MINUTES
CITY OF BELLFLOWER
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BELLFLOWER CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY, MARCH 2, 2026, 9:30 A.M.
BELLFLOWER CITY HALL - COUNCIL CHAMBERS
1 CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Santa Ines called the Special Meeting to order at 9:32 a.m. in the Council Chambers at Bellflower City Hall, 16600 Civic Center Drive, Bellflower. 2 ROLL CALL
The following Members of the City Council responded present to roll call:
Mayor Sonny R. Santa Ines
Council Member Ray Dunton
Council Member Dan Koops
Council Member Wendi Morse
For the record, Mayor Pro Tem Sanchez arrived to the meeting at 9:33 a.m.
Staff Participants:
Ryan Smoot, City Manager
Karl H. Berger, City Attorney
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Len Gorecki, Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works Wangsu Lee, Assistant to the City Manager
Jennifer Russell, Management Assistant
3 PUBLIC COMMENTS
Giovanni D'Eqidio, Co -Business Owner, Hollywood Sports Park, addressed the City Council relative to Item 5-A (9030 and 9108 Somerset Boulevard), 1) requesting to be notified in the future if there is a matter on the agenda concerning his business location and he would like to be properly informed in order to answer questions that may come up from clients or employees; and 2) expressed disappointment and frustration regarding the lack of communication from the City.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 2, 2026
3 PUBLIC COMMENTS — Continued
Item No. 3
In response to comments provided by Giovanni D'Egidio, Mayor Santa Ines, requested and received confirmation from City Manager Smoot that there was no information that could be disclosed or shared at this time regarding Item 5-A, as it was a Closed Session matter.
For the record and further clarification, Council Member Koops, 1) stated that the City Council is still in negotiations, reiterated that details cannot be shared publicly at this time, and asked for Giovanni D'Egidio's understanding; 2) offered to personally address Hollywood Sports Park employees to clarify that there is nothing to share at this time; and 3) emphasized that government processes often take longer than expected, noting that this is a unique, once -in -a -lifetime opportunity for both parties.
4 REQUEST TO APPEAR REMOTELY
None
CLOSED SESSION
5 RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION
For the record, 1) City Manager Smoot announced the title of the Closed Session item; and 2) without objection, Mayor Santa Ines recessed the Meeting at 9:40 a.m. to a Closed Session regarding:
A CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR
(Pursuant to Government Code § 54956.8)
Property:
Agency Negotiator:
Negotiating Party:
Under Negotiation:
9030 Somerset Boulevard and
9108 Somerset Boulevard
Ryan Smoot, City Manager
LA Metro
Price and terms of payment
For the record, Closed Session adjourned at 9:51 a.m.
6 RECONVENE FOR OPEN SESSION
Mayor Santa Ines reconvened the Meeting at 9:56 a.m. with all members present and announced that no reportable action was taken during Closed Session.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 2, 2026
OPEN SESSION
7 STUDY SESSION
Item No. 7-A
A Consideration and possible action to conduct a study session regarding updates to the City's business license provisions and discussion of potential ballot propositions.
City Manager Smoot 1) introduced the item and provided a PowerPoint presentation of the Staff Report; and 2) responded to Council Members' questions along with City Attorney Berger.
City Manager Smoot, 1) stated that some of the information provided is a review from previous meetings; 2) emphasized that an in-depth, formal analysis has not been conducted and the figures presented are "back of the envelope" estimates; 3) reminded the City Council that prior direction included reviewing vacant parcels and potential updates to the business license tax, including registration requirements and fee structures for vacant parcels, and confirmed that process is underway; 4) clarified that the business license tax is a revenue -generating tax, not regulatory approval, required for all businesses operating in the City unless exempt, also noting that the current rate structure was largely established in the 1990s and outdated; 5) presented preliminary options for updating the business license tax, including: a flat tax per business, a cleaned -up category -based system, a pure gross receipts model, or a base amount plus gross receipts model, discussing the administrative and revenue implications of each option; 6) provided context of the amounts the City currently generates through business license tax and gave illustrative revenue estimates for the proposed options, noting the potential effects on businesses of varying sizes; 7) explained that the goal is to refine an approach that can be presented to residents for input on priorities and proposed a draft ballot question regarding updating the City's 35 -year -old business license tax; and 8) requested authorization to work with the Mayor and a Council Member to finalize the ballot question wording and coordinate with a polling firm to gauge residents' interest.
At the request of Mayor Santa Ines, City Manager Smoot, 1) confirmed any change to the business license tax at this point must be approved by voters, except for the automatic CPI increase, which cannot exceed 10%; 2) clarified that the City Council is not making a determination at this time on whether to put the business license question before voters; and 3) explained several options to modernize the business license tax structure, including but not limited to, updating existing categories, implementing a flat tax to eliminate categories, or adopting a gross receipts model which simplifies the structure and allows it to grow with the economy.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 2, 2026
Item No. 7-A
7-A Consideration and possible action to conduct a study session regarding updates to the City's business license provisions and discussion of potential ballot propositions — Continued
Lengthy discussion ensued among the Council Members, City Manager Smoot, and City Attorney Berger.
City Attorney Berger, 1) explained that the purpose at this stage is to survey constituents to gauge interest in placing a measure on the ballot; 2) emphasized the importance of being clear about what the City Council is asking for, noting that the current municipal code contains many categories and tax rates established by voters in the 1990s; 3) clarified that the ballot proposition could ask voters to delegate the authority to the City Council to clean up the municipal code; and 4) noted that the fundamental question for polling is whether constituents support a gross receipts tax, a flat license tax, or a combination, with FM3 conducting the survey on behalf of the City to determine the constituency's appetite for a ballot measure.
Mayor Santa Ines emphasized that he is in favor of adding a "maximum of guardrail to the proposed ballot measure to provide assurance to the voters that any future increase beyond that rate would require voter approval.
City Manager Smoot, 1) clarified that he is not asking the City Council to finalize the business license structure at this time, but rather provide enough guidance for staff to draft an accurate polling question to survey voters to gauge their interest in a ballot measure concerning an update to the business license tax; 2) expressed that he would like to work with one or two Council Members to refine the polling questions for clarity; and 3) emphasized that the purpose of the polling process is informed decision -making, allowing the City Council to gauge voter interest before finalizing a structure or spending a significant amount of taxpayer dollars to place a measure on the ballot.
Without objection, Council Member Koops suggested Mayor Santa Ines and Mayor Pro Tem Sanchez work with City Manager Smoot to develop the proposed polling language and ballot question.
Following discussion, it was the consensus of the City Council to authorize the City Manager to conduct voter polling relative the proposed ballot measure concerning the City's business license tax structure and work with Mayor Santa Ines and Mayor Pro Tem Sanchez to finalize the polling questions with the assistance of FM3.
Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes
March 2, 2026
8 ADJOURNMENT
Item No. 8
Without objection, the meeting was adjourned at 10:43 a.m.
So ny R. Santa tries, Mayor
City of Bellflower
ATTEST:
Mayra Ochiqui, Ci y Clerk
Approved: April 13, 2026