New city commissioners among possible changes ahead in Costa Mesa
The new year in Costa Mesa could bring a new order of business for council meetings, a new title for the city’s top administrator and a slew of new city commissioners.
It all depends on how the new City Council votes during its first meeting of 2017.
Among the slate of items on the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting is a proposal to vacate existing appointments on the city’s Planning, Senior and Parks and Recreation commissions and launch a process to recruit and interview new members for each.
As it stands, two commissioners on each body have terms expiring Feb. 1. Terms for other commissioners run through early 2019 and, in one case, early 2021.
On Tuesday, the council will consider releasing commissioners with terms running beyond this year from their appointments. Commissioners serve at the pleasure of the City Council and can be removed from their positions at any time without cause, according to the city’s municipal code.
Both the Planning and Parks and Recreation commissions have five members each, while the Senior Commission has seven.
Should council members decide to release the commission appointments, they will also discuss Tuesday how to go about filling those vacancies.
Also on the upcoming agenda are proposed tweaks to how future council meetings should run.
Mayor Katrina Foley has pitched a handful of changes — including shifting the start time of meetings from 5:45 to 6 p.m. and moving the time set aside for council comments and suggestions toward the end of meetings rather than near the beginning.
Those proposed changes, among others, “are to allow the City Council to conduct the public’s business while balancing the citizens’ rights to address” the body, according to agenda documents.
Proposed job title change
Council members are also expected to vote Tuesday on whether to change the job title of administrator Tom Hatch from chief executive officer to city manager — the title given to the highest-ranking appointed public official in virtually all Orange County cities.
Costa Mesa had a city manager up until February 2011, when the council changed the job’s title to CEO.
An agenda at the time said the change was “to make clear to the public the city manager is the chief executive officer of the city of Costa Mesa, just as businesses have chief executive officers.”
Hatch’s title is already listed as city manager in Tuesday’s agenda.
Should the council approve the proposed changes, the title of assistant CEO would also revert back to assistant city manager.
Urgency ordinance for marijuana
The council will also vote on adopting an “urgency ordinance” to prohibit marijuana use in the city to the extent possible under state law.
Such an ordinance would help preserve the status quo in the city regarding marijuana after voters statewide legalized its recreational use, according to Tuesday’s agenda.
City staff is recommending the council “temporarily prohibit indoor cultivation … except as allowed by state law, and all outdoor cultivation, pending further analysis of regulatory options and approaches,” agenda documents state.
Another wrinkle in the issue is the fact that local voters in November also approved Measure X, which allows businesses that research, test, process and manufacture some medical marijuana products to open in the industrial and manufacturing zone north of South Coast Drive and west of Harbor Boulevard.
Such businesses would be required to obtain permits from the city. The measure also maintained the city’s existing ban on over-the-counter dispensaries.
“While certain marijuana-related businesses are allowed under Measure X, staff believes that it is in the city’s best interest to prohibit all other marijuana-related businesses pending further analysis of regulatory options, approaches and tax implications,” the council agenda states.
Live entertainment at Holiday
Council members are also scheduled to vote Tuesday on whether to allow live entertainment at Holiday, a speakeasy-style bar and lounge located at 719 W. 19th St.
Since Holiday opened in July, some nearby residents have complained that the business is creating excessive amounts of noise in their neighborhoods.
The venue is already allowed to have disc jockeys and dancing — the city Planning Commission in September unanimously approved Holiday’s request to host live performances. But Mayor Pro Tem Sandy Genis asked the council to review that decision.
Tuesday’s City Council meeting starts at 5:45 p.m. in City Hall, 77 Fair Drive.
Twitter: @LukeMMoney
