20141105 Late CorrespondenceCrrYOF RANCHO PALOS VERDES
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
HONORABLE MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
CITY CLERK
NOVEMBER 3, 2014
ADDITIONS/REVISIONS AND AMENDMENTS TO
AGENDA
Attached· are revisions/additions and/or amendments to the agenda material received
through Monday afternoon for the Wednesday, November 5, 2014 City Council meeting:
Item No. Description of Materials
Closed Session Emails from Sunshine
Respectfully submitted,
OOL~£Le_
Carla Morreale
W:\AGENDA\2014 Additions Revisions to agendas\20141105 additions revisions to agenda through Monday afternoon.doc
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
SunshineRPV@aol.com
Friday, October 31, 2014 9:58 AM
CC; Carolynn Petru; PC; Michael Throne
About the City Manager applicants
Dear Mr. Mayor and City Council Members:
In the interviews, have any of the candidates for City Manager left you with the impression that he/she would be
interested, willing and able to manage updating/amending our General Plan, Coastal Specific Plan, Parks
Master Plan and Trails Network Plan every time the City Council approves purchasing property, accepts an
easement, improves a park, etc?
We really don't need a bunch of"public workshops" to add Council actions like a new park, a new trail
easement or a new·Reserve to the inventories in our existing Plans. The City Council has approved many
changes to our "Land Use". Each and every change should be available to the public and to all Staff on the map
on our City's web site. They are not.
What is an Infrastructure Advisory Committee supposed to advise the Council about if they, the volunteers, do
not have access to up to date Plans? As a trails advocate, I am working from the bottom up. My efforts and the
new committee's efforts will be useless if our City's Staff does not "manage" to keep our primary documents up
to date.
I want to see forty years worth of "enhancement" documented on the City's web site before changes to our
agreed upon goals get discussed. "We have come a long way, baby." I have no clue as to why our past several
City Managers have not taken care of this basic business. Maybe our next City Manager will. If the Council
brings it up, would that be considered "micro-managing"?
SUNSHINE 310-377-8761
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From:
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject:
SunshineRPV@aol.com
Sunday, November 02, 2014 11:15 AM
cc
Carolynn Petru; PC
This is something you can influence, maybe
Dear Mr. Mayor and City Council:
RPV's "Plans" are a mess. All plans under the General Plan are to be "certified" as being in "compliance" with
the RPV General Plan and its California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements. I have a suggestion
to clean up the messes in the long term. Let me know if any of the following is inaccurate. Let me know if
there is anything we property owners can do to help "Save our City" from such lack of care.
WHERE AS: The RPV General Plan (and Land Use Map) is mandated by the State of California with minimal
consequences when it is not kept up to date. It involves the whole City.
WHERE AS: The RPV Coastal Specific Plan is mandated by the State of California with consequences when it
is not kept up to date. It involves only specifically defined portions of the City. California Coastal Commission
enforcement.
WHERE AS: The RPV Natural Communities Plan (NCCP) is a voluntary "land use burden" as described by
the State of California with minimal consequences when it is not kept up to date. The RPV NCCP has not yet
been approved by various Agencies under the State of California so it involves vague and easily moved portions
of the City. RPV Staff enforcement.
WHERE AS: The RPV Roadways Standards Study is a voluntary "vision". Newly created public roadways
have not been "studied". RPV Staff implemented.
WHERE AS: The RPV Parks Master Plan is a legal record of City owned properties with a variety of
"recreation use deed restrictions" and "enhancement visions". Various Agency enforcement. RPV Staff
implemented.
WHERE AS: The RPV Trails Master Plan is a legal record of City-owned easements
and a directive to preserve and enhance the "trails network" (Pedestrian, equestrian and bicycle circulation)
which existed when the City incorporated. RPV Staff implemented.
WHERE AS: There is no City Council approved, City wide Signage Standards Study. "Signage proliferation"
has become annoying to the residents.
THEREFORE: As reference documents, the above are essentially useless for potential property owners, the
public in general and new Staff Members. This is not as it should be.
THEREFORE: Something should be done about it. With our new GIS system and Information Technology
Staff, it should be a simple matter of word processing and map adjusting on a regular basis. The backlog is
going to take a serious effort by a skilled Archivist.
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I have observed that even if the current information was readily available, Staff has a problem with knowing
which department is responsible for what. This has created an in house culture of"No my yob, mon." General
Plan Amendment 22 was an effort to clarify this at least in regards to trails preservation and enhancement. The
Preserve's Pump Master Plan (PUMP), San Ramon Canyon and the Sunnyside Segment of the Palos Verdes
Loop Trail are scathingly awkward examples of how nobody is coordinating/considering The big picture of the
future ofRPV. I have not been able to influence that.
I do have some suggestions about how to reorganize our "Plans" so that they are more "user friendly".
1. Eliminate all text from the General Plan which is not the Glossary and the Goals And Policies for
implementing each mandatory Element. (That should make it easier for the Council and the public to comment
on the changes proposed in "Draft Update".)
2. Add a statement to the Introduction and to each General Plan Element which refers the reader to the more
specific Plans and maps which the City Council has adopted. For instance, The Land Use Map, The Official
Zoning Map, The Coastal Specific Plan, The Natural Communities Conservation Plan (NCCP), The
Infrastructure Management Master Plan and The Parks Master Plan.
3. Make the big decisions. How about putting trail easements, trail maintenance and trail enhancements into
the Parks Master Plan? Put the Conceptual Bikeways Plan into a Roadways Master Plan. Put both of these as
Elements into the Infrastucture Management Master Plan.
After all, the objective of incorporating the City of Rancho Palos Verdes was to preserve and enhance what is
here differently than what LA County had in mind. That difference starts with our General Plan. Taking care
of our infrastructure along those lines is what we pay property taxes for. Next comes "health, safety and
welfare" as in emergency services and enforcement of the Municipal Code.
Pay closer attention to the Consent Calendar.
Have a closer look at the City's Budget. Accept "charity" from the non-profits, carefully. Avoid making their
"good works" more difficult. Accept "charity" from government agencies, carefully. Pursue offers from
private party owners, graciously.
Drawing the line in one small City might make a difference all over the world. "Do not tread on me."
Make an end to the "embellished confusion." Hire a City Manager who will put the City of Rancho Palos
Verdes ahead of the United Nation's Agenda for the 21st Century.
SUNSHINE 310-377-8761
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