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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCC AG PKT 2003-06-09 #F • Seal Beach, California May 12, 2003 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular adjourned session at 6:30 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Larson Councilmembers Antos, Campbell, Doane, Yost Absent: - None Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City Attorney Ms. Yeo, City Clerk CLOSED SESSION The City Attorney announced that pursuant to the Brown Act the City Council would meet in Closed Session to discuss Items A and B identified on the agenda, a conference with legal counsel with regard to existing litigation, City of Seal Beach versus Ribal, and with regard to two cases of anticipated litigation. The Council adjourned to Closed Session at 6:31 p.m. and reconvened at 6:52 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order. The City Attorney reported that the Council discussed Item A, gave direction 1111 to legal counsel, no other action was taken. ADJOURNMENT It was -the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to adjourn the meeting at 6:53 p.m. THESE ARE TENTATIVE MINUTES ONLY, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH. Council Minutes Approved: • 1111 • AGENDA ITEM F • Seal Beach, California May 12, 2003 The City Council of the City of Seal Beach met in regular session at 7:01 p.m. with Mayor Larson calling the meeting to order with the Salute to the Flag. ROLL CALL Present: Mayor Larson Councilmembers Antos, Campbell, Doane, Yost Absent: None Also present: Mr. Bahorski, City Manager Mr. Barrow, City- Attorney Mr. Dancs, Director of Public Works /City Engineer Chief Sellers, Police Department Ms. Arends - King, Director of Administrative Services Mr. Vukojevic, Deputy City Engineer Mr. Cummins, Associate Planner Ms. Yeo, City Clerk APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mayor Larson announced that upon request Item "H ", the Brightwater Water Transmission Project, and Item "I ", the - • Trees for Seal Beach proposal to construct tree islands at the 300 block of Main Street crosswalk, is being held over until a future meeting. Councilmember Campbell requested that Item "F" be removed from the Consent Calendar for separate consideration, Councilman Yost requested Item "G" removed, and the City Clerk requested that Item "C" be • removed. Doane moved, second by Campbell, to approve the order of the agenda as revised. AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost NOES: None Motion carried ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilmember Campbell announced the passing this past week of College Park East resident Dorothy Whyte. Councilmember Campbell stated that while she and Ms. Whyte differed on issues Ms. Whyte cared deeply about the City, she was the leading force behind the Founders Day Celebration which began in 1990 with the 75th Anniversary of the City, in the 1990's she served as a Parks and Recreation Commissioner representing College Park East, and about the same time she and Ms. Whyte founded the College Park East Neighborhood Association, she was selected as Seal Beach Woman of the Year in 1993, and requested that this meeting be adjourned in her memory. Councilman Doane mentioned that a memorial service will be held for Dorothy Whyte at Forest Lawn in Cypress on Tuesday. He too recalled the early 1990's when Ms. Whyte was actively involved ' • in the community, a specific example was when the City was required to redistrict based upon the 1990 census, there were a number of suggestions to accomplish that Page Two - City Council Minutes - May 12, 2003 • task, each member of the Blue Ribbon Redistricting Committee submitted proposals for consideration however it was the plan submitted by Ms. Whyte that was accepted which moved the townhouses in the area of the tennis facility into the College Park East district, it moved Leisure World Mutual Two from the Hill district and placed it in District Five, evened up District Two, and the Plan was so good that after the 2000 census it was not necessary for the Council to redistrict. Councilman Doane said he and Dorothy Whyte did not always agree yet remained friends. Councilman Doane referred to a letter from the California Boating Safety Officers Association to the City Manager that announced the recent election of Steve Cushman to the Association Board of Directors during their thirtieth annual conference as the Southern Regional Director, the letter notes that the Association has over three hundred members representing over one hundred California agencies, the letter further states that the election of Lifeguard Chief - Cushman speaks well of the respect he has with his peers and reflects well upon the Seal Beach Lifeguards. Councilman Doane offered congratulations to Chief Cushman. Councilman Antos noted that he had worked with Dorothy Whyte in a number of ways and expressed sorrow at her passing, mentioned also the . passing of Mr. Jack Osteen, the former Recreation _ Department Director for many years, and Ms. Barbara Antoci, former Seal Beach resident that had been • involved in recycling and other issues. Mayor Larson noted that he had attended a funeral service this day for Mr. Larry Hughes, one of the founders of the submarine shrine at the Weapons Station, and mentioned that he alternates attendance at Memorial Day services between the Submarine Shrine and Eisenhower Park, both very impressive services. Councilman Yost conveyed peace to Ms. Whyte. Mayor Larson concurred with the adjournment of this meeting in,memory of those mentioned. PRESENTATION BLUE RIBBON WEER Mayor Larson read in full the Proclamation of "Blue Ribbon Week," May 11th through the 17th, 2003. Chief Sellers invited attending officers to join him at the podium with Mayor Larson presenting the Proclamation. The Chief expressed appreciation for the Council recognition of the police officers in Seal Beach and across the Nation during National Peace Officers Memorial Week. Chief Sellers noted that there are more than three quarters of a million peace officers across the United States, an average of more than sixty -two thousand are assaulted every year with twenty - three thousand injuries, in terms of death there is an officer killed every fifty -three hours, the greatest loss in a single day being the act of terrorism in New York on September llth, 2001, crime fighting does take its toll, since the first recorded death in 1792 there have been more 1111 than fifteen thousand officers killed in the line of duty that are thought of by their families and communities that they served, Seal Beach too lost Officer Ed Clavell on Page Three - City Council Minutes May 12, 2003 • August 23, 1988 while working traffic on Westminster Avenue, remembered every day. Chief Sellers again expressed appreciation on behalf of all personnel of the Police Department for the Proclamation of recognition. PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Larson declared Public Comments to be open. Mr. Stan Anderson, Seal Beach, announced that a ceremony will be held at Eisenhower Park on Memorial Day at 11:00 a.m. to honor Paul Swaggart, a former citizen of Seal Beach with whom he grew up, who passed away during the Vietnam conflict. Mr. Anderson noted the mention of the Blue Ribbon Committee, said during the time he ran for City Council he realized that there are many citizens that have skills and can aid in the making of decisions, for the most part reliance is on City staff however at times it is good to receive outside comments and suggestions. Mr. Anderson stated that while attending meetings of the Council over the years he often becomes upset at listening to the abuse that is thrown out which becomes personal, to that he would like to state that he appreciates the Council who take time and volunteer time to basically be a watchdog for the citizens of Seal Beach, from his experiences any time he has had an issue or question he has been able to call the City Manager or staff or members of the Council, they have always returned the calls, they also know that he is not an abusive person who points fingers, he merely wants to know the right thing to do. Mr. Anderson said listening to public comments over the last few months upsets him, the • Council and staff have to take the abuse without being able to react, he would hope that some type of action could be taken by the Council to eliminate the personal attacks by those addressing the Council, it is alright to state the facts, ask questions, yet to be abusive is offensive to him and others that are watching from home, possibly some of the speakers should take the time to discuss issues with staff or the Council to find out what needs to be addressed, do their homework before coming to Council and making this a stage which it is not, this is an important part of doing business, the Council and staff welcome questions and suggestions but they should not be personal attacks and abusive, personally he may not always agree with the responses but it is important to gather the facts, it is known that the Council cares about the community of Seal Beach and it is important that the citizens work with • the Council and staff, not against. Mayor Larson expressed appreciation for the efforts of Mr. Anderson in accomplishing the Paul Swaggart memorial, and noted the flying of the MIA flag. Mr. Chi Kredell, Seal Way, made reference to a desalting plant planned by Long Beach, and inquired if Long Beach has an environmental report that addresses how that plant will affect the San Gabriel River. He noted that a desalting plant was planned for the area of Scanlans Bay in Mexico, for about two years environmentalists from throughout the world came together and convinced the Mexican government that there would be adverse impacts from building that plant. He offered that he would be in favor of a desalting plant provided it would not affect the environment and change the ecosystem of the 1111 ocean, his feeling was that Seal Beach should check on this proposal in that the River deposits do not go to Long Page Four - City Council Minutes - May 12, 2003 • Beach. With regard to the annual sand berm, Mr. Kredell noted that it is now up for seven months and down for five months of the year, this year it was extended which likely made some of the Seal Way residents angry as well as affected business in that it is usually lowered by Easter week, to his recollection he does not remember a March or April storm. Mr. Kredell also mentioned that there is an area along Seal Way that is likely the longest park strip in the City that is maintained by the residents, the City does nothing, the residents pay for an arborist to trim the trees, they put in their own sprinkler system, they maintain the grass, the Navy recently asked if they could use part of that City land where there is lawn and trees, it is understood they are going to remove the trees next to the fence and move it back eight feet, a meeting was held between the City and Navy where the City decided to give them the eight feet of City land without consulting the residents, then there was a meeting between the City and Navy where the residents were invited to offer their thoughts, to a question as to whether this had already been determined the answer was that it had, therefore why the meeting. Mr. Kredell also stated that below the oil islands there are huge granite rocks like those on the Navy jetty, he had suggested possibly using those rocks to extend the groin, the number one choice was for Moffatt & Nichol to extend a small breakwater, however there are the rocks from the old bridge that had gone to Surfside and consideration should be given to using those to stop the erosion of the beach. Ms. Joyce Parque, Seal Beach, 1111 mentioned the reference to the former resident that lost his life in the Vietnam War, to that she said everyone had friends and relatives in the Gulf War, now there have been military die to allow the Iraqi's to speak. Ms. Parque said she now knows what the Brown Act is, what the Fourth and First Amendments are and what the equal protection clause is, thanks to the City Council, she now knows about the budget which it is learned is just a working budget therefore she has a request for certified budgets, and she is beginning to understand the Redevelopment Agency. Ms. Parque said she has received the invoices for checks for Seal Beach Associates, that is the Trailer Park lawsuit by Richard Hall, yet they make no sense because it is the City suing individual people that are taxpayers, that is wrong, there must be someone in the City, possibly a retired attorney, whereby there could be some arbitration, the City Attorney is suing people, taxpayers, so she has requested information as to how he was paid for the Seal Beach Associates case. She claimed that the Attorney has made $325,584 in three months, at ninety days each taxpayer is paying $3,617 per day, he is standing up to the taxpayers yet did nothing for the people in the Trailer Park when it came time to stand up to Richard Hall, or to Ruby's, also, at some point the money paid to a Los Angeles attorney to represent the former member of the Council needs to be paid back, she has also'requested a copy of the $1 million check from the Redevelopment Agency as well as the $668,000 fine for the low income housing monies, there was payment too for the consultant that addressed dissolving the Agency, • the Agency has buried the City in such a big hole it may not be possible to ever close it down, it has been said that the City is no longer subject to the housing penalty, Page Five - City Council Minutes - May 12, 2003 • but the penalty was set up in 2001 and the way it is being paid is $180,000 per year, that is true because she requested copies of the money being forwarded to Linc, last year it was $487,376, that is unbelievable. Ms. Sue Corbin, Seal Beach, said a prior speaker would like the public to be quiet so the Council, legal counsel, and staff could continue as usual, if there was not a fiscal problem people would likely not want to be here, the City is not being run properly, operated by threats and intimidation, the Council may have come to serve the residents but were then subverted to serving developers, their agents, and others, no one would come to try to change a system that has been corrupt for seventy -five years unless they dearly cared about this town, the people all have a right to speak. She claimed the letter written about Councilman Yost was the result of intimidation, someone filed a criminal charge to which a threatening call was made. She charged that the reserves have been used by several million dollars, the City is in a terrible strait, there is no - honesty with the citizens, referred to the Council as little people who act in little ways, they are to serve the residents and the City, once the power is gone their phone will not ring. She asked the Council to not betray the trust of the people, the Brown Act is being violated, illegal meetings are held, there are no minutes of the closed sessions like the Brown Act requires, there are exparte communications, the duty of the Council to act properly for the citizens-and City should prevail, do not serve another master. Mr. Joe Ribal, Seal Way resident • most of the time since 1959, made reference to the concern expressed with regard to the berm, this issue has always been of interest in that it was felt that for a number years there was a level of rapport established with Moffat & Nichol, there was always a question of where to put the berm, how high should it be, when should it go up and come down, in the final analysis that is basically guesswork, - some years it has been wrong, there appears to be some concern that there was not a sharing of information from the people who are being relied upon to make the judgment call as to when to take it down. He claimed that Surfline is an important source of information, when he called to find out why the berm had not come down earlier he was told that someone had discovered that buoys in the ocean were suggesting that there might be a high surf, while some were complaining it is thought that possibly the problem could have been resolved by sharing the information rather than having a lifeguard report what had rather secretly been revealed about the conditions, no one wants to endanger property. He said the other issue with the berm deals with its placement, over the years he has had the opportunity to talk with the engineering staff at Moffat & Nichol, the question is the placement, not only when, that seems to be something that has pretty much been ignored. Mr. Ribal stated that this past week he had the opportunity to take pictures of people on the beach with specific reference to children building sand castles and how quickly they wash away, his feeling is that the berm has most likely been built in the wrong place, it should not be in the surfline, 1111 he also showed a picture of the bulldozer pushing the sand into the water while taking the berm down, why would one push the sand into the water, washing away, therefore Page Six - City Council Minutes - May 12, 2003 • losing the capacity of retaining it, basically not to be recovered, also a former employee of Moffat & Nichol agreed that there should be more study given to the location of the berm, building it at a lower height and further away from the surfline. Mr. Ribal mentioned that there have been comments made by residents of the area that they did not want the berm near their houses yet if one looks at Surfside and Sunset Beach the berms are close to the homes . and without any obstruction of view, in addition the sand goes nowhere and ultimately protects the beach. With regard to the proposed ten month moratorium on home Improvements, Mr. Ribal stated that is contrary to the work of the citizens committee that dealt with various proposals for protecting homes in the event of disasters. There being no further comments, Mayor Larson declared Public Comments to be closed. • CONSENT CALENDAR - ITEMS "B" thru "G" Doane moved, second by Antos, to approve the recommended action for items on the Consent Calendar as presented, except for Items "C, F, and G ", 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 after the reading of the title unless specific request is made at that time for • • the reading of such ordinance or resolution. D. Approved regular demands numbered 41764 through 41975 in the amount of $900,095.00, ADP payroll demands numbered 3315738 through 3315819 in the amount of $89,433.95, and authorized warrants to be drawn on the Treasury for same. E. Adopted Resolution Number 5127 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFONRIA, INITIATING • PROCEEDINGS FOR THE ANNUAL LEVY AND COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS WITHIN, AND ORDERING THE PRREPARATION OF AN ENGINEER'S REPORT FOR STREET LIGHTING DISTRICT NO. 1;" Adopted Resolution Number 5128 entitled "A RESOLUTIION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING THE ENGINEER'S REPORT IN CONNECTION WITH THE ANNUAL LEVY AND COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS WITHIN STREET LIGHTING DISTRICT NO. 1;" and Adopted Resolution Number 5129 entitled "A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, DECLARING ITS INTENTION TO PROVIDE FOR THE ANNUAL LEVY AND COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS WITHIN STREET LIGHTING DISTRICT NO. 1, AND SETTING A TIME AND PLACE FOR A PUBLIC HEARING THEREON." Page Seven - City Council Minutes - May 12, 2003 • By unanimous consent, full reading of Resolutions numbered 5127, 5128, and 5129 was waived. AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost NOES: None Motion carried ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR ITEM "C" - APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilman Yost noted that he had been absent from the April 28th meetings therefore would abstain from voting on the approval. Campbell moved, second by Antos, to approve . the minutes of the April 28th regular adjourned and regular meetings. AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson NOES: None ABSTAIN: Yost Motion carried ITEM "F" - STATE ROUTE 22 / WEST ORANGE ORANGE COUNTY CONNECTION - FINAL EIR /EIS - COMMENT LETTERS The City Manager advised that this item is a letter in response to the Final Environmental Impact Report/ Environmental Impact Statement on the 22 Freeway project, one issue worth noting is that Cal Trans will no longer be acquiring the six homes in College Park East, that through the work of the City's engineering staff with CalTrans to redesign the roadway. Councilmember Campbell stated that • the staff report and letter were excellent however she wanted to read some of the items into the record. She referenced specifically the section relating to Areas of Remaining Concern regarding the "(Enhanced) Reduced Build Alternative" of the FEIR /EIS, which states that 'the documents do not indicate how the interested public may be involved with that Record of Decision issuance process, please provide the appropriate public participation information regarding this issue to the City of Seal Beach City Manager, John Bahorski, the City may still wish to address concerns not addressed in the FEIR /EIS or the draft ROD based on the concerns and comments below.' With regard to the Project Funding/ Phasing section the last sentence of Response 98 states "note right -of -way impacts could still change between approval of the FEIR /EIS and approval of final design, ", the letter states that 'this language indicates that the ultimate determinations regarding property acquisitions is still in flux, this is most disconcerting, to say the least, it seems as though there is still the potential for property acquisitions along the entire project route to change during the "final design" stage, this again raises substantial concerns to the City of Seal Beach as to potential impacts within our community, the City requests a clear statement from CalTrans and OCTA that if future property acquisitions are again contemplated within Seal Beach, even though those potential property acquisitions were previously disclosed, discussed and evaluated in the DEIR /EIS on this project, that a new environmental evaluation will be conducted on those 1111 contemplated property acquisitions, this is a substantial issue to the City Council, staff and property owners along the I- 405/SR -22/I -605 corridors of this project, without • Page Eight - City Council Minutes - May 12, 2003 • that commitment from CalTrans and OCTA, the City will continue to strongly and vigorously oppose the potential to re- instate property acquisitions within Seal Beach.' Under the section entitled Ability of City to Review and Comment - upon certain Mitigation Measures proposed in the FEIR /EIS, subsection NOI- (E)RB -9, Councilmember Campbell read the comment that 'the City would request that a community _ meeting be held in Seal Beach relative to the planned project noise impacts at the Valley View western limit of the currently contemplated project prior to the initiation of any construction activities from Valley View easterly, including construction of Noise Barrier 3, the City would require community meetings to be held in Seal Beach prior to any construction activities related to the contemplated improvements from the I- 405 /SR -22 /Valley View interchange westerly to the end of the project at I -605 and Katella Avenue, including the construction of NB -R -1 adjacent to the Rossmoor community.' Councilmember Campbell explained that she read the comments for the record as they are extremely important, in the future these are the things that one must be alert for, a concern is that when they start this widening project it will begin at the 22 Freeway, it could take as much as ten years to reach this area of the Freeway, the residents at that time will need to know what legal rights they have. Campbell moved, second by Yost, to authorize the Mayor to sign the comment letters on behalf of the City, receive and file the staff • report, and instruct staff to forward copies of the letter to the Planning Commission and Environmental Quality Control Board for their information. AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost , NOES: None Motion carried ITEM "G" - PROCLAMATION - SEAL BEACH HISTORICAL SOCIETY -- Councilman Yost praised the Seal Beach Historical and - Cultural Society for preserving the past of this community, the Red Car houses interesting displays of Seal Beach history, and invited persons to possibly volunteer their services to the Society. Councilman Yost moved to declare November 2003 as "Seal Beach Historical and Cultural Society Month" and August 27 as "Red Car Day" for the next fifty years. Councilmember Campbell seconded the motion. AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost NOES: None Motion carried ITEMS "H" and "I" It is noted that Item "H ", the appeal of Planning Commission decision for General Plan Conformity on Brightwater Water Transmission Project" and Item "I ", the Trees for Seal Beach request for a non - standard encroachment permit to construct tree islands at the 300 block of Main Street crosswalk at grade, were held over at the request of the appellant and proponent. PUBLIC HEARING - ORDINANCE NUMBER 1502 - EXTENDING ORDINANCE 1498 - MORATORIUM - NONCONFORMING RESIDENTIAL • STRUCTURES Mayor Larson declared the public hearing open to consider extending Interim Ordinance Number 1498 which placed a Page Nine - City Council Minutes - May 12, 2003 • moratorium on the expansion and addition to legal, nonconforming residential structures. The Assistant Planner reiterated the purpose of this public hearing, explained that on April 14th the Council adopted Ordinance Number 1498 that is valid for a forty -five day period, pursuant to State law that Ordinance can be extended for a maximum period of ten months and fifteen days upon receiving a report which has been provided the Council in the form of a staff report. The Assistant noted that the Planning Commission had held two study sessions on this matter prior to the Council action on April 14th, the Commission recommendation was that the Council adopt the interim ordinance, at their last meeting the Commission again reiterated their desire to extend the interim Ordinance and to prepare the necessary zone text amendments to remove the provisions for expansion and additions to legal, nonconforming residential structures from the Code in entirety, in effect to not allow any expansion or addition to nonconforming residential structures. It was confirmed that adoption of the proposed Ordinance merely extends the interim Ordinance pending the adoption of a zone text amendment ordinance. With regard to the time limitation, the City Attorney confirmed that the law provides for an extension of ten months and fifteen days, that plus the forty -five days is a full year, the maximum for this extension, however there is also provision for an additional extension of one year. Councilman Antos noted that the Council recently considered zoning text amendments relating to retaining walls, etc. and inquired as to the • length of time required to prepare those ZTA's, to that the response of the Assistant was that it will likely take six to eight weeks to prepare the background materials to take this item to the Planning Commission, public hearings could take between two to four weeks, then schedule for Council consideration, thus the ten months should be sufficient time. Councilman Antos expressed his opinion that that is too much time, and based upon his evaluation of the time frame felt it should be more like four months rather than ten months. The City Manager pointed out that although the time period for the Ordinance is ten months and fifteen days that does not mean that the preparation and consideration will actually take that long, once prepared the issue would be brought to the Commission and Council for consideration, the Ordinance is merely a maximum time frame. Mayor Larson invited members of the audience wishing to speak to this item to come to the microphone and identify themselves. Ms. Mitzi Morton, Seal Beach, expressed displeasure, claiming that on April 14th it was said that the Council would be considering the zoning amendments not extending the moratorium, staff should have informed the Council and public on April 14th that the preparation of the amendments could not be accomplished by this date. Ms. Morton complained that she and her husband canceled an extended vacation as a result of this issue. Ms. Morton confirmed her support for prohibiting expansions and additions to legal, nonconforming residential structures. 1111 Mr. Chi Kredell, Seal Way, questioned the length of time of this moratorium, the moratorium in the 1970's was only thirty or sixty days, at that time it was agreed that there Page Ten - City Council Minutes -,May 12, 2003 • would not be conditional use permits for nonconforming property, since then the regulations have been watered down, he feels that most people would like to have this in place as soon as possible, of concern to him is that it was the staff that recommended the seventeen hundred square foot addition to the Electric Avenue property. The Mayor noted that all support resolving the issue as soon as possible yet the framework of the law is to provide adequate time in case a problem is encountered during the - preparation phase, also pointed out that those present are in support of no expansions or additions to nonconforming properties however he is not convinced that all citizens of the community will support that when the full impact is known. Mr. Kredeil countered that it was staff that said it would take the ten months, agreed too that there will be owners of nonconforming units that will not be happy because they can not extend their properties further, he would think that those people with families will be supportive. Mayor Larson explained that the purpose of the time period in the interim is to bring the issue to the Planning Commission as quickly as possible, allow the full impact of the ordinance to be discussed, and he would . assure that there will be people who want to make small adjustments to their property that will be unhappy, the reason for the urgency ordinance is to not allow someone to come in to seek approval for improvements during the period that amendments are being formulated, in the .pest the law provided for a ninety day moratorium, cities found that things could not be completed in that short time frame so • the law was legislatively changed for a longer time frame, he would think that the people who want no additions. or expansions would support the moratorium which keeps things status quo. Mr. Kredell said the people of Old Town are merely seeking equality with the other districts. Ms. Sue Corbin, Seal Beach, made critical comments regarding the • impact of Code enforcement on people in the community-. Ms. Corbin asked why this is not being done through the - local coastal plan, how are the citizens going to be protected against disasters to be able to rebuild to their existing structure, will that be protected or will they lose that right. Mr. Joe Ribal, Seal Way, said he was not prepared to discuss the Code enforcement item alluded to, he was unaware of the consequence but hopefully it was given careful consideration. Mr. Ribal mentioned that he was the chair of a group that put in place the changes to the zoning requirements in terms of allowing people to make relatively modest increases to the square footage of existing housing, the purpose was to provide an incentive to bring people back into the community who were willing to make an investment in improving and increasing the size of what they were going to build, at the time there were still small cottages, the idea was that they needed to become single family houses. Mr. Ribal questioned what, by definition, is a single family house, said a local contractor claims that there are streets on the Hill that have converted garages into two bedrooms or large family rooms, there are a number of houses outside of Old Town that were initially single family that have been converted into two or more dwellings silently, a lot of construction • goes on during weekends. Mr. Ribal asked if the desire is to put in place something that does not provide for major • Page Eleven - City Council Minutes - May 12, 2003 • destruction, especially on the beachfront. He noted the prior committee had looked at various issues and alternatives, as an example, what could be done to increase parking, there seemed to be consensus that should a beachfront structure be washed away the best thing to do would be to elevate the structure and put in under - structure parking, a thirty foot lot could provide five parking spaces, the apartment building adjacent to the 10th Street beach lot an example, in Hawaii a construction loan can not be granted unless the dwelling is elevated, if this issue takes a year to conclude there may be lots that are unbuildable, people may go from a $1.5 million house to a lot worth $1, there needs to be some planning in the case of disasters. He said there has not been adequate notice to renters in the City, six or seven thousand people who have an investment in this community who would likely appreciate the opportunity to add a second bath, half or quarter bath, this issue needs to get moving in the direction as to where modest types of improvements to the quality of the housing does not become a felony or misdemeanor, in his neighborhood during the past year two bathrooms have been built in a duplex without permits, there is considerable work done without permits, the issue -• is not something that only happens with the addition of new units, that represents an appropriate description which •• current law does prohibit under certain circumstances. Mr. Ribal made reference to a booklet entitled Rebuilding the Dream which does an analysis of large areas of dilapitation, lack of upkeep, etc., as an example if one • drives the alleys you see things that are awful, in his opinion those kinds of things are not going to be removed or improved by doing what is proposed. He said he felt that in 1985, when there were some that were anti to any improvement, that the solution had been found, an opportunity for modest increases, that was an era of moderation and trying to find incentives to upgrade - existing property without tearing them down and building • expensive homes, he does not think that can be done anyway because pursuant to State law as proposed in the framework of the Ordinance it is to be brought to the attention of the people in the community. Mr. Ribal mentioned having taken the liberty to send the forty -five day moratorium Ordinance to the Apartment Association of Orange County, there was no response, he believes they are only interested in promoting large scale apartments therefore others are not being properly served by this group. Mr. Ribal agreed with the Mayor that this is a big issue and requires that people be fully informed, make it known what they can do to make a greater investment in the quality of housing and making it affordable, his feeling is that this is a duty of the Council to take into consideration the very simple objective to improve existing housing, not bulldozing houses and put in less housing, there are different constituencies present at this time, this is not just housing it is different kinds of people with different economic capacities to find a place to enjoy and be a contributor to the nature of the community. His feeling was that what was done a number of years ago was a good 1111 step forward yet there are now all of these exceptions from either the Commission or Council or obtaining permits without even going before the Commission, many times it is Page Twelve - City Council Minutes - May 12, 2003 • not what is built but who builds it and for whom. Mr. Warren Morton, Seal Beach, stated his support for stopping additions and expansions to nonconforming properties, displayed a stack of papers presumed to be petitions directed to the Planning Commission, and suggested that the time frame to enact amendments be cut to about four weeks. There being no further comments, Mayor Larson declared the public hearing closed. Councilman Antos explained that the purpose of the original moratorium was to stop additions to nonconforming properties, an example was the proposed addition to a property on Electric, there have been questions raised with regard to rebuilding in the case of a disaster, there are existing sections of the Code that provide that if a property is destroyed less than fifty percent one can rebuild, this issue is about additions to nonconforming buildings, not interior remodeling, this is about adding square footage. Councilman Antos spoke in support of adoption of the proposed Ordinance in order to continue the moratorium however with direction to staff to do their research as quickly as possible so that this matter can be presented to the Planning Commission in as timely a manner as possible for public hearings. Councilman Yost said to him the greatest problem with legal nonconforming are those that are nonconforming due to parking and increasing square footage increases the density which worsens the living conditions in Old Town. • Yost moved, second by Antos, to adopt Ordinance Number 1502' entitled "AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH EXTENDING INTERIM ORDINANCE NO. 1498, AN INTERIM ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH ENACTED PURSUANT TO CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 PROHIBITING MINOR OR MAJOR STRUCTURAL ALTERATIONS, ENLARGEMENTS AND EXPANSIONS TO CERTAIN NONCONFORMING:RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS AND USES DURING THE PENDENCY OF THE CITY'S REVIEW AND ADOPTION OF RELEVANT PERMANENT ZONING REGULATIONS AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF" the title of which was read in full by the City Attorney. By unanimous consent, full reading of Ordinance Number 1502 was waived. Mayor Larson noted that there is already disagreement between the speakers. AYES: Antos, Campbell, Doane, Larson, Yost NOES: None Motion carried CITY ATTORNEY REPORT There was no report presented. CITY MANAGER There was no report presented. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilman Yost reported that he was recently made aware that an entity has bought the Seal Beach Center, and announced that he will be arranging some community meetings relating thereto with some of the neighbors to hear what they ould like to see. 1111 Page Thirteen - City Council Minutes - May 12, 2003 • ADJOURNMENT By action of the City Council on April 28th, the regular meeting scheduled for May 27th was canceled. It was the order of the Chair, with consent of the Council, to direct that the May 27th meeting be adjourned to June 9th at 6:30 p.m. By unanimous consent, the meeting was adjourned at 8:24 p.m. THESE ARE TENTATIVE MINUTES -ONLY, SUBJECT TO THE APPROVAL OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH. Council Minutes Approved: • • 1111