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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/7/2006 Minutes - Regular Meeting1 1 CITY OF DIAMOND BAR CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION NOVEMBER 7, 2006 STUDY SESSION: M/Herrera called the Study Session to order at 6:20 p.m. in Room CC -8 of the South Coast Air Quality Management District/Government Center, 21865 Copley Dr., Diamond Bar, CA. Present: Council Members Chang, Tanaka, Tye and Mayor Herrera. Mayor Pro Tem Zirbes was excused. Also Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; Michael Jenkins, City Attorney; David Doyle, Asst. City Manager; David Liu, Public Works Director; Ken Desforges, IS Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Nancy Fong, Community Development Director; Linda Magnuson, Finance Director; Ryan McLean_, Senior Management Analyst and Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk. M UPDATE ON BUSINESS REGISTRATION AND BUSINESS LICENSING: Due to lack of time for proper discussion, M/Herrera continued the item to the November 21, 2006 study session. PUBLIC COMMENTS: None Offered. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to come before the City Council, M/Herrera adjourned the Study Session at 6:22 p.m. ti TOMM E CRIBBINS, City Clerk The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 21st day of November , 2006. CAROL HERRERA, Mayor 1 1 1 MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR NOVEMBER 7, 2006 CLOSED SESSION: 5:30 p.m., Room CC -8 Public Comments on Closed Session Agenda: ► Government Code Section 54956.9(a) — Pending Litigation — Two cases 1) Diamond Bar v. Southern California Edison LLACSCC — No. BC351266 2) People of the State of California v. Ratan Hospitality, LLS (Scribbles) Case No. BC351925 ► Government Code Section 54956.8 — Conference with Real Property Negotiators Property Negotiations: Identified as: Closed Session adjourned at 6:20 p.m. STUDY SESSION: City of Industry APN 8269008270 APN 8269050026 APN 8269053024 6:20 p.m., Room CC -8 ► Update on Business Registration and Business Licensing — Continued to November 21, 2006. Study Session adjourned at 6:22 p.m. CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Herrera called the Regular City Council meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in The Government Center/SCAQMD Auditorium, 21865 Copley Dr., Diamond Bar, CA. CA/Jenkins reported that the Closed Session was called to order at 5:30 p.m. There were no public comments, no additions and no reportable actions taken. The Closed Session was adjourned at approximately 6:20 p.m. IVl/Herrera reported that because the Closed Session concluded at 6:20 p.m. the discussion on Business Registration and Business Licensing was continued to November 21, 2006. The Study Session was adjourned at 6:22 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: M/Herrera led the Pledge of Allegiance. INVOCATION: None Offered. NOVEMBER 7, 2006 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL ROLL CALL: Council Members Chang, Tanaka, Tye, and Mayor Herrera. Mayor Pro Tem Zirbes was excused. Staff Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; Michael Jenkins, City Attorney; David Doyle, Assistant City Manager; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; David Liu, Public Works Director; Linda Magnuson, Finance Director; Nancy Fong, Community Development Director; Ken Desforges, IS Director; Ryan McLean, Senior Management Analyst; Alfredo Estevez, Desktop Support Technician, and Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented. 2. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS: 1.1 Slide presentation by Susanne Kluh, Vector Ecologist with the Greater Los Angeles County Vector Control District regarding West Nile Virus. Ms. Kluh acknowledged that Dexter MacBride, the City Council's designee was also present. Ms. Kluh and M/Herrera recognized Dexter MacBride for his faithful service to the City of D.B. 1.2 Presentation regarding construction update by President Christopher C. O'Hearn, Mt. San Antonio College. President O'Hearn thanked Dexter MacBride for his years of service on the Board of Trustees. C/Chang and C/Tye thanked President O'Hearn for his dedication and service to the community. BUSINESS OF THE MONTH: 1.3 M/Herrera presented a Certificate Plaque to Eli Elmi, Assistant Branch Manager, Wells Fargo Bank, 1150 S. Diamond Bar Boulevard, as New Business of the Month for November 2006. 2. CITY MANAGER REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: 2.1 Presentation by David Liu, Public Works Director regarding night work on Grand Avenue — PWD/Liu reported that night work on the Grand Avenue project will commence on Sunday, November 5 and was expected to continue through Friday, November 10. The night work involves grinding the existing pavement and installation of new pavement. The permitted hours of night work is between 8:30 p.m. and 5:30 a.m. Prior to commencement of night work, notices were distributed to all affected businesses and homeowner's associations along Grand Ave. Beginning next week the remaining work (striping, landscaping and utilities) will move forward with completion anticipated by the end of December. NOVEMBER 7, 2006 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL 3. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mary Matson said she was very upset about what was happening in the Country Hills Towne Center. Only one building has been demolished and now Mr. McCarthy is evicting the tenants who have served the community for a number of years. She thought the purpose of economic development was to bring in new business and retain existing businesses. She said she would not patronize the center. Eileen Ansari said it was a privilege to vote and urged everyone to participate. D.B. needs a library. She felt that Mr. McCarthy broke the bridge of faith with his Country Hills Towne Center project because he has not continued with tenant improvements and has, in fact, given 30 -day notices to his tenants indicating they would have to leave the center or pay three times their current rent. She felt Council should send a letter to Mr. McCarthy admonishing him and seeking his cooperation with existing businesses. She also urged the Chamber of Commerce to speak with Mr. McCarthy about being business -friendly. Marie Buckland said she was very angry about what had happened at the Country Hills Towne Center and as a result, residents had presented CM/DeStefano with petition signatures. She asked the Council to talk reason with Mr. McCarthy. Kathleen Newe said that a recent anti -campaign ad indicated that the Friends of the Library were to be given 2000 sq. ft. in the new library. As a voter trying to make an informed decision she would have been curious about how this space was to be used. The Friends of the Library run "Basically Books" staffed by more than 30 volunteers and all money received go directly to support the Diamond Bar Library. Since there is insufficient room and parking for a bookstore in the current facility the plan was to move the bookstore to the new library building. She admonished M/Herrera and C/Tye for their lack of support on Measure L. �f. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS: CM/DeStefano responded to speakers with respect to the Country Hills Towne Center stating that the lack of progress had been a source of frustration to the City and most particularly, to the Economic Development Subcommittee of the City Council. In former days the center was growing and was a major source of commerce for the southerly portion of the City. Over the years, market characteristics, pressures for more contemporary shopping centers, overall business decisions, etc. have obviously changed the course, focus and nature of the center. D.B. lost Alpha Beta due to grocery store mergers. Prior to that, Bank of America was lost to corporate mergers. Both chose to move to more heavily traveled shopping centers. Many businesses were lost to lack of business and to bankruptcies. The former owner kept the shopping center clean while vacancies occurred but was unsuccessful in retaining tenants and very unsuccessful in attracting NOVEMBER 7, 2006 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL new tenants including a new grocery store operator. Ralph's still controlled the grocery store lease and blocked any other grocery store from coming into the center, a tactic to discourage competition. It was not until recently when Mr. McCarthy bought out the Ralph's lease that he was able to free up the space for a new grocery store operator. There have been many small and large businesses come and go from the center. Developers looked at the location as a possible residential site. There were numerous discussions about a variety of business possibilities with the new owner but for a variety of reasons grocery stores desirable to residents chose not to locate in the center and other ancillary businesses also chose not to come into the center. Mr. McCarthy devised a battle plan about two years ago that involved a specialty grocery store. With that presentation to the Planning Commission and City Council there was always an understanding that once the project was approved new tenants would be coming in, that existing tenants might be relocated and that things would change. The project was approved without the office building until there was evidence and completion of the retail development now underway. The development has taken much longer than anticipated and from staffs perspective and from the City Council's perspective it could not be more frustrating. At this point H Mart has received its building permits and is scheduled to commence shell construction shortly. H Mart has not yet received approval for tenant improvements for the grocery operation. Assuming H Mart gets its approval soon it is likely to take six to nine months to build the grocery store. All tenants were offered lease renewals and some of the larger tenants such as Rite-Aid and Radio Shack have accepted the extensions. HSBC is open as is a pizza operation; Starbucks is in City Hall for development of a new store at the old Wherehouse Records location. It is true that some of the smaller tenants were offered leases at a substantially higher rate. CM/DeStefano said he spoke with Mr. McCarthy at the end of last week and Mr. McCarthy indicated that the month-to-month leaseholders are operating at lease rates that are about a third of the marketplace and Mr. McCarthy's desire is to update those lease rates. In many cases that results in a tripling of the rate. The argument was made that it might make more sense to renegotiate leases once new stores had opened up bringing new businesses into the shopping center generating more customer traffic and revenue. Mr. McCarthy has chosen to make the lease changes at this time. CM/DeStefano said he had a specific conversation with Mr. McCarthy regarding the November 20 date for My Jewelers and Mr. McCarthy responded that there had been ongoing negotiations for many months and that the termination of the negotiations resulted in Mr. McCarthy leasing out the My Jewelers space to another nail salon. The current nail salon also chose not to accept the new lease terms and decided to leave the center. Mr. McCarthy has made business decisions to move his shopping center forward and there will most probably not be a host of new tenants for several more months. Mr. McCarthy said he would be willing to talk further once he had more new tenants in the center, about 30 days from now. Mr. McCarthy said it was unfortunate that some of the older tenants decided to move away from the center but he was not willing to change any of his current operating NOVEMBER 7, 2006 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL plans in order to accommodate the current tenants. CM/DeStefano explained that he indicated to Mr. McCarthy that the City was very frustrated and concerned about what was occurring at the Country Hills Towne Center and that the loss small town character and businesses that had been in the City for decades was greatly affecting residents and was not endearing him to the community. Mr. McCarthy indicated it would get better but that those types of decisions were made and he was moving forward. What can the City do? The City can indicate in a more meaningful tone through letters encouraging the Chamber of Commerce to get involved. He said he did not believe those actions would, however, help the current situation and, it would not help to keep My Jewelers in its current location unless a new lease could be negotiated and that is a private party matter - the City does not get involved in those types of business decisions between private parties. The City is very interested in economic development, bringing new business into the City, retaining existing businesses and growing businesses that have been developed successfully within the community. And the City gets involved when it can. D.B. does not have as many tools as some cities to assist. In this case, all the City can do is to try and persuade Mr. McCarthy to make better D.B. based decisions in the future. M/Herrera stated that the City Council is very concerned and upset. The Council has individually and collectively spoken with the property owner but legally, the City has no ability to force any action. M/Herrera addressed Kathleen Newe regarding the information sent to residents regarding Measure L. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS: 5.1 TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION — November 9, 2006 — 7:00 p.m., AQMD/Government Center Hearing Board Room, 21865 Copley Dr. 5.2 VETERAN'S DAY — November 10, 2006 — City Offices will be closed in observance of the Veteran's Day Holiday. City Offices will reopen on Monday, November 13, 2006. 5.3 PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING — November 14, 2006 — 7:00 p.m., AQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Dr. 5.4 PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION MEETING — November 16, 2006 — 7:00 p.m., AQMD/Government Center Hearing Board ' Room, 21865 Copley Dr. 5.5 SUNDAY AT THE CENTER — November 19, 2006 — 10:00 a.m. — 4:00 p.m., 1600 S. Grand Ave., Diamond Bar, CA 91765. NOVEMBER 7, 2006 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL 5.6 CITY COUNCIL MEETING — November 21, 2006 — 6:30 p.m., AQMD/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Dr. 6. CONSENT CALENDAR: C/Chang moved, C/Tye seconded to approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Motion carried by the following Roll Call: AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Tanaka, Tye, M/Herrera NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: MPT/Zirbes 6.1 APPROVED CITY COUNCIL MINUTES — Regular Meeting of October 17, 2006 — As Submitted. 6.2 RECEIVED AND FILED PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES - Regular Meeting of September 26, 2006. 6.3 RECEIVED AND FILED TRAFFIC AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION MINUTES — Regular Meeting of June 8, 2006. 6.4 RATIFIED WARRANT REGISTER—containing checks dated October 13, 2006 through November 1, 2006 for a total amount of $818,280.25. 6.5 APPROVED TREASURER'S STATEMENT for September 2006 and REVISED TREASURER'S STATEMENTS for June, July and August 2006. 6.6 DENIED CLAIM — filed by Seong Park on May 4, 2006. 6.7 APPROVED AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO THE CONSULTING SERVICES AGREEEMENT WITH BONTERRA TO INCREASE THE CONTRACT AMOUNT BY $319,843 FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MITIGATION MONITORING AND RESTORATION PLANNING PROGRAM FOR APPROVED VESTING TENTATIVE TRACT MAP NO. 53670, A JERRY YEH RESIDENTIAL PROJECT. 7. PUBLIC HEARINGS: None 8. COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: None 9. COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS/COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS: C/Tanaka listed the many meetings and events he attended: A meeting regarding batting cages at Pantera Park; Festival of Authors at the Diamond Bar Center; read for several characters in an old time radio show hosted by the Library; ribbon -cutting ceremony for Solar Link; the League of California Cities LA County Division meeting; PUSD Board meetings; Red Ribbon NOVEMBER 7, 2006 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL C/Tye said that becoming an elected official was an interesting learning experience and one thing he learned early on is that some people are disappointed and some people are elated with what an elected official does. He said it was a big disappointment for him regarding information that he shared with the community that he felt was not in any way negative. In fact, he felt it was necessary to set the record straight. C/Tanaka and he can relate to what it was like to go through a special campaign and it might be unique to run twice in one year. To knock on thousands of doors and talk with people and tell them how you feel about things only to have someone months later believe that something different is true is incumbent upon him to protect his integrity to set the record straight. If any apology is owed it is owed by the professional consultants that the proponents of Measure L used who chose to imply in flyer after flyer that the full Council supported Measure L. He said it was a classic Catch-22. Before he was elected to the City Council he heard proponents of a new library beg that the issue be put to a vote. As a result he asked staff to research the matter and determine how it could be put to a vote. And, he agreed with M/Herrera and MPT/Zirbes that it was a very divisive matter that the public needed to decide. However, a unanimous vote to place the matter on the ballot does not imply unanimous Week assemblies at Armstrong, Diamond Point Elementary, Lorbeer Middle School and Pantera; Senior Citizens' Halloween Dinner and Dance. He served as a celebrity waiter for the YMCA fundraiser. He attended the Senior Citizens' Multi -Cultural Day hosted by the City; the Fall Fun Festival sponsored for 2-8 year olds. He further reported that the first phase of the Vantage Home project has been completed. On Thursday, November 2, the Read Together Diamond Bar Challenge was held with four middle schools participating. On Friday D.B. 4 -Youth in Action held its second middle school dance, which was a huge success with more than 200 students attending; The D.B. 4 -Youth continues to meet working on their bylaws and buy in from the WVSD. This morning he participated in the City's Veteran Recognition program. He stated that from time to time individuals have different opinions and everyone needs to work for the betterment of the community, exhibit leadership and have vision for the City and for the residents. He said he was sorry that the City could not help keep long time businesses like My Jewelers in the Country Hills Towne Center. He thanked Carl and Nicole for providing their business to D.B. during the past 25 years. C/Tanaka also stated that he works with many youth groups in the City and because they cannot vote they rely on adults to do the right thing for them. Many individuals he has spoken with feel the City needs a larger and bigger library than the existing facility. He wished that the Council could have worked together to give residents a better plan to build a larger library. If the bond measure passes he hoped that the Council could work on what can be done to bring those huge numbers down and if it doesn't pass, then work together to bring down the costs with some partnerships. The City needs to go out for bids and work together to do what is best for everyone. We have all stated that we need a new library. It can happen if we all work together. This Council needs to work for the good and betterment of the community as a whole. C/Tye said that becoming an elected official was an interesting learning experience and one thing he learned early on is that some people are disappointed and some people are elated with what an elected official does. He said it was a big disappointment for him regarding information that he shared with the community that he felt was not in any way negative. In fact, he felt it was necessary to set the record straight. C/Tanaka and he can relate to what it was like to go through a special campaign and it might be unique to run twice in one year. To knock on thousands of doors and talk with people and tell them how you feel about things only to have someone months later believe that something different is true is incumbent upon him to protect his integrity to set the record straight. If any apology is owed it is owed by the professional consultants that the proponents of Measure L used who chose to imply in flyer after flyer that the full Council supported Measure L. He said it was a classic Catch-22. Before he was elected to the City Council he heard proponents of a new library beg that the issue be put to a vote. As a result he asked staff to research the matter and determine how it could be put to a vote. And, he agreed with M/Herrera and MPT/Zirbes that it was a very divisive matter that the public needed to decide. However, a unanimous vote to place the matter on the ballot does not imply unanimous NOVEMBER 7, 2006 PAGE 8 CITY COUNCIL support for a new tax. He said he had a belly full of people saying "how could you not be for education, how could you not be for the children, how could you not be for libraries?" None of those statements are true. When he hears that libraries are good for education and good for children and good for property values he says "thank God we have a library" and that is lost in the conversation. He felt it was incumbent upon him to set the record straight because when individuals get a flyerthat has a picture of five Council people above the panel for absentee voter registration that says "Yes on L" the implication to him is very clear — five Council Members support the issue which is not true and which was misleading. In fact, proponents of Measure L. should distance themselves from the group and from the professional that put together such misleading information. When this campaign started, he said he hoped that he would not see any political information that said he supported Measure L because he did not. He loves the library— he does not support the tax. He made the decision early on not to sign the argument against Measure L in the voter's pamphlet and not to put any information out about how he felt about Measure L. He did not use his position to campaign against the issue, he wanted to stay out of the issue and let the voters decide. And what happens? The proponents of Measure L used his picture and said it was a unanimous decision. So they leave it to the voters to decide what exactly was unanimous. The only thing that was unanimous was the vote to place Measure L on the ballot. That does not commit any Council Member to vote for a tax. It is up to the public. For many years he has trusted the voters to be bright enough to do the right thing and he trusts voters to do that tonight. If it passes the City will live with the mandate and make arrangements to implement the will of the people. And if it does not pass he hopes that the City can move on to other business of the City. He offered kudos to CSD/Rose and staff for a terrific Haunted House. Red Ribbon week was a unique treat. He said it was clear to him that Deputy Wright was the most popular deputy in town, at least with the school kids. He wished Carl Maclntyre had come forward tonight to speak because the community looked forward to having My Jeweler return to D.B. C/Chang spoke about the meeting regarding installation of batting cages. The Authors Festival hosted by the Friends of the Library was a wonderful event and well attended. Veterans Day Recognition Day honoring service men and women has become a bigger and better event. The joining together of the four senior groups exemplifies unity and celebrates diversity. He said he felt sorry about events at the Country Hills Towne Center. The City works hard to keep its businesses and attract new businesses. The property owner asked for help from the City to expedite the process for the renovation. The City stepped up to the plate and granted his wishes and he felt the situation required more pressure on Mr. McCarthy and said he would give him a call to see what could be done to better provide for the community. The reason the City Council wanted to put Measure L on the ballot was to give the residents an opportunity to make its decision. He felt that people should be allowed to express their opinions without being threatened with ejection from the City Council meeting. NOVEMBER 7, 2006 PAGE 9 CITY COUNCIL M/Herrera said she disagreed with C/Chang's statement because the Mayor is responsible for keeping order during the meeting. While residents, non- residents and business people are welcome to make comments the Council meeting is a business meeting and anything that interferes with the business meeting interferes with the Council's primary job. It is not an abuse of position or power when the Mayor is trying to maintain order and curtail personal attacks. Regarding the question about why she voted to put Measure L on the ballot, as C/Tye stated it is the right of the residents and taxpayers to decide what they wish to pay in taxes. It is not the right nor is it the job of the City Council to decide how much residents should pay in taxes. Something that did not come out during the campaign was the residents are already paying about $1.2 million in taxes for the current library. There was ongoing pressure from Friends of the Library and other individuals for the Council to put the matter on the ballot to let the people decide and so Council did exactly that which does not mean that all Council Members were in favor of the additional tax. Tomorrow D.B. will know whether the measure passed or failed thus setting the City's direction. M/Herrera commended CSD/Rose and his staff for a wonderful effort bringing together the senior's multi -cultural event and today's wonderful Veterans Day celebration. She quoted from the program: "It's the soldier, not the reporter who has given us freedom of the press. It's the soldier, not the poet who has given us freedom of speech. It's the soldier, not the politicians who ensures our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It's the soldier who salutes the flat who serves beneath the flag and whose coffin is draped by the flag." And those were the people we honored today. ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, M/Herrera adjourned the Regular City Council meeting at 8:10 p.m. in memory and honor of the five firefighters who lost their lives fighting the Esperanz fire. TOMMYt CRIBBINS, CITY CLERK The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 21stday of November , 2006. CAROL HERRERA, MAYOR 1