Here are some items the City Council...

Here are some items the City Council will consider Tuesday.

SAFE SURRENDER PROGRAM

Since 2000, the state has had a law allowing parents to give up

newborn babies they’re unable to care for without fear of

prosecution. Designated drop-off sites in Orange County include

Orangewood Children’s Home and hospital emergency rooms. Los Angeles

County has been publicizing that its drop-off sites include fire

stations, and local fire officials want the city’s stations to be

safe drop-off sites as well.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The council will likely approve the item, which is on the consent

calendar and was requested by the fire chief.

NEW RECORDS

SPECIALIST POSITION

Increasing construction in the city has added to the workload of

the building department, which also has a goal of streamlining the

process of checking building plans and issuing permits. To that end,

the building director is requesting creation of a records specialist

position. The employee would earn a salary between $40,892 and

$57,512 and would develop systems to manage documents, maps and

plans, as well as helping city employees and clients research records

and plans.

WHAT TO EXPECT

If the position is created, the city can eliminate some part-time

positions and will be able to process more plans and collect more

fees, thereby offsetting the cost of the new employee’s salary. The

council is likely to approve the item.

COMMITTEE TO

REVISE ZONING

CODE

The city planning department is so busy that it generally takes

more than a month to finish required checks of building plans. To

help speed up the process, city officials want to simplify the zoning

code. An ad hoc committee to be appointed by the mayor would review

the current code and recommend revisions to the City Council.

The committee would include a council member, two planning

commissioners, two design professionals, a builder or developer and

two residents.

WHAT TO EXPECT

After discussing the plan review situation at a Feb. 8 study

session, the council asked staff members to review the zoning code

and include various interested community members, so council members

are likely to approve the item.

-- Alicia Robinson