12-I
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 January 12, 2023, Adjourned Regular City Council Meeting.
DATE: January 23, 2023
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
None
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Approve the January 12, 2023, Adjourned Regular Meeting Minutes; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
ATTACHMENT
Minutes of the January 12, 2023, Adjourned Regular Meeting… ………………………… 2
1 MINUTES
CITY OF BELLFLOWER
ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING OF THE
BELLFLOWER CITY COUNCIL
THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 2023
BELLFLOWER CITY HALL - COUNCIL CHAMBERS
4:00 P.M. CLOSED SESSION / 4:30 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.
4:00 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
4:30 P.M. – OPEN SESSION
5 Call to Order
Mayor Santa Ines called the Adjourned Regular Meeting to order at 4:30 p.m.
2 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No. 6 January 12, 2023 Page 2 of 6
6 Roll Call
The following Members of the City Council responded present to roll call:
Mayor Sonny R. Santa Ines
Mayor Pro Tem Raymond Y. Hamada
Council Member Ray Dunton
Council Member Dan Koops
Council Member Victor A. Sanchez
Staff Participants:
Jeffrey L. Stewart, City Manager
Karl H. Berger, City Attorney
Tim Campen, Assistant City Attorney
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Len Gorecki, Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works Elizabeth C. Oba, Director of Planning and Building Services Jennifer Poole-Eidd, Management Assistant
7 Invocation
Mayor Sonny R. Santa Ines offered the Invocation.
8 Pledge of Allegiance
Len Gorecki, Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works, led the assembly in the Pledge of Allegiance.
9 City Council Announcements
None
10 Public Comments
James Cody Birkey, Resident, 9636 Maple Street, 1) expressed concern over an uptick in criminal activity in the area of Ardmore Avenue and Flower Street, which seemed to be centered around the convenience store on Flower Street; and 2) stated that he did not feel there was a particular issue with the convenience store, but requested that the City Council use his comments as an opportunity for public safety improvement in the area.
3 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No. 11-A
January 12, 2023 Page 3 of 6
11 Public Hearings
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a public hearing to consider adopting Resolution No. 23-02 – A Resolution denying 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 significant 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.
For the record, supplemental material was provided to the City Council and made available to the public prior to the start of the meeting.
City Manager Stewart introduced the item.
Director of Planning & Building Services Oba and Assistant City Attorney Campen 1) provided a PowerPoint presentation of the Staff Report; and 2) along with City Manager Stewart and City Attorney Berger, responded to Council Members’ questions.
For the record, City Attorney Berger stated that Assistant City Attorney Campen was serving in the role of advocate and he was serving as general counsel for this matter, noting that they had not compared notes and this was the first time he was seeing the presentation on the issue as well.
Following discussion, it was moved by Council Member Dunton, seconded by Council Member Koops, and carried without objection, to open the public hearing.
City Clerk Ochiqui administered the oath to the following individual wishing to present public testimony regarding this matter. For the record, the following speaker responded to the oath in the affirmative and spoke in favor of granting the appeal.
• Eitan Sharaf, Appellant, Owner of Artesia Enterprises, LLC
For the record, Douglas Macleith, Appellant’s Legal Counsel, did not take the oath and stated for the record that he was present to advocate for the Appellant only and not to testify.
4 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No. 11-A
January 12, 2023 Page 4 of 6
11 Public Hearings – Continued
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a public hearing to consider adopting Resolution No. 23-02 – Continued
At the request of Mayor Santa Ines, Assistant City Attorney Campen responded to comments provided by Appellant Sharaf and Mr. Macleith by 1) confirming that the current requirement for any business operating within the City could be found in the Bellflower Municipal Code Section 5.16.020 which states that all businesses operating within the City must have a City License, failure to obtain one is a violation of the Bellflower Municipal Code, and is by definition not operating lawfully; and 2) a business must also (if required by the State) have State Licensing in order to operate lawfully.
At the request of Council Member Dunton, Assistant City Attorney Campen confirmed that Artesia Enterprise, LLC holds a business license, but that it does not list either auto repair or auto sales.
For the record, City Attorney Berger stated that comments made regarding a recycling center and trucking yard at that location are outside of the scope of the current appeal hearing and not relevant to the matter before the City Council.
At the request of Mayor Santa Ines, Director Oba clarified that the potential impact to the property would be that one continuous use automotive shop may still continue to operate on the site as an allowable use, as long as they do not become vacant, discontinued or cease operation for a period of 180 days. Mayor Santa Ines further clarified that the automotive shop may continue to operate on the site so long as anything to the contrary didn’t surface in the City’s search for information relative to the matter.
For the record, following comments made by Mr. Macleith, City Attorney Berger pointed out that Mr. Macleith was now testifying and suggested that the City Council receive additional testimony from the person that is under oath or conclude the public hearing.
There being no one else in attendance wishing to present testimony, it was moved by Council Member Koops, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Hamada, and carried without objection, to close the public hearing.
At the request of Mayor Santa Ines, City Attorney Berger confirmed that Resolution No. 23-02 was thorough, reflected the evidence presented to the Planning Commission and to the City Council at the present hearing, and contained the legal citations necessary to move forward.
It was moved by Mayor Pro Tem Hamada, seconded by Mayor Santa Ines, and unanimously carried by the following roll call vote, to adopt Resolution No. 23-02 denying the appeal:
AYES: Council Members - Sanchez, Hamada, Dunton, Koops, and Mayor Santa Ines
5 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No. 12
January 12, 2023 Page 5 of 6
12 Ordinances and Resolutions for Consideration
None
13 Consideration Items
None
14 Consent Calendar
It was moved by Council Member Koops, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Hamada, and unanimously carried by the following roll call vote, to approve the actions stipulated on the Consent Calendar:
AYES: Council Members - Sanchez, Hamada, Dunton, Koops, and Mayor Santa Ines
A Consideration and possible action to receive and file City Council Warrant Register No. 23-071, dated January 12, 2023.
Action: Received and filed Warrant Register No. 23-071.
B Consideration and possible action to receive and file Treasurer’s Report for the Month of November 2022.
Action: Received and filed the Treasurer’s Report.
C Consideration and possible action to approve the Minutes of the November 28, 2022, Regular Meeting of the City Council.
Action: Approved the November 28, 2022, Regular Meeting Minutes.
D Consideration and possible action to approve the Minutes of the December 12, 2022, Regular Meeting of the City Council.
Action: Approved the December 12, 2022, Regular Meeting Minutes.
E Consideration and possible action to approve the Minutes of the December 15, 2022, Adjourned Regular Meeting of the City Council.
Action: Approved the December 15, 2022, Adjourned Regular Meeting Minutes.
F Consideration and possible action to approve the Minutes of the December 15, 2022, Special Meeting of the City Council.
Action: Approved the December 15, 2022, Special Meeting Minutes.
G Consideration and possible action to adopt Resolution No. 23-01 – A Resolution adopting the Investment Policy.
Action: Adopted Resolution No. 23-01.
6 Bellflower City Council Minutes Item No. 14
January 12, 2023 Page 6 of 6
14 Consent Calendar – Continued
H Consideration and possible action to authorize the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 1 to Agreement File No. 386.6, in a form approved by the City Attorney, with Duane Morita Planning & Environmental (“DMPE”), to extend the term for three years and provide compensation for general and on-call planning and environmental consulting services.
Action: Authorized the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 1 to Agreement File No. 386.6, in a form approved by the City Attorney.
I Consideration and possible action to ratify the 2023 Mayor’s Appointments to the various City-associated organizations.
Action: Ratified Mayor Santa Ines’ 2023 appointments to the various City-associated organizations.
15 Council Reports
Council Member Sanchez, Mayor Pro Tem Hamada, Council Member Koops, and Mayor Santa Ines made various comments and reports.
For the record, Mayor Santa Ines announced that he recently attended the Sacramento Legislative Tour with Council Member Sanchez, Mayor Pro Tem Hamada, City Manager Stewart, and Assistant to the City Manager Sais and that a full report would be made at the next Council Meeting.
16 Adjournment
Without objection, Mayor Santa Ines adjourned at 5:55 p.m. to the next Regular Meeting of the Bellflower City Council at 5:00 p.m. on Monday, January 23, 2023, in the Green Room for the Outgoing Mayor’s Ceremony.
Sonny R. Santa Ines, Mayor
City of Bellflower
Attest:
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Approved: January 23, 2023
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