o7The following is from the Sept. 6...

o7The following is from the Sept. 6 meeting of the Laguna Beach City

Council.

f7

SIDEWALK CLEANING

Eleanor Henry asked that ficus trees downtown be replaced with

trees that do not litter the sidewalks. She suggested that merchants

might clean up the sidewalks in front of their businesses. She also

asked about the drainage problem at the bottom of the Third Street

hill.

“They say a spring is causing the flow at the base of Third Street

-- right now it’s a flood and cattails are growing in the planter

box,” Henry said.

Georgina Valdez said if the city puts sidewalk power-washing out

to bid, she would like her company considered.

Councilwoman Toni Iseman said city sidewalk cleaning apparatus is

the victim of the budget cuts to fund the restoration and

winterization in Bluebird Canyon.

Merchants, Iseman said, have a problem with individual cleanups,

because they must capture the water they use rather than let it flow

into the storm drains, which empty into the ocean.

Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider said the city sidewalks are a

disgrace and something must be done.

OVERNIGHT PARKING

The Council directed the Flatlanders Task Force, a council

subcommittee, to consider a ban on overnight parking of vehicles

without shoppers’ permits in the Village Flatlanders Association

neighborhood. The permits are available only to residents.

“No sticker, get a ticket,” Iseman said.

Village Flatlanders Neighborhood Association President Tom Girven

said he believed the ban is the only way to resolve parking problems

in the neighborhood.

A task force headed by council members Steven Dicterow and Egly

has been meetings on the neighborhood parking problems. Residents

complain that parking has been usurped by employees of businesses in

the area, including hotels and restaurants.

The city commissioned a study to determine whether free parking on

Glenneyre Street in the area would reduce parking demand.

City Manager Ken Frank said City Hall is getting complaints about

the temporarily deactivated parking meters and that the experiment

with free parking is not working.

“It’s been an awful summer,” Glenneyre Street resident Annette

Stevens said.

FINANCIAL ITEMS

The council:

* approved the purchase of a new fire engine, which will replace

a 1985 vehicle to be traded in;

* awarded a $15,000 contract to Cash & Associates for an

engineering design for the Main Beach Boardwalk and stair

replacement;

* awarded a $145,086 contract to Psomas to provide surveying and

design services for a sidewalk from Hinkle Place to M Street and on

Nyes Place;

* awarded a $14,000 contract to SFC Consultants for environmental

services for the Coast Highway sidewalk project;

* approved general warrants totaling $7,319,850 written July 29 to

Aug. 25 and payrolls for Aug. 4 and Aug. 18; and

* allocated a $5,000 appropriation from the street lighting fund

to place underground the utilities serving the Laguna Beach

Historical Society building at 278 Ocean Ave.

TAXI VOUCHER INCREASE

The Council approved an increase in the cost of taxi vouchers to

$3, an increase of $1, and an increase in the reimbursement level

from $8 to $10.

LANDSLIDE

* The Council extended a Resolution declaring the June 1 landslide

an emergency. The resolution is valid for only 21 days, and

extensions are needed until slide issues are resolved.

PARKING, CIRCULATION & TRAFFIC

The Council unanimously approved the following recommendations

from the parking, circulation and traffic committee:

* a green zone with 30-minute parking in front of 355 Broadway

and 31616 Coast Highway;

* stop signs on both sides of Glenneyre Street at the

intersection with Oak Street and on Madison Place at the intersection

with Bluebird Canyon Drive; and

* replacing double yellow lines on Bluebird Canyon and

Morningside Drives with a single yellow broken line during the

upcoming street resurfacing project.

HISTORIC REGISTER REMOVAL

The Council agreed to remove from the historic register a

structure being remodeled at 362 Brooks St.

WHAT IT MEANS

The project was returned to the design review board for

consideration of variances for additions into the setbacks and the

payment of past fees waived under heritage status.

HARDSCAPE ALLOWANCES

Iseman asked the council to consider how to reduce the percentage

of allowable hardscape on new projects. Iseman said impervious

surfaces increase storm flows, which create drainage problems, and do

not allow for adequate landscaping to soften new construction so that

it blends into the existing neighborhood.

She asked for a staff report in October describing the current

city regulations on lot coverage. The report will contain provisions

from other cities.

The proposal was also sent to the planning commission for revue.

WHAT IT MEANS

Including driveways, patios, walkways and other structures in

lot-cover calculations could result in diminished allowances for the

footprint of a project, although square footage would not necessarily

be affected. The footprint is the amount of ground on which a

structure sits, regardless of the number of stories.

APPEALS

The council:

* sustained a design review board denial of a project at 511 Oak

St. and returned it to the board for further consideration at the

request of the applicant. Vote: 5-0.

* overturned design review board denial of a proposal to extend

decks on a building at 31755 Coast Highway. Vote: 5-0.

* overturned design review board denial of a proposal to add 866

square feet to a home and build a new two-car garage at 2387 San

Clemente, which required a variance. Vote: 4-0, Iseman recused.

* tabled indefinitely an appeal of an administrative decision

requiring an environmental impact report for a three-lot subdivision

at 1770 Thurston Drive. Vote: 5-0. The appellant has agreed to the

report, with the city paying about 50% of the costs through reduced

or exempted development fees. The project includes a request for a

tentative tract map, coastal development permit and a variance to

extend the road and subdivide a 13.38-acre parcel into six lots,

three of which would be residential sites.