HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2003-07-14
6-9-03 / 6-23-03 / 7-14-03
Approved: '/JrLfMUv~ ~ ~
Mayot
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Attest:
Seal Beach, California
June 23, 2003
the City Council on March 10, 2003, the June
meeting was canceled and adjourned until July
p.m.
clerk
Seal Beach, California
July 14, 2003
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling
the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag.
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ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Campbell
Councilmernbers Antos, Doane, Larson
Absent:
Councilman Yost
Councilman Yost arrived in approximately ten minutes and
joined the Council in Closed Session.
Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
CLOSED SESSION
The City Attorney announced that the Council would meet in
Closed Session pursuant Government Code Sections 54956.9 (a)
and (b) and 54957.6 to confer with legal counsel relating to
anticipated and existing litigation, and to confer with the
City's labor negotiator relating to Management and Mid-
Management employee benefits. The Council adjourned to
Closed Session at 6:31 p.m. and reconvened at 7:00 p.m. with
Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order. The City
Attorney reported that the Council had discussed the items
identified on the agenda, gave direction with regard to the
existing litigation item, no other reportable action was
taken.
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7-14-03
ADJOURNMENT
By unanimous consent, the Council adjourned the meeting at
7:01 p.m.
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Approved:
'/Ja1Ir;cio;! ~
~N;;( ~
( City Cle
Attest:
Seal Beach, California
July 14, 2003
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
session at 7:01 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting
to order with the Salute to the Flag.
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ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Campbell
Counci1mernbers Antos, Doane, Larson, Yost
Absent: None
Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development
Services
Mr. Dancs, Director of Public Works/City
Engineer
Chief Sellers, Police Department
Mr. Vukojevic, Deputy City Engineer
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
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APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Mayor Campbell noted that Item "BB" relating to Determination
of General Plan Conformity with regard to the Bolsa Chic a
Street Waterline Easement (Brightwater Proposed Water
Transmission Line Route) was being removed from the agenda,
and the City Manager clarified that the Southern California
Water Company had forwarded a letter withdrawing their appeal
of the decision of the Planning Commission that denied
General Plan conformity. Mayor Campbell recalled that
several years ago when the Bo1sa Chica project was proposed
this City joined a lawsuit to fight that project, one thing
missing from the EIR was traffic implications on Seal Beach,
this proposed line would have gone down the easterly boundary
of Seal Beach to supply water to the Bolsa Chica project,
however it was felt inappropriate to provide water to a .
project that the City is on record as opposing. Councilman
Antos stated it was necessary for him to abstain from voting
7-14-03
on agenda Items "F" and "V", and requested that Items "R" and
"X" be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate
consideration. Yost moved, second by Antos, to approve the
order of the agenda as revised.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mayor Campbell called attention to the upcoming Clean-Up Week
from July 22nd through July 26th at the Public Works Yard,
and noted that this may be the last of the cleanup program as
a result of many new regulations. The Mayor also mentioned
that an Eagle Scout celebration was held recently at the Fire
Station during which a flag was presented to the City in
remembrance of September 11th depicting the Twin Towers and
the Pentagon which she displayed.
PRESENTATION - ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY
The Mayor noted that Seal Beach is a member of the Authority,
of concern is that the City was in support of an airport at
E1 Toro, if that does not occur the residents of that region
will be traveling the 405 Freeway en route to Los Angeles
International which could impact College Park East by loss of
homes should the 405 be widened, since it now appears that El
Toro will not be an airport it is necessary to look at
alternate forms of transportation to get that traffic to
other airport facilities such as Ontario, the presentation
relates to one means of doing so.
*
Mr. Jack Wagner, Executive Director of the OCRAA, stated
there is a crisis of mobility in Southern California
separate from the issue of a shortfall of air
transportation, there is also an issue of ground
transportation demand, the ability to get people and
cargo to and from places, much of the air passenger
demand actually comes from South Orange County and with
the limits on John Wayne Airport that means more people
traveling through North County to access airports.
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* He mentioned that with the passage of Measure W other
solutions are being looked at that make sense to help
solve the overall transportation problem.
* Mr. Wagner said his presentation would focus on a
significant problem that exists between Orange and
Riverside counties which is the 91 Freeway where peak
traffic is now four hours in both the morning and
afternoon, traffic will double on that Freeway over the
next twenty years from the current 230,000 vehicles a
day to over 430,000 per day, trucks comprise ten percent
of the trips are expected to expand, the 30,000 number
will double to 60,000 by year 2020.
*
There is very little land remaining adjacent to the 91
Freeway, specifically through the canyons, making
widening or doubledecking an economic and engineering
challenge or better described as a nightmare, it is
believed that the limits of the canyon areas have been
reached.
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*
A statement was made at the Orange County Economic
.Seminar that the economic outlook for the County is good
for the next year, yet in the next five to six years
unless the jobs/housing imbalance between Orange and
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7-14-03
Riverside Counties is solved and additional corridors
are created there will be economic chaos, a recession
situation similar to that of 1991 because businesses are
going to leave and there will be a downward spiral.
*
This needs to be looked at as a region, cities and
counties can not solve this problem alone, there needs
to be a regional approach, there needs to be an
additional corridor between the two communities in order
for the local economy to work, solutions that make sense
have to be implemented quickly, and the time it takes to
get a transportation solution approved is extensive and
sometimes never gets done, but this problem needs to be
solved and quickly.
* Proponents for an additional corridor are looking at
what is needed and what objectives it must meet,
additional access needs to be' provided between the two
counties, it must be economically sound, based on no new
taxes, environmentally acceptable otherwise it will not
get approved in time, it must not disrupt existing
traffic, must be completed by 2010.
* Mr. Wagner stated that this proposal is called the Tri
Tunnel Express, a three tunnel system, ten to twelve
miles long between Riverside and Orange Counties, paid
for by users, not taxpayers, it would be capable of
supporting many users, cars, trucks, rail, water, power,
and other utilities.
*
He displayed a map of the areas of the 91, 55, and 57
freeways, the areas of bottleneck and gridlock, the
tunnel would connect at the I-15 at Caga1co Road, two
weeks ago the County of Riverside approved the Caga1co
Road expressway which will be capable of taking cars to
Beaumont which then goes to Palm Springs and the River,
the line ends at the intersection of SR-241 and the l33,
the heart of the business district in central Orange
County, currently workers travel sixty-five to seventy-
five miles at very low speeds, this project would cut
twenty-five miles off of that trip and transverse them
through at high speeds.
*
The tunnel would consist of three tunnels, at one side
the tunnel would accommodate a twelve foot diameter
water line, that brings water from Lake Matthews to
central and south Orange County, Lake Matthews water is
dedicated to those areas of the County where so much of
the growth is taking place yet the problem has been that
they have not been able to find a way to get the water
from Matthews to that area, this will solve that
problem, above the water tunnel is a truck conveyer
system somewhat like a conveyor train, no driving, no
fumes, above that is the capability for a high speed
rail system, it is not an integral part of the tunnel
proposal yet the capability is there.
*
The other two tunnels are forty-five feet in diameter,
one for eastbound traffic, one for westbound traffic, an
important safety consideration, on the bottom of the
tunnel there is a fresh air duct for incoming air and at
the top the exhaust air is pulled out, because of the
need for moving goods and people this project will
provide use for fiber optics, oil pipeline, and a
pipeline to bring brine water from the Salton Sea to the
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ocean, there would be emergency turnouts for vehicles in
the event of a problem, it is designed for smooth flow.
*
The design is the result of prominent engineers
throughout the world who worked on the tunnel systems in
Europe and in China.
*
A photo of the tunnel boring machine was shown, a
thirty-six foot diameter machine, the one to be used on
this tunnel will be forty-five feet and when the
feasibility work is done it will be a fifty-five foot
machine, a phenomenal device, the machine has been shown
on the History channel, the story of the Chunnel,
fortunately the Cleveland National Forest is hard rock
which makes this type of machine ideal as opposed to the
problems that were encountered going under a twenty-six
mile channel with chalk-like earth underneath the
surface and concerns with regard to water corning in.
This is off-the-shelf technology, it is not something
new, it is merely because people are not used to tunnels
this size in this part of the States.
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*
The tunnel will be capable of vent scrubbing vehicle
emissions, the process is that air is brought in from
underneath the cars, blowers and exhausts pull the air
up from the vehicles, blow it to the end of the tunnel
to two towers that vent out, however before the
emissions are vented the air is scrubbed and cleaned of
ninety-five percent of the vehicle emissions, a
comparison can be drawn with an at-ground level
situation where emissions are going directly into the
air.
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* There is an approximate nine hundred foot drop between
the tunnels, that is important because the one tunnel
not only accommodates the water pipe, the drop will
generate fourteen megawatts of power which is about
three times the amount of power necessary to operate the
equipment associated with the tunnel and the excess can
be sold, a source of revenue plus the lease of the line.
*
The estimated cost to build the tunnel is $3 billion, it
is not taxpayer dollars, the source of revenue will make
this attractive to private individuals who seek to make
an investment to get a return on their bonds based on
the profitability of the tunnel. The tolls are
conservatively low as compared to the existing toll
system, weekday autos would generate $108 million per
year, weekend tolls will generate $18 million, in
discussions with the trucking industry it was said that
the $8 toll each way was very low and they would be
willing to go to $15 because of the time and fuel
savings, that would generate another $73 million, the
water transmission lease generates $30 million, the
electricity transmission lines generates $35 million,
the other users, fiber optics, oil, gas, and brine line
generate another $40 million, this is $304 million in
revenue per year.
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*
The study has to demonstrate that the tunnel is feasible
and economical, if it is not then bond investors will
not invest in it, this will pay for itself without
taxpayer money.
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*
Mr. Wagner said in summary, there is a serious problem
with mobility, it will reach crisis proportions, this
project is environmentally sound, it goes underneath the
Cleveland National Forest, does not disturb the habitat,
it is financed, built, and paid for by users, not
taxpayers, can be completed by 2010, the thirty-six mile
Chunnel was completed in three years, this is ten to
twelve miles and can be completed in a like time once
approvals are granted. This is good for the economy,
good for the region, and makes sense, OCRAA has been
looking for a good transportation solution since 1974,
the focus then turned to El Toro, with the passage of
Measure W the outlook for an airport at El Toro is an
extremely low probability, therefore there needs to be
another solution, the tunnel will provide access to
Ontario and March Air Force Base if E1 Toro is not
available, if El Toro were to become an airport the
tunnel stands on its own merit, is needed by all in
Orange County.
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Mayor Campbell thanked Mr. Wagner for his presentation. She
noted that the source of the growth in South Orange County is
the children that were raised in North County cities like
Seal Beach, are now married, have children, and are buying in
South County were there is new housing development and more
affordable than North County.
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PUBLIC COMMENTS
Mayor Campbell declared the public comment period to be open.
Mr. Bill Ayres, President of the 10K Run Committee, reported
that the Committee recently awarded $27,000 in grants to the
community as a result of the April Race. Mr. Ayres stated
that the 10K is the result of benefactors from this area,
merchants that help sponsor the event, and over two hundred
volunteers, all putting something back into the community,
the community is quaint, people work hard to keep that way,
part of that is the vo1unteerism, giving something back, that
is what the Committee wants to speak to. Ms. Elizabeth Kane,
7th Street, 10K Committee member, noted that in 2003 the
Committee implemented a new grant request program which has
turned out to be a great success, there were over twenty-two
requests from eleven organizations totaling over $150,000 for
recreational programs, services, and/or facility upgrade
needs, unfortunately there were not monies available to fund
all requests, yet $27,000 was available this year, more than
double what there has been available to give back to the
community in the past. Ms. Kane noted that this year the
monies were given to a number of community groups and a
broader range of people than before, the 2003 recipients have
been notified, they include the Seal Beach Pony Baseball
League, the Los A1amitos Track and Field Booster Club, Los
Alamitos Pop Warner Football, Seal Beach Recreation
Department, Project Seek at McGaugh, and the College Park
East Neighborhood Association. Ms. Kane apologized for not
having the ability to fund the remaining requests, however
suggested that there is next year. She mention too that the
2004 Run will be held on Saturday, April 3rd, it will be the
30th Anniversary, and there will be the addition of a
wheelchair and handcart race to draw an even more diverse
group of individuals to join the community and annual Race, a
group race for ten or more individuals will also be included.
Ms. Kane expressed appreciation to the community, the
Council, the City for its support, it is hoped it is realized
that the efforts go back to benefit the community and
programs.
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7-14-03
Mr. Mike Narz, Cottonwood Lane, expressed appreciation to the
Council for allowing the Lions Club to host fifty-nine
consecutive Fish Fry events, and reminded that the next Lions
Club Fish Fry will be held on the upcoming weekend at the
pier. Ms. Joyce Parque, Seal Beach, distributed photos of
groupings of newsracks on Main Street, over a hundred within
three blocks, and claimed that it has been a couple of years
since a request to prepare a newsrack ordinance in order to
limit the number of racks. She noted that she has brought up
the issue of landscaping on Main Street, there are some new
trees however they are not being watered yet today the
sprinkler systems were being worked on, it is too late for
these trees so more will have to be bought, there are still
weeds on Westminster and on Seal Beach Boulevard, new plants
and trees are not being taken care of. Ms. parque made
reference to the Redevelopment debt and revenues, the debt is
$9.2 million, the revenues from the Redevelopment areas is a
little more than $1.1 million, the interest on bonds is
$742,958, the twenty percent low/ moderate setaside is
$271,890, the rental assistance fund is $120,000, the penalty
is $60,000, staff time is $15,000, school monies are $45,000,
and legal services are $45,000, there is not enough money to
pay for what is required, it is hoped there is some money
from the bond sale because City revenues should not be used.
Ms. parque claimed that there have been two home sales, one
on First Street was $985,000, it is an Agency project area,
the property taxes will be $9,850, a sale on 8th Street was
$926,000, the property tax will be $9,260, from the property
in the Agency area the City will receive $20, the remainder
goes to the Agency. She asked what the people in Old Town
are getting for their money, they are getting programs
established by the Agency that were only sent to everyone in
the Trailer Park, if a person qualifies there are free
improvements to their home under the Horne Improvement
Program, $10,000 is free and $50,000 is a loan if one
qualifies, or possibly to even buy a home, again, notices of
these programs need to go to everyone, not just the Trailer
Park, this free money is going to go for new kitchen
cabinets, granite counter tops, and stainless steel
refrigerators. Ms. parque also said that when people in the
Trailer Park want to sell their home they must first notify
the Redevelopment Agency who may buy the home and resell it.
She asked how many programs will the Agency take on, and the
people in the community are paying for them.
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Councilman Yost inquired as to the status of the newsrack
ordinance. The City Manager responded that the ordinance has
been completed, staff is proceeding to set up meetings with
the newspapers, it is a process of negotiation and
establishing location standards, it is a number one priority,
it is assumed it will be done fairly quickly as it is very
similar to the Buena Park ordinance. Mr. Doug Korthof, Seal
Beach, stated that the Trailer Park is important to all of
Seal Beach, there is a Park in Huntington Beach that is under
assault, it is not unique that the Trailer Park is a target
for development. Mr. Korthof expressed pleasure with the
settlement agreement on the Hellman mesa, the community can
be proud of the developer and the City government for this
agreement, with the exception of a few problems being worked
out it appears that everyone is happy with the agreement, it
is believed it will be an asset to the developer, Her.on
pointe will be an asset to the community, the ceremon~al
cemetery will be an honor to Seal Beach, the interpretative
Center which will be located behind a locked gate on fOP of
the mounded area, an asset for children to learn about the
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heritage and history of ten thousand years, they can come to
this site and see what was so important to the Native
Americans that were here for so many years. Mr. Korthof
acknowledged that there are some issues that have to be
resolved, one being security as Gum Grove Park is a dawn to
dusk nature park, Park in its expanded mode must have access
from Seal Beach Boulevard during daytime hours but not at
night, it needs to be closed at night, even if the parking
area needs to be open entry to the Park must have a locked
gate, the same with the gate at Avalon, the Educational
Center is where children will learn about native plants, the
nature of the oak tree, the four plant groupings, and be able
to see the burial grounds, the village site, wetlands, the
ocean, and the relation of all of those things to how these
people lived up and down the coast. Mr. Korthof mentioned
that Chief Anthony Morales of the Gabrieleno/Tongva Tribal
Council was present to address the Council as the most likely
descendant. It was pointed out that the Educational Center
site is a new business item, to that the Mayor determined to
allow public comments to that item at the time it is
considered. Mr. Andrew Chermak, Ocean Avenue, said he wished
to address the death of his dog, Katie, on July 4th, the
illegal fireworks activity that caused it, and what can be
done to suppress this activity in the future. Mr. Chermak
stated he had made plans to attend a fireworks activity
elsewhere, he locked his dog in the house rather than leaving
her in the yard, he was away less than four hours however
upon arriving home his dog was gone, that would have only
happened if she were completely terrified by the fireworks
going on in the neighborhood. He said that after searching
throughout the night to no avail the next morning he received
a telephone call from a person a mile away on the other side
of town who informed him that his dog was found in her flower
bed by the front door. Mr. Chermak said his dog died from
exhaustion, terrified, and in agony, this was not an
accident, people of Seal Beach who detonated illegal
fireworks allover the City whether through malice or
ignorance or both are fully and directly responsible. He
offered that there is much that the citizens and law
enforcement officers can do to suppress illegal fireworks
activity in the City if there is will to make it happen, this
could be done by proactive, preempting policing, a newspaper
reported that thirty-three calls were made to the police
about illegal fireworks yet no arrests were made, this
suggests a reactive enforcement policy, officers could walk a
neighborhood, door to door, remind residents that fireworks
are illegal, and indicate that arrests would be made, parties
and gatherings should receive special attention, police
should take extra time in the alleyways, carry bikes in their
patrol cars and ride them, another means would be an
aggressive public information campaign, these problems are
only serious during the 4th of July and New Years eve, in the
days leading up to these holidays the City government could
post large and prominent signs at entry points and throughout
the City informing people of the illegality of fireworks and
subject to arrest for violation, they should not be permanent
signs as they then blend into the landscape, put them up just
before and take them down after these holidays, another would
be proactive citizen patrols as it ~snot enough to say it is
the job of the City or the police to solve all problems,
police can not be everywhere all of the time, as individuals
the citizens could call the police at the first sign of
fireworks or form volunteer groups to patrol the streets
throughout the holiday period, non-uniformed citizens armed
with video cameras and cell phones could be an effective
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deterrent against this type of behavior, also proactive data
gathering, do a survey questionnaire, canvas the
neighborhoods to determine if there are hot spots for this
activity which would enable the police to better deploy their
assets. Mr. Chermak requested that the Council and public
have an open discussion on this issue and then take action.
Councilman Antos reported receiving a number of telephone
calls on July 4th evening with regard to fireworks activity
at the beach, on Electric Avenue, Seal Way, and other areas.
He noted that this year the City did not put out signs to
alert people that fireworks are illegal in Seal Beach, in the
past they have been put up about a month before, some people
thought possibly the City had changed its policy since there
were no signs, irrespective, his belief is that the City
needs to put up signs, get them up early, permanently or
temporary, there needs to be active enforcement by police and
fire, a few citations will pass the word, there were not only
safe and sane fireworks that are still sold in other cities
but illegal fireworks as well, and most fires this time of
year are the result of fireworks. Mayor Campbell too told of
an incident several years ago in College Park East where a
house went on fire almost immediately as a result of
fireworks. There being no further comments, Mayor Campbell
declared the Public Comment period to be closed.
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COUNCIL ITEMS
RESOLUTION NUMBER 5134 - MAYORAL APPOINTMENTS
Doane moved, second by Antos, to adopt Resolution Number 5134
as amended to reflect Mayor Campbell as the representative to
the Orange County Sanitation District and Councilman Yost as
the alternate representative, Councilman Doane as the
representative and Councilman Yost as the alternate
representative to the West Orange County Water Board,
Councilman Antos as the representative and Mayor Campbell as
the alternate representative to the Southern California
Association of Governments, Mayor Campbell as the
representative and Councilman Larson as the alternate
representative to the Orange County Division of the League of
California Cities, Councilman Yost as the representative and
Councilman Antos as the alternate representative to the Santa
Ana River Flood Protection Agency, and Councilman Larson as
the representative and Mayor Campbell as the alternate
representative to the Orange County Fire Authority, in
addition, that Councilman Doane be designated as the
representative to the WestComm Joint Powers Authority Board,
that Councilman Antos be designated as the representative to
the Orange County Library Board and Mayor Campbell as the
alternate representative, and that Mayor Campbell be
designated as the representative to the Orange County
Regional Airport Authority. Councilman Antos requested
background information relating to the Orange County Library
Board.
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AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
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Councilman Antos noted that in the past there has been
information generated from the various boards on which
members of the Council serve as representatives however the
information is not disseminated to the Council as a whole, to
that he requested that possibly the agendas for thosel
agencies be passed on to the City Manager for distrib~tion to
the Council. I
7-14-03
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APPOINTMENTS - BOARDS and COMMISSIONS
The Mayor and members of the Council stated they wished to
reappoint the persons who currently serve on the various
boards and commissions. Yost moved, second by Antos, to
reappoint Keith Dixon, William Hoy, Richard Coles, Bruce
Fitzpatrick, and Robert "Gene" Vesely to the Archaeological
Advisory Committee for the term of one year expiring July,
2004, that Terry Barton be reappointed as the District One
representative to the Civil Service Board for the six year
term expiring July, 2009, that Phil O'Malley be reappointed
as the District Two representative to the Environmental
Quality Control Board for the four year term expiring July,
2007, that Carla Watson and Andy Rohman be reappointed as the
District Three and District Five representatives to the Parks
and Recreation Commission for the three year term expiring
July, 2006, that Phil Ladner be reappointed as the District
Five representative to the Planning Commission for the four
year term expiring July, 2007, that Margene Walz be
reappointed as the District One resident member and Virginia
Burroughs as the business member of the Project Area
Committee, and Loydeane Lazich and John O'Neil be reappointed
as District Three resident members, all for the two year term
expiring July, 2005.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
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LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES ANNUAL CONFERENCE - VOTING
DELEGATE / ALTERNATE
Yost moved, second by Antos, to designate Mayor Campbell as
the voting delegate and Councilman Larson as the alternate
voting delegate for the League of California Cities Annual
Conference in Sacramento from September 7th through September
10th. .
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
CANCELLATION OF COUNCIL MEETING
Larson moved, second by Doane, to cancel the regular City
Council meeting of September 8th, 2003.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
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APPOINTMENT - REPRESENTATIVE - ORANGE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION
AUTHORITY - GROWTH MANAGEMENT AREA
Councilman Antos again stated that he would abstain from all
discussion on this item in that the department in which he is
employed at the County works with the Orange County
Transportation Authority and the Growth Management Areas.
Councilman Antos left the Council Chambers. Larson moved,
second by Campbell, to approve Mayor Campbell as the
representative and Councilman Doane as the alternate
representative to GMA 2 and GMA 6.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None
Antos Motion carried
CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "G" thru "Y"
Doane moved, second by Yost, to approve the recommended
action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except
for Items "R" and "X", removed for separate consideration,
and the record reflect the abstention of Councilman Antos
7-14-03
from voting on Item "V". Mayor Campbell read the title of
each item listed on the Consent Calendar.
G.
Approved the waiver of reading in full of
all ordinances and resolutions and that
consent to the waiver of reading shall be
deemed to be given by all Councilmembers
after the reading of the title unless
specific request is made at that time for
the reading of such ordinance or resolution.
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H. Approved regular demands numbered 42297
through 42746 in the amount of $2,493,601.93,
ADP payroll demands numbered 4299101 through
4560404 in the amount of $440,100.94, and
authorized warrants to be drawn on the
Treasury for same.
I. Approved the minutes of the regular adjourned
and regular meetings of June 9, 2003.
J. Received and filed the staff report and
authorized the Mayor to sign the letter of
support for the Orange County 2003 Continuum
of Care Program.
K. Received and filed the Monthly Investment
Report for May, 2003.
L.
Adopted Resolution Number 5135 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, SETTING THE
APPROPRIATIONS LIMIT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2003-04."
By unanimous consent, full reading of
Resolution Number 5135 was waived.
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M. Authorized the sale of surplus property by
means of auction.
N. Adopted Resolution Number 5136 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING AND
FILING THE ANNUAL STATEMENT OF INVESTMENT
POLICY AND GUIDELINES FOR THE FISCAL YEAR
2003/2004." By unanimous consent, full
reading of Resolution Number 5136 was waived.
O.
Adopted Resolution Number 5137 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING REVISIONS TO THE
MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN THE
CITY OF SEAL BEACH AND THE ORANGE COUNTY
EMPLOYEES ASSOCIATION AND REPEALING ALL
RESOLUTIONS IN CONFLICT THEREWITH." By
unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution
Number 5137 was waived.
I
P. Adopted Resolution Number 5138 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING REVISIONS TO WAGES
AND BENEFITS FOR MANAGEMENT AND MID-MANAGEMENT
EMPLOYEES AND REPEALING ON THE EFFECTIVE DATES
SPECIFIED ALL RESOLUTIONS IN CONFLICT THEREWITH."
By unanimous consent, full reading of Reso]ution
Number 5138 was waived.
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I
AYES:
NOES:
7-14-03
Q.
Adopted Resolution Number 5139 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH ESTABLISHING HOURLY WAGES FOR
PART-TIME EMPLOYEES AND REPEALING ON THE
EFFECTIVE DATES SPECIFIED ALL RESOLUTIONS
IN CONFLICT THEREWITH." By unanimous consent,
full reading of Resolution Number 5139 was
waived.
S.
Adopted Resolution Number 5142 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
#50099, THE ANNUAL PAVING REHABILITATION
PROJECT FY 2003, COLLEGE PARK DRIVE FROM
HARVARD LANE TO NORTH HARVARD LANE, ENTERED
INTO BETWEEN PALP, INC. DBA EXCEL PAVING CO."
By unanimous consent, full reading of
Resolution Number 5142 was waived.
T. Adopted Resolution Number 5143 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 #50025, THE CONSTRUCTION OF
SEAL BEACH BOULEVARD BIKE LANE AND STORM
DRAIN PROJECT, SOUTH OF WESTMINSTER AVENUE
ENTERED INTO BETWEEN TYNER PAVING CO." By
unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution
Number 5143 was waived.
U.
Adopted Resolution Number 5144 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
49813C AND 50062C, THE ALLEY UTILITY
REPLACEMENT PROGRAM (WATER & SEWER),
13th/14th & 14th/DOLPHIN ALLEYS FROM OCEAN
AVE. TO ELECTRIC AVE. & 15TH/16TH ALLEY
FROM ELECTRIC AVE. TO PCH ENTERED INTO
BETWEEN PALP, INC., DBA EXCEL PAVING CO."
By unanimous consent, full reading of
Resolution Number 5144 was waived.
V. Adopted Amendment No.6 to the Orange
County Transportation Authority Master
Funding Agreement No. C-95-991, replacing
the revised list of open projects.
(Councilman Antos abstained from voting on
this item).
W.
Approved the renewal of the 8th Street
Parking Lot Agreement between the City of
Seal Beach and Grace Community Church for a period
of one year from July 1, 2003 through
June 30, 2004.
Y.
Accepted the resignation of Dr. David Hood
from the Planning Commission, and declared
the District Four position to be vacant.
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
7-14-03
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
ITEM "R" - COUNCIL POLICY - PUBLIC WORKS SIDEWALK/CONCRETE
50-50 PROGRAM
Councilman Antos requested a staff report as the item may be
of interest to the public. The Director of Public Works
noted that the Department receives many requests to replace
sidewalk, curb and gutter, as shown in the Capital
Improvement Program the City has a $3.5 million backlog yet
only allocates $50,000 per year for replacement, that means
it would take seventy years to repair all of the sidewalks in
Seal Beach, at present aging sidewalks are repaired to
prevent possible trip and falls and allow pedestrian mobility
throughout the community. He explained that under the
California Streets and Highways Code the property owner can
be required to pay for any repairs to a sidewalk however that
is not the policy in Seal Beach, what is desired is to
balance the backlog yet give residents the ability to
contribute if they wish to do so, to be placed at the top of
the priority list for replacement, that has been done as an
internal Public Works Department policy and at this point it
is desired that the policy be made official upon Council
approval. He noted that other cities have used a similar 50-
50 program. The Director offered that any resident desiring
to have their sidewalk replaced could make application to the
Public Works Department, they obtain three bids from private
contractors, and based upon the lowest bid they would be
issued a Public Works permit to have the sidewalk replaced,
then the City would contribute fifty percent of the
construction cost, or they could be placed on top of the
priority list within the $50,000 budget however that only
occurs once per year. The Director noted that it is known
that all of the sidewalk in the community will not be done in
seventy years therefore the City does maintenance by placing
an asphalt patch on the sidewalk whenever it is raised or
sunken, the patch is not aesthetically pleasing but does
provide a safe and cost effective method of providing
pedestrian mobility, the main focus for replacement is the
high priority areas such as Main Street or the frontage of
public buildings. Mayor Campbell asked if there is a charge
for the permit should a resident choose to take advantage of
this program. The response of the Director was that there
would be a permit charge yet split 50-50 in that the
inspections for the permit are contracted out, noted too that
if a property owner was willing to pay more to be placed
higher on the list that too would be entertained, depending
upon the size of the project a sidewalk replacement is
basically between $5 to $8 per square foot. Antos moved,
second by Yost, to adopt the Council Policy relating to a 50-
50 cost sharing program for replacement of sidewalk/frontage
improvements for residential properties.
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AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
I
ITEM "X" - LEGAL NON-CONFORMING RESIDENTIAL STRUCTURES _
LIMITED EXCEPTION - EXPANSION / ADDITION PROHIBITION _
PROPOSED ORDINANCE
The Director of Development Services noted that this item
for Council consideration, explained that since the time
Council adopted the interim ordinance prohibiting the
processing of applications for additions and expansions
nonconforming uses there have been persons approach the
that have an existing nonconforming property with three
yet the lot is only large enough for two units and they
is
the
of
City
units
are
7-14-03
I
willing to meet all of the City's development standards
including the required off-street parking as part of a
proposal to add some floor area to the main dwelling on the
property. He noted that staff was uncertain if Council would
want to consider such an exception for this type of a project
and go through the Planning Commission public hearing process
for a Conditional Use Permit or Minor Plan Review at which
time a decision would be made, if Council chooses to not
adopt the proposed ordinance these persons would be on hold
pending whatever decisions of the City Council are
forthcoming with regard to revised regulations. Councilman
Larson noted that when the ordinance was adopted it was
understood that everything would be stopped, that was the
purpose, and caution was raised that exceptions would be
sought, this would be an exception before a final ordinance
is considered and adopted, his feeling is that the
prohibition should remain in place, that is what the Planning
Commission recommended. Councilman Antos posed a scenario
that if a person has a project and even though there is a
moratorium which does not allow additions to nonconforming
buildings through the Conditional Use Permit process, the
individual could still make application to the Planning
Commission through a Variance or other process and consider
same under public hearing and with findings that it was not a
grant of special privilege. The Director responded that he
did not believe that the Variance process could be used to
circumvent the provisions of the ordinance that is in place,
at present the Code states that for additions and expansions
for nonconforming uses it must go through either a
Conditional Use Permit or Minor Plan Review process and that
has been placed on hold, his belief would be that the
Variance process could not be utilized to get around the
interim ordinance. Councilman Antos inquired how long it
will be before staff develops a final set of recommendations
to be considered by the Planning Commission as to how to
handle the nonconforming uses. The Director responded that
it is anticipated that this issue with several options will
be before the Commission by late August and to Council
possibly by late September, a time frame of two to three
months. Councilman Doane moved to deem that it is not
appropriate to provide for such an exception and to receive
and file the staff report. Councilman Larson seconded the
motion.
I
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to declare a recess at 8:14 p.m. The Council reconvened at
8:26 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order.
I
PROPOSED EDUCATION CENTER - GUM GROVE NATURE PARK - HERON
POINTE
The Director of Development Services presented the staff
report, explained that the request is that the City Council
determine the appropriate location for what is being called
an Educational Center at Gum Grove Park. He noted that
genesis for this item corning before the Council is the
Coastal Commission issuance of a cease and desist order of
the grading activities on the John Laing Homes project on the
Hellman property. As a result of that order was the
preparation of a mitigation plan to deal with the large
number of Native American remains that were discovered on the
property during the grading activities and how to treat those
remains in a respectful manner, reinterment on the property,
7-14-03
and to develop an Educational Center to provide an
interpretative area for the history of the property, the
importance of the area to the Native American community, and
what has occurred on the property over the last three to five
thousand years when it was inhabited by Native American
tribal groups. He mentioned again that as part of the cease
and desist order was the requirement to prepare a new
mitigation plan to deal with the treatment of the remains and
the Education Center was an outgrowth of that, the Coastal
Commission in looking at the mitigation plan has indicated
that they will not consider the mitigation plan in its final
form until such time as the Council has authorized a location
for the interpretative Center somewhere in the Gum Grove Park
area or another location in the project area if that is the
determination of the Council, once that position of the
Commission became clear to John Laing Homes and
representatives of the Native American community there were a
number of field meetings between those parties to survey the
property and try to get a feel for what would be the most
appropriate location based on the desires of the Native
American community to have a facility that would be the most
respectful of their ancestors. The Director reported that
the location that was proposed and considered at the Parks
and Recreation Commission was the preferred original location
near Gum Grove Park, at that time there were two Crestview
residents who expressed concerns with regard to safety issues
related to this facility, particularly in the evening hours
when it is dark and there is not much visibility in that
area. The Commission in their recommendation to the Council
felt that the facility itself was acceptable, also that the
facility should be closer to Seal Beach Boulevard, and that
it be located to where the centerpoint of the circle that is
part of the interpretative facility be at least one hundred
sixty-five feet away from the rear property line of the homes
along Crestview, based on that recommendation the Native
American representatives and John Laing Homes went back onto
the property and looked at the Commission suggested
recommendations, therefore there are now suggested A and B
locations, also, the one hundred sixty- five foot Commission
buffer zone recommendation from the rear Crestview property
lines to the inner circle of the interpretative facility
basically precludes a large majority of the property in the
area, the plans for options A and B clearly show that the
majority of areas between the John Laing Homes and Crestview
homes would not meet the criteria, .option A and B and the
original location does, yet anything in between those
locations would not meet the one hundred sixty-five foot
criteria suggested by the Parks and Recreation Commission.
He explained that the facility itself is proposed to be
fairly low intensity in nature, primarily decomposed granite
pathways that would lead from the parking lot area, which is
a Coastal Commission requirement, from Seal Beach Boulevard
there will be a trail system that will go between the John
Laing Homes and the Crestview homes and tie into the existing
trail system at the east end of Gum Grove Park as it
currently exists, there would be an offshoot path to get to
the interpretative facility, the facility is proposed t.o be
an approximate thirty foot diameter circle that would be
depressed about eighteen inches from the surrounding
walkways, the area could be used for seating for
interpretative talks that would be given by Native American
representatives to school groups and other interested parties
and organizations, there would be a number of display panel
boards around the circular area similar to those seen in
National or State parks that would speak to the history,
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7-14-03
I
flora and fauna of the area, then between the parking lot and
wherever this facility is determined to be located there
would be a number of boulders along the walkway with embedded
plaques of historical information and a time line from
present day to the earliest habitation of the area by the
Native Americans. The Council is being asked to determine
what is felt to be the most appropriate location for this
facility, there is no night lighting, no restroom facilities,
no drinking fountains, it is an area that would basically be
used for congregating people to learn the history of the
area, for the Native Americans to conduct interpretative
presentations to interested groups, and for them to conduct
ritual ceremonies that they do two to three times a year when
they come to honor their ancestors. The Director explained
that diagrams of the facility site locations were included in
the Council packets as well as displayed in the Chambers, the
original location is about seven hundred seventy-five feet
from Seal Beach Boulevard, almost directly behind 1717
Crestview Avenue, site B is an almost exact location however
about twenty to thirty feet further from Crestview, the site
A location is about one hundred fifty feet from Seal Beach
Boulevard and an approximate one hundred sixty-five feet from
the Crestview homes, pointed out that in conversations with
John Laing Homes they have indicated that option B and the
original proposed location are felt to be the most desirable
from the Native American standpoint to honor their ancestors
in a way they feel is appropriate. As indicated previously,
at the Recreation Commission hearing there were some concerns
because of the distance of the location from the project, how
it could be policed and surveyed during the evening hours,
and the Coastal Commission permit at this point in time does
not allow for a gate to be provided on the Seal Beach
Boulevard end of Gum Grove Park even though the Council and
staff having previously fought hard against the parking lot
and gate issues before the Commission, an option however,
once a location is approved, is to go back to the Commission
and ask that they reconsider and amend the permit if that is
something that is appropriate and necessary. The Director
noted that Mr. Morales, the Tribal Chief of the Gabrieleno/
Tongva tribe was present, he is also the State appointed Most
Likely Descendent to make determinations on how to address
the Native American remains that have been found on the site
and the proper reinterment process for the remains, present
also is Mr. Robert Dormae, the lead Native American monitor
for the project, and suggested that the Council hear from
both gentlemen, John Laing Homes, and then the general
public. Councilman Yost asked if consideration was given to
placing this Center inside the development. The response of
the Director was that it had, the Native American
representatives and John Laing Homes can best address that
issue. Councilman Doane asked if the Council is limited to
options A and B, the response of the Director was that there
are options A, B, and the original location, and should the
Council feel that none of those are appropriate the Council
could determine an alternate location, or refer the matter
back to staff for further consideration.
I
I
Mr. Anthony Morales stated he is the Tribal Chair and Chief
of the Gabrieleno/T.ongva from San Gabriel. Mr. Morales noted
that this corning August the San Gabriel Mission will be
founded by his ancestors two hundred thirty-two years ago,
Seal Beach too is full of their history, culture and
tradition, and requested that the Council select option B for
their cultural facility, it is a more natural location, there
is natural habitat, it blends in with their history in the
7-14-03
area and the wetlands. He noted that children in the second
and third grades study the missions and the tribes, the
Gabrielle/Tongva is the local tribe in this area, settled
here thousands of years ago. Mr. Morales asked again that
option B be considered which is more natural and has a sense
of natural beauty and habitat over option A which is more
urbanized, closer to Seal Beach Boulevard, the option A takes
away the natural beauty and setting, nature and mother earth,
this is not only for the children but for the community, the
residents. Mr. Morales thanked the Council for their
consideration in memory of their ancestors. Mr. Robert
Dormae thanked the Council for allowing him to address this
issue, the concerns of this community and the Indian
community as well, stated he is with the Gabrieleno/Tongva
Indians of California, Tribal Chair, a consultant and monitor
on the Hellman project. Mr. Dormae said he wished to address
the usage of the facility as an educational, cultural,
interpretative Center that will benefit children, adults, and
Indian people in general, music, arts and crafts could the
instituted in the program, there is excitement about the
cultural center. Mr. Dormae noted that location B has an
archaeological number of ORA 261, if one follows the cultural
deposit it actually goes into the existing homes therefore
the residents will indulge in the satisfaction of being on
and participating in the cultural area. He cautioned against
making assumptions, explained that Indians are capable of
buying property in this area, he has close friends in the
area, it is important to diminish the fact that Indians are
not a taboo word, they are the same as others, the same
emotions and share the same interests, one of his friends in
the community has taken into consideration to contribute a
specialized collection which will be installed into the
network of the design and landscape for the cultural center,
there is appreciation of that effort, also any plaques that
are necessary for those who have served the purpose of
keeping this cultural area will be honored. Mr. Dornay
expressed his understanding of the safety concerns, there is
a gate at the west end of Gum Grove Park that provides
security, suggesting that an attempt be made to gate the east
end if that is deemed necessary, the Park and the facility
would be utilized mainly during the day with children,
adults, and cultural activities. Mr. Dormae mentioned that
he frequents this community, uses the theater, the pier, many
other Indian friends visit and adore this City, they are part
of the community, he mentioned too that John Laing Homes made
a favorable sacrifice with Hellman in proper discussion, good
ethics and consideration for the Native Americans to have
this cultural Center, and hopefully, with the approval of
location B as an appropriate site that overlooks the
wetlands, this will be a soon corning Center for the Indians
and the community. Councilman Yost noted that Mr. Dormae is
the monitor on the Hellman site, agreed that a center is an
appropriate use on that property, part of the City's heritage
and should be celebrated, and asked if the preferred location
is an area of cultural deposits now that has not been graded,
undisturbed, in its natural state. Mr. Dormae responded that
in its present condition it is regarded as ORA 261 and there
is a cultural deposit within the area which would make it
appropriate, in terms of mitigation John Laing Homes, Mr.
Morales and he have talked about what could be done there
without disturbing the area any more than it needs to be, as
a consultant and monitor it is a justified site. Councilman
Yost asked if a nearby site would be considered that jhas
already been graded and where existing cultural deposits
would not be disturbed. Mr. Dormae stated he review~d
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7-14-03
location A, it is very noisy, it is really not appropriate,
members of the community should be able to visit the Center,
sit, meditate and appreciate the location, it is felt it is
non-invasive to the community and the homeowners, it is
believed it will be a wonderful place.
I
Mr. Mario Voce, Seal Beach, co-chair of the Gum Grove Park
Group, stated he had the opportunity to tour the site, which
is understood to be the original location choice, about
twenty feet from the B site. Mr. Voce said the location was
lovely, he did not see why another location given all of the
factors, and thanked the Tongva representatives for taking
the time to attend this meeting and sharing their interest
and input in this matter. He said his concern is with
security over night not only with the existing Gum Grove but
with the new addition of Gum Grove, his belief is that there
is an interpretational difference in reading the Coastal
Commission condition, his reading is that there can be a
security fence along Seal Beach Boulevard and a gated entry
to the Seal Beach Boulevard entry to Gum Grove which is
closeable after the Park hours which is dusk, about 5:00 p.m.
in the winter and 8:00 p.m. in the summer, that is the issue
because at present there are archaeological sensitive sites
in Gum Grove that are being torn up by local youth, and if
the City can not take care of the existing site near the
entry of Avalon how can the wonderful, new interpretative
Center be cared for, he has disagreement with the Seal Beach
Boulevard entry issue. Mr. Voce said one should keep in mind
also that there will be new landscaping with vegetation that
is native to the general region, when there is a revegetation
project it can not be left open to anyone at any hour of the
day or night to be dug up, make Extreme bike trails, running
dogs, those are issues in the Park that have not as yet been
fully addressed, there needs to be an enforcement plan, on
paper, developed by the Police Department to protect all of
the people that use Gum Grove, these are existing issues that
can be seen to affect future issues such as the cultural
Center. Mr. Voce spoke in support of location B. Mr. Jay
Van De Velde, Seal Beach, said he did not believe that there
is a problem with the concept of an Educational Center
located in Gum Grove Park, the issue is with the location
next to the existing homes, there is basically a narrow
corridor between the existing homes and the new development
that will be built, approximately eight hundred feet from
Seal Beach Boulevard. He noted that the original location
that was considered by the Recreation Commission was stated
to be approximately one hundred thirty-five feet away from
the existing homes, the location was taped off, he measured
it and found it to be about seventy feet and he would
challenge any surveyor to tell him that is not true, it can
not be said that it is one hundred sixty-five feet from the
center of the circle, said it is a facility, yet it is an
amphitheater, depressed, with seating around it. Mr. Van De
Velde said it is not the daytime use that is objected to
rather illicit nighttime activity is certain to occur there
as it is so far from Seal Beach Boulevard, there is no
lighting, and as of this date is was confirmed with the
Coastal Commission that it does not intend for a gate of any
type to be placed at the Boulevard parking area or entrance,
they specifically mandated that there will be no restrictions
whatsoever other than a sign posting the hours, to build a
cultural Center and hope that at some point down line there
could be some type of physical barrier is wishful thinking at
best. He noted that there are the three options under
consideration, however another has not yet been addressed, on
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the website of a local resident about three weeks ago there
was an open letter from the Native American community to John
Laing Homes, before the development agreement was reached,
which read 'what can still be, a good faith effort to retain
the ancestors in place on ORA 264' which is the preservation
area adjacent to the Police Station and where most of the
remains were found, 'not only would opposition be defused but
Heron pointe would no longer be a housing tract on top of a
cemetery, ORA 264 separated by a wall and native plants would
have separate access to the public to allow appropriate
ceremonies, prayer vigils, and dances.' Mr. Van De Velde
said again that this is a site that is the current
preservation area, the northern border of the Hellman
property, adjacent to the Police Station, if the Education
Center was within the preservation area that would eliminate
a lot of security concerns given its proximity to the Police
Station and far enough away from Seal Beach Boulevard where
the traffic noise would not be a concern. He mentioned that
when he brought this up to the Recreation Commission a
representative of John Laing Homes stated that the Native
Americans would have objections because of desecration
issues, non-Native persons walking upon the area would be
felt to be desecration. He noted too that within the staff
report it states that there is a seventeen foot oil access
road to be built through the preservation area, there was
concern too with grave and pot diggers, it is felt it is John
Laing Homes that wants no reference to their home buyers that
there is a burial ground, they want to move all of the burden
on the existing homeowners and place the Education Center at
the end of a long corridor where problems will be realized
and children may corne upon situations left from illicit
activities of a the previous night. Dr. George Juler,
Crestview Avenue, resident since 1966, said the location B is
directly north of their property, and they have witnessed
some of the cultural activities that have gone an at the east
end of Gum Grove Park, somewhat disturbing, activities such
as chanting, dancing, drum beating, and if that is part of
the cultural Center then he would think that the impact of
that should not be on the residents of Crestview, there is
adequate room on the north end of the property to construct a
cultural Center that would not affect Crestview homeowners.
Dr. Juler said that security is a problem at night, the
police can not monitor all of the activity, there has been
graffiti placed by vandals, and in his opinion the Crestview
residents should have the least impact from the government
mandated cultural activities in that area.
I
I
Mr. Matt Murphe, soon to be Crestview homeowner, said since
learning of this proposal his concerns are foremost with
security, and if the Council is going to choose one of these
locations then a security measure needs to be put in place,
he agrees that there is some confusion among the Crestview
homeowners as to where this cultural center is going to be,
possibly there needs to be more detail as to what is going to
go on and how this is going to affect Crestview homes. Mr.
Doug Korthof, Hill resident, clarified that the website
letter referenced by a prior speaker was not issued by Native
Americans it was a combination from various sources that he
put together, they were his ideas. Mr. Korthof said security
is important to all persons, everyone has concern with Gum
Grove being open day and night, it can not be open at night,
it is only open as a passive recreation nature park according
to the Coastal Commission, open from dawn to dusk then
closed, the gate on the western side is not required to be
taken down, it is necessary to keep people out, and since the
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7-14-03
I
police have been, locking the gate at night there has been no
vandalism or problems, his belief is that the Coastal
Commission will adapt to whatever the City decides, the
Council carries the weight of decision in this matter,
Coastal condition 17 states that no security gate will be
placed on Seal Beach Boulevard, it says nothing about a gate
on the Park itself, there is a similarity here to Bolsa Chica
which closes at 8:00 p.m., it is patrolled by the police and
if a car is parked those persons are in trouble, again, his
belief is that the Coastal Commission will change its
position, possibly even put a gate on Seal Beach Boulevard,
or a gate on the Park itself, since the development was
allowed now the security issue with the Park will need to be
dealt with. The problems in the Park need to be dealt with,
dogs, what is passive recreation, the Coastal Commission said
that can be established in the Local Coastal Plan. He
claimed that the amphitheater that was designed by John Laing
Homes is a gift to the people, it is not an amphitheater in
the sense that there will be no concerts there, there is no
electricity, there will be no drums, this tribe does not use
drums only clacker sticks, their chants are low key, as to
the oil road it will only be there until the oil operation is
ended, the ceremonial area on the other side is there for
significant ceremonies to ancestors, that is not an
Educational Center, it is a cemetery, ceremonies in the
amphitheater are educational in nature.
I
Mr. Pat Larkin, representative of John Laing Homes, said he
would like to address how the options were developed, stated
that when they first encountered the idea of an
interpretative Center the entire site was looked over, the
reinterment or preservation area which is near the Police
Station, they looked closer to the Boulevard, near the oil
production areas, and some of the pocket parks which are
inside the subdivision, those were walked with the Native
American representatives, the pocket parks were very
urbanized, as an example a thirty foot ring interpretative
Center with two story houses on either side, that was not
keeping with the feel of what was desired, the oil access
road runs from the Hellman production area near the wetlands
towards the main entrance to the project on Seal Beach
Boulevard, to that the Hellman organization and John Laing
Homes was concerned with safety issues, crossing the 'roads
where there are large pieces of equipment at indiscriminate
times. with regard to the security issues as seen by John
Laing Homes, it sounds as if there have been some security
issues in Gum Grove Park for a number of years, with the
extension his belief is that there will be more use which
could likely help security, nonetheless the Park is going to
be built whether there is an interpretative Center or not,
and if there are problems in the Park now there could also be
problems in the extension, those may be issues that need to
be addressed but not necessarily as a result of the Education
Center and its placement. He pointed out that the location B
would be about thirty-five to forty feet from the new John
Laing homes, further from the existing residences on
Crestview, and lastly, their interpretation of the Coastal
Commission is that a gate would be allowed on the parking
lot, thus discourage people from parking even though a fence
on Seal Beach Boulevard may be precluded. Mr. Larkin
mentioned that after hearing concerns at the Recreation
Commission meeting they redesigned taking those concerns into
account and that is what has been presented to Council for
consideration. Ms. Lisa Rosen, twenty-six year Hill
resident, expressed her confidence that a decision will be
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made that will benefit all and her delight that this is
taking place, said she has followed this issue intensely
since the beginning, each time she has listened to the
Coastal Commission her belief is that their concern is with
public access in exchange for some of the wetland and coastal
areas that they have given over to development and that the
Park be available to everyone and not just a private park for
Seal Beach, yet if the access were closed at both ends and
access was uniformly available to the pUblic and this
community during certain hours she does not believe that
would be a problem and would be addressed that way by the
Coastal Commission, possibly clarification could be sought on
that. Ms. Rosen said she has also had the privilege, given
her deep concern, to share time with some of the tribal
members who have taken an interest in this matter, she has
been present at several ceremonies and celebrations
throughout the State where members of this community come and
participate, their people work hard to make a living, and it
has always been astonishing to see how willing they are to
share their rich culture with other people in a variety of
situations, how generous they are with their time, and how
inspiring it is for their efforts to keep a culture alive, a
beautiful and respectful culture, she has confidence that any
time they come to this City and share the richness of their
heritage this community will be blessed by that, she has a
sense that many in the audience have not had the good fortune
to have those experiences and she would look forward to them
sharing with some members of this tribe. Mr. Lucius Martin,
Crestview Avenue, expressed the privilege of being a resident
of Seal Beach and of American Indian heritage, he is a board
member of the American Indian Student Association at UCLA, of
concern is the bad publicity that Seal Beach has had during
recent years which could likely be the fault of the
geographic location with the ancestors of the Native American
representatives and the hundreds of Tongva people that live
in Southern California. Mr. Martin said this is an
opportunity to go along with the selection by the Tongva
Nation and people of option B as the preferred location of
the Educational Center. Mr. David Bayles, Catalina Avenue,
present to represent the Gum Grove Nature Park Group, said
the concerns he came with are relatively minimal compared to
the discussion as the Gum Grove Group has not made a decision
on the options. Mr. Bayles stated they are pleased and proud
to have this Education Center potentially being located on
the addition to Gum Grove Park, a way to honor the Native
Americans, it is also felt that this is a good component to
long term plans that the Group hopes to implement through the
rest of Gum Grove Park, the Gum Grove addition will be
planted with native species and as the old, diseased
eucalyptus trees, which are not native to this area, die out
the plan is to replant with native species as well, therefore
within an undetermined period of time the Gum Grove Park
would be native species from shrubs to trees, provide a
habitat for insects, birds, and other animal life, it is felt
the interpretative Center would be a great component, it will
also help the Group to obtain grant money to implement their
plans in the future. Their concerns relate to the design of
the interpretative Center itself, he spoke this evening to
Mr. Morales and Mr. Larkin from John Laing Homes and they
both agreed to design changes that are relatively simple,
there are two outer paths to the circle, the Group felt that
was somewhat over-designed and not quite in keeping ~ith the
natural and native look that was sought, the proposal is that
the inner circle, comprised of decomposed granite, be widened
to allow a person to meander around the kiosks therefore
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access to both sides of the kiosks could be obtained by both
pedestrians and wheelchairs, then do away with the outer
path, there is no need for two paths and it would be more in
keeping with the rustic feel desired. The other concern was
with the list provided by the architects which shows the use
of coastal redwoods, that was not on the original list of
tree species, coastal redwoods are native to central and
northern California but not to Southern California, there is
agreement to with both changes, and as a Group they are
excited about the cultural Center. Mr. Dave Bartlett said on
behalf of Hellman properties he would like to support the
collaborative efforts of John Laing Homes, the Native
Americans, and the City, the effort has been a tremendous
undertaking lasting nearly one year, there were a lot of
issues to be balanced during that time, the parties did a
good job in coming to those compromises. Mr. Bartlett
offered that Hellman properties is excited about having the
ability to dedicate Gum Grove Park to the City along with
resources for continued maintenance and enhancement of the
Park as provided for in the Development Agreement, Hellman
looks forward to doing this as soon as possible. with regard
to the security issue, said the Park is going from ten acres
to nearly fifteen acres, some of those issues may need to be
addressed yet not necessarily as part of this mitigation plan
but as part of the City's overall strategy as to the best way
to maintain, police, and staff the Park since the City will
then own it, with the increased population as a result of the
sixty-five to seventy new homes the belief is that the Park
will be used much more and some of the issues will be
minimized by the additional use. Mr. Bartlett expressed
appreciation to everyone involved in coming to this
resolution. Ms. Margaret Juler, Crestview Avenue, said she
has heard nothing about what will happen to their property,
it will decrease the property values. She mentioned that
about five years ago there were Indians on the property
supposedly reinterring bones with chanting and drums for four
days during which she had to leave her home, and said that
the plans for the amphitheater were done without the
residents knowing about it, and suggested it be located by
the Police Department where it can be managed. Mr. Voce
stated as a point of clarification to the Gum Grove Park
Group that he had seen site B ahead of time, the Group did
not vote on a position however as co-Chair of the Group it
did receive his approval.
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Councilman Antos said from his experience he does not have
much faith in the California Coastal Commission. He offered
that whatever location is selected the City is going to need
some support from the Native Americans with regard to
security because when the Center is put in, no matter the
location, the last.thing that would be wanted is to have it
damaged or destroyed, keeping in mind that it is a nature
Park and native area, not an active use Park, if there is no
ability through the Coastal Commission to waive the permit
conditions as they exist to control the access that is when
the area will be damaged and there will also be pot hunters.
Councilman Antos suggested that prior to a final location
decision there needs to be support to go to the Coastal
Commission to have their condition changed, the westerly
portion of the Park is open from dawn to dusk then a locked
gate, there also needs to be security at the additional Park
area on the easterly end of the property. He mentioned the
comment made that the City needed to develop a plan as to
what it is going to do and what is going to be allowed, if it
is going to be a nature area with upland habitat support for
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the lowland habitat then it must be treated that way and
there needs to be enforcement. Councilman Antos made note of
the Parks and Recreation Commission recommendation for a site
closer to Seal Beach Boulevard as opposed to site B which was
closer to the originally selected site, asked if the
Archaeological Advisory Committee had looked at that site and
made comments, also, if the recommendation of the Council is
to locate the Center nearer Seal Beach Boulevard is there a
way as part of the replanting plan of the Gum Grove Group to
plant that area first with the native plant materials to make
it more rural and native in nature, eucalyptus trees are not
native. The Development Services Director responded that the
Archaeological Committee reviewed the entire mitigation plan
which includes a whole range of things including this
facility, they looked at the plan more towards the impacts on
the existing cultural sites, they felt that the plan made
sense in general, they did not deal specifically with the
design or location of the cultural Center as they felt that
was not their responsibility. With regard to the planting
inquiry, the Director offered that there may be some way to
do some redesign and regrading that is different from the
existing grading plan, possibly build some berms to produce
sound reducing effects, and noted that in the opinion of the
Native Americans that is not a desirable site. Councilman
Yost said to put this matter in perspective, the reason for
this discussion is not that John Laing Homes, the Hellmans,
or Dave Bartlett are magnanimous and want to do this, it is
because a large number of Native American remains were found
on the property, buried in a ceremonial fashion, because of
that certain mitigation measures were put into place, there
was no cultural Center proposed in the initial plan, the City
has to have a buyoff with this, initially there was a
proposal for a connection from Seal Beach Boulevard with Gum
Grove Park, not only a connection but it was going to be open
all the time, he addressed the Coastal Commission at least
four times advising them that there had to be some control by
the City with regard to access, the Chief of Police said the
same, they kept saying no. As a fourth generation
Californian Councilman Yost voiced his respect for Native
Americans, and he wants to see the right thing done which in
his opinion would be to place the Center within the
development itself on an area that is already graded, and in
viewing the sites there is concern also that in the process
of constructing the Center that more Native American remains
will be disturbed, he does not feel that this is a good idea,
the Center should be on an already graded area. Councilman
Yost expressed his preference that the Native Americans
continue to work with John Laing Homes and the community more
closely to find a way to accomplish this, the preferred site
is virtually impossible to patrol, it is not visible from
Seal Beach Boulevard, anyone that creates a disturbance on
the site at night will merely exit through the opposite end
of the Park should the Police be called, it is impossible to
keep the area safe, this will create an attractive nuisance
which in turn impacts the existing residents, there needs to
be a way to recognize the heritage and to pay attention to
what was found on that property, which is a large number of
Native Americans that were ceremoniously buried on the site,
the impression he is getting is money, not losing another
lot, he would propose to turn down all of the options, agreed
that option A is not as appropriate as it needs to be in
terms of respect and its proximity to Seal Beach Boulevard
yet option B is no better because it too severely impacts
those who currently reside there, there has to be another way
to do this from inside the development. Councilman Yost
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noted that for once the city has some control as opposed to
the Coastal Commission imposing another condition, this is an
opportunity to do something right for the Native Americans
and for those who currently reside in the area, and urged
rejection of all options. Councilman Doane indicated
agreement with most of the comments of Councilman Yost, his
feeling is that there should be further discussion of a third
choice, look at all ramifications including the oil road,
therefore he did not feel the Council is ready to make a
decision, noted also receiving a number of written
communications which seemed to favor the location on the
northerly side of the John Laing Homes, in turn the Gum Grove
Group welcomes the Center as becoming part of the Gum Grove
Park area, in his opinion there is a way to go before making
this decision.
Councilman Yost urged that an area be considered that has
already been graded, the desire is to not disturb any further
cultural deposits, there must be a location that has been
graded that meets the needs of all concerned and moved to
reject location areas A and B and consider a location C which
is yet to be determined and from somewhere within the
development that meets the needs of the Native Americans and
treats this with the respect that is due. Councilman Doane
seconded the motion.
AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
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Councilman Larson made mention of the Coastal Commission
conditions and said even if options B or A had been approved
the Council is far from a final decision in that they are
required to grade only with a two inch blade, that observers
follow along behind, that the Indian representative has the
power to stop the grading, that they can not do this at
night, to that he said that is the law, it should be part of
any settlement that there not be nighttime activities, it is
known that there are problems with Gum Grove Park even
without this program, there are problems with dogs, children,
his preference would be to see all of those resolved before a
site is approved, that could be done as part of these
negotiations.
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GENERAL PLAN/LOCAL COASTAL PLAN - AD HOC CITIZENS ADVISORY
COMMITTEE REPORT
Councilman Antos as Chairman of the Committee presented the
report, noted that the Committee and its alternates reviewed
all of the Elements to the General Plan with the exception of
the Housing Element, and at the conclusion of their many
meetings the Committee transmitted the Elements to the
Council for review, minutes of their meetings, and
recommendation that the Council receive the report with the
attachments and refer same to the Planning Commission for the
required public hearing and consideration, recommendation
also that instead of the Committee being dissolved at this
time that it be held over until such time as the draft
Housing Element is prepared to then be referred to the
Committee for a one meeting review, recommendations, and
referral to the City Council. Mayor Campbell asked what the
estimated cost of City Attorney time would be if the
Committee reviews the Housing Element. The City Attorney
responded that it would depend on what their action may be,
one of the attorneys from his firm would attend the meeting,
it would depend on the length of the meeting, and unlike
other Elements there are State mandated requirements of the
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Housing Element that the City is required to comply with,
therefore if the Committee wanted to make recommendations or
changes to State mandates it may require attorney time to
explain the law with respect to the required portions of the
Housing Element.
Larson moved, second by Antos, to receive and file the Ad Hoc
General Plan/Local Coastal Plan Citizens Advisory Committee
Report, and accept the request of the Committee to also
review the Housing Element of the General Plan when
completed.
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AYES:
NOES:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
BOLSA CHICA STREET WATERLINE EASEMENT IBRIGHTWATERI - GENERAL
PLAN CONFORMITY DETERMINATION
This item was withdrawn from consideration by the appellant,
Southern California Water.
Councilmember Yost stated that when the Council returns from
a recess he will be abstaining from the upcoming public
hearing item, even though the Boychuck home is more than five
hundred feet from his home the Trailer Park property itself
is within five hundred feet, this would be in compliance with
the law change in 2002 whereby if you reside within five
hundred feet there is a presumption of conflict.
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to declare a recess at 9:50 p.m. The Council reconvened at
9:55 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting to order.
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PUBLIC HEARING / RESOLUTION NUMBER 5140 - APPEAL - MINOR PLAN
REVIEW 03-9 - 42 RIVERSEA ROAD - BOYCHUCK
Mayor Campbell declared the public hearing open to consider
an appeal of the Planning Commission approval of Minor Plan
Review 03-9, 42 Riversea Road. The City Clerk certified that
notice of the public hearing was advertised and mailed as
required, and reported no communications received either for
or against this item. The Director of Development Services
presented the staff report, explained that this item is an
appeal to the Planning Commission approval of an
architectural review for a two story cabana within the Seal
Beach Trailer park, the options are to sustain the decision
of the Planning Commission and deny the appeal, or direct
staff to prepare a resolution finding that the architecture
of the two story cabana does not meet City standards and
sustain the appeal, or adopt a resolution approving Minor
Plan Review 03-9 with any modifications to the architectural
design of the project that are felt to be appropriate to make
it compatible with the surrounding neighborhood. The
Director noted that the Commission heard this matter on June
18th, Council has been provided with their staff report and
draft minutes of that meeting that generally reflect the
discussion of the item, and a copy of the Commission
Resolution with their findings and conditions of approval,
and noted that at the time of consideration a number of
people spoke on both sides of the matter, the Commission
determined to approve the project, and then an appeal was
filed within the required time period, the matter now before
the Council. The Director mentioned that the standards for
review of two story cabana structures is set forth in Code
Section 28-2319(b) which he read in full, and pointed out
that the specific issue for consideration is the
architectural design itself to make certain that it is
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compatible with other structures and properties within the
Trailer Park. He noted again that the Commission determined
to approve the project with findings and conditions which are
set forth in the Resolution and the staff report, Council has
a copy of the appeal and all supporting documentation, staff
also responded to major issues of the appeal, what appears to
be an overriding issue of the appeal is the first come first
served provisions of the Code as it currently exists, the two
story cabana standards have been in place since 1983, one
provision requires that there be a twenty foot separation
from one two-story portion of a structure to an adjacent two-
story portion of a structure, that basically means that if a
person receives approval for a two-story cabana it precludes
any of the adjoining spaces that are located within twenty
feet from an approved location from also applying for a two-
story cabana, that has been the position of the City since
1983, that is how the Code was adopted, and the Code has not
been amended since that time. The Director reminded that in
April of this year staff brought forth an item to consider
how to deal with the very small trailer spaces that exist
within what is called the 'greenbelt area' and three other
spaces outside that area that are fairly small in size, to
that the request was for direction as to whether the Agency
would consider giving staff the authority to look at amending
the Code to remove the twenty foot separation distance for
those small spaces, the reason is that some of the spaces are
so small that there is only about one hundred fifty to three
hundred square feet of living space with a single story unit,
and if the twenty foot separation distance were removed from
the central 'greenbelt area' that would apply to the
applicants property as well as the property of the appellant,
as yet hearings relating to that issue have not been
scheduled before the Planning Commission, this would be a
Zone Text Amendment. The Director noted a number of
questions and comments submitted with the appeal, responses
to those are set forth in the staff report. He reminded that
this is an architectural review of a project that meets all
of the set back and height standards that are subject to the
two-story cabana provisions in this City.
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Mayor Campbell announced that each speaker would be limited
to five minutes, a person would not be allowed to give their
speaking time to another, the City Attorney has determined
that she can vote on this item for the reason that she does
not have a financial interest in the Trailer Park, she knows
many of the residents, and she does not get paid as a member
of the Board.
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Mr. Boychuck, the applicant, also noted that the provisions
for two-story cabanas has been in existence since 1983, since
then there have been about twenty-five to thirty persons/
families that have taken advantage of the two-story cabana to
improve their living conditions and space in their homes.
Mr. Boychuck stated he has decided to use his money to build
a two-story cabana for two reasons, he has resided in the
Park since 1980, his trailer is approximately eight feet by
twenty-five feet long, about two hundred square feet, this
would help his living conditions immensely, and because it
has been possible to stabilize the unstable conditions in the
Park, meaning that the residents in conjunction with Linc
Housing and Seal Beach Affordable Housing will have
representation on the Board that owns the Park for the next
thirty-five years or possibly fifty-five years it is felt
that he would not be taking a risk by putting his money into
this home where there was great risk when Richard Hall owned
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the Park. Mr. Boychuck showed slides of the various units in
the Park, the travel trailers have either been taken down or
in some cases built over, it is an eclectic, different place
to live, one can build to the street with no three foot
setback, the cabana can sometimes quadruple the living space,
some of the residents have been able to accommodate the
twenty foot setback requirement even though side by side,
because one resident submits an application first does not
mean an adjacent resident can not go up, they just have to be
twenty feet apart at the second story. Mr. Boychuck stated
he would postpone further comments until the rebuttal period.
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Ms. peddicord, the appellant, objected to Mr. Boychuck having
the ability for rebuttal comments to her appeal, and as
appellant she should have more time. Mayor Campbell
responded that each is being allowed equal time. MS.
Peddicord said Commissioner Shanks had asked if the existing
trailer was going to be removed, to that the response of
staff was that the applicant had the option of keeping the
floor of the existing trailer and remodeling from the floor
up or now under state law the entire unit can be removed and
replaced with a manufactured home. Ms. Peddicord said the
trailer is a major part of the architectural design and
requirement, compliance with Title 25 of the California
Administrative Code. Ms. Peddicord displayed a copy of the
concept drawing of Mr. Boychuck, claiming that she is
required to have signed blueprints, charged that no where on
the concept drawing of the first floor does it show his
trailer, there is a requirement of State law to keep at least
the floor of the trailer and the kitchen and bathroom is to
remain on the floor of the trailer, Mr. Boychuck has moved
his kitchen from the floor of the trailer towards the front
portion, upon reviewing the drawings it is her belief that he
is removing the trailer altogether therefore changing the
status, there are errors on his drawings, the nook, bathroom,
and kitchen windows are missing, the fireplace is shown in
four different locations, the floor plan does not match the
concept drawing so how could it be approved. She claimed
that this is biased in favor of Mr. Boychuck. With regard to
the property owners affidavit, she has seen three of them,
one for 24 Cottonwood, 28 Cottonwood and under 'remarks'
there are no comments and signed by Hunter Johnson, on this
application Mr. Johnson writes 'improvement to mobile home
only,' he says nothing about a cabana, what does that mean,
the others did not have that language but this one does, to
her that means that he can only improve the mobile home and
not build a cabana if one goes by the letter of the law. Ms.
Peddicord claimed that she was not being treated the same as
Mr. Boychuck and some others, Mr. Mike Berry said that Linc
Housing had nothing to do with this project or the spending
of the money, that is not true, one is required to sign a
regulatory agreement between the Redevelopment Agency, Linc
Housing, and the homeowner, Linc Housing has a big part in
this, after signing the agreement the terms say that it is
effective on the date signed and shall terminate fifty-five
years thereafter, and the owners repayment of the loan shall
net terminate the agreement, that means that the fifty-five
year lease is en the homeewner not on the landowner, ne ether
homeewner in Seal Beach is required te sign such an
agreement, it is because it is under the Civic Stene program,
getting Redevelopment meney, is he required to sign this
agreement, is Mr. Berry required te sign this fifty-five year
lease that literally gives the hemes te Linc Housinglthreugh
the lean pregram, they already own the land. Ms. Peddicord
claimed again that Mr. Beychuck did net meet the
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architectural design on the plans that he submitted, he
should be required to submit them in the same manner in which
others are required te submit, claimed toe that there is
discrimination with regard to this project, Mr. Boychuck is
being given favoritism, he is getting meney from the
Redevelopment Agency to build a heuse, there are rules and
regulations te be followed, this is net a nermal permit, it
impacts dozens .of people and pessibly forty-three hemes, it
affects the peeple in the 'greenbelt', if he gets his permit
because he dees net need the twenty foot setback he is being
looked at differently than the other people in the program,
are the peeple en the 'greenbelt' geing to be under the same
rules that he is, they are all in the Civic Stone pregram,
should be under the same rules, setbacks, and architectural
requirements, he is ne different than anyene else going
threugh the Redevelopment Agency, using Agency money to
impreve their home, he may get this permit as first ceme,
first served, get meney frem the Agency te build his new
heuse, but the peeple in the 'greenbelt' do not know if they
will get a six or twenty foot setback, are they geing to get
bigger homes .or stay in the little homes.
Ms. Peddicord cited Mr. Beychuck as being party to the sale
.of the Park to Linc Housing, he sits en the Beard along with
the Mayor, he gets information from Linc, Linc is asseciated
with the Civic Stone program, and he gets better treatment
that others whe are getting money from the same organization,
are we fair or equal, the answer is ne. Ms. Peddicord said
this can net be approved because that is discrimination .of
forty-three families.
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Ms. Julia Moore stated she works for Linc Housing Corporation
and is present to represent the owner, said they have
followed the first come first served edicts as they have been
instructed to do, as plans have been submitted they have
either been approved or denied, this project was approved
then returned to Mr. Boychuck to present to the City for
their appreval and plan check, Linc is trying to do this on a
fair and equitable basis 'as they are submitted. Mayor
Campbell inquired if any special consideration was given Mr.
Boychuck because of his position on the Board, the response
of Ms. Moore was that there was net, it was first corne, first
served. Mr. Mike Narz, Cottonwood Lane, said when he gets
around to submitting his plans correctly and following all of
the rules he would hope the Council would approve his as well
and efficiently eliminate personal cenflicts that may
apparently arise, in his opinion Mr. Boychuck has followed
the rules, and this sheuld be approved. Mr. Bob Latta,
Trailer Park, mentioned that he was forced to retire fer
health reasons, he has been in the Park for twenty plus
years, and stated that when they went to the two stories the
twenty foot or every other trailer provision was put in place
because the Fire Department was not certain they could handle
a fire in the Park, however in Surfside homes are six feet
apart, there has never been a major fire in the Park, since
then the City has required a sprinkler system in all twe-
story cabanas, his belief is that with a fire wall there
would not be a further need for the twenty foot setback, that
would give everyene an even playing field. Mr. Latta
explained that there has always been the prevision for first
come, first served for approvals. Ms. Renee Lusian, Riversea
Read, said her trailer is directly adjacent to the subject
property, she has lived in the Park since 1969, next door to
Mr. Boychuck since 1980 and Ms. Peddicord since about 1974,
that she attended both meetings of the Planning Commission
7-14-03
where they approved three Minor Plan Reviews for the
construction of two-story cabanas in the Trailer Park, at the
same meeting that the project of Mr. Boychuck was approved
unanimously they also approved the plans of Mr. Welz who also
lives on Riversea Read, at the prior meeting the plans of a
lady on Cottonwood Lane was appreved, several residents
attended and endorsed her plan, including Ms. Peddicord who
supported the cabana because of the small quarters that she
lived in and going up was the only way to achieve more space.
Ms. Lusian said given this reasening, which she agreed with,
she wanted to mention that the Beychuck home is at least four
times smaller than that home at present without the added
addition, after the last meeting Ms. peddicerd stated to her
that she wanted Mr. Boychuck to build therefore she was
surprised at her appeal. Ms. Lusian mentioned that there are
a lot of personal issues going on in the Park that has
nothing to do with this matter, it is pelitical, Ms.
Peddicord is also in the program and has received Civic Stone
monies and is planning to build, she could have submitted
first as well, that has been the process since the two-story
cabanas were allewed, she does not understand why there is a
preblem especially given the fact that City staff has stated
that they are trying to make some changes with regard to the
twenty foot setback and it is believed that will include the
home of Ms. Peddicord. Ms. Lusian expressed her opinion that
the residents are blessed to live in Seal Beach, the City has
helped to make it possible to continue to live there, have
their homes, it is a wonderful community, there are currently
problems in the Park that she hopes will be worked out, asked
that the problems not be increased by making this inte
something that it should not be, this was a simple matter, it
was approved by the Planning Commission, her hope is that Mr.
Boychuck gets to build and improve his conditions and Ms.
Peddicord as well. She stated that Civic Stone has been
wenderful to her, she too is in the program, she has never
been directed to do other things to attain her requests other
than what the City has told her, if Ms. Peddicord was told
something different then Civic Stone ceuld be asked if there
was a problem, and Linc Heusing has been great to everyene.
Ms. Kathy Bernardo, the daughter in law of Maria Bernardo,
said she does not live at the Park yet spends considerable
time taking care of her father in law, and in response to a
cemment made said the residents .of the Park are respectable
people. Ms. Joyce Parque, 6th Street, claimed that Ms.
Peddicord, the appellant, should have had the oppertunity to
speak first, also that it is felt to be unethical for the
Mayor who sits on the Linc board to be voting on this item,
and stated that the concern of Ms. Peddicord is that if Mr.
Boychuck is allowed to have a two- stery cabana then she can
not. Mayor Campbell explained that Ms. Peddicord could have
a cabana as well, it would just be a different setback. with
regard to money, Ms. Parque made reference to rules that the
Council voted on in the Heusing Code, where are the families
with children, she did not get a notice nor did others in Old
Tewn, they want to be noticed of this free money too. Ms.
Parque again said that there should not be a vote on this
matter tonight, postpene it, and next time Ms. Peddicord
should be the first to speak. Mr. Paul Jeffers, Cottonweod
Lane, said he has heard a let of rumers about favoritism of
Civic Stone, they are handling the money, he would hope that
someone is pelicing this firm, people did not have subsidies
under the old Cevenants, now there is all of this money, the
money is not just for the Trailer Park the program should be
available fer everyene who qualifies, that should be/made
clear, these programs should be watched and policed.' Ms.
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7-14-03
Marie Clark, Trailer Park, expressed her fondness for Seal
Beach, the Trailer Park, and the people in the Park, the
Trailer Park is a unique community and family, if there were
ever a catastrophe in the Park she knows that they would pull
together to help each other, they are all good people. Ms.
Clark mentioned that it is a twenty year dream of Mr.
Boychuck to build this cabana, he did everything necessary to
do that, City staff and the Commission appreved his plan, and
it needs to be remembered that if it had not been for the
many hours put in by Mr. Boychuck and others the people would
not be here tonight, the people would not be able to build or
remodel or sell their hemes, the residents would have lost
their homes to Richard Hall and be elsewhere. Ms. Clark
stated she would like to see Ms. Peddicord get her two-story
cabana as well, staff had said that the process to change the
twenty foot setbacks to a lower footage has already begun,
that is a big step forward. Ms. Clark asked that the appeal
be denied.
Mr. Adam Eliason, Civic Stone, mentioned that a detailed
report will be ferthcoming for a future meeting, in summary,
there are thirty-four applications currently going through
the process, almost half are now under construction, Ms.
Peddicord is one of the approved applicants to the program as
well as Mr. Boychuck, there have been no problems with either
applicant, there are letters of recommendatien from people
who are participating in the program, they are so grateful
for being a part of the program. Mr. Eliason Civic Stone
adheres to the guidelines that they presented to the Council
and worked with staff on, it is a simple process to be
approved on the program, there is a requirement to meet
income criteria and income size, have a certain amount of
equity in their property, other than that there is not too
much more that they need to abide by to be approved in the
program, the applications are handled on a first come, first
served basis, his belief is that the issues surrounding the
matter under consideration this evening is something
different than the program that Civic Stone is administering,
and clarified that it is not a Civic Stone program rather a
Redevelopment Agency program and funding. Mr. Eliason noted
that there are a number of people on a waiting list pending
any future funding that the Ceuncil/Agency may wish to direct
towards the program. Mayor Campbell recalled that at the
Planning Commission meeting Ms. Peddicord claimed that Civic
Stone provided two different sets of rules, one for her and
one for Mr. Boychuck with regard to requirements. Mr.
Eliason said the only issue that was addressed at that
meeting pertained to the architectural plans, the
miscommunication is that their firm was aware that Mr.
Boychuck had architectural plans, he had hired an architect,
when Ms. Peddicord submitted plans she was censidering
whether to go to a secend story or whether she should replace
the existing unit with a new manufactured home, however if
she decided to go forward with the second story she was
advised, although not a requirement of the program, that she
would need to retain an architect at some point to draw some
plans in .order that she could submit those to the Planning
Commission, she did so and the architect included as the
first phase of the centract to draw up a plan that weuld meet
the requirements .of the Planning Commission, to her comments
about Civic Stone requiring her to have a licensed architect,
that was only a recommendation so that she would have plans
for submittal to the Planning Commission for approval and
then continue through the program to receive funding, it is
net known whether she understeed that Mr. Boychuck already
7-14-03
had an architect, there is ne other difference in the
application process. Mayor Campbell inquired as to the
length .of time that Mr. Eliason has been with Civic Stene, to
that he responded that he is the President of Civic Stone.
Mayor Campbell then inquired if notice of this program was
distributed to the community. Mr. Eliason offered that when
the program was brought forth several years ago there was
some marketing done, in more recent years when the subsidy
and loan amounts were increased the program became more
attractive and it was premoted through cable television, the
newspaper, several residents requested that fliers be
distributed in the Trailer Park, there have been a number of
residents in the Park that have applied for the program as
well as throughout the community, it is difficult to qualify
particularly under the lew te moderate income criteria, in
Orange County it is believed that a family of four can
qualify in the $90,000 per year income range, ordinarily that
might not be a problem yet in Seal Beach with home prices of
a half million dollars there would be only a few that have
bought a home fairly recently that would qualify, these that
may qualify are condominium residents and persons who have
.owned their home in excess of twenty years and without a
substantial increase of income. He mentioned that there are
thirty-four qualifiers in the Trailer Park and about six
outside the Park. The Mayor reported having seen a local
community announcement for Civic Stone, she also questiened
the public comments relating to 'free meney.' Mr. Eliason
explained that there is a grant and a loan program, the grant
is for specific uses, it is not for stainless steel
refrigerators, it is for three purposes, one is for exterior
beautification, health and safety identified violatiens, and
for energy efficiency items such as dual pane windows, an
energy efficient water heater, insulatien, etc., all other
items are required to be under the loan program, there is
provision for repayment, however after twenty years the lean
can be forgiven, that was a Council and staff policy for long
term residents to stay in the community. Ceuncilman Antos
asked if there is an agreement, covenant, or other
requirement that the property remain in a low or moderate
income status for a period of time, and if so for how long.
Mr. Eliason explained that there are substantial
rehabilitation and non-substantial rehabilitation programs,
it depends en the amount of work that is being done on the
property and the value of the property after the work is
completed, it depends on the amount .of lean and value of the
property afterwards, the time period is fifty-five years and
it is not just a mobilehome park requirement it is througheut
the community, if it meets that formula there would be an
agreement requirement for any loan in the program, this is an
issue that has been discussed at length with Ms. Peddicord as
she would like to avoid such requirement. The Director of
Development Services added that the fifty-five year provision
is the result of State law changes and that is required when
there is substantial rehabilitatien.
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Mr. Glen Clark, Trailer Park, wondered why they are at this
meeting, the appeal does not seem to have anything to do with
the facts before the Council, the task of the Council is to
determine if the Planning Commission made the correct
determinatien to allow this Minor Plan Review to go forward,
it appears that Mr. Boychuck has follewed all of the
guidelines and rules, he will need te have an architect draw
a set of plans to be reviewed and approved before receiving a
permit, there will be City inspections, he is doing the same
as the other twenty-five or so owners of twe-story cabanas
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7-14-03
have done since 1983. Mr. Clark urged denial of the appeal.
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Mayor Campbell invited equal time rebuttal comments. Mr.
Boychuck thanked the people present offering their support,
the Council as well. Mr. Boychuck presented a five slide
powerpeint presentation, the Director has said that the
preject complies with all setbacks, distance separation, and
the specific design standards .of the City's ordinance, that
the issues raised by the appellant are not related to the
approval consideration, that the plans are consistent with
what would be seen on two-story projects in the Park, and the
recommendation of staff was to approve the application with
the conditions contained in the Commission Resolution. A
Planning Commissioner, after hearing the comments, stated
that they had approved another such application at that
meeting, .one at the prior meeting, and he could see no reason
te net approve this project as it appears the applicant had
done all that he had to do, another Commissioner added that
some people think it is a popularity contest as to whether
someone gets a permit or not, assured it is not, and in his
years as a Commissioner he could not recall stalling or
turning down a cabana in the Trailer Park, that a number of
Park residents have agreed to approve the two story cabanas,
most spoke in support. Mr. Boychuck said in summary that
thirty two-stories have already been approved, three within
the last month, the residents and the appellant support it,
the Planning Commission supported it, staff supports it, it
is within all existing Codes, and said the attachment by the
appellant as to the reasons for the appeal was not done.
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Ms. Peddicord, the appellant, stated she was not opposed to
Mr. Boychuck receiving his two story, her problem is that it
be done fair, when she applied for the program in December
she claimed she was told that she was the first one to ask
for a two-story, first come, first served, her presentation
to the Planning Commission can be seen on tape, the issue is
if he is keeping the trailer on the property, he must have
the trailer floor or replace the trailer with a manufactured
home, it is not on his architectural concept drawings so he
does not meet the qualifications, where is the trailer floor,
the rules have always been that the kitchen and bathroom have
to be maintained in the frame of the trailer otherwise it
looses mobilehome status, some people have buried their
wheels but the kitchen and bathroom must stay in the
framework, in this case the kitchen has been moved and the
trailer is not indicated on the drawings, his plans do not
meet the requirements of the Planning Commission, there are
alse two major safety issues that is part of the appreval
process, one is the retaining wall that happens to be the lot
line, it is falling down as a result of a neighboring tree
that uprooted his patio and damaged the pump station, he is
expecting the Seal Beach taxpayers to pay for the repair of
the lot line retaining wall. Another issue is the drain pipe
which runs down the 'lot line and directly inte the pump
statien, seventeen inches of the pipe is on his property, he
needs a three foot setback, that means the foundation for his
two-story will be within eighteen inches of the drainpipe, to
her that is a safety issue. Ms. Peddicord again stated she
wants the applicant to have his two-story but she wants it
done right, done legally like everyone else has to do, also,
his item was removed from the June 4th agenda by staff for
the reason that the legal netice to the neighbers was not
within the ten day time period, again, her concern is with
safety and the trailer floor. There being no further
comments, Mayor Campbell declared the public hearing clesed.
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7-14-03
with regard to the issue of retaining the original trailer
frame, Councilman Antos asked if that has been adequately
addressed and if it is removed can it be replaced by a
manufactured heme of two steries. The Development Services
Director responded that abeut five to six years ago the law
was changed to where a manufactured house can be placed in a
mobilehome park, they are defined as the same, therefore in
this case if the proposal were te put in a manufactured heme
there would be no requirement to retain any of the floor .of
the existing trailer, years ago the requirement under State
law was that the kitchen and bathroom had to remain in
generally the same location as it was as part of the trailer,
that may still be enforced if one leaves the original
trailer, if it is a manufactured home it does not apply.
Councilman Antos asked if a two story manufactured home can
come in, the response of the Director was that it can
provided the City approves the two story portion .of the
structure. Councilman Doane inquired if the trailer is going
to be removed, the response of Mr. Boychuck was that there
will be a portion of it.
Campbell moved, second by Doane, to deny the appeal and adopt
Reselutien Number 5140 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING MINOR PLAN REVIEW
03-9, A REQUEST FOR AN ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW IN CONJUNCTION
WITH THE PROPOSED CONSTRUCTION OF A TWO-STORY CABANA HOME AT
42 RIVERSEA ROAD, SEAL BEACH." By unanimous consent, full
reading of Resolution Number 5140 was waived. Ceuncilman
Antos stated that he would be voting no on the approval of
Resolution Number 5140 in that he had posed a number of
questions relating to the Trailer Park some time back and he
has not as yet received answers.
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AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
Campbell, Doane, Larsen
Antos
Yost
Motion carried
Campbell moved, second by Deane, to extend the meeting heur
to consider the remaining items.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
Councilman Yost returned to the Council Chambers.
PUBLIC HEARING / RESOLUTION NUMBER 5141 - COMPREHENSIVE FEE
RESOLUTION 2003/2004
The City Manager explained that as part of the Municipal Code
review and revision there are certain fees that have been
removed from the Code and more appropriately placed in the
Comprehensive Fee ReSOlution, there are increases in certain
fees in order to recover direct and full costs. Mayor
Campbell declared the public hearing open to consider the
Cemprehensive Fee Resolution for 2003/2004. The City Clerk
certified that notice of the public hearing was advertised as
required by law, and reported no cemmunications received
either for or against this item. There were no comments from
the public, Mayor Campbell declared the public hearing
closed.
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Antos meved, secend by Larson, to adopt Reselution Number
5141 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH ESTABLISHING THE RATES AND AMOUNTS OF FEES AND
CHARGES FOR GOODS, SERVICES AND FACILITIES PROVIDED BY THE
7-14-03
CITY OF SEAL BEACH AND SUPERSEDING INCONSISTENT PROVISIONS OF
RESOLUTIONS 4l14, 4195, 4234, 4250, 4442, 4494, 4499, 4519,
4545, 4550, 4650, 4718, 4751, 4816, 4910, 5032." By
unanimous censent, full reading of Resolution Number 5141 was
waived.
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AYES:
NOES:
Antes, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost
None Motion carried
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
No report was presented.
CITY MANAGER REPORT
With regard to the fireworks issue, the City Manager stated
that staff will be working with the Orange County Fire
Autherity and the Police Department to revisit the fireworks
plan in view of this pastJuly 4th, a combination of a three
day weekend and alcohol, and noted that although the signs
are important often those who set off fireworks can not read
signs.
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COUNCIL ITEMS
Councilman Yost asked that the Long Beach desalinization plan
be placed on the next agenda for approval of a letter in
opposition to that plan in that they will be dumping high
salinity content water into the River. Councilman Antos made
reference to the fireworks issue and drinking on the beach,
noted that at one time there were signs prohibiting drinking
on the beach and the beach was closed at a certain time, te
that he asked that those signs be installed again, and said
he had reperts that the Police Department was in Los Alamitos
during the fireworks display while fireworks were being
detonated in Seal Beach, if that is true he would prefer that
they spend their time in Seal Beach. Mayor Campbell
explained that is one of the conditions of the 4th of July
fireworks show, each city donates money and provides police
officers as well. Councilman Doane mentioned that he has
been receiving calls with regard to traffic problems related
to the work being done on Seal Beach Boulevard and
Westminster, explained that is a project that is funded by
the Growth Management Area, the purpose of the project is to
provide additional turn lanes at that busy intersection that
has been a problem for years, there is some incenvenience at
this time but the result will be a considerable improvement,
he feels that everyone will find that it is worthwhile, the
City Engineer has advised that the project should be
completed by the end of August and the Police Department is
trying to keep two lanes in each direction open at all times.
With regard to the 4th of July at Heather Park, Mayor
Campbell thanked all who helped with that celebration.
CLOSED SESSION
No Closed Session was held.
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ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to adjourn the meeting until July 28th at 6:30 p.m. to meet
in Closed Session if deemed necessary. By unanimous censent,
the meeting was adjourned at 11:1 .m.
clerk
7-14-03 / 7-28-03
Approved: "-P aJxlcPu l ~
Mayor'
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Attest:
Seal Beach, California
July 28, 2003
The City Council .of the City of Seal Beach ~et in regular
adjourned session at 6:30 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
Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager
Mr. Barrow, City Atterney
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
The City Attorney invited any member of the public wishing to
speak to the item identified on the agenda to do so at this
time.
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CLOSED SESSION
The City Attorney announced that the City Council would meet
in Clesed Session to discuss the item identified on the
agenda, a conference with legal ceunsel with regard to
anticipated litigation pursuant te Gevernment Code Section
54956.9(b). The Council adjeurned te Clesed Sessien at 6:31
p.m. and recenvened at 6:59 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling
the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported that
pursuant to the Brewn Act the Council met in Closed Session
to discuss the item set ferth en the agenda and that no
repertable actien was taken.
ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to adjourn the meeting at 7:00 p.m.
'ty Clerk and
f the City of
clerk
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Approved: '1J~~1'o)/; rJ ~
ayor'
Attest: