HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/16/2014 Minutes - Regular MeetingMINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014
CALL TO ORDER: Mayor Pro Tem Tye called the Regular City Council meeting
to order at 6:30 p.m. in the South Coast Air Quality Management
District/Government Center Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive, Diamond Bar, CA.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Council Member Lyons led the Pledge of
Allegiance.
INVOCATION: Sr. Pastor Tony Wong, Gateway Friends
Church gave the invocation.
ROLL CALL: Council Members Chang, Lyons, Tanaka, and
Mayor Pro Tem Tye.
Absent: Mayor Herrera was excused.
Staff Present: James DeStefano, City Manager; Ryan
McLean, Deputy City Manager; David DeBerry, City Attorney; David Liu, Public
Works Director; Bob Rose, Community Services Director; Dianna Honeywell,
Finance Director; Greg Gubman, Community Development Director; Amy Haug,
Human Resources Manager; Kimberly Young, Senior Civil Engineer; Cecilia
Arellano, Public Information Coordinator; and, Tommye Cribbins, City Clerk.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: As Presented.
1. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS, CERTIFICATES, PROCLAMATIONS:
None
2. CITY MANAGER REPORT AND RECOMMENDATIONS:
CM/DeStefano reported that it has been very hot for the last few
days and that on Monday, the LA County Public Health Officer
declared a health alert for the entire LA basin that will last through
tomorrow. He stated that within a 10 minute drive there are 22
public facilities in this area designated as cooling centers. Most are
in Los Angeles County from Claremont, Covina, Rowland Heights,
Hacienda Heights, Pomona, LaVerne as well as in the cities of
Chino, Chino Hills, Brea and Fullerton. Diamond Bar has one
cooling station - the County Library which is open Monday through
Saturday and possibly on Sunday if the County declares the center
to be a cooling station. For more details residents can go online to
the LA, Orange and San Bernardino County's website and search
for "cooling centers or call 211 within each of those counties for
more information.
2.1 Award of $10 million grant for the SR57160 Confluence Project
— Transportation infrastructure Generating Economic Recovery
Program (TIGER).
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 PAGE 2 CITY COUNCIL
CM/DeStefano announced that last week staff was notified that
Diamond Bar was the recipient of a $10 million Transportation
Investment Generating Economic Recovery Program grant award
(TIGER) for use during construction of the SR57160 Confluence
Project Improvements. PWD/Liu, staff and elected officials
including M/Herrera visited with local representatives and
legislators in Washington D.C., along with the City of Industry
officials, Caltrans officials, Metro officials and others toward
bringing these and many more resources to the City.
CM/DeStefano then introduced PWD/Liu and asked that he report
on this matter.
PWD/Liu stated that on September 9 the City was notified that a
Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery
program grant (TIGER) was awarded in the amount of $10 million
for the SR57160 Confluence Project. This TIGER grant program
was created by the 2009 Economic Stimulus Bill Grant Program
that allows states and cities to apply for funding for transportation
projects that have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan
area, or region. The application process was an incredibly
competitive process. This is the sixth year of the grant program
and the City's second try at pursuing this grant.
In this current grant cycle, $600 million dollars was appropriated.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $600 million
dollars worth of grants to 72 projects in 46 states and Washington
DC. These 72 projects were selected from 797 eligible applications
from 49 states with a grant request total of $9.5 billion. This grant
award firmly establishes the confluence project as a national priority
and validates all the hard work that both the City of Industry and
Diamond Bar have put forth. The grant will be matched with $4.5
million of LA County MTA funds, $10.6 million of City of Industry
funds, and $9.4 million of Federal funds, for a total of $34.5 million
to be used toward the confluence project. While the overall
SR57160 Confluence Project is valued at a cost of $256.4 million,
funds received to date will be used to implement the first three
phases of the project to accelerate congestion relief. Slated to
commence in 2016, the specific improvements include constructing
both westbound on/off ramps at Grand Avenue and adding auxiliary
lanes before and after the Grand Avenue interchange. Also
noteworthy is that the last unfunded Phase IV of this confluence
project will be the freeway mainline improvements and bypass
connector improvements estimated at a cost of $205.4 million. This
last phase, along with other missing components of the "Big Fix"
improvements is programmed in Metro's long-range transportation
plan slated for 2029. Vigorous efforts will continue to create
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 PAGE 3 CITY COUNCIL
funding strategies that may implement Phase IV sooner.
The City Council has made this project a top transportation priority for the
City to secure construction funding and completion of the "Big Fix"
improvements along the SR57/60 corridor. With the Council's leadership,
this is an incredible accomplishment for both the cities of Industry and
Diamond Bar through tireless work to bring this project to the awareness
and level of national significance.
3. PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Ruth Low spoke about the citywide program called "Read Together
Diamond Bar" which will take place every Wednesday in October and
sponsored by the Friends of the Library. It is designed for all ages. The
idea behind the program which is focused on the youth is that "the city that
opens a book together closes it in greater harmony".
The book for this year, chosen by the popularity of the Diamond Bar
Library voters is entitled True Notebooks by Mark Salzman. In addition,
the Friends of the Library is holding an essay contest for kids ages 13
through 18 and the winners will receive prizes such as a Kindle Fire and a
Kindle Paperwhite. On October 8th there will be an open -mike night for
kids; October 15 there will be a special movie night and on October 18
David Mao, Law Librarian of Congress who will be speaking on "Serving
Digital Natives in Libraries Today". On October 22 there will be a
discussion group and completion of the Diamond Bar Capsule.
Ms. Low stated that The Friends of the Library wished to thank the City of
Diamond Bar, Council Members and the City Manager for their support of
this project. The Friends also wish to thank the AAUW, Congressman Ed
Royce, The Diamond Bar Foundation and the many personal supporters
and community groups for bringing Mr. Mao to the Library.
Cassandra Maclnnis said she was present this evening to talk about the
responsibility the City has to the residents of "The Country Estates"
Homeowners Association with respect to Tentative Tract Map 53430 and
felt the matter needed to be revisited.
Theresa Lee, 22379 Kicking Horse Drive, said she appreciated the
Informational Meeting at the Diamond Bar Center regarding the
Millennium project; however, she is still confused and has more questions
and concerns about the project especially about the debris basin.
Mae Lou thanked staff for the Informational Meeting on the Millennium
Development. She said she and others submitted questions prior to the
deadline which were not addressed during the meeting and asked if the
City would be responding to the residents' questions. She also provided a
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 PAGE 4 CITY COUNCIL
letter to the Council
Athletes from Diamond Ranch High School invited Council Members and
residents to attend the school's American Cancer Society Football Night
on
October 10 at 7:00 p.m. in the school stadium. The school will be playing
against Charter Oak and would appreciate the City's support and invited
cancer survivors to attend the game at which time they will be honored for
their courage and strength.
4. RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMENTS:
MPT/Tye asked CM/DeStefano to respond to the comments made about
certain areas of Diamond Bar being treated differently because it is
important for residents to know that everyone in Diamond Bar is treated
equally, that in no way did this or previous City Council's "hoodwink"
anybody. He also requested a response to Ms. Lou's concern about the
number of questions that were submitted and if folks who submitted
questions via email would be answered.
CM/DeStefano said that a couple of interesting "hot" words were used by
the first speaker in order to generate a response. This project was
processed over many years. It was noticed to 180 of the approximate 875
property owners in late 2005 and early 2006 within "The Country Estates"
which represents all of the properties that were within 1000 feet of the 80 -
acre Millennium site which is the City's standard. Additionally, signs were
posted on the property as well as other types of required advertisement
that took place prior to the Planning Commission considering the matter
and forwarding its recommendation to the City Council. All of this was
done prior to the City Council hearing and final determination of the
matter. A thousand feet may or may not seem like the right number, but
for the public's edification, it is more than three times the requirement of
State law. The project was advertised and discussed in multiple public
meetings. "The Country Estates" was aware of the project and what board
members were in office at the time is unknown to him; however, the
homeowner's association was notified of the project at that time and they
were engaged in the process. The City has at least one piece of
correspondence on file that indicates that in March or May of 2005 the
General Manager acknowledged the access and the ability to travel the
routes of "The Country Estates" roadways.
Also, there has been reference in recent weeks to an annexation
agreement that was apparently under negotiation between the same
developer (Millennium) and "The Country Estates" either through the
General Manager and/or through the then Board of Directors in the years
2007/2008. That annexation agreement has been referenced as recently
as September 9, 2014 during the Tuesday evening Informational Meeting
SEPTEMBER 16. 2014 PAGE 5 CITY COUNCIL
hosted by City staff. Whether or not the current board, the current
management company and the current City Manager are aware, Diamond
Bar cannot speak to that. Therefore, it seems clear that members of "The
Country Estates" organization knew of the project from the beginning.
There was a comment made about a proposed retaining wall adjacent to
Alamo Heights and within proximity to a proposed debris basin with a
suggestion that the wall height has changed. The retaining wall and
debris basin were issues discussed during the public meetings in
December 2005 and early January 2006 that entered into the Council's
decision. At that time, the Planning Commission advised the City Council
and the City Council agreed with the Planning Commission's
recommendation, that the wall height should not exceed 15 feet. The City
Council ultimately approved it which means that the developer needs to
re-engineer the area and redesign the walls so that they do not exceed the
15 foot height requirement which would allow for more than one wall to be
built. The idea is that while moving earth in a manner that helps the
development to move forward it allows for the size of the wall to be
lessened, landscaping to be installed, and aesthetically, the wall to be
diminished in its prominence over time. An example of this type of
retaining wall is situated below the Vantage project which is the
condominium and single family home project above Target. Also, there
are a couple of walls that are being built at the Willow Heights/Site
D/Lennar project which those walls will be landscaped and eventually
covered with landscaping in the same manner the Vantage wall has been
covered. Should the Millennium project proceed to construction, that wall
would look similar with its landscaping.
There are apparently one or two easements that have been agreed upon
amongst private parties who own land on Kicking.Horse for purposes of
developing the debris basin adjacent to the future extension of Alamo
Heights. Those are private party matters. Staff was asked at the public
meeting last Tuesday night to inquire with "The Country Estates" as to
whether or not an easement such as that between private parties would
require any sort of approval from "The Country Estates". Staff was told
today by the General Manager that it is not a requirement of "The Country
Estates"; however, the debris basin is a structure that "The Country
Estates" Architectural Committee must be allowed to review and must
approve before construction can proceed.
Another question had to do with the questions given to staff prior to the
deadline before the meeting. As the City Council is aware, staff hosted an
Informational Meeting for "The Country Estates" community for which all
property owners within "The Country Estates" were notified. Staff sent out
close to 900 notices. There were about 250 attendees and the purpose of
the meeting was to provide information to help "The Country Estates" with
factually supportable information, to help residents understand the project,
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 PAGE 6 CITY COUNCIL
to help alleviate concerns, and to help deal with rumor and innuendo
about the project and its components. Staff responded to the areas of
questions staff received weeks prior to the meeting as well as, to those
questions submitted prior to the September 9 meeting deadline and
attempted to answer questions posed on Tuesday night (September 9) as
well. Staff is now looking at all of the questions it received in writing and
will respond to those questions that staff has not already responded to in
writing or by referencing the meeting. The PowerPoint presentation that
was provided on Tuesday night, September 9 is on the City's website as
of September 10 and so too is the audio tape of the meeting on the City's
website as of today, September 16. In a couple of weeks staff will have a
written view of what occurred at that meeting.
With respect to the public trail that was "never disclosed" the public trail
system, as discussed Tuesday evening, has been in existence for many
years. The easement for the trail has been "on the map" of the Millennium
property as well as, other properties in the so-called back area of "The
Country Estates" for many, many years. The prior subdivisions that were
referenced at the last City Council meeting, at Tuesday night's meeting
and again tonight — the Crystal Ridge project, Horizon Lane Jerry Yeh
project, are all adjacent to or a part of this trail system. Again, the trail has
been mapped for many years and the trail was realigned to work within
and around those projects, which is the same type of alignment that would
be taking place with the Millennium project. In 2006 the City Council, in its
approval of the project, approved a draft of a new trail alignment that is
different than what is actually mapped on the property today and there are
residents who are concerned about the new proposed route. Staff is
looking at that and has stated and stated again on September 9 that staff
will work with the County and the developer to realign and attempt to
alleviate the concerns "The Country Estates" residents have raised
regarding the alignment of the trail through the Millennium project. The
trail exists, can be hiked, and is a part of the Trails Master Plan system for
LA County which was discussed again on Tuesday night along with a
presentation of four slides showing the mapped trail as it currently exists.
5. SCHEDULE OF FUTURE EVENTS:
5.1 Planning Commission Meeting — September 23, 2014 — 7:00 p.m.,
Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive — (may be
canceled due to lack of quorum).
5.2 Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting — September 25, 2014
— 7:00 p.m., Windmill Community Room, 21810 Copley Drive.
5.3 City Council Meeting — October 7, 2014 - 6:30 p.m., SCAQMD
Auditorium, 21865 Copley Drive.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 PAGE 7 CITY COUNCIL
6. CONSENT CALENDAR: C/Lyons moved, C/Tanaka seconded, to
approve the Consent Calendar as presented. Motion carried by the
following Roll Call vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: Chang, Lyons, Tanaka, MPT/Tye
NOES: COUNCIL MEMBERS: None
ABSENT: COUNCIL MEMBERS: M/Herrera
6.1 APPROVED CITY COUNCIL MINUTES:
6.1.1 Study Session of August 19, 2014.
6.1.2 Regular Meeting of August 19, 2014.
6.2 RECEIVED AND FILED PARKS AND RECREATION
COMMISSION MINUTES — Regular Meeting of July 24, 2014.
6.3 RECEIVED AND FILED PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES —
Regular Meeting Minutes for July 22, 2014.
6.4 RATIFIED CHECK REGISTER — Dated August 28, 2014 through
September 10, 2014 totaling $694,926.20.
6.5 APPROVED TREASURER'S STATEMENT — Month of July 2014.
6.6 AWARDED CONTRACT TO TAMANG ELECTRIC, INC. FOR
CONSTRUCTION OF THE GENERATOR ENCLOSURE
PROJECT AT CITY HALL (21810 COPLEY DRIVE) IN THE
AMOUNT OF $83,880 PLUS A CONTINGENCY AMOUNT OF
$4,194 (5%) FOR A TOTAL AUTHORIZATION OF $88,074.
6.7 APPROVED AMENDMENT #1 TO THE CONSULTING SERVICES
AGREEMENT WITH THE COMDYN GROUP, INC. DATED JULY
1, 2012, FOR AS -NEEDED INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
SERVICES FOR AN AMOUNT NOT -TO -EXCEED $110,000 TO
AN AMOUNT NOT -TO -EXCEED $130,920.23, FOR THE PERIOD
OF JULY 1, 2012 THROUGH JUNE 30, 2015.
6.8 AWARDED CONTRACT TO ICG, INC. IN AN AMOUNT NOT -TO -
EXCEED $60,000 FOR THE CONCEPTUAL DESIGN FOR THE
REHABILITATION OF HERITAGE PARK AND COMMUNITY
CENTER; PLUS APPROPRIATED $10,000 OF PARK
DEVELOPMENT FUNDS TO FULLY FUND THE CONCEPTUAL
DESIGN OF THIS PROJECT.
6.9 FISCAL YEAR 2014-2015 APPROPRIATION ADJUSTMENTS
FOR CARRY FORWARD EXPENDITURES, SPECIAL REVENUE
FUNDS CARRYOVERS, CAPITAL PROJECT CARRYOVERS
AND FISCAL YEAR 2013- 2014 FINAL ADJUSTMENTS.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 PAGE 8 CITY COUNCIL
F-1
a
6.10 AWARDED CONTRACT TO ELITE OFFICIALS TO OFFICIATE
THE CITY OF DIAMOND BAR YOUTH AND ADULT BASKETBALL
PROGRAMS FOR THE PERIOD OF SEPTEMBER 16, 2014
THROUGH JUNE 30, 2015 IN AN AMOUNT NOT -TO -EXCEED
$35,000.
6.11 APPROVED NOTICE OF COMPLETION FOR THE CASTLE
ROCK ROAD AND CROOKED CREEK DRIVE NEIGHBORHOOD
TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT PROGRAM PROJECT.
6.12 a) APPROVED AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO THE RIGHT-OF-WAY
COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF INDUSTRY
AND STATE OF CALIFORNIA THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT
OF TRANSPORTATION (CALTRANS) FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW FREEWAY INTERCHANGE AT
LEMON AVENUE ON STATE ROUTE 60.
b) APPROVED ADVERTISE, AWARD AND ADMINISTER
(AAA) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH THE SUCCESSOR
AGENCY TO THE INDUSTRY URBAN DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA THROUGH THE
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (CALTRANS) FOR THE
CONSTRUCTION OF A NEW FREEWAY INTERCHANGE AT
LEMON AVENUE ON STATE ROUTE 60.
6.13 ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2014-39: APPROVING FINAL
TRACT MAP NO. 72295, FOR THE SUBDIVISION OF A 30 -ACRE
SITE INTO 182 RESIDENTIAL UNITS, LOCATED AT THE
SOUTHEAST CORNER OF DIAMOND BAR BOULEVARD AND
BREA CANYON ROAD (KNOWN AS THE WILLOW HEIGHTS
RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT) IN THE CITY OF DIAMOND
BAR.
PUBLIC HEARING: None
COUNCIL CONSIDERATION: None
COUNCIL SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS AND MEETING ATTENDANCE
REPORTS!COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS:
C/Chang stated that residents can follow her on various social media
sites. She then reported that she had attended the League of California
Cities annual conference in Los Angeles. She congratulated Diamond Bar
Community Heroes Eileen Ansari, Andy Shin and Serena Avila -Mott, all of
whom were honored at the Diamond Bar Day at the Fair on September
11, 2014. She congratulated the cities of Diamond Bar and Industry for
the $10 million TIGER grant. Every City Council Member has worked on
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 PAGE 9 CITY COUNCIL
this issue and the morning of September 9 she received texts from
Congressman Royce's office and the City of Industry about the grant. This
is a huge accomplishment for two cities to have won this grant.
Congratulations and thank you to City staff for the hard work on the City's
behalf.
C/Tanaka reported that on Wednesday, August 20 he attended the
Contract Cities Association's dinner meeting, a Neighborhood Watch
meeting on Gold Rush on Monday, the LA County Fair Premier Fundraiser
on August 28 and on Wednesday, September 3 he attended the Maple
Hill Elementary School Grand Re -opening and Ribbon Cutting. On
September 5 he attended the Wildlife Corridor Conservation meeting
(teleconference) during which several items were discussed including an
update on residential developments in Whittier and Chino Hills. He went
on to report that on Sunday, September 7, he attended the Pacific Crest
Youth Arts program 2014 awards luncheon where scholarships were
presented. Last Thursday he attended Diamond Bar Day at the LA
County Fair which began with a business expo, a kid's expo and reception
honoring Sheriffs Deputies, Firefighters and a U.S. Army Captain. He
congratulated Eileen Ansari, Serena Villa -Mott and Andy Shin on being
recognized as community heroes. The event concluded with the
community parade.
Last Sunday he attended an Eagle Scout Court of Honor for Troop 8888
during which six scouts were recognized. He congratulated Diamond
Bar's two newest Eagle Scouts, Derek Hung and Jason Chien.
C/Lyons said she too was excited to learn about the $10 million grant that
would help move the SR57/60 Confluence forward. Although she is the
newest Council Member and has attended only a couple of meetings on
this subject, she knows that Council Members who have preceded her
have worked very hard, especially Mayor Herrera, CM/DeStefano and City
staff. As residents what we will most appreciate about this project is that
drivers will not only be able to get through the SR57160 area more quickly,
it will keep traffic on the freeway rather than spilling off onto the City
streets.
She attended the Maple Hill Elementary School Grand Re -opening. The
school has always had great staff, great students and great parents and
now it finally has a great facility to compliment it. Diamond Bar Day at the
Fair was fabulous and she thanked the fair committee for its work and City
staff for all of their hard work on the event. She thanked staff for holding
the Informational Meeting on the Millennium project. 250-300 participants
out of 890 residents indicate how interested the residents were to learn
more about the development and its history. As one speaker said, the
meeting went from a planned two-hour meeting to a three hour meeting.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 PAGE 10 CITY COUNCIL
MPT/Tye said he did not believe there was any better news than being
awarded the TIGER grant. It is very interesting that people in Washington
are sending money back to the cities to fix this problem and that they have
committees that come up with euphemisms like "TIGER." The folks that
travel the area every day would most likely attest to the fact that it is the
seventh most congested interchange in the United States and wondered
how it did not make the top five. It will get worse before it gets better but
now help is on the way and it is on the horizon to get better. Thanks to
Congressman Royce for being instrumental in getting Representative Bill
Shuster who heads the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee and Secretary, of Transportation Anthony Foxx to come to
Diamond Bar and see the situation for themselves. Congressman Shuster
said it was different to stand on this bridge and watch these semis and
cars weave back and forth and listen to the noise. It is much different to
see it in person and feel the bridge rumble than it is for him to see a report
in Washington D.C. on a project about which he knew nothing. It was a
great effort by everyone. -When he accompanied M/Herrera in 2006/2007
to work with folks in Washington he realized M/Herrera had been at this
for 10 years and staff had been at it diligently from the beginning. In
2006/2007 it was not that nothing had been accomplished
it was that the City continued to make its case and continued to let
Washington know about all of the goods that are coming through this area
from Long Beach and Los Angeles Ports on the way to the Inland Empire
and the rest of the United States. Everyone is glad that Washington finally
realized that it is a national problem that deserves their attention and
funding. He liked what PWD/Liu said, that it signifies that this project has
national significance. He looks forward to the
day when he can wake up in the morning and know that the SR57/60
interchange is no longer a problem.
ADJOURNMENT: With no further business to conduct, MPT/Tye
adjourned the City Council Meeting at 7:25 p.m.
Toi mye Cribbins, City Clerk
The foregoing minutes are hereby approved this 7th day of October
2014.
Steve Tye, Mayorl Pro Tem
