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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/03/2007 - PB&R CommissionAPRIL 3, 2007 APPROVED PB &R COMMISSION MINUTES CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission Regular Meeting April 3, 2007 - 7pm Convened 7:06pm ROLL CALL Present: Debra Allen Tim Brown Bill Garrett Phillip Lugar Marie Marston Cristine Trapp Absent Greg Ruzicka Staff: Wes Morgan, RSS Director Mark Harmon, General Services Director Teri Craig, Admin Asst Chair Garrett announced that if anyone in the audience was present for a discussion of Newport Center that it would not be discussed tonight but would be on the May agenda. Director Morgan stated that anyone can speak about any subject during public comments. Director Harmon - None. Director Morgan stated that he would be his comments concern City Council action of March 27 regarding Newport Center Park. Commissioner Allen stated that she wanted to make a short statement and that is that she had done the survey and had an appraisal done of her property and that she believes that she has no conflict, but in the interest of the good of the order for this Commission she stated that she feels that she has become a distraction and has too much respect for the Commissioner to continue in that position and noted that she was recusing herself from the discussion. Commissioner Allen excused herself to the Council Conference room. Director Morgan stated that at the meeting in May the Commission would consider park design elements for Newport Center Park and it would be noticed within the law and the aggenda would be posted. He stated that the January 2nd PB &R minutes, the February 271" and March 27' Council minutes would be included in the packet. He also stated that at each seat was a copy of the Rec fc Open Space Element from the "General Plan" and within states the type of parks, and the specific site of Newport Center Park is addressed in terms of its priority and its presently established land use. That will give the Commission 4 weeks to read that over. Director Morgan that at that meeting the Commission will take public comment from any and all that wish to speak on that item and the Commission will discuss what is best for that site and at the end of the discussion the Commission has been asked by Council to forward a recommendation for the park use of that land to City Council and that recommendation can include passive and active uses. He stated that he did not believe that the City Attorney would attend the meeting and stated that he would answer questions from the Commission and then public comments could begin. • Commissioner Lugar stated that one of the things that is obviously absent in all the discussions about what we are supposed to look at is City Hall. It is not up for discussion nor as a possibility and stated that it was made clear at the Council meeting. He stated that this had not been talked about in Director Morgan's review. Parks, Beaches £t Recreation Commission Regular Meeting April 3, 2007 - 7pm Page 2 Director Morgan stated that the majority of the Council said send it back to consider it for active or passive park uses. However, legally people can come to the podium and speak about whatever they want. Commissioner Lugar stated that it is a point of order then and that he would encourage the Chair to maintain order in the discussion. Director Morgan stated that the Commission's purview in this is to consider an active or passive park and that this Commission and staff is not tasked with deciding where a new facility should go. He stated that those were the parameters of the discussion but noted that the Commission would be getting input that could go wider then that. Director Morgan stated that during public discussion that citizens can come to the podium and not be censored. Commissioner Brown stated that the discussion of this issue at the January 2 meeting was to consider a response to City Council regarding placing a soccer field on the site. He went on to say that the debate that night was limited to whether or not the Commission thought that this park or part of it could be an active park and the decision was no and that they encouraged the Council to fund Phase 1 of the passive park. Commissioner Brown stated that this was the extent to which the Commission voted and noted that if now the item comes back that he agreed with Commissioner Lugar and it is simply an issue for the Commission to reconsider whether or not the park should be active or passive. Commissioner Brown stated that it is essential that this is what the debate is limited too. Commissioner Lugar agreed. PUBLIC COMMENTS Novell Hendrickson stated that she had looked at the agenda of January 2 where it listed Newport Center Park as information and discussion only. She stated that she read the staff report of January 2 where it listed June 2, 2001 that a consultant will receive funding opportunities and believes that it does not appear anywhere and a picture of a conceptual plan and so the actual meeting there was a motion and so it appears that the Brown Act was not followed and realizes that a Council Member stated on December 12 when asked if any City Council members have anything to put on a future agenda and that was not an approved item to be placed but rather comments. From that the Commission has been put into a position of trying to figure it out and so she welcomes a full hearing on this issue. Gloria Oakes, 2209 Channel Road stated that she was stunned by the hostile comments made by Commissioner Ruzicka at the March meetings and made the following statements: • Ruzicka stated that there was no hardscape damage. She stated that she did not Lie on the application and has photographs of three cracks in the curb and a large crack in the adjacent brickwork. • Ruzicka stated that the tree was surrounded by dirt. She stated that the tree was and still is surrounded by dirt as she is in the process of landscaping and has been ' • waiting until the tree was removed to install irrigation and sod in the section of the parkway. r Parks, Beaches ft Recreation Commission Regular Meeting April 3, 2007 - 7pm Page 3 • Ruzicka made an inference that a tree on the opposite side of the parkway had been taken out by unapproved methods. She stated that it was pure speculation and as a matter of fact a second tree would be planted to be more aesthetically pleasing. • Finally, Ruzicka made an issue regarding the charges to be paid for the process. The cost of reforestation as compared with the value placed on the tree was never a consideration in my request. She was told that the cost would be more and it was never negotiated. Ms. Oakes thanked the members of the Commission for focusing on the fact that the requirements of the process were met and for approving the request. The tree is a nuisance to pedestrians and while the new tree may be smaller it will not create a hazardous condition for those that enjoy waling in the community. She stated that she supports all efforts to make Newport Beach a desirable destination for everyone. CONSENT CALENDAR 1. Minutes of the March 6, 2007 regular meeting. Waive reading of subject minutes, approve and order filed. 2. Park and Operations Division Activity Report. Receive /file monthly Activity Report for activities and upcoming projects. 3. Recreation Et Senior Services Activity Report. Receive /file monthly Activity Report for activities and upcoming projects. 4. Reforestation Request. Approve reforestation request by Elliot Lowe of one City Evergreen Pear tree adjacent to 1973 Port Provence Place. 5. Tree Donation. Approve donation by Howald Hall, SPON of one 36" box Melaleuca linariifolia tree to be located at Bonita Canyon Sports Park. 6. Tree Donation. Approve donation by Ward Mace, of one 36" box Black Oak tree to be located at Castaways Park. Motion by Commissioner Lugar to accept items 1 -6 of the Consent Calendar. Motion carried by acclamation. Director Harmon excused. DISCUSSION / ACTION ITEMS 7. AYSO Presentation — Lights for Lincoln School Field #3. Director Morgan stated that this item was on the agenda because AYSO 57 wants to light a field at Lincoln and is presenting that and noted that this is really school district property and so the final say will lie with the NMUSD Board of Trustees but the reality is that it is in the City of Newport Beach and if that field were to be lit without anyone being made aware of it - it would become a problem so AYSO has asked for assistance in the process of gathering public input about the proposal and so they are here tonight to present their project, get the Commission familiar with it and staff is supportive of them asking the Commission to be a conduit for public input and this would be conducted at the May meeting. Recreation Manager Sean Levin stated that the interesting thing about Lincoln is that even though it is school property, it is leased for youth sports which includes the gymnasium and so . that puts the City in a unique situation because it is maintained, operated and scheduled by staff. So if lights were installed, staff would be accountable for the use and the concerns by residents around the school. He acknowledged that staff is supportive of anything that gives us 5 • Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission Regular Meeting April 3, 2007 - 7pm Page 4 more field space in the City because there is not enough. He noted that AYSO has gone to a lot of effort to put together a plan that should not impact the residents too much. He explained that there are lights on two of the three existing fields and this would just be an add -on to what is already there. Gary Wright, AYSO 57 stated that he is here tonight to announce their intention to donate AYSO 57 of nearly $150,000 to light field #3. He displayed some posters with the fields and where the Lights would be installed. He stated that it had been designed in a way to mitigate the impact of nearby homeowners. He stated that AYSO is a volunteer organization and no one is paid and support over 3000 players and the objective is youth development with a key tenant that "everyone plays." He stated that they are not anything like a club sport and are open to anyone in the community that meet the age requirements but primarily serve CdM and the eastern half of the bay which is Districts 4 -7. Mr. Wright stated that the Mussco people are here to answer questions about the lights and stated that the main reason for lights on field #3 is that there are new sports such as Lacrosse, adult soccer, and of course club teams which are expanding and the allocations for AYSO were cut by 334 in terms of the number of fields to use for the sports programs and there are no new lighted fields planned. He stated that the other issue is that the mandate is to continually decrease the size of teams so we will play with smaller teams but the net effect is that you have more teams playing games and more practices and so the impact in just one division has gone from 40 teams to 56 this next season. And for one division they will need 28 fields to play and support kids from age 4 to 19 years of age. Mr. Wright stated that they have worked with Mussco to have minimum impact neighborhoods. He displayed the light fill line and so the good news falls entirely on the public right of way. The lighting illumination is the minimum that the State will accept since it will need to be approved at the State level. There will be electronic controls and a remote control and Mussco installed these lights at Turtle Rock Ridge area. He stated the he personally has called several people on Jetty drive and they are all for it and has written an email to both FICA groups and seek out anyone that might have a concern. He stated that he would be giving an interview to the LA Times tomorrow regarding the issue and so he feels confident that the residents will know about this proposal. He requested that the Commission allow AYSO 57 to use this next Commission meeting to solicit public input to ultimately forward the minutes to NMUSD and start the process which includes their approval and then 4 -5 months of time in Sacramento before a final decision is made on the design. He stated that he hoped that it would be built by next summer. Director Morgan stated that in fairness that should a negative declaration be made for planning purposes and we are not challenged by SEQA regulations this input has been gathered he reminded the Commission that AYSO is very generous, cooperative, patient and there is a house on the hill. Recreation Manager Levin stated that there are houses up on Spyglass Hill that look down and they will be noticed as well but noted that there has been one resident that has some concerns. Commissioner Allen encouraged AYSO 57 to encourage homeowners at Spyglass to visit Turtle Rock and make a presentation at their HOA meeting because the last thing you want is that NMUSD feels that not enough public outreach was done. Commissioner Lugar asked who would own the lights. i • Parks, Beaches & Recreation Commission Regular Meeting April 3, 2007 - 7pm Page 5 Director Morgan stated that in the end he believed that it would be the school district because it is physical property on their land; however the City collects hourly rates of $30 /hr for lights and believes that there will be a shared maintenance with AYSO. Mr. Wright stated that they have gone ahead with a 25 year warranty at their cost that covers replacement bulbs and any defect in the way it is lit. He noted that the State would actually own it as the school district is the custodian of the property. He stated that they would actually be making a donation to the State and what they need from the City is that they are ok with the donation. Manager Levin stated that AYSO provides $50,000 in maintenance to the fields each year as a minimum for upkeep; and Little League provided a backstop at $65,000 in addition to the grass work that they pay for. Chair Garrett stated that the Commission is aware of the need for additional lit fields but asked that they be ready for people that could be against it. Director Morgan stated that this issued would be agendized for May 1" Chair Garrett opened the public discussion; hearing none the public discussion was closed. 8. FY 2007/08 Recreation It Senior Services Department Operating Budget. Director Morgan stated that staff had presented the budget to the Budget Committee and was requesting that the Commission recommend and support the FY 2007/08 Budget to the City Council. He stated that the budget has changed a little after discussions with City Manager. He turned it ove to the staff to make presentation on Recreation programs, Senior Center programs, Newport Coast Community Center and Park Patrol. The following staff presented: • Recreation Manager Matt Lohr • Recreation Manager Sean Levin • Senior Services Manager Celeste Jardine -Haug • Recreation Supervisor Christine Stempleski • Recreation Supervisor Raquel Rodarte • Recreation Supervisor Matt Dingwall • Asst Recreation Coordinator Jessica Reiten Discussion ensued regarding Park Patrol. Manager Levin stated that that there is a financial impact with adding a full -time officer as there is no revenue to cover the service. After the presentation the Commission commended the staff for their presentation. Chair Garrett opened the public discussion Laura Curran asked about planting at Newport Coast Community Center. Discussion ensued regarding Foundations. Motion by Commissioner Allen to recommend approval of the submitted budget and to forward to City Council with their recommendation and to request that City Council consider allowing the Commission to look into Foundations. Parks, Beaches Et Recreation Commission Regular Meeting April 3, 2007 - 7pm Page 6 Commissioner Brown stated that there is a need to get Council's blessing to look into starting a Park Et Recreation Foundation. Chair Garrett stated that he had talked to a Council Member about the issue and had appeared cold on the idea. Amended motion by Commissioner Allen to recommend approval of the submitted budget and to forward to City Council with their recommendation. Motion carried by acclamation Motion by Commissioner Allen to request permission by City Council to look into a Foundation. Motion carried by the following vote: Ayes: Allen, Brown, Lugar, Marston, Trapp Nay: Garrett Absent: Ruzicka COMMITTEE REPORTS - Parks- Director Morgan stated he had spoken about this item at the beginning of the meeting. RSS- Nothing to report. Although Commissioner Brown did ask for an update on Mariners. Manager Levin stated that the Landscape Architect was approved at the last Council meeting and staff met with Newport Harbor Baseball, Soccer, etc. and the project will be split up but that the field will be ready to play on March 1, 2008 but to make that happen the restrooms and some of the outside amenities out of the project and work on the field first as we need grass on the ground first to grow for 6 months. The demolition of the old library building will be May 1' Budge - Presented above. Director Morgan stated that the budget will continue to be refined. AD - Hoc —Youth Sports Liaison - Nothing to report — Community Services Award - Nothing to report. Other —Santa Ana River Vision Plan- Nothing to report. — Memorial Committee- Chair Garrett stated that that it has been sent to art community for a proposal on a type of a memorial. Ensign View Park has been selected as the location. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS The following are new or ongoing items to be discussed: • Fire pit discussion on safety and to regulate what is burned • Discussion of possible implementation of Parks Ft Rec Foundation. • Appointment to Marina Park Committee - Garrett has been selected • Tree Valuation • G -1 Policy Discussion • Parking Signage at Back Bay View Park • Dog Park • Updates on Parks ADJOURNMENT- 9:15pm Submitted b7< . Teri Craig, Admin