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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2002-08-26 8-12-02 I 8-26-02 presentation relating to water quality at.the recent League meeting. Mayor Larson offered that one of the Manager's qualifications was his ability, knowledge, and experience in that particular area. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Campbell noted that when there are special activities in College Park East she tries to thank all of the people who help, this time she forgot a person from the July 4th event, and expressed appreciation to Rob Roy of Seal Beach TV 3. She mentioned that this City is so attentive to the environment, that is one reason she appreciates the opportunity to serve on the Sanitation District, she was one who helped stop the waiver, she would like to eventually see the Sanitation District stop dumping some four plus miles off of the coast of Huntington Beach, also, she will be serving on the District's Urban Water Runoff Committee, noting that before you can clean up the ocean you must first stop polluting it. Councilman Yost requested that staff look at and agendize a grading ordinance for the City, there are some residents that have an issue with a property on the Hill, and Mayor Larson added that he understands that the Planning Commission will also be reviewing such ordinance, the Manager added that they will be reviewing the process. Councilman Antos said he supports that. I 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 August 26th at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed Session if necessary. By unanimous consent, Mayor Larson adjourned the meeting at 9:02 p.m. () I ~ Clerk and ex-officio he City of Seal Beach Approved: Attest: Seal Beach, California August 26, 2002 I The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Larson Councilmembers Antos, Campbell, Doane, Yost ~- 8-26-02 Absent: None I Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Ms. Arends-King, Director of Administrative Services Ms. Yeo, City Clerk I COUNCIL WORKSHOP - MUNICIPAL CODE REVISIONS The City Manager stated the purpose of the workshop is to review proposed revisions to about half of Title 5 of the Code which relates to Adult Entertainment, Filming Activities, Massage Establishments, and a portion of Business Licenses and Regulations, a side-by-side comparison is provided. The City Attorney mentioned that there will be a General provisions section that will address all of the business licenses that are not covered by the special provisions. He noted that Chapter 5:05 of the Table of Contents is Adult Entertainment and Chapter 5:30 is Massage Establishments, both are being prepared by Mr. Boga of his firm, he has prepared similar provisions for twenty-five to thirty cities throughout the State, they are current provisions that reflect the latest Constitutional cases, in those two areas there seems to be three or four challenges each year to some city's regulations with regard to adult entertainment, this particular ordinance has been developed over the years and has withstood challenge but at various times there may be a new challenge and depending upon the court it may decide that it infringes on certain Constitutional rights, this ordinance has been upheld a number of times. Alarm Systems was originally drafted by the County as a model ordinance, this is a streamlined version, as can be seen by the comparison they have tried to make it more understandable, user friendly, and tightened up somewhat. Filming Activities was an ordinance that the City adopted a few years ago, it is believed that City staff did a survey of other cities, they have tightened it up somewhat and consolidated some of the provisions with other general provisions. I Food Handling businesses, that will have to be changed, Mr. Whittenberg has placed a call to the County, this again is a standard model ordinance prepared by the County, it makes reference to a number of Health and Safety Code provisions which have been repealed, no changes have been made to that Chapter for now, they will wait to hear from the County to see if they have an updated version, possibly the City can just refer to the County provisions, current Code takes up a lot of space, is very redundant, and repeats State law, preference would be to refer to State law. Mobile X-Ray Units was also a County ordinance, some minor changes have been made. Oil and Gas Production, not too much could be done to that Chapter, there were things that staff would have liked to have changed but it is a pre-Proposition 13 and proposition 218 regulation, for the City to increase the fees there would either need to be an election or go through a lengthy 8-26-02 process. Public and Club Dances, there were changes made to that, that is one of the ordinances that seemed to be important many years ago, it is uncertain as to how important it is now, to take all of that space, it is basically a policy issue. Taxicabs is another general model ordinance from the County, some changes were made to streamline it, it is okay. I Ambulance Service, staff is checking with the Fire Authority to see if there is anything more recent than the 2000 amendments, so it may be necessary to go back to what is initially in the Code. :,. with regard to page 8 of 24, Appeals, in current Code: there are appeal provisions in about eight different sections, ..hot necessarily uniform, the proposed appeals provisions are in one area and are uniform, for any type of license in this section the staff makes the decision and the individual can appeal to the City Manager, it will not come back to the Council however the Council can call any matter for review yet there is no right of appeal to the City Manager's decision. The Attorney recalled an appeal process for a massage issue, at that time the Council was the appellate body, went through a lengthy hearing with a court reporter, attorneys that made objections to just about everything, at that point the Council determined they did not want to see such appeals again, let the City Manager make the decision, and that is what most cities do, in that case a lawsuit was filed after the Council affirmed the decision, the day before the court issued its ruling the appellant passed away, the attorneys then said they wanted nothing. Question was raised as to the Planning Commission determination as to where adult businesses can be located as far as zoning, the response was that that could be appealed to the Council, some things will require CUP's such as a massage establishment along Main Street, in a separate ordinance staff will recommend that they be required to have a CUP, that will go through the normal process. Suggestion was made that tattoo parlors be looked into. I with regard to Adult Entertainment, page 11 of 24, what is proposed is the model state of the art that the Attorney firm revises every two years pursuant to court cases, the definitions have been streamlined but the content is the same. It was pointed out that the side-by-side comparison was done in just three days, it is not certain that it is lined up exactly as to where it should be so that may need to come back to Council at a later time. There are no substantive changes to adult entertainment. with regard to appeals, question was raised, if the Council does not like the decision of the City Manager can the Council override the decision, the response was that the Council can call it up for review but there is no right of appeal, the Council would have the discretion of overturning the decision, affirm it, or condition it, the same rights as if it were an appeal. This was done some time ago when the Thousand Oaks Planning Commission made a decision, Council appealed it, reversed the decision, and the court of appeal ruled that they were biased, you can not have the appellant body also be the appellant, therefore deemed there w~s not a fair hearing before the City Council and the court reinstated the Planning Commission decision, since then their firm has I 8-26-02 recommended to their cities adoption of a City Council review ordinance which allows the Council to review, it is not an appeal, and provides due process. I Alarms, Chapter 5:10, there is a model ordinance that Orange County provided to each of the Police Departments, it has merely been streamlined. False Alarms is reflected on page 65 of 24, some of the language may have been changed but the basics of the ordinance still exist, the same penalties, this is still an infraction or a misdemeanor, the Council may want to consider making the penalty an administrative violation. As a point of explanation, the Council may wish to have the discretion to make these administrative violations rather than infractions, in current Code two violations are allowed within twelve months, the third one is an infraction. As to how much of a problem are false alarms, the response was that there are a few businesses that are terrible, most are okay. Suggestion was that the penalty can be at the discretion of Council, whether or not the third time an alarm goes off it would be an administrative violation. It would be easier than taking the person to court for a false alarm. The Attorney offered that if there is no objection false alarms will be revised to also be an infraction, and when it goes for adoption the Council can then make that decision. It was clarified that it is the Police that make the determination as to whether it is a violation, noted that at times of Santa Ana wind conditions alarms that are sensitive often go off, it would seem unfair to cite for those instances, in those cases it is hoped that the Police would use some discretion. Instances of power outages was noted as another example. I Ambulance Service can be skipped because that will be whatever the Fire Authority wants, current regulations were drafted in 2000, provisions for volunteer medical response may already be included, yet the City may just go back to existing Code after checking with the Fire Authority, the 2000 regulations may be the most current. Filming, there are no changes to content, just streamlined, some provisions consolidated, current provisions were adequate. I Food Handling, need to check with the County, upon review it was found that the Health and Safety Code sections referred to were all repealed, preference would be to not have a number of pages if it just repeats the same Code or County ordinance, they will try to streamline the food handling provisions, at the very least have up to date references to the Health and Safety Code. Question was if there is a rating system in Seal Beach. Response was that it was proposed at the Board of Supervisors level, it went nowhere, what was proposed was the San Diego model of A, B, C, it is somewhat like a voluntary compliance, if a restaurant does everything right they receive something like a certificate. Massage, page 111 of 24, two issues have arisen in the last six to eight months, one is reflexology, a definition has been provided on page 114, there is a special State license that they receive, if they have that license they will not be required to obtain a massage license. The other issue is chiropractors, there are recent State bills, tracking one bill on chiropractors, on page 115 there are exemptions, exemption A states persons licensed to practice a healing art pursuant to California Business and Professions Code sections 500 etc., there is a long list of provisions for doctors, 8-26-02 nurses, physical therapists, chiropractors, psychiatrists, psychologists, if one has a license for those feeling arts they do not have to obtain a license as a massage technician. It was noted that some doctors have a person on staff that provides those services but has no license, the response was that they would need to obtain a City massage technician license. There was a problem in the City of Anaheim with the use of the name of a chiropractor who in turn only had assistants and the business was operated for prostitution, question was raised with regard to legitimate massage technicians, in that regard it would depend on the nature of what they do. I Oil and Gas, suggestion was made that possibly there should be a disclaimer that nothing in the local ordinance overrides the State Division of Oil and Gas regulations, they have capping provisions, etc. Offer was made that the Chapter will be looked at to see if it can be included. It was stated that this review was basically done, there was not much to be said about X-Ray units, not much can be done to the Oil and Gas Chapter, the final issue is a policy matter relating to Public and Club Dances, whether those provisions are still necessary. CLOSED SESSION No closed session was held. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 6:59 p.m. I Approved: ~)l~ Mayor Attest: Seal Beach, California August 26, 2002 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:07 p.m: with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. I ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Larson Councilmembers Antos, Campbell, Doane, Yost Absent: None 8-26-02 I Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services Mr. Dancs, Director of Public Works/City Engineer Captain Schaefer, Police Department Ms. Arends-King, Director of Administrative Services Ms. Yeo, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Larson requested that Items "G" and "J" be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration. Campbell moved, second by Antos, to approve order of the the agenda as revised. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilman Yost expressed appreciation to the Lifeguard Department for the Junior Lifeguard Program this year, believed to be well received by all. Councilmember Campbell reminded all of the Sandcastle event to be held on the weekend after Labor Day, inquiries to be made through the Chamber of Commerce. I PRESENTATION - LONG BEACH AIRPORT Mr. Chris Kunze, Manager of the Long Beach Airport, stated he wished to provide the Council with a brief update relating to the Long Beach Airport, and provided an information packet as well. Mr. Kunze noted that the Long Beach Airport is one of the busiest in the world, about ninety percent is corporate and private flying, there is manufacturing activity, airline activity has undergone many ebbs and flows over the years, during his involvement for approximately twenty-two years he has seen a great deal of change in activity particularly with regard to the airlines, the facility is enterprise funded, they use no tax revenues. One of the problems in Long Beach is that the airport is in the center of the City, surrounded by residential areas, there is some residential under their approach flight path, since about the 1960's the airport has probably been the largest political issue on an on-going basis because one can not fly in and out of the airport without going over the residential areas, some may remember that Long Beach was one of the first in the United States to try to control airport noise, the first ordinance was implemented in 1981, that allowed fifteen daily airline flights, the technology was the quietest technology at that time, called Stage Three, that lasted about two years at which time the airport ended up with a home grown airline called Jet America, they did very well, within about a year and a half they captured about twenty-five percent of the Los Angeles area Chicago and Dallas market. Mr. Kunze noted that that got the attention of other carriers, specifically United and American who then said they wanted to fly out of Long Beach, the ordinance at that time required, for competition purposes, that some airline slots be taken away if there were new entrants, so when slots were taken away from the incumbent carriers, PSA, Jet America, and Alaska airlines, they took the Long Beach Airport to court, they obtained a restraining order to keep the Airport from taking away those slots, that commenced a nearly thirteen year litigation I 8-26-02 period, at one time there were fourteen airlines suing the Long Beach Airport to get in also several general aviation groups, some of that was due to their interest in the Airport but others were because they did not want the Airport to be successful in controlling activity because there are hundreds of airports in the United States that are a major part of the air transportation system that have noise issues, and if Long Beach could do it then they all could do it and that could destroy the system, that was basically the major interest including interest of the federal government. Mr. Kunze recalled that at the same time the Airport was sued by sixteen hundred homeowners for $160 million dollars for inverse noise and nuisance damages, yet the Airport ordinance lost rather seriously at the federal court level in 1995, there had been a major study done in 1984, 1985, and 1986 that created a twelve hundred page documentation as to why the activity should be controlled in terms of noise and the level of activity, the federal district court did not agree with that, yet the 9th Circuit Court basically found for the City in terms of all of the major components of the ordinance, however the ordinance was shot down for some fairly minor administrative details that has since been corrected. There was a settlement agreement in 1995, neither the Airport nor the airlines wanted the issue to continue due to court costs and the potential of losing in a higher court, the ordinance that exists today went into effect in 1995, it requires allowing at least forty-one daily airline flights and at least twenty-five commuter flights. He explained that the commuters are a changing industry, there are fewer of the small aircraft with props and more of what are called regional jets, small, quiet jets that serve the lean markets and routes such as Long Beach to Sacramento, etc., there are basically the same restrictions in terms of training, engine runups, very strict noise exposure limits, those did not really change. Based on that the Airport was allowed for the first time during his tenure in Long Beach to go on market because in 1995 there were only about six airline flights out of the forty-one, the airline industry had gone through its worst time in history until currently, there were bankruptcies, the airlines in Long Beach diminished to one at one point. The airport was marketed, the existing facilities were designed to accommodate the fifteen flights, along with the forty-one and twenty-five slots they started looking at planning the terminal facilities to accommodate the forty-one flights, they looked at the passenger hold room, which is after one goes through screening and where passenger is waiting to board through one of the gates, it was designed to accommodate the three concurrent peak hour operations, when there are forty-one flights, based on federal criteria, there could be seven or eight peak hour flights, they are looking also at expansion of baggage claim, and after 9/11 there was significant expansion of the security screening areas. One of the key areas for Long Beach was 1990 federal legislation, the 1990 Noise and Capacity Act, that took away an airport operators right to control noise, the only way that can be done now is to get the FAA to agree, since 1990 they have never agreed to let any airport to restrict noise, Long Beach, John wayne, and a few other airports were grandfathered, they worked hard and were fortunate to get that into the legislation, therefore their rules are in place and do not have to be approved by the FAA, recognized under ANCA, that is critical to Long Beach because of what is going on in the region. With regard to the minimum forty-one and twenty-five flights there is an average community noise equivalent level, a twenty-four hour average noise level that I I I 8-26-02 I is plotted out, every commercial airport in California has to do that in an average twenty-four hour noise footprint, for the noise footprint that existed in 1989 and 1990, the airlines are assigned a portion of that that they created and if they can operate inside their noise budget potentially the Airport can allow them to have more than forty-one flights, but only if it can be determined that they can do so without going beyond their cumulative noise budget, the same with commuters. He offered that if anyone would like more information he would gladly speak to homeowners groups or individually, this allows the Airport to meet federal noise exposure standards and there is virtually no other commercial service airport in California that does this. In terms of current efforts and status, Mr. Kunze stated there are currently twenty-four daily airline flights, five of those are all cargo, and the Airport will be up to forty-one by October 12th, at present there are about four thousand three hundred daily airline passengers on average, that will increase to over eight thousand over the next two months, that is a major increase, the increase is largely due to Jet Blue Airlines, the Airport had been marketing twenty-seven available slots for months to no avail until a connection was made with Jet Blue, the new airline, they saw Long Beach as a real nitch, it is in the middle of a large area with six million people within twenty miles of the Airport, they saw this as an opportunity and took all of the slots, they started with three flights, they are now at six, and by the end of October they will be at twenty-three, their load packers are at ninety percent, the highest in the industry, they are very successful. He noted that the airlines that they have been marketing to are now coming to the Airport and saying they want to fly out of Long Beach, saying it is not because of Jet Blue but because of 9/11 people are fearful to go to Los Angeles International, American and Alaska came to the City asking for slots, there were none, but since all forty-one slots were not being used Jet Blue had time to ramp-up to twenty-seven, they have been given temporary slots, American had four and are now flying eight, four are temporary, they are flying to JFK and Chicago, they will lose those January 6th, that is when Jet Blue will implement their last flights, Alaska wanted three flights to Seattle, they would have lost those in October, they have decided to fly the regional jets to Seattle starting October 6th with three daily flights, however they still indicate an interest in airline slots, they have not directly threatened litigation yet there is that tone to their communications therefore special counsel has been retained. He mentioned that the Mayor and Council of Long Beach are strongly supportive of maintaining the existing noise rules, it is felt that if there is an attempt to make the rules more restrictive there is a possibility that the grandfather status and control of the Airport could be lost, the reason it is important to maintain control is that all are aware of what is going on in the region, the Southern California Association of Governments is responsible for aviation forecasting and transportation planning, they see a major shortfall by years 2020/2025 with twenty-five million people with no where to fly out of, they were placing their hopes on a LAX expansion, El Toro opening and expansion, however it appears that EI Toro is going no where and at LAX they were master planning for ninety-eight million passengers but they have backed down to about seventy-eight million passengers, they are already over sixty million, so there will not be sufficient growth to accommodate the region, this poses a problem for the future, Ontario will be a major source of new capacity but the demand I I 8-26-02 is more in the urbanized areas. Long Beach is trying to do its share, the facility is surrounded by homes, they plan to maximize the use of the Airport but only within the existing noise rules, all of this is causing heightened awareness in the close by neighborhoods, people are aware of threatened lawsuits, they see Long Beach as a target. Mr. Kunze provided information relating to upcoming community briefings, a summary of the issues relating to Long Beach Airport, and read the title of a resolution to be considered by the Long Beach City Council 'calling for a regional air transportation plan that would fairly allocate the burdens and benefits of air transportation across the region, urging support of solutions that would equitably distribute air transportation activity to existing high use urbanized airports as well as airports with under utilized capacity in communities that are desirous of the economic benefits of airport expansion and increased passenger and cargo activity.' Mr. Kunze said as identified in the SCAG regional Transportation Plan there are communities in the Inland Empire as an example, the San Bernardino International Airport, Ontario, Palmdale, etc. where there is capacity and the people want the growth, their suggestion to SCAG and others is that they continue to look for ways to facilitate that growth and in the long run everyone can work together and be creative to solve the transportation demand. I Councilman Doane inquired if there are plans currently to expand the Long Beach Airport, he had heard something with regard to the cargo facility. Mr. Kunze responded that the answer is no, they are doing internal enhancements at present, doubling the size of the passenger hold room, that has been planned for several years, that will commence in about six months and be completed in twelve to eighteen months, it is designed to accommodate the forty-one flights as opposed to the existing accommodation for fifteen flights, an improved baggage claim, and a parking structure, all designed and pinioned on existing noise rules, again confirmed that the forty-one flights have been authorized since 1995, it is estimated that will result in about 3.8 million passengers, with regard to the improvements the intent is to maintain reasonable convenience but only within the existing noise rules. Councilman Antos noted that from time to time approaching aircraft are not as high as they are supposed to be, in fact in the downtown area it appears that they will fly into buildings, to that he inquired if there is a contact number for when that occurs. Mr. Kunze provided a telephone number, noted that the Airport has a multi-million dollar noise monitoring and flight tracking system, therefore when someone calls and gives the time of day the specific aircraft type can be identified, determine whose it is, judge the altitude at any given location as well as the noise it is making. Councilman Done mentioned that some of the low flying aircraft are not coming from Long Beach but Los A1amitos. Councilmember Campbell said her concern is with increased flights over Seal Beach, there are people in Costa Mesa that are concerned, and since it appears there will not be an EI Toro, there is an increased demand at Long Beach, some of which may be due to 9/11, agreed that LAX is problematic, the flights to Long Beach come in over the weapons Station and in between the Hill and Leisure world, therefore if there are to be increased flights will there also be increased noise impacts to Seal Beach, the Hellman development will also be under flight paths. Mr. Kunze recalled that there were forty-one flights in 1989 and 1990, the Airport will be back up to forty-one or a little more, I I 8-26-02 I the Airport meets all State and federal noise restrictions, people may not like that but there is nothing that can be done about that, they are merely trying to maintain local control, given the main runway the Airport could probably handle 10 to 12 million passengers in terms of capacity rather than the 3.8 million, that is a major difference. Working together as a group and with the City Council everything needs to be done that can be to maintain local control. Mr. Kunze stated that the runway is ten thousand feet, with regards to a comment relating to the average noise equivalency level, that is called CNEL, they do enforce based on the single event noise level. Councilmember Campbell noted that when averaging over a twenty-four hour period sometimes the CNEL can be misleading, her preference is to look to the single event noise levels, to that Mr. Kunze explained that the State once had a regulation based on CNEL, that was struck down in federal court, it is still implemented at Long Beach Airport, it is a fine structure, since Long Beach has over a thousand operations a day the CNEL makes more sense. Appreciation was expressed to Mr. Kunze for his presentation. I PUBLIC COMMENTS Mr. Bill Ayres, Seal Beach, recalled when Long Beach Airport had many more flights, there were complaints, it was documented in the paper about the Air Alaska pilots that flew over Seal Beach, flights did not adhere to the flying pattern as they should have, they took the shortcut and flew over City Hall and residences at about a thousand to fifteen hundred feet trying to get in before the curfew, there is uncertainty as to whether that will happen again. There were comments made relating to noise monitors, are they located in Seal Beach or next to the Airport. He knows however what is going to happen, they will do just what they want to do, something could be done right now, there should be restrictions like Newport Beach has, when you fly out of John Wayne Airport the pilot tells the passengers that they will go up to one thousand feet, cut power to forty percent and cruise across Newport Beach, and when a flight comes into John Wayne from over the ocean and there are Santana winds they land from the opposite direction, again cut the power, do not make the noise, come over Newport Beach very little, and drop down very quickly. Council should beware of what is going to happen. Mr. Thomas Rogers, Seal Beach, said he wished to address an item on the agenda rather than what he had intended. He mentioned the agenda item requesting reaffirmation of 'One Nation Under God' in the Pledge of Allegiance, in his opinion the whole Pledge should be changed, it should say 'Pledge of Allegiance to All of the people of the united States of America' only, to say 'Under God' we are a bribed fascist dictatorship, to say we are 'Under God' is blasphemy, if going to say 'God' say 'Under God the Dollar', it says 'One Nation Indivisible', the nation is divided by bribes called campaign contributions, he is not familiar with campaign contributions in Orange County or Seal Beach, but he reads in the paper that they are approaching billions of dollars, this divides those that can not afford and those in big business, corporations, as long as corporations continue to make contributions there will be more bribery and it separates the people even farther. 'Indivisible with Liberty and Justice for All', how can one expect any representation in our Country, federal, and State government when it is necessary for people to beg from the rich for money and expect the rich who supply the money to look for favors, if one looks in the dictionary it will be I 8-26-02 found that that is what a bribe is. Mr. Rogers proposed that 'One Nation Under God' not be affirmed unless 'the Dollar' is added. Mr. Rogers stated he is angry, he has never gotten justice in the courts, he has had four instances, the courts can only deal with laws made by bribed fascist dictator. Mr. Rogers also suggested that what should be done is close down the airport or minimize it at least, feels that there should be an airport in south Orange County, those are the ones that are pushing to have it expanded at EI Toro and Long Beach. Mr. Rogers again stated that these topics make him very angry. Ms. Joyce Parque, Seal Beach, stated she was present to tell the residents, tenants and business owners that the Council will be voting on parking meters September 9th. At the Parking Meter Committee there was talk of a half million dollars, she does not understand how it can be thought that there would be that much money from parking meters, she went to the Finance Department and was informed that the City received $58,868 in one year from the metered lots, so then are meters going to balance the budget, the Public Works Director reported the need for $650,000 just for cosmetic repairs in Old Town, she has been to and looked at College Park East and the Hill, and encouraged all to attend the meeting so that their voice can be heard. Ms. Parque said people do not really know anything about the Redevelopment Agency, it is the City Council that makes all of the decisions, at 6:45 tonight people found that the Agency meeting was canceled and those meetings are not televised. people should become familiar with the Redevelopment Agency as well, and now there is another lawsuit filed by residents of the Trailer Park, will the City have to pay to defend a named former member of the Council, it is unbelievable that the Trailer Park deal was done in four months. The Redevelopment Agency was formed in 1967, called the Riverfront Redevelopment Project in 1969, it started with Bridgeport and Oakwood, it is believed both were private deveLopers, the City then issued a bond for the sewage treatment plant, then all of the old City Yard lots were sold, people talk about all of the good things that the Redevelopment Agency has done, she could support the greenbelt and the library, nothing good about the police station, sewage treatment plant and Trailer Park. Ms. parque suggested that people look at their tax assessment, claimed that all of the tax increment increases are going to the Redevelopment Agency putting it in debt for low and moderate income housing, also, the tax assessors office valued City property at $2.3 billion. Ms. Rita Brenner, Trailer Park, expressed her feeling that there should again be public communications at the end of the meetings, it would be beneficial to dialog. Ms. Brenner mentioned that another Agency meeting was canceled and inquired as to why. She noted a letter in the paper written by Mr. Pollman, acknowledged that the Sandcastle event is good, they are asking for donations, where does that money go, and then they are asking for volunteers. Ms. Sue Corbin, Seal Beach, suggested that the employees be monitored, that a time clock be installed. She asked who authorized killing coyotes on the Hellman land, and why does staff continue to choose the wrong Indian tribe as the most likely descendents to monitor the project, of interest too is that Hellman will continue to control the duck ponds of thirty acres that was thought was going to be a contiguous one hundred fifty acres with an ebb and flow to the San Gabriel River. She inquired if there are documents in addition to the letter that can be viewed relative to problems with the audit, also said she did not believe that Council should hold workshops in the conference I I I 8-26-02 I room, not too many people could or would want to attend, similar to when a meeting was held off-premise. Ms. Corbin mentioned that two other cities collect bed tax from Oakwood where they have such facilities, Oakwood is featured on the City website, what is the special relationship, why do they not have to pay the bed tax, to the metered parking in the Electric/Main lots, claimed they are not working, not usable, that is not correct under the Coastal Act because there needs to be signs to advise the public or cover them up, also, why are the bids for the Marina Bridge being rejected. Ms. Corbin made reference to lawsuits relating to the Trailer Park, she understands one has been filed, and that more are coming, members of the Council may be named, the City Attorney should be, the Council should remember who put them in this situation, assets in place of liability, the Attorney is protecting no one. She mentioned too that there is no increase in the collection of business licenses, the City continues to give to the businesses, but they do not want to do their share, and again said the City needs a time clock for their employees. There being no further comments, Mayor Larson declared Public Comments closed. RESOLUTION NUMBER 5055 - PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Councilmember Campbell noted that a similar resolution was sent to all cities in Orange County, and expressed her feeling that it is important to reaffirm the words "One Nation Under God" in the Pledge of Allegiance. I Campbell moved, second by Antos, to adopt Resolution Number 5055 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH EXPRESSING OPPOSITION TO THE DECISION OF THE U. S. NINTH CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS AND SUPPORTING REAFFIRMATION OF THE REFERENCRE TO ONE NATION UNDER GOD IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5055 was waived. Councilman Doane said there is a simple solution for those who do not want those words in the Pledge~ merely stay silent when they are repeated. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "c" thru "0" Doane moved, second by Campbell, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except for Items "G" and "J", removed for separate consideration. C. 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 reading of the title unless specific request is made at that time for the reading of such ordinance or resolution. I D. Approved regular demands numbered 38733 through 38872 in the amount of $550,964.51, payroll demands numbered 17132 through 17318 in the amount of $202,738.19, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. E. Received and filed the Monthly Investment Report for July, 2002. 8-26-02 Adopted Resolution Number 5053 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AUTHORIZING THE CITY TO ENTER INTO AGREEMENT WITH THE COUNTY OF ORANGE, CALIFRNIA, FOR SEAL BEACH REGIONAL TRAIL FUNDING REIMBURSEMENT" (pacific Coast Highway Regional Trail, Segment 3 and 4 of Regional Trail program). By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5053 was waived. H. Received and filed the status report relating to the annual construction of the sand berm/ dike. F. I I. Approved the Professional Services Agreement for On-Call pier Inspection and Evaluation Services and Coastal Engineering Services with Han-Padron Associates, LLP (Consultant), and authorized the City Manager to execute the agreement on behalf of the City. K. Approved the Amendment to the Cooperation Agreement with the County of Orange (June 25, 2002) for participation in the Community Development Block Grant funding program for fiscal year 2003-2005. AYES: NOES: L. Adopted Resolution Number 5054 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH ESTABLISHING FINES RELATED TO PARKING VIOLATIONS." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 5054 was waived. I M. Approved the minutes of the regular adjourned meeting of May 29th, 2002. N. Approved Amendment Number 5 to the Orange County Transportation Authority Master Funding Agreement C95-991 to replace Exhibit A with a revised list of open projects. O. Received and filed the fiscal year 2001-2002 Interim Review Management Comment Letter (audit). Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM "G" - MARINA DRIVE BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT - BID REJECTION - REBID REOUEST Mayor Larson noted that the Marina Drive Bridge Replacement has been dealt with by the City for a very long time, the bids received are about $1 million over, to which he explained that one of the reasons for the excessive costs is the Coastal Commission requirement that the bridge be kept open while it is being improved, that is easy for them to say yet hard for the City and the State to raise the money, he merely wanted to call to the attention of the public the types of problems that the City faces with regard to this joint project with the City of Long Beach, State money, to not keep part of the bridge open would have been faster and less expensive, now it will be necessary to request more money from the State, more cost to the City, his I 8-26-02 I understanding too is that the Engineering Department is going to explore the possibility of improving the bridge in an expedited manner by closing it. The Director of Public Works responded that staff was going to put out the ultimate bid out to see hard cost differences between leaving the bridge open or closed, the Coastal Permit still allows the project to go forward with the bridge open, an evaluation of cost differences is forthcoming. Mayor Larson concurred, noting that then there will be hard numbers to inform the public of the costs to improve the bridge in compliance with the Coastal Commission order. Councilman Yost inquired as to how much this will set back the time frame. The Director responded that it will actually not set it back much at all, it is felt that a reason that the bids came in high, along with the other requirements, was the pushing of the contractor into a very tight season where they would barely get started, the project construction would most likely not start until March no matter, what this will do is enable staff to go back to the contractors and secure a better time frame for completion of the work, and as to the working relationship with Long Beach Engineering Department the Director stated he has spoken with the City Engineer a number of times, a former Director of Public Works for Cypress. Councilman Yost noted the bridge staying open was a big issue for Long Beach as it related to their businesses, Seal Beach would have preferred it be closed, possibly the option of them paying more of the cost could be explored. The Director stated there could be further discussion with Long Beach, at this point staff would like to explore the hard costs further when the bids come in, but at present the direction is to keep the bridge open, it is hoped that working with CalTrans and the match received initially it may be possible to do both, keep the bridge open and complete the project within cost, this is a probable option. I Larson moved, second by Yost, to reject all bids received for the Marina Drive Bridge Replacement, project Number 49665, and authorize staff to readvertise the project. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ITEM "J" - ORDINANCE NUMBER 1487 - TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT The City Attorney advised that reading of the title for introduction of the ordinance was not necessarily required. Larson moved, second by Yost, to approve the introduction and first reading of Ordinance Number 1487 entitled "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AMENDING ORDINANCE NUMBER l338 REGARDING TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT." By unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number l487 was waived. I AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ANAHEIM CHANNEL DEBRIS REMOVAL - PROJECT 49995 - LEAD AGENCY The Public Works Director displayed a picture of the Anaheim Channel debris. The Director explained that the purpose of the project was to remove the concrete debris and rubble, it is believed that the original bridge was demolished by the Navy in the 1950's, this project was initially taken on by the City as basically a beach cleanup. He noted the various resource agencies that have jurisdiction and lor control over certain aspects of the project, City staff feels that although a valiant effort towards this project has been made 8-26-02 the desired results are not being achieved which is project delivery, there has been an evaluation of this project. The Director stated that the request of staff is that the City Manager be authorized to make a formal written request to CalTrans to become the lead agency for the Anaheim Channel Debris Removal Project, there are funds within the local programs of their budget to do this project, they hold the key to the funding, above them is the Army Corps of Engineers, they issue the letter of permission and can dictate the kind of plantings and coverage will go in the area, the other significant agency is the Naval Weapons Station whereby this debris is on their property. The Director mentioned that what this project has turned into is somewhat of planting establishment/wetland restoration project and achieving some level of coverage on the banks of certain required plantings, the City has no in-house staff biologists and is not desirous of circulating an RFP for biologists which would be the expenditure of more time and effort on this project, rather that CalTrans take over and complete this project. I Upon looking at the number of agencies having jurisdiction over this project, Councilmember Campbell deemed it to be a bureaucratic nightmare and its completion may not be seen for years, it started as a $50,000 debris cleanup project and is now a $450,000 cleanup and wetlands restoration project and a requirement that the City monitor the pickleweed, the City can not do this. Mayor Larson pointed out that this is not a City boondogle, it is all of the agencies and even they can not agree themselves as to what needs to be done, and it is not City property. Councilman Doane noted that because of security the Navy has curtailed the activities of the volunteer groups since 9/11, there had been a volunteer group working on the wetlands, restoring native plants indigenous to the area, he in fact sat on the board for a period of time, there is a Nature Center which provides an office for a representative of the State Fish and Wildlife, therefore to him this is a problem of those agencies, not the City, agreed that it should be passed on to CalTrans for them to work out, it is the Navy that controls the wetlands, which is a national preserve for wildlife, this is becoming part of it, therefore it is up to them, and the volunteers can maintain the pickleweed within the wetlands, however he is aware that since 9/11 there is very limited access to the wetlands volunteer group, he personally does not want to see the City involved with this cleanup. Councilmember Campbell noted that this is federal property, so what jurisdiction does the other agencies have. The Director responded that CalTrans is the funding mechanism, Fish and wildlife are the managers of the National Wildlife Refuge, the Coastal Commission has a say in what happens along the Coast as does the Regional Water Quality Board. Mayor Larson said from his experience in years past when he litigated with the federal government these agencies could. take the Coastal Commission out of the project, no State agency can tell the federal government what to do. Mayor Larson mentioned that in addition to the recommendation that CalTrans be asked to be the lead agency, the letter also needs to point out that this Council has determined that this City does not want to be the lead agency, therefore if CalTrans does not want to be the lead agency then that does not put the City back in the lead agency position. Councilman Antos asked if the City has an agreement with CalTrans, if so does it have a method whereby the City can choose not to do the project, the response of the Director was that there is a current funding agreement I I 8-26-02 I however it does not cover the additional costs over the $50,000 level, to the second question the answer was yes, that could constitute canceling of the project. Councilman Antos said then the City Manager should be authorized to send a letter to CalTrans stating that from the City's point of view it is canceling the project and transferring the authority to CalTrans to do as they see fit relative to this project, work out details with the Weapons Station and various regulatory agencies. Councilman Doane recalled that the only reason the City got involved in the first place was the result of a complaint from a resident of Surfs ide that this was an unsightly stack of concrete. Councilman Yost offered that this could be revisited in the future, with the current budget situation the City does not have money to do this, however he would like to see this cleanup happen at some point. Mayor Larson suggested that this be watched to see how it evolves in that CalTrans does not even have the money to fund the two year maintenance of the pickleweed, which was a requirement of that agency. Campbell moved, second by Yost, to authorize the City Manager to submit a formal written request to CalTrans to become the lead agency for the Anaheim Channel Debris Removal, Project Number 49995. AYES: NOES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried CITY ATTORNEY REPORT No report was presented. I CITY MANAGER REPORT No report was presented. I COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilman Antos reported that he received a call this date relative to a billboard on Pacific Coast Highway, his recollection is that several years ago the City chose in its sign ordinance to basically ignore billboards while San Diego and some other cities were trying at the State level to litigate what is correct as to the removal of billboards, amortization periods, etc., to that he asked that the City Attorney research whether there has been litigation as to what is considered acceptable for billboard removal and report back to Council for consideration inasmuch as the Council will be reviewing ordinances as time goes on including zoning. As a point of clarification, Councilman Antos noted discussion at the last meeting relating to special events, and inquired if the notification of events was kept at one hundred feet or changed to three hundred, the response was that it is one hundred feet. He also mentioned, for the record, that when the master calendar or annual permits come up for consideration, it is understood that there was a petition submitted to the Council at some point relating to the Car Show, when the Car Show application comes forth for consideration then it is felt that the petition should be brought forward as well because his feeling is that one or more of the people who signed the petition will raise the issue before the Council. The Mayor clarified that the application would be by the Chamber of Commerce, the people taking that position may be members of the Chamber, the attitude of the Council has been that the Chamber has to deal with their own internal issues, the response of Councilman Antos was that he did not want to be the referee. with regard to the Long Beach Airport matter, Mayor Larson noted 8-26-02 that that is a similar issue to Long Beach where they are in a three way dispute with the airlines and the residents, his preference would be that Seal Beach not get into the position of having to choose sides in that dispute, for anything that would affect flights over the City that would be fine, the Council has been importuned by people and organizations in Long Beach to take a position, his preference would be that no position be taken, at least until more information is known. Councilmember Campbell explained that she is not taking a position, she merely wanted to establish repour with the airport manager to keep lines of communication open in the event that there are complaints once the flights are increased. Councilman Doane mentioned that a gentleman in his District had indicated interest in serving the City, a desire to serve when an opening occurred, he then appointed Mr. Levitt to the newly formed Ad Hoc General Plan Committee yet it has now been learned that Mr. Levitt will be away on vacation for about three months, therefore requested that this matter be placed on the next agenda to declare the position vacant and make a new appointment. He also noted having received a letter from the Associate Planner regarding home based businesses, the Planner is following the Code as it currently exists in decisions that have been made, his only concern is that when the issue of cottage industries first came up the intent was to allow for senior citizens who wanted to supplement their income yet did not want to pay the full business license fee, it was determined that they be required to pay a $50 fee with restrictions that they be over sixty-five and that they do not make more than $5,000 per year. He described as an example that one gentleman is a handyman, makes more than $5,000 per year, and is now paying the full license fee, the problem with the applicant referred to in the letter from the Planner is that the person wants to store the material that she is selling, an author and a painter working in and selling from her home. Councilman Doane said when this provision was developed it did not go far enough, it set forth restrictions but did not say that an applicant would not need to comply with some of the other Code requirements for a full business license. Councilman Doane requested that this matter be agendized for discussion, this is not merely a Leisure World issue it applies to any senior in the community. There was a unanimous consent indicated to place this matter on a future agenda. I I 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 September 9th at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed Session if deemed necessary. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 8:24 p.m. I Approved: ~~h~ Mayor 8-26-02 I 9-9-02 Attest: I Seal Beach, California September 9, 2002 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Larson Councilmembers Antos, Doane, Yost Absent: Councilmember Campbell Councilmember Campbell was present in the Conference Room awaiting the Closed Session. Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, City Clerk I CLOSED SESSION The City Clerk announced that the Council would meet in Closed Session pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b) and (c) relating a case of anticipated litigation and initiation of litigation, and to confer with the City's labor negotiator pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6 relating to Confidential, Supervisory, Professional and Technical employees. The Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:32 p.m. and reconvened at 7:10 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported that by a vote of five to zero the City Council authorized the law firm of Richards, Watson and Gershon to provide defense for former Councilmember Shawn Boyd in cases numbered BC280139 and BC277499 and any related cases involving the Trailer Park under a reservation of rights, only for acts within the scope and course of his duties as a Councilmember, and no other reportable action was taken. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, to adjourn the meeting at 7:11 with consent of the Council, p.m. I t? cio clerk Beach Approved: ~6hJ~~, Mayor Attest: