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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/24/1997 - Regular Meeting0 CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Regular Meeting March 24, 1997 - 7:00 p.m. Q11) CLOSED SESSION - 5:00 p.m. CLOSED SESSION REPORT PRESENTED - None RECESSED AND RECONVENED AT 7:00 P.M. FOR REGULAR MEETING ROLL CALL Present: O Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Absent: Edwards Pledge of Allegiance - Council Member Noyes. Invocation by George Vogel, Chaplain, VA Hospital. Presentation to the 1997 United Way Coordinators. Waived reading of the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 10, 1997, approved as written and ordered filed. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None Waived reading of Ordinances and Resolutions under consideration, and directed City Clerk to read by titles only. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None MATTERS WHICH COUNCIL MEMBERS WOULD LIKE PLACED ON A FUTURE AGENDA FOR DISCUSSION. ACTION OR REPORT (NON- Council Member Thomson requested a report on the project at the corner of Ford Road and MacArthur Boulevard which is being scraped and landscaped. He said people in his district would like to know what is going on, how it might impact Newport Beach and if there is anything that can be done to help the citizens in that area. Volume 51 - Page 161 City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • • Council Member Thomson requested an oral report on the crossing guard program describing how it works and how other cities operate their systems in order to determine ways to improve it. • Council Member Hedges requested that the City Clerk investigate methods, such as fax distribution, fax broadcasting through commercial services, etc., to distribute current City documents (i.e. City Manager newsletter and Council agendas and minutes) in order to enhance public accessibility. • Council Member Hedges requested that Council be provided with an update on water quality issues. He said he would like to see the results of the periodic water testing presented to the Council for review. • Council Member Hedges requested modifications to Council Policy A -11 related to taping of meetings. Currently the policy requires that all City Council meetings be tape recorded, however there is not a policy regarding videotaping or putting meetings on cable. The meetings are currently shown on cable pursuant to the contract with Comcast, however it is not addressed directly in the Council Policy and they should be brought parallel. He also suggested that the Council look at expanding the requirement to videotape Council study sessions, regardless of where they are held. • • Council Member Glover requested a report on personnel assigned to code enforcement, how enforcement issues are brought to the officer and response times. Mayor Debay thanked Assistant City Manager Wood and Deputy Chief Tony Melum for meeting with the Mooring Association on Saturday, March 21 as part of the public outreach program on the BPPAC study. Mayor Debay announced that the 2nd Annual International Film Festival will be held in Newport Beach on April 3 - 13, 1997. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Removed from Consent Calendar. ORDINANCES FOR ADOPTION 2. Removed from Consent Calendar. RESOLUTION FOR ADOPTION S. Removed from Consent Calendar. • CONTRACTS AND AGREEMENTS 4. RESUBDIVISION NO. 1010 - CAMEO SHORES. Approve a subdivision Volume 51 - Page 162 INDEX Resub 1010 (84) • City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 agreement guaranteeing completion of the public improvements required with Resubdivision No. 1010 and authorize the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the agreement; accept the offer of dedication of pedestrian and bicycle easement as shown on Parcel Map 94 -215 of Resubdivision No. 1010; and accept the offer of release and relinquishment of vehicular access rights to East Coast Highway as shown on Parcel Map 94 -215 of Resubdivision No. 1010. Ayes: O'Neil, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: Thomson 5. Removed from Consent Calendar. 6. SALE OF WATER TRUCK. Approve the sale of a 1981 International Water Truck from the City's fleet to California Landscape Maintenance Incorporated in the amount of $8,000 and authorize the City Manager to proceed with sale arrangements and execute a purchase agreement. MISCELLANEOUS ACTIONS 7. BUDGET AMENDMENT (BA -033) TO APPROPRIATE ADDITIONAL • FUNDS RECEIVED FROM THE CALIFORNIA STATE LIBRARY, PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION PROGRAM, WHICH WAS NOT ANTICIPATED, TO BE SPENT ON LIBRARY MATERIALS ($17,405). 8. BUDGET AMENDMENT (BA -035) TO APPROPRIATE LIBRARY DONATIONS FROM THE NEWPORT BEACH PUBLIC LIBRARY FOUNDATION ($4,800.00) AND THE FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY ($3,852.26) TO TRAVEL AND MEETINGS, POSTAGE, SUPPLIES AND OFFICE EQUIPMENT ($8,652.26). 9. MASSAGE TECHNICIAN PERMIT DENIAL FOR CHRISSY PRAM. Accept, approve and adopt the determination of the hearing officer as final and deny administrative appeal of Chrissy Pham. 10. Removed from Consent Calendar. 11. MASSAGE TECHNICIAN PERMIT DENIAL FOR MICHELLE SUH. Accept, approve and adopt the determination of the hearing officer as final and deny administrative appeal of Michelle Sub. 12. Removed from Consent Calendar. 13. Removed from Consent Calendar. MOTION BY COUNCIL MEMBER HEDGES TO APPROVE THE CONSENT • CALENDAR, EXCEPT FOR THOSE I'TEMS REMOVED (1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 12 8c 13). The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Volume 51 - Page 163 II` 1 ` C -2160 (38) BA -033 (40) BA -035 (40) Massage - Pham (27) Massage - Suh (27) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR 1. INTRODUCE ORDINANCE NO. 97-13 AMENDING CHAPTER 5.15 OF THE NBMC RELATING TO THE CALCULATION OF STORAGE DAYS AND IMPOSITION OF CHARGES IMPOSED ON VEHICLES STORED BY OFFICIAL POLICE TOW OPERATORS. City Manager Murphy explained that this item is the introduction of an ordinance amending the code related to the calculation of storage fees and the imposition of charges imposed on vehicles stored by official police tow operators. He noted that there is some ambiguity in the current language of the code, therefore suggestions have been made by the Revenue Division of the Administrative Services Department and the Police Department to change the language to clarify it. Council Member Hedges pointed out that the upshot of the changes is to increase storage fees for cars that are impounded for less than 12 hours. The present code states that there will be no storage fees charged for cars • impounded 12 hours or less and that conflicts with another portion of the code. He said the justification for the change to charge for a full day's storage is that staff and the tow companies have been required to defend why the City's code is different than other cities. He said he feels that, in itself, is insufficient justification for making the change. Mr. Murphy explained that the tow and all of the paperwork takes place and it justifies charging for the day. He verified that the change will provide additional revenue to both the City and the tow company. Revenue Manager Everroad reported that the current storage fee authorized by Council is $21.00 per day. He explained that the current tow contracts expire in April of 1998 and both agreements are renewable at that time. Council Member Hedges requested that staff start giving some thought to how the contracts will be let at that time. He pointed out that the two companies currently under contract have been the police tow companies for a lot of years. He said he wants to make sure there is as little possibility of collusion in the bidding process as possible and that the City does not set the requirements at the outset for a successful bidder such that it would foreclose the possibility of a tow company which is not now serving the City from doing so. For example, in the past the City has levied requirements on tow companies before they can even bid the contract to have certain vehicles (i.e. 16 ton wrecker) and be able to do certain things. Before even submitting a bid, the City has required that the bidders have this type of equipment in • their fleet. He said that any tow company should be allowed to bid the contract and then if they are successful in being awarded the contract then they are given a set period of time, such as 30 -days, to get the vehicles as set Volume 51 - Page 164 1 1 PD /Official Police Tow (70) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • forth in the contract specifications. Bidders will not be required to make a huge capital investment just to be able to bid the contract and hopefully this will allow for more competition. Motion by Council Member O'Neil to introduce Ordinance No. 97 -13 amending Chapter 5.15 of the NBMC relating to the calculation of storage days and imposition of charges imposed on vehicles stored by official police tow operators. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 2. ZONING CODE UPDATE. a) ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 97.9 APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO TITLE 20 OF THE NBMC TO COMPLETE A COMPREHENSIVE UPDATE OF THE ZONING CODE. b) ADOPT ORDINANCE NO. 97 -10 APPROVING AN AMENDMENT TO DISTRICTING MAPS NOS. 1 -6, 9 -11, 13, 15- 18, 21.30, 32, 36 -45, 48 -50, 52 -54, 60 -61 AND 64 -65 TO RECLASSIFY ALL PARCELS CURRENTLY ZONED R-3, R-4, A. • P, C -N, C -O, C -1, C -2, U AND ALL PARCELS WITH THE "II" AND "Z" COMBINING DISTRICTS TO THE R-1, R-2, MFR, RSC, RMC, APF, M -1 -A, GEIF, OS -A AND PC ZONING DISTRICTS IN ORDER TO CREATE CONSISTENCY BETWEEN THE DISTRICTING MAPS, THE PROPOSED ZONING CODE, AND THE GENERAL PLAN LAND USE ELEMENT AMENDMENTS APPROVED ON OCTOBER 24, 1988. City Manager Murphy reported that tonight the comprehensive zoning update is scheduled for adoption. He explained that additional time was taken to review the code at the request of Council Member Noyes and the changes that came from that process are incorporated into the zoning ordinance, as well as the changes made at the last meeting regarding the professional name plate signs. Council Member Hedges verified that the ordinance will be in effect in 30 days. He noted that he has done some work and identified some minor oversights and internal inconsistencies that may require some revisions. He said the potential changes may need to go back to the Planning Commission. Motion by Council Member Hedges to adopt Ordinance No. 97 -9, the comprehensive update of the zoning code, and Ordinance No. 97 -10, the amendment to various districting maps. Mayor Debay opened the hearing, and hearing no testimony, closed the • hearing. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Volume 51 - Page 165 1100 Zoning Code Update (94) Ord 97 -9 Ord 97 -10 City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 3. ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 97 -23 DESIGNATING THE FOLLOWING GEOGRAPHICAL AREAS: 1) CORONA DEL MAR, LOCATED IN THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH EASTERLY OF MACARTHUR BOULEVARD; 2) BALBOA ISLAND, LOCATED AT THE SOUTH TERMINUS OF JAMBOREE ROAD; AND 3) THE BALBOA PENINSULA, LOCATED AT THE SOUTHERLY TERMINUS OF NEWPORT BOULEVARD AND STATE ROUTE 55. Public Works Director Webb distributed a revised sketch of the designated areas to be attached to the proposed resolution. He reported that one of Caltrans' requirements that must be met in order to have a sign placed on a freeway or state route is that the area that you are directing people to, if it is not an entire City, must have a geographical designation within that City. He said that the Public Works staff was asked to have signs placed on Route 73 that would designate Corona del Mar as a destination. Staff felt that they would pick at least two more areas within the community where highways end roughly at that community. Jamboree Road ends at Balboa Island and • MacArthur Boulevard ends at Corona del Mar and the Balboa Peninsula is at the end of Route 55, therefore the City is designating these areas which will allow the City to ask Caltrans to place more signage on the freeway. He explained that this is one of Caltrans' requirements, but not all of their requirements. Council Member Glover questioned how staff arrived at the conclusion to designate these three areas as geographical destinations. She said she spoke to Mr. Webb and the City Manager about putting the Balboa Ferry on the list. Motion by Council Member Glover to add the following language, "Whereas, the Ferry in Newport Beach which connects Balboa Island and Balboa Peninsula has historically been referred to as "The Balboa Ferry." Mr. Webb asked for clarification on whether the language should also be added to the "Now, therefore, be it resolved" section of the resolution. City Manager Murphy explained that Caltrans standards require that the designation be a geographical area. He said that it can be included in the resolution, however he is not sure it will meet their criteria. Council Member Hedges said that he agrees that the ferry is a unique resource, however it is privately owned and not a geographical area, therefore it would be unrealistic to request freeway signage. Motion by Council Member Hedges to amend the motion to delete all • language pertaining to Balboa Ferry. The amendment to the motion carried by the following roll call vote: Volume 51 - Page 166 I01 PW /Geographical Areas Res 97 -23 (74) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: Glover Absent: Edwards Abstain: None Motion by Council Member Hedges to accept the staff's recommendation to adopt Resolution No. 97 -23 designating Corona del Mar, Balboa Island and the Balboa Peninsula as geographical areas. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 5. TAXI CAB ADMINISTRATION. City Manager Murphy explained that staff is recommending that the Council authorize the City's participation in the Orange County Taxi Administration Program ( OCTAP). He further explained that the Council previously directed staff to look at how the taxicab industry within the City is regulated. He noted that Revenue Manager Glen Everroad has participated • with other cities in the County on OCTA to put together a program that would streamline the process for the taxicab operators and relieve City staff of doing much of the review process. He said that before OCTA proceeds with all the formal steps, they have asked each of the cities to indicate their willingness to participate in the program. Council Member Noyes questioned whether there is anything in the agreement that requires drug testing in the permit process. Mr. Everroad explained that two years ago State legislation required those that regulate public transportation services to secure drug testing on a regular basis from those that they permit in the capacity of driving vehicles. OCTA will assume that additional responsibility on behalf of cities that participate in the program. Motion by Council Member Noyes to authorize execution of the proposed agreement to participate in the Orange County Taxi Administration Program ( OCTAP). Council Member Hedges voiced concerns with subsections C and D of Section II of the inter - agency agreement that requires two things of the City that Council knows nothing about. First, is an agreement to adopt and enforce a City Taxi Cab ordinance consistent with OCTAP rules and use such ordinance as the exclusive method of regulating taxi cabs; and to adopt and if necessary prosecute all violations of that ordinance and OCTAP rules • occurring within the City. He said that Council doesn't have any idea what the ordinance or rules will consist of and discussions in the past have been along the lines that if OCTA wants to regulate taxis county -wide they can do Volume 51 - Page 167 INDEX Taxi Cab Admin OCTAP C -3142 (38) • • • City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 it and the City doesn't necessarily want or need a seat at the table. He said that he believes regulation of taxi cabs is difficult to justify from a public service standpoint in a free market. He noted that those cities that have deregulated taxi cabs across the board have met deregulation with a great deal of success and freed up not only public resources, but also experienced a reduction in fares because of the increased competition and it has not resulted in a proliferation of taxi cabs in any one city. Mr. Everroad explained that state law requires that local government regulate taxi cab operations. He said the OCTAP has been modeled after similar programs in San Diego County and elsewhere in the state. He said that going forward with the OCTAP proposal would require that the City participate on a Steering Committee and a Public Safety Committee. The charge for the Public Safety Committee will be to develop safety requirements for all participating members in the inspection of the vehicles and the drivers. The Steering Committee will develop the model ordinance which hopefully all of the participating members will adopt. He said it is his hope that Newport Beach's existing ordinance will serve as the model for the other cities. The City will participate in the development of the model ordinance and will bring any proposed revisions to the Council. He said OCTAP is asking for a representation that the City will continue to enforce the existing ordinance in terms of violations, but that the administration of the applications, insurance, and the driver's permits will be OCTAPs responsibilities. Motion by Council Member Hedges to amend the motion to delete paragraphs II.C. and II.D. of the inter - agency agreement. Mr. Everroad explained that deletion of these two sections will not affect the agreement since OCTAP is simply looking for a gesture on the part of the City in terms of desire to participate in the continued evolution of the program. Council Member Glover voiced concerns with the airport taxi cabs and stated that the change with the County airport has not been a positive change. She said that these concerns should be communicated to the County. Mr. Murphy explained that the airport only allows one cab company to serve the airport because of the proliferation of the number of units that were going in and out of the airport. He said that the staff can communicate on the Council's behalf that this system is not working and ask them to re- address the issue and open it up to competition. Mr. Everroad explained that OCTAP is proposing to delegate to the cities the responsibility of deciding what cab companies they want to provide access to their communities, and they hope the County will participate in the program. One of the specific regulations that the cities want OCTAP to address is customer complaints. He said the County's regulation of taxi cabs out of the airport was also promoted by an attempt to franchise that operation. The County makes a significant amount of money from that one vendor and they compete in the bidding process to provide the County Volume 51 - Page 168 AID City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • franchise fees for exclusive services. The amendment to the motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None The main motion, as amended, carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 10. MASSAGE TECHNICIAN PERMIT DENIAL FOR KIM LIEN NGUYEN. City Manager Murphy explained that the City has routinely upon appeal conducted hearings related to massage tech permits. He said a hearing officer reviewed this item and made several recommendations which are embodied in the staff report. • Gary Chaffin, 1848 W. 17th Street, Santa Ana, an investigator with the law firm of Marcus McLaughlin, reported that the Police Department held Ms. Nguyen's license and kept her from operating from July 18, 1996 to February 13, 1997. If she would have gone ahead and operated during that time period she would have been in violation of the municipal code. If the license is suspended for five more months, then she has been asked to support a business that she could not use for a year. He asked that the Council give her the five months out of the seven that the Police Department held the license. He explained that he is not an attorney, however he is an investigator with the law firm of Marcus McLaughlin and the operator asked him to attend the meeting because he has done considerable investigations with the department. City Attorney Burnham verified that the City Council is acting in their judicial capacity in this case and that he represents the Police Department, not the City Council, in this case. He reported that Mr. Chaffin can represent the operator, and even though he doesn't have any indication that there has been any signed authorization to do so, the Council can proceed. He said Mr. Chaffin is not contesting the suspension, but is asking for credit for time served. He indicated that the issue was clearly dealt with by the hearing officer who indicated that the Notice of Appeal tolled the suspension until the hearing date. He noted that the individual whose license was suspended is not contesting the action taken by the Police Department. • Mr. Chaffin verified Mr. Burnham's statement and reiterated that to have a five month suspension turn into a year suspension is unreasonable and a hardship. Volume 51 - Page 169 INDEX Massage - Nguyen (27) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • Motion by Council Member Glover to accept and approve the decision of the hearing officer, which upholds the decision of the Police Chief to suspend the Massage Operator Permit with said suspension to commence on February 6, 1997. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 12. BICYCLE AND DOG LICENSING (Requested by Council Member Hedges). City Manager Murphy explained that when the EPMG fee recommendations came before Council, Council Member Hedges requested information related to the purpose and need for bike and dog.licenses. He noted that the background as to why dog and bike licenses are required is included in the staff report. Volume 51 - Page 170 ii0 1 -. PD/Bike & Dog Licensing (70) Council Member Hedges, referring to the four -page ordinance on bicycle licensing, said he is in violation of the ordinance. He said that the penalties for violations are set forth quite clearly and indicated that he is guilty of an infraction, misdemeanor or could be subject to a civil action. He pointed out • that the staff report states that the Police Department maintains a file of 3300 licenses and it is estimated that there are perhaps 15,000 bicycles in the City, therefore about 20% of the bicycles which are subject to the licensing requirement are not licensed. He said he was informed by Chief McDonell that the main purpose for licensing bicycles is to aid in theft investigation and recovery. He noted that there are several prohibitions in the code and one of which says that nobody shall ride a bike that has not been licensed. There is also a requirement that if you sell or transfer your bicycle you will endorse upon the license receipt a written transfer setting forth all the information and then provide all that information to the licensing agent, the Police Department. Also, when a bicycle licensee changes his place of residence, the Police Department is supposed to be notified within 10 days. He said there is also a requirement that if the bicycle license indicia is lost or stolen, the Police Department is to be notified. He asked whether bicycle dealers report weekly sales reports to the Police Department as required by the code. He also asked if anyone has ever been prosecuted in violation of the code requirement which states that every owner or person having charge or control of any bicycle shall immediately notify the Police upon loss by theft or otherwise of any such bicycle. He noted that the code states that if a bicycle is stolen and the Police Department is not notified, the bicycle owner can be cited or charged with a misdemeanor. In response to the questions posed by Council Member Hedges, Captain Henisey indicated that for the most part the Police Department does not enforce the provisions referred to. • Motion by Council Member Hedges to direct staff to prepare modifications to Chapter 12.56 deleting all reference to weekly bicycle sales reports and Volume 51 - Page 170 ii0 1 -. PD/Bike & Dog Licensing (70) • • • City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 licensing of bicycles and incorporate a modification to the ordinance allowing the registration of bicycles on a voluntary basis with the Police Department to aid in theft recovery. In response to Council Member Glover's question about whether action can be taken on this item since it is a "receive and file" item, City Attorney Burnham noted that action cannot be taken pursuant to the Brown Act. Council Member Hedges withdrew his original motion and made a motion to continue this item for two weeks. He noted that every item on the agenda should be an action item and available for modification by the City Council. Mr. Burnham explained that it is not so much the proposed action as it is just the nature of the item. He said it looks like an informational report on issues related to bicycle and dog licensing rather than a proposed amendment to the municipal code related to one or the other. He suggested that if it is Council's desire to have this brought back in a format so that staff can be asked to prepare amendments to the ordinance, that direction should be provided as well. Mr. Burnham said there is no hard and fast rule about this, he has to look at it and make a judgment call to determine whether someone looking at this would know that the Council was contemplating an amendment to bicycle or dog licensing ordinances. He said that it would probably be wiser for the Council to continue the item for two weeks since there isn't any particular emergency or urgency in respect to the subject. He said the item on the agenda should clearly indicate that the discussion will involve possible direction to staff to modify the bicycle or dog license ordinance so the people that see the agenda and are interested in those topics can come down and offer testimony. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 13. 800 MHz LEASE/PURCHASE FINANCING. Motion by Council Member Hedges to continue this matter until the Master Equipment Lease Purchase Agreement is ready for Council consideration, which will be at Mr. Murphy's discretion. He noted that this is quite an expensive proposition. He said that just because the City has certain vehicles equipped with the present system does not necessarily mean that the City has to assume that those same vehicles be equipped with the new system. He questioned why the City would equip street sweepers with 800 MHz radios. He pointed out that the radios are very expensive, part of the whole contract that the City has and in the reports that he has seen, the City of Newport Beach is proposing to spend more on this system than any other city based on population. He said the City needs to make sure that vehicles Volume 51 - Page 171 INDEX (No Report) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • oriented for public safety are equipped with the The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None PUBLIC COMMENTS • John Stuhley, 1250 Newport Center Drive, #102, representing Snug Harbor, said he would like the minutes to reflect that he appeared on February 24, 1997 and it is his recollection that either Ms. Glover or the Mayor requested that Mrs. Wood restate her memo dated January 31, 1997 to eliminate the slur against his client, Snug Harbor, and that there be a clarification on the business license statement, which was in the last paragraph of her memo. He said he wrote a letter to the Mayor on February 26, 1997 and has not received a response. He said on February 24, 1997 he was invited back to the meeting tonight. He indicated that his client submitted a letter to the Council on Thursday, March 20, 1997 outlining what has been done to clean up his establishment. He noted that this item was not on the agenda, so he had his client describe in detail what has been done. He said he is somewhat offended that no one has acknowledged it. Mayor Debay explained that since this is "public comments" no action can be taken, however she noted that there would be a response to the letter. City Manager Murphy said that he feels this is a classic case of misunderstanding or miscommunication. He said that when Mr. Stuttley testified on this issue in terms of Policy K -7, he misunderstood the reference that Mrs. Wood had in her report related to his client's business as an example. He said the City was not trying to indicate that the business was in any way the "problem" business, but it was the type of business that would be regulated by a particular part of the policy, whereas another business would not be regulated by that particular section. He said he believes that at the meeting, Mr. Stuttley asked staff to clarify the issue, which was done by Mrs. Wood. He also noted that Council Member Hedges further orally clarified that there was no slur intended to the business, and somehow there was a misunderstanding that it was going to be back on the Council agenda. He said he never received direction nor was there any understanding by the City Council that this item would be re- agendized. He reiterated that it was a misunderstanding and there was no intention to slur Mr. Stuttley's client by this, but simply a reference in the staff report as to how the policy would apply to different businesses that have these types of licenses. He said he believes Mr. Stuttley is asking that staff go back and amend the staff report, for which there is no time nor purpose. He reiterated that he would be happy to put all of this in writing to clarify those • issues and his client's business was not in any way, shape or form, slurred or maligned, but basically how it was intended to be directed in the staff report. Volume 51 - Page 172 10 1 City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • Gary Chaffin, 1845 W. 17th Street, Santa Ana, asked that the Council consider appointing an independent commission to investigate the Police Department. He said he is aware of items that have been reported to the City Manager and the Police Department and still no action has been taken. He said in cases where officers are involved, the Police Department takes no action. He said he would be glad to talk to any independent council member, commission or anyone, other than the Police Department. Mr. Murphy indicated that he would be willing to speak to Mr. Chaffin at any time. He reported that State law requires investigation of all complaints made against the Police Department. Mr. Murphy explained that if it is a personnel issue, peace officers are covered by the Peace Officers Procedural Bill of Rights, and the City is not able to talk about it publicly. Complaints are investigated and officers are disciplined as a result of that, however the discipline cannot be made public as mandated by State law. Council Member Hedges stated that if Mr. Chaffin wants to submit a written list of allegations as to the date, time, person and event directly to the City Council or any member of the Council, he would be welcome to do so. He said the City doesn't form independent commissions on the strength of somebody appearing at the podium and saying that bad things have been done to them. PUBLIC HEARINGS 14. OLD NEWPORT BOULEVARD SPECIFIC PLAN - PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER A PROPOSED SPECIFIC PLAN FOR THE OLD NEWPORT BOULEVARD COMMERCIAL DISTRICT WHICH WILL ESTABLISH NEW LAND USE AND PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS FOR THE AREA. THE SPECIFIC PLAN AND ACCOMPANYING GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT WILL ALSO INCREASE THE POTENTIAL DEVELOPMENT YIELDS THROUGH AMENDMENT OF THE LAND USE ELEMENT OF THE GENERAL PLAN. City Clerk Harkless reported that on the dais is a letter Council received today from Robin Leason addressing this issue. Senior Planner Patrick Alford reported that this item is a proposed specific plan for the Old Newport Boulevard commercial district. It contains a set of goals and policies, as well as a set of property and land use regulations to implement them. The land use regulation establishes the area primarily as a retail commercial district, however there are certain deviations. It allows for certain institutional land uses not currently allowed in the city -wide commercial districts, such as convalescent facilities and residential care facilities. It also allows for a mixed use commercial and residential development. Currently, only residential development is allowed on the east side of Old Newport Boulevard through the existing residential overlay • district. It also proposes limits on incompatible land uses, such as automobile oriented uses. Vehicle and boat storage are allowed as interim uses with a number of restrictions. The property development regulations Volume 51 - Page 173 INDEX GPA 92 -1(C) (45) Res 97 -24 PCA 856 (94) Ord 97 -14 • City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 IN are similiar to the current RSC District, however there is a provision that allows for higher floor area ratio (FAR) limits. The higher FAR is allowed only if two or more existing legal lots are combined to provide unified site design. Under this provision, two possible development scenarios are possible. One would allow an FAR of 0.75 if all the land uses are non- residential. The other scenario would allow an FAR of 0.65 and residential uses would be limited above the first floor. Other provisions under the property development regulations include required wall articulation to assist in the breaking up of the bulk and mass of structures, incentives to limit driveway cuts, minimum site landscaping requirements, and provisions for the screening of refuse, storage areas and mechanical equipment. The specific plan also contains a public improvement component. This has provisions for enhanced streetscape improvements, special paving treatments at pedestrian crossings, decorative street lighting, entry monuments, and the undergrounding of overhead utility lines. In addition to the specific plan, there is a general plan amendment. This amendment would amend the land use element to reflect the increased development yields both in terms of floor area and the number of dwelling units. It would also change the boundaries of the specific plan to exclude a few remaining residential properties that currently fall within the boundaries. The other item is an amendment to Districting Maps 5 and 25, which will reclass the area from RSC to the SP district. He pointed out that the early analysis of the project identified a significant traffic impact at the Newport Boulevard/Hospital Road intersection, however a new traffic study has been conducted using an updated traffic model, which indicates that the traffic impacts will not be significant and that the mitigation measures originally proposed would not be needed. The other issue involves noise. He said there are a number of areas that fall within the 60 CNEL (Community Noise Equivalent Level) noise contour of Newport Boulevard and there are portions that fall within the 65 CNEL contour. The current noise policy requires that prior to the issuance of building permits, projects must demonstrate that they can meet both the interior and exterior noise standards. To mitigate this possible impact, staff has incorporated into the specific plan provisions that require that noise sensitive land uses must incorporate mitigation measures in order for the project to be approved. He explained that after the Planning Commission hearing, the City was approached by a number of residents in the Holmwood Drive area who were concerned about a recent project that was proposing access to the parking area through an alley opposite Holmwood Drive. To address their concerns, a new provision was added to the specific plan which would require all future projects proposing access to a residential street or alley to undergo site plan review in order to minimize any potential impacts. Council Member Glover pointed out that the committee was appointed under Mayor Sansone and she has worked on it herself for two years. She commended Mr. Alford and the committee who worked on this - George Baker, Carl Carver, Delores Bowles, Owen Minney, Jerry Tucker, Gregg Schwenk, Ian Fettes, A] Irwin, and Brien Jeannette. She said one of the • really positive things about this was that the group self - imposed many standards upon themselves and after spending many hours on this came up with a very definitive plan. Volume 51 - Page 174 • City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 INDEX Mayor Debay opened the public hearing. Jerry Tucker, property owner at 508 Old Newport Boulevard, where he currently has his business as a consulting structural engineer, stated that he is the president of the Old Newport Property Owners group and a member of the Old Newport Specific Area ad hoc committee and will speak on behalf of the group. He said they support the plan because it will encourage development and upgrade the area, as well as establish guidelines that will provide for a unified design in the streetscape and parking arrangement while reducing vehicle speed. He said he feels the area can be greatly enhanced by the proposed plan. He noted that it adds a center median parking area, enhanced street pavers, provides the old style street lighting, provides for a specific street tree and adds a monument sign at the end of the street. He explained that the ad hoc committee and the property owners have been working on this since 1992 and others worked on it before then. He asked Council to support the proposal. Jay Vanderwal, 325 Holmwood Drive, voiced concerns about the noticing procedures and explained that he never received notices of the meetings held before the Planning Commission. He further explained that he attended a meeting on February 3, 1997 along with five residents from the Holmwood area and Catalina Drive. He stated that the section of Old Newport • Boulevard from 340 Old Newport Blvd. to 300 towards old PCH is a section that has no alley. He said in that section he would like to see the height limit for the buildings on Old Newport Boulevard in the specific plan be measured from curb level. He said he would like to add language to the proposal that Old Newport Boulevard elevation will be the determining factor for the height limit on those buildings. Planning Director Temple explained that the heights in that area are governed by the municipal code, therefore can be amended by the Council. She further explained that the municipal code has heights measured from existing natural grade pretty much city -wide with a couple of exceptions. In old Corona del Mar the height limit was set based on a curb elevation on Ocean Boulevard, so it is not without precedence in the City to establish another measurement location for measuring heights. In response to Council Member Hedges' questions, Council Member Glover stated that heights were not addressed at all in this document and heights were not changed. She said she assumed that heights are measured in that area from the natural grade and Ms. Temple confirmed that assumption. Council Member Hedges asked whether the specific plan needs to address in this case, and the case of sloping lots, whether or not the grade should be measured from the curb. Ms. Temple said that if the Council is interested in establishing a different • measurement location beyond that which is the typical standard in the height limit section of the municipal code, one way of doing it would be to put a special provision into the specific plan. She confirmed that height was Volume 51 - Page 175 City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 110 1) 0 not addressed in the committee process. Steve Stafford spoke in support of the plan as written, however he said he would like to see provisions added to the ordinance that if there isn't money to start the undergrounding of utilities in the next couple of years, that anybody that does any construction, would be required to provide for undergrounding. Richard Vogel, 363 Old Newport Boulevard, representative for the properties located at Old Newport (349 through 371), said he thinks the plan is excellent. He said their ultimate goal has always been development and hopefully this might stimulate some interest from developers. He said he realizes the specific plan isn't very specific yet and the final design has not been drawn up, however they want it taken into consideration that until the area is redeveloped any changes in sidewalk configuration in front of the buildings might affect the parking and they are concerned about the loss of parking. Hearing no further testimony, the public hearing was closed. Assistant City Manager Wood noted that the letter from Robin Leason expresses concern regarding the formation of an assessment district to finance the public improvements called for in the specific plan. The letter • states that they have done some extra things to their property in the past and want to make sure that any future assessment would take that into account. She said that even though an assessment district is suggested in the staff report as a possible means of financing improvements, that is not the subject that is before the Council at this time. Motion by Council Member Glover to adopt Resolution No. 97 -24 approving General Plan Amendment 92 -1(C); and introduce Ordinance No. 97 -14 for Amendment 856 and pass to second reading on April 14, 1997. Council Member Hedges said he believes the issue of height measurement should be addressed. He asked Council Member Glover for her opinion on adding language as follows: "That height is to be measured from a natural grade as defined in the Newport Beach Municipal Code, but that the measuring point has to be no higher than the top of curb adjacent to Old Newport Boulevard." Ms. Temple said that without looking at every single lot she can't give a definitive answer on whether there would be any other implications from the proposed change. She said the proposed language would address the concern that she and Mr. Alford had in regard to those lots which slope down from Old Newport Boulevard to Newport Boulevard and would not adversely affect their height limits. She noted that Mr. Vanderwars testimony identified one -half of one block in Old Newport Boulevard of concern and asked whether the Council would want to address that one area or look at • the entire specific plan, in which case she would feel more comfortable with continuing this item to allow staff time to review it. Volume 51 • Page 176 • u • City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 Council Member Glover said she would need to walk the area with staff before she could respond on the proposed height measurement change. City Attorney Burnham pointed out that the municipal code allows the Planning Commission to establish grade if it finds that using natural grade is unworkable and using a new and different grade would not interfere with the objectives of the zoning code. Based on that, grade issues can be dealt with on a parcel by parcel basis, which has been done in the past when sloping lots have been involved. Ms. Temple confirmed that this has been done, however this particular type of grade interpretation would be a new form of interpretation. She said that provision has been typically used when there has been an inordinate depression in the center of a lot, in which staff allowed the four lot corners to be joined to create a common plane from which to measure. She said she would need to talk to the City Attorney to see how it could be done in a case where there were no discretionary approvals involved. Motion by Council Member Hedges to amend Council Member Glover's motion to refer a discussion of height to the committee for recommendation to the City Council. He said this would allow the ordinances and resolutions to be adopted as proposed, but would insure that the height issue is discussed specifically by the committee. Jerry Tucker said he doesn't believe it would be right to just single out this one area and have a specific height requirement for it. He said that if it is decided to determine the height limit based on the elevation of the street, basically all development opportunities will be eliminated. Owen Minney, 447 Old Newport Boulevard, questioned why Mr. Vanderwal objects to the height limit and asked if the objection is related to view. The amendment to the motion died for lack of a second. For the record, Mr. Vanderwal explained that he was speaking for five residents and reiterated the failure to be notified of the meetings. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 15. MESA DRIVE REZONE - PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER AN AMENDMENT TO DISTRICTING MAP #42 TO RECLASSIFY SIX PROPERTIES LOCATED OFF OF THE SOUTH SIDE OF MESA DRIVE BETWEEN BIRCH STREET AND CYPRESS STREET FROM THE UNCLASSIFIED (U) DISTRICT TO THE AGRICULTURAL - RESIDENTIAL (R -A) DISTRICT; AN AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 20.10 OF THE ZONING CODE TO ESTABLISH REGULATIONS TO Volume 51 - Page 177 I NO —, Zoning/Mesa Dr PCA 855 (94) Ord 97 -15 • • • City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 ALLOW THE KEEPING OF LIVESTOCK AND TO REVISE MINIMUM LOT AREA AND LOT WIDTH REGULATIONS; AND AMENDMENTS TO ADD REFERENCES TO THE R -A DISTRICT IN CHAPTERS 20.00 (GENERAL PROVISIONS), 20.65 (HEIGHT LIMITS), AND 20.67 (SIGNS). Planning Director Temple explained that the amendments under consideration are a rezoning and a follow -up item to the adoption of the zoning code. She said the particular properties in question were not included in the original list that was acted on earlier in the agenda due to a clerical error, which occurred when the zone changes were adopted related to the Upper Newport Bay Regional Park. The proposal is to establish an R -A or agricultural- residential district and to rezone the properties into that district. The development standards that are proposed have been designed to closely follow those of the County's Santa Ana Heights Specific Plan, but include some differences to maintain consistency with City standards, most particularly the density limits contained in the General Plan. She pointed out a chart on handwritten page 7 that shows the comparison between the County's plan and the proposed development standards. Mayor Debay opened the public hearing, and hearing no testimony, closed the hearing. Motion by Council Member O'Neil to introduce Ordinance No. 97 -15 for Amendment 855 and pass to second reading on April 14, 1997. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 16. COMMERCE PLAZA - PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE REQUEST TO AMEND THE NEWPORT PLACE PLANNED COMMUNITY DISTRICT TO ALLOW A CHANGE IN THE LIST OF PERMITTED USES FOR INDUSTRIAL SITE NO. 4 TO ALLOW INSTRUCTIONAL USES, SUBJECT TO THE REQUIREMENT OF A USE PERMIT - COMMERCE PLAZA, 3900 -4120 BIRCH STREET, 1801 -1901 DOVE STREET, 1800.1900 QUAIL STREET AND 3901 -4121 WESTERLY PLACE (Jim Brierly, applicant on behalf of REMM Group, owner). Planning Director Temple explained that this item is an amendment to the Newport Place Planned Community which will allow educational facilities specializing in remedial driving education and counseling in Industrial Site No. 4. She said this particular planned community has been the topic of substantial amendment over the years and that was the primary discussion by the Planning Commission. Given the nature of the request, it was the Planning Commission's belief and recommendation that the item was minor in nature and should be approved. Volume 51 - Page 178 INDEX Newport Place PC District PCA 858 (94) Res 97 -25 • • • City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 Mayor Debay opened the public hearing. Jim Brierly, 4000 Birch #120, representing the Academy of Defensive Driving and the Remm Group, that have proposed a conditional use permit and an amendment to the planned community text of Newport Place, recommended that the Council adopt the resolution approving Amendment No. 858. In response to Council Member Glover, Mr. Brierly indicated that their primary hours of operation, which is the classroom, is from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. on the weekdays and on Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon. He said they do conduct business activities beginning at 9:00 a.m., however those are primarily phone registrations and individual attendants. Ms. Temple explained that through the use permit process the parking is assessed for each educational facility as a separate use based on their operational characteristics. In this particular case staff looked at the scope of activities which would occur during the daytime hours when other businesses in the industrial site are active and determined that the actual parking demand from the particular site is far less than normal commercial or office occupancy of a similar square footage. The additional occupancy at night for the classroom instruction can be accommodated simply because more of the businesses are closed during the evening hours. Based on staffs field work in the area, she said this particular complex has an abundance of available parking. Ronald Brown, Jr., 5000 Campus Drive, attorney representing the Remm Group, reiterated that staff has concluded that there is ample parking for this projected use. He said the lease agreement was signed a number of months ago and his client is interested in proceeding with the tenant improvements and getting his project off the ground. He requested that the amendment be approved. Hearing no further testimony, the public hearing was closed. Motion by Council Member O'Neil to adopt Resolution No. 97 -25 approving Amendment No. 858. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 17. CAMELBACK MINI- STORAGE II - PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE REQUEST TO AMEND THE GENERAL LAND USE ELEMENT TO REDESIGNATE THE PROPERTY LOCATED AT 1133 CAMELBACK STREET FOR GOVERNMENTAL, EDUCATIONAL AND INSTITUTIONAL FACILITIES /GENERAL INDUSTRY USE; ESTABLISH THE PERMITTED INTENSITY OF DEVELOPMENT AND AMEND THE NORTH FORD /SAN DIEGO CREEK PLANNED COMMUNITY TEXT TO ALLOW FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AN 86,000 SQUARE FOOT MINI- STORAGE FACILITY SUBJECT TO Volume 51 - Page 179 INDEX GPA 96 -3(E) Res 97 -26 PCA 850 Res 97 -27 (45/94) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • THE APPROVAL OF A SITE PLAN REVIEW; AND THE ACCEPTANCE OF AN ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT (Dahn Corporation, Applicant). Planning Director Temple explained that this particular project is for a site on Camelback which is currently owned by the United States Postal Service, next door to their existing postal facility. The proposal is to construct a mini - storage facility of 86,000 square feet on the forward two acres of that particular site. The applicant is the same person that developed the mini - storage at the corner of Camelback and Bison and this proposal would be a similar facility. At the Planning Commission level the primary issue had to do with the aesthetics of the proposal. As a result of the concerns, the Planning Commission suggested an additional or revised condition which would require some additional landscaping by way of the number and nature of trees on the Camelback Avenue side in order to further soften the impact of the building on that street. She noted that the Planning Commission recommended approval of the project. Mayor Debay opened the public hearing Bob Bradley, Executive Vice President of Dahn Corporation, explained that they are the owners and developers of the property on the corner of Camelback and Bison, which was developed about 2 -1/2 years ago. He said • that in that period of time they have completely leased the units, which is what led them to search out another location in that area. He requested that the Council ratify the action of the Planning Commission regarding the General Plan amendment and the site plan approval. He said they have designed their new project, Newport II, to look very similar to their earlier project in terms of architectural, access and coloring. Hearing no further testimony, the public hearing was closed. Motion by Council Member O'Neil to adopt Resolution No. 97 -26 adopting General Plan Amendment No. 96 -3(E); adopt Resolution No. 97 -27 approving Amendment No. 850 (North Ford/San Diego Creek Planned Community Regulations); and to sustain the decision of the Planning Commission in regard to Site Plan Review No. 76 and the acceptance of an environmental document (Negative Declaration). The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 18. PUBLIC HEARING ON THE FY 1997 -98 COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT (CDBG) APPLICATION. • Principal Planner John Douglas stated that this is the second public hearing on the Community Development Block Grant program. The first hearing was held on January 13, 1997. He said the purpose of tonight's hearing is to Volume 51 - Page 180 INDEX CDBG/FY 98 -98 Res 97 -28 (87) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 1 1 • review the proposed budget that staff has submitted, make any changes that are appropriate and direct staff to submit the application to the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. He stated that the City has received an entitlement of $515,000 for the coming fiscal year and according to HUD regulations can spend a maximum of 15% of that for social services, a maximum of 20% for administration, and a minimum of 65% for other items. The largest category of 65 % is primarily directed to providing decent housing, a suitable living environment and expanding economic opportunities. The primary purpose of the CDBG program is to assist low - and moderate - income persons. One of the key concepts of the program is the idea of leveraging public funds, or the encouragement of private investment to match or exceed the public funds that go into the program. Based on these general guidelines, staff prepared a budget and a proposed allocation for Council's consideration. In the social services category staff has recommended six programs as noted in Table 1 of the staff report which total $77,250. These programs are directed to the homeless and low income elderly. All of the programs have been funded in past years by the City, many of them for as long as ten years, and are all consistent with City policies contained in the Housing Element. The administration category has a maximum of 20% or $103,000 per year, which would be allocated to fair housing counseling, as well as the City's administration of the block grant program. The largest category, 65 %, is devoted to other uses, or a total of $334,750. Within that category staff is suggesting two separate targets. The first category is social service facilities, which would include acquisition and • rehabilitation of shelters and assistance to the senior citizens shuttle program that is administered by the City's Community Services Department. The total of those programs would be $43,000. Staff is proposing to devote the remaining to economic development and neighborhood revitalization efforts, which would encompass a total of $291,750. If it is Council's desire, the entire $334,750 can be allocated to economic development activities, however staff is suggesting that it be broken up with a certain amount allocated to social service facilities. Mr. Douglas noted that HUD encourages cities to develop a "Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy" and develop a target area for the economic development activities. The areas that are targeted must meet certain low - and moderate - income requirements. Staff is recommending that the Balboa Peninsula be established as a Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy target area. Balboa Peninsula was chosen because it meets the low- and moderate - income requirements established by HUD; it has been established as a priority area by the Council for improvement efforts; and the dollars from the CDBG program can be leveraged with private money by creating "seed" money. Within the expenditures for CDBG, staff is suggesting that the 32nd/Via Lido feasibility study be included in next year's budget and also that City staffing for code enforcement efforts be increased. He explained that an application for funding was received from the Balboa Performing Arts Theater Foundation to assist in the restoration of the Balboa Theater. He said staff believes the theater would be an effective use of CDBG funds • since it would be a major public attraction that is consistent with the BPPAC plan and recommendations, it would provide an important stimulus to the Balboa Village area, it would bring upscale visitors to that area, it would Volume 51 - Page 181 City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 INDEX • help local restaurants and shops, and would stimulate additional private investment on the peninsula. He said it is difficult to establish the appropriate level of funding at this time because the Foundation does not have control of the property and they don't have a detailed financing plan yet. He said it has been listed as a possible item for expenditure under the economic development heading, but a specific dollar amount has not been identified. Once the Foundation acquires the property and gets a detailed financing plan, then the Council can decide how much money to allocate to the theater. City Manager Murphy noted that staff has earmarked a number, and identified some suggestions for economic development, however it would be ultimately determined later by the City Council. He explained that staff is working on a financing plan for the peninsula, however haven't honed in on exactly what sorts of things would take place through BPPAC. In response to a question raised by Mayor Debay about the prioritization of the 32nd Street/Via Lido Feasibility Study and the "Mixmaster" realignment project, Mr. Murphy explained that the priorities will go to the Finance Committee very shortly. He said staff is looking for a direction for funding in terms of the whole category of economic development and neighborhood revitalization and at a later date the Finance Committee and subsequently the City Council will actually designate the priority order. . Council Member Glover noted that the "Mixmaster" was ranked higher in priority than the 32nd Street feasibility study, and questioned what the cost would be for the two studies. Assistant City Manager Wood responded that each study would be in the neighborhood of $20,000 - 25,000. Mr. Murphy reported that HUD funds were used several years ago to assist the City in acquiring, redeveloping and improving the West Newport Community Center. There is a program specifically within the HUD program called the Section 108 grant program wherein HUD will take a portion of your grant and let you borrow 5 -years worth of your grant to have sufficient capital dollars to complete a substantial project and then pay it back with future grant allocations, including interest. He said that over the last few years the City paid off the West Newport Section 108 loan, completed the American With Disabilities (ADA) improvements, and staff now believes there is a substantial portion that could be used on something that the Council has indicated an interest in over the last two years, which is economic development and revitalization. He said that Mr. Douglas has reviewed this very carefully to determine eligibility, and the use of Section 108 funds could be a possibility. He reiterated that tonight staff is looking for the conceptual approval for the funding allocation and the priorities will be established at a later date. Mayor Debay opened the public hearing. . Larry Haynes, Executive Director of Mercy House Transitional Living Centers, explained the program and asked the Council to endorse the staffs Volume 51 - Page 182 City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • recommendation to allocate $10,000 funding for the Centers. Debby O'Connor, Executive Director of FISH- Harbor Area, commended the staff for the job they did and listening to the :needs that were brought to them and the Council on January 13, 1997. She also thanked them for recommending funding for them. Alice McCullough, representing the YWCA of South Orange County and Olive Crest Home for Abused Children, thanked staff for their thoughtful and thorough consideration of the requests and asked Council to approve their recommendations. Motion by Council Member Hedges to adopt Resolution No. 97 -28 authorizing the City Manager to submit the FY 1997 -98 application for CDBG funds, One Year Action Plan and Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None • 19. CRIME TRENDS AND PREVENTION ACTIVITIES. City Manager Murphy stated that at the Council's study session and goal setting meeting, one of the nine priority areas that was identified was crime prevention. One of the action planning steps was to request that the Police Chief provide a report to Council specifically on current crime prevention programs, the status of crime within the City, the steps being taken to eradicate crime and steps that the public can take to assist the City in that effort. Police Chief McDonell said that shortly after he arrived in Newport Beach in mid -1993 it became clear that crime prevention was an area that required more focus. He said he believes the department does a very credible job in terms of enforcement and subsequent investigation once a crime has been committed, however the third leg of that stool, crime prevention, needed some attention. Due to the economic down turn. in the last few years, the bankruptcy issues, etc., the department reduced staff and civilianized a number of positions in an effort to just maintain the current level of service to the community, so it would have been very difficult to add to it with resources for crime prevention. In May or June of 1996 staff learned of some federal entitlement grants for law enforcement throughout the United States, which were administered by the Bureau of Justice Administration in Washington. Crime prevention was one of the strategies which was an acceptable use for those funds, so in July of 1996 approval was given by • Council to submit a grant application to receive the funds and earmark them for crime prevention use. The grant application was approved and the City received the funds, however the City has not received permission from the Volume 51 - Page 183 QP 1 PD (70) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • Bureau of Justice to actually obligate those moneys. He said he was informed by a Bureau of Justice program specialist on March 11, 1997 that approval should be forthcoming in approximately 10 working days. He said an open and promotional recruitment process has been completed and a Crime Prevention Specialist has been hired. It is anticipated that she will begin her new assignment the second week in April, assuming the formal approval is received on schedule. Chief McDonell noted that at the workshop Council expressed concern about addressing not only the reality of crime but the perception of crime as well, and an effective crime prevention program does both. Referring to an overhead, he indicated that in 1996 there was a 9.1% drop in the major seven offenses, which include homicide, rape, robbery, burglary, grand theft (over $400), aggravated assault and auto theft. By using the major seven offenses for comparison purposes over a longer term it provides a degree of consistency and accuracy not possible when looking at lesser crimes, which can be affected by department changes in reporting policy. He said the major seven offenses are always investigated and the reporting policy does not change. In looking at reported crime over the past ten years and at the major seven crimes statistics from 1996 and comparing them to the same numbers in 1987, there was a 14.3% decrease in those areas. Compared to the peak period in 1990, a 30.5% drop in the major seven offenses was recorded. Factoring in the population growth from 1987 through 1996, the • crime index rate dropped 17.7% over the last ten years. There were 252 fewer burglaries in 1996 than in 1987, which is almost a 25% drop. He reiterated that the department intends to do everything in their power to drive the numbers down even further and the crime prevention program is one of the tools the department intends to use to help people deal with the fear of crime. He said one of their first priorities will be to revitalize the Neighborhood Watch and Business Watch programs. Council Member Thomson said he doesn't feel we are living in a safer neighborhood than we were ten years ago, or anywhere in America, and he doesn't think the people think that either. He said he has been suspicious of the way the numbers are kept and asked if there has been a national change in the way the statistics are kept. Police Chief McDonell explained that the comparisons are limited to the major seven offenses. He noted that about 15 -20 years ago the dollar limit on grand theft was changed from $200 to $400. He said he believes the numbers are good numbers and a fair comparison,. City Manager Murphy credited the decrease in crime to the unemployment rate being down and the "three strikes" law. Council Member Hedges questioned whether the Crime Prevention program would be providing a gun safety and training program. He suggested that the Crime Prevention Specialist collect information on the types of private • programs offered and provide it to the public. Council Member Glover said she believes the randomness of crime is the Volume 51 - Page 184 010 11) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • reason people don't feel safe. She reiterated her goal that the residents in her district be able to leave their garage doors open and not worry about having property stolen. She offered her assistance in her District in setting up Neighborhood Watch programs. Mr. Murphy reported that a few years ago KNBC analyzed law enforcement statistics in southern California and Newport Beach and Newport Beach had the highest clearance of crime. Steve Stafford spoke in support of Police Chief McDonell's programs. Motion by Council Member O'Neil to receive and file the report. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 20. APPOINTMENTS BY MAYOR TO AD -HOC APPOINTMENTS COMMITTEE. Motion by Council Member Glover to affirm Mayor Debay's appointment of . herself and Council Members Thomson and O'Neil to serve on an Ad -Hoc Appointments Committee for the vacancy on the Parks, Beaches and Recreation Commission. The motion carried toy the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 21. AVIATION COUNCIL(CITIZENS COMMITTEE VACANCY. Motion by Council Member Noyes to confirm the appointment of Bing Girling (replacing Ralph Rodheim) as the Homeowners representative for Balboa Island and Leroy Sutherland as Alternate. The motion carried by the following roll call vote: Ayes: O'Neil, Thomson, Hedges, Glover, Noyes, Mayor Debay Noes: None Absent: Edwards Abstain: None 22. ORAL REPORT ON WELLS FARGO TEMPORARY SIGNS (Requested by Council Member Glover). . Assistant City Manager Wood reported that when this situation came to staffs attention in December the code enforcement supervisor notified the bank and started running the 90 -day period that the municipal code provides Volume 51 - Page 185 INDEX Ad Hoc Appts Cmte (24) Aviation/Council Ad Hoc Committee (24) (No report) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 to have signs removed after a business has changed. She said staff contacted the people from the bank again and last week received a letter from them saying that they intend to have the permits for new signs taken out by the end of this week. She said staff is following this closely and have adivsed the bank that if the permits are not taken out by the end of the week, staff will begin citing the property for code violations. She said staff has also learned that the bank is replacing both the irrigation and landscaping on the site. Council Member Hedges said he would like to see the Planning Commission discuss the possibility of amending the code to shorten the 90 -day period. 23. CITY CONSULTANT USAGE (Requested by Council Member Thomson). City Manager Murphy reported that Council Member Thomson requested that staff provide a report to the Council identifying the use of consultants by the City. He explained the format of the report and noted that the vast majority of the consultants used by the City are in the Public Works area. He noted that this year is a particularly heavy year given the fact that some very large capital improvement projects are being done in the Public Works Department. Council Member Thomson said he is always asking questions about • consultants because he believes the City needs to be very careful about spending money, and throwing it at consultants is sometimes a good idea and sometimes not such a good idea. He said that probably the most disturbing event from this issue was that he asked for the number of consultants and the costs about 2 -1/2 months ago and he feels it should have been available immediately. He said he believes that the City owes more to the community to not hire so many consultants in so many different areas. Using a chart he prepared, he pointed out that the City has more than 122 consultant contracts. He noted that Administrative Services had nine contracts at $155,000 and the Attorney had one contract at $14,000, however he questioned whether everything got listed since there were other outside attorneys used. He pointed out that staff has been reduced by 101 people and $6,662,000 has been spent on 122 contracts, so each of those 101 people could have been paid $74,000 each. He noted that the City Manager had 12 consultants at $172,000, the City Clerk had one for $300, and the Public Works Department had 75 consultants for $5,673,000 due to $45 million in capital improvement projects. He said he would expect that the consultant fees next year would drop dramatically. He asked that the consultants be reviewed and possibly double -up on them so one consultant would do more within a contract. Council Member Hedges said the appropriate discussion would be how does the Council want to staff the City and in what areas should services be contracted. He said it is quite possible existing personnel are not being used as efficiently as possible, it is also quite possible that they are but the City • doesn't have an adequate number of personnel to do the job, or quite possible that there aren't enough consultants to do the job. He said the question that falls to Council is "what do we need ?" He said what has bothered him about Volume 51 - Page 186 II 1 City Mgr /Adm (35) City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 • the awarding of consultant contracts is that they are not done through a competitive bid and the policy makers aren't involved in the interview, evaluation or the selection process. He said there are many cases of former City employees, commissioners, even former city managers and council members that come back to the City as consultants, lobbyists, temporary employees, etc. He said the Council has some abilities to put some controls on that part of the revolving door process and can prohibit the rehiring of employees. He suggested that a council member be involved in the consultant review and interview process. Council Member Glover said that normally a consultant is used for a certain time period when there isn't the expertise on staff to resolve a certain issue. She noted that there are valid reasons to have consultants in some cases, however noted that some people have problems when employees leave and come back the next day as consultants. She said it bothers her when there are a lot of high paid employees in a particular department and consultants are hired because the employees might not necessarily be able to perform the duties. She said it would be worthwhile on a quarterly basis to have this report provided to Council. Council Member O'Neil said that his review is different and explained that under the Council/management form of government, you need to rely and trust the manager to hire consultants or outside expertise when it is • believed to be in the best interest of managing the City. He said he believes it would be appropriate to have some kind of a policy about hiring former City employees, etc., however whether or not the manager should be hiring a particular consultant is not within the purview of the City Council. He said that if the Council thinks, as a matter of administration, that the manager over uses consultants then it is up to the Council during the evaluation of the manager to make that known. He said he does not want to get involved with the hiring of consultants or determining when they are appropriate and trusts that the manager has the ability to make those kind of decisions. Mayor Debay pointed out that the list of consultants includes such things as construction management, project management, assessment engineering, engineering design, etc. She stated that using the term "consultant" can be misleading and noted that an outside firm was hired to design the Arches interchange. Council Member Thomson reiterated that his reason for bringing this to Council's attention was not to belittle staff or in any way criticize. He said what he would like to criticize is the method and stated that the way in which these things are accounted for is more important than hiring ex- employees, etc. He said he thinks the City really needs to review the number of people that are hired and the work that is outsourced, although he believes in private sector and not having government do everything. He said that if there is an understanding that the Council really wants to strive to be careful with this and have accountability for it, then the service to the • citizens would be improved. In summary, Mr. Murphy stated that in the last four or five years the City Volume 51 - Page 187 INDEX • • City of Newport Beach City Council Minutes March 24, 1997 has watched the budgetary process very close. In a large sense the role that he plays as the City Manager and the Chief Executive Officer is to assess, given the goals of the City Council and the priorities, the best way under which to organize to undertake those goals and objectives. He said there will be instances when a particular expertise is needed or it is recognized that a goal or priority is very short -term. He cited examples where priorities jumped up and there was no expertise on staff (Upper Newport Bay, IRWD /OCWD) to handle those issues. He said that Newport Beach is cyclical and the needs go up and down and his understanding has been that Council prefers to out source the specialty items and keep a core staff for the core business functions. He said he has tried to look at this organization, particularly the internal functions (i.e. the attorney, the manager, human resources, and finance) and make the core business as lean and mean as possible and put the resources to the field services that the public recognizes. When those internal departments need additional help or when priorities come up, then use outside help for the short -term if it can't be done internally. He noted that there will be cases when the work will be out sourced in order to get the right product for the Council on a timely basis. He explained that all of the contracts over $30,000 are reviewed by City Council and anything under that is in the budget and ultimately he approves them. He said staff is very judicious about using these people and will use them for a specific purpose to achieve the goals of the City Council. - None IAo1ai1Mluma The agenda for the Regular meeting was posted on March 19, 1997 at 2:00 p.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. City Clerk 64dL �J , Recording Secretary Mayor Volume 51 - Page 188 DQf 1