CC MINS 20060204 ADJMINUTES
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL
ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING
TACTICAL PLANNING WORKSHOP
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2006
The .meeting was called to order at 9:35 a.m. by Mayor Wolowicz at the Point Vicente
Interpretive Center, 31501 Palos Verdes Drive West
ROLL CALL:
Present: Councilman Clark, Gardiner, Stern, Mayor Pro Tern Long, and Mayor
Wolowicz
Absent: None
Also present were City Manager Evans, Assistant City Manager /City Clerk Petru, City
Attorney Lynch, Director of Finance /IT McLean, Director of Planning, Building and Code
Enforcement Rojas, Interim Director of Public Works Ray Holland, Deputy Director of
Finance /IT Downs, Senior Administrative Analyst Waters and Recording Secretary
Peterson.
FLAG SALUTE:
City Manager Evans led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:
The Agenda was unanimously approved as presented.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Michael O'Sullivan, Rancho Palos Verdes, expressed his concern regarding the equity
of the City's View Restoration process. He felt that the staff report for his case to the
Planning Commission contained numerous errors and he was not allowed to provide a
rebuttal during the hearing. He explained that he received only modest mitigation and
that staff had refused to abide by the requirements of the adopted resolution. He asked
Council to address the issues of equity in the View Restoration process, as he felt the
rights of tree owners were trivialized.
Councilman Stern suggested that Mr. O'Sullivan put his comments and concerns in
writing for the City Council to review. He indicated that it was important to have a more
clearly delineated statement so that Council could understand what Mr. O'Sullivan
thought was wrong with the process and what should have happened instead.
Mayor Pro Tern Long added that Mr. O'Sullivan should, in fairness to his neighbor who
requested view restoration, submit a copy of this letter to this individual, thereby
allowing them an opportunity as well to respond to the concerns raised.
Councilman Gardiner clarified that a decision on Mr. O'Sullivan's case had been made
and that the purpose of writing the letter would be to suggest some improvements to the
View Restoration process, rather than rehash Mr. O'Sullivan's specific case. He
suggested that the letter should also specifically address Mr. O'Sullivan's concerns
regarding the staff.
Councilman Clark noted that the City now used a mediation process to resolve these
types of cases, which had been very successful.
REGULAR BUSINESS:
1. Tactical Plan for 2006 (1101)
City Manager Evans presented the staff report, reviewing the 2004 Tactical Plan and
what had been accomplished in the prior two years. He noted that all of the goals were
well on the way towards completion or had been completed. He explained that the staff
report included some suggested new goals that Council may want to consider.
Councilman Stern suggested hearing the public comments before Council discussion of
the goals.
Councilman Gardiner referred to the goals laid out in the staff report and suggested
using those goals as a benchmark and either adding to or subtracting from that list.
Mayor Pro Tern Long stated that he felt Council should not be locked in to the goals
suggested in the staff report or prior goals set by the Council. He indicated that many of
the prior goals had been achieved or were at a stage where they only required
monitoring, and that Council's attention should move forward to something new. He
stated that some of the goals presented in the staff report could simply be monitored,
some were not as important, and some could be combined with each other. He stated
that he had additional goals he would like to see added to the list. He agreed with
hearing from the public before Council began its discussion.
Councilman Clark agreed that a number of the objectives had been accomplished or
were on the path to being accomplished. He stated that he wanted to assess where
things currently stood and move forward from there, but not be constrained by what was
presented in the staff report.
Mayor Wolowicz agreed that Council should hear from the public before beginning its
discussions, as the public may have input that would change Council's current thinking.
He felt that Council should begin with the suggestions given by the City Manager and go
on from there.
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February 4, 2006
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Mayor Wolowicz called for the public speakers.
Tom Redfield, Rancho Palos Verdes, speaking as the Chairman of the Renaissance
and Renewal Coalition, congratulated the City Council on the four goals chosen two
years ago. He encouraged the City Council to continue working on these four goals, as
there was still much work to do on them and then move into Phase 2 of those goals. He
hoped that Council would discuss and consider the new issue of the Eastview schools.
Erin LaMonte, Rancho Palos Verdes, reminded Council that Rancho Palos Verdes was
home to 64% of the children on the Peninsula and that 27% of the City Council's
constituents were under the age of 18. She stated that was a great need for active
recreational facilities in the City. She thanked the City Council for the progress made so
far, but pointed out that there had only studies and no action taken to date. She asked
Council to consider the City parklands that were designated as active parks and to
develop a plan construct active recreational facilities at these locations.
Councilman Clark noted that the City had completed a master parks study, but had not
proceeded with a comprehensive plan to implement active recreational facilities on the
identified parklands.
Councilman Gardiner agreed with Councilman Clark, but noted that the largest
landholder on the Peninsula was the PVP School District, and questioned how the City
could prepare a master parks plan without the participation of the School District and
the other cities on the Peninsula.
Mayor Pro Tern Long agreed with his colleague's comments, noting that cooperation
with the PVP School District was vital in developing a master plan for active recreational
uses.
Leah Marinkovich, Rancho Palos Verdes, speaking on behalf of Girl Scoot Troop 489
and as a resident, read a petition from the Girl Scout Troop requesting that the City
designate a location and build a scout house in the City, and asked that this request be
included in the Council's discussion of its goals.
Bill Lama, Rancho Palos Verdes, explained that he served on the PVP Library District
Board and, in that capacity, had come into contact with many of the young people on
the Peninsula. He supported the suggestion that more active recreational facilities
were needed, as well as the idea of a scout house. He explained that there were other
children on the Peninsula who were not active in sports, but also need to be included in
the discussions. He noted that there were many children between the ages of 11 and
16 who went to the library after school to do homework and stay to hang out for several
hours afterwards. He stated that these children needed a place to go, with some
supervision, where they could interact socially. He informed Council that the PVP
Library Board had discussions with the Boys and Girls Club of the Harbor Area, and
was now considering renting storefront space next to the Main Library in the Peninsula
Center and equipping it as a pre -teen library annex. He explained that they had found it
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February 4, 2006
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to be very important to coordinate closely with the PVP School District, and stated that it
had been quite easy to communicate with the School District.
Ann Shaw, representing Helen Coffey of the League of Women's Voters, stated that she
supported the idea of providing some type of youth center in the City, particularly at the
Upper Point Vicente site. She indicated that there was no local point of access to the
area's Congressman and wondered if Council was in a position to put some pressure on
Congressman Rohrabacher to provide better public access for his constituents living on
the Peninsula.
The Council had a brief discussion regarding gerrymandered district boundaries and the
lack of state and federal representation for the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.
Councilman Gardiner stated that no Congressman would want it to be known that they
were not accessible to their constituents, and he encouraged the public to call
Congressman Rohrabacher's Orange County office to find out what was going on.
Barbara Gleghorn, Rancho Palos Verdes, stated that the residents approved and
applauded what Council had accomplished in the City. She indicated that residents felt
they could relax with this City Council and that the Council carefully considered each
problem, how best to correct them, and continued to look to the future with vision and
wisdom.
The City Council discussed a procedure on how to begin the discussions and establish
the next set of goals. Mayor Wolowicz asked the Council members to write out a list
their top priority goals on their respective easels.
RECESS AND RECONVENE:
At 10:55 a.m. the City Council took a short recess until 11:10 a.m. at which time they
reconvened.
REGULAR BUSINESS (continued):
Councilman Gardiner stated that he liked all of the goals listed in the staff report, except
the goal to Institutionalize Channel 33, as he felt it would be better to wait for another
year of operation before taking such a step. He indicated that he would also favor
adding to the list a goals the notion of bringing the Eastview area into the Palos Verdes
Peninsula Unified School District and looking into the idea of a youth center in the City
in cooperation with other governmental agencies.
Mayor Pro Tern Long stated that his top four goals were to 1) protect and rehabilitate
infrastructure; 2) implement the NCCP, which included trying to acquire the Upper
Filiorum property; 3) improve emergency services, which included the need for more
paramedic services on the south side of the City and being prepared for any emergency
that may take place at the Los Angeles /Long Beach Port, and; 4) explore bringing
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February 4, 2006
Page 4 of 10
Eastview into the PVPUSD. He explained that the City did not have even half of the
annual revenue of the average California city, and that this fact must be kept in mind
when structuring the Council's goals. He concluded that he had more goals than the
City had revenue to support.
Councilman Clark listed his goals as infrastructure renewal; a new City Hall /Civic
Center; open space acquisition and continuation of acquiring the open space targeted
for the Portuguese Bend Nature Preserve; providing more active recreational facilities
including bringing to reality the approved softball fields at Upper Hesse Park; bringing
Eastview into PVPUSD; new youth and senior centers; Western Avenue revitalization,
which included taking a comprehensive look at Western Avenue and visioning what it
should be like in the future, including the possibility of mixed use developments;
telecommunication options to increase competition within the industry and improve the
range and price of services available in the community, Citywide traffic safety; on- street
parking policies; and, updating the General Plan and Coastal Specific Plan. When
asked by his colleagues to pick his top goals, Councilman Clark chose infrastructure
renewal, a new civic center, active recreational fields, bringing Eastview into PVPUSD,
and a youth and /or senior center.
Councilman Stern began by stating that it was important to realize that the goals listed
by each Council member were important, but that it was also important to take into
consideration the City's funding and staffing resources. He noted that some of the
goals listed were capitol intensive and some were staff intensive, and some goals would
require both. He listed his top goals as storm drains /infrastructure renewal; land
acquisition for open space, particularly Upper Filiorum and completion of the City's
NCCP; traffic safety; active recreation areas, including development of a Civic Center
Master Plan, institutionalizing Channel 33, and developing a strategy for bringing
Eastview into PVPUSD.
Mayor Wolowicz listed his top goals as storm drain repairs; assessment of law
enforcement and traffic enforcement needs; increased needs for City staffing and
funding, and active land usage. Other goals that he felt worthy for consideration
included a Civic Center Master Plan; addressing the backlog of capital projects;
purchasing Upper Filiorum; emergency preparedness; coordination with PVPUSD to
resolve the Eastview issues; getting the City's fair share of property tax revenues and
Fire District funding; and, developing a City Foundation.
Mayor Pro Tern Long stated that if a new revenue source came into being, he would
add the following goals to his list: 5) expanding active recreational opportunities in the
City; 6) preparing a Civic Center Master Plan; and 7) updating the City's land use plans.
Councilman Gardiner stated his comments were based on several factors, including
how well defined something was, whether there was money and staff to make it happen,
and whether the goal could be realistically competed in the next 12 months. He stated
he was willing to accept the implementation of the Storm Drain Master Plan, as this goal
was well defined. He also included acquisition of the Upper Filiorum property,
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February 4, 2006
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controlling speeding, completing the agreements to operate and administer the NCCP
preserve, and looking into including Eastview in the PVPUSD. He discussed
emergency preparedness and stated that, while he thought it was a very important
topic, he did not think the City had the staffing or budget to do most of the things that
would be required. He suggested producing programming for Channel 33 and the video
bulletin board on Channel 35 that contained suggestions as to what individuals and
households could do to prepare for an emergency.
Councilman Stern stated that just because a project or suggestion was not well defined
was not sufficient reason to remove it from the list of goals. He felt that if it was an
important concept and a worthy goal, Council could be willing to direct staff to look into
the concept and provide Council with the information needed to move forward. He
reiterated that it was important to consider what items would be staff time intensive,
whether there was adequate staffing to perform the necessary tasks, and identify what
items would be budget intensive.
City Manager Evans summarized the discussion by stating that Council seemed to
agree on the following four goals: 1) implementation of the storm drain master plan; 2)
acquiring the Upper Filiorum property and completing the NCCP; 3) reducing speeding
and controlling parking in residential neighborhoods, and, 4) preparing an Active
Recreation Plan and a Civic Center Master Plan.
Mayor Wolowicz called for the public speakers.
Sherry Twidwell, representing the Zenith Aquatic Program (ZAP), indicated that there
had been a great deal of interest in private donations for building a public aquatic center
at Upper Point Vicente, but questioned how to continue raising money if an aquatic
center was not going to be one of the City Council's top priorities, and if ZAP should
start looking at alternate sites.
Councilman Clark commented that this item needed to be in the Council's top four
goals, noting that it was important to discuss how to progress to the next phase of a
vision for the Upper Point Vicente property that Council had already agreed to.
Sunshine, Rancho Palos Verdes, indicated that the Open Space, Planning and
Recreation & Parks Task Force had already completed the Master Plan for the Civic
Center. She stated that, in addition to the organizations that had already come forward
to partner with the City on developing the property, there were many other groups that
were ready, willing, and able to negotiate with the City and to help build desired facilities
at the Civic Center.
The City Council members discussed various different ideas on how to proceed with the
planning of the proposed Civic Center.
Craig Mueller, Rancho Palos Verdes, felt there were many projects that had been
started that should be finished. He agreed with the suggestion that emergency
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February 4, 2006
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preparedness information should be broadcast on Channel 33. He felt that the City
should consult with the PVPUSD regarding the Eastview area in order to work out a
strategy that would not aggravate LAUSD, noting that this effort would have a low
impact on the City's budget. He felt that it was important to prioritize the Civic Center
design process, cautioning the Council not to make the usage on the property too
dense. He again emphasized the City Council should finish the work it has already
started before moving on to tackle new goals.
Shane Ruffin, Associate Executive Director of the San Pedro YMCA, stated that the
YMCA was still very willing to work with the City to develop one of its facilities at the
Civic Center site.
Mayor Wolowicz discussed the potential need to increase City staff and funding for
many of these projects.
Councilman Stern agreed, noting that Council could not continue to add new goals to
the list without knowing if they could be adequately funded and staffed. He felt that the
Civic Center project would be a very intensive project in terms of time, money and staff
resources, and indicated that Council needed to focus on that issue.
Councilman Clark agreed with Councilman Stern and suggested the possibility of hiring
another City employee to act as the project manager for the Civic Center Master Plan.
Councilman Gardiner suggested an option that would not require a significant amount of
staff time would be to draft and release a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) or Request
for Information (RFI) for the Civic Center Design, which could be paid for by the
organizations interested in developing facilities on the site.
RECESS AND RECONVENE:
At 12:30 p.m. the City Council took a lunch break until 1:04 p.m. at which time it
reconvened.
REGULAR BUSINESS (continued):
The City Council reviewed the master list of goals and added emergency preparedness
and bringing Eastview into the PVPUSD to finalize the list at six items. The Council
members unanimously agreed to address staffing issues during the FY06 -07 Budget
process.
The City Council then reviewed the milestones for each goal, with the caveat that
additional milestones may be added in the future. Council unanimously agreed on the
goals listed on circle pages 3 -5 of the staff report, which were:
➢ Implement the Storm Drain Master Plan
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February 4, 2006
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➢ Acquisition of the Upper Filiorum Property
➢ Reduce Speeding and Control Parking in Residential Neighborhoods
➢ Prepare a Civic Center Master Plan
➢ Complete Agreements to operate and administer the NCCP Preserve
➢ Improve Emergency Preparedness Coordination
➢ Institutionalize Channel 33
The City Council then discussed the Civic Center Master Plan goal, noting that the goal
should be augmented to address active recreation needs.
Mayor Pro Tern Long suggested adding as a milestone to this goal to obtain private
funding to construct and /or repair the fields previously designated, noting that no
funding was currently committed to this effort. The other Council members agreed.
Discussing the Traffic Safety goal, Mayor Pro Tern Long suggested adding a milestone
to explore a regional approach to traffic enforcement by February 21, 2006. The other
City Council members agreed.
Councilman Clark suggested modifying the second traffic milestone to re -visit the City's
policies regarding the on- street parking. The other City Council members agreed.
City Manager Evans discussed the goal of improving emergency services and indicated
that staff would provide a report to the City Council by April 18, 2006 discussing the
current level of service provided by the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the
current cost of these services and the possible need for additional services.
Mayor Pro Tern Long stated that a report should be prepared assessing the need for
paramedic services on the south side of the City, taking into account the anticipated
opening of the Terranea resort hotel.
City Manager Evans stated reports on law enforcement and fire service needs could be
prepared and presented to Council by April 18, 2006.
7. School District Boundary Legislation (1401)
Councilman Clark gave a brief account of his efforts to date to advance this item to the
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District and the Los Angeles Unified School
District.
Council discussed whether it should take the lead on this item and how best to proceed
in order to garner a favorable result.
Mayor Pro Tern Long moved, seconded by Councilman Stern to 1) Appoint Mayor
Wolowicz and Councilman Gardiner to an ad -hoc committee to meet with members of
the PVPUSD and the LAUSD to attempt to resolve the issues related to proposed
legislation revising the boundaries between the two school district; 2) Authorize the
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February 4, 2006
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Mayor to send a letter to the PVPUSD and LAUSD Boards initiating the dialog on this
topic; and 3) Authorized Councilman Clark to provide the transition to the LAUSD when
the as hoc committee takes over.
Without objection, Mayor Wolowicz so ordered.
2. Water Quality and Storm Drain User Fee Issues (604 x 1204)
Councilman Stern moved to discuss this item at the February 7, 2006 City Council
meeting, seconded by Mayor Pro Tern Long. Without objection, Mayor Wolowicz so
ordered.
3. Upper Point Vicente Park Civic Center (1201)
City Manager Evans stated that many of the issues addressed in the staff report were
addressed by the City Council or speakers. He noted that staff had recently received a
proposed lease agreement from the Palos Verdes Art Center, which was distributed to
Council.
After some discussion with staff, Mayor Wolowicz suggested continuing this item to April
18, 2006 City Council meeting. There was no opposition from the other members of the
City Council.
4. New Business Items Proposed for 2006 City Council Agendas (I 101)
City Manager Evans and Mayor Wolowicz asked that each Council member provide
feedback on this item to the City Manager by February 6, 2006.
5. City Manager Succession Plan (1101)
Councilman Stern moved to continue the item to the March 7, 2006 City Council
meeting, seconded by Mayor Pro Tern Long. Without objection, Mayor Wolowicz so
ordered.
6. Formation of a Legal Advisory Committee (103)
Councilman Gardiner moved to received and filed the staff report, seconded by Mayor
Pro Tern Long. Without objection, Mayor Wolowicz so ordered.
8. City Council Rules of Procedure (307)
Councilman Gardiner indicated that his understanding of Council Oral Reports was to
give each City Council member the opportunity to indicate that they had met with
someone for some purpose or to report their attendance at a meeting that may impact
the City. He felt that there was currently a tendency for the City Council members to
recite their meeting calendars, and did not think that this exercise was useful. He
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February 4, 2006
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recommended discontinuing Council Oral Reports, rather than moving them up on the
agenda, and if a Council member met with someone regarding an agenda item, the
Council member could disclose that fact when the item was taken up.
Councilman Stern stated that he did not think it was a good idea to hold off providing
disclosure on an item until it was agendized, as people tended to meet with City Council
members well in advance of an item being placed on an agenda and that the meeting
should be disclosed as soon as possible in fairness to all the parties involved.
Mayor Wolowicz felt that it was important to disclose the conversations and meetings
the Council members had with others on topics that would then come before the entire
Council. He also felt these disclosures helped to keep the general public informed on
what meetings Council members had attended and who they had been talking to.
Councilman Stern moved to adopt Resolution No. 2006 -06 thereby amending Rule 5.1
of the City Council Rules and Procedures regarding the Order of Business on the
Agenda, seconded by Mayor Wolowicz. The motion passed by the following roll call
vote
AYES: Clark, Stern and Mayor Wolowicz
NOES: Gardiner
ABSTAIN: Mayor Pro Tern Long
ABSENT: None
ADJOURNMENT:
Mayor Wolowicz declared the meeting adjourned at 2:28 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on February
79 2006 in the Fireside Room at Hesse Park for Planning Commission interviews.
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