CITY COUNCIL PREVIEW

Here are a few items the council considered Monday:

GRAFFITI INCENTIVE APPROVED

Approved 7-0

The increase in graffiti on public and private property from north Huntington Beach to the south is costing the city a lot of money, said Mayor Gil Coerper. “Some of it is gang-related but most of it is kids tagging,” he said. Council members approved the proposal to reward city residents with $250 to $500 for providing information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who sprayed graffiti.

WHAT IT MEANS

The reward program will assist the city in heightening awareness about the graffiti problem and may increase the number of calls related to it, Police Chief Ken Small said. The reward system would also serve as a deterrent to tagging by kids, he said.

In some cities, kids are banned from carrying spray paint and markers bigger than a certain size to prevent tagging. Small said he would look into adding that to the proposal, however you cannot buy spray paint unless you are 18 years old, he said.

VEHICLE STORAGE AND PARKING

Approved 7-0

Council members approved modifications to three sections of Huntington Beach zoning laws relating to definitions of vehicle storage, activity and parking. The item was approved by a unanimous council vote in November and will be adopted after 30 days as a city ordinance.

WHAT IT MEANS

Changes to the city’s zoning law will help reduce challenges to the city’s zoning regulations code, leading to better and prompt enforcement. With this zoning change, city employees would be able to respond quickly to complaints about improper vehicle storage in parking structures.

PUBLIC RECORDS SOON TO BE ONLINE

Huntington Beach will soon be one of the first cities to offer access to public records on its website, according to City Clerk Joan Flynn.

The new Web tool would help the city clerk staff to save thousands of hours spent searching for documents requested by public, council members and the press.

Flynn and Robin Roberts, senior deputy city clerk, demonstrated the SIRE Webpub tool that will be available on the city’s website. Anyone can access the records they want using a search tool on the website.

— Compiled by Purnima Mudnal