INSIDE CITY HALL Here are a few...

INSIDE

CITY HALL

Here are a few of the items that the council considered Monday:

REPORT FEE

State law requires a mobile home park property owner to prepare a

report on the effects of relocating tenants before closing or

converting the park for another use. However, because the city’s own

fees and charges don’t include any provision for the review of these

reports, staff members requested that the fees be changed to include

this review and that it be applied retroactively to include the

closure and conversion proposed for the El Nido and Snug Harbor

Village trailer parks.

Staff members recommended the report review be done by an

independent consultant under contract because staff members does not

have the necessary expertise. For the El Nido/Snug Harbor report,

staff members expect the independent review will cost $3,000 to

$5,000.

WHAT HAPPENED

The council voted unanimously to approve the changes to the fees

and charges.

WHAT IT MEANS

The city will start charging for an independent consultant to

review relocation reports.

WHAT WAS SAID

“State law is vague, and we probably have not been as diligent as

we could have been,” Councilwoman Libby Cowan said. “This sets us up

for the future.”

LANDSCAPED MEDIANS

The council allocated funds last fiscal year and this fiscal year

for the design of landscaped medians on 19th Street from Placentia

Avenue to Park Avenue, and for the construction of a portion of these

medians.

At the Feb. 18 council meeting, because of the number of

businesses being affected by the full landscaped medians, the council

directed staff members to prepare other designs and to pursue

additional public participation and input on the new design. The

design and engineering work on the medians is presently underway.

WHAT HAPPENED

The council unanimously approved the final engineering of the

landscaped medians on 19th Street from Placentia Avenue to Park

Avenue and to construct median islands from Placentia Avenue to Meyer

Place. It also approved the construction of landscaped parkways from

Placentia Avenue to Anaheim Avenue.

WHAT IT MEANS

The installation of the medians and parkways will improve the

aesthetics of the area.

WHAT WAS SAID

“I fully support it,” Councilman Allan Mansoor said. “I think it’s

a perfect example of how we can improve the look of the Westside.”

SANTA ANA RIVER CROSSING STUDY

The transportation services division created a multi-step plan to

serve as a blueprint for eventually getting the Gisler Avenue and

19th Street bridges removed from county plans.

The proposal suggests measures to alleviate the problems the

bridges would otherwise solve, including intersection improvements

and roadway widenings.

Once all these measures are complete, the goal is for another

study to be conducted. If the measures prove effective, the bridges

would be removed from the county’s master plan.

WHAT HAPPENED

The council unanimously approved the proposal.

WHAT IT MEANS

Three other cities affected by the planned bridges -- Fountain

Valley, Huntington Beach and Newport Beach -- need to support it, as

well. The Orange County Transportation Authority will be discussing

the bridges at its meeting on Monday.

WHAT WAS SAID

Councilman Chris Steel had some words of encouragement for

resident Robert Graham, who has adamantly supported a 19th Street

bridge over the years.

“I admire your consistency, and you’ve been strong about this from

day one,” Steel said. “There may be some benefits [to the bridge],

but I don’t think people want it.”

He suggested that Graham fund an independent study of the benefits

the bridge would bring and collect enough signatures to get a

referendum on the bridge on the ballot.

DESIGN CONTRACT

The Newport Boulevard southbound frontage road serves as an

important gateway to the city, particularly to the Orange County

Fairgrounds. The existing asphalt trail on the west side of the

southbound frontage road between Arlington and Fair drives is in poor

condition and requires reconstruction.

Several possible alignments for the reconstruction, as well as

landscape improvements, in this area have been discussed within the

city and with fairgrounds staff. The council also needs to approve a

cooperative agreement with the 32nd District Agricultural Assn. for

the reconstruction.

WHAT HAPPENED

The council approved an option supported by Mansoor for an 8-foot

wide concrete trail, with 2-foot graded shoulders on either side.

This option also provides a landscaped buffer about 5 feet wide

between the trail and the roadway curb line.

WHAT IT MEANS

The city has already secured a grant for $207,090 to reconstruct

the existing asphalt bicycle trail so now the contract for the design

will be awarded.

-- Compiled by Deirdre Newman