HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 1997-08-25
8-11-97 I 8-25-97
until Monday, August 25th at 6:30 p.m. to meet in Closed
Session if deemed necessary. By unanimous consent, the
meeting was adjourned at 8:54 p.m.
Attest:
C
ex-off" io clerk
Seal Beach
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Approved:
Seal Beach, California
August 25, 1997
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
adjourned session at 6:33 p.m. with Mayor Hastings calling
the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Hastings
Councilmembers Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton
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Absent: Councilman Brown
Also present: Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk
Councilman Brown, the City Manager and City Attorney joined
the Council in Closed Session.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Campbell moved, second by Forsythe, to approve the order of
the agenda as presented.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None
Brown Motion carried
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
There were no Oral Communications.
CLOSED SESSION
Mayor Hastings announced that the City Council would meet in
Closed Session to discuss the item identified on the agenda,
a conference with the City's labor negotiato~ pursuant to
Government Code Section 54957.A with regard to Unrepresented
Employees and the Orange County Employees Association. By
unanimous consent, the Council adjourned to Closed Session at
6:35 p.m. and reconvened at 7:07 p.m. with Mayor Hastings
calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported
that the Council had met in Closed session to discuss the
item identified on the agenda, the council gave direction to
the City Manager to retain a negotiator, no other action was
taken.
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ADJOURNMENT
By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 7:08 p.m.
Approved:
Attest:
~,'fn(
City Clerk
,.~
t?
Clerk and ex-offi io clerk
the City of Seal Beach
~.
,,"
,
Seal Beach, California
August 25, 1997
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
session at 7:18 p.m. with Mayor Hastings calling the meeting
to order with the Salute to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Hastings
Councilmembers Brown, Campbell, Forsythe,
Fulton
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
Chief Sellers, Police Department
Ms. Beard, Recreation Director
Ms. Yeo, City Clerk
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Councilmember Campbell requested that Item "C", the 12th
Street Pavement Rehabilitation, be removed from the Consent
Calendar for separate consideration, and Councilmember
Forsythe requested Item "F", Council minutes, be removed.
Brown moved, second by Campbell, to approve the order of the
agenda as revised.
AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
PRESENTATION - SEAL BEACH NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE -
25th ANNIVERSARY
Mayor Hastings read in full the proclamation of the "25th
Anniversary of the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge" on
August 30th, 1997, and commended the U. S. Navy, the U. S.
Fish and wildlife Service, and the community group, The
FriendS, for their commitment to conservation of our natural
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resources as demonstrated by their caretaking of the Seal
Beach National Wildlife Refuge. The Mayor presented the
proclamation to Mr. Danny Johnson, Public Affairs Officer,
Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach. Mr. Johnson accepted the
proclamation on behalf of the U. S. Navy, the Commanding
Officer of the Naval Ordnance Center, Pacific Division, and
the Commanding Officer of Weapons Station Seal Beach, the
proclamation a symbol of the commitment of the Navy to the
City of Seal Beach for the past fifty years and many more to
come. Mr. Mike Mitchell, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
expressed appreciation for the proclamation and for the
cooperative program that has been encouraged and developed
beyond endangered species protection and into outreach which
promotes community stewardship through environmental
education and special projects, an opportunity for the public
to be involved. Mr. Mitchell said this is the ninety-fourth
year of the National Wildlife Refuge System which today helps
to protect over ninety-two million acres, and invited all to
attend a celebration at Naval weapons Station Seal Beach on
October 18th.
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In addition, Mayor Hastings recognized members of the Junior
Womans Club, Mmes. Gayle Knapp, Joyce Risner, Jan Francis,
Iva Sloan, Margie Brown, Carrol Irwin, Judy DiPiazza,
vermille Sickler, Linda Bennett, Carole Simmons, and Sharon
Jessner, whose untiring efforts at the time were of prime
importance to the designation of the Seal Beach National
Wildlife Refuge in 1972. The Mayor recognized Dr. Warter of
Cal State Long Beach as well who generously donated his time
and expertise to the project. At the request of the Mayor,
Mrs. Knapp explained that the Refuge project began with the
Navy, they contacted the Juniors with regard to their concern
of a threat to the wildlife given the potential for
development of a freeway through the area, the involvement of
the Juniors was basically to educate the members, and then
every citizen as to what existed on the site and the value of
that land as wetlands and part of the Pacific flyway. She
noted that Dr. Warter and another Cal State professor acted
as guides for tours of the wetlands that were allowed by the
Navy, the letter writing campaign was on-going for about
three years, the government eventually listened and
responded, Congressman Hosmer carried the bill and Senator
Cranston endorsed it, the declaration of the National Refuge
was the first time Seal Beach was in the Congressional
Record, none of which would have happened without the
cooperation of the Navy. Mayor Hastings noted the City's
proactive approach to wetlands, the focus now needs to be the
Bolsa Chica wetlands and mesa, and presented Mrs. Knapp with
a certificate of appreciation for her diligence in
spearheading the Wildlife Refuge effort. While gaining her
personal knowledge of wetlands and their value, Councilmember
Forsythe offered that the name of Gayle Knapp is legendary
for reaching the goal of having the federal government
dedicate the Refuge property in perpetuity for wildlife.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Hastings declared Oral Communications open, reminded
the audience of the five minute limitation, and requested
that comments be directed to issues, not personalities, and
Councilman Brown suggested that possibly there be one speaker
.per subject during this first communication opportunity. Mr.
Rick Hodson, Ocean Avenue, thanked the Seal Beach television
group, the volunteers, and Council for their support of the
Dolphin Avenue volleyball tournament held last weekend. Ms.
Cibella Willenius, College Park East, made reference to a
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speaker at the last meeting that reported his residence on
Fir Avenue in College Park, which she said is not, also that
she takes no medication as the speaker alleged that she may.
Ms. Willenius said she had been distributing fliers, the
speaker was caught picking them up, on one street all of her
fliers were gone, and asked that the Council ensure that
everyone plays fair. Ms. Senora Ferris, highlands area
resident of Los Alamitos, referred to a flier she was
provided over the weekend at the shopping center, stated that
St. Hedwigs Church holds eight hundred fifty people, the
church proposed by the Bixby Company will hold three thousand
five hundred people, whereas the Crystal Cathedral
accommodates only about two thousand five hundred people.
The Mayor asked that a copy of the flier be provided to
staff. Mr. John Schriver, member of the Coachriders of Long
Beach, provided copies of a letter to the Council. Mr.
Schriver said his concern is with the bike trail adjacent to
Seal Beach which is in need of repair. Councilman Brown
noted that this issue was brought up at a recent meeting and
at that point there was confusion as to which portions of the
bike trail were under whose jurisdiction. Mr. Schriver said
he had spoken to the Orange County Public Services Director,
in charge of bike trail maintenance in Orange County, the
three tenths of a mile between Marina Drive and Pacific Coast
Highway and the seven tenths mile in the area of the 405 and
7th Street have not been paved, last October he had spoken to
the City of Long Beach, they in turn spoke with the Seal
Beach Public Works Director and asked that this City join in
their paving effort of the trail, at that time the Director
may not have known the condition of the trail or have funds
to join that effort, Long Beach then paved and striped four
and a half miles. He said the trail is rough, there are
holes, nothing has been done to the trail in the eleven years
he has used it, a number of people have fallen and been hurt,
of concern is a major bike race that is to take place mid-
September that will end up on the San Gabriel Trail. The
Director of Public Works noted that the bike trail was
constructed in the mid-1970's, a cooperative effort of Seal
Beach and the County, it is considered a regional trail, and
with permission of the Flood Control District operated by the
County of Los Angeles, the monies to construct the trail came
from the County and some locally, however unfortunately it is
being used as a maintenance road by the Flood Control,
CalTrans, and the utility companies, this City has tried to
patch the trail as best it could, it is adequate but not
ideal. He said in discussion with the County last year when
seeking funds for repair, the County advised that they were
going to divert all available bicycle trail monies to ADA
retrofitting of the bus stops, once that is completed monies
will again be available for bicycle trails, possibly in
another year, in the meantime the City can only try to
maintain the trail. Mr. Schriver again expressed concern for
the number of people who use the trail, many of those people
bring money into the City, and offered to assist in any fund
raising effort for the repair of the trail. Mr. Schriver was
informed that the Director of Parks and Recreation would be
the appropriate City contract for a fund raising effort. Mr.
Mel Columbic, College Park East, in reference to the leaflets
being distributed in College Park, said Briggeman picks up
trash every week. Mr. Frank Laszlo, College Park East, noted
that last week the Orange County Vector Control celebrated
their fiftieth anniversary, thanked the City for the
proclamation of recognition, and explained that Vector
Control is charged with eliminating mosquito and roof rat
problems, and they are doing research on the hanta virus.
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Ms. Annie Beck asked who is in charge of diverting the
bicycle trail funds to the ADA bus stop retrofits so that
there can be person to person communication with that
individual, more specifically so that the loss of those funds
is not extended. Ms. Beck said she is a member of the
Lightning Bello Bicycle Club, just finished her second race
across America and for the second time the first female
finisher. She noted her use of the bike trail during the day
at different times throughtout the year, the trail is very
rough and the windy conditions can cause one to lose balance.
Ms. Beck emphasized a desire to get at least some of the bike
path monies back as quickly as possible. There being no
further comments, Mayor Hastings declared Oral communications
closed.
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CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "B" thru "J"
Brown moved, second by Campbell, to approve the recommended
action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except
Items "c" and "F", removed for separate consideration.
B. 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
unless specific request is made at that
time for the reading of such ordinance
or resolution.
D.
Adopted Resolution Number 4555 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH DECLARING WORK TO BE COMPLETED
AS TO PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR PROJECT
#723, PLUG VALVE REPLACEMENTS, SEWER PUMP
STATION #35, CONTRACT ENTERED INTO BETWEEN
PHELPS SOUTHWEST, INC. AND THE CITY OF
SEAL BEACH." By unanimous consent, full
reading of Resolution Number 4555 was
waived.
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E. Approved regular demands numbered 16824
through 16972 in the amount of $539,347.38,
payroll demands numbered 23259 through
23498 in the amount of $371,056.38, and
authorized warrants to be drawn on the
Treasury for same.
G. Adopted Resolution Number 4556 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING FISCAL
YEAR 1997/98 BUDGET, SETTING APPROPRIATIONS
LIMITATION AND AUTHORIZING FOR APPROPRIATIONS
BY FUND." By unanimous consent, full reading
of Resolution Number 4556 was waived.
H.
Accepted the resignation of Mr. Pete Arnold,
the District Four appointee to the Seal
Beach Cable Communications Foundation, and
declared the position vacant.
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I. Accepted the resignation of Mr. Don Alecock,
the District Two representative to the Civil
Service Board, and declared the position
vacant.
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J.
Approved the Memorandum of Understanding
between the County of Orange, the City of
Los Alamitos, the City of Seal Beach, the
Bixby Corporation, and the Rossmoor
Community Services District, transferring
the jurisdiction of the Rossmoor Wall to
the Rossmoor Community Services District,
and authorized the Mayor to execute said
Agreement on behalf of the City.
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AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
ITEM "c" - PLANS/SPECIFICATIONS/ESTIMATES - 12th STREET
PAVEMENT REHABILITATION - OCEAN TO ELECTRIC - PROJECT
NUMBER 680
To comments of the Mayor that the streets never get paved in
Old Town, Councilmember Campbell teased Mayor Hastings that
the 12th Street project is first class consisting of curbs,
gutters, sidewalks, street paving, and trees, a project well
deserved. In jest, the Mayor voiced appreciation to
residents of College Park East for allowing the paving of at
least one Old Town street. Campbell moved, second by Brown,
to approve the plans and specifications for Project Number
680, 12th Street Pavement Rehabilitation, and authorized
staff to initiate the bid process.
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AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Councilmember Forsythe stated she would need to abstain from
voting on the August 11th minutes as she was absent from that
meeting.
Brown moved, second by Fulton, to approve the minutes of the
July 28th regular adjourned and regular meetings.
AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
Brown moved, second by Campbell, to approve the minutes of
the August 11th regular adjourned and regular meetings.
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
Brown, Campbell, Fulton, Hastings
None
Forsythe Motion carried
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MAIN STREET IMPROVEMENT PLAN
The City Manager noted that the community spent considerable
time developing a Specific plan for Main Street, the desire
was that the image of Main Street not be changed yet not
allowed to deteriorate, also that the plan not be shelved,
rather that it be implemented. The Manager mentioned also
that the City had a number of capital project desires such as
the resurfacing of the beach parking lots, sidewalk repairs,
tree planting and replacement, signage, restroom remodeling,
etc., rather than attempting those projects piecemeal it was
felt that those improvements should be looked at as more of a
cohesive plan coupled with the elements of the Specific Plan,
that called for architectural services to bring everything
together in order to implement improvements now and in the
long term. Ms. LeeAnne Hagmaier, RRM Design Group of San
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Luis Obispo, expressed pleasure in having the opportunity to
work with the City and praised the Specific Plan for its
visions for Main Street, that Plan the basis for their work.
Ms. Hagmaier introduced the independent architect for the
design project, Mr. Richard Best, and Mr. Mike Sherrod, a
landscape designer and associate planner. Ms. Hagmaier
explained that in January their firm was asked to look at the
Specific Plan and from that develop a number of design plans
for deferred pilot projects to beautify and significantly
enhance the downtown. Recognizing that funds are critical
and difficult to come by, the intent was that whatever was
recommended was reflective of the desire of the community as
closely as possible, the initial phase was to develop base
maps, that was done through the use of aerial photographs and
information that was available from the City, there were
extensive walking tours of the area, those critical to the
location of store fronts, the facades, the width of
sidewalks, the location of benches, etc. A feasibility study
was done of the City Hall and pier restrooms, it was
recognized that they are heavily used, are in need of repair,
are required to be ADA accessible, looked at from the
standpoint of the structures in which they are housed, how
healthy they were, and whether renovation was possible.
Meetings were also held with merchants, land owners, the Tree
Committee, and City officials to learn as much as possible
over and above the Specific Plan, based on that a series of
opportunities and constraints were developed for the three
blocks of Main Street from the pier to Pacific Coast Highway.
Ms. Hagmaier said some of the key issues they saw as being
important were the renovation of the restrooms, heavily used,
the aesthetics, safety and durability, much was heard about
street tree infill and replacement to reduce liability from
uprooting as well as to increase the canopy and greenery in
downtown, reduction of the clutter of newspaper racks and
signs through the consolidation of those facilities, creation
of safer conditions for the crossing of Main Street and Ocean
Avenue, a stronger connection between the north and south
commercial blocks where Electric runs through, creation of an
attractive edge along the storefronts where a number of
ingress and egress points break up the continuity of the
street and does some damage to the walking environment,
enhance the gateways into the downtown, at the pier area
attempt to tie in the beach lots which is a major source of
parking for the merchants and the beach, a stronger
connection between those lots and the downtown, creation of a
larger, more usable space at the base of the pier, eliminate
or consolidate the overhead utility lines in the beach lots,
and provide a stronger pedestrian connection between
Eisenhower Park, the beach and ocean. Looking at those key
factors a series of pilot projects were developed, keeping in
mind the cost and impact of beautification, what will get the
most impact for the least amount of money, the efficiency and
economy of construction, safety, possible future revenue
generation, recovery of investment over the long term, image
enhancement, making sure that the vision that was so
carefully articulated in the Specific Plan as being a
friendly, family, charming small town was not lost,
durability and maintenance, and public and resident benefit
were also key criteria. She noted the pilot projects were
developed and prioritized based on cost and where the most
impact could be achieved.
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Utilizing visual projections, Mr. Best described pilot
project one as renovation of the City Hall restrooms, making
them ADA compliant, providing better ventilation, a cleaner
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and more gracious atmosphere, that proposed to be done within
the existing walls, demolishing the fixtures and wall
surfaces, replacing the same number of fixtures, adding new
exhaust fans, and possibly door louvers for fresh air flow, a
claim of unreasonable hardship will be made outside the mens
restroom due to the second floor stairway which violates the
clearance requirement outside the door. The cost estimate of
project one is $22,000.
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pilot project two shows the renovated pier restrooms, the
fixture count would be increased, proposed to be of stainless
steel, upgraded for ADA access, interior concrete block
walls, polished concrete floors, the outside proposed to be
aluminum louvers, shown as yellow, painted to resist
corrosion, the entry screened by a blue concrete wall for
privacy, the colors of the concrete integral, sealed to
prevent fading, the type of interior lighting has not been
determined, possibly the lights will be mounted between the
interior beams, the louvers meant to permit light and air
circulation, this restroom facility will be easily cleaned.
Some of the existing problems range from sand collection,
standing water, too low clearances, the first phase of
demolition will consist of removing and lowering the floor,
the cost of project two is estimated to be $137,500. Also,
with regard to the exterior bay area behind the restrooms, an
alternative thought was that it could be built out somewhat
and used as retail spaces for beach related items or even a
snackbar, a means of activating that space, utilizing a
similar motif, which could bring some revenue to the City,
the cost of which would be about $88,000. Ms. Hagmaier noted
that there would be some economy in the construction of that
space if done at the same time as the restrooms, and since it
co~ld be a revenue producer possibly through an RFP process a
lessor or vendor may bear the tenant improvement costs rather
than be a City capital cost.
Ms. Hagmaier cited pilot project three as a pedestrian
enhancement crossing, if the Street is divided in half, the
portion north of Electric to PCH, a number of people felt
that that area is somewhat segregated from the downtown core,
it is not necessarily comfortable for pedestrians, it has
less landscaping and greenery, somewhat of a less beautiful
gateway into downtown given the heavily traveled Pacific
Coast Highway. It was felt it would be useful to provide a
pedestrian crossing where one currently exists as striped
pavement, this would be an enhanced pedestrian crossing in a
design vernacular that would be used throughout the Main
Street area, more specifically, work with the canopies of a
couple of existing trees, add two more canopy trees for a
grander tree effect, cobble stone crossings and planting
areas and possibly within the planting areas room could be
made for a bench, a bike or newspaper rack, or street
furniture that presently clutters the sidewalk, thus making
the entire sidewalk area available for pedestrian traffic.
She said part of the vernacular that is being envisioned down
the street is to replace the brick shields adjacent to the
tree wells, replace them with tree grates when new trees are
installed, that is important given the current problem of
uplifting created by the ficus tree roots of the sidewalks,
and by installing nicely patterned brick pavers and
sawcutting out the concrete this is an inexpensive method of
allowing water to percolate and force the root growth down.
She noted that brick fields would be incorporated at the four
Main Street intersections. The estimated cost of program
three is $72,000.
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Pilot project four addresses the Off-Main street parking lot.
Ms. Hagmaier said when walking towards Ocean the pedestrian
is interrupted by a break in the facade of the Street because
the building frontage ends and there is considerable ingress
and egress to the parking lot, that lot basically serving the
merchants in the general area. Metering of the lots, as
mentioned in the Specific Plan, would provide a means for the
City to recoup revenue to be used for other improvements and
offset the debt service as a result of the issuance of the
bonds. Plentifully landscaping the areas around the
periphery of this lot were thought to be important, also the
addition of a small garden wall/planter along the edge of the
lot, that acting as a screen for pedestrians, and a small
facade at the other side of the lot creating an area that
could be leased to a small vendor for the sale of newspapers,
magazines, flowers, or whatever, while generating some
revenue and looking attractive. The cost associated with
program four, because of the lot metering and vendor facade,
estimated at about $182,700.
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Ms. Hagmaier cited pilot project five as the 10th Street
beach parking lot, their proposal consists of total
renovation, it is understood about $60,000 has been earmarked
for resurfacing of both beach lots, it was felt that in
conjunction with that something should be done with the
overhead utility lines and enhance pedestrian access to the
beach as now it is quite a walk to get from the commercial
area or Eisenhower Park, there is no direct access, it is not
conducive to walk through parked cars, surfers, etc., it is
also somewhat dangerous from an ADA standpoint or for mothers
with strollers, at the beach itself there would be a
handicapped access ramp, constructed of recycled wood,
plastic or a hardwood material that is set in the sand and
becomes a wood boardwalk that allows access directly onto the
beach. Connecting that to Eisenhower Park and a stronger
connection to Main Street would enhance the small blocks of
landscaping and decorative paving strip down the center. She
noted this as a fairly costly project therefore there are a
couple of alternatives, one would be to develop this project
with some small scale bollard lighting which would highlight
the path at nighttime, the other alternative would be to
light the entire beach parking lots, light levels are
presently very poor, yet it is about $90,000 more to light
the lots entirely, however that would enhance the lot usage
and the merchants would likely use that as a resource base.
The cost of this program without the lighting is estimated at
$240,000, with lighting about $330,000, that includes
resurfacing and restriping.
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Ms. Hagmaier said a second priority that was presented to
them was the installation of a second mid-block crossing
somewhere on Main Street, their choice was near the Off-Main
parking lot, it is understood there are some key problems
crossing the street, particularly in the summer, therefore it
was felt an enhanced pedestrian crossing could provide a
landscaping beautification impact, traffic calming for
greater pedestrian safety, this second intersection would
require some realignment from what is currently striped,
however pilot project six could still be done for about the
estimated $72,000.
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To the seventh pilot project that addresses the north end,
300 block, of Main Street, Ms. Hagmaier said what was seen
was an opportunity, with some limited funds, to do a series
of small fixes through landscaping and screen fences to
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green-up that area, a number of trees where none now exist
would be planted, rumble strips installed, five foot cobble
pavers, which would tend to cause vehicular traffic coming
off the Highway to slow down, also the installation of fences
at key locations like the gas station entrance and exit, and
other store fronts, in front of the theater plant vines along
the building wall for a green treatment, all of those
improvements would cost about $62,000.
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Ms. Hagmaier said as part of their work they addressed the
issue of signage as it became apparent that that is not only
key to getting around in the downtown area but also important
to the entrance and gateways to the City as a whole, what
seems to be lacking is directional signage for the downtown
area, that critical to the moving of people efficiently and
safely as well as creating an image for the town. Monument
signage was looked at, it is understood there are funds
earmarked to replace the scroll signs, two designs were
created, one having an implant of a logo City seal, likely
embossed in wood or concrete, another a wave pattern with a
tile inset and small bronze or concrete seal image at the
corner, the cost of which range from $12,000 to $13,000
dependent upon the choice of size. Signage at Pacific Coast
Highway and Main Street was a challenge, considerable
discussion was held with residents and merchants regarding
this- issue, it is likely many people do not realize that Main
Street and the beach are southerly of the Highway, therefore
enhancing the intersection with landscaping and plantings was
key, and signage, with the cooperation of the gas stations,
could add much to the entry statement to downtown. What is
proposed is a combined sign, a small low wall with a welcome
to Old Town Seal Beach message, behind that there would be
plantings, the wall would incorporate the advertising logo
and prices of the particular business, and from past
experience it is felt the companies would be amenable to this
type of improvement, however some realigning would need to be
done to accommodate access for service trucks, etc. She
noted that the overall plan does foresee increased
landscaping at the Main Street/PCH intersection, some
decorative intersection paving, however that would require
cooperation from State agencies. Ms. Hagmaier offered that
for about $8,500 small directional signs can be placed on
wooden posts, on a wall, on a monument inside a planter,
seven such directional signs have been earmarked, a seal
would be embossed into the wood, with directional arrows to
key destinations. Another thought, although not incorporated
into the plan, would be a banner program utilizing the City
image or logo, with brackets placed on the lightposts,
twenty-five banners could be obtained for about $13,000.
Ms. Hagmaier pointed out that in order for their firm to look
at the more economical, short term projects, and the most
appropriate way to spend the money the City has, it was
necessary to make sure that whatever the City would do in the
short term would make sense in the long term, therefore as
planners it was felt there needed to be an overall plan for
Main Street and the pier to make sure that the vernacular
works in the long term, hence an overall vision or image plan
was created that hopefully the City can work towards
implementing over time, possibly other supplemental pilot
projects that could be pursued, such as at the intersection
of Electric Avenue, as monies are obtained or funding is
solicited for them, this is looked at as a ten to twenty year
or longer Plan, the Plan provides the ability to deal with
such things as irrigation, replacement and infill of trees
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that makes sense with regard to some of the other pilot
projects. Some things heard from the people were that Seal
Beach is consistently inconsistent, a down-home place, a
family atmosphere, craftsman quality, there is care for
safety, durability, longevity, Seal Beach must be
distinctively different to the people who live here from
other surrounding communities, and it is felt that this Plan
effectuates that in the long term. Again, to the pilot seven
project, Main Street from PCH to Electric, is basically the
replacement and infill of street trees over time, brick
fields that can be constructed incrementally as land or shop
owners want to beautify the areas in front of their stores,
use existing concrete sidewalks, create a the framework for
brick and paving patterns at the intersections that is
somewhat consistent, consolidate newspaper racks, magazines,
benches, etc. in a way that provides for future pedestrian
activity that is somewhat continuous. If there is a design
for the Main Street/PCH intersection that is acceptable,
there is an intersection enhancement through the use of low
walls, plantings, etc. It was also felt that there could be
a banner program at the entrance to town for events and
special promotions, two motifs for consideration, infill the
gaps in the street edge at Central and Main possibly through
the wavy wall that incorporates newspaper racks and trash
receptacles into the wall itself, cleans up the area as well
as provides a place for sitting, that with landscaping in the
form of hanging gardens, a historical element that would be
reintroduced to the town. In looking at historical photos
concrete light poles were found with an impressed concrete
seal surrounding the top of the pole, thought to be built in
the early 1900's, and it would be nice to reintroduce that
from a historical standpoint, a second mid-block crossing and
Ocean Avenue were also critical areas.
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Ms. Hagmaier offered that the pier landing area was also
looked at, a fairly significant investment in the town, yet
it is recognized that the pier and landing area is the
landmark for the City, a terminus of Main Street, an area
where people tend to migrate, integration of some key
elements could bring the parking lots closer to the merchant
area, enhance the plaza by building upon what was done in
Eisenhower Park, create a series of wavy walls, a small
raised central plaza, hanging gardens with the seal sculpture
and plantings, and small wood and concrete amphitheater
series of steps down to the beach, one of the favorite
concepts was enhancing a landscaped area adjacent to the
playground, berming the area for seating use, with a couple
of terminus points with palm trees that would bring people
out to the beach area, the two existing ramps would be
eliminated in order to make the plaza a usable, attractive
space. This plan has been provided to some officials and
lifeguards to assure that it would be functional and
buildable, thus far on a concept level they have agreed that
it is.
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The City Manager made reference to the City's participation
as of last year in the Countywide bond financing program for
the 800 MHz communication upgrade, and given the positive
terms of that bond issue the City included some of its
capital maintenance needs, the intent was that there would be
at least two potential revenue generating vendors as well as
off-street parking meters, and that, with increased sales
tax, was hoped to offset some of the financing costs for the
debt as well as some monies for initial investment in Main
Street improvements. The Manager explained that bond
8-25-97
I
proceeds from the 800 Megahertz issue is $528,000, available
parking impact fees are $136,000, about $31,600 is generated
from that program annually, capital maintenance funds were
combined for under grounding of overhead wiring at the beach
lots, pier resurfacing and restoration, City entrance
signage, beach parking lot resurfacing, and City Hall
restroom ADA modifications for a total of $860,000 currently
available, the cost of the seven Pilot projects is $879,413,
the signage project is $41,500, the total year-one cost is
$920,913, a $60,313 funding shortfall. Options for
addressing the shortfall could be the transfer of some ADA
funds, use of some available grant monies from other
projects, or, his recommendation would be to bid the projects
with certain options, the bids may then come in lower than
estimated, if the bids are as estimated or higher the Council
could then determine what direction to take, also there may
be some financial participation by commercial property owners
or businesses. The Manager invited Council input, and if it
is felt the projects are worth pursuing, authorize staff to
advertise for bids.
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Mayor Hastings mentioned that the use of ADA funds would
certainly be appropriate for handicapped access to the beach,
to which the Manager concurred, also noted that Community
Development Block Grant monies for ADA improvements can be
used. Councilmember Forsythe inquired if all of this work
would need to be contracted out or could some be
accomplished, such as the landscaping, by City personnel.
The Manager responded it would likely be a combination,
possibly use some local specialty contractors as well.
Making reference to the City identification signs on Seal
Beach Boulevard at the freeway, on Marina Drive, and on
Lampson, Councilmember Campbell asked if those locations will
be considered for replacement. The Manager said the intent
was to develop a design concept for City identification at
all entry points, however there is not funding to replace
them all at once. Councilman Brown requested that
consideration be given to carrying this item over to a future
meeting, and explained that he has some concern with a $1
million expenditure in downtown given the many other needs,
possibly a divider on Lampson and the Utility Users Tax as
examples, even though it is understood that some things, such
as the restrooms, need to be done, his concern primarily with
the use of bond proceed monies. Councilmember Forsythe noted
that some of the funds are required to be spent for a
specific purpose. Mayor Hastings expressed her belief that
the downtown merchants deserve upgrades that will bring
customers into the City, this an implementation of the Main
Street Specific Plan. Councilman Brown again emphasized his
concern with the expenditure of $528,000 b~nd monies in one
area, and even though the plan is excellent, possibly it
needs to be reprioritized. Councilman Fulton commended the
plan as well, however agreed that there are other
improvements that need to be taken into consideration,
projects relating to storms, flooding, etc. should be
priority. There appeared to be a consensus of the Council to
hold this item over until the next meeting. Mr. Brian Kyle,
Seal Beach, concurred with a two week postponement, noted the
concerns of Councilman Brown, however consideration of
improvements to the downtown area started back in 1984, the
estimates of cost may seem big yet the investment of private
monies in this project to date are not even reflected.
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Brown moved, second by Fulton, to continue this item until
the next meeting.
8-25-97
AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
Staff offered to place the renderings on display for
information of the public.
RECONSIDERATION - APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Brown moved, second by Fulton, to reconsider approval of the
agenda, moving "M", the cable franchise, before Item "L".
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AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
Brown moved, second by Fulton, to consider Item "M" before
tlL".
AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
PUBLIC HEARING - CABLE TELEVISION FRANCHISE RENEWAL I
REGULATORY ORDINANCE
Mayor Hastings declared the public hearing open to consider
the Comcast Cablevision Franchise Agreement. The city Clerk
certified that notice of the public hearing had been
advertised as required by law, and reported no communications
received either for or against this item. The City Manager
noted this item relates to two matters for consideration, an
amended cable regulatory ordinance and the franchise
agreement with Comcast, and pointed out that the existing
cable franchise has expired however service continues by
means of three month renewals. The Manager explained that
the franchise is non-exclusive, therefore another cable
provider could approach the City requesting to operate in the
community, however Comcast owns the infrastructure for cable
television services, and Seal Beach has not been approached
by another provider. He reported that discussions have been
held between City representatives and Comcast and tentative
agreement has been reached, the key components are that 1)
Comcast has agreed to continue payment of the five percent
franchise fee plus the $75,000 annually for public access,
educational, and governmental (PEG) programming; 2) upon
signing the agreement, Comcast would pay the City
approximately $200,000 as the first and last years PEG
payment in advance, $150,000, reimbursement of the consultant
costs, estimated at $30,000, and payment of the fair market
rent for the headend facility adjacent to the Police Station,
approximately $20,000; 3) continue to provide, at Comcast's
expense, a studio and control room for PEG activities
(estimated rent value $22,000 per year), for a period of
three years; 4} provide the mobile van twelve times a year at
no cost to the City or to the Cable Foundation; 5) provide
three channels for public programming, so long as they are
actually used; 6) install fiber and generally upgrade the
system, providing Seal Beach with state of the art services
as they become economically viable locally and in surrounding
market areas; and 7} provide a 'most favored nation' clause,
guaranteeing that Seal Beach will receive technology and
services comparable to those provided in other cities. The
Manager offered that from research done by the consultant and
City staff the environment for cable television is
considerably different than it was fifteen years ago, it was
found that the five percent franchise fee plus the $75,000
equates to about 7.3 percent when measured to the gross
receipts of Comcast, which is better than other cities are
receiving by about 1.5 percent. The Manager clarified that
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the franchise agreement is for information purposes only at
this time, to be continued for the purpose of receiving
public and Council comments, the public hearing was intended
for the regulatory ordinance, which is necessary to have the
authority to enforce the standards of the new franchise
agreement. He noted the presence of Comcast representatives
and the City's cable consultant. Councilmember Forsythe
stated the emphasis seems to be on the franchise fee and
public access, both important, however the most important
issue to the citizens is quality of service. Councilman
Brown responded that if the cable company do not perform, and
there is no reason to believe they will not, the City will
have the ability through an ombudsman to receive, respond,
and report complaints, there will also be new, state of the
art equipment. Councilmember Forsythe clarified that her
concern is the antiquated receiver boxes and remote controls.
Ms. Linda Hossinger, General Manager for Orange County
operations, reported that Comcast is in the process of
upgrading all of the cable systems in Orange County, starting
in College park, Leisure World in a couple of weeks,
gradually throughout the City, at that time it will be a
fully upgraded system, with fibre optics, and confirmed that
all of the receiver boxes will then be replaced with new
boxes, the converter is necessary unless it is a cable-ready
television, at that point Seal Beach residents will be
offered advanced services such as additional channels,
digital services, and high speed modem access. Ms. Hossinger
confirmed that the small satellite dishes do require
converter boxes, stated the dishes can not pick up channel
three, the digital services Comcast will offer will be about
one hundred fifty channels initially, explained that the
upgrade is done in stages, as to a time frame she looks to
the date of adding channels, in this case probably the end of
January, then another sixty days to work on the reverse path
for the system. To'the question as to whether additional
channels and digital services will be included in basic
services or for an added fee, Ms. Hossinger explained that
the current residential converter is an analog box, if ten to
twelve services were added that could be done with a new
analog box, digital services would require a different type
of receiver with a $10 monthly charge, the receiver similar
in looks to a VCR. Starting late fall or early winter the
analog boxes will be replaced as service calls are requested,
provided to new customers, at the local office, and by means
of a telemarketing contact. Members of the Council confirmed
that cable ready television sets will not need a box, however
will for the digital service, and it was noted that a
television having digital capabilities is soon to be on the
market. The Mayor commended Councilmembers Brown and
Campbell for their negotiation efforts.
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Mayor Hastings invited members of the audience wishing to
speak to this item to come to the microphone and state their
name and address for the record. Mr. Peter Anninos, Chairman
of the Cable Foundation, requested that this item be
continued for a period of thirty days for review given the
number of people who will be affected by this franchise. Mr.
Anninos asked how high speed is the modem access. Ms.
Hossinger responded about one hundred times faster than a
regular telephone line. Mr. pilnick, cable consultant,
stated the only services being offered now with respect to
modems are data services, not video services, the services
now being offered simply connects a home computer to the
worldwide web at much higher speeds than with a telephone
line, the telephone line can transmit data at two thousand
8-25-97
bits per second, the modem the cable companies use is two
million bits per second, also information from the web is
delivered much quicker where it may take twenty to thirty
minutes with the standard telephone connection, thus it is
basically the same service as there is now yet at a much
faster rate of speed, the cable industry has not yet gotten
to the point of offering television pictures back and forth
to the home, this is basically for computers. Mr. Anninos
said just because it is digital transmission that does not
necessarily mean it is HDTV, which he said is on the horizon.
Mr. Pilnick said High Definition Television, has nothing to
do with whether it is digital or analog, it has been studied
for a number of years by the Federal Communications
Commission, the idea is to make the picture on the television
screen have as much clarity as a movie screen, the same
picture just much clearer, the FCC has authorized HDTV on a
preliminary basis, however all of the networks would have to
convert from the way they are transmitting now to the High
Definition mode, that may take somewhere between five to
fifteen years. He stated the same applies to digital
television, some digital televisions have been announced, the
price between $2,000 to $10,000 depending upon the model,
however, no one is transmitting digital television, when the
cable company talks about digital service what they really
mean is channel expansion, in other words they are building a
new state of the art system with a lot of fibre optics which
on an analog system can be eighty channels. He offered that
what a number of cable companies are doing is taking the
eighty channel capacity and using a technique called digital
compression, three or four different programs can be put into
one channel, that usually done with the programs that they
make the most money, movie programs, to which he cautioned to
not expect everything to be digital, rather, it means some
people will buy the service for more channel capacity
accomplished by cramming more programs in digital format,
then, the residential box takes that digital signal and
. converts it to a compatible signal for the individual
television set, the same thing will be seen, there is just a
choice of more channels, and that can be done without
rebuilding the system. Mr. Anninos said in reading a
television technology magazine he understands that digital
television and NTST spectrum used since the beginning of
television will be gone in about eight years, it will not be
allowed to be broadcast over the airways. Mr. Pilnick
suggested that everything that is read should not be
believed. He noted that when color television came out the
question was would that eliminate black and white, the
problem there was that many people had spent money for black
and white television sets, the government was not going to
force them to dispose of them to buy another, therefore if
companies wanted to broadcast in color it had to be
compatible. The same is true of digital and high definition
television, so regardless of the FCC rules and approval of
new techniques, no one will need to be concerned for at least
five to ten years. Dr. Rosenman, Seal Beach, commended
Councilmembers Brown and Campbell. He suggested that some
thought should be given to what the Foundation is doing,
public programming and survey of its viewership, quality of
service, commitment and compliance with same, possibly
statistics with regard to service calls, a contact at City
Hall, and in his opinion it appears that there is someone in
the service department that has been directed to downplay
calls for service. Mr. Gordon Shanks, Surf place, suggested
that the Cable Foundation should have been provided a copy of
the documents being considered and the opportunity to make \
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I
comments thereto. Councilmember Brown responded that the
Cable Foundation had considerable input at the outset. Mr.
Shanks made reference to the five percent and $75,000, stated
it is a complicated matter to compare one city to another,
the $75,000 seems to be considerable money however if it
becomes necessary to pay the salary of the public access
coordinator, which Comcast has paid in the past, and those
who work the Council and Planning Commission meetings, the
two items are a sizeable amount, the costs are being shifted,
and it is difficult to monitor. He noted that the cable
rates have increased at least three times since the franchise
was granted, the $75,000 is the same yet at that time Comcast
was providing more benefits, there should be someone
designated to see that the City is coming out even.
Councilman Brown said Comcast made it clear from the
beginning that they are not in the business of supporting
public access in a manner in which they did initially, and
supported their stand with statistics and contracts of other
communities, and even though Seal Beach will not get what
they did in the past and never will, it is felt to be a good
agreement. Mr. Shanks asked if it would be better for the
City to get a four percent franchise fee and more for public
access given its importance. Mr. pilnick said he felt it
should be known that the current agreement provides for the
$75,000 however the City has not kept that amount, $50,000
has gone back to Comcast and essentially the other $25,000
has been used for the salary of the coordinator referred to,
what is set forth now is essentially the same money but with
full control by the City and the Foundation, that rather than
passing the money back to Comcast to which some have
complained that they did not use very effectively, therefore
his belief is that the City is losing nothing and getting
more control and the Council and Foundation can decide what
is the best way to spend it, the money must be used for
access, which includes government and educational, there is
more flexibility as to how those funds are spent. Mr.
Pilnick noted his participation in the Buena Park renewal
with the same cable company, reported they have more
subscribers, yet Seal Beach is getting more money, and the
Foundation and the committee made it evident that public
access was important to the community. By unanimous consent,
the Council continued this item until the second meeting in
September.
PUBLIC HEARING / RESOLUTION NUMBER 4557 - HOUSING ELEMENT
REVISION 97-1
Mayor Hastings declared the public hearing open to consider
Housing Element Revision 97-1. The City Clerk certified that
notice of the public hearing had been advertised as required
by law, and reported no communications were received relating
to this item. The Director of Development Services presented
the staff report, the item forwarded to Council as
recommended by the Planning Commission to approve the
proposed amendment to the Housing Element. He noted this is
basically a housekeeping item addressing a 1991 provision of
State law after adoption of the City's Housing Element in
1990, that provision required an analysis of assisted housing
units in the City that would be lost from the capability of
providing housing for families of low and moderate income
over the next ten year period of time. The Director reported
that an analysis has been done which indicates that the City
has been unable to define any units that meet the criteria
under State law and the recommendation of the Commission was
to simply add a statement to that effect into the Housing
Element. Councilman Brown expressed his desire to go back to
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SCAG, the Southern California Association of Governments, to
seek credit for the Leisure World housing units as low to
moderate income units, as this City has more of that category
of living units than any other community of like population.
There being no public comments, Mayor Hastings declared the
public hearing closed.
Fulton moved, second by Brown, to adopt Resolution Number
4557 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH ADOPTING HOUSING ELEMENT REVISION 97-1." By
unanimous consent, full reading of Resolution Number 4557 was
waived.
I
AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
CITY MANAGER REPORTS
There were no reports from the City Manager.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Hastings declared Oral Communications open. Ms.
Dorothy Whyte, College Park East, made reference to a map
showing 48.5 acres of commercial development on Bixby land, a
large church with one thousand one hundred ninety parking
stalls, a building that appears to be some type of home
improvement center with fifteen hundred parking stalls, and
an adjacent space for some use that would be compatible with
a home improvement store, and said comments persist that the
Lucky Store will be moving across Seal Beach Boulevard, as
was previously reported. She recalled being told that the
mixed use plan was no longer a consideration, said that is
because the Council did not want that plan, not because of
Bixby, they simply knew there were not enough votes for it.
Ms. Whyte deemed that what is proposed is a huge commercial
development from the freeway to the highlands, there will be
tremendous traffic, there are increased signal lights,
churches do not bring in revenue, the proposed public driving
range does not bring in revenue, to which she suggested that
the people of College Park East ask to see this map, and
claimed the sad thing is that the residents were told they
would get to choose the development. She mentioned being
told that the pilot plan will cost $370,000 and plan itself
four million, there is no mention of a bond issue or whatever
for a community center, rather, College Park East will get
tennis courts, and those too were nearly lost had it not been
for the intervention of a councilmember, said it is felt the
people have been cheated in terms of information, and
objected to the proposed expenditures downtown while College
Park East gets a large commercial development. There is
concern also that if the tennis club is obtained that the
City will not be able to maintain it financially and College
Park will get nothing. With regard to the recall effort Ms.
Whyte said she is encouraging people to sign, the people have
not been given the opportunity to be heard, there has not
been a town hall meeting to do so, it should now be known
that the Neighborhood Association is not political as a
member of that group is a supporter of the Councilperson,
asked that the rumors that people are on the take from Bixby
be squashed, and said of interest is that some of the people
supporting the election of the Councilperson were outside the
district and seem to have an interest in supporting
commercial in College Park East, to which she suggested that
commercial be developed on the Department of Water and Power
and 12th and PCH properties. It was pointed out that Old
Town and the Hill areas have a great deal of commercial and
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I
retail now. Ms. Fran Johnson, Seal Beach, thanked everyone
that has made generous donations of food, bedding, etc. for
the care of the animals at the Care Center. She also
reminded people that it is a felony to abandon a domestic
animal anywhere in this State. Mr. Al Kime, College Park
East, asked if the Bixby MOU has been signed, if copies are
available, and if a copy would be available the following
day. The City Manager responded that he believed so. Mr.
Kime said there seems to be different plans being circulated,
the 48.5 acres of development is not accurate, the land for
the widening of Seal Beach Boulevard should be deducted, as
well as land for the widening of Lampson Avenue, adjustment
of the freew~y ramps, etc., the land required for street
widening could easily exceed ten acres, then deduct the
fifteen acres proposed for church use, with that the actual
acreage for commercial development would be less than thirty
acres. If the MOU is signed, Mr. Kime asked what is the next
step. The Director of Development Services confirmed that an
application has been submitted by Bixby for a General Plan
Amendment and Zone Change, it will go through the same
process as did the prior development proposal, an EIR, which
will take four to six months, public hearings, etc. Mr. Kime
asked to see a copy of the proposed project. Mr. Brian Kyle,
Seal Beach, said he would be out of town when the Main Street
improvements are discussed again therefore wanted it known
that he likes the plan, brief review shows that Main Street
improvements are about $309,000 without the parking meters,
that not taking into consideration the private money that has
gone into improvements over the years, most of the monies are
designated for public and pier use, and reported the Business
Association is pursuing the transport of Leisure World
shoppers to the downtown area rather than just to Rossmoor,
also commended the upcoming improvements to 12th Street. Mr.
Columbic, College Park East, questioned why the recall effort
of his Councilperson, stated that the representative is
carrying out the mandate of District Four, she has his
support one hundred percent. Ms. Audrey Kime, College Park
East, claimed their was a veiled reference to her
participation in the anti recall campaign, stated what she is
doing is her own personal belief, has nothing to do with the
Neighborhood Association, it is her right to vote and support
those of her choice, and if there is a problem it should be
discussed directly with her. With regard to the development
project that has now been submitted to the City, and how it
relates to the Main Street presentation, which she declared
to be wonderful, said as a supporter of strategic planning
her preference would be to see this type of beautification
incorporated throughout the City, there needs to be a plan as
to how Seal Beach should look and be perceived in the future.
Ms. Kime said whatever is built by Bixby there is need for
continued public input to that plan, ensure that as many of
the trees are saved as possible, that those that need to be
removed are replaced elsewhere, that the parking lots are
tree filled, that the architecture is acceptable, the people
have the right to talk to all bodies and agencies throughout
every step of the process, there is no need to waste time,
money, and energy on the recall game, there are much more
important things to do for this City. Mr. Dennis Sandler,
College Park East, questioned what is going on, what about
the church, what kind of shopping center, there are many
rumors, maybe if things were discussed in open meetings there
would not be problems in College Park East. He asked about
the tennis courts, his reading of the MOU is that if the City
does not have the money to make improvements and maintain it,
Bixby will get it back and probably sell it. There being no
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further comments, Mayor Hastings declared Oral Communications
closed.
COUNCIL CONCERNS
Councilman Fulton spoke favorably of the Main Street
Improvement Plan, however stated that given his conservative
nature he is not likely to spend a million dollars quickly,
yet the improvements proposed are needed at the earliest time
possible in the future. He noted a complaint relating to the
service responses of Comcast and made a comparison of that to
the telephone company. Councilmember Campbell said she has
tried to not comment on statements made or issues relating to
her district, however her supporters have urged her to do so.
She noted that a flier of the recall supporters refers to the
Bixby commercial project as 'Campbell's All Commercial Plan',
to that she asked why as she has not participated in
discussions concerning the project, it is not her project, or
proposal, and that she gets information from the City Manager
the same as others. The recall supporters say the commercial
project is forty-eight acres, it is not, that includes the
church which is not a commercial use, the commercial
development is actually about thirty-three acres, eight acres
at the corner and twenty-five acres along Seal Beach
Boulevard behind the trees, it also appears that some people
think she has approved a project, to that she responded that
neither she or any other Councilmember has, what was approved
was a Memorandum of understanding, in that MOU Bixby outlined
a proposed project and the City agreed to process their
application in a timely manner and in good faith, something
the City is obligated by law to do anyway, the MOU states as
well that no project approvals are granted. She mentioned
having a town hall meeting about a year ago, not necessarily
pleasant, some people decided they could determine what was
to be discussed at her meeting, to which she said no, there
was an agenda, it was suggested to those who wished to talk
about something that was not on the agenda that they reserve
the hall for their own meeting, and neither she nor the
attending police officer asked anyone to leave that meeting.
Councilmember Campbell noted the attempt to compare the
Hellman project with the Bixby project, yet it needs to be
realized that they are entirely different pieces of property,
Hellman is zoned residential, ponderosa proposed a thousand
homes, that went away, Mola wanted five hundred homes and was
fought, now Hellman wants to build seventy homes on the
bluff, a golf course, with some commercial development near
First Street. She mentioned that Hellman has also made it
known that if their project does not go through, they will
sell their property, another developer could then come in
with a proposal for hundreds of housing units, that is called
starting over, could that be a problem, why, because
residential does not make any money for the City. She said
upon review of the Stanley Hoffman financial analysis for the
Bixby project, residential versus the commercial component
was broken out, for a bedroom community residential is a real
problem, and Seal Beach is the second lowest in sales tax in
the County. To the question will the Hellman residential
cost the City money, yes, what is the alternative, building
six or seven hundred homes, and stated she has not worked for
or against that project as it has not come before the
Council. As to dissemination of information, Councilmember
Campbell said she has always let information be known as soon
as she has learned of it, information has never been
withheld, however, the Bixby supporters claim that they have
information from Bixby and then wonder why she is not putting
it out. She recalled that Hill and Old Town residents were
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I
named as supporters of her election, names she was not
familiar with. She acknowledged that there have been
discussions regarding strategic planning, architectural
review, what is going to be done in the CPE area, if the
tennis courts are obtained then what is going to be done with
them, that is a process that all of College Park East should
be involved in, the discussion group met for months, those
meetings were not for naught, there were many good, creative
ideas, one was zone swapping. Councilmember Campbell said
her preference is to see people work together, the recall
effort takes away from the time that should be devoted to
things that are good for College Park East. Councilman Brown
noted that the meeting scheduled to discuss flood concerns in
the downtown area had been changed, to which the Director of
Public Works stated there is no specific meeting date thus
far, possibly the second or third week after school opens.
Mayor Hastings reported receipt of a complaint relating to
the placement of real estate signs on public property,
examples being the greenbelt, parkways, utility poles, stop
signs, etc., when confronted a local realtor stated he was
entitled to do so, and the Police Department was contacted.
She noted that without complaint the signs are often
overlooked for an entire weekend even though they are not
permitted to be there, and inquired if the volunteers could
possibly be used to gather the signs and take them to the
Public Works Department where they could be picked up at
another time, pointing out that the C~ty is liable should
someone be hurt as a result of their presence. Mayor
Hastings welcomed Chief Sellers, the Recreation Director, and
other staff attending the meeting.
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ADJOURNMENT
It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council,
to adjourn the meeting until Monday, September 8th at 6:30
p.m. to meet in Closed Session if deemed necessary. By
unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 10:18 p.m.
Approved:
clerk
Attest:
...
.
I
Seal Beach, California
September 8, 1997
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
adjourned session at 6:32 p.m. with Mayor Hastings calling
the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag.