HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 1999-02-08
1-25-99 / 2-8-99
the Coastal Commission meeting of February in Coronado, there
are issues that still need to be resolved. As to the mayoral
position, Mayor Yost thanked those who supported him, offered
to do his best to be fair and run meetings as evenly as
possible, his view of the position is not so much of that of
a leader, rather as a facilitator where all views are heard.
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CLOSED SESSION
The City Attorney announced that the Council would meet in
Closed Session to discuss the three items identified on the
agenda and previously announced. The Council adjourned to
Closed Session by unanimous consent at 9:46 p.m. and
reconvened at 10:34 p.m. with Mayor Yost calling the meeting
to order. The City Attorney reported the Council had
discussed the three items identified, gave direction with
respect to the matter of Los Alamitos versus Seal Beach, no
other action was taken.
As a point of clarification, the City Clerk
language set forth in the City Charter with
reorganizations.
reported the
regard to Council
ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent
to adjourn the meeting at 10:35 p.m.
of the Council,
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S;:al
Approved:
k
Mayor
9"'4Vh( /)
City Clerk ~
Attest:
Seal Beach, California
February 8, 1999
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
session at 7:00 p.m. with Mayor Yost calling the meeting to
order with the Salute to the Flag.
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ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Yost
Councilmembers Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow
Absent: None
Also present: Mr. Till, City Manager
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development
Services
Mr. Badum, Director of Public Works/City
Engineer
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Chief Sellers, Police Department
Mr. Dorsey, Assistant to the City Manager
Ms. Beard, Director of Recreation and Parks
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
Introduction of the New South Wales General Manager was
postponed pending his arrival.
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PRESENTATIONS
MAYOR's BUSINESS BEAUTIFUL AWARD
Mayor ProTem Campbell said she carefully observed the
businesses located south of the freeway in consideration of
this award, and announced the selection of O'Malleys On Main
for promoting and enhancing the image of this wonderful City.
Mr. Kyle expressed appreciation for the Award, noted that as
this business was built it was with ideas and suggestions
from local people and craftsmen, and introduced his partner,
Mr. Tom Atkinson, who said their plan is that this business
will be long term and benefit their patrons and the City.
"SHOP SEAL BEACH" - CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Ms. Kim Masoner introduced herself as president of the Seal
Beach Chamber and Business Association, and reported a recent
contest entitled "Shop Seal Beach" that sought suggestions as
to how to encourage residents to shop in Seal Beach, more
than fifty suggestions were submitted. She announced the
winner, Ms. Allison Kline, manager of BJ's Pizzaria on Main
Street, the suggestion was to hold a locals night where all
of the stores and restaurants would offer discounts to
persons showing identification with a local address, this to
keep the businesses strong during the winter months and
reward valued customers. President Masoner presented Ms.
Kline with a check in the amount of $100.
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RESOLUTION NUMBER 4683 - HONORING TREVOR HART CROWELL /
RESOLUTION NUMBER 4684 - HONORING JAMES PATRICK CROWELL, II -
BOY SCOUT EAGLE AWARDS
Councilman Boyd stqted he had the pleasure of presenting
these Resolutions at the Eagle Scout Court of Honor on
Sunday, February 7th.
The City Council unanimously approved Resolution Number 4683
entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, HONORING AND COMMENDING TREVOR HART
CROWELL FOR ACHIEVING THE BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA EAGLE AWARD"
and
Resolution Number 4,684 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF ,THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, HONORING AND
COMMENDING JAMES PATRICK CROWELL, II, FOR ACHIEVING THE BOY
SCOUTS OF AMERICA EAGLE AWARD." By unanimous consent full
reading of Resolutions Numbered 4683 and 4684 was waived.
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APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Councilman Boyd requested Items "L" and "N" removed from the
Consent Calendar for separate consideration, councilmember
Campbell requested Items "M" and "Q" removed, a member of the
audience requested to speak to Council Items "E, F, and H"
and that Items "J, K, and Q" be removed from the Consent
Calendar. Mayor Yost received consensus of the Council to
allow the public to comment directly to Items "E, F, and H",
not to exceed five minutes per speaker, however, that the
items remain in the order as listed on the agenda. Boyd
moved, second by Campbell, to approve the order of the agenda
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as revised.
AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
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ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Yost declared Oral Communications open. Dr. David
Rosenman, 8th Street, said he was speaking unofficially for
the tree committee, commended the owner of O'Malleys for what
was done in the front of the restaurant, there was a large
tree, the roots were trimmed, the tree was saved, by doing so
it preserved the character of Main Street. He said the tree
committee is concerned with maintaining a leafy green canopy
because that is key to people coming here and coming back.
Mr. Gordon Shanks, Surf Place, said had spoken with some
members of the Council with regard to going back to a 6:45
p.m. meeting time for the Redevelopment Agency, it appears
that the separate function of the Agency and Council meetings
is understood, and requested that the meeting time be
agendized for the next Agency meeting. As to the agenda
format, Mr. Shanks noted a concern, minor at least, with a
specific closing hour for the Council meetings, citing a
possibility that the meetings could be manipulated to allow
one group more opportunity to speak than another, even though
the Council has been good about allowing public comments to
extend further. Mr. Ed Simmons, Seal Beach, said he read a
news article with regard to a plan to clean the local rivers,
the mayors of cities along the San Gabriel River working with
Long Beach, Seal Beach was not mentioned yet the River
empties into the area of Seal Beach bringing tons of trash
and debris onto the beach when it rains. Mr. Simmons stated
he was aware that when it rains the fence along the River is
locked by the County to not allow access to the roadway, he
then asked who is responsible for the trash that builds up
along the Seal Beach side of the jetty, with high tides the
trash is washed into the water and comes out onto the beach,
trash generated from other cities. He pointed out that there
are many kids that use the beach, go into the water, there
was a news article too about Long Beach and ot~er cities
closing their beaches because of dirty water, Seal Beach is
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not clean, said we are its major polluter, it needs to be
cleaned up, cited as an example that there are no trash
containers on the roadways near the Department of Water and
Power property, the area is not maintained, asked who is
supposed to, this trash is a great cost to the City. Mr.
Simmons claimed that there are now tons of sand inside both
jetties, the River may even fill with sand, all of this will
be a problem down line, things should be looked into. He
claimed that if the City puts one dollar into the beach it
will get back five, the City is now losing: Mr. Simmons was
requested to leave his telephone number. Mr. Stan Anderson,
Balboa Drive, made reference to the comments of Mr. Simmons
relating to the River, he a surfer as well, agreed that it is
important to get the water clean, he too noted the news
article reporting that Long Beach is networking with cities
along the River to discuss concerns and needs, yet Seal Beach
realizes most of the debris as a result of the northerly
cities. Seal Beach is a place that people like to visit, is
enjoyed by the residents, Main Street is welcoming, yet there
are infrastructure problems that need to be taken care of,
there is concern as to how it can be improved without using
General Fund monies, make it pay for itself. He said parking
on the Street has been a problem for the merchants over the
years, the beachgoers use it, that caused some years back
when the City raised the fees for the beach lots, rather than
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making more money the City made less because people then
parked in the business district and on the residential
streets, leaving the beach lots half full. Some years back
the Business Association had a parking committee that
addressed a number of things that are being discussed today,
at the same time the Main Street Specific plan study was
taking place, the conclusions basically the same as the
parking committee, one being the need for people to use the
beach parking lots. With the $40 million of infrastructure
repairs that need to be done in the next few years the best
facilities need to be utilized, Main Street needs to be
repaired, the small lots are being metered, it is hoped the
Council will look further at metering Main Street, a revenue
source of about $500,000 according to the Association study,
that would eliminate the drain on the General Fund, it is
believed this is the only city on the coast that does not
have parking meters, the citizens do not like meters but it
is time for the community to be more fiscally minded. There
being no further comments, Mayor Yost declared Oral
Communications closed.
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PRESENTATIONS - continued
By unanimous consent, of the Council, two additional
presentation items were considered inasmuch as they came
about after the preparation of the agenda.
RESOLUTION NUMBER 4686 - HONORING CHARLES R. WACKERMAN
Mayor Yost read in full Resolution Number 4686 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH,
CALIFORNIA, HONORING AND COMMENDING CHARLES R. WACKERMAN FOR
FORTY-TWO YEARS OF EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING MUSIC TO OUR
CHILDREN." Resolution Number 4686 was unanimously adopted by
the City Council.
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GENERAL MANAGER - NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA
Mayor Yost introduced Mr. viv May, General Manager, Mosman
Council, New South Wales, Australia. The City Manager noted
having had the opportunity to be in Australia last September
where he visited a number of cities and communities including
Mosman Council, just outside Sydney, he and General Manager
May had discussions and shared ideas, he met the Council,
this community is on the cutting edge of computer technology
and their City Hall is implementing a paperless mail system.
Mr. May expressed pleasure at being present, extended
greetings from the Mosman Council, said he felt certain the
exchange of ideas he and the City Manager had are of benefit
to the communities, there are great ideas around the world,
one must just look to find them, and the exposure of City
Managers and General Managers can only benefit the people
they serve. Mr. May presented a Mosman Council plaque to the
Mayor and Council. The City Manager pointed out that when
the Council was evaluating traffic calming methods for
Central Avenue, the round about photos shown were from Mosman
Council via E-mail.
COUNCIL ITEMS
Councilman Boyd said this item relates to a revised fee
schedule, after the fact building permits, and Code
enforcement fines, his request is for Council support to
provide direction to staff to begin development of a Code
Enforcement program where currently enforcement is done under
the threat of litigation with unnecessary legal costs, and
noted the memorandum provided by the Director of Development
Services outlining the steps to initiate this process. He
said his intent is that when there is a Code violation
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certain employees would be authorized to issue a citation, as
is done in other cities. Mr. Reg Clewley, Catalina Avenue,
said this is an inappropriate time to initiate discussion of
a new fee schedule, selective enforcement needs to be
addressed first, fines exist for specific'violations on a per
day basis up to $1,000, to which he made specific reference
to a Crestview property. He offered that it is unfair to
single out people now, write them a citation for something
they are building, while the Crestview violation has existed
for about ten years. He stated the building and zoning codes
need to be carried out, they are being violated at that same
location, not only is there the initial violations of the
rear and sideyard setbacks and the height limit, now on the
deck there has been installed a swing and cabana, further
violation of side and front yard setbacks, construction of
ten foot sideyard fences, that because of the grade, all of
this while the City refuses to accept a complaint on any of
the properties along Crestview, Catalina, and Surf Place.
Mr. Clewley contended that there is a serious problem with
regard to procedures and how they vary between the Planning
Commission and City Council, commissions and Councils are not
created equal nor does the Commissioners or Councilmembers
have equal say, these bodies are not run by the Chairman, the
Mayor, or Councilmembers, they are run by City staff. He
suggested no consideration of the proposal, rather, items
that have been held in abeyance for almost ten years, there
is an issue on Main Street where someone has refused to obey
the law yet there is no enforcement against the person, just
like Crestview and Catalina Avenues. The City Manager said
in his opinion an infraction system would be a good plan,
would facilitate Code enforcement and improve the
effectiveness of it, to the matter of after-the-fact building
violations, increasing the penalty would likely be a
deterrent, some cities charge as much as three to four times
the' building permit fee as a penalty, which is meant to be a
disincentive to bootleg construction. Councilman Boyd
explained that the proposal is a code enforcement program
with the potential of citation issuance, the other is a
penalty increase for an after-the-fact building permit.
Councilman Doane asked who would act as the Code enforcement
officer, there is really no one at this time. The Mayor said
he believed the intent was to deputize an existing member of
the staff, this is a proposal for staff to look into and
bring back to the Council. Councilmember Campbell asked if
Code enforcement would be part of the job description of the
yet to be hired Planning assistant or would it be through the
Police Department. As to a time frame for a report and
recommendation from staff, the Director of Development
Services offered that this would be a joint effort with the
City Attorney's office, that the process can be reviewed and
a tentative schedule then reported to Council.
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Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to direct staff to begin the
implementation of the process to design a Municipal Code
infraction process.
AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to direct staff to develop a
recommendation with regard to after-the-fact building
permits, and to bring forth a resolution to implement same in
a timely manner.
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AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
RESOLUTION NUMBER 4679 - PROCEDURAL RULES - CITY COUNCIL
MEETINGS
Councilman Boyd explained that the intent of this proposal
was to make the agenda more functional and user friendly,
eliminate the use of letterhead, and move the Agency meeting
time, the other provisions of the Resolution were adopted
prior to this Council. Councilmember Campbell made reference
to Section 6, waiver of Reading, suggesting that the word
"Council" be deleted from the last sentence to read "Any
member of the public..." The City Attorney agreed with the
suggestion, the public may request full reading, the Council
then may accept or reject the request. Councilmember
Campbell noted that pursuant to the wording of Charter
Section 412 waiver of reading by the Council requires a
unanimous vote, the waiver of reading requested by a member
of the public requires a majority vote. Mayor Yost
questioned the language of Section 9(c) "...shall not be
interrupted when speaking unless it be to call him to
order...", and Section 9(d), Closing Debate, asked if it does
not require a two-thirds vote to close debate, and objected
to close of debate by the councilmember moving the adoption
of an ordinance or resolution. Suggestion was made that
Section 9(d) be deleted. It was confirmed that except for
proposed minor changes the provisions of this Resolution have
existed for many years.
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The Council expressed no objection to allowing brief comments
from the public on this item. Mr. Reg Clewley, Catalina
Avenue, said if the intent is to change the format of the
Council agenda, the way the Planning Commission conducts its
meetings should also be looked at, they are different. He
also read the verbiage that is stated prior to an oral
communication period at each meeting. He spoke of the
Commission placing an item on their next agenda, yet that
meeting was canceled, it will not appear on the next agenda,
and staff has placed the item at the bottom of the list of
items to be agendized, the Commission seems to not have the
discretion to place items on a next agenda. Mr. Clewley
stated his desire to make a slide presentation at the next
Commission meeting, requesting that the projector and screen
be in place, the deck issue on crestview needs to be dealt
with in an expeditious manner. Councilman Doane said he had
no problem with the Resolution as presented, as Mr. Shanks
noted the issue of the Agency meeting time is not on this
agenda, and he too concurs that the Agency meeting should be
changed back to 6:45 p.m. not held at the conclusion of the
Council meeting. The City Attorney explained that will
require an action of the Agency not the City Council, noted
however that the next Agency meeting will be shown as 7:00
p.m. to actually take place at the conclusion of the Council
meeting, and by direction of the Council may be changed back
to 6:45 p.m. at that meeting, there is no need to include in
this motion. Agreement was indicated with the holding of
Closed Sessions at the end of the meetings.
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Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to adopt Resolution Number
4679 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ESTABLISHING PROCEDURAL RULES FOR
CONDUCT OF COUNCIL MEETINGS" as amended to reflect corrected
wording of Section 6 and deletion of Section 9(d). Direction
was also clarified that the Agency consider revising the time
of its meetings back to 6:45 p.m.
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AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
APPOINTMENTS
ORANGE COUNTY REGIONAL AIRPORT AUTHORITY
Doane moved, second by Boyd, to designate Councilmember
Campbell as the representative to the Orange County Regional
Airport Authority.
AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
ORANGE COUNTY LIBRARY BOARD
Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to designate Councilman Snow
as the representative to the Orange County Library Board.
AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
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SEAL BEACH CABLE COMMUNICATIONS FOUNDATION
Councilmember Campbell moved to appoint Ms. Audrey Kime as
the District Four appointee to the Seal Beach Cable
Communications Foundation. Mayor Yost seconded the motion.
AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
BLUE RIBBON BEACH COMMITTEE
Mayor Yost said given the comments of the last meeting there
appears to be momentum in the community with regard to beach
and water issues and there are members of the community that
have such expertise, he would prefer that a committee focus
on water quality rather than beach erosion as identified on
the agenda, this to be an informal committee, not a standing
committee, it would be preferred that there be some
involvement by the City of Long Beach, he has had some
contact with officials of the County of Los Angeles and City
of Long Beach inquiring if there is someone who would like to
participate for the purpose of continued communication.
Councilmember Campbell reported that she and Councilman Boyd
attended the Orange County Coast Association meeting, she was
given a video developed by the City of Newport Beach as to
how they are dealing with trash coming from upstream Santa
Ana River, Seal Beach a similar situation of upstream
pollution to this City's beach. Councilman Doane asked if
Mr. Simmons had been approached, the response of Mayor Yost
was that he had not as yet however will be, possibly the
interest of the City to put together such a committee can be
publicized by the press for anyone having interest, then the
Council can determine what the desired composition of the
committee will be. Councilman Boyd indicated support for
this idea, noted that there was a Beach Commission in the
early 1990's, it is believed they started to look at some of
the same issues, erosion, shoreline protection, water
quality, etc., his concern would be to bring community
members together and then have them frustrated because the
City is unable to do anything to accomplish their goals, the
issue here is money, his thought is that each member of the
Council speak to their residents, solicit interest, discuss
the issues, and then the Council can pursue any money that is
available.
Mayor Yost moved to open to the public an informal ad hoc
committee with interest in water quality, beach cleanliness,
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determine ways to achieve that and seek funding, the
committee to report to the City Council. Councilman Boyd
seconded the motion for the purpose of discussion.
Councilman Boyd suggested that the Mayor and himself develop
a mission for this group, give some direction, possibly with
three specific goals. Mayor Yost said the first would be to
achieve reasonable ways of measuring water quality, the
coliform counts, an accurate quantification of trash on the
beach, a financial accounting of how much is spent, second
would be a means of achieving reimbursement from other
entities, third would be to find ways to decrease the amount
of trash that appears on the City's beach, mostly in the form
of gross and floating waste, filtering is something he has
been working on, the fourth goal would be to interface with
the State, County, and larger agencies to assist with the
process of legislation with regard to keeping the beach
clean. Councilmember Campbell noted that there is a club at
Los Alamitos High School that monitors the quality of the
water once a month. Councilman Snow said he would hope that
the committee would consult the Orange County Sanitation
District on this problem, this was an issue discussed at a
recent District workshop at which he had asked if there is a
comparison between the San Gabriel and Santa Ana Rivers,
there was some hesitation in a response because the San
Gabriel has not been studied as has the Santa Ana, yet they
have a number of recommendations as to the cleaning of the
beaches, and he offered to provide further contacts in the
future. Councilman Doane said he had provided the Council
with a news article that he felt both Mr. Simmons and Mr.
Anderson had made reference to, the article making reference
to members of the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, that
a group that Mr. Cologna of Long Beach met with, and perhaps
a goal of this committee could be to see if Seal Beach could
become part of that group. Mayor Yost noted that he met with
Mr. Cologna, the Los Angeles Director of Public Works, and a
Los Angeles County Supervisor and requested the name of
someone who could participate on this committee for the
purpose of continued communication. Mayor Yost extended an
invitation to Councilman Boyd to prepare a mission statement
for the committee if it is felt it would be helpful. Dr.
Rosenman, 8th Street, noted that the Environmental Quality
Control Board touched on this issue a couple of times, a
representative from the Sanitation District and the
Surfriders Foundation spoke to the Board, it may be of value
to review the data of the Board first. With regard to the
EQCB data, the Director of Development Services acknowledged
that there is some information that was presented to the
EQCB, said there are a number of efforts regarding the San
Gabriel River involving federal agencies, they are being
tracked, the Army Corps is doing a basinwide water plan for
the entire San Gabriel River, the Los Angeles Regional Water
Quality Control Board is doing a report on water quality
issues in that area, the Environmental Protection Agency is
setting water quality standards for the River itself, those
to be in place sometime between now and year 2005, different
time frames for the various water quality standards,
considerably more information anticipated within the next six
to nine months. The Mayor raised the question as to whether
this issue should be placed in the hands of the EQCB or
remain under the City Council, to that a suggestion was made
that a report be forthcoming from the Development Services
Director as to the past involvement of the EQCB, it was noted
that the EQCB had expressed interest in this issue in the
past yet are also involved in other matters, it would be a
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policy decision as to whether there should be a separate body
to consider the issue, it is not certain whether the Council
would want to place this entire issue with the EQCB. Mayor
Yost indicated support for a separate body in that his
feeling is that there are separate attainable goals for these
specific issues that are different from those that typically
go before the EQCB. It was clarified that the intent for
this committee would primarily be pollution rather than beach
erosion, to which Councilmember Campbell said if it is to
deal with pollution the issue should come under the auspices
of the EQCB.
Mayor Yost reiterated his motion to establish an ad hoc
committee comprised of members of the public to deal
specifically with water quality issues involving the San
Gabriel River. Councilmember Campbell emphasized her
viewpoint that water quality should be under the EQCB.
Councilman Boyd stated again that the issues should be
defined, determine what goals are attainable, that members of
the Council should seek funding, obtain any data from the
EQCB, from knowledgeable professionals in the community, and
from Moffat & Nichol.
AYES:
NOES:
Doane, Snow, Yost
Boyd, Campbell
Motion carried
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8th STREET PARKING LOT
Councilman Boyd noted that the City is entering into a
parking management phase, the off-Main and Heritage Square
lots will soon be metered, and invited comments of the
Council with regard to directing staff to monitor the 8th
Street lot, check the soon to be metered lots for
utilization, look at the diversion of merchant parking from
those lots to the 8th Street lot, monitor the after hours
parking in the 8th Street lot and that a report be
forthcoming as to whether it is the merchants or public that
utilize the after hours parking, this for the purpose of
parking management for future parking needs. The Manager
asked if it would be satisfactory to do windshield checks
possibly three months after the meter installation with a
status report to Council. Councilman Boyd pointed out that
with the installation of meters in the two lots the merchants
were then directed to park in either the 8th Street or the
beach lots, his request would be that there be a windshield
check a couple of times a week for utilization, between 5:00
and lO:OO p.m. as well. Mr. Stan Anderson, Balboa Drive,
said he was not aware that the 8th Street lot was not going
to be metered, therefore weekend utilization should be looked
at also. It was the consensus of the Council to direct staff
to monitor the lot parking as requested.
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CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "J" thru "Q"
Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to approve the recommended
action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except
Items "J, K, L, M, N, and Q", removed for separate
consideration.
O. Proclaimed March 15th through March 21st as
"Save Your Vision Week."
P. Adopted Resolution Number 4685 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, URGING THE
GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATORS TO PROHIBIT THE
USE OF METHYL TERTIARY-BUTYL ETHER GASOLINE."
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By unanimous consent, full reading of
Resolution Number 4685 was waived.
AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
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ITEM "J" - WAIVER OF FULL READING
Mr. Reg Clewley, Catalina Avenue, noted that the waiver of
full reading is requested after the resolutions listed under
Council Items, (Eagle Scout commendations), they should be
read in full, in fact all resolutions should. He said the
resolution establishing procedures for Council meetings does
nothing, it does not address the Planning commission agenda,
inquired if the Commission has the prerogative to place an
item on the next agenda. Mr. Clewley claimed that over a
year ago the Council directed that an item be brought back to
them, staff agreed to do so in two meetings, it has not been
done, a date to do so has not been set, yet the illegal deck
issue needs to be dealt with. Mr. Clewley said he wanted all
resolutions read. Councilman Boyd noted the reference to
public comments, read the associated verbiage, explaining-
that that language has been revised to call for placement on
a 'future' rather than 'next' agenda, suggested that the
Planning Commission may likewise wish to revise their agenda
language, however agreed that there should be a timely
resolution of issues.
Boyd moved, second by Yost, to waive the reading in full of
all ordinances and resolutions and that consent to the waiver
of reading shall be deemed to be given by all Councilmembers
after reading of the title unless specific request is made at
that time for the reading of such ordinance or resolution.
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AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
ITEM "K" - DEMANDS ON TREASURY
Mr. Clewley, Catalina Avenue, objected to paying $l20,000 for
a consultant to tell the City which sidewalks need to be
fixed, a lot of sidewalks, curbs and gutters could have been
repaired for that amount of money. Also objected to payment
of $120 for The Abbey ball caps. Councilman Boyd said he did
not see where $120,000 was paid for consultant services to
identify sidewalks in need of repair, and clarified that the
total expenditures for the past two week period is
$126,Ol8.72, that is not for consulting services.
Boyd moved, second by Yost, to approve regular demands
numbered 22198 through 22277 in the amount of $126, 018.72,
payroll demands numbered 2417 through 2558 in the amount of
$145,107.89, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the
Treasury for same.
AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
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ITEM "L" - WEAPONS SUPPORT FACILITY - RESTORATION SITES
Councilman Boyd noted that this is a report from staff with a
recommendation to receive and file, there are usually two or
three on an agenda, this item is about forty-five pages, his
suggestion would be that staff not place the entirety of such
reports in the agenda packet, rather, the staff report
provide a summary description, discussion, fiscal impact, and
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recommendation, the actual report remain in the City offices
for review. He said although he is interested in the Weapons
Station, to provide such a lengthy report for the movement of
dirt from one location to another is felt to be unnecessary,
a summary should be sufficient. Councilmember Campbell
stated she wanted to receive full copies. The City Manager
advised that a summary would make the preparation of the
agenda packet easier yet staff does not want to provide
insufficient information either. The Director of Development
Services said in this case the request is for the Mayor to
sign a letter in response to a particular document thus staff
provided backup information so that the comments in the
letter would be understood, and with regard to attachments
there is notation that those documents are on file in the
City offices, also, often there will be an executive summary
that provides an overview of' the subject matter. He noted
that some of the issues at the Weapons Station are quite
technical however could have a future impact on the City,
staff looks at this in the long term with regard to site
cleanup, etc. and what might happen some forty to fifty years
from now if the base should ever close and the areas are not
properly remediated. Staff attempts to provide a reasonable
amount of information as background to an issue.
Councilmember Campbell reiterated her request for full
copies, Mayor Yost requested full copies as well, and
Councilman Doane noted that when something is pulled from the
Consent Calendar the background information is necessary.
Councilman Snow said from his experience with the Weapons
Station he would agree that the documents should just be on
file at City Hall. Councilman Boyd again requested that,
from his personal standpoint, the number of pages of receive
and file reports be limited as best they can.
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Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to receive and file the staff
report relating to the Draft Extended Removal Site Evaluation
Report, Installation Restoration Sites 40 and 70, Naval
Weapons Station, Seal Beach, that the Mayor be authorized to
sign the response letter thereto, and that a copy of the
letter be forwarded to the Environmental Quality Control
Board.
AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
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ITEM "N" - ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS - CITY and
REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY
Councilmember Campbell referred to page thirteen, second
paragraph of the Redevelopment Agency Statement, Lease
Payments Receivable Under Operating Lease, to which the City
Manager explained the statement is in reference to Zoeter
Place, the prior leaseholder. Councilmember Campbell
questioned why the interest owed would be waived in 2004, to
that the Manager said this property was in a distressed
situation, the Agency was not receiving income and was
obligated to payment of the debt to the School District, this
was a negotiated transaction that benefitted the Agency as
well as the party that the Agency had a strong interest in
entering into agreement with, in 2004 the master leaseholder
has the option to acquire the City's interest in the property
at fair market value. Councilmember Campbell referred to
page fourteen, note twelve, Residential Mortgage Revenue
Bonds, inquiring if the Bonds are in default. The Director
of Administrative Services confirmed that they are, the way
these bonds are structured the interest is not catching up to
the bond holder payments, explaining that there is only one
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outstanding mortgage that can not sustain the bonds, this is
in no way reflective upon the City or the Redevelopment
Agency, it is a separate entity, and there is no obligation
for the City or the Agency to make these bonds whole.
Councilmember Campbell referred to the Financial Statement of
the City, page five of the introduction, inquired how many of
the forty part-time employees are at City Hall, the
Administrative Services Director replied about ten, it was
confirmed that the forty seasonal part-time employees are in
the Lifeguard Department, also that the vacant positions in
the Planning and Lifeguard Departments will be filled. Under
the title of Reporting Entity, Councilmember Campbell noted
the last sentence, "the City may impose its will on the
component units, including the ability to appoint, hire,
reassign or dismiss management", to which she asked if the
"City" is the Council, Manager or both, the reply was the
City Council. Councilmember Campbell then directed
attention to page eighteen, the Organizational Chart, noted
that the Police Department was not shown, also, the City
Clerk is shown as stemming from the City Council, that is
incorrect as that is a separately elected position and should
be shown as directly from the people of Seal Beach. On page
eight she made reference to the statement "implemented an
automated complaint management system for the department", to
which she inquired as to what department, the reply was
Public Works, to which councilmember Campbell inquired as to
the system. The Director of Public Works said it is to
service inquiries from the public requesting information,
explaining there is a computer program that routes an
incoming call into a form to a specific individual, that item
stays on the books until it is resolved or there is a
response. Councilmember Campbell noted the item on page nine
with regard to the 4th of July celebration and inquired of
Councilman Boyd the status of funding for the upcoming year,
to which he responded that there has been a subcommittee
meeting of representatives of the participating cities, a
search for funding has begun to allow Seal Beach to
participate financially, to reduce the burden on the tax
payer with private funding, another meeting to be held in
about a month. Councilmember Campbell said she would pose
any further questions directly to the Finance Director. BOy~
moved, second by Yost, to receive and file the Annual
Financial Statements for the City and Redevelopment Agency.
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AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
ITEM "N" - EQCB COMMENT LETTER - RULE 1401 - SOUTH COAST AIR
QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Councilman Boyd stated this is the same issue as Item "L", a
receive and file item however the Council did not receive the
backup report consisting of sixty-eight pages as a result of
good judgement by the Development Services Director. Boyd
moved, second by Snow, to receive and file the staff report
relating to the comment letter from the Environmental Quality
Control Board to proposed Amended Rule 1401, New Source
Review of Toxic Air Contaminants staff report and Draft
Environmental Assessment, South Coast Air Quality Management
District.
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AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
ORDINANCE NUMBER l443 - DAYTIME CURFEW AMENDMENTS
The City Attorney explained that the existing ordinance
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relating to curfew was adopted about two years ago, drafted
by the District Attorney with input from the police
departments in Orange County, there were some comments of
opposition, however the Council adopted the curfew
regulations on a trial basis. He noted that the ordinance
was patterned after that of the City of Monrovia, their
ordinance subsequently challenged by a home schooling group
in Virginia, the trial court recently ruled to throw out the
ordinance because of certain amendments to the Education
Code, specifically Section 48205, that were not included in
the ordinance, the judge however made no ruling on the
constitutionality of the ordinance or preemption issue, both
of those issues having been raised before this Council, the
basis for the ruling was that Section 48205 was amended in
1998 and the Monrovia ordinance did not include those
provisions. The Attorney stated an ordinance amendment has
been drafted for Council consideration to include the
provisions of 48205 as exceptions to the daytime curfew,
reasons for minors to be absent from school. Mr. Reg
Clewley, Catalina Avenue, stated this ordinance needs to be
tightened, as stated, the ordinance on which it was modeled
has been thrown out, there is need to monitor the gathering
of minors of three or more, there needs to be a dress code
which would prohibit any gang-like attire during daylight
hours, and minors out of school need to wear a well displayed
pass for the police to read at a distance. Mr. Gordon
Shanks, Surf Place, recalled his opposition to the curfew
ordinance when first considered, it may sound reasonable but
he still opposes it. He said first of all this is a beach
community, there are year-round schools in surrounding
communities, the school district serving Seal Beach is on a
semester basis, this is not necessarily a police function, it
should be a concern of the school officials, they are the
ones who want to raise school attendance, also, they know who
the truants are, most problems would likely be with kids from
outside the school district and during the summer months.
Mr. Shanks spoke for less, not more, laws, get rid of them,
they are not enforced unless someone wants to make an
example. Suggestion was made to possibly table this until
the next meeting to allow a response from the Police Chief as
to how many juveniles were detained prior to the curfew
ordinance and how many since enactment. It was pointed out
that the Main Street merchants supported the ordinance
because there were problems, there were problems at the
beach, there where youths from other cities like Long Beach
that has the daytime curfew coming to Seal Beach, the fact
that Seal Beach no longer has the problems may be because
Seal Beach now has the ordinance too. Councilman Boyd
attributed the fact that there is no longer a problem with
juveniles in groups of three or more to the presence of a
police substation at the pier, it is not necessarily the
ordinance that resolved the problem.
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Boyd moved, second by Doane, to continue this matter until
the next meeting. The City Attorney acknowledged that the
Council has the discretion to continue this item, however
explained that the proposed ordinance provides more
exceptions to the existing ordinance, given the comments at
this meeting it is possible the Council may wish to
reconsider the entire ordinance. He mentioned that should
the motion pass, he would advise the Chief, in view of the
Monrovia ordinance, that the existing ordinance not be
enforced until such time as a change is made. The City
Attorney noted the options of the Council would be to
continue this matter or hold first reading and bring back the
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entire ordinance at the next meeting.
councilman Boyd withdrew his prior motion, moved to approve
first reading of Ordinance Number 1443 entitled "AN ORDINANCE
OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH AMENDING SECTION l5-5.6 OF THE CODE
OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH RELATING TO EXCEPTIONS TO DAYTIME
CURFEW REGULATIONS." Mayor Yost requested that the motion be
amended to request a report from the Police Chief as to
curfew statistics, bring back the existing ordinance for
consideration, and seconded the motion as amended.
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AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Yost
None
Snow
Motion carried
If the existing ordinance is to be reviewed, Councilmember
Campbell recommended that the Los Alamitos School District be
notified thereof at the earliest time, as they strongly
supported adoption of the ordinance, and requested to be
copied on the written notification.
PETITION - POLICE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION
The City Manager reported that as part of the recent
reorganization of the Police Department a team building
program has been ongoing, as a result there is a request by
the Police Sergeants, Lieutenants, and Captains to form a
Management Association. Presented to Council is a Petition
for Recognition of Bargaining Unit and Employee Organization,
the recommendation is for the Council to afford that
recognition. To a question of Councilmember Campbell, the
response was an uncertainty as to the identity of the
individual or firm associated with the mailing address
contained in the Petition. Councilman Boyd inquired if the
entire Council packet relating to this matter had been
distributed to the public as there were attachments to the
petition containing information felt to be confidential to
those petitioning employees. The City Clerk responded that
she was uncertain as the petition had not been filed in her
,office. Members of the press removed the referenced pages
from their agenda packets and returned them to the City
Clerk. Boyd moved, second by Campbell, to recognize the
Police Management Association bargaining unit and employee
organization.
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AYES:
NOES:
Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow, Yost
None Motion carried
CITY MANAGER REPORT
with the coming of St. patrick's Day on March 17th, the City
Manager reported that the Police Department is scheduling a
meeting with tavern owners on Main Street to assure a safe
and sane St. Patrick's Day and that their businesses are
successful as well, there is considerable cooperation. He
reported the parking meters are scheduled to go into the off-
Main lots on wednesday.
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CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
The City Attorney reported a court appearance last week
requesting a prompt hearing date relating to the lawsuit
filed by the City of Los Alamitos on the Bixby project, the
plaintiff opposed claiming they did not have adequate time
inasmuch as Seal Beach did not prepare the administrative
record in a timely manner, the judge determined and
complimented the City for its timely preparation of the
administrative record, a compliment to the City Clerk, the
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judge then denied a motion to continue the matter, the
hearing date is May 19th.
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ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Yost declared Oral Communications open. Mr. Reg
Clewley, Catalina Avenue, referred back to Resolution Number
4679, the Council procedures, said of concern is that he does
not have the opportunity for rebuttal before a vote is taken
on an issue, it is said the rules are being expanded to allow
the public, commission, or Council to ask that a matter be
placed on a future agenda rather than the next agenda, that
discretion then placed with the staff, it should be the next
agenda. Mr. Clewley said that is a problem in that the
Planning Commission requested that the matter of rear yard
decks be placed on the February 3rd agenda, that meeting was
canceled, the issue is not planned for the February 17th
agenda, stated he has a slide presentation for the 17th
meeting, emphasizing that he wanted the item on that
Commission agenda. There being no further comments, Mayor
Yost declared Oral Communications closed.
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COUNCIL CONCERNS
Councilman Snow reported his attendance at a recent
Sanitation District meeting during which a subject was
brought up and discussed, similar to the report of the City
Manager on January 25th, with regard to deferral of projects
which could mean additional risk, delay of rehab and
replacement said to increase the risk of failure and cost of
rehab, delay of capacity related projects increases risk of
permit violations, spills, and jeopardizes labor. He said it
is good to see that the City Manager is in the same league as
the Orange County Sanitation District. Councilman Doane
announced the new Greater Seal Beach Business Directory,
complicated the publication, it is being placed in the public
safety offices and will eventually be distributed to all of
Seal Beach. Councilmember Campbell announced that Mrs.
Fillman of the Planning Department has been moved to the
Police Department, her association with Planning has been for
twelve years, she did fine work, to which Councilmember
Campbell noted that she will be missed and wished her
success. She pointed out that the associate planner position
has remained vacant for seven months, Mrs. Fillman has been
moved, Bixby and Hellman will soon be going through the City,
there is no one in the Planning Department with the exception
of the Director that have any history, of concern to her will
be the legal documents, not with what is written rather what
is not written, there are also concerns with Code
enforcement. Councilmember Campbell said she hoped this does
not mean that Planning will be contracted, the loss of two
people with knowledge of background is critical. The Manager
responded that that Department will be staffed and most
likely do an even better job than in the past. Councilmember
Campbell mentioned prior discussion with legal counsel
relating to the engineering of driveways for the Bixby
project, to which she inquired of the City Manager when that
will be dealt with. The response of the Manager was that it
is being worked on with the traffic engineer through Bixby.
Councilmember Campbell noted at the last meeting she had
alluded to discussion at the League of the issues facing
cities in the next twenty years, besides infrastructure,
which is felt to be the number one problem facing cities,
following in the order of importance was traffic congestion,
housing, education, the EI Toro airport conversion, problems
for the elderly, water, and blighted neighborhoods.
Councilman Boyd announced his upcoming town hall meeting on
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March 9th in the Council Chambers to discuss three primary
issues, the budget, how the City spends its tax dollars,
public works projects including some beach issues, and an
update of legislative issues at the federal, State, and
County levels. The budget is forthcoming, there is need for
further strategic planning, for capital improvements, the
needs of the City, as well as the financial demands and means
of meeting those. He requested this placed on the agenda,
that two members of the Council work on those issues with
staff. He mentioned that the Council receives bi-weekly
reports from the City Manager which assists the Council in
reaching its goals, he would request that that continue.
Councilman Boyd referred to the Orange County Fire Authority,
the agency with which the City contracts for fire and EMS
services, the Authority undertaking an equity study to
determine if all members of the Fire Authority are paying
their fair share, paying too much or too little, this is a
contentious issue, some cities in the likes of Irvine pay as
much as $5 million too much, other pay as much as a million
dollars too little, at a recent Board meeting language was
crafted to keep the study from going awry, under the current
structure Seal Beach will have no net loss or gain, yet it
will likely be another four to six months before there is a
final decision by the Authority. Updates to the Council will
continue. with regard to City Manager updates, Councilmember
Campbell was assured she will be receiving them. Mayor Yost
reported that the Coastal Commission approved the findings
for the Hellman project at their meeting in San Diego,
dealings with the Coastal Commissj,on are now concluded, there
are two lawsuits pending on the property, this is the best
project for that property to ever come before the City and
the City has wholeheartedly supported it. He noted inquiry
by some residents as to the showing of Turner classic movies
and the travel channel by Comcast, and asked how such
requests are dealt with. The Manager suggested they be
forwarded to his office and they will in turn be forwarded to
Comcast, the decision is up to Comcast. Mayor Yost offered
that possibly a petition or letters of interest in certain
programs maybe helpful. Councilmember Campbell said she has
had requests for Fox Sports 2. Councilman Doane mentioned
that he has just realized that the cable contract for Leisure
World is different in so far as Leisure World does not get
certain premium channels as do other areas of the community.
In response to an inquiry of Councilmember Campbell with
regard to the Comcast billings no longer being itemized, the
Assistant to the City Manager said to his knowledge the lack
of itemization was an error and that they will be returning
to that format, however have not provided a time line to do
so. with regard to the balcony and encroachment issue on
Main Street, Mayor Yost requested that the Planning
Commission take up that issue to determine if there needs to
be a change in the ordinance and whether this is a precedent
that is desired to be set. Councilman Boyd agreed that that
issue needs to be addressed, however expressed his belief
that it is the Public Works Director that makes the decisions
as to whether or not an encroachment into the public right-
of-way is allowed. Mayor Yost said he suggested the
Commission as that is the body who traditionally reviews
plans, his intent is to make such an issue easier should
something similar come to the City in the future,
specifically along thoroughfares, walkways, areas enjoyed by
the public. The Director of Public works said most things
within the public right-of-way are under the Public Works
Department, and offered to work with the Planning Director to
see if the issues can be resolved.
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2-8-99 / 2-22-99
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CLOSED SESSION
The City Attorney stated pursuant to Section 54956.9(a) of
the Government Code, the Council would meet in Closed Session
to discuss existing litigation, cited on ,the agenda as the
Lupash case, OCSC Case 70 36 62, and pursuant to Section
54956.9(b), discuss three potential cases. By unanimous
consent, the Council adjourned to Closed Session at 9:35 p.m.
and reconvened at 11:21 p.m. with Mayor Yost calling the
meeting to order. The City Attorney announced that the
Council had discussed the items on the agenda, gave direction
to the City Attorney, and no other action was taken.
ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to adjourn the meeting at 11:23 p.m.
Approved:
t
Attest:
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Seal Beach, California
February 22, 1999
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
session at 7:02 p.m. with Mayor Yost calling the meeting to
order with the Salute to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Yost
Councilmembers Boyd, Campbell, Doane, Snow
Absent:
None
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Also present: Mr. Till, City Manager
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development
Services
Mr. Badum, Director of Public Works/City
Engineer
Chief Sellers, Police Department
Mr. Dorsey, Assistant to the City Manager
Ms. Beard, Director of Recreation and Parks
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Mayor Yost requested that Item "G", Professional Services
Agreement, be tabled. Question was raised if the intent is
to table or to discuss in Closed Session. The City Attorney