HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC Min 1997-11-24
11-24-97
Seal Beach, California
November 24, 1997
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Hastings calling
the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Hastings
Counci1members Brown, Campbell, Forsythe,
Fulton
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Absent: None
Also present: Mr. Till, City Manager
Mr. Barrow, City Attorney
Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
By unanimous consent, the Council approved the order of the
agenda as presented.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
There were no Oral Communications.
CLOSED SESSION
The City Attorney announced that the Council would meet in
Closed Session to discuss the item listed on the agenda, a
conference with the City's labor negotiator with regard to
Executive Management/Mid-Management; Confidential/
Supervisory/Professional/Technical Employees pursuant to
Government Code Section 54957.6. The Council adjourned to
Closed Session at 6:32 p.m. and reconvened at 6:50 p.m. with
Mayor Hastings calling the meeting to order. The City
Attorney reported the Council had met in Closed Session to
confer with the labor negotiator regarding employee
negotiations, no action was taken.
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ADJOURNMENT
By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 6:50 p.m.
Attest:
clerk
Approved:
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11-24-97
Seal Beach, California
November 24, 1997
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The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
session at 7:06 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
Chief Sellers, Police Department
Mr. Badum, Director of Public Works/City
Engineer
Mr. Dorsey, Assistant to the City Manager
Ms. Beard, Recreation Director
Mrs. Yeo, City Clerk
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APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Councilmember Campbell requested that Item "L" be removed
from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration. 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
Ms. Harmon, member of the Historical Society Board of
Directors, announced the winner of the second annual
Historical Society Photo Contest, Lisa Woodruff, for her
photo entitled 'Red Car Next Stop Seal Beach', a black and
white hand tinted print. As Chairperson of the Contest she
announced that all of the photos are on display at the Red
Car Museum.
PROCLAMATION
Mayor Hastings proclaimed the rema~n~ng holiday months of
1997 and all of 1998 as "Buckle Up For Life Challenge."
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PRESENTATION - BEACH NOURISHMENT
Mayor Hastings reported that a press conference had been held
on Thursday with regard to the upcoming delivery of sand at
which it was described how the sand acquisition was
accomplished, then the Naval Weapons Station was visited to
observe the transport trains, the conveyor belts, landmovers,
dumping pit, etc. The Mayor introduced Mr. Chris Webb,
Moffat & Nichol Engineers, an authority on sand
replenishment/beach nourishment and wave actions, whom she
had invited to make a presentation for the interest of the
public as was done on Thursday. Mr. Webb extended
congratulations to the City upon their receipt of sand, an
effort to revive the condition of the beach. Mr. Webb
reported the involvement of his firm with the City over a
number of years to study the beaches and beach replenishment
efforts as solutions to the on-going sand erosion problem.
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The City of Seal Beach, north of Huntington, south of Los
Angeles, is an area open to exposure of waves coming directly
from the west, wintertime storm waves, those can cause havoc
to the shoreline, particularly in the case of a narrow beach,
the area also exposed to wave energy from the direct south,
waves from other directions are partially sheltered by the
islands therefore not quite so threatening. He noted the
beach area is about a mile long, separated by the pier, the
difference between the east and west beaches is significant,
primarily caused by waves interacting with the jetties at the
outer Anaheim Bay and the resultant movement of sand. This
is referred to as a pocket beach, different from the broad
sandy beaches such as Bolsa Chica or Huntington, a pocket
beach receives very little sediment from outside its
boundaries, primarily contained within physical boundaries,
natural headlands or points, in the case of Seal Beach
artificial headlands are formed by the jetty at outer Anaheim
Bay and at Alamitos Bay and the San Gabriel River, explaining
that Seal Beach used to receive sediment traveling along the
shoreline from the Los Angeles River, the San Gabriel River
and from the Santa Ana River during different seasons, yet
when the harbors were put in on either side of the City the
jetty structures blocked sand from moving laterally along the
shoreline, therefore there is very little sand coming in from
other areas, a little from the San Gabriel, but for the most
part it is from beach replenishment trucked, dredged, or in
this case arriving by rail from palmdale. Mr. Webb referred
to the concrete structure under the pier called a groin,
constructed by the federal government to help alleviate the
erosion problem caused by the affects of the installation of
the jetties at Anaheim Bay. He said the net effect on the
east beach is a steady loss of sand every year on average,
caused by the fact that as waves from the south approach Seal
Beach they crest and stretch from west to east and propagate
towards shore, the majority of the wave passes towards the
beach unaffected by the jetties however as the portion of the
wave crest to the east comes in contact with the jetty at
Anaheim Bay it is then reflected by the jetty back towards
the east beach, that reflective wave then, as it is moving
toward the northwest, combines with the next incoming wave to
create a combined wave that is higher than the regular
incident wave that comes through unaffected, and produces
more energy than the regular incident wave, therefore with
more energy and wave height it picks up sand from east beach
and carries it in the direction of the propagating reflective
wave which is from southeast to northwest, after hitting the
shoreline it is pushed towards the west, thus, the sand at
Seal Beach moves basically from east to west along the
shoreline, pushed by the reflective wave. At about the
center of east beach the sand gets narrowed and carried, some
trapped by the groin at the pier while a large portion goes
around, under, and over the groin to west beach, it is
trapped by the jetty near the San Gabriel River, which
results in we~t beach receiving the nice white sand at the
expense of east beach, east beach then gets narrower and
lower over time, the resulting effect is that when waves come
in that are higher than average, coupled with high tides,
flooding then occurs over east beach, and homes along Seal
Way are threatened with high water levels. Mr. Webb
projected slides of wave actions, flooding, pooling and
resulting impacts from the September 26th storm activity. He
described what the City has done to address the problem such
as bringing in sand from other sources to nourish the beach,
in the 1990's there were two such projects whereby sand was
brought from the Santa Ana River, a total of about thirty
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thousand cubic yards trucked in, dumped on the 10th Street
parking lot where scrapers then picked up the sand and
transported it to the easterly area of the beach, even though
those projects were not of a great magnitude they were timely
and allowed the east beach to remain dry, free of flooding.
At that same time, 1995, the City authorized application to
be made to the State Department of Boating and Waterways for
Beach Erosion Program funds, a seventy-five percent
contribution for a worthy project to alleviate beach erosion,
the State in turn awarded the City about $800,000 to do a
project. He noted the City was considering taking sand from
outer Anaheim Bay that generated from Surfside, that a fairly
good source and the basis for the grant application, however
while the State was deliberating whether to make the award
there was an effort made to find other sources of sand, that
with the knowledge that there was a rail line that came into
the Weapons Station, a feasible way to get sand to the City
from a further distance without trucking it in, to that a
quarry in palmdale made contact with the City and reported
they had an endless supply of sand of whatever quality
desired, it was looked at and determined to be a better
quality than the sand from outer Anaheim Bay. He explained
that to accomplish beach replenishment the quality of sand is
at least as important or more so than the quantity, the
quality is basically the size of the sand grains, and since
there is high wave energy on the east beach, the type of sand
that would tend to remain on that beach is sand of large
grain and heavy, therefore harder for waves to pick up and
transport, and pointed out that the sand on east beach is
quite coarse yet it is fine grain on west beach, that sand
previously carried from east beach. Samples were taken from
outer Anaheim Bay, Palmdale, and east beach, they were
compared, what is on east beach now is between a forty to
fifty grain sieve, typically medium coarse sand, that was
compared to the palmdale sand, fifty percent of the sample
coarser in grain size than the sample from east beach, the
palmdale sand found to be a good quality for beach
replenishment here, sixty percent of the sand from outer
Anaheim Bay is smaller than what is referred to as a number
one hundred sieve, the size on west beach now, therefore the
assumption is that everything that is one hundred sieve and
smaller would be picked up from east beach and carried to
west beach very quickly, the other forty percent from outer
Anaheim Bay is much finer than what is on east beach today,
therefore that fell out of consideration for replenishment,
at that point it was suggested that the City then focus on
the sand from Palmdale. Another analysis was to identify how
wide a beach could be created using the sand from either
outer Anaheim Bay or Palmdale, determined that approximately
one hundred feet of new beach width could be created by the
dredging process however after about a season of being worked
by waves the beach profile would drop back to almost
identical to what it is today, therefore the long term
additional beach width that might be gained by Bay sand would
be about twenty-five feet, that does not buy much for the
money spent, using the Palmdale sand about one hundred feet
of new beach could be realized upon construction, after a
season of wave action the beach would still be about seventy-
five feet wider than what now exists. The City pursued and
has now begun to receive sand from Palmdale, some of the
benefits to the City by railing the sand is that it is a
better quality, will last longer, realize more for the
investment, also eliminates the nuisance factor of trucking
the sand, the noise, vibration, pollution, street damage,
also from an environmental benefit, with dredging Anaheim Bay
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there is a biology element that needs to be protected which
is a constraint to that project, the magnitude of which is
unknown, may lessen the amount of sand and there could be
mitigation requirements that would have a cost. He noted
that the City also committed to improving some of the rail
line at the Navy Base the result of which is access to that
rail for future projects, a conveyor is in place, a rather I
elaborate system to off-load rail cars. This endeavor has
not only given the option of dredging and trucking sand for
replenishment but now transport by rail, is a benefit to Seal
Beach and possibly other cities in the vicinity, and sets a
precedent. A member of the audience inquired about
installation of short jetties to stop the sand flow. Mr.
Webb said that would probably not be a good idea, there may
be other ways, that because the east beach is short, for an
effective groin you need an adequate distance between, at
this point there is probably not enough distance between the
groin and jetty to put another in, there would probably be a
build up of sand next to it but then there would be an
indentation on the beach just to the other side, it might
exacerbate the problem. He noted that the groin is already
there, it is about thirty years old and needs to be
maintained, that done by patching the holes, possibly raise
it so that sand does not come over, and maybe lengthen it,
the wider the groin the wider the east beach will build out
from it, another option is installing spur groins, those are
rock structures that are perpendicular out from the jetty,
the reflected wave would bounce off the jetty, be intercepted
by the spur groin, and reflected back out to sea, the
circulation of the beach would need to be looked at before
and after construction, however this would be a more I
expensive undertaking. He mentioned that when the grant
application was submitted to the State other options such as
a breakwater, an artificial reef, extension of the groin were
considered however a benefit/cost analysis showed that the
highest benefit/cost was simply placing good sand on the
beach. The Mayor said she understood that an artificial
breakwater had been constructed at the Peninsula area, it
saved the area that was eroding so rapidly however it then
started etching out on either side, also her understanding is
that some time ago an extended groin was not the
recommendation of Moffat and Nichol, and questioned if an
extended groin would exacerbate the whirl pooling that there
is now. Mr. Webb said he was not certain, his guess would be
that it would not to any extent, it could be a little
different, the extension would only be a small component of
what is there, the additional effects of circulation might be
very minimal, it should be looked at, there are some fairly
simplistic computer models that can simulate the circulation
now and duplicate what would likely happen, that kind of
analysis is available and can be done, as far as past
recommendations, they were likely based on available funding.
Mayor Hastings expressed appreciation to Mr. Webb for his
presentations on Thursday, Friday and this evening, the I
intent being to provide residents as much information as
possible relating to what is currently taking place on the
City's beach. The City Manager added that for the benefit of
those who may be viewing this effort as a response to an El
Nino winter, it is not, this project has been a long time in
the making, the City has looked for funds for a major sand
project for some eight years, and it is somewhat coincidental
that funding comes from the State in the very year that El
Nino is anticipated, this project will not be of short
duration, it will not be a matter of weeks until the beach is
where it should be, rather, several months, the City needs to
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work within the Navy schedule, there can not be Base access
when there is a ship with ammunition, however the rail
infrastructure is in place and there is a method to replenish
the beach in an environmentally acceptable way, hopefully a
long term solution to the problem. Mayor Hastings mentioned
too the part of the Navy, a first time ever that the Navy has
allowed such operation, to which the Manager confirmed the
cooperation of the Naval Weapons facility, they in fact
assisted even during the high tides on September 26th.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Hastings declared Oral Communications open. Mr. Russ
Bowman, 8th Street, said after reading the Government Code,
Chapter 7, he spoke with the Fair Political Practices
Commission, his concern is that Councilmembers Brown and
Fulton may have a conflict of interest with respect to the
new cable franchise, he 'has read the local conflict of
interest resolution, believes there may be a cause of action
under Section 87100 et seq or under the Commonlaw Doctrine
against conflict of interest, and it is hoped this places the
duty of inquiry upon the City and will be addressed before it
takes further action. To inquiry of Councilman Brown, the
City Attorney advised that the second reading of the cable
ordinance is listed on the agenda, was requested to be
removed from the Consent Calendar, and any comments may be
addressed at that time. There being no further comments,
Mayor Hastings declared Oral Communications closed.
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CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "c" thru "0"
Brown moved, second by Fulton, to approve the recommended
action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except
item "L", removed for separate consideration.
C. 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. Approved demands numbered 17735 through
17837 in the amount of $319,984.19,
payroll demands numbered 24685 through
24839 in the amount of $223,156.22, and
authorized warrants to be drawn on the
Treasury for same.
E. Received and filed the Monthly Investment
Report ending October, 1997.
F.
Adopted Ordinance Number 1424 entitled "AN
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, MOVING THE DATE
OF THE 1998 PRIMARY MUNICIPAL ELECTION
FROM THE LAST TUESDAY OF MARCH TO THE
FOURTH TUESDAY OF MARCH"; and
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Adopted Ordinance Number 1425 entitled "AN
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, CALLING AND
GIVING NOTICE OF THE HOLDING OF A PRIMARY
MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD IN THE CITY
ON TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1998, FOR THE ELECTION
OF CERTAIN OFFICERS OF THE CITY AS REQUIRED
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BY THE PROVISIONS OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH"; and
Adopted Ordinance Number 1426 entitled "AN
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, CALLING AND
GIVING NOTICE OF THE HOLDING OF A SPECIAL
MUNICIPAL ELECTION ON" TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1998,
FOR THE SUBMISSION OF THE QUESTION OF THE
RECALL OF CERTAIN OFFICERS AND THE ELECTION
OF CANDIDATES TO FILL THE VACANCY IF THE
RECALL PREVAILS"; and
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Adopted Resolution Number 4584 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, REQUESTING THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF
ORANGE TO RENDER SPECIFIED SERVICES TO THE
CITY RELATING TO THE CONDUCT OF A PRIMARY
MUNICIPAL ELECTION AND A SPECIAL ELECTION
TO BE HELD IN THE CITY ON TUESDAY, MARCH
24, 1998"; and
Adopted Resolution Number 4585 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING
REGULATIONS FOR CANDIDATES FOR ELECTIVE
OFFICE PERTAINING TO CANDIDATES STATEMENTS
SUBMITTED TO THE VOTERS AT THE PRIMARY
MUNICIPAL ELECTION AND THE SPECIAL MUNICIPAL
ELECTION TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, MARCH 24,
1998, AND IF NECESSARY, AT THE GENERAL (RUN-
OFF) ELECTION ON MAY 12, 1998"; and
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Adopted Resolution Number 4586 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, ORDERING THAT
THE CANVASS OF THE PRIMARY MUNICIPAL
ELECTION AND THE SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION,
TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, MARCH 24, 1998, BE
MADE BY THE CITY CLERI<"; and
Adopted Ordinance Number 1427 entitled "AN
ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING CHAPTER
IB OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH
RELATING TO CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS AND
THE VOLUNTARY CAMPAIGN EXPENDITURE LIMIT"; and
By unanimous consent, full reading of
Ordinances Numbered 1424, 1425, 1426 and
1427, and Resolutions Numbered 4584, 4585
and 4586 was waived.
Declared that the City offices are to be
closed for public business on Friday,
December 26th, 1997.
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G. Adopted Resolution Number 4587 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH DECLARING WORI< TO BE COMPLETED
AS TO PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR PROJECT
#665, WESTMINSTER PAVEMENT REHABILITATION
PROJECT, FY 1997/98, CONTRACT ENTERED INTO
BETWEEN ALL AMERICAN ASPHALT AND THE CITY
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OF SEAL BEACH." By unanimous consent, full
reading of Resolution Number 4587 was waived.
H.
Adopted Resolution Number 4588 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR
GRANT FUNDS FOR THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENHANCEMENT
AND MITIGATION PROGRAM UNDER THE SECTION 164.56
OF THE STREETS AND HIGHWAYS CODE FOR THE BOLSA
CHICA MITIGATION PROJECT." By unanimous
consent, full reading of Resolution Number
4588 was waived.
I. Received and filed the staff report relating
to the response to the Notice of Preparation
of a Draft EIR - Draft Program EIR for the
County Sanitation Districts of Orange County
Strategic Plan - County Sanitation Districts
of Orange County, and authorized the Mayor
to sign the response letter as presented.
J. Received and filed the staff report relating
to the response to Notice of Preparation of
Draft EIR - Land Use Amendment to the
Southeast Area Development and Improvement
Plan (SEADIP) Planned Development Zoning
Ordinance PD-1 - City of Long Beach, and
authorized the Mayor to sign the response
letter as presented.
Adopted Resolution Number 4581 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH AMENDING CLASSIFICATION PLAN
FOR CONFIDENTIAL, SUPERVISORY, PROFESSIONAL
AND TECHNICAL EMPLOYEES AND REPEALING ON
THE EFFECTIVE DATE SPECIFIED, ALL RESOLUTIONS
IN CONFLICT THEREWITH" and
Adopted Resolution Number 4582 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH AMENDING THE COMPENSATION
PLAN FOR MANAGEMENT AND MID-MANAGEMENT
EMPLOYEES." By unanimous consent, full
reading of Resolutions Numbered 4581 and
4582 were waived.
M. Received and filed the fourth quarterly
report relating to the enforcement of the
Daytime Curfew Ordinance.
N.
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Adopted Resolution Number 4589 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH APPROVING THE CLOSURE OF THE
NORTH AND SOUTHBOUND TURN POCKETS LOCATED
AT THE MAIN STREET/PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY
INTERSECTION." By unanimous consent, full
reading of Resolution Number 4589 was waived.
O. Adopted Resolution Number 4590 entitled "A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF SEAL BEACH URGING CONTINUED FUNDING AND
OPERATION OF THE LOS ALAMITOS CONTROL TOWER."
By unanimous consent, full reading of
Resolution Number 4590 was waived.
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AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
ITEM "L" - ORDINANCE NUMBER 1418 - CABLE TELEVISION
FRANCHISES
Councilmember Campbell stated her preference to table or
continue this item inasmuch as she had additional questions
on the Franchise Agreement, the contract needs to be correct
given the term of ten years, in the interim she would prefer
to operate on a month to month basis as did Buena Park. It
was pointed out that the Franchise Agreement was approved by
the Council at the last meeting, the item under consideration
is the second reading of the ordinance governing cable
franchises. Councilmember Campbell reiterated her request,
citing her need to resolve concerns. Councilman Brown
explained that in Leisure World it is the Golden Rain
Foundation and management that make decisions relating to
their cable franchise, he is just a citizen, a resident of
Leisure World as a prior speaker is a citizen in Seal Beach,
that he makes no decisions in Leisure World with regard to
the Comcast contract, therefore there is no conflict of
interest, if that were so the same would apply to College
Park East in that the Councilperson is also a resident of the
area, the same with Old Town, etc. In response to the Mayor,
the Council was advised that the public did have the
opportunity to speak to this item, to allow further comments
would be at the discretion of the Council. Councilmember
Forsythe noted receiving a number of calls on this issue,
stated that typically when an award is made to a vendor it is
based on past performances or a guarantee of something to
come, it has been said that if the City does not make Comcast
do their job the fault will lie with the City, to which she
claimed it should not be necessary to make Comcast do their
job, why award a ten year contract to a company that has not
performed in the past, there is nothing in the agreement that
will guarantee any better performance. Question was raised
if the ordinance is in conformity with the already approved
agreement. The City Attorney advised that if the intent was
a motion to table the item, with a second, it is not
debatable, if it was to continue it may be discussed, then
confirmed that the ordinance as proposed is in conformity
with the approved agreement.
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At the conclusion of discussion, Campbell moved, second by
Brown, to refer the proposed ordinance back to the committee.
It was mentioned that if agreeable, the members of the
Foundation will be invited to join the discussion with the
committee.
AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
PUBLIC HEARING - ALLOCATION OF COPS FUNDS - FISCAL YEAR
1997/98
Mayor Hastings declared the public hearing open to consider
the allocation of Citizens' Options for Public Safety program
funds, pursuant to AB 3229, for fiscal year 1997/98, the Seal
Beach portion of those funds being $60,605. The City Clerk
certified that the notice of public hearing had been
advertised as required by law, and reported no communications
received. Chief Sellers presented the staff report and
recommendation that the funds be targeted for the purchase of
a crime scene photography kit, crime scene investigation kits
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for patrol officers, tape-to-tape VHS recorder, overtime for
community policing efforts, including bike patrol, grant
development, community education and crime prevention, two
patrol bicycles with appropriate safety gear to be used by
regular and reserve police officers, less lethal weapons, red
plastic training guns, field tape recorders, and ballistic
vests. There being no public comments, Mayor Hastings
declared the hearing closed.
Brown moved, second by Fulton, to direct that a Supplemental
Law Enforcement Services Fund (SLESF) be established and that
approval be given the Chief of Police to make purchases under
the allocation of State COPS funding for fiscal year 1997/98.
To a question of Council, the Chief explained that the
allocation of monies is based upon a population factor.
AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
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PUBLIC HEARING - APPEAL - CUP 96-1 - LAND USE ENTITLEMENT -
SEAL BEACH MARKET - LEISURE WORLD CENTER
The Director of Development Services presented the staff
report, noted that the request considered by the Planning
Commission was basically an indefinite extension of a
previously approved Conditional Use Permit to allow for the
expansion of alcoholic beverage sales at the Seal Beach
Market to include distilled spirits, a condition of approval
of the CUP was that it be reviewed in one year to determine
that it was acceptable to the City. During that period of
time the Market was not able to obtain the necessary
distilled spirit license from the Alcoholic Beverage Control,
therefore the determination of the Commission was to deny the
request for extension because the premises had never operated
with distilled spirits, thus there was nothing to base a
history of experience on to determine whether to grant or
deny. As part of that consideration there was discussion of
ways to not require the market to come back for another
review, the Commission determined to simply deny the request,
that would then require the Market to come to the City with a
new application at the time they are able to obtain the
distilled spirit license from the ABC. He noted the Market
then appealed the decision in a timely manner, modified their
request to allow the Council to approve a one year extension
of the previously approved distilled spirit license, the one
year period to begin at the time the premises is actually
licensed by the ABC, that option was presented to the
Commission however they determined to simply deny the
request. The Director noted that unfortunately the wording
of the Commission Resolution not only denied the request for
the distilled spirit license but also the pre-existing beer
and wine sales which has existed for about two years. The
Director mentioned that the options proposed is to sustain
the decision of the Planning Commission, which would prohibit
the sale of any and all alcoholic beverages, or, sustain the
appeal of Pacific Food Services for the Seal Beach Market.
He confirmed that the attempt to spare the applicant the fee
to reapply was a concern, that issue tended to refocus the
Commission, however when the project was denied the Market,
in their appeal process, clearly indicated no objection to
paying the fee when they come back for renewal, therefore not
an issue from the Market standpoint.
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Mayor Hastings declared the public hearing open. The City
Clerk certified that notice of the public hearing had been
advertised as required by law, and reported no communications
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received relating to this item. Mr. Reg Clewley, Catalina
Avenue, stated his opposition to consideration of CUP 96-1 on
the grounds that the matter is out of order. ZTA 96-1 should
be voted into law or denied prior to the Council having
anything to do with what property owners can or can not do or
build on their land, and ZTA 96-1 prohibits the City from
enforcing the Building Code, consideration of a CUP is a
waste of taxpayers money, and moved that the public hearing
be continued until such time as a determination is made with
regard to the appeal of ZTA 96-1. A four year owner of the
Seal Beach Market said there have been no problems with their
beer and wine license, with regard to distilled spirits, they
are in the process to obtain that license and it should be
resolved within thirty to sixty days. There being no further
comments, Mayor Hastings declared the public hearing closed.
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Brown moved, second by Fulton, to sustain the appeal of
Pacific Food Services, Seal Beach Market, to reflect their
revised request from an indefinite extension of Conditional
Use Permit 96-1 to a twelve month extension from the date the
State Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control issues the
pending license upgrade.
AYES:
NOES:
Brown, Campbell, Forsythe, Fulton, Hastings
None Motion carried
CITY MANAGER REPORTS
There were no City Manager reports.
The City Attorney announced that notice has been received
from the California Supreme Court that they have denied the
application of Mola Development for review, the final
appellate body would be the United States Supreme Court.
I
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Hastings declared Oral Communications open. Mr. Gordon
Shanks, Surf Place, noted that the Department of Defense
budget has been cut, however it is fortunate that the Naval
weapons Station has been saved. He mentioned a news article
of this date relating to the California National Guard, and
requested that the City Council forward a letter to either
the DOD or the Governor's office requesting a greater amount
of funding for the Guard, otherwise in the event of a
disaster the Guard will not have the resources to provide
emergency backup to the communities and cities that they
should in the case of a natural or civil situation. To a
question of Council, the City Attorney advised that direction
could be provided the City Manager or agendize the subject
for the next meeting. Mayor Hastings requested that the
Manager follow through on Mr. Shanks suggestion. Mr. Russ
Bowman, 8th Street, said the understanding is that the Cable
Agreement was not going to be enforced until the second
reading of the Ordinance as there are a number of provisions
in the Agreement that stand with the Ordinance, and should
the Ordinance be changed that may impact the willingness of
Comcast to complete this process, then questioned if the
Agreement were already signed. The City Attorney
acknowledged that the approved Agreement is in fact
contingent upon the Ordinance. There being no further
comments, Mayor Hastings declared Oral Communications closed.
I
COUNCIL CONCERNS
Councilman Fulton took exception to the comment that he was
voting on the cable issue because he represents a district
within Leisure World. He informed the speaker that Leisure
I
I
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11-24-97 / 12-8-97
World could in fact pullout of the cable company right now,
get cable service at a lesser rate than from Comcast, five
companies have approached Leisure World proposing to serve
the entire area with a dish, an approximate charge of $10 per
unit for eighty-six channels, yet Leisure World has chosen to
support the City by using Comcast. The Mayor inquired as to
the affect on PEG funds if Leisure World were to drop
Comcast, to which Councilman Brown noted that the contract is
based on so many homes, if one-third of those were gone there
would be an impact. It was pointed out that Leisure World is
under separate contract with Comcast, and again, if Comcast
does not perform people will be opting for satellite dishes.
Mayor Hastings made reference to the recent Readers Digest
article entitled 'How To Master Your Moods' in which local
resident Dr. Robert Thayer is quoted several times. She also
announced her recent attendance at a celebration at the
Rossmoor Elementary School in recognition of the School
having been named a National Blue Ribbon School of
Excellence. Councilmember Campbell mentioned that of over
eighty thousand schools that apply for that award, two
hundred eighty five receive it, and it is understood that the
High School and McAuliff have made application. At this time
of Thanksgiving, Mayor Hastings expressed her thankfulness
for the right of freedom of speech.
ADJOURNMENT
Councilman Brown suggested that the meeting be adjourned to
6:00 p.m. on December 8th to allow a period for Assemblyman
Baugh to address the City Council. By unanimous consent, the
Council adjourned until December 8th at 6:00 p.m. as
requested, and to meet in Closed Session thereafter if deemed
necessary. It was the order of the Chair, with consent of
the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 8:31 p.m.
Approved:
Attest:
Seal Beach, California
December 8, 1997
The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular
adjourned session at 6:00 p.m. with Mayor Hastings calling
the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor Hastings
Councilmembers Brown, Forsythe, Fulton
Absent:
Councilmember Campbell