CITY COUNCIL WRAP-UP

July 20, 2007 12 AM PT

The following is from the Laguna Beach City Council meeting of July 10. Councilman Kelly Boyd was absent.

COUNCIL/STAFF CHAT

City Treasurer Laura Parisi reported that at the end of June 2007, the city’s preliminary, un-audited cash and investment balances exceeded $57 million with the related interest income at $1,991,000 or 77% over budget.

Landscaping and tidying up the medians on the widened and re-aligned Laguna Canyon Road has not been completed, according to an update given the council by City Manager Ken Frank.

The county is proceeding with the addition of a bicycle lane to the roadway between El Toro Road and the San Joaquin Hills toll road and another right turn lane at the road’s intersection with El Toro Road. Overhead utility lines are being removed.

Councilmember Schneider announced that the state Regional Water Quality Control Board San Diego Region, which has jurisdiction over part of Laguna Beach, will meet at 9 a.m., Sept. 11, in Mission Viejo. New permit standards that vitally affect the proposed SUPER project to clean up Aliso Creek will be discussed. “Anyone interested in seeing filtration and diversion used as a tool to clean up pollution should attend,” Schneider said.

CONSENT CALENDAR

EDITOR’S NOTE: Consent calendar items are 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:

General warrants of $3,576,653.45, disbursed June 14; $ 9,931.25 and $2,536.83, disbursed June 15; $9.293.50, disbursed June 19; $13,466, disbursed June 21; and Payroll 26 in the amount of $700,975.32, disbursed June 21.

Denial of a $100,000 claim filed by Eleanor E. Appleyard, referring it to the city’s claims adjuster. The sidewalk adjacent to 777 S. Coast Highway, where Appleyard fell, is entirely in the Caltrans right-of-way and there are no city trees in the area that could cause breakage of buckling of the sidewalk.

Resolution extending the Bluebird Canyon Emergency Declaration, which is valid for only 21 days and must be renewed

Approval of a seven-year Capital Improvement Program, necessary for Measure M funding and adoption of a resolution authorizing staff to file an application for Measure M funds for fiscal year 2007-08.

Rejection of all bids received June 27 for the North Coast Interceptor rehab program at Nyes Place. Staff said the bidding was tainted by disinformation distributed by a sub-contractor, which caused the general contractors to mistake a South Coast Water District pipe in South Laguna for the interceptor, which runs southward along North Coast Highway, for which it is named. New bids will be solicited.

Purchase of Allen-Bradley variable frequency drives for Bluebird and Laguna South Orange County Water Authority lift stations from One Source, cost not to exceed $106,000.

Resolutions to obtain federal financial assistance provided by the federal Department of Homeland Security and sub-granted through the state; to accept the authorized agents to sign documents on behalf of the City; and accept funding of $1,589 in an Emergency Management Performance Grant.

Acceptance of Community Development Block Grant funds in the amount of $15,000 for the city’s emergency cold weather shelter program for fiscal year 2007-08; authorization for the city manager to sign related contracts on behalf of the city; and increases in appropriations and revenues to match the grant.

Direction to the city manager to send a letter to Orange County Transportation Authority to:

1. Request the relocation of the OCTA bus stop on the southwest corner of N. Coast Highway at Cliff Drive to the northwest corner;

2. Install a stop sign on westbound West Street at Monterey Street; and

3. Impose parking restrictions for 20 feet on all eight corners of Mountain Road at Catalina Street; direction to staff to install single center line striping on Ocean View from the existing painted island at Monterey Street to 100 feet along Ocean View; and staff direction to install single center line striping on Alta Loma from the existing painted island at Holly Drive to 100 feet along Alta Loma.

RVS TO THE REAR 4-0

The council approved a Municipal Code amendment to require an administrative use permit to park recreational vehicles that are 20 feet long and six feet tall in back yards of residentially zoned properties.

Changes are to be forwarded to the California Coastal Commission for certification.

DEVELOPMENT FEES HIKED 4-0

Fees will be increased starting Oct. 1, for the first time since July 1, 2004. A review of the building department’s revenue in 2006-07, compared to its anticipated expensed in 2007-08, indicated a 9% shortfall if fees had stayed the same.

ACT V ANNEXATION 4-0

Annexation of the ACT V parcel in Laguna Canyon required the city to pre-zone the property. The council voted to amend the zoning from the county’s Tourist Commercial Planning Area to the city’s “Institutional” zoning designation.

The Institutional Zone provides for public, quasi-public and private institutional facilities, including civic, government and public utility buildings; educational, philanthropic and charitable institutions; child care, nurseries and pre-schools; public/private parks and playgrounds and long-term, low-income residential units.

Staff was directed to add an amendment to the boundaries and zoning in the Downtown Specific plan to the Planning Commission’s list of special projects.

DESIGN RECONSIDERATION 4-0

The council returned a project to the Design Review Board for reconsideration of its 3-2 denial of a permit to build a new 3,596 square-foot, single-family resident and attached two-car garage at 703 Nyes Place.

The board was directed to take into consideration the council’s comments on the project and comments made at the board’s May 3 meeting.

HEDGING PRIVACY 4-0

The council overturned the design board’s 4-1, retroactive legalization of modifications to a prior approval, made without a permit, including walls and terraces in the back yard and a hedge.

As approved by the council, the back terrace was limited to an elevation of 102.5 and hedges and fences to six feet.

Staff was directed to review the fines for the alleged nonpermitted construction, which the applicant said totaled $30,000.

CITY COUNCIL WRAP-UP

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