14-C
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 November 28, 2022, Regular Meeting of the City Council.
DATE: January 12, 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
None
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Approve the November 28, 2022, Regular Meeting Minutes; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
ATTACHMENT
Minutes of the November 28, 2022, Regular Meeting….............. ………………………… 2
1 MINUTES
CITY OF BELLFLOWER
REGULAR MEETING OF THE BELLFLOWER CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2022
BELLFLOWER CITY HALL - COUNCIL CHAMBERS
5:30 P.M. CLOSED SESSION / 7:00 P.M. OPEN SESSION
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 recommended, but not required, to wear a face covering when inside Bellflower City Hall.
5:30 P.M. – CLOSED SESSION
1 CALL TO ORDER
None
2 ROLL CALL
None
3 RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION
None
4 RECONVENE FOR OPEN SESSION
None
7:00 P.M. – OPEN SESSION
5 CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Dunton called the Regular Meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.
2 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No. 6 November 28, 2022 Page 2 of 10
6 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
Len Gorecki, Assistant City Manager / Director of Public Works Elizabeth Corpuz, Director of Planning and Building Services Jim DellaLonga, Director of Economic Development
Travis Sais, Assistant to the City Manager
Jennifer Poole-Eidd, Management Assistant
7 INVOCATION
Mayor Pro Tem Sonny R. Santa Ines offered the Invocation.
8 PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Jim DellaLonga, Director of Economic Development, led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.
9-A CITY COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS
Mayor Dunton provided details relative to Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony to be held December 2, 2022.
Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines provided details relative to two open house events hosted by California American Water to be held at Simms Park on November 29th, 2022 and December 1st, 2022.
Council Member Sanchez provided details relative to the “Too Toxic to Trash” waste collection event hosted by The Sanitation District in tandem with Public Works. The event is to be held on December 3, 2022.
Council Member Koops provided details relative to the Bellflower Volunteer Center’s holiday food and toy drive, noting donations are due by November 30, 2022.
3 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No. 9-A November 28, 2022 Page 3 of 10
9-A CITY COUNCIL ANNOUNCEMENTS – Continued
Council Member Hamada provided details relative t o City of Bellflower’s Holiday Home Decorating Contest to be held on December 5th, 2022.
10 PUBLIC COMMENTS
Darlene Palacios, resident, 1) expressed that she was shook at having left the scene of an accident that had just occurred at the intersection of Rose Street and Clark Avenue prior to the Council Meeting; 2) recounted other car accidents that had occurred at the same intersection; 3) advocated for a crosswalk on the north side of the intersection of Rose Street and Clark Avenue, noting that handicapped and disabled residents in the area have limited mobility; 4) stated that her neighbors have expressed the need for a wheelchair and handicapped crosswalk and suggested she contact the ADA; and 5) stated that she had post-traumatic stress disorder from being involved in an accident as a pedestrian seven years prior and as a veteran.
In response to Darlene Palacio’s comments, Council Member Sanchez 1) apologized to Ms. Palacios for not previously sharing the news that staff had confirmed that the crosswalk was being moved to the north side of the street as requested, as it was only recently confirmed just prior to the Thanksgiving holiday break; 2) stated that improvements to the area would be delayed, as new parts were ordered to accommodate the change; and 3) thanked her for being in attendance and reminding the City Council of the issue.
Brian Barreto, External Affairs Manager, California American Water, 1) expressed his gratitude to the City, Mayor, City Council and City Staff, stating that they were excited about the Public Utilities Commission’s approval of the acquisition of the Bellflower Municipal W ater System; 2) informed the public that as of November 3, 2022, California American Water is serving former Bellflower Municipal W ater Customers and hosting two open house events at Simms Park; 3) encouraged all former Bellflower Municipal W ater customers to attend these open houses and stated that there would be a presentation with department managers available to answer questions and provide information regarding services, conservation, engineering, and water quality; and 4) stated they looked forward to partnership with the City and mailed all new customers a welcome packet containing a letter, brochure and static cling with all customer service contacts.
At the request of Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, Mr. Barreto confirmed that 1) the closest office would be the Rosemead Operations Center; 2) part of the acquisition agreement included that customers in the Bellflower service area would be able to continue to make drop-off payments at the Bellflower-Somerset location through end of the year; 3) California American Water would educate customers on how to make payments through the web portal, mail, and call center; and 4) there will be a local on-call staff member and a 24-hour customer service number for emergencies as well.
4 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No.11 November 28, 2022 Page 4 of 10
11 PUBLIC HEARINGS
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a public hearing to consider adopting Resolution No. 22-65 – A Resolution approving Conditional Use Permit Case No. CU-22-11 to modify Conditional Use Permit Nos. CU 15-02 and 16-05 for a behavioral health hospital within the M-1 (Light Industrial) District and the C-G (General Commercial) Zone located at 9542 Artesia Boulevard; Applicant: Hector Hernandez (Representing Alta Los Angeles Hospital, Inc. dba Los Angeles Community Hospital at Bellflower).
CEQA: The Resolution was reviewed pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (Public Resources Code §§ 21000, et seq.; “CEQA”) and the CEQA Guidelines (14 California Code of Regulations §§ 15000, et seq.). Additional environmental review is not required because the Resolution would allow a negligible expansion of an existing land use which includes modifying existing conditions and conditions of approval related to the existing perimeter walls, exterior façade, landscape, signage, and parking lot lighti ng. Accordingly, it is Categorically Exempt as a Class 1 (Existing Facilities) project (CEQA Guidelines § 15301).
_____________________
City Manager Stewart introduced the item.
Director of Planning and Building Services Corpuz 1) provided a PowerPoint presentation of the Staff Report; and 2) along with City Manager Stewart, City Attorney Berger, and Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works Gorecki, responded to Council Members’ questions.
For the record, Council Member Hamada stated that 1) he was the Chair of the Planning Commission when this project was originally considered by the Commission, noting that there appeared to be more landscaping included in the original project; and 2) he viewed the lighting in the parking lot in the evening, noting that although it lit up the parking lot, it was a bit dim towards the middle of the lot.
In response to Council Member Hamada’s comments relative to the landscaping, Director Corpuz stated that she would look into whether there was more landscaping included in the initial request to the Planning Commission.
For the record, Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines requested a correction to the record relative to the plant listed as “Kangaroo Paw” on page 82 of the Staff Report, as it is actually an agave plant.
5 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No. 11 November 28, 2022 Page 5 of 10
11 PUBLIC HEARINGS – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a public hearing to consider adopting Resolution No. 22-34 – Continued
_____________________
Following discussion, it was moved by Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, seconded by Council Member Hamada, and carried without objection, to open the public hearing.
Seena Samimi, Applicant Representative, Jeffer Mangels Butler & Mitchell LLP, 1) provided a PowerPoint presentation; 2) along with other members of the Applicant’s management team in attendance (Donald Krietz, Farrell Johnson, Julian Lopez, and Michael Lerchen), responded to Council Members’ questions; 3) stated that they had initially requested the removal of the photometric plan , but they no longer wanted to remove this condition; and 4) stated that Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) approvals delayed much of the development process along with various other factors, such as high bid numbers.
At the request of Mayor Dunton, Donald Krietz, Senior Vice-President California Hospitals Operations and Farrell Johnson, Vice-President of Operations, confirmed that although the project is currently “overparked” and the underground structure mainly utilized, it is anticipated that the parking spaces will be needed in order to fulfill OSHPD’s requirement for approximately six parking spaces per licensed bed.
At the request of Council Member Sanchez, Applicant Representative Samimi confirmed that the owners intend to make repairs to the current existing wall, as needed.
At the request of Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, Applicant Representative Lopez confirmed that the black wrought iron fence would remain, but would be given a white coating finish.
At the request of Mayor Dunton, Applicant Representative Johnson confirmed that the maintenance area would be painted to match with the rest of the property.
At the request of City Attorney Berger, Applicant Representative Samimi clarified that 1) the Applicant is solely asking for modifications to the conditions of approval for the current conditional use permit that was prepared for the meeting; and 2) confusion likely arose due to correspondence that had been sent to City Staff earlier that afternoon requesting the consolidation of all three of the pre-existing executed resolutions and conditional use permits into one new resolution simply for ease of navigation, but was informed by Staff that that would cause further delays, so it was no longer being requested.
6 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No.11 November 28, 2022 Page 6 of 10
11 PUBLIC HEARINGS – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a public hearing to consider adopting Resolution No. 22-34 – Continued
For the record, Applicant Representative Samimi requested the following changes to the proposed Conditions of Approval (COA), 1) COA No. 15 be modified due to anticipated delays due to OSHPD requirements, noting that they should be able to meet the December 31, 2023 deadline and can commit to anything that does not require OSHPD approval; 2) COA No. 19 be modified to combine with the plans that are being submitted by the regular Architecture Firm instead of requiring the hiring of a landscape architect to submit a landscaping and irrigation plan; and 3) COA No. 20 be modified as they would prefer to work with the operator of the four existing light poles (Southern California Edison) to fix them in the event of a failure, rather than install new decorative lighting.
In response to Applicant Representative Samimi’s comments relative to COA No. 19, and at the request of Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, Director Corpuz stated that the purpose for the requirement was because it is mandated by the state , but that the condition could be reworded to allow for the Applicant to utilize their own architect, which they have stated would be qualified to submit the plans.
At the request of Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, Applicant Representative Johnson 1) stated that prior to beginning the bidding process, OSHPD approval could take approximately 6-8 months and would involve most of the proposed façade improvements aside from landscaping; and 2) clarified that the painting of the maintenance building discussed earlier would require approval from the property owner before commencing painting.
Michael Lerchen, Project Manager, 1) at the request of Mayor Dunton, confirmed that the excess wires appear to be low-voltage communications wiring; and 2) at the request of Director Corpuz, confirmed that signage was subject to OSHPD approval.
At the request of Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines and without objection, City Manager Stewart confirmed that Assistant City Manager/Director Gorecki would ascertain the current Southern California Edison account holder for the four existing light poles.
There being no one else in attendance wishing to present further testimony, it was moved by Council Member Koops, seconded by Council Member Sanchez, and carried without objection, to close the public hearing.
Discussion ensued among the City Council, City Manager Stewart, and Director Corpuz relative to the changes to the COAs requested by the Applicant .
7 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No. 11 November 28, 2022 Page 7 of 10
11 PUBLIC HEARINGS – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a public hearing to consider adopting Resolution No. 22-34 – Continued
_____________________
Following discussion, it was moved by Mayor Dunton, seconded by Council Member Hamada, and carried by the following roll call vote, to adopt Resolution No. 22-65, with the following amendments: 1) Amended Condition of Approval (COA) No. 15 to extend the completion deadline to December 31, 2024, for all items that require approval from the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD); 2) Amended COA No. 19 to require the landscape and irrigation plan to comply with the State of California’s Model Water Efficiency Landscape Ordinance and the Bellflower Municipal Code; 3) Amended COA No. 20 to guarantee the continuation of lighting for the four existing Southern California Edison light poles and require the Applicant to submit a lighting and photometric plan demonstrating the parking lot lighting is in compliance with the approved photometric plan, subject to Director approval and removing the requirement for the installation of decorative lighting; 4) Amended COA No. 16 to include the painting of the accessory maintenance building and adjo ining partition wall; and 5) Amended Resolution No. 22-65, Exhibit A (third paragraph, last sentence) to read:
“In the event of a conflict, the more recent condition of approval will control” [emphasis added]:
AYES: Council Members - Koops, Sanchez, Santa Ines, Hamada and Mayor Dunton
12 ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION
_____________________
None
13 CONSIDERATION ITEMS
None
14 CONSENT CALENDAR
It was moved by Council Member Koops, seconded by Council Member Hamada, and unanimously carried by the following roll call vote, to approve the actions stipulated on the Consent Calendar:
AYES: Council Members - Koops, Sanchez, Santa Ines, Hamada and Mayor Dunton
8 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No.14 November 28, 2022 Page 8 of 10
14 CONSENT CALENDAR – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to receive and file City Council Warrant Register No. 23-052, dated November 28, 2022.
Action: Received and filed Warrant Register No. 23-052.
B Consideration and possible action to receive and file the Treasurer’s Report for the Month of October 2022.
Action: Received and filed Treasurer’s Report.
C Consideration and possible action to approve adjourning the January 9, 2023, Regular City Council Meeting to Thursday, January 12, 2023 (4:00 p.m. Closed Session / 4:30 p.m. Open Session).
Action: Approved the adjournment to January 12, 2023 (4:00 p.m. Closed Session / 4:30 p.m. Open Session), and directed the City Clerk to post a courtesy notice following the December 12, 2022, meeting to inform the public of this action.
D Consideration and possible action to approve the Development Impact Fee Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2021-22 pursuant to Government Code § 66006.
Action: Approved the Development Impact Fee Annual Report for Fiscal Yea r 2021-22 pursuant to Government Code § 66006.
E Consideration and possible action to waive further reading and adopt Ordinance No. 1419 – An Ordinance repealing Bellflower Municipal Code Chapter 2.40 and amending Chapter 3.28 in its entirety to regulate contracting including purchases of goods, supplies and services.
Action: Waived further reading and adopted Ordinance No. 1419.
F Consideration and possible action to 1) waive further reading and adopt Ordinance No. 1420 – An Ordinance adding Section 9.04.110 to the Bellflower Municipal Code (“BMC”) prohibiting unauthorized possession of individual catalytic converters; and 2) adopt Resolution No. 22-66 – A Resolution adopting a fine schedule pursuant to Bellflower Municipal Code Section
1.12.060(A) and superseding Resolution No. 20-64.
Action: 1) Waived further reading and adopted Ordinance No. 1420; and 2) Adopted Resolution No. 22-66.
G Consideration and possible action to receive and file Agreement File No. 961, in a form approved by the City Attorney, with Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. for the purposes of conducting a Total Compensation Study.
Action: Received and filed Agreement File No. 961.
H Consideration and possible action to authorize the Director of Public Works, or designee, to install one on-street disabled parking space (blue curb) at 9022½ Hegel Street (C.E. #22 17).
Action: Authorized the Director of Public Works, or designee, to install one on-street disabled parking space (blue curb) at 9022½ Hegel Street. 9 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No.14 November 28, 2022 Page 9 of 10
14 CONSENT CALENDAR – Continued
I Consideration and possible action to set a public hearing for January 12, 2023, to consider Artesia Enterprises, LLC’s appeal of the Planning Commission’s denial of a Notice of Nonconformity Abatement appeal for automobile sales and automobile repair center on property located at 9103-9115 Artesia Boulevard.
CEQA: The proposed actions are exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (California Public Resources Code §§ 21000, et seq., “CEQA”) and CEQA regulations (14 California Code of Regulations §§ 15000, et seq.; “CEQA Guidelines”) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines §§ 15061(b)(3), 15321(a), and 15378(b)(4-5) because they: do not involve any commitment to a specific project which could result in a potentially significa nt physical impact on the environment, and it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that such action may have a significant effect on the environment; involve an enforcement action of a specific use on the Property; and do not constitute a “project” requiring environmental review.
Action: 1) Confirmed receipt of a timely appeal from Artesia Enterprises, LLC of the Planning Commission’s decision to deny his appeal of the Notice of Nonconformity Abatement for automobile sales and automobile repair center; and 2) Set a public hearing to appeal the decision of the Planning Commission for January 12, 2023, or as soon thereafter may be heard.
J Consideration and possible action to adopt Resolution No. 22 -67 – A Resolution adopting the City’s Records Retention Schedule for City records and superseding Resolution No. 15-62.
Action: Adopted Resolution No. 22-67.
K Consideration and possible action to receive and file the City of Bellflower Successor Housing Agency Annual Report regarding the Low -and-Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund for Fiscal Year 2021-2022.
Action: Received and filed Successor Housing Agency Annual Report regarding Low-and-Moderate Income Housing Asset Fund for Fiscal Year 2021-2022.
L Consideration and possible action to adopt Resolution No. 22-68 – A Resolution adjusting the salary table for the ranges impacted by the January 1, 2023 minimum wage increase.
Action: 1) Adopted Resolution No. 22 -68; and 2) Authorized the City Manager to implement the proposed changes to the salary range table.
15 COUNCIL REPORTS
Council Member Koops, Council Member Sanchez, Mayor Pro Tem Santa Ines, and Council Member Hamada made various comments and reports.
10 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No.15 November 28, 2022 Page 10 of 10
15 COUNCIL REPORTS – Continued
For the record, without objection, Council Member Koops requested the meeting be adjourned in memory of Phillip D. Hawkins and Ernest McIntyre.
For the record, Mayor Dunton acknowledged this meeting as his last full meeting as Mayor and thanked all of his City Council colleagues for supporting him throughout the year and for keeping business running smoothly in the City of Bellflower.
16 ADJOURNMENT
Without objection, Mayor Dunton adjourned the meeting at 9:14 p.m., in memory of Ernest McIntyre and Phillip D. Hawkins to the next Regular Meeting of the Bellflower City Council at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, December 12, 2022.
Sonny R. Santa Ines, Mayor
City of Bellflower
Attest:
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Approved: January 12, 2023
11