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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/26/2006 - Study SessionCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH City Council Minutes Study Session September 26, 2006 — 4:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Council Member Curry, Council Member Selich, Mayor Webb, Council Member Ridgeway, Council Member Daigle Absent: Mayor Pro Tem Rosansky, Council Member Nichols Mayor Pro Tem Rosansky and Council Member Nichols arrived later in the meeting. 1. CLARIFICATION OF ITEMS ON THE CONSENT CALENDAR. In regard to Item No. 3, Marine Charter Land Use and Parking Regulations, Council Member Selich requested that staff look into a process where the Planning Department would review the offsite parking agreements associated with marine charters, as is done for the offsite parking agreements for other businesses in the City. Secondly, he requested that the appeal process for such permits go through the Planning Commission instead of the Harbor Commission. In regard to Item No. 4, Group Residential Facilities and Large Family Day Care Homes, Council Member Selich asked how extensive the group residential facilities problem is and how the recommended changes would affect individuals wanting to rent a room in their own home. 2. EVALUATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT REVIEW AND PLAN CHECKING PROCESSES, AND PLANNING DEPARTMENT STAFFING. [100 -2006] Assistant City Manager Wood stated that the process for development review and plan checking involves the Planning, Building, Public Works, Fire, General Services and Utilities departments. She reported that as the workload has increased in recent years, some complaints have been received about timeliness and interdepartmental coordination. She provided a brief history on what has been done in the past to improve the turnaround time to four weeks, and stated that Hogle- Ireland, Inc. was also retained in January 2006 to review the City's processes. She introduced Larry Hogle, a partner in the Hogle- Ireland firm, and stated that his most significant recommendations are included in the staff report. Mr. Hogle introduced Channery Lange from Hogle- Ireland and stated that she actively participated in the report. Mr. Hogle stated that the recommendations and findings came about with the cooperation and input of the development community, including architects, developers, and permit and planning consultants. He stated that time was also spent with the City's staff. Council Member Nichols joined the meeting at 4:08 p.m. Mr. Hogle stated that the staff report is comprehensive and noted that on page 35, a Volume 57 — Page 790 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 26, 2006 summary of the findings and recommendations of the Hogle - Ireland report begin. He specifically pointed out that one of the problems with the current process is the tremendous space constraints in the Planning, Building and Public Works departments. In response to Mayor Webb's question, Mr. Hogle stated that he isn't aware of any cities that comprehensively allow developers to submit plans electronically, but that he does see this happening in the future. In response to an additional question by Council Member Daigle, Mr. Hogle stated that internal tracking programs are important and noted that the City is currently using Permits Plus, which is primarily used by the Building and Public Works departments. Mayor Pro Tern Rosansky joined the meeting at 4:14 p.m. In response to Council Member Curry's question, Mr. Hogle stated that the use of a Wi -Fi system could streamline the process, if the City's permit tracking and monitoring systems were improved. He explained that it would allow staff to access the system remotely, and estimated that the average time savings would range from a couple of days to a couple of weeks, depending upon the complexity of the application. In response to additional questions, he stated that the Permits Plus system should either be modified or a new system put in place that would work better for the Planning Department. Mr. Hogle stated that another major finding of the report is that there is a general lack of coordination between the three major departments, and that this is caused by the space constraints, the lack of a good tracking system and the lack of an adequate number of staff members, particularly in the Planning Department. Mr. Hogle stated that a recommendation in the report that could have a significant impact on the City is the establishment of the project manager concept. He stated that this recommendation is covered on page 36 of the report, and would provide for consistency in the responses from all of the reviewing departments. Council Member Ridgeway questioned the ability of a project manager to determine possible conflicts among the recommendations of the various departments. He suggested that another idea could be to reduce the number of plans submitted and have just one or two plans placed in a central location for review by all of the departments. Mr. Hogle stated that it is an alternative that could be worth looking at. Assistant City Manager Wood stated that an advantage of the project manager concept is that this person would see all of the comments and corrections at the end of the process, and would be able to identify any conflicts in responses. She added that requiring only one set of plans was a method that was used in the past and that it required more time in the review process. Council Member Daigle asked if corrections are available on line. Mr. Hogle stated that some of them are. Mayor Webb stated that having corrections on line doesn't work well unless the actual plans can be seen. Council Member Curry asked Mr. Hogle to characterize the comments of development community. Mr. Hogle stated that there were comments about using electronic processing, but that this was not included in the report's recommendations because the ability to do this does not currently exist. He confirmed for Mayor Webb that one of the problems is that there is currently no standard software used for electronic submittals. Mr. Hogle stated that another major finding of the report is the confusion created by the City's 9/80 schedule. He stated that this is covered on page 37 and that the report recommends that the City consider a more traditional 9/80 schedule, where City Hall would be closed every other Friday. Mayor Webb noted that this would reduce the number of hours that the public counters would be open, as would a 5/40 schedule. Council Member Daigle Volume 57 - Page 791 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 26, 2006 noted that the 9 /80 schedule reduces car trips and that she would be in support of considering the more traditional schedule, as recommended. Council Member Ridgeway spoke in opposition to any 9/80 schedule due to the volume of work that needs to be processed. Council Member Selich agreed with the comments of Council Member Ridgeway and stated that it would not serve the public to close City Hall every other Friday. City Manager Bludau stated that the current system is ineffective, because staff is off on both Fridays and Mondays. Assistant City Manager Wood noted that the 9/80 schedule is a part of the Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with the employee associations. City Manager Bludau stated that staff will include a recommendation on the 9/80 schedule when it returns to the City Council on the matter in about a month. Mr. Hogle stated that another finding of the report is that the Planning Department is understaffed. The report recommends that three staff members be added to current planning. He stated that another finding is that the City's zoning codes are complicated, create inefficiencies and need to be updated. Council Member Daigle asked for Mr. Hogle's opinion on using contract planning resources. Mr. Hogle stated that if it's structured right, if the City has adequate review and control, and if qualified people are provided by the consultant, it can work well. He stated that the advantage is that it can be scaled up or down depending upon the work load. In response to Mayor Webb's question, Mr. Hogle confirmed that it takes training to provide people that are familiar with the City's codes. Assistant City Manager Wood stated that it seems to work better in Building than it does in Planning. Council Member Selich stated that he's had negative experiences with outside plan checkers. Mr. Hogle highlighted another finding of the report and that is the importance of department policy and procedure manuals. He stated that the Building Department has a complete manual, but the report recommends that the Planning and Public Works departments develop policy and procedure manuals, keep them up to date and make them available to everyone in the department. Council Member Ridgeway confirmed that Hogle- Ireland spent time in the Planning Department as a part of their review, and asked if the work ethic and the culture of the department was observed. Mr. Hogle stated it was observed, but that an efficiency analysis was not done. He stated that everyone is working hard and conscientiously. The review included technical matters and the coordination between the three departments, as well as the internal operations of each. In response to Council Member Daigle's question, Mr. Hogle stated that burnout among the staff members was not apparent on the surface. In response to Council Member Ridgeway's question, Mr. Hogle stated that the interface between the department heads and the staff members appeared to be adequate. Council Member Selich stated he's seen three types of organizational structures, including the City's current system, the use of a community development department and having an assistant city manager oversee the three departments. Mr. Hogle stated that the last two are very similar, but that having three department heads independently making decisions, in general, does not work well. He stated that there should be some type of coordination. Council Member Selich asked Mr. Hogle how the fire marshal factors into the recommendations. Mr. Hogle stated that it requires a great deal of cooperation between the Building and Fire departments because the interpretations of the fire code and the building code can differ. He suggested that the Building Department have the final say. Assistant City Manager Wood suggested that she, initially, take on the coordination role and work with the three department directors, as well as the Utilities, General Services and Fire departments, to begin implementing some of the recommendations contained in the Hogle- Volume 57 - Page 792 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 26, 2006 Ireland report. In regard to staffing in the Planning Department, she noted that when the four -week turnaround goal is missed, it's almost always because Planning has missed it. She stated that building permit valuation has increased by 34% from 2000/2001 to 2005/2006, and the staffing level has not kept up with the increase. Assistant City Manager Wood displayed several charts, as also included in the staff report, to illustrate the increase in workload and the staffing level by function over the period from 1991 to 2005. She stated that a recommendation on staffing would be included in the report to the City Council, as mentioned earlier by the City Manager. Council Member Curry complimented the analysis and moving forward with the recommendations. He suggested that the objectives that come back to the City Council include a reduction in processing time and a view towards service orientation. He suggested that direct input be received from the development community in terms of how the system can be improved. Council Member Selich asked what the growth in applications and work load is attributed to. Assistant City Manager Wood stated that some processes have been added to the zoning code over time, development and site plan reviews have been added and, in general, projects have become more complicated. She stated that this can partly be attributed to redevelopment of older areas in the City. Bill Ficker complimented the Hogle- Ireland report and, specifically, expressed support for the project manager concept, a five -day work week and the consideration for utilizing electronic plan submittals. He stated that he will provide the City with some information on electronic submittals and stated that it will provide a great opportunity for streamlining the process. Council Member Selich expressed his support for establishing a community development department that encompasses Building, Planning and Public Works. He stated that it should be looked into and that at a minimum, there should be a line of authority in some form over the three departments. Council Member Ridgeway agreed that under the current system, there isn't effective communication or coordination between the three department heads. He also expressed support for increasing the staffing level in the Planning Department, and improving the timeliness of the fire marshal's review. In regard to receiving input from the development community, Council Member Ridgeway suggested that the focus be on the engineers and architects. In response to Council Member Nichols' question, Mayor Webb stated that the project manager concept would be utilized for those projects that require significant review. In regard to establishing a community development department, Mayor Webb noted that the functions of the Public Works Department are much broader than plan checks and development reviews. He stated that he could support a community development department that includes the Building and Planning departments, and also expressed support for a significant section of the Public Works Department to work on the coordination needed for the development review process, but stated that he couldn't support the Public Works Department being included in a community development department. In response to Council Member Daigle's question, Assistant City Manager Wood confirmed that outside contractors are currently being used to handle the backlog of work in the Planning Department. Additionally, she confirmed that the four -week turnaround is for the Volume 57 - Page 793 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 26, 2006 first review. City Manager Bludau stated that staff will be looking at the many recommendations in the report and noted that the solution will likely be a combination of several recommendations, some of which will take some time. 3. BACK BAY LOOP TRAIL — CONCEPT AND PROPOSED ROUTE. [100 -2006] Assistant City Manager Kiff displayed an aerial photo showing the Back Bay Loop Trail, as also provided in the staff report. He stated that the trail is approximately eight miles in length, and goes around the Upper Bay using existing roads and trails. He also displayed the proposed signs, as were also provided in the staff report. The signs would be placed on new and existing poles, with pavement markings used at locations where pole signs would not be appropriate. In response to questions, he stated that the trail would be a leisure trail used by walkers, runners and cyclists, and would provide an opportunity for families and individuals to enjoy fitness and the back bay. In response to questions raised about the outreach that has been done, Assistant City Manager Kiff stated that he did meet with a representative from Dover Shores and with the trails subcommittee of the Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission, and would be prepared to do more outreach upon direction from the City Council. Mike O'Connell, Executive Director of the Irvine Ranch Land Reserve Trust ( IRLRT), stated that the IRLRT is offering to pay for the signs, and promote and maintain the trail. He described the signs that are being proposed and agreed that there is the possibility that "Newport Beach" could be used on all of the signs, even in those areas owned by the County. In response to additional questions, Mr. O'Connell stated that special events on the trail would be possible, if they were carefully managed and approved by the City. In closing, Mr. O'Connell noted that the signs can be easily installed and a dedication planned once the City is ready to proceed. Assistant City Manager Kiff confirmed with the Council Members that they had no concerns about the proposed route, and stated that he would begin a notification process. 4. REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) - WIRELESS FIDELITY ("Wi -Fi') NETWORK ACROSS NEWPORT BEACH (C- 3887). [381100 -2006] Using a PowerPoint presentation, Assistant City Manager Kiff explained the reasons for having Wi -Fi, also known as Wireless Fidelity, installed and how it works. He stated that a proposed Request for Proposals (RFP) would be on the evening meeting's agenda for City Council consideration. Additionally, he listed the concerns and issues that have been raised since the proposed RFP and staff report were written, and explained the process that would be followed after an approved RFP is issued. City Attorney Clauson stated that the RFP could be approved at the evening meeting if the City Council includes direction to staff on the amendments that will need to be made before it is issued. Additionally, she stated that the City's existing system for issuing permits to use City poles will also need to be considered as a part of the process. David Mitchell, Pro 911 Systems, stated that Pro 911 Systems provides advanced communication support to 26 agencies throughout California, and has built wireless mesh networks in several locations, including Newport Harbor. He displayed live video of the Newport Pier, which his company is contracted to deploy for the Newport Beach Lifeguards. Mr. Mitchell stated that Pro 911 Systems would like to provide support and information Volume 57 - Page 794 City of Newport Beach Study Session Minutes September 26, 2006 for the City's RFP process, and specifically suggested that the RFP include the option for the City to develop and purchase some of the network, and also video web casting capabilities. In response to Council Member Curry's question, Mr. Mitchell suggested that a sparse network be built by the City that would include two to three wireless units per square mile, requiring a capital investment of approximately $75,000 to $120,000. He stated that this would be sufficient to handle network access by properly outfitted City vehicles. The internet service providers could then expand the network to meet their needs at their expense. Mr. Mitchell displayed an actual wireless unit, and then showed a short clip that was aired on Channel 2 News in October 2005 showing what was done for the lifeguards in Newport Beach. Chip Allsweet, Shubert Flint Public Affairs, stated that his company is working with Earthlink and is looking forward to working with the City and providing the needed networks. He stated that Earthlink typically installs 36 units per .square mile to accommodate the needs of all residents and visitors to a city. Charlie Smith, a partner in Seven Seas Systems, stated that he works with Mr. Mitchell. He stated that the system being used for the lifeguards and in the harbor is proven and working well, and that they are getting requests for additional cameras. Council Member Curry stated that he's excited about the technology, that it will allow residents and visitors to use their laptops anywhere in the City, and will also assist City staff in doing their jobs. He stated that the RFP does need some work and that he will suggest at the evening meeting that the matter be continued for two weeks. PUBLIC COMMENTS - None ADJOURNMENT - at 6:10 p.m. The agenda for the Study Session was posted on September 20, 2006, at 3:10 p.m. on the City Hall Bulletin Board located outside of the City of Newport Beach Administration Building. Mayor �k' y City Clerk yg ■ \ u�fk {` Volume 57 - Page 795