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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2001-09-10 8-27-01 I 9-10-01 is very proud, and encouraged the members of the Council to also take advantage of this opportunity. CLOSED SESSION No Closed Session was held. I ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council to adjourn the meeting until September lOth at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed Session if necessary. By unanimous consent the meeting was adjourned at 10:28 p.m. Approved: u.- ~ ?1;( ,4 City Clerk J Attest: I Seal Beach, California September 10, 2001 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Doane calling the meeting' to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CA,LL Present: Mayor Doane Councilmembers Boyd, Campbell, Larson, Yost Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahorski" Ci ty Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, City Clerk The City Attorney mentioned that anyone wishing to speak to an item on the agenda could do so at this time. I CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney announced that the Council would meet in Closed Session to discuss the items identified on the agenda pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b), one potential case of litigation, Section 54956.9(a), Stinson versus City of Seal Beach, and a conference with the City's real property negotia.tor relating to the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power site pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8. It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn to Closed Session at 6:33 p.m. The Council reconvened at 7:05 p.m. with Mayor Doane calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney announced that the Council 9-10-01 , discussed and gave direction to the City Manager relJting to Stinson and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power site matters, no other reportable action was taken. ' ADJOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the to adjourn the meeting at Council, I I Approved: u~ a or clerk Attest: Seal Beach, California September 10, 2001 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:05 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 Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development Services I Mr. Dancs, Director of Public Worksl City Engineer , Chief Sellers, Police Department I Ms. Arends-King, Director of Administrative Services i Mr. Pounds, Interim Recreation and Parks Director I Ms. Yotsuya, Assistant to the City Manager Mr. Cummins, Associate Planner Ms. Yeo, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA , Councilman Yost requested that Item "A", the MADD Awards, be moved ahead of Public Comments and that Item "M" be ~emoved from the Consent Calendar for separate considerationJ Councilman Larson requested Item "G" be removed fromlthe Consent Calendar, and Councilmember Campbell requested that Item "0" be moved forward for consideration after It~m "A". I \' I I 9-10-01 Boyd moved, second by Yost, to consider Item "A" prior to Public Comments. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I Mayor Doane suggested that Item "0" be considered after Item JJD". Boyd moved, second by Yost, to remove Items "G" and "M" from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried Councilmember Campbell moved to consider Item "0" before Item "B". Councilman Boyd seconded the motion. Mayor Doane again stated his preference would be after the Stormwater Master Plan presentation, therefore would vote against the motion. A show of hands from the audience was that the majority were present relative to Item "0". AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Larson Doane, Yost Motion carried I ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilman Yost reported that the Sand Castle event was very well done. He also requested the Director of Public Works to give a brief update on the West End Pump Station, citing the flooding situations over the past couple of years. The Director reported that approximately three weeks ago a contract was let to rebuild the County engines, one engine will be reinstalled for the one that burned, the engine is currently being refitted, the interim Pump Station will be set up prior to the rainy season, preferably prior to October, presently there is one fully functional engine, and staff is looking to bring plans and specifications to the Council in March for the permanent upgrade. Councilman Boyd mentioned a recent news article reporting the Senate Armed Services Committee is calling for new base closings, the first round of base closings since 1995, this is surely a concern of everyone in this community, the Council should start discussions as to how to preserve and protect the Naval weapons Station asset. Mayor Doane noted that Los Alamitos has done something similar. On the side of good news, Mayor Doane noted a visit this date from former Planning Commissioner Tom Lyon, although on oxygen he still drives his car, doing fairly well, is involved in projects, one of which he has turned over to the City Manager to look into. Mayor Doane also presented one of his 'People Helping People Succeed' pins to Mr. George Wills, Man of the Year in 1996, 1996 Orange County Volunteer of the Year for CHOC, is known for his work with Interval House where he has served over twenty-five thousand hours, has been the grand marshal of the Christmas Parade, and is three years older than himself. I PRESEN'I'ATIONS MADD AWARDS Chief Sellers introduced Ms. Sandy Guiterrez of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, present to recognize three Seal Beach Police Department officers for their commitment to traffic safety and enforcement of DUI driving. The Chief mentioned he reviewed the Department history of the safety checkpoints conducted along with Los Alamitos and Cypress, typically the 9-10-01 I I I. Seal Beach DUI arrests at those checkpoints are three to four times higher than in the other cities, much of that likely , attributable to Pacific Coast Highway and the transition from Long Beach down the coast. He noted that the three ~ecipient officers have made a commitment to the safety of the I residents on the streets of Seal Beach, and have put themselves on shifts during the evening hours for enforcement of this program. Ms. Guiterrez read a letter of an ~ight year old girl from this community mentioning that fo~ty-four people a day lose their lives by drunk drivers in th~ United States, to that she decided to look around each day for persons in her life that could die at the hands of d~unk drivers, which she did for a whole week, the detailstof which Ms. Guiterrez read in full, concluding that even thelchildren in the community appreciate what the officers do forlthem. Ms. Guiterrez presented the MADD award to Corporal John Scott for apprehending twenty-five impaired drivers withinlthe last fiscal year, Officer Thomas Medina for apprehending thirty- two drivers, and Officer Lindasu McDonald for appreh~nding thirty-four DUI offenders, and concluded with gratit0de to these officers on behalf of the community, on behalflof all of those who have been saved that do not know they have been saved, and on behalf of MADD and the Chief. I PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Doane declared the Public Comment period to be open. The Mayor noted that the majority of the audience was present with regard to Item "0", if there are questions at this time staff will make note of them and respond at the timelthe item is under consideration. Mr. Jerry Anderson, Seal Beach, mentioned that he had spoken at the prior meeting with regard to the street sweeping and tree trimming, since then(no one has given him a call, or answered his questions, he had been informed by staff that if the increase of funds is n6t approved the service would be cut, yet it is the CouAcil who sets policy, the Manager carries out the policy. Mrl Anderson recalled that at the last session this comm~ntary period was referred to as a gripe session, people ju~t wanting to complain, yet his feeling is that if ther~ is a concern one starts at the lowest possible denominato~ to solve it, if that does not work then you go up the lbdder, to his recent concerns he spoke with four persons in City Hall from whom he got no answers, no satisfaction, theref9re there is nothing left for him to do except to address the City Council, that is not a complaint, it is following the process, these sessions should possibly be viewed asl information gathering sessions, maybe treat residents more like customers and possibly more would be accomplished, yet some of the complaints he too does not like to hear,lthey are not productive or positive. Mr. Anderson mentioned one complaint to which he has never heard of a report back, that was in regard to Seal Beach Boulevard, the poor compbction of the sewer pipe trench, the City did not do due diligence to make sure it was compacted properly so it is going to fail, no matter how much is added to the top, if the botto~ goes , the top will go also. To these types of complaints the staff should be taking notes, hold a staff meeting the following day and do something about it. Councilman Yost responded that he would call the following day. Mr. John Tinker, Clipper way, stated his comments were directed to the Marina Drive project, expressed appreciation to the counciljand staff who worked diligently to acquire funds for this project, it will be a good project, the money would Aot have become available without those efforts. with regardlto the traffic circle and Central Avenue portion of the pro]ect, I I 9-10-01 I both positive additions, and he would urge the Council to approve those additions. Mr. Tinker said his only concern was with the schedule set forth in the staff report, his understanding had been that the project would be started either in the summer or early fall, some news articles also made reference to that time schedule, now it appears that the schedule has been pushed back about six months, and asked if there is anything the Council could do to move the project forward, it will help traffic and recreation. Ms. Dorothy Whyte, College Park East, was informed that her comments relating to the 22 Freeway item should be made under Public Comments. Ms. Whyte asked that the Comment period then be extended. Ms. Whyte objected to the public being looked at as complainers, stating the public is the business of the City. Ms. Whyte claimed that the people became aware of the 22 Freeway issue from the newspaper, however staff said that the notice of intent to circulate an EIR was in 1998, her question would be why the College Park East residents were not informed, this is a big issue to them, with either plan it is understood that homes will be taken, will Almond Park be taken as well. Ms. Whyte said she has been informed that there will be a public meeting on September 18th relating to the Freeway widening to be held at City Hall, her request is that it be moved to the north, also, that there is a CalTrans meeting on September 26th in Garden Grove, inasmuch as the taking of homes will be in the College Park East area, asked if a CalTrans meeting could be arranged in the north of the City as well. Ms. Whyte complained that phone calls to Council are not returned nor questions answered therefore the only recourse is to attend the meetings. The Mayor again pointed out that responses to questions will be made at the time the item is considered and a report from staff made. Mr. Mike Burton, College Park East, noted the number of people from CPE present, many surprised when the Freeway issue was read in the newspapers, his feeling is that the Council should put themselves in the shoes of the persons who own the six homes that CalTrans wants to remove, some of those homes recently purchased, improved, trying to keep the property values up, to allow CalTrans to come in an do this, the Council as representatives of the residents should be able to approach the next level of government to pursue a better way. Mr. Burton said he personally does not want to live closer to the Freeway, CPE was chosen as the place to live, raise their children, take advantage of the school system, pay higher taxes and premiums on these properties, he feels as if the CPE residents have been abandoned, and possibly there should be a meeting with CalTrans in their area to voice the opinions of the residents, there is property on the other side of the 405 Freeway south, it may be government property but it is the government that is being dealt with, possibly together this can be worked out, the Council is the representatives of the people, and the people are asking for help. Councilman Larson mentioned that the speakers are acting as if the City is their enemy, he personally does not want the houses to be taken, he heard of this matter at the same time as did the residents, CalTrans is a giant, they can be invited to come to a meeting, whether they do or not is up to them, noting that they also want to take the City's water well and water tank, he is personally on the side of the residents, the Council is trying to help the residents keep their houses and plans to spend money to hire someone to help do just that. Mr. Ken Teriochi, Primrose Circle, said he and his family are six month residents, they enjoy the City and their neighborhood, proud of what they have done to their home, yet their home is one I I 9-10-01 of the six proposed to be taken by CalTrans, he and 6ther neighbors are upset. Mr. Teriochi said if the wall is moved by four feet there will be more traffic noise, he will be 'attending the upcoming meetings, he has been in contact with CalTrans personnel, will be meeting with the projectlengineer the following day, he is being put in contact with the right- of-way department, it has been said it is likely thelCity could have the last say, he is now ceasing to work on his home, yet he will not leave it until told he must go; Mr. Marty Mahrer, College Park East, recalled that it ha~ been it has been there were documents relating to the Freeway widening in 1998, to him this is unconscionable, thelpeoPle should have known of this, this is terrible, what if this was in another area of the community, what happens in the areas north of Westminster seems to mean nothing, there sh6uld be citizen interaction, the EIR says nothing, the six h6meowners should be given consideration, what is going to be d6ne, did this just happen, was there nothing before this, thelCity does not work with the people or keep them informed. Mr. , Walt Adle, College Park East, agreed with the comments of his neighbors, and inquired what the City is going to dolto help the residents fight this, this will be critical for a lot of College Park people, reminding that they vote and pay taxes, and to a question, confirmed that the residents willlorganize or do whatever is necessary. Mr. Mike Ayres, College Park East, more than twenty-two year resident, however asia result of an opportunity that presented itself a for-sale sign went up on his property the same day the taking was reported in the newspapers, that makes it difficult to sell a h00se, he does not want his friends and neighbors to lose thei~ homes or have their property devalued, one's home is a val0able asset, for him this needs to be resolved quickly. M~. Amy Barta, Oleander Street, said she has lived in her ho~e for the majority of her life, it has been in her family ~ince built, it is not one of the houses slated to be takeA but is two houses away, not only is the concern with the ho~es proposed to be taken but with the anticipated drop iA , ' property values of the others, and asked that the Clty do anything possible to help the residents organize to do whatever needs to be done to protect their homes, inlturn the residents need to help the Council fight this taking: There being no further comments, Mayor Doane declared Public Comments closed. I I PROCLAMATION Mayor Doane proc laimed the week of October 1 at through October 5t" 2001 as "Rideshare Week." Boyd moved, s~cond by Larson, to confirm said Proclamation. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I ITEM "0" STATE ROUTE 22/WEST ORANGE COUNTY CONNECTION DRAFT EIR / EIS - RESOLUTION NUMBER 4929 I The City Manager expressed appreciation to the residents for their attendance. To the question of what is the City going to try to do and how, the Manager stated the requestiof council is that the City Manager be authorized to enter into an agreement with an environmental consultant to review the Environmental Impact Report, specifically with regard to noise and traffic issues, it is felt important to have the consultant go through the document carefully in an attempt to find its weaknesses, this is an official, formal process for review of an EIR. The request of Council is to authorize the expenditure of $12,500 for the retention of the constltant I 9-10-01 I and sub-consultants, that the Mayor, Councilmember Campbell, City Ma.nager and Director of Development Services be authorized to attend the public hearing relating to this matter on September 26th in'Garden Grove, another to be held in Orar,ge that will also be attended. With regard to the citizer" request that CalTrans be invited to attend a local meetin~' with residents to discuss this issue, a letter will be sent, doing so. The Manager mentioned that in 1998 a comment, letter was sent over the signature of the Mayor at that time in response to the Notice of Preparation, which startec, the EIR process, and did express concern with the propose,d acquisition in College Park East. He noted that staff has commenced the evaluation of the EIR document and believes that there are some alternatives to eliminate the negative impacts on the College Park East neighborhood, the displacement of six homes on Almond Avenue, also, there is a conflict between the EIR document and a briefing book prepared by OCTA that mentions the Beverly Manor Reservoir/Pumping Station as proposed to be displaced, that issue needs to be clarified by staff. An alternative could be to narrow Almond Avenue, another would be to shift the alignment to the Naval Weapons side of the Freeway, staff believes there is merit to both alternatives. With regard to the meeting scheduled for September 18th staff will develop discussion points, it seems to be effective if residents send comments as to specifics such as the alignment, noise impacts, etc., the public can take the discussion points and turn th.ose into a personal communication, as can a group or neighborhood association, the more letters the more that CalTrans is required to respond to, letters are more effective than petitions, alternatively an e-mail may be sent to Cal'I'rans, District 12, where the EIR is on-line with an electronic comment form, a suggestion would be to send a letter and an e-mail. The Manager noted that within the EIR there is a fiscal ramification to the City, the property tax loss is shown as $11,000 should the six homes be acquired, therefcre with the current state of City finances that loss should be looked at carefully and be opposed. He mentioned that it is critical that the residents attend the public hearing' in Garden Grove or Orange or both, that is how the EIR and the alternatives can be impacted, over the next two months staff will prepare, with the consultant, a detailed comment letter that will be sent to CalTrans, the City will also attempt to meet with CalTrans staff and pursue the alternatives that were previously mentioned. The Manager announced upcoming key meetings, September 18th at 7:00 p.m., scheduled for the City Council Chambers so that Seal Beach TV can tape the meeting for rebroadcasting, that in an effort to reach as many people as possible, the tape may also be sent to Cal'I'rans, the September 26th public hearing will be with CalTrans at 5: 30 p.m., again in Orange on October yd, then October 30th is the deadline for written comments to the EIR, he then provided the CalTrans, District 12 address in the City of Irvine. The Manager advised also that no decision has been made as to the preferred alternative contained in the EIR, it is understood that decision will not be made until February, 2002, and a final environmental determination and record of decision will not occur until June, 2002, therefore there is some time to work on this issue. To the question if the dates, times, and addresses are shown on the City website, the response was that a link has been provided from the City website directly to CalTrans. I I The Director of Development Services noted that the primary request before the Council at this meeting is the 9-10-0l authorization of monies to retain consultant service~ to assist staff with the review of the EIR document, anlEIR is a requirement of State and federal environmental laws, this document is the beginning process in determining whe~her or not CalTrans and the Orange County Transportation Authority will proceed to implement this project. An earlier question from the public was when did the City first know of this, in 1998 CalTrans prepared a document entitled Notice oflIntent to Prepare and Environmental Document, that documentiwas submitted to all of the cities, special districts, etc. within the corridor of the 22 Freeway, in that document the language pertaining to the potential taking of property was general and read "the potential for community disruption resulting from property acquisition and land use changes for right-of-ways will be identified and analyzed in the! EIR/EIS," that was the full extent that any City had as to where potential areas might be impacted by the devel?pment. The Director explained that the City comment letter to that Notice in 1998 was that if there was an impact to College Park East with the taking of properties it would be ~trongly objected to by this City, a copy of that letter has been made available to interested public along with the staff report, therefore in 1998 there was no specific indication as to where homes would be or other land uses, commercial,lparks, etc. would be impacted along the Freeway, from the time of the 1998 response letter until a week ago Friday when the EIR document and the required notice advising of the time frame for the comment period was received the City had heard nothing with regard to this project. The Director e~plained again that this is the standard process required by both federal and State environmental law and for projectslfunded with federal funds, in this case federal highway fun~s. The Director noted that at this point CalTrans has identified a , project, areas of potential acquisition of homes, not only in Seal Beach but Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Orange, Tustin, and others that have even greater numbers of homes identified for potential acquisition, during this sixty day review process, if the Council agrees with the staff recommendation,la consultant will be retained to review the environmental document, provide comments to it, during this process the major concern will be how to come up with alternative designs to what has been identified in the document to elimiAate the requirement to acquire homes, if, as indicated by a ~peaker, CalTrans is looking to only acquire four feet of additional property there may be a number of ways to address an: alternative project design that would not require the taking of homes to move a wall by four feet. He too reminded of the meeting that will be held locally on September 18th at which more time and detail will be available to advise the I interested residents as to how they can participate in this process, provide comments to CalTrans and to City stbff that can then be forwarded. The Development Services Director reported that the project is basically to install carpool lanes the entire length of the 22 Freeway from the 55 to where it joins the 405 Freeway, also to provide carpool connector lanes from freeway to freeway, direct connector ramps so one would not need to get out of the carpool lane and move across lanes of traffic to access the carp061 lane on another freeway, in the opinion of staff it is felt that the connector ramps have not been well identified as'to height, length, location, aesthetics, noise, and glare impacts that those types of structures may have, tho~e are the types of issues that the City will address as a result of review of the environmental document. He noted ther~ are a number of other issues with regard to project proposals at I I I 9-10-01 I the easterly end, staff will not be focusing on those as there are enough issues with the Seal Beach area, the focus will primarily be from the 22/405 to the 405/605. The Director mentioned that there are a number of project alternatives in the EIR that are required by federal and State law, the first alternative is to do nothing, there are a number of other transit and roadway improvements in the area of the 22 Freeway that are already budgeted by other agencies, as an example the Orange County Transportation Authority has a Smart Street Program project on Katella Avenue, there are a number of bus improvement programs, if those and nothing else is done that alternative shows what will happen on the 22 Freeway, a second is referred to as the TSM/expanded bus service alternative which would basically provide bus service directly on the freeway, commuter express routes with additional service routes on local streets, the full build alternative is the project itself with all of the interchanges at all of the different freeways, there is also a reduced build alternative, that eliminates the freeway-to- freeway connector ramps at the 22/5 and 22/55, it does not eliminate the connectors at the 405/605 and the 405/22, therefore the impacts of the full build and reduced build alternatives on Seal Beach are the same. The Director mentioned that the agenda staff report is also on the City's web page. The Director explained that the first area of concern is the loss of six homes in Seal Beach, no one wants to see that happen, that is a statement the City made early in the process, yet CalTrans has come up with a project that obviously has not responded to that comment in a manner that it was hoped it would, the primary focus of City staff and the consultant will be to try to develop alternatives to the project design that will allow the project to proceed without forcing the elimination of the homes. He noted there are additional noise walls proposed along the freeway route through Seal Beach, impacts of those will be looked at as to aesthetic issues, whether or not they will be effective at the heights proposed to eliminate the noise or reduce it to an acceptable level in accordance with the standards of the City, not just what CalTrans feels is sufficient, the connector ramps from freeway to ,freeway are not well delineated in the document therefore there will be comments made to those along with requests for clarification, from personal experience of staff those types of ramp structures are quite high, therefore not only for residents of College Park East but Leisure World as well there is concern with impacts from noise and glare from headlights at the ramp heights, those issues will be addressed. The Director noted that as part of the Bixby Ranch development the City has a project to widen the bridge over the 405 Freeway at Seal Beach Boulevard, a concern is with how that project coincides with what CalTrans may need to do with that bridge to deal with connector ramps from freeway to freeway, also widening the freeway under that bridge for the additional carpool lanes that are proposed, another concern is the impact on City pump stations and the reservoir facilities that are in the vicinity of the Seal Beach Boulevard/405 area. The Director made reference to a map displayed from the EIR that showed the general location and addresses of the homes, noted that once the EIR was received the Council representative delivered a letter to the owners of each of the homes ' identified, subsequently a copy of the staff report was deliver,ed to each of the owners for their information as well, this was to also show that there is a concern of the City, an issue that the City recognizes and wants to respond to, staff wants to help the homeowners understand and I I 9-10-01 I participate in this process. He noted also the displayed location of the additional soundwalls proposed from Valley view to the existing soundwalls near College Park Ea~t, comments will be made to those. I To the question as to whether Almond Park is proposed to be taken, the Director responded that the initial revie~ of the document does not show an acquisition of Almond park/as contemplated, there is nothing that shows right-of-way lines at this point, the map is very general, the questionlstaff has as well is how can a couple of homes be taken yet dodge taking part of the Park facility, that is a question!to be answered, other points of concern have been indicated by the City Manager. The Director invited anyone having questions to call the Planning Department at City Hall for assistance, to those whose homes have been identified he offeredlto make the entire EIR document available if they wish to receive it, and during the comment period, assuming the Council I determines to retain consultants, they will help City staff prepare a draft comment letter back to CalTrans thatlwill delineate all of the issues, concerns, and suggestions to eliminate the impacts to the City of Seal Beach, thelCity also has a Council appointed Environmental Quality Control Board where one of their responsibilities is to review environmental documents and provide comments to the Council for consideration in formulating a response letter, that Board is scheduled to meet in special session on October 18th to review the draft of the comment letter, receive comments from the public, propose changes to be made to the letter, which in turn will come to Council on October 29th for their approval and authorization to forward the letter to CalTrans which will be hand delivered on the deadline date of October 31st, the public is invited to attend those meetings, the response letter will also be on the City's web page, and other documents generated by the City relating to this matter will be available on the internet and through press releases. The City Manager added that notices have been prepared for the College Park East neighborhood announcing the September 18th meeting, it is also incumbent upon neighbors to remind each other of the upcoming meetings on this issue. I ' Councilman Boyd moved to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement with Culbertson, Adams & Associates to undertake a review of the subject document and assist staff in preparing a comment letter for Environmental Quality Control Board and City Council review, and authorizeian expenditure of an amount not to exceed $12,500.00; , I to adopt Resolution Number 4929 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AUTHORIZING BUDGET AMENDMENTS FOR THE 2001/2002 FISCAL YEAR;" ; I to authorize Mayor Doane, Councilmember Campbell, thk City Manager and the Director of Development Services to ~ttend the September 26th public hearing to be held in Gardeh Grove; and I I I I , to receive and file the staff report and authorize staff to forward same to the Environmental Quality Control Board for information purposes. I Councilmember Campbell seconded the motion. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried 9-10-01 I Councilmember Campbell explained that when the City first received notification of this proposed project that was all there was, the City prepared a response letter stating that if it was the intent of CalTrans to take property the City would strongly oppose such action, since that time she has questioned whether or not any further information had been received, it had not. She mentioned that shortly after writing the response letter she visited Ms. Lisa Mills who at that time was the CEO of the Orange County Transit Authority at which time she cited the fact that there had been no information as to where or how many homes, yet pointed out that the Naval Weapons Station is on the opposite side of the freeway, the land is agricultural, suggesting that any land be taken from the Station side as College Park had given up land some twenty years ago when the freeway was widened, there is only a few feet from the soundwall to the curb, the response of Ms. Mills was that it was easier to condemn residential land than government land, to that Ms. Mills was informed that was not acceptable, Ms. Mills also offered that the desire was to take the project from the 55 to the 605 yet it was not certain that there would be sufficient funding, therefore the project would likely go only to the 405, if the project went no further there would be nothing to be concerned with. She added that the City has been trying to get information from CalTrans with regard to widening of the bridge, nothing has been learned, yet the bridge over the 405 needs to be widened, the process has begun to order new play equipment for Almond Park, then the EIR was received, what does one do, staff advised to go forward because it will likely be six to eight years before this project reaches Seal Beach. Councilmember Campbell noted that the EIR cited six houses to be taken, in the OCTA Briefing Book six houses are also identified in Rossmoor yet are not shown in the EIR, it is possible those would be partial takes which means backyards as those homes back to the 605, it is likely those property owners have not been notified. After receipt of the EIR on Friday, and given the Labor Day holiday on Monday, the news release on this matter was scheduled for Tuesday, coincided to that was the hand delivery of the letters to the six identified homes, it is important to attend the meeting of September 18th, that the residents organize, commence letter writing, where to go from here and what to do. Councilmember Campbell mentioned that she had spoken to Supervisor Silva, a member of the OCTA board, he acknowledged the need to widen the 22 Freeway however stated he could not support a project that would take a total of one hundred eighty-nine homes, he offered to look at the project and work with this City, he realizes that these are the homes of people, their lives, again urged attendance at the September 18th meeting, it is possible that CalTrans may relook at this particular area, if it is necessary to narrow the street by a few feet and not allow parking on the south side, to her that is worth doing. I I Council,man Boyd mentioned earlier comments about people coming to meetings to complain, to which he said it was known that the residents were not coming to complain to the Council, the Council is willing to hear from the residents to try to solve the problems before they become an issue, the Council wants to work through things, bring the staff in, but a meeting is not the place to solve the problems or even answer questions. In a conversation with the former Mayor of Los Angeles, who is going to run for Governor, he said that in order to solve problems his suggestion is that people organize then it is possible to use the resources of the 9-10-01 I City, in his case it was Los Angeles, to solve the problems and make the community better. Councilman Boyd saidlthat is what is needed here, organize, choose a single voice as a chairperson, organize letter writing, the City will assist, target the comments as mentioned by the City Manager/that are important to resolving the issue, the City will also utilize the EIR consultant to find the loopholes in that document that will solve the problem of mitigating this matter, what , is disturbing to him is that this is being done for HOV lanes otherwise known as carpool lanes, which in his opinion do not work and are~a waste of money. He offered that the City can also help through the elected officials in other cities, as well as Supervisor Silva, Assemblyman Harman, and Senator Johnson. Councilman Yost asked the identity of those who sit on the board that make the decisions. The City Manager explained that at this point this is a CalTrans project, they will run the environmental process, a decision will then be made by their environmental division, CalTrans has a!new District 12 Director, previously with the OCTA organization, there will be an opportunity to comment to OCTA as well, it is believed there are County Supervisors and League I representatives from the various cities on that board, their names can be provided to those persons having an interest, they have a web site as well. Councilman Yost expressed his belief that focus should be towards those who will be making the decisions, that should take place as quickly andlearly as possible. The Manager noted that the main focus should be on CalTrans as they are the lead agency for the EIR. With regard to having a representative of CalTrans at thel September 18th meeting, the Manager advised that that had been requested, and offered to reiterate the invitation in writing to them. Councilman Larson stated he is against CalTrans acquiring homes and will continue to be. Mayor Doane expressed appreciation to the speaker who asked how they could help, he cautioned also that CalTrans is the agency that controls this project, therefore he would suggest that any comments to them be made in a respectful manner, what is needed are positive comments with good, sound reasoning. , I It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to declare a recess at 8:27 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 8:43 p.m. with Mayor Doane calling the meeting to order. , i PRESENTATION / RESOLUTION NUMBER 4921 - STORMWATER OUALITY MASTER PLAN I , The Director of Public Works commenced the presentation of the Stormwater Quality Master Plan, noted that considerable effort was spent on this project by members of the community, staff, and consultants. ! * It was mentioned that there is considerable water quality legislation, as an example, the Clean W~ter Act, the Porter/Cologne Water Quality Control Act, AB 411, there are a number of regulations that cross over and regulate storm water; ; I I I * Stormwater runoff has increased from two hundred to seven hundred percent over the past twenty years, it contributes fifty to sixty percent of the pollution load, the single largest source of water pollutant, according to the USEPA it is the largest source: of water quality damage in the estuaries, the second largest in wetlands degradation, the third largest in the · , . I lmpalrment of lakes, and the fourth largest source of I I I 9-10-01 river damage; * There are various types of pollutants such as vehicles, paints, sediments, and many more; * Where does urban runoff go - five drains basically impair Anaheim Bay, Huntington Harbor complex, the National wildlife Refuge, and Sunset Aquatic Park, the other ten drain to the San Gabriel River, that is a federally listed impaired water body; * with regard to the watershed, where all of the water that ends up in the San Gabriel River comes from, the upper San Gabriel watershed starts in the San Gabriel Mountains, mostly national forest land, some wilderness areas, there are five flood control and water conservation dams above the Whittier Narrows, this is basically drainage from the mountains, the communities below, one to two million people, impact the drainage into the San Gabriel River; * The watershed of concern in developing the Water Quality Management Plan, all downstream of the Whittier Dam, are five publicly owned sanitary treatment works that discharge tertiary treated water into the San Gabriel River, that water has undergone primary and secondary processes of settlement of the organic solids, treatment through activated sludge, then filtration and pumped back into the groundwater which is done through spreading basins in Whittier Narrows and above; * Most of the flow south from the Narrows is from urban runoff, that being dry weather and storm weather flows, there is a boundary in the Whittier hills that separates the upper from the lower watersheds, the lower watersheds encompass the Los Cerritos watershed which drains the area of Signal Hill, the airport, and upstream communities, an impaired watershed, Coyote Creek where a number of sewer spills have occurred which in turn impacts the estuary of the San Gabriel River, the Seal Beach watershed which goes up to the Carbon Creek area, La Habra, Brea, etc., all of which drain into Anaheim Bay, the Los Cerritos wetlands, and the San Gabriel River; * This is not just of local concern, the drain boundaries cross county boundaries, different cities, everything that happens throughout the area impacts the water that reaches the beaches; * The objectives of the Plan, the intent, is to comply with State and federal legislation, create a managing strategy for stormwater runoff, heighten public awareness in this and other cities with urban runoff problems, advocate legislative platforms for improving stormwater quality, and implement best management practices; * The basic elements are public education, participation, advocacy, the enforcement of water quality laws and codes that are currently available, the implementation of source and treatment control best management practices, testing and monitoring, the education campaign will consist of a number of different things, staff training, television, catch basin stenciling, * I I I I business programs, increased use of the web site to get information out, fliers as well; I Revisions will be made to the City Code to cover all that needs to be done for water quality, enforc~ment, guidelines for a criminal citation program, , I implementation of an administrative citation program, authorize the City inspectors to stop work, serVe citations, train police volunteers to identify Jnd report Code violations; I This is no longer a public works concern, everyJne needs to be involved at all of the department staff levels to address this situation, basic management practites, public facilities and activities, there will be [City Yard improvements funded through the RDA which is in the Capital Improvement Program, there are manageme~t guidelines for fertilizers and pesticides, the intent is to improve the street sweeping program, go to orice a week sweeping, develop regular maintenance and ~leanout schedules for the storm drains and surface facilities, including catch basins, that is in place now but the intent is to develop a better program, cover improved drainage around the trash receptacles, implement an investigation program for cross-connections between the sanitary sewer and storm drain systems so that they do not mix, for public works projects the intent is to divert the dry weather flows to the sewer system, that will be forthcoming with the West End Pump Station, install a separation control to the outlet to Ariaheim Bay and San Gabriel River, upgrade the storm drain system for the Master Plan and Drainage recommeridations which was approved approximately two years ago,linstall different types of biofiltration where possible) and construct more feasible extended dry retention basins in - , the wetlands, Hellman Ranch, and the Los Alamitos Retarding Basin, this is an opportunity that mo~t cities do not have because there is such a large basinlin this City, there will be some testing and monitoring programs, accountability has been included in the program, an annual review, update, recommendati9ns and provisions, City staff duties and responsibilit~es for storm water management, and complete annual staff report. I 9-10-01 * I , The Director acknowledged the Citizens Oversight co~ittee for their time and efforts devoted to this project as well as other agencies that assisted the City. Yost moved, second by Boyd, to adopt Resolution Numb~r 4921 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING A STORMWATER QUALTIY MANAGEMENT PLAN." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4921 was waived. I I Councilman Boyd noted that adoption of this Plan sets forth how the City manages its watershed, establishes tough policies for violators, and represents the most significant effort to date as to how water quality is dealt with:in this City. Councilman Larson noted that the half billion'dollars that the Sanitation District was encouraged to spend last month could be used in furtherance of this program. Councilman Yost noted that part of that has been used for water guidelines for exterior restaurant cleaning operations, the first fliers have gone out with regard to their I 9-10-01 wastewater, how they clean their premises, how to be prepared for sewage spills, recalling that one of the last spills was the result of an overdue cleaning of a grease trap in Fullerton, which then flowed into the San Gabriel River, and caused a beach closure. I Vote on the motion to adopt Resolution Number 4921: AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried APPOINTMENT CABLE COMMUNICATIONS FOUNDATION Councilmember Campbell moved to appoint Mr. Richard Dsa as the District Four representative to the Seal Beach Cable Communications Foundation for the unexpired full two year term ending July, 2002. Councilman Boyd seconded the motion. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "E" thru "N" Yost moved, second by Boyd, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except Items "G" and "M" removed for separate consideration. E. Approved the waiver of reading in full of all ordinances and resolutions and that consent to the waiver or 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 F. Approved regular demands numbered 33330 through 33642, 34358 through 34500 in the amount of $1,137,495.91, payroll demands numbered 13244 through 13442 in the amount of $205,986.30, the payroll liability account 9000673 through 9000682 in the amount of $77,271.91, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. H. Approved the agreement for the provision of payroll services between the City of Los Alamitos and the City of Seal Beach for an initial period of one year, to continue thereafter until and unless either party terminates said agreement, and authorized the City Manager to execute the agreement on behalf of the City. I 1. Received and filed the Monthly Investment Report for June, 2001. J. Adopted Resolution Number 4927 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH GRANTING AN EASEMENT TO THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON COMPANY FOR UNDERGROUND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS TO PARCEL 1 OF THE OLD RANCH TOWNE CENTER AREA B ON THE EAST SIDE OF SEAL BEACH BOULEVARD AT 12800 SEAL 9-10-01 I I BEACH BOULEVARD ACROSS CITY OWNED PROPERTY! APPROXIMATELY 400 FEET SOUTH OF LAMPSON I AVENUE." By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4927 was waived. K. Adopted Resolution Number 4928 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH GRANTING AN EASEMENT TO THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA EDISON COMPANY FOR UNDERGROUND ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS AND COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS TO TARGET SIGN LOCATED ON CITY OWNED PROPERTY ON LAMPSON AVENUE ! APPROXIMATELY 1200 FEET EAST OF SEAL BEACH BOULEVARD." By unanimous consent, full I reading of Resolution Number 4928 was waived. I Approved the renewal of the agreement between the cities of Cypress, Los Alamitos, and' 1 Seal Beach for Law Enforcement Court Liaison Services for the period July 1, 2001 through June 30, 2002, and authorized the City i Manager to execute said agreement on behalt of the City. I L. N. Adopted Resolution Number 4930 entitled "Ai RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY! OF SEAL BEACH REVISING THE CITY's RECORDS I RETENTION POLICY." By unanimous consent, I full reading of Resolution Number 4930 was. waived. r Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I I I ITEM "G" - HELLMAN RANCH COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT Councilman Larson said he pulled this item as a matter of philosophy, he does not agree with this method of approving development, therefore would be voting no. I Councilman Boyd moved to direct staff to continue preparation of the necessary documents for the formation of a Co~unity Facilities District for the proposed development of Hellman Ranch, accept the $30,000 deposit from John Laing Homes for the retention of consultants to the City, and authorized the City Manager to enter into appropriate agreements for consultant services subject to the approval of the City Attorney. Councilman Yost seconded'the motion. ' I AYES: NOES: ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR Mr. Jerry Tone, representing Hellman Properties, expressed appreciation for the support of Council to form the Community Services District, this is important, will help the entire project come to fruition. With regard to an update relating to the wetlands, Mr. Tone noted that throughout the spring and summer the wildlife Conservation Board had been working with an appraiser to assess the value of the one hundred acre lowland parcel, the appraisal was completed on schedule at the end of August, it has now been forwarded for evaluation, the appraisal is anticipated to be through that process in two weeks, the next meeting of the wildlife Conservation Board is November 28th at which time they will assessl the appraisal, their willingness to spend the value, which is not presently known, and determine if they will purchaselthe property. It is likely the City too should attend the WCB I 9-10-01 I hearing to speak on behalf of the acquisition, it is understood that the money is in tact in the WCB budget. To a question from Council, Mr. Tone said he believes that an appraisal is underway on the Bryant property, does not believe one is underway for Bixby, these are three separate tracts, the Hellman wetlands is being handled through the wildlife Conservation Board, the two projects in Los Angeles County will be handled by the Coastal Conservancy. Councilman Yost mentioned that a member of the wildlife Conservation Board serves on the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, all has been positive thus far, the money is in tact, and he is somewhat optimistic that the acquisition will take place through the WCB. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I ITEM "M" MEMORIAL TREE PROGRAM Councilman Yost inquired as to specifications for plaques, possibly that could be more fully described. The City Manager said there has not been specifications developed at this point, they will be will be tasteful, confirmed that children's play areas will be kept in mind however, it may be necessary to have some flexibility in that in some areas it will be necessary to have a smaller plaques than in others. Mayor Doane recalled his questioning why a plaque was not included with one specific tree planting, the response was that they often disappear. Boyd moved, second by Larson, to approve the Council policy for resident purchase and placement of trees in the community to serve as living memorials of special people in their lives. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried MARINA DRIVE REGIONAL TRAIL PROJECT - STATUS REPORT The City Manager reported that an overview of the Marina Drive Regional Project Trail would be presented, in addition, staff is requesting direction from Council relating to this project. Councilman Yost mentioned that this presentation is basically for public information, to some degree, is the result of criticisms relating to Seal Beach Boulevard, this project however has been discussed by Council previously, and he has personally held meetings with some of the 5th Street residents. I Project Manager, Mr. Zimmerman, explained that this project is part of the regional trail system for which application was made in 1999 for TEA-2l grants, this is the second segment, the first was Seal Beach Boulevard and the third is Pacific Coast Highway from Seal Beach Boulevard to Anderson Street, the primary purpose is to enhance operations as well as provide a class one off-street trail and to improve the Marina Park sewer system. Mr. Zimmerman provided an overview of the project which commences at Electric Avenue and continues to 1 at Street, proposed also are improvements at 5th Street and Marina Drive. He mentioned too that the project funding is distributed through TEA, $843,000, OCTA Measure M, $200,000, the State, $640,000, County, $110,000, and the City General Fund is $160,000, the funding covers the entire project, including some money used for the Seal Beach Boulevard improvements. The Director of Public Works explained that the project has been divided into three phases to expedite the improvements, 9-10-01 initially it was to have been one all encompassing project however it was determined to not delay the phases once work commenced in the CalTrans right-of-way, it is felt that the entire project can be accomplished within budget howJver an alternate bid will be requested without the traffic circle and road closure in the event the bids are high. I Mr. Zimmerman explained that there will be a twelve foot meandering trail which will start at Electric and continue to 1st Street, with the narrowing of the Marina Drive bridge bike lanes will be added to connect to the San Gabri~l trail as well as Long Beach, there will be a twelve foot t~affic lane in each direction plus a twelve foot parking lane. A determination has also been made to remove the Marina Park sewer pump station to be designed and replaced with a gravity sewer system. The Public Works Director mentioned that although scheduled in the Sewer Master Plan for muchilater it was determined to go forward with the gravity sewer system in order to eliminate the Marina pump station, a primary reason is that that would in turn remove the necessity to tear up the newly paved roadway at some point in the future.! , with regard to the 5th Street improvements, Mr. Zimmerman showed photos of 5th Street facing the ocean, one lan~ in each direction, then an inconsistency with two lanesigoing towards Pacific Coast Highway, one lane northbound towards the Highway with two southbound lanes and a turning ~ane, on the side of Marina Drive facing 1st Street there are two . .I . lanes southbound, two lanes northbound and a medlan turnlng lane, at 5th Street a eighty foot diameter traffic circle is proposed, the meandering path connects to a path along the Bay City area with a crosswalk proposed, all of the 9rossings away from the intersection to provide pedestrian safety, the path continues to Electric with crosswalks provided to allow connection to the Electric Avenue path, a bike path is also designed around the outside of the Circle for the putpose of emergency services as is the Circle at 4th and Centrai. Mr. Zimmerman displayed a drawing without the Traffic circle concept, the design features similar to those proposed for the Traffic Circle, the only difference is that the curb faces outwards, there is a meandering path, the intersection is being narrowed for continuity of lanes, they align in both directions, Marina Drive from Bay City is being tapered so that there is only one lane in each direction, and with continuation of the trail on Electric Avenue, a proposal also to close Central Avenue from 1st to 2nd Streets and make it into a greenbelt, access will continue from the alley and the driveway into the apartment complex. In that regard~ Councilman Boyd noted that would eliminate the one-way ingress yet one can continue to make a free right turn from 2nd Street to access Central, clarified that it is not being made into a cul-de-sac however, to that Mr. Zimmerman confirmed that currently Central Avenue is one-way eastward from lR Street. : I , Councilman Boyd mentioned that given the fact that the City portion of this project was budgeted, the balance isiState grant and OCTA monies, he would support the round-about configuration, his belief is that it increases the likelihood of the success of the regional trail, it addresses the concerns of 5th Street residents that were heard some' time back, it would also do considerable to manage the traffic flow, increases landscaping and green area, and increases the safety factor substantially. I I I 9-l0-01 I Boyd moved, second by Yost, to proceed with the design concept of the roundabout rather than the stop sign alternative for 5th Street/Marina Drive as well as the one- way ingress closure of Central Avenue as described. To the question of Mayor Doane as to any impact on businesses, Councilman Boyd responded there would not be an impact, in fact it may increase business activity in that area. Councilman Yost expressed his opinion that this is an excellent project for a number of reasons, for one, Long Beach plans to increase their harbor and given the fact that Seal Beach is another city in another county it is limited as to what can be done in opposition, one thing that is not wanted is that traffic into and out of Seal Beach, therefore if Marina Drive is lowered from four to two lanes Long Beach can still build the harbor but will need to provide for their own traffic, this is one of the things the Council has done to protect home values and quality of life long term, which this project does. Councilman Yost expressed appreciation to the former Public Works Director, Mr. Badum, as the lowering of traffic lanes was his idea, to the City's legislators as well for seeking and securing the funds for this project. Councilman Boyd stated his desire also that the planter/median areas in and around the roundabout be maximized with plantings, not filled with concrete, for the greatest amount of attractiveness' of the area. AYES: NOES: Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost None Motion carried I CITY ATTORNEY REPORT No report was presented. CITY MANAGER REPORT No report was presented. I COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilman Yost noted an article in the local paper this past week with regard to preserving the Joint Forces Training Base in LOS ~lamitos as a priority for that city, they budgeted considerable money to retain a consultant to assist them with that effort, his request would be that an item be placed on the next agenda for Council discussion as to how this City can best keep the Naval Weapons Station as it exists, that is important to Seal Beach to whatever extent possible. Councilman Larson mentioned that the issue is amid reports that the Weapons Station is reducing its staff, it is not known what that means. Councilmember Campbell announced that former Councilman Laszlo is home after having heart surgery and is doing well. She recalled having mentioned at a recent meeting a College Park East resident observing six raccoons taking her cat, the cat got away, the raccoons hissed at the resident, and last week there was an article in an Orange County newspaper with regard to raccoons terrorizing cats, the recommendation is that people not leave food or their animals outside, they often have rabies as well, her concern is that a small child could be bit. Councilman Yost inquired as to an anticipated start date for the Marina Drive project and/or potential to move it up. Mr. Zimmerman reported that a field meeting was held with CalTrans this date, that is the first process for the City to start getting paperwork in order to go to bid, they have basically agreed with the environmental assessment, there are two additional comments to address, one relates to the traffic circle, the other a previously performed traffic study for the Marina Drive' bridge, also a site had been designated as a historic site, 9-10-01 / 9-24-01 after walking the project it has been found that one does not exist, therefore a modification will need to be made1to the environmental study, their written comments are anticipated by the following week, work is continuing on the sew~rline design, work needs to be completed on the design bet~een First and Second Streets, once the plans are complete the next step is for CalTrans to give authorization for 1 construction which takes an approximate month for their processing, then bids can be sought, guesstimate is two to three months to bid the project. I CLOSED SESSION No Closed Session was held. ADOURNMENT It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the to adjourn the meeting until September 24th at 6:30 meet in Closed Session. By unanimous consent, the was adjourned at 9:20 p.m. I Council, p~m. to meeting clerk Approved: I Attest: ,I; ~ Seal Beach, California September 24, 2001 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:16 p.m. with Mayor Doane calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ' ROLL CALL Present: Absent: Councilman Boyd Councilman Boyd joined the Council in Closed sessionl I Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, City Clerk The City Attorney invited anyone wishing to speak to an item on the agenda to do so at this time. No one addressed the Council.