City Council Meeting Wrap-Up
The following is from the City Council’s Aug. 7 meeting. Councilman Kelly Boyd was absent.
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EXTRAORDINARY BUSINESS
Proclamation honoring Bali Thorn
Mayor Jane Egly presented a proclamation to Bali Thorn, who retired after 33 years of service to the Boys & Girls Club of Laguna Beach. During her time at the club, membership grew from 250 to more than 1,500 a year.
“It is a really great organization and every child in Laguna should belong,” Thorn said.
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PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS
The public is allowed to speak on any subject not on the agenda. Speakers generally are limited to three minutes, but the time can be adjusted by the council.
•Catherine Holshoj announced that a fundraiser was to held Aug. 14 at Mozambique Steak House to raise money to help the parents of 11-year-old William McMurray pay for mounting medical expenses. He has been diagnosed with an aggressive brain cancer.
Suggested donation was $10. Anyone who missed the fundraiser can send a check to William McMurray, at the Penguin Café, C/0 Kelly, 981 S. Coast Hwy., Laguna Beach 92651.
•Bruce Hopping complained again about the merit of the Veterans Memorial at Heisler Park. He believes the war memorial needs to better express appreciation for the sacrifices made by veterans.
Hopping commended City Manager John Pietig for cleaning up the drinking fountain at Forest Avenue and Glenneyre Street. He urged the council to give attention to the 1978 Thalia Street mural that recognized students who had lost their lives.
•Edward Bayuk raised the issue of street parking on Goff Street between El Camino Del Mar and Los Olivos, which makes it difficult for him to pull out of his garage and emergency vehicles cannot get by parked vehicles. He asked for a “no parking” sign in the area.
Public Works Director Steve May is looking into the problem.
•Village Laguna President Ginger Osborne opined that traffic woes during festival season in Laguna would be intensified if residential units proposed for the area near the Great Park are doubled.
She said the environmental impact report for the proposed project already described the traffic and air quality problems as “significant and unavoidable adverse impacts.”
Osborne said that possible mitigation was discussed at the Aug. 7 Planning Commission Transportation Work Shop that would require the project to provide a parking lot of structure with shuttle service to Laguna.
Village Laguna asked the city to submit a response to the project’s Environmental Impact Report detailing concerns.
•Arnold Hano said Laguna is a victim of its own success and is too appealing for its own good. He opined that 4,000 additional residential units would add up to 32,000 additional daily car trips.
Hano said he didn’t have the answer to the problem, but agreed that a large parking structure built at the head of the Canyon along with a shuttle service into town might help accommodate a few hundred cars.
Pietig said staff is reviewing the environmental impact report and is prepared to respond.
He said the city would most likely engage the services of a traffic engineer as well as legal services for the response.
•Robert Ross objected to a machine gun displayed in a yard on private property.
“The owner said it is a second amendment right,” said Ross, a declared candidate for City Council.
“If I am elected to the council, this will be a campaign issue,” he said.
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COUNCIL AND STAFF CHAT
Council members and staff report on events they have attended, people with whom they have met and other items of public interest.
•City Treasurer Laura Parisis said the talent on stage in “Ruthless” is amazing.
•Pietig announced that the absent Boyd requested the council to continue the item on the Bluebird Park tree removal and trimming. It was continued, as reported in the Aug. 10 edition of the Coastline Pilot.
He introduced intern Cameron Fields who has been working with Assistant City Manager Christa Johnson and Director of Community Service Ben Siegel. Pietig thanked Fields for volunteering his time to Laguna.
•Egly said people drive too fast, and has received a report confirming that speed contributes to traffic accidents.
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CONSENT CALENDAR
Consent calendar items are approved unanimously in one motion unless a member of the City Council, staff, or public “pulls” the item, which then requires opening it for public comment and a separate vote.
Among the items approved unanimously:
•The Oct. 2 meeting for interviews and appointments of five residents to the Housing and Human Services Committee
Deadline to file applications with the City Clerk’s Office is 5 p.m. Sept.25.
•Laguna Beach Rotary’s request to use the Forest/Laguna Canyon parking lot and 20 metered spaces on Laguna Canyon Road, without fees; amplified sound; erection of a temporary fence and the sale of beer and wine with appropriate permits for the annual Classic Car Show.
•Installation of “Flight of Birds as a Wordless Poem” by Raymond Persinger at 2825 Laguna Canyon Road to satisfy the Art in Public Places requirement.
The 10-foot tall sculpture was unanimously recommended by the Arts Commission.
•A $2,500 donation from the Beautification Council, to be used for upgrades to the Nyes Place planter irrigation and landscaping.
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REGULAR ORDER OF BUSINESS
Items require separate discussion and citizen input, if desired, before the council makes a determination.
PTC parking recommendation, approved 4-0
The council adopted a resolution restricting parking from the driveway at 2949 South Coast Highway for 40 feet north, upholding a Parking, Traffic and Circulation Committee recommendation.
The property owner at 2949 South Coast Highway had requested the elimination of four parking spots, twice the number recommended by the committee — three on the north side of the driveway, one on the south side.
He cited the speed of approaching vehicles and obscured vision by parked cars as a hazard when they pulled out of their driveway.
Mayor Pro Tem Verna Rollinger, who lives on Park Avenue and contends with the same problems, said she understood their position, but parking needs in town had to be considered.
Bike racks to be installed, approved 4-0
The city will pay $30,000 to install half the bike racks recommended by the Complete Streets Task Force back in June.
Task force members and community volunteers will prioritize the remaining locations that might be added if money is available after the midyear budget review.
Staff will monitor the use of the racks for reviews.
“I can save you time and energy,” Chris Prelitz said. “Just find the money. We have $30,000. We only need another $10,000.”
2013 council meeting schedule revised, approved 4-0
The annual council retreat will be held on Jan. 26. There will be one meeting in July on the 16th, but two in August, on the 6th and 20th. A meeting is planned for Dec. 3 and tentatively on Dec.10. The council will meet on all other months on the first and third Tuesdays of the month, unless further revisions are discussed in public and approved. Meetings also will be held with the School District Board, the planning and arts commissions and the Design Review Board.
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CLOSED SESSION
•Conference with legal counsel on pending litigation Rowden v. the city and La Pour v. the city.
•Conference with legal counsel on whether the city should initiate litigation regarding Heritage Fields development in Irvine.
•Conference with real property negotiators on the price and terms of the Festival of Arts Grounds.
The festival is represented by the president of the board. The city is represented by Rollinger, Councilman Kelly Boyd and Pietig.
•Consideration of hiring a special counsel for personnel and labor relations matters.
Any action taken by the council in closed session must be reported publicly. None was announced.
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NEXT MEETING
The council meets next at 5 p.m. Sept 4 in closed session. The public meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, 505 Forest Ave.
Meeting agendas are available by 4 p.m. on the Thursday prior to the meeting in the City Clerk’s Office in City Hall, 505 Forest Ave. Agendas are also published on the city’s web site https://www.lagunabeachcity.net.
Compiled by Barbara Diamond from information provided by the City Clerk’s Office