CC MINS 19790306 M I NUT E S
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
MARCH 6, 1979
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Ken Dyda at 7:31 P.M. at the Palos Verdes
Unified School District Building, 30942 Hawthorne Boulevard. After the Pledge of
Allegiance to the flag, roll call was answered as follows:
PRESENT: BUERK, SHAW, HEIN & MAYOR DYDA
LATE ARRIVAL: RYAN @ 7:35 P.M.
Also present were City Attorney Patrick Coughlan, City Manager Leonard Wood, Director
of Planning Sharon Hightower, Director of Public Works Dennis Pikus, Community Services
Officer Tom Bandy, Administrative Services Officer George Wunderlin and Deputy City
Clerk Mary Jo Lofthus.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA After addition of the following: City County
Consolidation (Dyda) , League of California
Cities (Dyda) , Health Services Agency (Dyda) ,
Transfer Station for Sanitation District (Dyda) , Sheriff (Hein) , Council Reorganization
(Shaw) , Annexation Meeting and schedule of work sessions for the budget, the Agenda as
amended was approved on motion of Councilwoman Shaw, seconded by Councilwoman Hein and
carried unanimously.
WAIVER OF FULL READING OF Councilwoman Shaw moved, seconded by Councilwoman
ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS Hein, and unanimously carried, to waive reading
in full of all ordinances and resolutions adopted
at this meeting with consent to the waiver of
reading to be deemed to be given by all members of Council after the reading of the title,
unless specific request was made at that time for the reading of such ordinance or res-
olution.
GEOLOGY REPORT ON SLIDE Mayor Dyda distributed to members of Council,
AREA (1801) representatives of the press and Dave Ruth,
representing the homeowners in the Abalone
Cove Slide area, copies of the Draft Final Report on the Geotechnical Investigation of
Abalone Cove Landslide dated February 28, 1979.
Council set a Work Session for Thursday, March 8 at 7:30 P.M. for a discussion of this
report.
CONSENT CALENDAR After removal of the minutes of February 6, 1979,
the Consent Calendar was approved as follows on
motion of Councilman Buerk, seconded by Councilman Ryan.
RESOLUTION NO. 79-21 ADOPTED RESOL. NO. 79-21 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
REGISTER OF DEMANDS THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES IN THE SUM OF
11/ $532,029.66, DEMAND NUMBER 5965 THROUGH 6025.
TENTATIVE TRACT NO. 33039 Granted six-month extension of Tract Map No.
REQUEST FOR SIX-MONTH 33039 located at Hawthorne Boulevard and
EXTENSION Oceancrest.
(1411)
PARCEL MAP NO. 6862 APPROVED FINAL PARCEL MAP NO. 6862 LOCATED ON
APPROVAL OF FINAL MAP PALOS VERDES DRIVE EAST.
(1410)
SWITCHBOARD REQUEST APPROVED REQUEST FROM PALOS VERDES SWITCHBOARD
FOR USE OF CITY HALL FOR USE OF CITY HALL GROUNDS ON JULY 8, 1979.
GROUNDS
(305)
# # # If # 11 # If
ORDINANCE NO. 116 ORDINANCE NO. 116 OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
FALSE ALARMS VERDES REGULATING ALARMS AND AMENDING THE
(1206)
RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE was read
by title and ADOPTED on motion of Councilwoman
Shaw, seconded by Councilwoman Hein, first reading having taken place on February 20, 1979.
The motion carried on the following roll call vote:
AYES: RYAN, BUERK, SHAW, HEIN & MAYOR DYDA
NOES: NONE
REQUEST FOR INITIATION OF Commenting that this matter had been continued
GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENTS from February 6, 1970, Director Hightower
(701) summarized the staff report February 6, 1979 as
follows.
Palos Verdes Properties was requesting a change from Commercial-Office to Commercial
Retail on a 16-acre parcel located on Silver Spur. This designation was due primar-
ily because of its slope and location which made office use seem potentially less
impactive. Residential uses bordered the land on the upslope side, and it has been
proposed to place some Open Space Hazard zoning on the land when the Zoning Map is
revised to accurately indicate a 35% slope. Two other properties in the area are
similarly zoned for office use: the .88-acre parcel at the corner of Silver Spur and
Silver Spur frontage road, and the 2-acre parcel near the corner of Crenshaw. Some
circumstances have changed since 1975, especially planning for Peninsula Center and
fiscal matters.
Staff recommended approval of the initiation of a General Plan amendment on all
commercial office parcels in the Peninsula Center area.
Dayton Realty Company was requesting initiation of an amendment on its 55-acre piece
of Subregion 1 of the Coastal area from Residential 1 dwelling unit per acre to
Residential 2-4 dwelling units per acre.
The Coastal Specific Plan adopted December,1978, designates the piece Residential 1
dwelling unit per acre (Residential Planned Development) and it would be so zoned in
the next few months.
Staff was of the opinion that no circumstances have changed in this brief period nor
have reasons for the land use designated changed.
Staff recommended denying Dayton Realty's request for initiation of amendment to General
Plan.
Mayor Dyda instructed the Council to treat these requests separately and said that the
request from Palos Verdes Properties would be considered first.
Councilman Ryan moved, seconded by Councilwoman Hein to accept staff recommendation
and approve the Palos Verdes Properties' request for initiation of a General Plan
Amendment on all Commercial office parcels in the Peninsula Center area.
The motion carried on the following roll call vote:
AYES: RYAN, SHAW, HEIN & MAYOR DYDA
NOES: BUERK
DAYTON REALTY REQUEST William R. Wolanow, attorney for Dayton
Realty Co. , 470 South Beverly Drive,
Beverly Hills, read a prepared statement
and presented Council with a copy of his testimony. This letter dated March 6, 1979
is on file with the City Clerk's office and made a part of the record.
Council asked Mr. Wolanow if it was the intention of his company to provide low and
moderate income housing as defined by HUD if they secured the 2-4 units per acre. Mr.
Wolanow responded that was not exactly their intention.
In response to the Mayor's question about what pricing he would project for a 2-4 acre
density, Mr. Wolanow said that the housing costs would be substantially lower.
Referring to the Critique of the Coastal Plan presented to Council, Mayor Dyda noted
that it was received by them on the very last day, even though there were hearings on
the Plan for months. The Council did have the benefit of the Critique and did use it
in some of their final deliberations.
Council -2- March 6, 1979
Responding to Council's inquiry about traffic impact, Director Hightower stated that
there was a direct reference to the traffic analysis done for the General Plan; the
density was modified to mitigate some of the effects identified in the General Plan.
Commenting that Dayton Realty has built a lot of homes on the Peninsula, Councilman
Ryan asked how much was low income.
Mr. Wolanow responded that he didn't use the term low income, but described it as
housing that appealed to all economic segments of the community. It was his opinion
that the State law doesn't mention low income or medium income, it refers to housing
that is affordable by all economic segments of the community.
Council inquired of Mr. Wolanow if his company was going to sell these homes at a
lower price and make less profit if the higher density was allowed. Mr. Wolanow said
he was unable to answer that question.
It was Council's opinion that the Dayton Realty letter dated December 22, 1978 did not
identify any specific reasons for requesting a General Plan amendment, but instead merely
indicated that they wanted to make further investigation into possible reasons for change.
Referring to Page 3 of the Critique, Mr. Wolanow said that seven different reasons were
listed which they felt were sufficient to allow this request. He indicated that he
was not trying to convince the Council to allow 2-4 or 9 units per acre, but was request-
ing the opportunity to proceed with the staff and Council in exploring why such a density
in that range was appropriate.
Mayor Dyda commented that in contrast to all of the other people who testified before
the Council and the Planning Commission during the Coastal Plan's formative stage,
Dayton Realty made a couple of appearances but provided nothing substantial until
approximately a day or two before the Council was ready to adopt the plan after working
on it for years. They were now requesting to go back into the process and do an anlysis.
Mayor Dyda said he saw no substantial change in their request.
Mr. Wolanow said that one of the problems was that the last public hearing on the Coastal
Plan was in September, 1977; the Plan was revised and adopted in October, 1978, and that
many revisions were made along the way.
Mayor Dyda responded that those revisions had been made as a result of input from the
community and developers; that all of the work sessions held on the Plan were open to
the public, and that Dayton Realty was conspicuous by its absence from the meetings.
Councilman Buerk moved, seconded by Councilman Ryan, to deny the request from Dayton
Realty Company for initiation of a General Plan amendment. The motion carried unanimously.
HEIGHT VARIATION ORDINANCE Director Hightower reminded the Council that this
(1801) matter was continued from the February 6, 1979
meeting and briefly summarized the staff report
of January 30, 1979.
Mrs. Jeanette Mucha, 5538 'Littlebow Road, presented Council with a letter dated January
23, 1979 which outlined guidelines which she felt would strengthen the proposed height
ordinance. This letter is on file with the City Clerk's office.
Jacki Bacharach, 5033 Rockvalley Road, representing the Planning Commission, told the
Council about the deliberations the Commission went through in arriving at the proposed
ordinance.
Council discussion then centered around at what point the effects of two story structures
would be sufficient to block view; whether the third or fourth request for a two story
structure could be denied after allowing previous requests, or if the first request could
be denied based upon the assumption that others would follow.
Councilman Buerk moved, seconded by Councilman Ryan, and unanimously carried, that the
Mayor appoint a subcommittee to work with the City Attorney in preparing appropriate
wording to add to the proposed ordinance which would include the cumulative effect
criteria. This phrasing should be presented at the April 3 meeting.
It was decided that Mayor Dyda, Councilwoman Shaw, a member of the Planning Commission
and a staff member would meet with the City Attorney to discuss this ordinance.
RECESS At 8:55 P.M. Mayor Dyda declared a brief recess.
At 9:10 P.M. the meeting reconvened with the same
members present.
Council -3- March 6, 1979
ANTENNA ORDINANCE - It was the consensus of Council to meet with the
DISCUSSION OF LEGAL City Attorney on March 14 to discuss the legal
ISSUES issues of the proposed antenna ordinance.
(1801)
PUBLIC HEARINGS: Mayor Dyda declared the hearing open and the City
RESOLUTION NO. 79-22 Clerk reported that notice had been duly published.
PALOS VERDES DRIVE EAST Director Pikus presented the Engineer's report
UNDERGROUND DISTRICT NO. 1 which detailed the participation of the utility
(901) companies, costs to the City, estimated total costs
to affected property owners in the Palos Verdes
Drive East Underground Utility District, estimate of time to complete underground installa-
tion and removal of overhead facilities, and a copy of the negative declaration prepared
for this district.
Director Pikus reported that all the property owners within the proposed district had
been informed of the public hearing.
Since there was no response to the Mayor's call for public testimony, he declared
the public hearing closed.
RESOLUTION NO. 79-22 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES ESTABLISHING
PALOS VERDES DRIVE EAST UNDERGROUND DISTRICT PURSUANT TO SECTION 10002 OF CHAPTER 1,
ARTICLE 10 OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE was read by title and ADOPTED on
motion of Councilman Buerk, seconded by Councilwoman Hein and unanimously carried.
Councilwoman Shaw moved, seconded by Councilman Buerk, to adopt the Engineer's report.
The motion carried unanimously.
RESOLUTION NO. 79-23 - Mayor Dyda declared the hearing open and the City
HAWTHORNE BOULEVARD UNDERGROUND Clerk reported that notice had been published.
DISTRICT NO. 2
(901)
Director Pikus summarized the engineer's report which detailed the participation of the
utility companies, costs to the City, estimated total costs to affected property owners
in the Palos Verdes Drive West Underground Utility District, estimate of time to complete
underground installation and removal of overhead facilities, and a copy of the negative
declaration prepared for this district.
Director Pikus reported that no property owners were affected by the Underground Utility
District.
Since there was no response to the Mayor's call for public testimony, he declared the
hearing closed.
RESOLUTION NO. 79-23 OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES ESTABLISHING
HAWTHORNE BOULEVARD UNDERGROUND UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 2 PURSUANT TO SECTION 10002 OF CHAPTEF
1, ARTICLE 10 OF THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE was read by title. Councilman
Buerk moved, seconded by Councilwoman Shaw and unanimously carried to ADOPT RESOLUTION
NO. 79-23 and accept the Engineer's Report.
ZONE CHANGE NO. 4 - Mayor Dyda declared the hearing open and the
CODE AMENDMENT NO. 7 City Clerk reported that notice had been pub-
(701) lished.
Councilman Buerk moved, seconded by Councilman Ryan to continue the public hearing
to March 20. The motion carried unanimously.
RENT CONTROL The City Manager reported that the City had received
(310 x 1203) several letters which alleged fire, and building and
safety violations at the Highridge apartments.
These violations were reported to the appropriate County agencies and they reported back
that no significant code violations existed. Some minor health and fire violations
existed but that they are being pursued with corrective measures.
The following residents of Peacock Ridge commented about the lack of maintenance, security,
and the fact that the present rent increase was not justified by the overall poor con-
dition of the apartments: Donald A. Lonave, Marvin L. Ross, Armond G. Oliphant, Mrs.
Oliphant, Billie Baker, Jan Freeman, and Sue Allen Hammill.
Attorney Gordon Phillips, representing the owners of Highridge, 21515 Hawthorne Boulevard ,
Council -4- March 6, 1979
Suite 840, told the Council that he had reviewed the complaints and would ask his
clients to try and resolve these matters.
In response to Council's questions, Mr. Phillips said that he was unaware of any recent
sale of the property; that a recent attempt to sell the property was not successful, and
he had made an inquiry to convert the building to condominiums. It was the intent of the
owners of Highridge to put a new roof on the building forthwith and to paint the building
within the next two years.
The suggestion was made that the City should consider enacting an ordinance which would
require a list of all rents in the City of multiple units as of April, 1978 with the
requirement that when rents are raised that they be filed with the City; whether the City
could provide any protection for those tenants who were protesting the existing conditions
at Highridge. Council also suggested that Mr. Phillips try to arrange a meeting between
the tenants and the management of Highridge so these complaints could be heard by them.
Councilman Ryan moved, seconded by Councilwoman Shaw and unanimously carried that the staff
should draft an outline of the procedures necessary for administering a rent reporting
ordinance. This report should be prepared for the April 3 meeting.
Councilwoman Hein moved, seconded by Councilman Ryan, and unanimously carried that staff
should obtain a copy of the County's Conditional Use Permit for the Highridge apartments.
RECESS: At 11:15 P.M. Mayor Dyda declared a brief recess.
The meeting reconvened at 11:20 P.M. with the same
members present.
AUDIENCE QUESTIONS Mayor Dyda moved, seconded by Councilwoman Hein and
unanimously carried to consider Audience Questions
at this time.
TREE ORDINANCE Mrs. Katina McHugh, 2222 Rue le Charlene, described
how a neighbor's tree blocked her view. She has
been unsuccessful in attempting to get this neighbor to top the tree.
The Mayor explained to Mrs. McHugh that presently the City is considering a tree
ordinance but that only pertains to trees on public property. Mrs. McHugh was advised
to see if the homeowners association would support her efforts and convince her neighbor
to top his tree.
CITY DISASTER FUND Councilman Ryan moved, seconded by Councilwoman Hein,
(1801) and unanimously carried to continue this matter
until the March 8, 1979 work session.
CITY COUNTY CONSOLIDATION Mayor Dyda referred to a letter he received from
Supervisor Edmund D. Edelman which outlined a plan
for consolidation of City-County services. It was
the consensus of Council that the City was not interested in such a plan. Mayor Dyda
said he would write a letter informing Supervisor Edelman of the Council's feelings.
SALES TAX Mayor Dyda reported that at a meeting of the League
(1501) of California Cities, it was decided to have the
Revenue and Taxation Committee review the sales dis-
tribution formula presented in AB 301.
HEALTH SERVICES AGENCY It was the consensus of Council to receive and file
(310 x 801) the resolution from the City of San Dimas request-
ing support of the County as the health services
agency rather than using private agencies.
SANITATION DISTRICT Mayor Dyda reported that at a meeting of the
- TRANSFER STATIONS Sanitation District it was agreed to use the small
transfer stations since that was-the- mo s t
economical method of handling trash disposal.
SHERIFF Councilwoman Hein reported on her tour of the
Sheriff's facilities with Deputy Engelbart.
Council -5- March 6, 1979
COUNCIL REORGANIZATION Councilwoman Shaw reported on SB 2224 which
(306) changes the date of municipal elections to the
second Tuesday in April of even numbered years.
She requested that staff draft an amendment to
Council's Resolution No. 75-31 and incorporate the appropriate provision of this new
legislation.
Councilman Ryan moved, seconded by Councilwoman Shaw, that staff prepare ,a resolution
encompassing the necessary criteria at the earliest possible meeting. This resolution
should be prepared for the March 20 Council Meeting; however, no reorganization will occur
at that meeting, and Council will follow the provisions of the new resolution.
URBAN WEST WALKWAY Director Hightower briefed the Council on the his-
(450 x 1404) tory of this walkway and with the use of maps
described the location of an existing City-owned
easement and one which the City was considering
asking the developer to provide. Residents of Del Cerro were requesting such an ease-
ment for the use of children attending the La Cresta School.
Use of the City's easement would necessitate its improvement and the removal and
trimming of trees. Another alternative would be to request the developer to allow
such an easement through his property at the end of a cul-de-sac or along a drainage
easement.
Staff recommended that if Council wishes to proceed, that the Parks & Recreation Department
be requested to investigate, report and recommend a location for this walkway.
Councilwoman Shaw moved, seconded by Councilman Ryan, and unanimously carried, to proceed
with trying to get an easement through the Urban West property to the La Cresta School.
EIR FOR PLAZA PALOS VERDES Councilman Ryan moved, seconded by Councilwoman
(1203) Shaw and unanimously carried, to proceed with re-
sponding to the EIR from the City of Rolling Hills
Estates. Mayor Dyda advised the members of Council
that they should advise the City Manager of their concerns by the end of the week.
ANNEXATION Councilwoman Shaw moved, seconded by Councilwoman
(105) Hein, and unanimously carried, to hold the
hearing on the annexation on March 28 at 7:30 P.M.
If possible, this meeting should be held at Ridgecrest Intermediate School.
MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 6 City Attorney Coughlan requested that "and the
administrative record. " be added to the last
sentence of the first paragraph dealing with the
C.U.P. #41 on Page 3. Additionally, he requested that the fifth line of the second
paragraph be changed as follows: ". . . failed to represent an adverse aspect . . ."
Councilwoman Shaw moved, seconded by Councilman Buerk, and unanimously carried to incor-
porate the changes into the minutes.
Councilwoman Hein moved, seconded by Councilman Ryan and unanimously carried to
approve the minutes of February 6, 1979 as amended.
RECESS TO EXECUTIVE SESSION At 12:25 A.M. Councilman Buerk moved, seconded
by Councilman Ryan to recess to executive session
for discussion of pending litigation.
At 1:55 A.M. the meeting reconvened with no action
taken.
ADJOURNMENT: At 2:00 A.M. the meeting adjourned on motion of
Councilman Buerk, seconded by Councilman Ryan to
March 8, at 7:30 P.M. for a work session on the Geology Report.
Council -6- March 6, 1979
,, r;'(---
MAYOR
ATTEST:
LEONARD G. WOOD, CITY CLERK &
EX OFFICIO CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
fr 'J/Z,41A/ .
,/fTY CL!le
III
.
Council —7— March 6, 1979