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CC MINS 19870919 ADJMI N U T S RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL ADJOURNED. REGULAR MEETING September 19, 1987 The meeting was called to order at 8:00 a.m. by Mayor Hughes at Fred Hesse Community Park, 29301 Hawthorne Boulevard, notice having been given with affidavit thereto on file. PRESENT: BACHARACH, RYAN, McTAGGART, HINCHLIFFE, AND MAYOR HUGHES Also present were City Manager Dennis McDuf f ie , Public Works Director George Wentz, Finance Director Kevin N. Smith, and Environmental Services Director Robert Benard. Opening remarks and welcoming was made by Mayor Hughes. LIBRARY DISTRICT Bob Rowe said that the Library Board Long -Range Citizens Planning Committee will be sending a question- naire to the City residents within the next few weeks. He urged the com- munity leaders to help get as large a response as possible. He said one -fifth of the questionnaire is directed toward people who are not library users, and noted that the library is supported by everyone on the peninsula. UPDATE ON LANDSLIDE Mayor Hughes presented an update on ABATEMENT PROGRAM the Landslide Abatement Program and noted that prior to the City's efforts to halt the slide, it had been moving as much as one and one -half inches per day. He referred to the effectiveness of the culverts put in to capture the water before it could enter the landslide area and said another upcoming project will be reconstructing Palos Verdes Drive South back to where it was. He said the City will have control of the County beach pro- perty to permanently stabilize the land. Councilwoman Bacharach talked about expansion projects and said it, is hoped that the City will be on the right list for financial assistance. She noted that in order to do shoreline work, the land must be in public domain. 710CP:ADJMTG - 1 - September 19, 1987 TREES /VIEWS Mayor Pro Tem Ryan referred to the City's existing view protection ordi- nance and said that he and Councilman McTaggart were currently working on a tree policy with regard to views for presentatin to the Council in December. He said an initiative ( called "Neighborhood View Preservation ") is being circulated which requires private trees to be trimmed if a complaint is received. He said that rule is unenforceable by the City and can only be handled through the CC &Rs . He suggested that residents first check the City's ordinance and then read the initiative carefully before signing. TRUCK AND TRAFFIC Mayor Hughes discussed the joint SAFETY powers agreement through which the three peninsula cities contrac t jointly with the Sheriff's Department. He said it is much more efficient and effective, and gives the City a lot of control. He noted that he and Councilman McTaggart serve on the Peninsula Regional Law Enforcement Committee. Councilman McTaggart referred to the Rolling Hills Estates ordinance banning trucks on Crenshaw Boulevard unless their destination was in that city, and said at the last Peninsula Regional Law Enforcement Committee meeting a representative from the Highway Patrol said the ordinance was unenforceable. He said the recent fatal accident brought the Crenshaw problem to a head, but that the ordinance would force truck traffic onto Hawthorne Boulevard through Rancho Palos Verdes. He said the required semi- annual inspection is inadequate for trash trucks because of so many starts and stops. He said cities can reroute trucks but cannot ban them, and noted that statistically the peninsula has a low incidence of accidents, Mayor Hughes said the Highway Patrol is responsible for traffic investiga- tion in unincorporated areas. MARINELAND /COASTAL Councilman Hinchliffe presented an LAND USE UPDATE update of the coastal land use since the "Save Our Coastline" (SOC) group, which was behind the incorporation of the City. He reviewed the recent and upcoming activities in each of the coastal subregions, beginning at Sunset Cove ( the northern end of the City) where the grading for a new development will begin later this year. He said no change is reflected in most of the subregions, and that the big news is Marineland, where new owners are in the early stages of planning a project quite different than what exists (hotel, conference center, perhaps recreational facilities, and maybe even retail). He said the current zoning does not allow residential on that site and is unlikely to change. He said the type of development proposed is considered a benefit to the community and that the feedback from the community indica- tes the same. He said the property abutting San Pedro was recently purchased. -2- 710CP:ADJMTG September 19, 1987 Councilmembers responded to several audience questions: Regarding the County -owned property located in Subregion 7, adjacent to an existing mobile home site owned by the City of Los Angels, Mayor Hughes referred to a known landslide which occurred in the early 1950s and said that is why there are only mobile and not permanent homes in the area. Regarding in the hotel interest in the City, Mayor Hughes said when Marineland closed, there was a sudden rush of major hotel companies looking at the city's coastline for possible hotel locations, but that the Marineland site is the only area currently zoned to allow a hotel. Councilman Hinchliffe said if Marineland did not already exist when the City incorporated, the area would probably have been zoned residential like the rest of the coastline* PUBLIC ACCESS STUDIO Councilwoman Bacharach said the City has negotiated a franchise with the cable company which: mandates cable throughout the whole city; provides additional equipment (there are now two cameras to cover Council meetings and a camera for use by staff) ; and provides for a public access studio to be run by the Cable Foundation. She said Rancho Palos Verdes is the first of the four peninsula cities to have a public access studio, and that the City Hall offices will be reconfigured to accomodate it. She said the guidelines for operating the facility will be brought before Council by the advisory committee and should be ready by the first of the year, and noted that she and Mayor Hughes were on the committee. Mayor Hughes said right now everything is on Channel 3, but in the future there will be a government channel ( city, library, etc.), a community access channel, and a third channel for commercial programming. POTENTIAL SCHOOL Mayor Pro Tem Ryan said a letter was CLOSURES received by the School District offering the Portuguese Bend School site for sale and giving 60 days for the City to indicate interest. He said AYSO volunteers built one of the soccer fields located on the site and that the City built the second one. He said Council will be meeting to discuss negotiations with the School Board. He said it is anticipated that many of the school sites will be up for sale but that the City cannot afford to buy them all* Councilmember Hinchliffe said it is a serious problem in the entire region, not just the city. He said the School District does not have the ability to tax the people, so there is a financial problem coupled with fewer students which requires the closing of schools. He said the School Board plans to make a decision on November 2 (prior to the election) regarding which sites will be closed. He said this is a very complex issue but is vital to the community, and noted that 61 percent of the school children live in Rancho Palos Verdes. - 3 - 710CP:ADJMTG September 19, 1987 Nancy Mahr, , School Board, said the first School Board public hearing will be held on September 29 at Palos Verdes High School, the second will be held on October 7 at Mirales to High School, and the third will be held October 12 at Rollings Hills High School, all at 7 p.m. She said all three public hearings will be broadcast on cable TV, and noted that each of the three meetings will cover the entire district. STATE OF THE CITY Mayor Hughes addressed the upcoming (November 3) election and announced the candidates for the offices of City Council, School Board, and Library District. He said two candidate forums are scheduled at Hesse Park: on October 28 for School Board and Library District candidates, and on October 29 for Council candidates, both to be televised. Mayor Hughes said the City is operating with a balanced budget and that there has been a slight increase in reserves without using the utility tax that is set aside for maintenance items. He said with the contracting out of some services, the City (of almost 50,000 residents) is operating with only 50 employees, which is one of the lowest employee- resident ratio in the area. He said the City Manager and Finance Director are holding the City's finances in very tight control. QUESTIONS /ANSWERS Frank Weiss thought these community meetings were an excellent idea. He expressed concern about: 1) no mail boxes on the east side of Hawthorne Boulevard to the City border (he said he wrote a letter to the Postmaster); and 2) the throw -aways from the Daily Breeze (he requested that the City send a letter to the Daily Breeze asking that these publications be thrown more accurately onto driveways rather than in the street or gutter)* Mayor Hughes announced that Rancho Palos Verdes is now of f icially a three zip code city. Besides 90274, the two zip codes for the eastern part of the city ( 90732 and 90717) are now official* Jim Hewitt, 4 Coach Road, expressed. concern that over the past six months Palos Verdes Drive East, Mirales to , has become a race track with lots of skid marks and dead animals* Mayor Hughes said there is a special car that moves around to different problem areas and that the City has been working with the Sheriff Department about extra patrol. He said another problem this past summer was with teenage parties and suggested that citizens call early if they detect a problem party and not wait until it is out of control. - 4 - 710CP:ADJMTG September 19, 1987 In response to other audience questions, Mayor Hughes said there are lots within the moratorium area with zero land value that cannot be developed because they cannot make the necessary soil calculations and are located adjacent to the landslide. He said when the moratorium can be lifted, those property values will go up almost 100 percent and, of that, one percent tax increment will go directly to the Redevelopment Agency rather than to the County. With regard to the homeowners underwriting bonds in the Abalone Cove area, he said they recognized the risk but viewed this as an opportunity to stabilize the area, an opportunity which will not come again later. He said there are two approaches to stopping the landslide, and that the City plans to do both. He said most properties are in a special assessment district. He said the county has been vigorous in opposing the redevelopment agency, and that they have arrived at a "win- win -win" settlement of the suit which is really a landmark agreement. ADJOURNMENT ATTEST: At 10:35 am the meeting adjourned on motion of Councilman McTaggart. Mayor - 5 - 710CP:ADJMTG September 19, 1987