor and a member of the Council to go to
Sacramento was $5,000, the League likes redevelopment
agencies, they supported tripling the car tax, they do not
like proposition 13. Ms. Parque claimed that it was said the
Manager should be paid the same as Dana Point, however that
city has thirty-seven thousand people, Seal Beach is twenty-
five thousand, ten thousand live behind gates, thus the
Manager is in charge of only fifteen-thousand people. Ms.
Sue Corbin, Seal Beach, said the Mayor and Councilman Yost
should not be serving on the Line board as it is a conflict
of interest, not allowed under State law. She mentioned that
she did not see any member of the Council placing a
resolution on the agenda relating to the trash contract so
that it will come up for bid, all of the contracts should be
bid, also, that the office of the City Clerk should not be
used to drop gifts for the Council such as bottles of
champagne, possibly the Council would report what they
received as a Christmas gift this year, it seems the Council
feels they are entitled to free meals and dinners and they
are not claimed on their economic statements. Ms. Corbin
said the three to two vote situation goes back some thirty
years, that was so that Leisure World would not have all five
votes, she has encouraged Leisure World to remove itself from
the City but they just will not go. She claimed that the
closed sessions before the regular meetings are violations of
the Brown Act, the Council then knows how they will vote on
agenda items. Ms. Corbin claimed that if elected as City
Clerk Mayor Campbell could realize upwards of $35,000 in
retirement after just two years in office, also offered that
although the current City Clerk did a-wonderful job there is
no longer need for a Clerk position, mentioned that there are
candidates for City Clerk, one presently works, claimed that
the Mayor has not worked in years and should retire.
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Mr. Frank Boychuck, Trailer Park, with regard to comments
made relating to Mayor Campbell he expressed his opinion that
he has never seen someone who works so hard to help people
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and gets nothing in return, a complete service person who
helps the community, and extended his 'apology for those
comments on behalf of the members of the Trailer Park, also,
the City Manager has conducted himself in a very professional
manner over the years, his belief is that the Council felt he
deserved a raise in that the City is going into difficult
times in terms of managing the finances of the City given the
$15 ,billion deficit at the State level, that the Council felt
they needed someone to handle the financial problems and keep
the City solvent. Mr. Boychuck made reference to issues that
have come up during recent meetings relating to the
aSpistance programs for low and moderate income people in the
City, those programs administered by Civic Stone, it is
Redevelopment Agency monies, however there are no such monies
remaining, yet about twenty people have been helped to
improve their homes, unfortunately the Agency monies ran out
while there was still people on the list of applicants that
had been approved, and his understanding is that there is a
list of many people who would like to make application to the
program for home improvements. Mr. Boychuck said however
that the irony of this is that there is $1 million in the
State bank waiting to be transferred to the Seal Beach
Redevelopment Agency bank, all that is needed is for a few
residents of the Park to say they would accept this money,
the signature goal is about sixty-five to seventy percent
complete, therefore he would appeal to those residents inside
and outside the Park to rethink their reason for not signing
off on the $1 million that would only help people to improve
their homes and lifestyle. He pointed out that in two weeks
the State Housing/Community Development Department is going
to deny any further extensions for the $1 million, it has
previously been extended three times over the past year and a
half, the eligibility to get that money will cease, and those
persons who have been approved for a loan will be
disappointed, this is a non-renewable fund, again, his hope
is that people will reconsider, and amazingly enough there
are some who have received grants or loans that now will not
sign the necessary documents. Ms. Rene Lusian, Trailer Park,
stated that she is one who was helped by the Redevelopment
Agency low interest loan, she resides in a five hundred
square foot trailer, about forty-five years old, said she has
personally benefited from being able to improve her trailer,
during those improvements other things were found, a leaky
gas line, sewer problem, both unknown, this was a low
interest loan that she will need. to pay back should she move
within twenty years. Ms. Lusian thanked the City, the
Council, Civic Stone for being so helpful and caring, she is
sorry that there will not be as many people as had been hoped
that will be able to be helped by this program in that the $1
million MPROP may be lost. Ms. Lusian once again thanked the
Council. Mr. Stan Anderson, Seal Beach, mentioned that he
had attended the Coastal Commission meeting last month with
regard to the parking meters, the City staff did a good job
of supporting some of the things that many other coastal
cities already understand, and thanked the members of the
Council who voted for parking meters on Main Street. He
recognized that there is some resentment on the part of a few
Main Street businesses yet those may also be a businesses
that allow their employees to park on the' ,Street while the
beach lots are empty. The Parking committee supported using
the meter revenue for infrastructure on Main Street and other
areas which in turn will free General Fund money, this would
go a long way towards a viable Main Street. He feels certain
that there are many persons that are appreciative of what the
Council, Manager, and staff has done to improve safety on
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Main Street, acknowledged that there are additional tax
dollars being generated by the Towne Center yet he is also
aware that there are things that need to be done that should
have happened twenty years ago, Main Street is a viable part
of Seal Beach, it is a large community group. In talking
with members of the Council it is understood that there are
some people who do not understand why meters are needed on
Main Street, they feel it will take business away from Main
Street, he feels however that it may free up some of the
businesses that over the years have not been able to be
viable, also, if one wants to go to the post office it is
difficult to find a parking space because there are
beachgoers parking up and down Main Street during the summer
because they realize that they can park on Main, go to the
beach, come back and wipe the chalk mark off, and return to
the beach, all for free. Mr. Anderson said it needs to be
realized that the businesses on Main Street do count, the
better Main Street does the better the businesses in the Seal
Beach Center does as it is a networking of businesses, again
thanked those who voted for the meters, and expressed his
hope that those who did not support them realize that tough
decisions often need to be made, a Council person from Laguna
Beach said that their local businesses would not be there if
the beachgoers were allowed to park in the spots that promote
the businesses and allow them to thrive, it is important that
the Council and residents do their best job, be supportive of
the community, and not try to delay something that needs to
be supported. With regard to the Trailer Park, Mr. Anderson
said people realize that it is a viable part of Seal Beach, a
great community, many good friends, and it is hoped that
whatever comes out of this comes out right, and the
procedures get done. There being no further comments, Mayor
Campbell declared Oral Communications closed.
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PRESENTATION
SEAL BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETY - PHOTO CONTEST WINNER
Councilman Yost read a communication from the president of
the Seal Beach Historical and Cultural Society expressing
pleasure to continue the annual tradition of providing a copy
of the first place winning photograph to the City of Seal
Beach for all to enjoy. The 2003 winner being Bill Davenport
of Los Alamitos whose picture shows two surfers in
silhouette, a picture that stirs imagination and tests the
power of observation, even the title 'After the Storm'
provokes thought, it is believed that after the storm is over
the two surfers will try their luck with the waves, however a
closer look shows the footprints coming out of the ocean,
evidently this intrepid duo challenged Mother Nature and
surfed during the storm, wondering where the surfboards were,
by studying the silhouettes one can detect an outline of
boogie boards in one hand and swim fins in the other, what
are the surfers saying as they trudge homeward, probably what
all surfers say, tomorrow is another day. Ms. Alioto
expressed appreciation to the City for displaying their
contest photos. Appreciation was extended for the
photograph.
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CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
No report was presented.
CITY MANAGER REPORT
As a point of clarification, the City Manager noted the
comment that the City spent $5,000 for two members of the
Council to go to the League conference, explained that that
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was incorrect, there is $5,000 budgeted for all members of
the Council to attend the League Conference, however due to
schedules that does not necessarily happen.
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COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilman Larson said he would like to take issue with a
statement that the City does not need a City Clerk, the City
Clerk does more than attend meetings and take notes, the
Clerk keeps track of all of the City's records, notifies the
Council of when documents are to be filed under the Political
Reform Act, runs the elections, it is important to have a
City Clerk to continue to do such things. Councilman Larson
also stated that in his opinion the economic engine that
drives this City is north of Westminster, and requested an
analysis be prepared by the City Manager of the various
income sources, how they are being brought to the City as
well as the percentage, it is his opinion that considerably
more money is being spent in Old Town than any other part of
the City. He stated that at some point during the budget he
will recommend that the total City budget be divided into
fifths so that one-fifth can be spent in each Councilmanic
District, that way it can be seen where the money is going.
Councilman Larson also requested a report as to how many
three to two votes there have been on this City Council, in
his opinion during the last year the Council has worked well
together, the Council has never taken an oath that they would
agree on everything, the members vote to their conscience,
what they believe, and he has not felt animosity from any
member of the Council on any vote he has taken either for or
against a particular opinion, each has voted the way they
feel they should vote, it is hoped that will continue. He
clarified that he did not expect the requested reports by the
next meeting however would like the economic issue report
before entering into budget considerations. Councilman Yost
said he would like to add to that report an estimation as to
where the outflow goes, particularly police, fire, and public
safety, where the dollars are being spent and resources are
being used. He made reference to a comment with regard to
his membership on the Seal Beach Housing Corporation, said he
is trying to remove himself from that Board, his hope is that
as part of the settlement and his resignation that his seat
would'be filled by another representative of the Trailer Park
residents so that they have more control over their own
destiny, he has made that offer publicly and again now,
either through the settlement or when the title and ownership
transfers he would remove himself from the board at that
point, whichever happens first. Councilman Doane said it has
been brought to his attention that the City does not issue
business licenses for apartment houses, suggesting that if
the City does not then that should be looked into, if the
City does then it was misinformation. Mayor Campbell
suggested that if someone wants to know where the money goes
they should look at her newspaper article that is posted on
the City website which discusses income and expenses and
breaks that down into percentages. In response to a comment
from a public speaker Mayor Campbell said it was a total
falsehood that she had ever referred to the City Manager as
Big John, also, the City is not bankrupt because of the
fiscal expertise of the Manager, he has increased the
reserves from $3 million to $7 million, as to his contract
the only way he receives severance compensation is if he is
fired without cause, if fired with cause there is no money
involved, to the allegation of the speaker that if the
Council does this or that improperly, the response of the
Mayor was that the City does not plan to do anything
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improperly, rather do it all right, the onus is now on the
Council when a raise is afforded the Police Department as to
how that is extended. with regard to whether she was
qualified to do the City Manager appraisal or her successor
whomever that may be, she said the successor has not worked
with the City Manager as has the Council, explained that his
date of hire was January and typically an appraisal is done
each year thereafter upon the anniversary of employment, you
would not want someone who has not worked with you doing the
appraisal, it is felt that the taxpayers of this City have
been protected because of the Manager's fiscal astuteness.
As to where the monies derived from the Bixby Center go, they
go into the General Fund, the residents of College Park East
are not happy with that as they would like the monies from
that Center spent in College Park East. She stated she has
never gone to a League function in Monterey, to that
Counci1members Antos, Doane, and Yost confirmed that they had
not been to a League function in Monterey, Councilman Larson
stated that he had however it was paid by the League of
Cities, it was further explained that members of the Council
attend the League Conference in the fall if possible, the
location of which alternates between North and South. Mayor
Campbell said to serve on the Line Board is not a conflict of
interest, the reason there are members of the Council is to
represent the people. She noted too that she did not receive
champagne at Christmas, she received a basket of cookies,
delivered to her home, it is not shown on her 700 financial
disclosure form because the amount does not meet the gift
financial threshold. With regard to Closed Sessions, Mayor
Campbell responded that the Council does not come from Closed
Session and say how they are going to vote, agenda items are
not discussed in Closed Session, only items suitable for
Closed Session are discussed which are items of a personnel
nature, litigious nature where you do not want to jeopardize
the position of the City by discussing it in open session,
and issues of a real estate nature. with regard to the
retirement comments, Mayor Campbell responded that an
employee must be with the City for five years to be eligible
for PERS, in her case even though she served on the Planning
Commission and City Council for eleven years that does not
count towards retirement in Seal Beach. As to employment,
Mayor Campbell said she does in fact work part time at El
Camino College teaching accounting and business math,
generally six and fourteen units, that is bone fide
employment. She mentioned a comment made over the weekend
about the Police Department being down eight police officers
and the question if safety has been compromised, the answer
is no, that is one of the issues that will be studied in the
police department analysis. Mayor Campbell mentioned that
Col. John Smith of the Los Alamitos Joint Training Center
will be present at the next meeting to make a presentation on
the new training route guidelines that the helicopter pilots
will be flying, keeping their flights completely over the
Base, and explained that the City has no enforcement ability
to keep them flying over the Base, they can fly virtually
anywhere they want to. The Mayor noted a staff memorandum
that advised that the Ca1Home grant application was not
funded by the California Department of Housing and Community
Development, that there were one hundred two applications for
a funding level of $56.8 million re~eived by the State,
seventy-two applications were funded at a funding level of
$39.7 million. Unless the MPROP loan is funded the Agency
will have no available funding source to continue to fund
applications for those persons currently approved yet not
funded, or to consider additional applications.
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Councilman Yost inquired as to the beach cleaning schedule
for the winter months. The Public Works Director advised
that at present the beach is raked and sanitized two to three
times a week, during summer months it ranges from five to
seven times a week depending upon availability of the hand
pickup that is done. The City Manager reminded that there
has been a rainfall and if one goes toward the area of the
River it can be seen what is flowing towards the Seal Beach
beach. Councilman Yost also inquired as to when the refuse
and cable contracts are due to be re-bid, and given the
uncertainty of staff as to dates certain, Councilman Yost
said that information could be placed on a future agenda.
Mayor Campbell interjected that the cable contract was done
about five years ago, it is a ten year contract, the problem
is that if you do not renew with the present cable provider
and opt to go with another company, all of the equipment and
lines have to be reinstalled. Councilman Yost offered that
the cable contract was done prior to his coming on Council
therefore would need to have been done at least six and a
half years ago.
CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "B" thru "H"
Yost moved, second by Antos, to approve the recommended
action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except
for Items "E, F, G, and H", removed for separate
consideration.
B.
Approved the waiver of reading in full of
all ordinances and resolutions and ~hat
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.
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C.
Approved the minutes of the January 26, 2004
regular meeting.
D.
Approved regular demands numbered 45056
through 45196 in the amount of $752,205.04,
ADP payroll demands numbered 8042954 through
8043031 in the amount of $168,084.30, and
authorized warrants to be drawn on the
Treasury for same.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
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ITEM "E" - RESOLUTION NUMBER 5206 - COMPLETION - SEAL BEACH
BOULEVARD/WESTMINSTER AVENUE INTERSECTION WIDENING - PROJECT
NUMBER 49665
Councilman Doane mentioned that he has had some people
question the results of the reworking of the Westminster/
Seal Beach Boulevard intersection and the addition of extra
lanes, however most people feel it is a tremendous
improvement over what the intersection had been, an excellent
use of Measure M funds, and he will be voting for approval.
He said however the reason he pulled the item is that there
are a few people who visit or reside in Leisure World that
are not pleased because when they are approaching Leisure
World from the area of the Weapons Station on'Westminster
they can not make a right turn at the signal which they could
do prior to the changes made to the intersection, to that he
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asked for a response from staff, he has also explained that
extensive traffic studies were done before any work began.
The Director of Public Works displayed an aerial photo of the
intersection, explained that there had been two westbound
lanes and a dedicated right turn lane going northward onto
Seal Beach Boulevard. The Deputy City Engineer noted that
the City had obtained OCTA Measure M funds for this project,
an intersection capacity improvement project, the overall
intersection capacity has been improved by adding a dual left
turn lane for southbound traffic, adding a dual left turn
lane for westbound traffic, a dual left lane for eastbound
traffic as well 'as a third additional through lane for
eastbound traffic, this was part of the original project
scope that was pursued through traffic studies, however there
is a necessity to further improve the intersection by
obtaining right-of-way at the northeast corner, adjacent to
the County pump station, which is federal property of the
Naval Weapons Station, as well as the southeast corner, also
Naval Weapons Station property, to add dedicated right turn
pockets. The Deputy Engineer stated that in the interest of
having the project move forward the project was scoped for
the current improvements in the interim and staff is
currently in negotiation with the Navy to obtain the right-
of-way property for turn pockets, to obtain federal property
is a lengthy process but it is in the interest of making this
overall project come about in the future. Councilman Larson
said he had the same concern, one can not turn right if a
forward vehicle wants to go straight, that was not the
contractor's problem, he built the roadway according to the
plans he was given and at that point the Navy property could
not be obtained, however he does not want the right-of-way
acquisit{on to be dropped, he does not feel there are that
many people turning south from Westminster westbound onto
Seal Beach Boulevard, but that is the way it has been
constructed. The Deputy Engineer assured the Council that
the Public Works Department will continue to pursue the
right-of-way property as well as the construction of those
two segments.
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Doane moved, second by Antos, to adopt Resolution Number 5206
entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SEAL BEACH DECLARING WORK TO BE COMPLETED AS TO PLANS AND
SPECIFICATIONS FOR PROJECT #49665, THE SEAL BEACH BOULEVARD
AND WESTMINSTER AVENUE INTERSECTION WIDENING ENTERED INTO
BETWEEN CITY OF SEAL BEACH AND SEQUEL CONTRACTORS, INC. By
unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5206 was
waived.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
ITEM "F" - WEST END PUMP STATION URBAN RUN-OFF DIVERSION -
PROJECT NUMBER 50050 - PLANS and SPECIFICATIONS
Councilman Yost said he wanted to call attention to the fact
that the City continues to work on water quality issues, this
being another segment of that effort. Councilman Antos
sought confirmation that all of the funding is available and
it is Redevelopment Agency monies. The response of the
Public Works Director was that that statement was correct.
Yost moved, second by Antos, to approve the plans and
specifications for the West End Pump Station Urban Run-Off
Diversion Project Number 50050, and authorized staff to
initiate the bidding process.
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AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
ITEM "G" - MARINA DRIVE REGIONAL TRAIL - PROJECT NUMBER
49991 - PLANS and SPECIFICATIONS
Councilman Antos requested that the staff explain the
alternative plans and specifications. The Director of Public
Works explained that staff will be distributing two sets of
plans and specifications, one of the plans will have a
traffic circle, as was previously approved by the Council, as
an alternative the second plan will have a four-way stop, at
the time it is bid it will be brought to the Council for
determination to do either the traffic circle or the four-way
stop, originally that could not be changed until there was
authorization from the federal government, so now when the
bids come in the intersection can be looked at as to changing
the configuration. Councilman Yost asked if changing to a
four-way stop would be the only change, the proposal to make
Marina Drive two lanes with the bike path etc. would remain
the same. The Director confirmed ,that they are identical
plans except for the traffic circle or four-way stop. Antos
moved, second by Yost, to approve the plans and
specifications for the Marina Drive Regional Trail, Project
Number 4991, and authorize staff to initiate the bidding
process.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None, Motion carried
ITEM "H" - BRIDGEPORT DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS REVIEW
Councilman Antos inquired if the next time this issue comes
before the Council if there will be a complete staff report.
The Development Services Director responded that there will
be a public hearing scheduled for the next meeting to
consider extension of the ordinance and at that point staff
will provide an update of the status of the process.
Councilman Yost stated he would abstain on this item as he
resides in Bridgeport. Antos moved, second by Larson, to
receive and file the staff report.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
RESOLUTION NUMBER 5207 - PARKING METERS - ACOUSITION!
INSTALLATION - SERVICE AGREEMENT - COIN COLLECTION!
MAINTENANCE
The Associate Planner presented the staff report, noted that
the request before the Council is for a budget amendment to
provide funds to acquire and install parking meters on Main
Street between Ocean Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway and
along the commercial areas of Ocean Avenue, Central Avenue,
and Electric Avenue. He noted that this process started with
the City, has gone to the Coastal Commission where it was
recently approved, and is now back at the City level, the
request is for funds to purchase three hundred twenty parking
meters from POM, they have installed parking meters in nearly
every beach city, the composite of those meters seems to hold
up better in the salt air than other meters that are used
further inland, the meters proposed to be purchased are the
same as was shown the Council when the initial vote was taken
in 2002, there are two meter heads on one pole to reduce the
visual impact along Main Street. The Director of
Administrative Services confirmed that the City will be
purchasing three hundred twenty meters, three hundred one
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will be installed, the extra meter heads will be available so
that when maintenance is done on a meter head it can be
replaced with a working head, that is so that meters will not
be out of working order. She said the total cost based upon
information received from vendors of meters, change machines,
extra maintenance, and installation is not to exceed
$178,960, this cost includes replacing the meters that are
currently in place in the lots along Main Street, there are
seventy-six of those meters, they are old, becoming obsolete,
and maintenance software is no longer available. The
Director advised that the meters will take coins as well as a
card that will be available from City Hall for a specific
amount of parking time which will be activated for public
convenience, the card will be rechargeable at City Hall as
well. She noted that staff has also looked at how the meters
are going to be maintained, the coins collected, and
monitored at all times, at present the lots that have coin
meters is much more work than people think, when the coins
come into the Finance Department they have to be weighed,
bagged, readied for deposit, sealed in a certain manner, it
is cumbersome and heavy and considerable work, the Finance
Department does not have the staff to do that, however AMPCO
provides, such services to many municipalities throughout the
United States, they will collect the coins, weigh them, ready
them for deposit in the bank, monitor the meters to make
certain they are operable, if not they will be repaired, all
at a reasonable cost, they will start the service on a full
time basis however if the time comes when it is seen that not
as much time is necessary their hours will be adjusted
accordingly. with regard to the projection of revenue, the
Director explained that the parking fee is $1 per hour, the
meters will operate from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. seven days
per week, it is anticipated that the City will receive enough
revenue within four months of operation to pay for the
meters, installation, and other costs that have been
estimated, that money will go back to replenish the
undesignated General Fund, the prediction of annual revenue
is approximately $540,000 net of expenses.
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Mayor Campbell asked if there will be a way to determine the
balance left on the meter card, in response the Director said
that as is understood from the vendor the card will indicate
the amount remaining. Councilman Doane inquired if it is
AMPCO that maintains the meters in the beach lots, and if
there are any changes proposed in the beach lots, he does not
want to make Main Street parking more attractive as the
intent is to have the beachgoers park in the beach lots. The
response of the Director was that there are no changes
proposed for the beach lots, they are totally separate.
Councilman Antos mentioned that parking meters were supposed
to be part of an overall parking management program that was
alluded to earlier in the meeting, the parking management
program was submitted to the California Coastal Commission,
they rejected it and asked for additional studies from the
staff, the City complied with the request and at additional
cost, Coastal again rejected it, now the Commission approved
the installation of meters yet rejected the remainder of the
parking management, they are also calling for consideration
by their code enforcement the existence of the one hour
parking which is basically throughout the downtown area with
the exception of Eighth and Tenth streets. He said depending
upon what may come from their code enforcement, if the City
is forced to remove the one hour parking in the downtown area
then all of the City's parking management is out the window,
the beach parking lots would not be used, why would someone
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2-9-04
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pay for parking at the beach when they could park for free on
the street. He mentioned that it was noted in the local
paper that he had made a sarcastic comment to the Coastal
Commission about that however it was not sarcastic because if
the one hour parking is deemed illegal and required to be
removed he will come back to the Council to request that the
beach parking lots be closed, why leave them open if they are
not being used. Councilman Antos said because of the things
that the City does not know and the fact that the Coastal
Commission has basically rejected two-thirds of the parking
management program and called for consideration not only the
rest of the parking management but all of the parking
management in the downtown area, his belief is that this
matter should be held over until .such time as the Coastal
Commission determines what they are going to do and takes
another look at the parking management which is to expand the
one hour parking on both sides of the street between Fifth
and Twelfth Streets, and sets aside coming after the City for
code enforcement. He said also that there is an election
coming up for an open Council seat representing College Park
East, at present there is no idea as to their position on
parking meters, and the last thing he would like to see
happen is that the City enter into a contract to purchase
parking meters, a new member of the Council is elected and
requests that the matter be brought back to the Council and
the City new majority say no parking meters, the newly
purchased meters would then be stored at an expense,
therefore at the appropriate time he will make a motion to
hold this matter over until after the election and until
there is a definitive answer from the Coastal Commission with
regard to parking management and a final decision on the code
enforcement. Councilman Yost said he would be voting against
this item as he has taken that position all along, at the
Coastal Commission as well. Councilman Yost offered that
when he was looking for a place to live he looked at every
beach city up and down the coast and had he wanted to live in
Laguna Beach or Huntington Beach he would have done so, Seal
Beach is a different place, charming, and that which makes it
charming also makes it valuable, one of those things is Main
Street and the quality of Main Street having a mix between
resident and visitor serving businesses, and to him when you
meter that Street you change the character, also, when he
walked his district and knocked on every door he believes the
majority of people felt the same way, if however the City
were in such dire financial straits that it could not provide
essential services, police, fire, and public safety he might
change his position, he does not believe the City is in that
position at this particular time, and there is the highest
level of reserves that there has been during the time he has
been on Council. He again expressed his opinion that meters
on Main Street does change the character of the town, he too
will bring this up again once the new Council member is
seated from College Park East, therefore he would recommend
that this be held over, recalling too that there have been
meters on Main Street in the past and they were removed, that
could happen again. Councilman Yost said he loves the town,
the flavor and charm of the town, if he wanted to live in a
town that had ,meters he could have moved there, this is a
reason he decided to get involved in politics, again stating
that he would be voting no. Mayor Campbell said she first
got involved with this issue while on the Planning Commission
some eleven years ago, the consultant, Mr. Zucker, said that
there was not a parking problem rather a,parking management
problem, there are enough spaces_ but as long as it is free in
one area people are not going to utilize the area that
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2-9-04
requires payment, the only way the parking issue is going to
be resolved is that parking is free at the beach and on Main
Street or it is parking for payment at the beach and on Main
Street, that is the only way that people will park where they
should, personally she would like everything to be free but
reality is that nothing is free. Seal Beach is about the
last beach city that does not have parking meters, revenue
from parking brings considerable money to the cities up and
down the coast, every part of the City has to do their share,
a study some years ago showed that College Park East and
Leisure World likely put more money into the City than they
got out. AS to the reserves, yes they are being built up
however they are for emergencies, not operating expenses,
about ten years ago the reserves became dangerously low and
at one point it was not certain whether the City could make
payroll. Mayor Campbell stated she has supported parking
meters all along, did so before the Coastal Commission, she
personally does not like them yet this is a financial fact of
life, the City is in that situation, finances have been
squeezed as much as is possible, if sources of revenue are
not found the City will see a serious deterioration of the
quality of services, no one wants to see that. Councilman
Yost stated that he does have respect for those who have a
differing opinion from that of his own.
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Councilman Antos moved to hold this item over until such time
as the District Four election is complete and until there is
a definitive answer from the California Coastal Commission
relative to the entire parking management plan and what their
plan is relative to code enforcement of the one hour parking
in the downtown area. Councilman Yost seconded the motion.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Yost
Campbell, Doane, Larson
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Motion failed
Councilman Doane moved to approve budget amendment 04-21 for
the acquisition and installation of parking meters along Main
Street and on the non-residential area of Ocean Avenue,
Central Avenue, and Electric Avenue up to the alley between
Main Street and Eighth Street and Main Street and Tenth
Street, approval of an agreement with POM for purchase of
said meters, and approval of an agreement with AMPCO parking
Systems to provide full time coin collection and maintenance
of the parking meters, upon review by the City Attorney, and
authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement.
Councilman Larson seconded the motion.
The City Attorney advised that if the motion is passed he
would provide certain changes to the Resolution, the Council
can then take a separate action on the Resolution.
AYES:
NOES:
Campbell, Doane, Larson
Antos, Yost
Motion carried
The City Attorney read the title of Resolution Number 5207
entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A BUDGET AMENDMENT, NO.
04-21, FOR ACQUISITION AND INSTALLATION OF PARKING METERS AND
FOR COLLECTION OF COIN AND MAINTENANCE OF PARKING METERS."
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The City Attorney recommended that following the Resolve
statement that there be a new paragraph one to read "pursuant
to Section 1010 of the City Charter and Section 2-22 of the
City Code the City Council hereby finds that parking meters
may be purchased more economically on the open market and
"...-H";'J\ oJ."'...."..,.
2-9-04
that the meters can be obtained from only one vendor for the
reasons stated in the staff report and as stated by staff in
its oral presentation which are hereby incorporated by this
reference, for the reasons stated in the record it is in the
City's best interest to award the contract to POM;"
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amendment number two, "That the budget is amended as
follows," the budget amendment description, account, etc.
following;
the third amendment is a paragraph three, "The City Council
hereby directs the City Manager to execute agreements with
POM for the purchase of the meters andAMPCO Parking Systems
for providing service as to the meters."
Doane moved, second by Larson, to adopt Resolution Number
5207 as amended.
AYES:
NOES:
Campbell, Doane, Larson
Antos, Yost
Motion carried
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ORDINANCE NUMBER 1516 - TEMPORARY MORATORIUM - HEIGHT
RESTRICTION - TRAPEZOIDAL LOTS
Councilman Yost stated he would remove himself from
discussion of this item as he resides on a trapezoidal lot.
The Associate Planner presented the staff report, noted that
the item is before the Council at the direction of the
Council from the last meeting, explained that the Planning
commission had considered this matter, forwarded a memorandum
to the Council requested that consideration be given to
placing a temporary moratorium on building permits on
trapezoidal lots within the City. The Planner said the key
issue is that there are some lots, primarily in the Old Town
area, that front Electric Avenue and are trapezoidal in
shape, and the City has a number of development standards
that are tied to width, setback and height specifically, the
height in Old Town has always been a contentious issue and
the Planning Commission felt that the current definition of
lot width was too loose as it was being applied to potential
building heights in the City and asked the Council to
consider placing a temporary moratorium on trapezoidal lot
construction until the lot width can be better defined. He
explained that with a trapezoidal lot there are different lot
widths and the way the definition is currently read there are
some situations where both lot widths may not meet the
minimum standard yet the average of the lot widths does, from
the Planning Commission standpoint they feel that both sides
of the lot should be sufficiently wide to meet the
requirement to be able to build a third story on the back
half of the lot. The Planner noted that a super majority
vote was necessary to enact the proposed Ordinance. He
mentioned also that in the past four to five years the City
has received only one application for construction on this
type of lot, that application is currently in the process,
and should the Council adopt the moratorium, historically the
Council has not included projects that are within the
pipeline, however the Council could do so, that direction is
also sought.
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Councilman Larson said this is not an issue in his district
therefore he will support the recommendation. He said
however that he has,a concern in that the Council has adopted
a number of urgency ordinances of late that have stopped
projects yet for valid reasons, in this instance the staff
told the applicant that their project was okay, the applicant
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has now proceeded to the Coastal Commission, if this is
adopted that project will be stopped at that point.
Councilman Antos moved to approve Ordinance Number 1516,
noting also that staff has said they will look at this in a
timely manner. Councilman Doane seconded the motion, however
inquired if this will stop the project th~t is already in the
process. The Associate Planner responded that that is at the
discretion of the Council, historically however the Council
has exempted projects that are in the pipeline, staff is
seeking direction on that issue. For clarification, the City
Attorney suggested that first the opinion of the maker of the
motion should be sought, if the desire is to exclude that
particular property then the recommendation would be to amend
the Ordinance to exempt that particular project from the
terms of the moratorium. Councilman Antos asked if the
property in question is a single family or multi-family
project, and has it gone to Coastal Commission. The response
of the Planner was that it is a single family project, was
approved in concept in that it meets all current standards,
it is presently being processed at Coastal Commission, it has
been there for about a month, also, it did not require
Planning Commission approval, it was staff approved. Noting
that this is a trapezoidal lot, Mayor Campbell asked the
width at its widest and narrowest, possibly the square
footage, the Planner could not recall other than it is
substantially wider on one side versus the other. The City
Attorney offered that his recollection was that the lot may
be thirty-seven and a half feet in the middle, larger at the
street frontage than. thirty-seven and a half, and tapers to
the back at less than thirty-seven and a half, the Planning
Commission interpretation was that it should be thirty-seven
and a half at the rear as well, and noted that under current
Code the definition of lot width is based on the width at
mid-point of the lot. Councilman Antos offered that it has
been said in the past when these lots have been dealt with
that sometimes there is a hardship provision where a project
may be affected while going through the pipeline and can go
before the Councilor Planning Commission for an exemption,
and if this matter has not gone before the Planning
Commission it would seem that by including it and providing
the hardship exemption provision this matter could go to the
Commission for review if they have not done so. The City
Attorney clarified that built into the ordinance under
Section 4 is a hardship exemption whereby the applicant would
need to come before the City Council to receive the
exemption, there are two ways to deal with a project that is
in the pipeline, either an exception, which means it is
grandfathered in, or through the exemption process under
which they would need to apply for the hardship exemption
before the Council, the only difference would be if the
Council amended the ordinance to exclude this property the
owner would not need to come back to the Council to apply for
an exemption, if the ordinance is not changed the owner would
need to apply to the Council. Councilman Antos said his
recommendation would be to leave the ordinance as written,
then the owner could make application to the Council and in
all probability it would be referred to the Planning
Commission for review and a report in that they are the body
that recommends to the Council on land use issues. The
Development Services Director clarified that the project as
proposed and under the current Code definitions for lot width
the project does not require review by the Commission in any
manner, if the project were referred the Commission would
review it under the current provisions of the Code that says
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2-9-04 I 2-23-04
it is allowable. Councilman Doane offered that he does not
like being contrary to the Planning Commission as they have
the expertise in that area.
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The City Attorney read the title of Ordinance Number 1516 as
presented, "AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH
PROHIBITING THE ISSUANCE OF BUILDING PERMITS AND OTHER LAND
USE ENTITLEMENTS FOR ANY CONSTRUCTION OF OR ADDITIONS TO
DWELLING UNITS IN EXCESS OF 25 FEET IN HEIGHT UNLESS CERTAIN
MINIMUM LOT DIMENSIONS EXIST AND DECLARING THE URGENCY
THEREOF. "
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
Antos, Campbell, Doane"tarson
None
Yost Motion carried
CLOSED SESSION
No Closed Session was held.
ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to adjourn the meeting until February 23rd at 6:30 p.m. to
meet in Closed Session if deemed necessary. By unanimous
consent, the meeting was adjourned at 8:36 p.m.
clerk
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Approved:
c/JffkL~&r ~
Attest:
Seal Beach, California
February 23, 2004
The regular adjourned City Council meeting schedules for 6:30
p.m. this date was canceled due to lack of business items in
need of Closed Session discussion.
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