CC MINS 19780103 M I N U T E S
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
JANUARY 3 , 1978
The meeting was called to order at 7 :45 P.M. by Mayor Robert E. Ryan
at the Palos Verdes Unified School District Building, 30942 Hawthorne
Boulevard. Following the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag, roll call
was answered as follows :
PRESENT: SHAW, DYDA, BUERK & MAYOR RYAN
LATE ARRIVAL: RUTH AT 7 : 55 P.M.
Also present were City Attorney Patrick Coughlan, City Manager Leonard
Wood, Director of Planning Sharon W. Hightower, Administrative Services
Officer George Wunderlin and Deputy City Clerk Mary Jo Lofthus.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA After addition of Rolling Hills Peninsula
Center Master Plan (City Manager) the
agenda was approved on motion of Council-
woman Shaw, seconded by Councilman Dyda.
There being no objection, MAYOR RYAN SO ORDERED.
WAIVER OF FULL READING OF Councilman Dyda moved, seconded by
ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS Councilwoman Shaw, 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 Councilmembers
after reading of the title, unless specific request was made at that
time for the reading of such ordinance or resolution.
ORDINANCE NO. 93 ORDINANCE NO. 93-
APPROVING ZONE CHANGE NO. 2 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS
(1802 x 1411) VERDES APPROVING ZONE CHANGE NO. 2 was
presented for second reading and adoption
by title. It was moved by Councilwoman
Shaw, seconded by Councilman Dyda, and unanimously carried that further
reading be waived. Councilwoman Shaw moved, seconded by Councilman Dyda
to ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 93 . The motion carried on the following roll call
vote:
AYES: SHAW, DYDA & MAYOR RYAN
• NOES: BUERK
ABSENT: RUTH
ORDINANCE NO. 94 ORDINANCE NO. 94 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE
ADOPTION OF LOS ANGELES CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES ADOPTING BY
COUNTY BUILDING, MECHANICAL REFERENCE THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY BUILDING
& PLUMBING CODES CODE, 1977 EDITION, THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY
(201 x 505) PLUMBING CODE, 1977 EDITION, AND THE LOS
ANGELES COUNTY MECHANICAL CODE, 1977
EDITION, PUBLISHED BY THE BUILDING NEWS,
INC. , MAKING AMENDMENTS TO SAID CODES, AMENDING THE ELECTRICAL CODE, AND
AMENDING THE RANCHO PALOS VERDES MUNICIPAL CODE. It was presented for
second reading and adoption by title. Further reading being waived by
unanimous motion of Councilwoman Shaw, seconded by Councilman Dyda, it
was moved by Councilwoman Shaw, seconded by Councilman Buerk that
ORDINANCE NO. 94 be adopted.
Council requested that staff prepare the suggested amendments to these
building codes which were discussed at the meeting of December 20, 1977,
and present at the second Council meeting in February.
758
C.U.P. NO. 37 Director Hightower presented an oral
HANNA-BARBERA MARINELAND report which responded to each of the
(1804) concerns listed in the December 22, 1977
letter from Burke, Williams & Sorensen,
attorneys representing the City of
Rolling Hills Estates. She stated that Environmental Assessment No. 326
adequately dealt with the issues raised in that letter of December 21, 1977
to the Planning Commission.
(At 7 : 55 P.M. Councilman Ruth arrived and was present for the remainder
of the meeting. )
Councilman Dyda noted his disagreement with the statement in the second
paragraph of the attorney' s letter, "I was further advised. . . to
address the concerns of the City of Rolling Hills Estates was the
Rancho Palos Verdes City Council. " He said he was present at the meet-
ing, and the Planning Commission responded that since the negative
declaration had been upheld by the City Council, it was no longer in
its jurisdiction to discuss it, but that the commission at all times
in considering projects, considers all environmental impacts.
Council discussion then followed concerning whether or not there had
been any great public controversy regarding these plans for Marineland;
if adequate studies had been made to determine the impact of traffic;
and, exactly what were the objections being made to the environmental
assessment.
In response to Council 's questions, Director Hightower responded that
copies of the General Plan and the Coastal Plan had been sent to the
City of Rolling Hills Estates and that an environmental impact report
was an integral part of both these plans.
City Attorney Pat Coughlan stated that he would review the Negative
Declaration to double check the process. It was the consensus of
Council that based upon the representations made by the Director of
Planning that the Planning Commission should proceed with the process
for certification of the conditional use permit.
Councilman Buerk remarked that since the boundaries between the Cities
of Rolling Hills Estates and Rancho Palos Verdes were so entwined, and
since there were a number of common interests and concerns, a more co-
ordinated effort was needed when it came to planning projects for both
Cities. He further recommended that the two Cities be combined and
moved to appoint a Council committee to review the feasibility of the
merger. He also moved to recommend that the Mayor write a letter to
the City of Rolling Hills Estates indicating that the Council had made
this decision and suggest that they form a similar committee which would
study the possibility and then get together with the Rancho Palos Verdes
committee. The motion was seconded by Councilman Ruth and carried unan-
imously.
Council then discussed the process followed in arriving at the issuance
of this Negative Declaration and it was the general agreement that the
City of Rolling Hills Estates should be apprised of the fact that this
decision was based upon the pooling of information from two full en-
vironmental impact reports. Councilman Dyda suggested sending another
copy of the Coastal Plan and General Plan to Rolling Hills Estates and
direct a letter to each Councilmember making them aware of these reports.
Planning Commission Chairman John McTaggart commented that the traffic
generated by Marineland would not be as much as that created by further
development of the Peninsula Center. Additionally, he said that there
were no residents of Rolling Hills Estates present at the Planning
Commission' s hearing on this matter.
Matt Fouratt, Director of Planning for the City of Rolling Hills Estates,
told the Council that he would not be offering any new information, but
would like to make some general comments. He stated that it was the
opinion of Rolling Hills Estates that Marineland did not provide adequate
information on this project and requested a reevaluation of the Negative
Declaration, based upon the comments outlined in their attorney' s letter.
Council 759 January 3 , 1978
A discussion then followed between Mr. Fouratt and the Council which
centered on the impact of traffic as a result of the two housing tracts
currently under development by Rolling Hills Estates, and how that
compared with the impact of Marineland traffic. Council was of the
opinion that there would be a lesser impact created by the development
of Hanna-Barbera Marineland.
RECESS: At 9: 05 P.M. Mayor Ryan called a brief
recess. At 9 : 28 P.M. the meeting re-
convened with the same members present.
PENINSULA LEAGUE OF Lynn Stevenson, representing the
WOMEN VOTERS Peninsula League of Women Voters, read
(305) a proclamation honoring Alice M. Paul
and requested that the Council issue
such a proclamation in honor of Dr. Alice M. Paul Day to be celebrated
on January 11, 1978 .
Councilman Buerk moved that this be referred to the Mayor, whose respon-
sibility it was to sign such proclamations. The motion was seconded by
Councilman Dyda and carried unanimously.
HIGHRIDGE ROAD - The City Manager presented the staff
SELECTION OF CONSULTANT report of December 29, 1978 which
(112) listed the bids received for prep-
aration of plans and specifications
for Highridge Road. It was staff recommendation that based upon bid
price and past favorable experience, that the proposal of Don Greek &
Associates for a lump sum fee of $7, 600 be accepted.
Councilman Dyda moved, seconded by Councilwoman Shaw to accept the
proposal of Don Greek & Associates for $7, 600. The motion carried on
the following roll call vote:
AYES : SHAW, RUTH, DYDA, BUERK & MAYOR RYAN
NOES : NONE
Councilman Dyda then moved that on all future contracts, Section 2 of
the Green Book be deleted. The motion was seconded by Mayor Ryan and
carried unanimously.
TRAFFIC SIGNAL MODIFICATIONS The City Manager presented the staff
- HAWTHORNE BLVD. & DUPRE DR. report of December 27 , 1977 which
(TRACT NO. 32673) explained that the Developer of Tract
(1411) No. 32673 was required to modify the
traffic signal at the intersection of
Hawthorne Boulevard and Dupre Drive to accommodate the new park access
and median modifications. Staff recommendation was that the Council
Iapprove plans and specification and authorize the staff to advertise for
bids. Councilwoman Shaw so moved and the motion was seconded by Council-
man Dyda.
There being no objection, MAYOR RYAN SO ORDERED.
HEIGHT VARIATION NO. 72 The Director of Planning presented the
APPELLANTS : MR. & MRS. staff report of January 3, 1978 which
THOMAS THORSEN outlined the background on this height
(1804) variation appeal. It was staff ' s rec-
ommendation that the Council uphold
the Planning Commission's decision of denial based on: (1) the proposed
structure not being compatible with existing structures in the neigh-
borhood; (2) the second story was not situated so as to minimize view
obstruction; and (3) the cumulative effect of the proposed structure
and existing structures, or future structures of a similar character which
could be constructed in the neighborhood, would adversely impact the
neighborhood view.
Council 760 January 3, 1978
Mr. Michael E. Deitch, attorney representing the appellants, cited his
objection to this denial based on the fact that the view obstruction to
the properties of the complaining parties was minimal compared to the
panoramic view they enjoyed. He stated that there had been confusion
on this appeal as to the reasons for its denial by the Planning Commission,
and in view of that confusion, he requested the appeal fee be waived.
Mr. Deitch referred to that section of his letter which noted the exis-
tence of several other second story additions which existed in the
immediate area.
The City Attorney noted that height variation applications are considered
on a case by case basis and that the existence of other additions had no
bearing on this case. Additionally, it was his opinion that he saw no
application of vested rights as indicated in Paragraph 1. (a) of Mr.
Deitch' s letter of November 23, 1977.
Mr. Gerald V. Howard, 5867 Finecrest Dr. , voiced his opposition to the
addition based on the resultant view obstruction.
Mr. Lucian Rochte, 5925 Finecrest Dr. ,told the Council that he moved into
the area in 1963 and that the view from his home was becoming less and
less, and that this addition would have a serious impact on his remaining
view.
Mr. Alfred W. Smith, 5903 Finecrest Dr. , also based his objection to the
addition on view obstruction.
Council noted the receipt of a letter from Mr. Russell Harrison, 5915
Finecrest Dr. , who also objected to this addition.
Councilwoman Shaw said that she had visited this site and noted that the
homes on Finecrest Dr. had been situated on the lots so as to take advantage
of the view; that they overlooked the homes on Waukesha Place and still
maintained their view. It was her opinion that this ordinance was
designed to protect views. Referring to Section 9113, Subsections (c)
and (d) , Councilwoman Shaw moved to deny the appeal and uphold the position
of the Planning Commission because if this house was allowed to go beyond
the 16 ft. height, it would begin a cumulative effect and subsequent homes
would then block out the view of many similarly situated homes in the area;
that the addition was not situated in such a manner as to minimize view
obstruction, and that the proposed structure would not be compatible with
existing structures in the neighborhood since it had been designed with
views in mind.
The motion was seconded by Councilman Dyda and carried unanimously.
ALTAMIRA CANYON - The City Manager presented the staff
UPDATE REPORT memo of December 28 , 1977 which reported
(604) the results of a December 13th meet-
ing regarding the progress on
Altamira Canyon; the cost of the
proposed improvements for this project; and, outlined the Flood Control
District' s proposal for the City and or homeowners to construct the
needed culvert under Narcissa Drive on the west fork of Altamira Canyon.
The Flood Control District, through their own forces, would construct
channel stabilization devices, both upstream and downstream of this culver
The estimated cost for this culvert is $40,000 and the cost of their work
would be between ten to twenty thousand dollars. The report noted that
there would be a meeting with the District on January 11th and at that
time the City should present their decision on this project.
Councilman Buerk noted that this had been a problem since before the City
was incorporated and he would like to see it given higher priority by the
Flood Control District.
Council 761 January 3 , 1978
Councilman Dyda moved to accept the staff report. The motion was
seconded by Councilwoman Shaw and carried unanimously.
PENINSULA CENTER MASTER City Manager Wood noted receipt of a
PLAN STUDY letter from the City of Rolling Hills
(1203) Estates dated December 29, 1977 re-
garding the completion of a master
plan study for the Peninsula Center.
This letter invited the City to send a representative to participate in
the discussion and preparation of the Draft E. I.R. for the Center.
It was the consensus of Council that because of the impact of the Peninsula
Center, a representative of the City should participate in this study.
COUNCIL AND Council agreed to have a joint work
PARKS & RECREATION session with the Parks and Recreation
COMMITTEE JOINT Committee on Tuesday, January 10, 1978
WORK SESSION at 7 : 30 F.M.
(1201)
CONSENT CALENDAR After removal of Item No. 10 (Parcel
Map No. 3975) the Consent Calendar
was approved as follows on the motion
of Councilman Dyda, seconded by Councilwoman Shaw:
MINUTES Approved as presented the minutes of
the Adjourned Regular Meeting of
December 13 , 1977 and the Regular
Meeting of December 20, 1977 .
APPOINTMENT OF HEARING PANEL Approved the staff recommendation
- SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT that the City Council appoint itself
STANDARDS as the hearing panel and instructed
(1402) the City Clerk to notify the State
Solid Waste Management Board.
AMENDMENT TO CITY'S PUBLIC Approved the amendment to the City' s
EMPLOYEES' RETIREMENT SYSTEM Public Employees ' Retirement System
CONTRACT Contract to include the 1959 Survivor' s
RESOL. NO. 78-1 Benefit and ADOPTED RESOL. NO. 78-1
(1202) OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
RANCHO PALOS VERDES STATING ITS
INTENTION TO APPROVE AN AMENDMENT TO CONTRACT BETWEEN THE BOARD OF
ADMINISTRATION OF THE PUBLIC EMPLOYEES ' RETIREMENT SYSTEM AND THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES.
REGISTER OF DEMANDS ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 78-2 OF THE
RESOL. NO. 78-2 CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO
(1504) PALOS VERDES ALLOWING CERTAIN CLAIMS
AND DEMANDS IN THE SUM OF $271, 182. 05,
DEMAND NUMBERS 4316 THRU 4346.
The motion to approve the Consent Calendar carried on the following roll
call vote:
AYES: SHAW, RUTH, DYDA, BUERK AND MAYOR RYAN
NOES: NONE
# # # # # # # # #
Council 762 January 3 , 1978
ITEM REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR:
PARCEL MAP NO. 3795 After clarification of the City' s
(1410) rights with regard to a certain
easement affecting this parcel,
Councilman Buerk moved to adopt the staff recommendation that Parcel
Map No. 3795 be approved. The motion was seconded by Councilman Dyda
and carried unanimously.
# # # # # # # # #
ADJOURNMENT At 10: 30 P.M. on motion of Council-
woman Shaw, seconded by Councilman
Dyda, the meeting adjourned to
Tuesday, January 10, 1978 at 7 : 30 P.M. for a Joint Work Session with
the Parks and Recreation Committee.
//d4A/ iY_
ATTEST:
LEONARD G. WOOD, CITY CLERK &
EX OFFICIO CLERK OF THE COUNCIL
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/ IE/ T C, CLERK
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Council 763 January 3 , 1978