HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Min 2008-06-18City of Seal Beach Planning Commission • Agenda of June 18, 2008
City of Seal Beach Planning Commission
Agenda for June 18, 2008
7:00 p.m.
Joint Training Session – Ethics
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
I.
ROLL CALL
II.
AGENDA APPROVAL
III.
By Motion of the Planning Commission, this is the time to:
(a) Notify the public of any changes to the Agenda;
(b) Re-arrange the order of the Agenda; and/or
(c) Provide an opportunity for any member of the Planning Commission, staff, or
public to request an item be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate
action.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
IV.
At this time, members of the public may address the Planning Commission
regarding any items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Planning
Commission, provided that the Planning Commission may undertake no action or
discussion unless otherwise authorized by law.
SCHEDULED MATTERS
V.
1. Presentation of Resolution 08-17 honoring Gary Roberts for his service on the
Planning Commission.
STUDY SESSION
VI.
2. AB1234 Ethics Training: Update on Local Government Law - presented by
Steve Flower, Assistant City Attorney, and Melissa Crosthwaite.
Topics: Conflict of Interest
Political Reform Act
Government Code Section 1090
Bias
The Brown Act
Public Records Act
ADJOURNMENT
VII.
To meeting of July 9, 2008, at 7:30 P.M.
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City of Seal Beach Planning Commission • Agenda of June 18, 2008
2008 Agenda Forecast
st
Jul 09
Conditional Use Permit 08-5 - River’s End Café, 15 1 St.
Conditional Use Permit 05-4 Indefinite Extension - CVS Pharmacy
Jul 23
Aug 06
Aug 20
Sep 03
Sep 17
Oct 08
Oct 22
Nov 05
Nov 19
Dec 03
Dec 17
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CITY OF SEAL BEACH
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PLANNING COMMISSION
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Minutes of June 18, 2008
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Joint Training Session - Ethics
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8 Chairperson Deaton called the regularly scheduled meeting of the Planning
9 Commission to order at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 18, 2008. The meeting was
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10 held in the City Council Chambers and began with the Salute to the Flag.
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ROLL CALL
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14 Present: Chairperson Deaton, Commissioners DeLay, Eager, and Massa-Lavitt.
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16 Also
17 Present: Department of Development Services
18 Lee Whittenberg, Director of Development Services
19 Jerry Olivera, Senior Planner
20 Steve Flower, Assistant City Attorney
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22 Absent: Commissioner Bello
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24 Mr. Whittenberg welcomed Commissioner Eager back to the Planning Commission
25 (PC), noting the he had previously served as the Planning Commissioner for District IV.
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AGENDA APPROVAL
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29 MOTION by Massa-Lavitt; SECOND by DeLay to approve the Agenda as presented.
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MOTION CARRIED: 4 – 0 – 1
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AYES: Deaton, DeLay, Eager, and Massa-Lavitt
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NOES: None
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ABSENT: Bello
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ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
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38 Chairperson Deaton opened oral communications.
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40 There being no one wishing to speak, Chairperson Deaton closed oral communications.
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These Minutes were transcribed from audiotape of the meeting.
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City of Seal Beach Planning Commission
Meeting Minutes of June 18, 2008
SCHEDULED MATTERS
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3 1. Presentation of Resolution 08-17 honoring Gary Roberts for his service on the
4 Planning Commission.
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6 Chairperson Deaton presented Resolution 08-17 to Gary Roberts honoring and
7 commending him for his service on the Planning Commission. She stated for the
8 record that she had received a large number of phone calls from members of the
9 community stating what a great job Mr. Roberts had done during his tenure on the
10 Commission. On behalf of the Commission, she thanked Mr. Roberts for his
11 commitment to serving the City.
12
13 Gary Roberts thanked everyone associated with the Planning Commission during his
14 time of service, and commended Lee Whittenberg for his assistance. He then noted
15 that he has learned a lot and found that he enjoys City politics and looks forward to
16 becoming involved again in the future.
17
STUDY SESSION
18
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20 2. AB 1234 Ethics Training: Update on Local Government Law - presented by Steve
21 Flower, Assistant City Attorney, and Melissa Crosthwaite.
22
23 Topics: Conflict of Interest
24 Political Reform Act
25 Government Code Section 1090
26 Bias
27 The Brown Act
28 Public Records Act
29
30 Chairperson Deaton noted that City Council Members were also in attendance tonight
31 for the Ethics Training.
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33 Mayor Antos called the adjourned meeting of the City Council to order at 7:12 p.m. on
34 Wednesday, June 18, 2008. The meeting was held in the City Council Chambers. He
35 called for the roll.
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ROLL CALL
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39 Present: Mayor Antos, Councilmembers Shanks and Sloan.
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41 Also
42 Present: David Carmany, City Manager
43 Linda Devine, City Clerk
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45 Absent: Mayor Pro-Tem Levitt and Councilmember Miller,
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City of Seal Beach Planning Commission
Meeting Minutes of June 18, 2008
1 Mayor Antos noted for the record that Mayor Pro-Tem Levitt and Councilmember Miller
2 had already completed the training online and have provided this information to the City
3 Clerk.
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5 Presentation
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7 The Assistant City Attorney, Steve Flower, commenced the AB 1234 Ethics Training
8 Course by introducing his colleague, Mellissa Crosthwaite, who would be assisting with
9 the training. He noted that each attendee was provided with a copy of the training
10 manual, which includes papers that provide greater detail on the topics to be covered
11 during tonight’s session. He added that a red Certificate of Completion has been
12 provided to each attendee for his or her signature tonight after completion of the
13 training.
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15 Mr. Flower began the discussion on Principals of Ethics in Public Service by stating that
16 due to the frequency of alleged ethical violations by public officials, the legislature felt
17 that ethics training should be made mandatory. He noted that tonight’s discussion
18 would help to reinforce information presented during previous training sessions and
19 then proceeded to review the materials presented on Pages 3 through 20 of the training
20 manual.
(Copy of AB 1234 Ethics Training Manual is on file for inspection in the Planning
21 Mr. Flower emphasized the importance of keeping public perception in
Department.)
22 mind and stated that conducting this type of training helps to create more confidence in
23 elected officials. He reviewed the universal ethical values as noted on page 6 and
24 discussed the basic principles of ethics.
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26 Mr. Flower continued by providing a review of the Four Groups of Ethics Laws,
27 beginning on Page 9:
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29 Group 1 Personal Financial Gain
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31 Mr. Flower emphasized the importance of timely submission of a thoroughly completed
32 Form 700 Statement of Economic Interests (SEI) for review by the City Attorney to
33 determine if there are any areas of a potential conflict of interest and to help create the
34 public perception of open disclosure. He noted the requirement for reporting any
35 campaign or behested contributions and direct or indirect ownership of real property
36 worth at least $2,000. He explained that if property owned by a public official is subject
37 to governmental decision or is located within 500 feet of another property subject to
38 governmental decision, there would be the presumption that the financial impact would
39 be direct and material. He continued by explaining the requirements for reporting all
40 sources of income including personal income, money from business interests, cash gifts
41 from donors, or other gifts. Mr. Flower then reviewed the exceptions to this requirement
42 and penalties under the Political Reform Act (PRA) as shown on Page 15. He ended by
43 advising that officials confer with the City Attorney when in doubt about a potential
44 conflict of interest.
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City of Seal Beach Planning Commission
Meeting Minutes of June 18, 2008
1 Mr. Flower then reviewed the information on Government Code Section 1090 &
2 Redevelopment Conflicts as shown on Pages 16-20, which prohibits public officials from
3 having any financial interest in government contracts. He ended with the exceptions to
4 this Code, as listed on Page 19.
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6 Group 2 Gifts, Perks & Misuse of Public Funds
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8 Ms. Crosthwaite began by reviewing the principals of serving as a public official and
9 noted that the acceptance of gifts or perks can create the appearance of bias on the
10 part of the official. She cautioned against accepting bribes in any form and indicated
11 that any gift or gifts totaling $50 or more must be reported. She reviewed the types of
12 items that would be categorized as gifts, and noted the definition of a gift as follows:
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14 “Any payment that confers a personal benefit on the recipient.”
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16 Ms. Crosthwaite then reviewed the Family and Holiday Exception to Gift Rules as well
17 as Other Exceptions to Gift Rules as shown on Pages 22-24. She then noted the rules
18 related to prohibition against receipt of honoraria and the guidelines for loans, use of
19 public resources for political purposes, and misuse of public funds as listed on pages
20 24-26.
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22 A 10-minute recess was taken and the meeting reconvened at 8:14
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24 Group 3 Governmental Transparency – The Brown Act & Public Records Act
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26 Mr. Flower then continued the training session with a review of The Brown Act as shown
27 in Pages 27-30. He noted the central rule for legislative or local agency meetings on
28 Page 27 and followed with a discussion of the following topics:
29
30 To whom does the Act apply
?
31 What is a meeting
?
32 What rules apply to meetings
?
33 What are the remedies for a violation
?
34
35 He then reviewed the meeting exceptions or “when a meeting is not a meeting” on
36 Pages 29-30. The materials on Rules Governing Meetings were then presented
37 providing a review of guidelines for regular, special, adjourned, and emergency
38 meetings. Mr. Flower then proceeded with agenda requirements and public comments
39 and participation at meetings as listed on pages 32-33.
40
41 Ms. Crosthwaite then conducted the discussion of the Public Records Act and reviewed
42 the materials as presented on pages 34-39. She noted that public officials should be
43 very cautious of the content of e-mails relating to city business, as these can be public
44 records. Chairperson Deaton stated that her understanding is that Yahoo refuses to
45 release e-mails. Ms. Crosthwaite noted that the court could still require that the
46 sender/recipient provide a copy. She added that currently there is a law suit pending,
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City of Seal Beach Planning Commission
Meeting Minutes of June 18, 2008
Tracy Press, Inc. v. City of Tracy, regarding home e-mail for elected officials.
Chairperson Deaton requested that an update on this case be provided when a
determination is made. Ms. Crosthwaite again cautioned that care be taken when
drafting e-mails, as even personal e-mails from home computers could be considered
public records. She then reviewed some common exemptions as shown on Page 37
and how to comply with requests for public records and the consequences for non-
compliance as outlined on Pages 38-39.
Group 4 Fair Process Laws - "Common Law" Conflicts & Due Process, Incompatible
Offices, and Campaign Contributions
Ms. Crosthwaite then continued with the presentation of the Due Process Law, An
Impartial Decision Maker, Common Law Doctrine Against Conflicts of Interest,
Campaign Contributions, Incompatible Offices, and Competitive Bidding as shown on
Pages 40-49. With regard to campaign contributions, she noted that when members of
appointed boards or commissions receive a contributions of $250 or more, they have a
conflict of interest for 12 months after receiving the contribution and cannot make a
decision related to the contributor during this time.
Ms. Crosthwaite ended the presentation by again encouraging that public officials
carefully consider how their words and actions will be perceived by the public, and
reiterated that when in doubt, they should ask for help.
ADJOURNMENT
Chairperson Deaton adjourned the Planning Commission meeting at 9:25 p.m.
Mayor Antos adjourned the City Council meeting at 9:25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
~'--"-I'-"'~ ~~~
Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secre'ary
Planning Department
APPROVAL
The Commission on July 9, 2008, approved the Minutes of the Planning Commission
Meeting of Wednesday, June 18, 2008. ~.
....
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