HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 2003-10-13
9-22-03 I 10-13-03
immediately went to Gana1 Lumber to obtain E1mers white
school glue which is what is used, diluted by ten parts water
to one part E1mers white glue, it is not toxic. Councilman
Antos countered that what he read was the material safety
data sheet for E1mers white glue, to that Mayor Campbell
stated that the schools would not allow children to use
something toxic. Councilman Yost said he would not be
present for the October 13th meeting for professional
reasons.
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CLOSED SESSION
No Closed Session was held.
ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to adjourn the meeting until October 13th at 6:30 p.m. to
meet in Closed Session if deemed necessary. By unanimous
consent, the meeting was adjourned at 10:20 p.m.
clerk
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Attest:
Seal Beach, California
October 13, 2003
The regular adjourned meeting scheduled for
date was canceled due to the lack of Closed
of con ideration.
6:30 p.m. this
Session items in
Seal Beach, California
October 13, 2003
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The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
session at 7:00 p.m. with Mayor Campbell calling the meeting
to order with the Salute to the Flag.
R~LC~L
Present:
Mayor Campbell
Counci1members Antos, Doane, Larson
10-13-03
Absent:
Counci1member Yost
Larson moved, second by Antos, to excuse the absence of
Councilman Yost from this meeting.
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AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
Also present:
Mr. Bahorski, City Manager
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Mr. Whittenberg, Director of Development
Services
Mr. Dancs, Director of Public Works/City
Engineer
Captain Schaefer, Police Department
Mr. Vukojevic, Deputy City Engineer
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Mayor Campbell requested that Items "K" and "L" be removed
from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration, and
Councilman Antos requested that Items "Q" and "S" be removed.
Antos moved, second by Doane, to approve the order of the
agenda as revised.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Antos, Campbell, D9ane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
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ANNOUNCEMENTS
Councilmember Antos mentioned that he spoke with Councilman
Yost with regard to the Department of Water and Power
property and the pending development application for that
site, and since the property owners are not holding community
meetings with regard to their plans he and Councilman Yost
will be hosting meetings at the Marina Community Center and
the Mary Wilson Library Senior Center, Councilman Yost will
provide a power point presentation relating to the history of
the property, comments and concerns will be taken, the
application process will be explained, and said he would seek
the cooperation of the press to advise the public of the
meetings once they are scheduled.
PROCLAMATIONS
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Captain Schaefer read excerpts from the Proclamation of "Red
Ribbon Week" designated from October 18th through October
26th, 2003. The Captain explained that Red Ribbon pins had
been provided the Council and staff, this recognition
supports a commitment on the part of school children, police
officers, and community leaders to be drug and alcohol free,
the desire is that all will wear the Red Ribbons next week to
show support for that cause. The Mayor noted that the
concern i~ not only with street drugs but with prescription
drugs as well, which can happen to anyone.
Mayor Campbell proclaimed the month of October as "National
Breast Cancer Awareness Month" and October 17th as "National
Mammography Day."
Doane moved, second by Antos, to so proclaim.
10-13-03
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
PRESENTATION - SOUTH COAST AIR OUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT
Mr. Bill Craycroft, Mission Viejo Councilmember and Governing
Board Member of the SCAQMD, expressed his pleasure to
represent Seal Beach and its residents, Orange County has
sent a representative to the District for a number of years
and this year he felt that a direct presentation as to what
the District is doing and what lies ahead would be
appropriate.
* The motto of the SCAQMD is 'Cleaning the Air That
We Breathe,' in the days of Spanish explorer Juan
Cabri1lo he dubbed the San Pedro Bay the Bay of Smokes,
that was due to the inland fires and the invisible
ceiling in the sky;
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* passing forward to the 21st century one can see the
automobiles, manufacturing, industries where air quality
went down rapidly, in response to the situation four
counties now make up the District and due to legislation
SB 250 there was creation of the South Coast Air Quality
District which comprises Riverside, San Bernardino, Los
Angeles and Orange counties;
*
With regard to air pollution forms in the basin, the
unique geography acts as a bowl keeping pollution from
blowing away, the ocean breezes from the coast push the
smog towards the mountains where it is trapped by a warm
layer of air, there is a lid over the bowl which creates
a perfect breeding ground for smog;
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* Smog has many ingredients, ozone and the presence of
sunlight, oxygen reacts with Nitrogen Oxides and other
volatile organic compounds to produce ozone, in
addition, the most damaging fine particles, smaller than
a human hair, accumulate in the lungs from the air that
is breathed, the ultra fine particles are emitted by
diesel powered vehicles, power plants, and other
industrial manufacturing processes, they travel deep
into the lungs, the Agency has identified over one
hundred forty-five airborne cancer causing substances;
* A recent AQMD study determined that seventy-one percent
of cancer causing pollutants come from mobile sources
such as cars, diesel powered trucks, trains, and ships,
and if one looks closely at the coastline it can be seen
that the actual plume of smog and air quality begins off
the coast where the ships are coming in to the ports of
San Pedro and Long Beach, that is where the air quality
deterioration begins;
*
Studies continue to link the poor air quality to several
health risks, shortness of breath, inflammation of lung
tissue, and respiratory cell damage, there are two and a
half million people in California that suffer from
asthma, about five hundred thousand of those are the
children, the American Lung Association has linked one
particular air pollution to lung cancer and one
investigation found a possible link between brain cancer
and air pollution;
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10-13-03
*
The AQMD represents over eight hundred scientists,
planners, engineers, and inspectors, the major objective
of the Agency is reducing toxic diesel emissions,
heading the efforts of the AQMD is a twelve member Board
of Directors including a Supervisor from each of the
four counties, five City Council members, and three
appointees, Supervisor Silva represents the Orange
County Board of Supervisors, and he represents Seal
Beach and the other thirty-three cities in Orange
County;
* Major accomplishments of the District include but are
not limited to developing and revising the Air Quality
Management Plan, formulating mobile source offset
programs, introducing the mobile air toxic exposure
study to establish the baseline levels of air toxics,
and in 2004 there will be a MATES III study;
* Some of the problem sources in Orange County range from
light duty trucks to certain consumer products, if the
air pollution problems in Orange County were not
addressed as they have been over the years through
aggressive emission control programs, Orange County
would not have the lifestyle it has today complete with
prominent destinations and gracious living, uncontrolled
smog would have driven away residents, industries, jobs,
and tourists;
*
The summer was experienced with an unhealthy air quality
due to an unusually high air pressure system and the
resulting inversion layer and on July 11th, 2003 there
was a first stage one episode in the eastern part of the
District, the first in five years, remarkable
improvement has been made over the past twenty-five
years with air quality however unfortunately this year
it was seen to begin to turn in the opposite direction,
there have been fifty-four federal one hour violations,
that number may now be at sixty-nine, to date versus a
total of forty-nine in all of last year, currently
headed the wrong direction, and although bad air quality
has been experienced it should also be noted that
substantial progress has been made, the number of
unhealthful air days has been lowered by seventy-five
percent, and toxic air levels have been dramatically
reduced;
* They have been able to reduce the amount of lead,
nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide,
yet their work is far from done, additional federal
mandates for ozone and particulate matter will need to
be met in the future, and the help of the City will be
needed;
*
One of the things included in the Air Quality Management
Plan this year is the possibility of building a truck
toll road apart from the one that was looked at for the
Alameda Corridor Study that would run from Long Beach
and San Pedro to Mira Loma and Rancho Cucamonga, there
is a great deal of interest in it and it is believed
that it would be extremely effective in reducing the air
quality situation;
* This year the Board has committed most of the penalty
monies to fund three major health initiatives, seventy
percent of the penalty monies will be set aside for the
10-13-03
clean school bus programs, an asthma and outdoor air
quality consortium composed of researchers from major
universities in Southern California is being organized,
and a brain tumor and air pollution foundation is being
established to further study the relationship between
air pollution and cancer;
*
The AQMD is currently involved in some notable
initiatives, they offer assistance to local governments
and a complaint resolution, assistance to cities in
training their code enforcement officers regarding air
quality, and they would be willing to work with the
Planning Commission if the City Manager and staff so
desire, their AB 2766 technical assistance program
assists local government in funding clean air projects
and vehicles in the community;
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* To date thirty-five school districts have been awarded
funds to replace nearly three hundred school buses and
more than fifteen hundred school buses have been
retrofitted with emission traps, that is hoped will trap
the small particles coming from the diesel school bus
engines, funding from their Technology Advancement
office helps private companies, local universities, and
others in the development of low and zero emission clean
technologies, there has been success with the taxicabs
out of John wayne Airport that are alternate fuel
vehicles, street sweepers,-dump trucks also, a number of
cities are working with their trash haulers to utilize
alternate fuel vehicles;
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*
Some of the areas where policy makers can help, make
clean air a high priority when making decisions on local
government City operations, request contractors to use
clean vehicles and materials, choose cleaner lawnmowers,
paints, personal products, and alternative fuel
vehicles, and if a smog problem is seen a call can be
placed to 1-BOO-cut smog and the District staff will
follow up, local government is encouraged to have an Air
Quality Element in their General Plan, staff should have
received a CEQA process that the District is assisting
with, it is not a new rule or requirement, simply
something with which the District offers their support,
it is important that the Council and Planning Commission
be aware of air quality issues as they review
development transportation projects in Seal Beach, and
extended an invitation to attend the AQMD monthly
Governing Board meetings.
Mr. Craycroft introduced his assistants, Deborah Reed and
Barbara Beck.
Noting her California residency of thirty years, Mayor
Campbell mentioned her amazement at how much the air quality
has been improved over that period of time, and for all the
progress that has been made there is still a long way to go,
it can be observed by simply leaving ones car sit for a few
days. Mr. Craycroft said the largest contribution today is
from mobile sources, seventy-one percent is from the diesel
trucks on the freeway, those are regulated by the State Air
Resources Board and the Federal EPA, the District has some
goals that the EPA and State has given them to meet yet the
goals can not be met without some help from those agencies,
they are the regulatory agencies but there are no
requirements that trucks burn green diesel or low sulfur
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10-13-03
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fuel. The District is working hard to obtain the City and
staff support for the Air Quality Management Plan and get the
Air Resources Board to move faster to make certain that air
quality does not go the other direction. Councilman Doane
inquired if for a long time the diesel vehicles were exempt,
to that Mr. Craycroft responded that they still are, that is
an objective that they are concerned with. Councilman Larson
asked what cars are required to have the annual inspection
for air pollution, his understanding is that some of the
small trucks do not get inspected. Mr. Craycroft said he did
not have the details of the Department of Motor Vehicles
requirements for annual or renewal checkups, there is however
some laser technology where instead of taking ones car for
the DMV two year renewal the laser can be set up on freeway
on- and off-ramps and check emissions on a daily basis.
Councilman Larson said it is disturbing to see the trucks
pumping out fumes, and noted that his eighteen year old Volvo
is checked annually because of its age and he has been told
by the inspectors that it is cleaner than any car on the
road, for a period of time there was a requirement to even
have new cars checked, one in a hundred thousand failed. To
that Mr. Craycroft offered that one of the objectives of the
laser testing at intervals from the freeway ramps is that it
would only cost a couple of dollars instead of the usual $65,
the problem is that there is an economic system involved in
the $65 check. Members of the Council mentioned that at one
point in time the mountains could be seen clearly, even the
fire breaks, that is no longer the case. Councilman Antos
asked who regulates the petroleum cracking plants in Long
Beach, and Mr. Craycroft responded that those are considered
stationery sources, the Air Quality Management District does
that, and Rule 1105.1 will be on the next meeting agenda
where further reductions of the amount of ammonia and other
pollutants from the plants will be requested, there is one
plant north of Seal Beach where there it litigation due to
some problems over the years. Appreciation was extended to
Mr. Craycroft for his presentation.
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PUBLIC COMMENTS
Mayor Campbell declared Public Comments to be open. Ms.
Joyce parque, Seal Beach, mentioned an election this past
week which she deemed to be historic at which a new Governor
was elected, and predicted that things will get better. Ms.
parque noted also that there will be a local election in
March for two Council seats, and if the issues are discussed
now the candidates will then be educated when town hall
meetings are held for College Park East, College Park West,
and Leisure World, people need to be involved so that a
change can be made in the City, the reason that change is
needed is that at present there are more revenues coming into
the City yet there are less services, she would suggest that
the taxpayers ask the candidates where the money is going,
other issues that could be discussed is going back to a five
day work week including the Police Department, if the Police
Department wants to be like the firemen then maybe that
should be bid out, she would like to talk about the benefits
package, pension funds, the Manager has a perk program that
the taxpayers should know about, the beach cleaning, the
landscape department, the grass in the streets, these are
things she will talk about until the election. Ms. parque
mentioned a recent article in the local news entitled Seal
Beach City Finance 101 authored by the Mayor, yet where was
information relating to the Redevelopment Agency and its debt
of about $15 million, the taxpayers are responsible for that
debt, the audit report says that the City and Agency monies
10-13-03
are so entwined that it is hard to separate the two, the
article spoke to Proposition 13 as well, it was enacted
because the people owned their homes and the government
should not have been spending more than it took in. She said
another article reported how much money was spent attending
the League of California Cities conference, the League does
not want Proposition 13, there will be a measure on the March
ballot to take it away. There being no further comments,
Mayor Campbell declared Public Comments to be closed.
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COUNCIL ITEMS
APPOINTMENT - RECREATION and PARKS COMMISSION
Councilman Doane said he wished to appoint Ms. Norma Sue
Clance as the District Five representative to the Recreation
and Parks Commission for the unexpired term ending July,
2006. Larson moved, second by Antos, to approve the
appointment as stated.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "E" thru "U"
Doane moved, second by Antos, to approve the recommended
action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except
for Items "K, L, Q, and S," removed for separate
consideration.
E.
Approved the waiver of reading in full of
all ordinances and resolutions and that
consent to the waiver of reading shall be
deemed to be given by all Councilmembers
after the reading of the title unless
specific request is made at that time for
the reading of such ordinance or resolution.
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F. Approved regular demands numbered 43631
through 43911 in the amount of $2,469,937.27,
ADP payroll demands numbered 6010563 through
6010675 in the amount of $187,429.10, and
authorized warrants to be drawn on the
Treasury for same.
G. Approved the minutes of the regular adjourned
and regular meetings of September 22, 2003.
H. Accepted the resignation of Mr. Charles
Shulthies as the District Two member of the
civil Service Board and declared the position
to be vacant for the unexpired term ending
July, 2006.
I.
Accepted the resignation of Mr. Harold
Robertson as the District Five representative
to the Department of Water and Power Advisory
Committee.
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J. Approved the second reading and adopted
Ordinance Number 1505 entitled "AN ORDINANCE
OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH,
CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING AN AMENDMENT TO THE
CONTRACT BETWEEN THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH AND THE BOARD OF ADMINISTRATION
OF THE CALIFORNIA PUBLIC EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT
M.
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10-13-03
SYSTEM." By unanimous consent, full reading
of Ordinance Number 1505 was waived.
Adopted Resolution Number 5170 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SEAL BEACH ACCEPTING PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS AND
AUTHORIZING THE RELEASE OF SECURITY FOR CENTEX
HOMES TRACT NO. 15797." By unanimous consent,
full reading of Resolution Number 5170 was
waived.
N. Adopted Resolution Number 5172 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SEAL BEACH ACCEPTING PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS FOR
CENTEX HOMES TRACT NO. 16306." By unanimous
consent, full reading of Resolution Number
5172 was waived.
O. Adopted Resolution Number 5173 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING THE DISADVANTAGED
BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (DBE) PROGRAM AND
OVERALL ANNUAL GOAL OF FIVE POINT FIVE
PERCENT (5.5%) FOR FEDERAL FISCAL YEAR
2003/2004, FOR ADOPTION AND SUBMISSION TO
THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
(CALTRANS)." By unanimous consent, full
reading of Resolution Number 5173 was waived.
P.
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Received and filed comment letters regarding
various installation restoration sites (40, 74,
and 7) at the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station.
R. Adopted Resolution Number 5175 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A
BUDGET AMENDMENT, NO. 04-12, FOR ADJUSTMENTS
NOT INCLUDED IN THE MID-POINT BUDGET REVIEW"
(Police and Public Works Departments). By
unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution
Number 5175 was waived.
T. Authorized the City Manager to execute an
on-call Professional Services Agreement with
PBS&J to perform engineering and on-call NPDES
and storm water quality services to the City
of Seal Beach.
U.
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AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Adopted Resolution Number 5176 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, INCORPORATING
CERTAIN WAGE/BENEFITS FOR WINTER CREW
LIFEGUARDS INTO THE PART-TIME, HOURLY AND
SEASONAL SALARY SCHEDULE AND REPEALING ON
THE EFFECTIVE DATES SPECIFIED, ALL RESOLUTIONS
IN CONFLICT THEREWITH." By unanimous consent,
full reading of Resolution Number 5176 was
waived.
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
10-13-03
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
ITEM "K" - LONG BEACH AIRPORT TERMINAL IMPROVEMENTS -
RESPONSE TO NOTICE OF PREPARATION AND SCOPING / LONG BEACH
AIRPORT AIR TRAFFIC AND NOISE CONTROL - CORRESPONDENCE
Mayor Campbell noted that information relating to the Long
Beach Airport always talks about the minimum number of
flights as forty-one and inquired as to what the maximum is.
The Development Services Director responded that there is no
reference to the maximum number of flights, that is the
reason the letter is constructed in the manner it is, it
states that the EIR needs not evaluate the minimum number of
flights but the maximum number that they would anticipate
under what is defined in the City's Noise Ordinance as their
'noise budget,' that comment will be seen throughout the
document with regard to noise issues and traffic because if
the number of flights increase in accordance with their noise
budget there will be additional persons going to the
facility which in turn increases traffic in and out of the
site which could potentially impact this community, however
given the distance from the Airport it is doubtful that
traffic would have an impact yet the flight operations and
the ability of the pilots to stay on course in the proper
flight approach pattern are the main issues that staff
attempted to address in the response. Mayor Campbell said
one of the things that has always been a concern is that a
flight taking off from Los Alamitos going straight intersects
with the approach to Long Beach Airport over Leisure World,
however what happens in reality is that when planes take off
from Los Alamitos they bank and go over the Weapons Station.
What she would like to see in the EIR is a definition of the
maximum number of flights, define the flight patterns, and
recent flight activity suggests their possibly using the
east/west runways which would put them over residential
areas. The Mayor also mentioned that within the information
received it is said that two airlines have been referred to
the City Prosecutor for criminal enforcement, she would like
to know which airlines, when this happened, and what the
criminal penalties are. The Director offered to contact the
Long Beach City Prosecutor's office to obtain that
information for the Council, it is believed that the other
concerns have been addressed in the comment letter. Mayor
Campbell said the comments in the letter are good in that
they reflect the concerns she has heard from a number of
residents, when EI Toro was closed that opened up the
airspace therefore the planes are coming in over Costa Mesa,
Huntington Beach, and Seal Beach to land at Long Beach at a
much lower altitude than before which in turn is noisier,
this is causing great concern for the residents. The
Director explained that the Notice of Preparation indicated
that the EIR would evaluate the existing flight path approach
patterns into the facility consistent and in compliance with
their existing requirements thus the letter did not comment
on that issue again, and confirmed that the maximum number of
flights issue does exist in several places within the letter.
The City Manager clarified that this agenda item has two
communications to the Long Beach Airport however deals with
separate issues. Councilman Larson stated that he had a
concern with the letter, the number of flights is regulated,
Long Beach has been in litigation with the airlines in
federal court for years, the federal court has set the number
of flights based on some formula, they are going to expand
the terminal, he has had no complaints from Leisure World
about the Long Beach Airport yet gets a great number of
complaints with regard to the Joint Forces Training ~ase,
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10-13-03
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also, he does not believe that the east/west runway at Long
Beach has ever had a jet land on it, that is where the small
private planes land, the letter is good in the sense that it
is asking for information, yet Long Beach is aware that they
fly over the two most expensive residential areas of the
City, Los Altos, Bixby Knolls, and Virginia Country Club,
there will be plenty of people from those areas complaining
about noise, etc., he would not want Seal Beach to get
involved and in an argument with Long Beach as to how to run
their airport. The Mayor said it may be the desire to not
get involved yet the residents are not happy, to that
Councilman Larson noted that that statement has been made a
number of times yet he has had no complaints.
Campbell moved, second by Doane, to approve the response
letter to the Notice of Preparation and Scoping for the Long
Beach Airport Terminal Improvements, authorize the Mayor to
sign same, and receive and file the staff report, also,
authorized the Mayor to sign the letters to the City of Long
Beach and the Federal Aviation Administration addressing
community concerns with regard to air traffic and noise
issues relating to the operation of the Long Beach Airport.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
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ITEM "L" - SR 22 WEST ORANGE COUNTY CONNECTION - RECORD OF
DECISION - COMMENT LETTER
Mayor Campbell mentioned that the 22 Freeway will be widened
and the Orange County Transportation Authority and Ca1Trans
have proposed widening the 405 Freeway as it goes through
Seal Beach, the City has already met with Mr. Art Leahy of
OCTA to request that they begin now to acquire land from the
northern perimeter of the Naval Weapons Station rather than
from College Park East, the City has taken a proactive
position as it takes time to get such things through the
military system. Campbell moved, second by Antos, to receive
and file the Record of Decision for the EIR/EIS for the SR-22
West Orange County Connection project and instructed the
Mayor to sign the letter relating to the Record of Decision.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
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ITEM "0" - RESOLUTION NUMBER 5174 - RIVIERA DRIVE - PARKING
PROGRAM
Noting the number of persons speaking to this issue at the
last meeting, Councilman Antos asked if this permit system is
going to be acceptable to those residents, and does this
matter need any special permits. The City Manager responded
that this program should take care of the concerns of the
residents, staff has spoken to one of the Riviera residents
and it is said they are pleased that this has moved forward
quickly, this is a small area therefore and it is not felt
that additional permits are needed.
Antos moved, second by Campbell, to adopt Resolution Number
5174 entitled 'A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH FOR THE ADOPTION OF A PREFERENTIAL PARKING AREA
ALONG RIVIERA DRIVE." By unanimous consent, full reading of
Resolution Number 5174 was waived.
10-13-03
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
ITEM "S" - REOUEST - FILL VACANCIES - ASSOCIATE ENGINEERS /
SALARY RANGE
Councilman Antos said he is aware that there are employees I
that have left the City yet he also knows that there have
also been substitutions with A E's (consultants)doing much of
the work, his question is if this is going to reduce the
reliance on AE's, this is a small City with a small Capital
Improvement Program, there are two Engineers that are City
staff, this request asks for two more which seems somewhat
high if the engineering work is not going to be done in-house
rather continue to rely on AE's to do plans, specs,
inspections, etc. The City Engineer responded that it will
reduce plans and specification work, presently a number of
project management consultants are used to prepare projects,
especially for water and sewer, the other component is to use
in-hours instead of contract professional services for NPDES,
storm water quality, which for one thing takes considerable
meeting time, also the in-house person would be used for
waste discharge requirements at a much lower hourly rate than
using a contract professional services consultant that could
cost two to three times the cost of an in-house person.
Councilman Antos said if approved he would like to have this
looked at as part of the next budget, and at some point he
feels that the budget should be revisited because it has not
been done since adoption, and he would assume that with the
new Governor and the legislature dealing with an adopted
budget it will be better known what impacts there will be on I
the City.
Campbell moved, second by Doane, to approve the amendment to
the Position Classification Plan to re-establish the position
of Associate Engineer, establish a salary range for same, and
authorize recruitment for two Associate Engineer positions.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Antos
Yost
Motion carried
PUBLIC HEARING / ORDINANCE NUMBER 1506 - ZONE TEXT AMENDMENT
03-2 - SEAL BEACH TRAILER PARK - TWO STORY CABANA STRUCTURES
Mayor Campbell declared the public hearing open to consider
Zone Text Amendment 03-2. The City Clerk certified that
notice of the public hearing was advertised as required by
law, posted and mailed, that sixty communications have been
received, fifty-six in favor of ZTA 03-2 and four in
opposition. The Director of Development Services presented
the staff report, explained that this matter comes before the
Council on recommendation of the Planning Commission from
their meeting of September 3rd at which time the Commission
conducted a public hearing on the subject, at that time seven
persons spoke in favor of the Text Amendment, two spoke in
opposition, as well as seven letters in support and two in
opposition. The Director noted that the request is to
eliminate the twenty foot separation standard for the
location of two story cabanas in the Trailer Park, that
standard being in existence since 1983, in April of this year
the Agency granted a request for staff to review that
standard based upon requests from persons residing in the
Trailer Park to participate in the Agency grant programs to
make improvements to their homes, staff then prepared the
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report to the Commission, their public hearing was held and
the Commission recommended approval of the Zone Text
Amendment. The Director explained that the ZTA would require
approval of a height variation from the Planning Commission
for any new two story cabana, the construction of which would
also need to meet all currently required standards.
Mayor Campbell invited members of the audience wishing to
speak to this item to come to the microphone and state their
name for the record. Mr. Ed Welz, Driftwood Avenue resident
since 1973, said he has had friends and family residing in
the Trailer Park since 1990, they have come upon hard times
and the only way for them to be close enough for him to
provide support is to live in the Trailer Park. Mr. Welz
recalled the reasons and discussions that caused this
standard to be established initially, primarily safety and
aesthetics, the Building Codes at that time were not what
they are today, there is no longer an issue of safety with
the building of a two story cabana in the Trailer Park, they
are sprinkled, have fire walls, fireproof roofing,
essentially everything to make them fireproof as demanded by
the City before they can be built, the Fire Department has in
the past and continues to review the concerns of the City
with regard to safety in general, the Trailer Park in
particular, and finds no fault with a two story cabana, in
fact they find more fault with the older units that have
aluminum wiring and do not meet Code where improvements would
be helpful in order to prevent a fire or disaster. Mr. Welz
mentioned also that twenty years ago people were against any
growth of any kind, things have changed, people have changed,
the demographics of the Trailer Park have changed, more
families live there now than there were some twenty years ago
therefore the need for additional living space is necessary,
the concern with aesthetics is like a persons concept of
beauty, what is pleasing to one person is not likely to be so
for another, most everything that would be built would be
bedrooms and bathrooms, that is what families need. At the
time the standard was put in place there was also a concern
with overcrowding, stress on the infrastructure, there would
be a building boom, developers would take over, realistically
that is not going to happen because it costs up to $100,000
to build anything in Seal Beach for a second story, even on a
twenty by forty foot lot. To the concern with the
infrastructure, will there be enough water, is the sewer
adequate, etc., Mr. Welz said what is the difference between
the Trailer Park and Old Town with its old and weak
infrastructure that is being dealt with on a priority basis,
if the infrastructure needed improvements it would be
addressed by the City on a priority basis. Mr. Welz stated
that the existing law is arbitrary and capricious, a judge
would look at it as not customary or reasonable, and urged a
vote in favor of improvements in the Trailer Park, one class
of citizens in Seal Beach under one set of Building Code
rules. Mr. Glen Clark, Trailer Park, said it seems that
there has been one class of citizens in Seal Beach that have
not been treated quite as fairly as others, those being the
residents of the Trailer Park. He noted that in 1978 the
State granted a waiver that allowed two story cabana
additions to trailers in the Park, around 1982 the City took
action to allow them however enacted a twenty foot separation
condition, this was not imposed anywhere else in the City.
He said it is true that the safety factors have changed
considerably over the years, this condition has run its
course, and urged that in fairness everyone in the Trailer
Park all persons be allowed to have a two story cabana,
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everyone treated the same. Mr. Clark noted that in the
middle of the greenbelt area there was one unit that was
allowed a second story cabana which in turn then denies five
other locations from doing the same because of the twenty
foot separation, and urged passage of ZTA 03-2. Ms. Pat
Clark, Trailer Park, pointed out that this is the only area
in all of Seal Beach with a twenty foot setback, the Text
Amendment is the only fair way to treat everyone in the Park,
and agreed with a prior speaker that the residents are low to
moderate income people and most do not have the money to
build a second story, there was a chance however if some of
the Park residents had signed a letter supporting the
repayment of the $1 million MPROP loan for the $1 million
Bridge Loan that the Agency loaned for the purchase of the
Park. A majority of the audience indicated their support of
the ZTA by a show of hands.
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Mr. Mike Hutton, Welcome Lane, recalled that about two years
ago this same issue was discussed, the Planning Commission
recommended approval yet the Council in their wisdom decided
to retain the twenty foot setback. Mr. Hutton claimed that
parking is terrible, there is only a little more than one
parking spot per home, one out of every seven homes has two
cars, the overflow parking is on First Street, he agreed that
the demographics have changed, some older people are leaving,
younger families are coming in, some have two or three cars,
there are children that will be driving in a few years, this
would allow ninety homes to double their square footage, that
could bring in family members, roommates or even rentals to
subsidize income. Mr. Hutton said the reason the number of
written communications was lopsided was that a Park resident
passed them out with a flier and they were turned in to him.
He said another issue is the utilities, the Park was set up
for one hundred twenty-five trailers, the contractor did not
envision one hundred twenty-five two story homes with two
bathrooms, laundry provisions, the way pipe is sized for any
project, whether it be a trailer park or tract of homes, is
that every plumbing fixture is given a unit value, by adding
those together that tells what size pipe should be used, the
Trailer Park is a twelve according to the 2001 Plumbing Code,
if people add bathrooms and a laundry that will overload a
system that is likely already substandard, there have been
problems with the waste lines, last year a backup cost
$12,000, an overload will make this more frequent. With
regard to water it is a loop system, there is a main line
running through the park, on his row there is a two inch line
that feeds twelve units, an additional bathroom would double
the amount of water needed, Title 25 requires fire sprinklers
yet in his opinion there is going to be no fire protection,
there will not be enough water for coverage. It was recently
said that there is $100,000 from the sale of the Park for
upgrades, the only way that every person in the Park could
have a two story would be with a utility upgrade, the City
assisted Surfside with their utility underground project but
each resident was assessed about $6,000. Mr. Hutton said he
was not asking to take anything from anyone, just keep it
like it is, two stories can not be done without improving the
utilities. Mr. Robert Wilder, stated there are short and
long term reasons for his opposition to this, he and his
partner just recently bought a home in the Park, that
decision was made based on the twenty foot separation,
knowing that people would not be building up around their
unit, they are the unit that is keeping the other five
trailers from building, that is now four because one is going
to add on yet stay with the twenty foot separation. Mr.
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Wilder said he agreed with some of the long term problems,
one being the infrastructure upgrade, there is a potential
for adding seventy-two thousand square feet of living space
if ninety units added roughly eight hundred square feet, his
concern is that about when he hits retirement age he will be
hit with a large assessment for utility upgrades, parking was
mentioned, the lot across the street is proposed for
development, that is more people, a lot of the problems that
will occur will not be in the short term. He mentioned that
his unit is in the center of the greenbelt, he is worried
that in the near future there will be additions to four units
and he will be boxed in, surrounded, with most of the spaces
in the Park if the units on either side go two story it is
still free on the other two sides, the decision at hand will
impact a lot of people in future years possibly when they can
least afford it, including himself, and asked that the twenty
foot separation not be deleted. Ms. Grace Tarascio, Welcome
Lane, stated she had submitted a letter in writing, said her
first choice would the recommendation of staff relating to
the small spaces on the greenbelt. She said she lives with
her daughter on a small space in the center of the greenbelt,
they have no where to go except up, she does not care what is
done with the remainder of the Park to allow everyone to go
up, it has been unfair for so long her belief is that the
people with the small lots deserve a little treatment, their
home is old, it can not be rebuilt, it needs to be replaced,
the lot is so small it is a problem, she wants her daughter
to live in a decent place and that can only be done by going
up, there are many small lots in the Park that no one thought
about when the twenty foot rule was implemented, said she
does not want to be unfair to anyone, just have a decent
place to live, and read the recommendation set forth in the
staff report. Ms. Karen Tarascio, Welcome Lane, said she is
against some people who have already benefited by being able
to go two stories and impacting those who have not as yet
been able to, and reminded the Council that along the
greenbelt are some of the smallest spaces, children living in
homes with no bedroom, families of two parents and a minor
child living in homes of less than three hundred square feet.
She said she understands the concerns expressed with regard
to the infrastructure and the plumbing, it has to be kept in
mind that the final negotiations are taking place relating to
the purchase of the Park, it is correct that there was
$100,000 designated for infrastructure improvements, however
not seen as yet, it may be time for all to gather around a
table and assess where the Park is going in the next ten to
fifteen years, make certain those monies are spent on the
infrastructure, possibly that would relieve some of the
concerns expressed, the people without subsidies have
experienced a doubling of their rent and will pay that rent
level for the next thirty years, similar to the rent level of
those who are enjoying the larger lots. Ms. Tarascio said
she hoped that people will remember that they are all
neighbors, want to enjoy a decent standard of living, and
find a way that this can work on a somewhat equitable basis.
There being no further comments, Mayor Campbell declared the
public hearing closed.
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Councilman Larson noted the concern expressed with regard to
plumbing and asked if staff foresees a problem. The Public
Works Director responded that currently the sewer system for
the Trailer Park is on private property, their system has not
been evaluated as it is a private property matter.
Councilman Antos mentioned a concern relating to aesthetics,
and is it not true that because this property is located
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within the Redevelopment Agency that architectural review is
required, that a function that the Planning Commission does
with each proposal that comes before the City, in response
the Development Services Director stated that to be correct.
Councilman Antos said even though the City has not evaluated
the utilities on-site, asked if the utilities that come to
the property are adequate. The response of the Public Works
Director was yes, they can be supplied with adequate water
based upon the line size in the park and there is an adequate
sewage disposal system to take sewage from the Park. Mayor
Campbell said she too had question as to whether the
utilities were overloaded, to that it was said it is private
property therefore that may be something that the residents
will need to address with Linc Housing, it is said that the
utilities going to the Park are adequate for what they want
to do, what probably needs to be evaluated is each unit on a
unit by unit basis, that would come up when a resident wants
to add a second story and would not a building inspector
determine if each unit was adequate. The Development
Services Director explained the process when approval is
given to construct a two story cabana, the plans must go
through the Fire Department for approval, they check the
sprinkler plan, flow tests need to be done to assure there is
adequate pressure to energize the sprinkler system before
they can obtain a building permit for construction, therefore
there are adequate flows at the time building permits are
issued. Mayor Campbell said then the concerns voiced by the
speakers are taken care of at the time there is application
for a two story cabana, to that the Director explained
further that there are two inspections, the City Building
Department will do inspections on the actual unit as far as
building, mechanical, and plumbing systems, then the Fire
Department needs to approve the plans and inspect the
sprinkler system before the City will final the permit for
the two story structure. The Mayor noted that the Trailer
Park is becoming much more owner occupied, one of the things
that happened with the purchase. by Linc Housing is the way it
is structured, if it is not owner occupied the space rent is
very high, that discourages rentals, when a unit is owner
occupied they are taken care of much better.
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Larson moved,' second by Antos, to approve the introduction
and first reading of Ordinance Number 1506 the title of which
was read by the City Attorney, "AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF
SEAL BEACH AMENDING CHAPTER 28, SECTION 28-2319 'DEVELOPMENT
STANDARDS FOR TWO-STORY CABANAS' (ZONE TEXT AMENDMENT 03-2)."
By unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number 1506
was waived.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson
None
Yost Motion carried
The City Attorney advised that second reading of Ordinance
Number 1506 will be at the October 27th meeting.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT
No report was presented.
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CITY MANAGER REPORT
No report was presented.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
Councilman Larson reported having attended a meeting some
time back at a Clubhouse in Leisure World where the County
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had various providers show the choices for new voting
machines, those attending were supposed to choose the one
they felt was best, as is usual with the County they picked
one that was not displayed. Councilman Larson expressed his
feeling that this is going to be a problem for people who are
used to punchcard voting, punchcard voting is easy, the
people in Leisure World are familiar with it, with the new
system the voter signs in, a machine produces a small piece
of paper with a voter code number, the code number is then
entered into the machine, a ballot appears on the screen, a
dial is turned until the candidate is highlighted, a button
is pushed to vote for that candidate, then the voter moves to
the next office or measure to be voted on, for the voter to
double check their vote they must push another button, if
help is needed to solve a problem still another button is
pushed which is supposed to light up at the inspectors desk,
and to the question as to how the inspector can resolve the
problem yet avoid knowing who the vote was for the response
was that the screen erases. Councilman Larson urged that
Leisure World residents attend the demonstration meetings
when they are held, his feeling is that the voting machine is
difficult and complex, it is likely the County will not allow
the use of the punchcards, they feel they do not work, his
feeling is that they do work, a concern with the new machine
is that someone may want help yet push the 'Vote' button
instead and the ballot is then gone and can not be retrieved.
Mayor Campbell said that is why she applies for and votes an
absentee ballot.
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CLOSED SESSION
No Closed Session was held.
ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to adjourn the meeting until October 27th at 6:30 p.m. to
meet in Closed Session if needed. By unanimous consent, the
meeting was adjourned at 8:28
clerk
Attest:
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