14-J
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
ATTENTION: Jeffrey L. Stewart, City Manager
FROM: Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to approve the Minutes of the May 23, 2022, Special Meeting of the City Council.
DATE: June 27, 2022
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
None
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Approve the May 23, 2022, Special Meeting Minutes; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
ATTACHMENT
Minutes of the May 23, 2022, Special Meeting… ........................ ………………………… 2
1 MINUTES
CITY OF BELLFLOWER
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BELLFLOWER CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY, MAY 23, 2022, 10:00 A.M.
BELLFLOWER CITY HALL – COUNCIL CHAMBERS
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION
The City Council Chambers was open to the public. Per the Los Angeles County Health Officer Order effective March 4, 2022, it was strongly recommended, but not required, to wear a face covering when inside Bellflower City Hall.
1 CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Dunton called the Special Meeting to order at 3:31 p.m.
2 ROLL CALL
The following Members of the City Council responded present to roll call.
Mayor Ray Dunton
Mayor Pro Tem Sonny R. Santa Ines
Council Member Raymond Y. Hamada
Council Member Dan Koops
Council Member Victor A. Sanchez
Staff Participants:
Jeffrey L. Stewart, City Manager
Karl H. Berger, City Attorney
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Travis Sais, Assistant to the City Manager
Jennifer Poole-Eidd, Management Assistant
3 PUBLIC COMMENTS
John Butts, resident, 1) asked what the Underutilized Commercial Property Tax would be used for; 2) expressed the opinion that if commercial properties are taxed more, that it woud drive more businesses out of the state; and 3) expressed the opinion that 70 percent of the people that are employed by city, state, and government sustained by 30 percent now is not sustainable.
2 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A May 23, 2022 Page 2 of 5
4 STUDY SESSION
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session on potential ballot measures for the November 2022 ballot: 1) Underutilized Commercial Property Tax; and 2) City Charter.
City Manager Stewart introduced the item and stated that the purpose of the meeting was to 1) clarify the questions that Council Members had on the matter; and 2) have a discussion with Consultant Richard Bernard of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3), who is in attendance, relative to the potential viability of one, both, or none of the measures proposed for the November 2022 ballot.
Assistant to the City Manager Sais 1) gave a PowerPoint presentation providing an update of the potential ballot measures for the November 2022 ballot ; and 2) along with Consultant Bernard, City Attorney Berger, and City Manager Stewart, responded to Council Members’ questions.
For the record, 1) Assistant to the City Manager Sais stated that the tax was renamed the “Vacant Commercial Property Tax” for clarity, as it would address vacant properties; and 2) City Manager Stewart stated that according to the law the potential ballot measure would appear to be a parcel tax, which would require a 66 percent voter approval, and he wanted to make sure the City Council was aware of that prior to discussion.
Mayor Dunton stated that 1) the initial discussion began with Code Enforcement fees and it had morphed into a larger tax category, which was not the original intention; 2) noted that this endeavor initially focused on vacant land, changed to vacant buildings, and now more; and 3) expressed concerns in the current economic climate for potentially more vacant buildings.
At the request of Council Member Hamada, 1) City Manager Stewart added that there is a City Ordinance in Long Beach and currently a lawsuit challenging the applicability of it; and 2) Consultant Bernard added that a) W est Hollywood has a similar measure with regard to vacant commercial and residential apartment properties and Oakland passed a similar measure, noting that most cities have focused on the commercial side; and b) by law there needs to be some type of duration for the measure on the ballot.
Council Member Sanchez stated 1) that the potential Vacant Commercial Property Tax measure was not a money grab, but rather a tool that staff could utilize to encourage the development of underutilized properties; and 2) his understanding was that it could not be a fee, as it was in the case of Long Beach; but rather would need to be a tax to have the voters’ support.
3 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A May 23, 2022 Page 3 of 5
4 STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session on potential ballot measures for the November 2022 ballot: 1) Underutilized Commercial Property Tax; and 2) City Charter – Continued
Council Member Koops 1) expressed the opinion that some of the vacant properties in the City that were very prevalent were what was driving the initial discussion: property at the corner of Park Street and Bellflower Boulevard, the former K-Mart property (Rosecrans Avenue), the Gold property on the corner of Ramona Street and Bellflower Boulevard, and the property behind the Sizzler at Artesia Boulevard and Woodruff Avenue; 2) stated that the Gold property has plans submitted and would be developed within one year to 18 months; 3) noted that they would love to have brick and mortar retailers at the K-Mart property, but he was cognizant of the fact that Amazon has changed the retail landscape ; and 4) expressed that it was hard for him to throw a net over the City due to four vacant lots that are need of help and inquired if there was a less aggressive approach to addressing vacant lots.
City Manager Stewart stated that this measure was not intended to be a penalty , but rather an incentive and method to recover enforcement costs and lost revenue.
At the request of Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, 1) City Attorney Berger clarified that there is a clear distinction in the law between a fee and a tax and that the difference between vacant land and a vacant building is the incidence of property ownership ; and 2) City Manager Stewart stated that there are a handful of parcels that could receive more stringent enforcement by Code Enforcement; however, there would not necessarily be an incentive to develop the property in the highest and best use or stoke economic development within the City.
Consultant Bernard 1) at the request of Council Member Koops, confirmed that a Citizen Satisfaction Survey had not been done since 2017 or 2018, noting that the ballot measure polling analysis could be impaired if it was coupled with the Citizen Satisfaction Survey since they would contain feedback from citizens who are not registered to vote and only a voter survey would be most accurate; and 2) stated that some cities have clauses that the City Council has the discretion not to collect vacant property tax during a recession.
Mayor Dunton 1) suggested placing the Vacant Commercial Property Tax measure on the shelf due to the uncertainty of the nation with regard to economics; and 2) stated that he was in favor of a high propensity voter survey for the City Charter ballot measure only.
4 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A May 23, 2022 Page 4 of 5
4 STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session on potential ballot measures for the November 2022 ballot: 1) Underutilized Commercial Property Tax; and 2) City Charter – Continued
Council Member Koops 1) expressed the opinion that this was the wrong time to implement a Vacant Commercial Property Tax and would prefer to add the City Charter measure to the ballot instead; 2) suggested placing the Vacant Commercial Property Tax measure aside and have Consultant Bernard gather data on the prospect of a City Charter ballot measure by conducting a high propensity voter survey; and 3) have Consultant Bernard undertake the Citizen Satisfaction Survey as well, but at a separate and later date.
Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines 1) reminded his City Council colleagues that Council Member Sanchez had suggested implementing a committee for the potential Vacant Commercial Property Tax ballot measure at the last meeting, noting that committees had been successful in the past; and 2) suggested forming a committee for the Vacancy Commercial Property Tax and having the high propensity voter survey completed for the proposed City Charter ballot measure only.
Council Member Sanchez 1) stated that he was in agreement with implementing a committee for the Vacant Commercial Property Tax, but would also like to have a poll completed so that there would be data for the committee to consider; 2) reminded his City Council colleagues that the Vacant Commercial Property Tax measure would impact 80 percent absentee owners and they are not registered voters in the City; 3) reiterated Consultant Bernard’s earlier statement that during a recession they could pause the tax; 4 ) stated that when he canvassed for his City Council seat, he received strong and positive feedback for a measure such as this; and 5) stated that he was in favor of staff continuing to research both potential ballot measures.
At the request of Council Member Hamada, Consultant Bernard stated that 1) the margin of error for 500 voters was 4.4 percent and for 250 voters would be about 7 percent; and 2) that it could be a little more uncertain with a 2/3 measure, so he preferred to have a slimmer margin of error in those instances.
Council Member Hamada 1) stated that the 2/3 requirement felt like it may be tougher to implement and may not be very impactful from a budget standpoint; 2) noted that the margin of error made it difficult for him to move forward; 3) acknowledged that constituents would prefer development over vacant lots and could see the possibility of the Vacant Commercial Property Tax moving forward at a future time; 4) expressed the opinion that he was a proponent of charter cities, while also being aware of the negative feedback that also exists from other cities; and 5) stated that since it had been deferred during the last election cycle, he supported continuing to research the City Charter ballot measure only.
5 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 4-A May 23, 2022 Page 5 of 5
4 STUDY SESSION – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a City Council Study Session on potential ballot measures for the November 2022 ballot: 1) Underutilized Commercial Property Tax; and 2) City Charter – Continued
Following discussion, it was the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to 1) continue to research the potential City Charter ballot measure only and defer the proposed Vacant Commercial Property Tax for future consideration [Council Member Sanchez dissented]; 2) request that Consultant Richard Bernard of Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates (FM3) conduct a voter survey relative to the proposed City Charter ballot measure and the matter be brought back for further City Council consideration upon completion of the survey; 3) request that Consultant Bernard conduct a general citizen satisfaction survey (unrelated to any ballot measure) at a later, unspecified date; and 4) bring back for City Council consideration an agenda item relative to the creation of a Citizens Ad Hoc Subcommittee to gather input from the community with regard to a Vacant Commercial Property Tax ballot measure for future consideration.
For the record, Council Member Sanchez objected to the deferment of the proposed Vacant Commercial Property Tax ballot measure.
For the record, at the request and emphasis of Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, City Manager Stewart confirmed that staff would be more assertive in the enforcement of City codes.
5 ADJOURNMENT
Without objection, Mayor Dunton adjourned the Special Meeting at 4:33 p.m.
Ray Dunton, Mayor
City of Bellflower
Attest:
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Approved: June 27, 2022
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