CITY COUNCIL WRAP-UP

The following is from the Laguna Beach City Council meeting of March 4.

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PUBLIC COMMENT

?Charlotte Masarik displayed a roll of orange safety net that is rampant along the realigned Laguna Canyon Road and asked why. City Manager Ken Frank said the fencing is a water quality mitigation issue. It has not been removed because the county and Caltrans have not yet finished the grading and landscaping of the road.

?Stuart Trautenberg opined that microwave radiation from cell phone towers is hazardous to humans and pets and requested that the city not install communications towers in parks.

John Chaney concurred and spoke of sleep disorders and traffic accidents that could be attributed to cell phone usage.

Frank said the federal and state governments have virtually emasculated the ability of local governments to determine the location of the sites.

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COUNCIL/STAFF CHAT

?Councilman Kelly Boyd announced with regret the death of Ed Dawson on Feb. 28. Dawson was 93. ?Councilwoman Cheryl Kinsman said the city should contact Dana Point about the conflict of the Festival of Whales Parade with Laguna’s long-standing date of the first Saturday in March for its Patriots Day Parade.

?Mayor Jane Egly urged water conservation, wished Thelma Reed a Happy 100th Birthday and noted that Earth Hour will occur at 8 p.m., March 29 and encouraged residents to participate by turning off their lights and non-essential appliances.

The mayor also announced that the Environmental Committee is accepting nominations for awards. Deadline to submit is 5 p.m., March 21. Forms are available on the city’s web site, www.lagunabeachcity.net, or in the City Clerk’s office.

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CONSENT CALENDAR

Consent calendar items get approved in one motion unless a member of the council, staff or public “pull” the item, which then requires opening it for public comment and a separate vote.

Approved without comment:

?Denial of a claim filed by Mardirosian & Mardirosian on behalf of William M. Stafford Stafford stepped on a Gas Co. curb meter, which gave way, causing him to fall into the vault, injuring his leg. Vault and cover are owned and maintained by Southern California Gas Co.

?General warrants of $583.85 issued Feb. 15; $250,979.88 and $2,463,652.10, issued Feb. 22; and Payroll 17, in the amount of $593,304.63, issued Feb. 14

?City Treasurer’s January report “” cash and investments at the end of the month totaled $54,011,239.15, up more than $750,000 from the start of the month.

?Extension of a lease of a sliver of city land next to Madison Place to C.E. Castro for another 10 years for $1,000. Frank recommended the extension because it releases the city’s obligation to maintain the parce, while still retaining access control to the hillside below Madison.

The Castro family uses the parcel for a yard. The lease can be terminated by either party with 60 days notice.

?Donation of $4,500 from the Ebell Club of Laguna Beach to the fire department for the enhancement of facilities and/or equipment.

?Purchase of one Zieman 2725-A/Heavy Equipment Transport Trailer at a total cost of $27,000 from Cook Equipment Co. of Fullerton

?Purchase of a vehicle exhaust recovery system at a total cost of $20,126 from Air Cleaning Systems in Pomona.

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COASTAL COMMISSION DRB CHANGES 4-1

Modifications by the Coastal Commission to amendments to the city’s Design Review ordinance were approved, with a couple of exceptions.

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GLENNEYRE ENCROACHMENT 4-0

The council approved a revocable encroachment permit for existing walls and planter areas in the unimproved right of at 2570 Glenneyre St. Iseman recused herself because she owns property in the area.

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TRANSIT PLAN UPDATED 4-1

The council voted to accept most of the recommendations in the Short Term Transit Plan update prepared by Dan Boyle.

“The system is working very well,” Boyle said. “The Mainline is good. The Summer Festival [trolley program] is amazing.”

Boyle reported that the Mainline has 300 riders a day, year round, but more than 8,000 riders a day use the free Festival Trolleys on summer weekends.

Mainline buses will continue to be free in the summer, but the council declined to reduce the fare from 75 cents to 25 cents the rest of the year, as recommended by Boyle. Iseman voted no because she felt the fare should be free year-round to encourage ridership.

A recommendation was approved to limit trolley service to the Ritz-Carlton to two runs in the morning and two in the afternoon, a schedule that accommodates Laguna Beach High School students along the route not served by Orange County bus route 1.

Kinsman’s pitch to have a trolley stop at Three Arch Bay was not approved because no feasible turnaround could be found at that location and an additional stop would require more trolleys to maintain the schedule, Frank said.

“I am concerned that there is no summer trolley service to Three Arch Bay,” Kinsman said.

Buses do stop there, but Kinsman said they stop running at 6 p.m. and the trolleys run until 11:30 p.m.

“The south end of town doesn’t get served,” Kinsman said.

Neither does Irvine Cove, Frank said.

“And neither does my house for that matter in the summer,” he added.

Staff was directed to implement Boyle’s recommendations to the extent possible within the existing budget and to implement all recommendations this fall.

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DOWNTOWN SPECIFIC PLAN REVIEW CONSENSUS

The council scheduled a joint workshop with the Planning Commission from 4 to 6 p.m., May 19 to consider the Downtown Specific Plan and its impact on vacancy rates. A scoping session on the Athens Group project in Aliso Canyon will be held after the workshop.

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APPEAL DENIED 5-0

The council upheld the Design Review Board’s denial of a proposal to add an 879 square-foot addition to a single-family home at 31345 Holly Drive.