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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2001-07-09 6-25-01 / 7-9-01 I beach party, and thanks to staff for their efforts with the overlay of Coastline Drive, it looks wonderful. Councilmember Campbell too expressed appreciation for the paving of the cul-de-sacs in College Park East. Councilman Boyd requested that staff bring forth to Council the renaming . . of Seal Beach Boulevard to Ocean Avenue between Electrlc Avenue and Pacific Coast Highway, this has been a consensus with the residents throughout the area. The City Manager suggested that staff layout the process to Council in the form of a memorandum. Councilman Larson requested that signs be installed that prohibits cell phones at meetings, a suggestion that he also proposed to the League. CLOSED SESSION No Closed Session was held. ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, that the meeting be adjourned until Monday, July 9th at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed Session. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. o I Approved: titl~ ~ (~ or Atte"t, ~~f??:f 12 Seal Beach, California July 9, 2001 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:35 p.m. with Mayor Doane calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Doane Councilmembers Boyd, Campbell, Larson, Yost I Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, City Clerk The City Attorney advised that anyone wishing to speak to the items listed on the agenda could do so at this time. No one addressed the Council. 7-9-01 CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney announced that the Council would meet in Closed Session to discuss the items identified on the agenda, , a conference with legal counsel with regard to two P9tential cases of litigation pursuant to Government Code Sections 54956.9(b) and (c), and a conference with the labor I negotiator relating to the Orange County Employees Association pursuant to Government Code Section 54957.6. The Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:38 p.m. andl . reconvened at 7:01 p.m. with Mayor Doane calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported the Council had discussed the items previously announced, no reportable action was taken. I ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, to adjourn the meeting with consent of the Council, i . ficio clerk , Beach I I I i Approved: I Attest: Seal Beach, California July 9, 2001 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:02 p.m. with Mayor Doane calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Doane , Councilmembers Boyd, Campbell, Larson: Yost I Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Services Mr. Dancs, Director of Engineer Ms. Beard, Director of Recreation, Pafks and Community Services Ms. Arends-King, Director of Administrative Services Ms. Yeo, City Clerk I I Development I Public Works/City I 7-9-01 I APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilman Boyd requested that Item "I" be removed from consideration, the proposal for a street name change of Seal Beach Boulevard between Electric and Pacific Coast Highway, explaining that he has received a number of communications relating to the proposal which although well intended may have been premature. Councilman Boyd moved that the item be tabled indefinitely to be considered at a future time. Councilman Yost seconded the motion. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried There was an indicated consensus of the Council to approve the order of the agenda as revised. ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilmember Campbell extended appreciation to all who assisted with the 4th of July celebration at Heather Park, a fun event. The Mayor announced that signs are now in place in the Council Chambers prohibiting the use of cell phones at meetings. I PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Doane declared Public Comments to be open. Mr. Johathan Grossgold, 17th Street, read in full a letter dated July 2, 2001 from his father, Richard Grossgold, setting forth eight reasons for opposing a change of the name of Seal Beach Boulevard. He also read his personal letter dated July 9th in opposition to a Seal Beach Boulevard name change, noted other business owners on the Boulevard that were unable to be in attendance due to short notice who would have expressed their opposition to the proposal. After presenting his oral comments, Mr. Grossgold provided copies of two additional letters to the City Clerk from Body Design and Beachside Travel, both in opposition to a change of the name of Seal Beach Boulevard. To a question with regard to the time requirement for notification, the City Attorney advised that it is seventy-two hours. Mr. Greg Miller, twenty year owner of Sandpiper Bike Shop, questioned what gave his Council representative the right to propose a change of name of their street, which residents were contacted who support this idea, what is the reason for this proposal, why is this even on an agenda for consideration. Mr. Miller made a number of verbally abusive comments, then said his Councilperson considers himself a resident, each member of the Council should have something vested in this town, his Council representative does not as he only rents. Mr. Miller made reference to the current construction on his street that was to have been designed by the construction company with temporary two-way traffic and no parking, that changed to one-way traffic with parking, questioned who was responsible for that change, also, why is it that his father can not build, the rules have been bent so that he now needs a three foot setback. There being no further comments, Mayor Doane declared Public Comments to be closed. I with reference to the Seal Beach Boulevard name change item, Councilman Larson said at first he did not feel this was a good idea, however each person that has expressed concern has mentioned the time frame for notices, to that he suggested reconsideration of tabling the item, that it be referred to staff to report back within ninety days as to how the name can be sequentially changed so that people will have adequate time to make the necessary changes for their businesses. 7-9-01 Councilman Larson moved to reconsider the Seal Beach , Boulevard name change item. Councilman Boyd seconded for the purpose of discussion. He agreed with Councilman Larson, noting that there are people in the area that want to see public and private investment in Seal Beach Boulevard, the street is blighted, from PCH to Electric it is the worst street in the City, a million dollars is being invested in that street to give it new life and vision, the stre~t is leaning strongly towards a residential feel, there are people who want to build homes there, property values are increased with residential development, some property owners want to build and live on the street, tired of the limited commercial zone that they can do nothing with, that is part of the impetus for the proposal. Councilman Boyd said although he had made the motion to table this matter, possibly t~ere should be further consideration. Councilman Yost said he was somewhat concerned that the name of a street could be changed with only seventy-two hour notice, personally he is ~gainst changing the name of a street, this could put people out of business or have a financial impact, with the street improvements being made he would like to see if the commercial can survive, to the opinion that there is,no commercial on the Boulevard that has been disproven given the number of people who have responded to this issue, he would support the motion to have staff prepare a report that would set forth a method to give more time and notice of the consideration of any proposed street name change in the City, but would not support the name change. Councilman Larson suggested an effective date of possibly January, 2004 to make the name change, and yet Council may decide to not m~ke the change. Councilman Boyd pointed out that the segment of the , Boulevard that was proposed for change of name was from PCH to Electric, not the entire Boulevard from the freeway south as comment was made. Councilmember Campbell agreed that there should be an ordinance or policy that defines the process for the change of a street name, seventy-two,hours is not an acceptable time frame, too, she would not support the change of name for the segment of the Boulevard proposed, it needs to be kept in mind that what is important is what the residents want and they have been vocal in their opposition , of the change. The Mayor agreed that there should be a policy that covers all streets in the City and requites a public hearing for any proposed name change. I I The City Attorney clarified that the only motion on the floor is to reconsider the prior action to table the item,:should the motion be approved then Council can further disc~ss the matter and/or give direction to staff. Inasmuch as the motion to reconsider would merely bring back the ageAda item, the Mayor said he could hot support that, however wo~ld support having staff address the street name change process as discussed. Councilman Boyd asked if the intent of the motion was to bring back the tabled item or if thereiwas desire to withdraw the reconsideration motion and deal with the issue at a later time. Councilman Larson said he could withdraw the motion provided that a policy is developed to address all street name changes, the motion and second were withdrawn. The City Attorney advised that direction to staff could be given during the Council Comment portion of:the agenda, and confirmed that the renaming of Seal Beach Boulevard has been tabled. t I Councilman Larson nominated Mr. William Hoy as the District Two appointee to the Archaeological Advisory Committee for I APPOINTMENT - ARCHAEOLOGICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE 7-9-01 the one year term expiring July, 2002, and so moved. Councilman Boyd seconded the appointment. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES CONFERENCE - VOTING DELEGATE / ALTERNATE Mayor Doane mentioned that he would not be attending the League Conference this year therefore would move to appoint Mayor ProTem Larson as the voting delegate and Councilmember Campbell as the alternate. Councilman Yost seconded the motion. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "c" thru "F" Mayor Doane noted the request of the Administrative Services Director that Item "E", demands on the treasury, be removed from the agenda. Boyd moved, second by Yost, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar, except Item "E", as presented. C. Approved the waiver of reading in full of all ordinances and resolutions and that consent to the waiver of reading shall be deemed to be given by all Councilmembers after the reading of the title unless specific request is made at that time for the reading of such ordinance or resolution. I D. Approved the minutes of the regular adjourned and regular meetings of June 25th, 2001. E. In response to a request of Council to look into senior recreation discounts, received and filed the staff memorandum and authorized the Parks and Recreation Director to continue to allow discounted senior rates when possible. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I ORDINANCE NUMBER 1474 - NOISE - CONSTRUCTION/MAINTENANCE ALLOWABLE HOURS The Director of Development Services presented the staff report, explained that this item is in response to a request of Council at the last meeting, the concern was with the issue of construction activities on private property on Saturday mornings, to that an amendment to the Code is proposed to not allow construction activities until 8:00 a.m. where it is presently 7:00 a.m. He noted that there are two different sections of the Code that deal with property improvement activities, the amendment deals with new construction, remodeling or additions to an existing structure, the second provision, to which no changes are proposed, relates to maintenance of property which generally applies to a homeowner or tenant of a property maintaining their structure. Councilmember Campbell expressed her desire that maintenance too not commence until 8:00 a.m., maintenance including the act of lawn mowing, use of power tools, etc. 7-9-01 Councilman Boyd moved to introduce Ordinance Number 1474 entitled "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AMENDING SECTION l3d-7 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH REGARDING THE ALLOWABLE HOURS OF CONSTRUCTION ACTIVITIES" reflecting that construction activities not commence until 8:00Ia.m. on Saturdays. Mayor Doane asked if this Ordinance coul9 include maintenance such as lawn mowing. It was a suggestion of staff that the proposed Ordinance be introduced and then an Ordinance can be prepared to address the maintenance: provisions set forth in section "f". Question was raised as to maintenance activities on Sunday or someone who m~y want to do home improvements on Sunday. From the discussion thus far, the understanding of staff was indicated that I maintenance could occur from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, and 9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Sunday. Mr. Gordon Shanks, Surf Place, mentioned the holiday of the past week, trashrpickup was then one day late on Saturday rather than Fridayl commencing at approximately 7:00 a.m., therefore if the hours are going to be adjusted for noise the issue of trash pickups should also be considered inasmuch as that service makes as much or more noise than any gardening activity. Coubcilman Larson again noted that the section "e" relating to :tepair or remodeling does not allow such activity on Sunday, not necessarily done by a contractor but the homeowner. The Director of Development Services noted that the wording of sections Me" and "f" have existed for many years andjenforced as such, again, "e" relates to additions and remodels of an existing structure that generally involves a contractor where Mf" basically relates to homeowner activity to maintain a portion of an existing residence, yard, etc., noting!that noise generated from trash service trucks does not fall under either provision. Councilman Boyd indicated his intention to withdraw his motion. I I Councilmember Campbell expressed her felling that major construction should not take place on a Sunday, that may be the only day off for some, there is something to be said for giving a neighborhood a day of peace and quiet. Dis~greement was voiced in that if someone works six days a week that may be the only day for them to do things at their home. I That statement was countered again with peace and quiet for the neighborhood. ' Councilman Boyd moved introduction of Ordinance Number 1474 with an amendment to remove the double negative language relating to Sundays, reflecting 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.~. on Saturday, and allowing work to take place on Sunday or local, State or Federal holidays. Councilmember Campbell spoke for introduction of the Ordinance with the Sunday provisions remaining as they exist, establish 8:00 a.m. as the Saturday commencement hour, and Sunday maintenance allowed to start at 9:00 a.m. I There was no second to the motion of Councilman Boyd. Councilmember Campbell moved to approve the introduction of Ordinance Number 1474 as presented and directed staff to prepare a proposed ordinance to update maintenance noise subsection "f". Councilman Larson seconded the motion. Councilman Yost mentioned that during the remodeling of his home they tried to not disturb the neighborhood with activity on Sunday therefore he would support that. The City Attorney read the title of Ordinance 1474 in full. By unanimous r 7-9-0l consent, full reading of Ordinance Number 1474 was waived. AYES: NOES: Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost Boyd Motion carried I ORDINANCE NUMBER 1475 - CITY COUNCIL REDISTRICTING Councilman Boyd mentioned that the Council appointed sub- committee of Mayor ProTem Larson and himself has considered and reviewed the results of the Year 2000 Census. The determination is that there is no significant change to any of the districts to require redistricting, therefore the recommendation is that the current districts be reaffirmed. Yost moved, second by Boyd, to approve the introduction of Ordinance Number 1475 entitled "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH DETERMINING THE FEDERAL 2000 CENSUS DOES NOT REQUIRE REDISTRICTING OF CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT BOUNDARDS AS ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO ORDINANCE NO. l344." By unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number 1475 was waived. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried PROPOSED RESOLUTION - CHANGE OF STREET NAME - SEAL BEACH BOULEVARD It was noted that this item was tabled earlier in the meeting, the proposed Resolution not considered. I PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS The Director of Development Services presented the staff report, explained that staff, including the City Attorney, has reviewed provisions of the existing City Charter, the staff report sets forth certain proposed amendments for consideration should the Council determine to place them on the March, 2002 ballot. He noted that a number of the amendments would conform the Charter provisions with State law, those relate to public meeting act requirements, residency requirements of members of the Council, City Manager, and City Clerk, amendments relating to public contract issues that are felt should be clarified in the Charter to allow more flexibility in dealing with public contract issues. The Director stated the intent is to seek Council direction with regard to the amendments presented. I Councilmember Campbell made reference to the residency requirements and inquired as to the definition under State law for elected officials. The City Attorney advised that it is twenty-nine days, that the result of a Long Beach case in 1975 which deleted the one year residency requirement prior to being eligible to hold elected office, the Seal Beach Charter has been inconsistent with State law in that regard for a number of years. Councilmember Campbell then referred to Section 708, Illegal Contracts/Financial Interest, and stated before she could support the amendment to conform with State law she would request a written explanation of the FPPC rules, to that the City Attorney advised that could be done, noting that it is in fact in the Council orientation manual, in addition, if these amendments are to come back at a later meeting Council would be provided Sections 1090 and 1091 of the Government Code, Section 708 was designed to track the language of Section 1090 which it likely did in the early 1960's however there have been amendments through the years that are not reflected in the Charter yet control the City even though Seal Beach is a Charter City, again offering to provide those Sections to Council, mentioning too that it is much easier to make reference to conforming with State. law 7-9-01 rather than having to amend the Charter every few years. with regard to Section 709 relating to elective officers' service in more than one office proposed to be governed by State law, Councilmember Campbell referred to the Charter as being more stringent than State law with regard to ttie issue of incompatible offices, her personal feeling is that one should not hold two elective offices at one time, th~re are offices that are compatible under State law but not tinder the Charter, her preference would be to retain Section 709, the constituents deserve full attention rather than holding two elective offices. I Councilmember Campbell stated she would be willing to consider all of the proposals with the exception of the Section 708, Financial Interest in City contracts and Section 709, holding more than one elective office, and so m6ved. Councilman Boyd seconded for discussion. i ! Councilman Boyd said he had some concern with regardlto Section 708, the financial interest, inquiring if State law is not more strict and broader than the City's local; provisions. The City Attorney said upon comparing the language of 1090 and 1091 with Charter Section 708 it does track 1090 however there are certain word changes, regardless of what is in the Charter Government Code Section 1090 will control, often home rule powers are superceded by th~ Constitution and State laws on such matters, it would be good to see the comparison between the language before action is taken. Councilman Yost asked if the reference is tolcurrent law for State elected officials or State law governing local elected officials. The response of the City Attorney was that it is State law governing local elected officials. councilmember Campbell said if Section 708 as an example is amended would it read that it 'shall be governed by State law' would there then be language that would define the Section. The City Attorney responded that that is at the option of the Council, the recommendation however would be to be more general so that every time Section 1090 is amended it does not need to go back to the voters in order to be up to date, this is similar to the Brown Act whereby a chartge would be necessary each time it is amended. Councilman Yost said he would not have a problem with that scenario provided that State law is up to date within the books of the City; have language within the Charter so that there is access to the Section and it is known when it changes and needs to be revised, he would not want a broad statement without being defined. Councilman Larson said if the concern is with State law containing language with regard to remote interest, it does, when Section 1090 is seen it will contain substantially the same language as the Charter. The City Attorney stated that there is a way to accomplish this, a compromise; there can be general language in the Charter yet in the City Code there can be State law language therefore each time Section 1090 is changed the Code can likewise be changed, the time frame to accomplish that would be approximately a mortth as opposed to holding an election. Councilman Boyd inq~ired if there are other sections of the Charter and City Code that make reference to State law, doing this in the manner suggested may open this up to doing it similarly for other issues, however he would not object to that. Councilmember Campbell said she merely wants assurance that the language is available to be read line for line, and Councilman Yost said there are only a few other provisions that carry as ~uch , importance for elected officials as the Conflict of Interest Codes, as that governs the public trust that their I I I 7-9-01 I representatives do not have another interest in what they are doing therefore it is important to have that information available and up to date. Councilman Larson noted that no District Attorney is going to be reading the City Charter, rather reading the State law, therefore the City should be on the same line as the District Attorney. .He did express some concern with creating a big election issue, there are enough amendments proposed that makes it look as if the entire Charter is being revised, which is not the case, this is merely a cleanup effort. Councilman Yost said that can be dealt with within the City Attorney analysis of the measures on the ballot. The City Attorney confirmed that such language is not yet included with the draft amendments, suggesting as an example language similar to Section 804 that relates to the Brown Act, that would eliminate the concern of being out of date and at the same time Section 1090 could be repeated so that the Council and residents have access to the specific language. He noted that the last amendment to the Charter dealt with Council compensation which makes direct reference to a specific section of State law as it now exists or may hereafter be amended, that was in 1990. Councilman Larson mentioned that technically the same thing could be accomplished by repealing the sections without reference to State law because the City is still subject to State law whether it is stated or not. The City Attorney agreed that that would be cleaner yet could be more difficult to explain to the voters, explaining also that the proposed amendments are in a preliminary stage, the amendments and clarifying language will again be before the Council at the time of or before the call for election. I Vote on the motion to authorize staff to prepare the necessary documentation to propose ballot measures which relate to revisions to the City Charter with the exception of Section 709 relating to holding more than one elective office and that additional information be provided by the City Attorney relating to Section 708. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried ORDINANCE NUMBER l476 - PURCHASING SYSTEM REVISIONS The City Manager presented the agenda report, explaining that the proposed ordinance updates the provisions of the Code governing the purchase of supplies and equipment and provides improved guidance to staff. Boyd moved, second by Larson, to approve the introduction of Ordinance Number 1476 entitled MAN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AMENDING ARTICLE III OF CHAPTER 2 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH." By unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number 1476 was waived. I AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried CITY ATTORNEY REPORT No report was presented. CITY MANAGER REPORT The City Manager mentioned that the crane has been moved onto the pier for the groin repair, the contractor is moving quickly, it is hoped that the project will be completed before the estimated fifteen days provided there are no south swells. 7-9-01 COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilman Yost requested that staff prepare an ordinance relating to the change of a street name citywide which will include a public hearing process and improved notification for Council consideration. Councilman Boyd inquired)as to the time frame for the Seal Beach Boulevard rehabilitation as well as the traffic flow and parking situation during the project as had been referred to earlier in the meeting with an allegation that he had had an influence on the traffic flow. The Interim Director of Public Works explained that two-way traffic was initially considered, however when the contractor submitted the traffic control plan, which,is required to be stamped by a registered professional engineer, the City could not obtain the signature of the contractor's engineer and when the plan was reevaluated by the City'S traffic engineer it was found that the safest plan would be to have one-way traffic through the intersection duelto the way the turn pockets line up, the one-way traffic was an engineering decision based upon the safety of the i intersection, it was also not felt that an encroachment permit could be obtained from CalTrans to allow for restriping of the intersection, the project should take approximately two months to complete, at present the City is working with the contractor regarding some unexpected conditions in the sub-base. Mayor Doane mentioned tnat he was recently interviewed on the Talk of the Town show and as mentioned previously that he had some things that he:felt may help people in Seal Beach work together better. He explained that in his past he went through the chairs of Toast~asters International reaching the District Governor's position, of which there are only thirty-two throughout the world; one of the things that one was judged on was their slogan, nis slogan of 'Friends Helping Friends to Succeed' was chosen as the best in the world. Mayor Doane said after much , deliberation he determined the pins might be something he could do for the City as a personal effort, therefore on the show he presented the first two pins bearing that slogan to Rick Paap and Stan Anderson for all that they have done to benefit the City, and at this time Mayor Doane presertted a pin to Mr. Gordon Shanks for his attendance and conttibutions to City meetings and his activities in the Seal Beach Historical Society. I I CLOSED SESSION No Closed Session was held. I It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting until Monday, July 23rd at 6:15 p.m. to meet in Closed Session. BY/jimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 8:09 p.m. I I ADJOURNMENT clerk I Approved: (j)~~ Attest: