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CC - 09-25-07Minutes of the Regular Meeting ROSEMEAD CITY COUNCIL September 25, 2007 The regular meeting of the Rosemead City Council was called to order by Mayor Tran at 9:32 p.m. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, at 8838 E. Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California. The pledge to the flag was led by Mayor Tran and the invocation was delivered by Councilmember Clark. ROLL CALL OF OFFICERS: Present: Councilmembers Clark, Low, Taylor Mayor Pro Tem Nunez and Mayor Tran Absent: None 1. PRESENTATION An impromptu presentation was given to outgoing City Engineer, Ken Rukavina, for his 10 years of service at the City of Rosemead. The Mayor presented him with a plaque and the Council thanked him for his service. A. Parks & Recreation Summer Program Overview The presentation for the Parks & Recreation Summer Program Overview was deferred to next City Council meeting. 2. PUBLIC HEARINGS A. Appeal Of Conditional Use Permit (CUP) No. 07-1103: 2444 Del Mar Avenue Over the last several months, the City has been working with the Garvey School District and East Los Angeles College (ELAC) towards processing a conditional use permit application to lease the existing Williams Elementary School facility located at 2444 Del Mar Avenue, for the purpose of establishing and operating a satellite ELAC campus. The Planning Commission approved the CUP at its' September 5, 2007 meeting. The report and back-up information presented to the Planning Commission at that meeting has been attached to the staff report. Shortly thereafter, Council Member Gary Taylor requested that the CUP be appealed to the City Council. Council Member Taylor's written request is also attached to this report. Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 1 of 13 0 Recommendation: That the City Council uphold the Planning Commission's approval of Conditional Use Permit No. 07-1103 and direct staff to prepare the appropriate resolutions with all required findings and be brought back to the City Council for consideration at a subsequent meeting. Mayor Tran and Eva Plaza, Deputy City Attorney from GCR recused themselves during this discussion due to a potential conflict of interest. Mayor Tran explained he was hired as a negotiator for Garvey School District prior to City Council involvement when Garvey School District was the lead agency; since then he has asked to not take to part in any conversation regarding this matter. Rachel Richman of Burke, William, and Sorenson took Ms. Plaza's place as legal counsel. Mayor Pro Tern Nunez chaired this portion of the meeting. Bob Bruesch, residing at 7500 Wilmar Place, a school board member, spoke in support of the ELAC campus as a creative use for the closed elementary school to meet community needs. Based on informal conversations he had with area residents, all are pleased about the satellite campus. Alicia Saulino, residing in Whittier, Director of Head Start at Williams Elementary, spoke in support of the ELAC campus. She assured the Council Head Start participants are safe and felt participant parents and the community will benefit from the campus. Katrina Sornoso, residing at 3903 N. Earle Avenue, spoke against the project because she would have preferred the space be used to provide programs for at-risk kids. Councilmember Low asked if Ms. Sornoso was willing to work with the City to put something together for kids at another location. Ms. Sornoso agreed to help out. Rita Luszeto, residing at 7823 Graves Avenue, spoke in support of the satellite campus concept, but asked the Council reconsider the Williams site because that area is not zoned for a college campus and does not have infrastructure to support that use. Her main concerns were safety, traffic and nighttime disturbances. Virginia Peterson, Superintendent of Garvey School District, spoke in support the satellite campus at Williams as a win-win project. The campus will occupy no more than seven classrooms and offer classes customized for residents and two classes for kids. Councilmember Taylor asked how the remaining 12 classrooms will be used and asked to see a copy of the ELAC lease. Ms. Peterson stated additional classrooms may be vacant, used for the Head Start program, or teacher training and the cafeteria will be used as a district cooking kitchen. She stated the district will not have a lease until issues with the City are resolved and indicated ELAC is renting facilities under a civic center permit, with a right to sub-lease. Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 2 of 13 • • Councilmember Taylor surmised that ELAC might be interested in using additional space since they have tried to lease parking spaces from other buildings. He inquired about the block wall that was to be built to protect residents. He asked why the conditional use permit expires in six months and asked how long ELAC will have to comply. Assistant City Manager Saeki responded that they have 45 days after the City Council approves a resolution making those findings. Councilmember Taylor asked if the State Education Code requires a separation between grammar school students and college students. Ms. Peterson replied that she was not sure. Councilmember Taylor made a motion to include the state education code as part of the agreement as one of the stipulations that has to be met. Councilmember Clark asked for clarification about the child development classes. Ms. Peterson indicated that the child development classes were in reference to the Head Start classes taught by Ms. Saulino. Ted Saulino, Whittier resident employed by Garvey School District spoke in support of the ELAC project and discussed the Woodcraft Ranger program which serves 1,000 students after school. Larry Bevington, residing at 8372 Rush Street, spoke in support of the ELAC project as he felt the Planning staff had put a lot of thought into the project and asked the Council to reject Councilmember Taylor's appeal. Councilmember Taylor clarified he didn't feel he had enough time to review project documents prior to the meeting. Juan Nunez, 2702 Del Mar Avenue, discussed traffic, safety and potential conflict of interest concerns. Councilmember Clark asked if Mayor Tran was involved with any negotiations between ELAC or Garvey School District after the City got involved. City Manager Chi indicated Mayor Tran was not to his knowledge and commented Mr. Saeki and his staff led negotiations for the City. Assistant City Manager Saeki confirmed the Mayor had no involvement in negotiations. Councilmember Clark mentioned she spoke to Special Counsel Montes of Burke Williams and Sorenson about a potential conflict of interest because Ms. Clark sits on a Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 3 of 13 • • church board that was contacted about additional parking for the site. Mr. Montes indicated a conflict did not exist for Ms. Clark. Jim Flournoy, residing at 8655 Landisview, spoke in support of the ELAC project. He felt the project was good for the City and the least invasive of potential alternatives. Henry Lo, residing at 3205 Angelus and Vice-President of Garvey School District, spoke in support of the ELAC project and urged the Council to uphold the decision of the Planning Commission. Velia Navarro, residing at 2239 N. Angelus Ave, expressed concern about the speed of cars driving in her neighborhood and requested speed bumps be installed; she also spoke in support of the ELAC project. Councilmember Low made a motion, with a second by Mayor Pro Tern Nunez to uphold the Planning Commission's decision. Councilmember Taylor asked again for a lease and expressed concern about younger students mixing with older college students especially if the project reaches full capacity of 540 students. Mayor Pro Tem Nunez asked if the lease would have to adhere to City conditions of approval. Special Counsel Richman indicated the Government Code provides that school districts are not subject to local zoning regulations and ordinances if the school district adopted an ordinance when it first incorporated that would exempt it from City zoning ordinances. She reported the district could adopt such an ordinance in the future too, if desired. If the conditions were enforceable, the lease would have to be consistent; under the law the school district doesn't have to follow the conditions of approval which means the lease does not have to be consistent with conditions of approval. Councilmember Clark reported former Deputy City Attorney Rozell provided an opinion that was contrary to Ms. Richman's findings. Special Counsel Richman addressed Mr. Rozell's memo by indicating the City can regulate grading, drainage, and traffic improvements. She also pointed out the memo stipulates the district could exempt out of jurisdiction if such an Ordinance was passed by the district in the past or future. Councilmember Taylor asked what would happen if students start parking on the streets when the full potential of 540 students is reached and 270 parking stalls are required. City Manager Chi stated based on state law, the Garvey School District could exempt itself from any of the City's conditions of approval; the City would have the authority to comment on environmental documents the district would have to prepare. Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 4 of 13 • • Special Counsel Attorney Richman indicated the usage of available street spots would be permitted per City regulations for length of time, etc. Councilmember Taylor expressed concern for residents who may be inconvenienced by students parking on the streets. Ms. Richman indicated the district has to follow CEQA documents and if they don't, the City can go to court if an expansion happens beyond what is in their CEQA documents. Councilmember Taylor made a motion to amend the end of Section 4, to include the education code. Ms. Low accepted Mr. Taylor's amendment into her previous motion. Michael Coughlin, Assistant Superintendent of Business Garvey School District clarified that any expansion above the maximum of 260 people would require CEQA analysis to be compliant according to their CEQA agreement. Mr. Coughlin acknowledged the district has for some time, been aware of their ability to claim exemption from City requirements. The district and ELAC are working with the City to be good neighbors. Councilmember Clark asked if students would be encouraged to park in the lot. Virginia Peterson, Garvey School District Superintendent replied yes and indicated alternatives will be sought if public street parking becomes a problem. Councilmember Clark inquired about the block wall discussed in a noise impact study and requested by a resident at the Public Hearing to mitigate sound issues. Mr. Coughlin replied one of the mitigating measures that the District will take is the extension of the driveway on Highcliff to ease traffic going in and out of campus and will alleviate traffic going out of the north driveway except for staff. Assistant City Manager Saeki discussed another measure which will diffuse night lights and commented that the sound wall was recommended when the project was at a much larger scale. Councilmember Clark asked if the sound wall might be considered if expansion occurs. Mr. Coughlin commented cost would be a major consideration and something that would have to be worked out between the three parties involved. Mayor Pro Tern Nunez asked Special Counsel Richman about the CEQA stipulation discussed earlier by Mr. Coughlin. Ms. Richman agreed that it would be good idea to specify that 7 classrooms with 35 students, not to exceed 260 students at any one time be included in the project description on the first page of the notice of intent. Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 5 of 13 Councilmember Low made a motion with a second by Mayor Pro Tern Nunez to uphold the Planning Commission's decision, implement the two changes discussed and bring back a resolution. Vote resulted: Yes: Clark, Low, Nunez No: None Abstain: Taylor Absent: Tran (recuse) Councilmember Taylor requested to see the lease agreement as soon as it is available. Mayor Pro Tern Nunez recessed the meeting. The meeting reconvened at 11:22 pm with Mayor Tran. B. 'Mixed Use Design Guidelines Over the past several months, staff has been in the process of creating design guidelines to address proposed multi-story, mixed use developments. The City has received numerous requests to develop this type of product within the City. Due to the lack of existing regulations and design guidelines, it has proved difficult to both process and provide guidance to developers for such requests. Mixed use projects present complex design/operational challenges and also present a major aesthetic change to the community. Downtown Solutions has been working with the City in the development of these guidelines, and has provided design guidelines for mixed use developments for many jurisdictions throughout the state. Downtown Solutions is also recognized as one of the top leaders in the urban design field. On August 20, 2007 the Planning Commission held a public hearing and was unanimous in recommending approval of the guidelines to the City Council. On September 11, 2007 the Community Development Commission (CDC), Downtown Solutions, and staff and met in Study Session to discuss the guidelines. One minor revision was requested by the CDC which has been incorporated into the document. Specifically, the second bullet point on page 2-3 is proposed to be removed to maintain a minimum sidewalk width of 7 feet. Upon adoption by the Council, the new guidelines will be incorporated into the City's future Zoning Ordinance amendment. Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 6 of 13 6 • Recommendation: That the City Council take the following action: 1) Adopt the proposed Mixed Use Design Guidelines 2) Adopt a negative declaration finding that the project will not have a significant adverse effect on the environment. Mayor Tran opened the public hearing opened at 11:22 pm. Todd Kunioka, residing at 8400 Wells, spoke in support of the guidelines and indicated concerns he had expressed about set-backs at a previous meeting were addressed. Juan Nunez, residing at 2702 Del Mar, spoke in opposition of high rise constructions and is concerned there will not be enough water to meet the city's growing population. Bob Bruesch, residing at 7500 Wilmar Place, spoke in support of the guidelines and advocated inclusion of affordable family housing. He supported loft-style developments. Brian Lewin, residing at 9501 Ralph Street, discussed a carport-type structure requested at a previous meeting to provide a rain shield for trash bins for the purpose of storm water mitigation. City Manager Chi indicated it is not in the guidelines because it is addressed in the City's zoning code. Mr. Lewin also asked why vehicle access points are often located on residential streets. Assistant City Manager Saeki explained vehicle access is sometimes on residential streets to facilitate a continuation of design elements. He also commented that current zoning requirements are stricter than design guidelines and requires a trellis for trash enclosures. Mr. Lewin pointed out a trellis is porous and does not address storm water issues. Mayor Pro Tern Nunez suggested guidelines include a non-porous rain cover for trash bins in addition to a trellis; Mr. Lewin thought this idea was agreeable. Councilmember Clark pointed out her agreement with Mr. Lewin's comments in the minutes of a previous meeting and indicated the idea should have been incorporated. Assistant City Manager Saeki apologized and indicated a non-porous cover would be specified. Mayor Tran closed the public hearing at 11:26 pm Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 7 of 13 Mayor Pro Tern Nunez made a motion, with a second by Councilmember Low to adopt the proposed Mixed Use Design Guidelines with the changes discussed regarding trash enclosures and adopt a negative declaration finding that the project will not have a significant adverse effect on the environment. Vote resulted: Yes: Clark, Low, Nunez, Taylor, Tran No: None Abstain: None Absent: None 3. PUBLIC COMMENT FROM THE AUDIENCE- None 4. CONSENT CALENDAR A. Resolution No. 2007-37 Claims and Demands Recommendation: Adopt Resolution No. 2007-37, for payment of City expenditures in the amount of $634,539.78 demands 58643 through 58667 and demands 60477 through 60616. E. Universal High Speed Broadband The United States has been slow to develop truly high speed networks. Other countries have overtaken the U.S. both in the speeds that are being provided and the percentage of people who have access to high speed networks. In fact, the U.S. has fallen to 16th in the world in terms of high speed Internet access. The. emergence of a new communications system - one based on high speed interactive networks designed for voice, data, and video communications - opens up tremendous opportunities for improving the quality of our economic, civic, and personal lives. A true high speed digital network offers advantages far beyond increased entertainment choices; it will accelerate business development and innovations in telemedicine, interactive distance learning, and e-government. As with the Internet itself, it is difficult to predict the advances that a true high speed network will inspire. The Communication Worker's of America (CWA) believes that the goal of U.S. communications policy should be to connect each to all - the more people connected to a network, the greater the value of the network itself and the services it enables. Almost every other developed country has a cohesive and comprehensive national strategy to stimulate the deployment of high speed broadband by establishing specific goals and policies. In the U.S. there is no organized or systematic plan. This policy Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 8 of 13 vacuum threatens America's ability to maintain its leadership in high technology and applications. To assure economic growth, CWA is campaigning for the U.S. to reverse current trends and set a national policy, and is requesting that local governments adopt a resolution supporting this effort. Recommendation: That the City Council adopt Resolution No. 2007-38, supporting the need of a national policy guaranteeing high speed internet access to everyone in our country. F. City of Baldwin Park - Laidlaw Harley Davidson The current Baldwin Park litigation is the second lawsuit against that City relating to Laidlaw's Harley Davidson being lured from the City of Rosemead to Baldwin Park. The result of the first lawsuit was that Baldwin Park and Rosemead entered into a tax-sharing agreement whereby we were to receive one-half of the sales tax received by Baldwin Park from Laidlaw s sales (to be calculated after Baldwin Park paid Laidlaw's its share of sales tax). After the first two payments were received, the Finance staff realized that it was only being paid on vehicle sales and not on parts and accessories. Informal settlement discussions took place on an administrative level, but no settlement was reached, thus necessitating the filing of the second lawsuit. Recommendation: That the City Council approve Resolution No. 2007- 40 approving the Settlement Agreement and First Amended and Restated Tax Sharing Agreement between the City of Rosemead and the City of Baldwin Park. G. National League of Cities Congress of Cities & Expo, New Orleans November 13 - 17, 2007 Conference sessions will include: Understanding GASB; Selling Public Assets; Regional Water Management; Youth Violence & Gang Prevention; Water Infrastructure; Affordable Housing; and Revitalizing Your Downtown. Recommendation: That the City Council authorize any Council Member, the City Attorney, the City Manager, or a staff designee to attend the event at City expense. Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 9 of 13 4P 9, Councilmember Taylor made a motion, second by Mayor Pro Tern Nunez to approve items A, E, F, and G. Vote resulted in: Yes: Clark, Low, Nunez, Taylor, Tran No: None Abstain: None Absent: None B. Minutes September 11, 2007 - Regular Meeting Councilmember Taylor requested the minutes deferred for the next Council meeting. C. CalPERS Contract Amendment Update - Second Reading On June 12, 2007, the City Council voted to approve a modified benefits package for employees. Based on direction given at that meeting, staff has been coordinating with CalPERS to finalize the implementation of the 2.7% @ 55 pension formula with the one-year final compensation calculation for miscellaneous employees. On August 14, 2007, the City Council approved the Resolution of Intent to initiate this change with CalPERS. In order to finalize the process, the City Council must approve an ordinance to formalize the City's intention of amending our contract. On September 11, 2007, the City Council approved that ordinance on first reading and tonight, the ordinance is being considered for adoption on second reading. Recommendation: That the City Council approve Ordinance No. 856 on second reading, amending the City's contract with CalPERS. Mayor Pro Tern Nunez made a motion, second by Councilmember Low to approve Ordinance No. 856 on second reading, amending the City's contract with CalPERS. Vote resulted: Yes: Low, Nunez, Tran No: Clark, Taylor Abstain: None Absent: None D. Allocation of Home CHDO Set-Aside for FY 2007-2008 The City of Rosemead receives an annual Home Investment Partnerships (HOME) entitlement grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) based on the City's population size, number of households living below poverty level and number of sub-standard Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 10 of 13 • • housing units. Federal regulations specify a 15% set-aside of all HOME funds for private nonprofit organizations, which meet the criteria as Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO)'s. These funds must be used for specific project-related expenses associated with housing to be developed, sponsored, or owned by the organization. This can be housing developed for long-term rental, homeownership, or transitional purposes. Up to 5% of the 15% set-aside may be used for general administrative and operational costs of a CHDO. Typical of many grantees, the City has had difficulty committing HOME funds for a CHDO due to HOME regulations. The HOME regulations are very specific in determining whether an organization qualifies as a CHDO. The applicant must have a demonstrated track record and have true accountability to the communities and residents.it serves. This accountability extends to the Board of Directors and requires low-income representation on that Board. Staff is proposing that the City enter into an Agreement with Rio Hondo Community Development Corporation (RHCDC) outlying the conditions for the production of affordable housing opportunities using the 15% CHDO set-aside funding. This organization meets HUD's requirements for a CHDO by having the required non-profit legal status, mission statement, financial capacity, and organizational makeup of their Board of Directors necessary for CHDO certification. Recommendation: That the City Council take the following action: 1) Enter into an Agreement with the RHCDC for the production of affordable housing opportunities using the 15% CHDO set-aside funding. Councilmember Clark requested Item D postponed to a future meeting. 5. MATTERS FROM MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL Mayor Pro Tern Nunez brought up two items for discussion at a future meeting: 1) Creation of a veteran's commission and 2) Creation of a property maintenance commission 6. MATTERS FROM CITY MANAGER & STAFF A. Crosswalk on Jackson Avenue at Whitmore Street The Traffic Commission received a petition requesting the installation of a crosswalk on Jackson Avenue at Whitmore Street. The petition indicated that students from the Head-Start and State Preschool on the Emerson Elementary School campus cross at this intersection. In addition, parents also drop-off/pick-up their students in the vicinity of Jackson Avenue and Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 11 of 13 • • Whitmore Street. The petition further indicated that vehicles traveling on Jackson Avenue do not stop for pedestrians accessing the school. At the July 5, 2007 Traffic Commission meeting, the Commission approved the installation of a crosswalk and appropriate signage and to further study the intersection when school is back in session. Recommendation: That the City Council deny the request to install a crosswalk on Jackson Avenue at Whitmore Street. Traffic Engineer Itagaki, summarized the discussion of this item at the Traffic Commission. Residents expressed concern about vehicle speed and students crossing without a crosswalk at the intersection of Jackson and Whitmore. Ms. Itagaki conducted a field analysis regarding conditions and the number of pedestrians crossing; it was staffs recommendation not to install a crosswalk. The Traffic Commission received a lot of resident input at the meeting and voted to install a crosswalk at the intersection. Ms. Itagaki reported installation of a crosswalk would require the removal of parking in front of 3120 and 3126 Jackson and the installation of a handicap access ramp. Nancy Eng, residing at 3146 Jackson Avenue, spoke on behalf of 42 residents that signed a letter in support of crosswalk installation to increase resident, pedestrian and student safety because cars do not comply with speed limits. She discounted the field analysis because only three hours of traffic was observed and rejected the notion that a crosswalk provides a false sense of security. Ms. Eng urged Council support of the crosswalk or alternate safety measures to slow down speeding cars. Mayor Tran called Rosemead resident Alberta Lambert. She was not present but Mayor Tran read her note to the Council. Ms. Lambert's indicated she was hit by a car in a crosswalk without a signal or stop sign. Virginia Peterson, Garvey School District Superintendent, spoke in support of the crosswalk installation. Ted Saulino, Whittier resident and Rosemead homeowner, spoke in support of crosswalk installation and also advocated installation of a stop sign. Alicia Saulino, Whittier resident and Director of the Head Start facility at comer of Jackson and Whitmore, spoke in support of the crosswalk to protect her students. Councilmember Clark made a motion for the installation of a crosswalk and a stop sign at the corner of Jackson and Whitmore. Mayor Pro Tern Nunez asked if the two items requested would have to go through Traffic Commission first or be brought back for official Council consideration. Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 12 of 13 City Engineer Rukavina recommended staff bring back a plan at the next Council meeting showing how the stop sign will be configured, so Council can deliberate on it. He explained that in the past, the Council directed staff to do something different than what was recommended in the staff report without reviewing revised specs. As a result, the City lost design immunity because it wasn't studied by an engineer in that scenario. Mr. Rukavina advocated that if a diagram of the stop sign is brought back, layout can be determined as well as additional parking required. Councilmember Clark made a motion, with a second by Councilmember Taylor to direct staff to bring back the schematic at the next meeting to show both a crosswalk and stop sign. Vote resulted: Yes: Clark, Low, Nunez, Taylor, Tran No: None Abstain: None Absent: None Councilmember Taylor asked City Engineer Rukavina for clarification on why design immunity was lost in a previous case. After Mr. Rukavina explained the circumstances, Mr. Taylor requested Mr. Rukavina provide him with the disposition of the lawsuit. City Manager Chi introduced Aileen Flores, the City's new Public Affairs Manager. 7. CLOSED SESSION: The City Council will recess to a Closed Session pursuant to: 1) Government Code 54956.9(a): Conference with Legal Counsel - Existing Litigation Name of Case: Mazone v. City of Rosemead Mayor Pro Tern Nunez recused himself from this closed session item. Council went into closed session at 12:06 am. Councilmember Taylor did not attend closed session. 8. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned in memory of Deputy Dennis Nakauchi Nakauchi. The next regular City Council meeting is scheduled October 9, 2007 at 7:00 pm. Respectfully submitted: APPROVE 1 A -OA 01 J n Tran CITY CLERK AYOR and his wife Beatrize to take place on Rosemead City Council Minutes Regular Meeting: September 25, 2007 Page 13 of 13 STATE OF CALIFORNIA ) COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS. CITY OF ROSEMEAD ) I, Gloria Molleda, Acting City Clerk for the City of Rosemead, do hereby certify that the minutes from September 25, 2007, were duty and regularly approved and adopted by the Rosemead City Council on the I I th of December, 2007, by the following vote to wit: Yes: Clark, Low, Nunez, Taylor, Tran No: None Abstain: None Absent: None Gloria Molleda Acting City Clerk