CC MINS 20180521 ADJ MINUTES
RANCHO PALOS VERDES CITY COUNCIL
ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING
MAY 21, 2018
CALL TO ORDER:
An Adjourned Regular meeting of the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council for the
purpose of a Closed Session was called to order by Mayor Brooks at 6:03 P.M. at Fred
Hesse Community Park, McTaggart Hall, 29301 Hawthorne Boulevard, notice having
been given with affidavit thereto on file.
City Council roll call was answered as follows:
PRESENT: Alegria, Cruikshank, Dyda, Duhovic, and Mayor Brooks
ABSENT: None
Also present were Doug Willmore, City Manager; Bill Wynder, City Attorney; Gabriella
Yap, Deputy City Manager; and Emily Colborn, City Clerk.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
City Clerk Colborn reported that there were no requests to speak.
CLOSED SESSION ITEMS ANNOUNCED:
City Attorney Wynder announced the item to be discussed in Closed Session.
1. POTENTIAL LITIGATION AGAINST THE CITY
GC 54956.9(d)(2) and (e)(2)
A point has been reached where, in the opinion of the legislative body of the local
agency on the advice of its legal counsel, based on existing facts and circumstances,
there is a significant exposure to litigation against the local agency.
RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION (FIRESIDE ROOM):
At 6:04 P.M., the Council recessed to Closed Session.
ADJOURN TO REGULAR MEETING:
At 6:35 P.M. the Closed Session was adjourned to the Regular meeting.
REGULAR MEETING — OPEN SESSION
City Council Minutes
Adjourned Regular Meeting
May 21, 2018
Page 1 of 4
CALL TO ORDER:
An Adjourned Regular meeting of the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council was called to
order by Mayor Brooks at 6:40 P.M. at Fred Hesse Community Park, McTaggart Hall,
29301 Hawthorne Boulevard, notice having been given with affidavit thereto on file.
City Council roll call was answered as follows:
PRESENT: Alegria, Cruikshank, Dyda, Duhovic, and Mayor Brooks
ABSENT: None
Also present were Doug Willmore, City Manager; Gabriella Yap, Deputy City Manager;
Bill Wynder, City Attorney; Deborah Cullen, Director of Finance; Emily Colborn, City
Clerk.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Carolynn Petru.
CLOSED SESSION REPORT:
City Attorney Wynder reported that with regards to Closed Session Item No. 1, matter
was discussed with no reportable action taken.
PUBLIC COMMENTS:
City Clerk Colborn reported that there were no requests to speak.
REGULAR BUSINESS:
1. Consideration and possible action to receive and file a presentation on a
proposed City Charter initiative spearheaded by a local grassroots citizens'
committee.
Carolynn Petru presented a PowerPoint presentation giving an overview of the
committee's draft City Charter being proposed.
Lowell Wedemeyer, raised several concerns with the draft Charter being presented,
stating he felt it was too lengthy and created limitations on Council's authority. Mr.
Wedemeyer also stated that most of the Articles included in the Charter could be
adopted by Ordinances (if not done so already) which grants more flexibility for
amendments. In closing, Mr. Wedemeyer urged the City Council to preserve its powers
and the powers and authority of future City Councils by not accepting the Charter as
present.
City Council Minutes
Adjourned Regular Meeting
May 21, 2018
Page 2 of 4
City Clerk Colborn reported that late correspondence was received and distributed prior
to the meeting and that there were various requests to speak.
Glenn Cornell, expressed concern with recent State laws that could potentially impact
land use in the City particularly Senate Bill No. 827, and stated that the proposed
Charter would lend some protection to the City.
Sharon Yarber, spoke about the process involved in drafting the proposed Charter. Ms.
Yarber urged the Council to review and amend the document as they feel fit for the
City's residents.
Ann Shaw, expressed concern with the document being too lengthy to be presented to
the voters of the City. Ms. Shaw also expressed concern with finite language, like the
threshold requiring voter approval for net city expenditures exceeding $20,000.
Janet Schoenfeld, spoke in support of adopting a City Charter but raised several
concerns with incorporating text that has already been enacted in the City by way of
Ordinances.
Dan McCaskill, expressed concern with the possibility of a transfer tax being imposed to
homeowners which could be easily implemented with a majority vote.
Anthony Misetich, spoke in support of adopting a City Charter but raised concerns with
the document being too lengthy to be presented to the voters and that it contained
unnecessary Articles, sections, and/or regulations already in existence via Ordinances.
Mr. Misetich urged the Council to condense the documents while capturing the essence
of what the document was intended for.
Larry Maizlish, questioned the timing of placing a City Charter on the November 2018
election ballot and inquired if there was sufficient time for a financial analysis, a
thorough review, and if the Council had taken other variables under consideration.
Mayor Brooks called for a brief recess at 7:55 P.M. The meeting reconvened at 8:17
P.M.
Discussion ensued among Council Members and Staff.
Mayor Brooks moved, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Duhovic, to assign Councilmember
Dyda and Councilmember Cruikshank to an ad-hoc committee to review the draft
Charter and work with Staff on condensing the document and present at a future
meeting for the Council to review and consider. Without objection, Mayor Brooks so
ordered.
Discussion continued among Council Members and Staff.
City Council Minutes
Adjourned Regular Meeting
May 21, 2018
Page 3 of 4
Mayor Pro Tem Duhovic moved, seconded by Councilman Alegria, for each
Councilmember to forward the City Manager a list of items and/or Articles they would
like included in the Charter. The motion passed on the following roll call vote:
AYES: Alegria, Cruikshank, Dyda, Duhovic, and Mayor Brooks
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ADJOURNMENT:
At 9:13 P.M., Mayor Brooks adjourn to 5:30 P.M. on June 5, 2018 to conduct interviews
for the Traffic Safety Committee followed by a Closed Session meeting at 6:00 P.M. and
7:00 P.M. for a Regular meeting.
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City Council Minutes
Adjourned Regular Meeting
May 21, 2018
Page 4 of 4