15-B
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
ATTENTION: Ryan Smoot, City Manager
FROM: Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Consideration and possible action to approve the Minutes of the February 9, 2026, Special Meeting of the City Council.
DATE: March 9, 2026
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
None
RECOMMENDATION TO CITY COUNCIL
1) Approve the February 9, 2026, Special Meeting Minutes; or
2) Alternatively, discuss and take other action related to this item.
FISCAL IMPACT
None
ATTACHMENT
Minutes of the February 9, 2026, Special Meeting of the City Council ……………..…… 2
1 stafJeport_~
MINUTES
CITY OF BELLFLOWER
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE BELLFLOWER CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2026, 3:00 P.M.
BELLFLOWER CITY HALL – GREEN ROOM, 2ND FLOOR
1 CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Santa Ines called the Special Meeting to order at 3:01 p.m. in the Green Room 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
Mayor Pro Tem Victor A. Sanchez
Council Member Ray Dunton
Council Member Dan Koops
Council Member Wendi Morse
Staff Participants:
Ryan Smoot, City Manager
Karl H. Berger, City Attorney
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Len Gorecki, Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works Jim DellaLonga, Director of Economic Development
Wangsu Lee, Assistant to the City Manager
Jennifer Russell, Management Assistant
3 PUBLIC COMMENTS
None
4 REQUEST TO APPEAR REMOTELY
None
2 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 5-A February 9, 2026 Page 2 of 4
5 STUDY SESSION
A Consideration and possible action to discuss and provide direction regarding the City’s economic development priorities.
City Manager Smoot introduced the item.
Director of Economic Development DellaLonga 1) provided a PowerPoint presentation of the Staff Report including a comprehensive overview of the City’s economic development efforts, history, successes, challenges, and proposed direction moving forward; 2) emphasized that the purpose of the presentation was to ensure alignment between City Council priorities and staff activities; and 3) responded to Council Members’ questions along with City Manager Smoot and City Attorney Berger.
At the request of Mayor Santa Ines, Director DellaLonga stated that based on his experience in attending Economic Development conferences the main reasons why potential developers and business owners may not come to Bellflower is site availability and the smaller sites in the City.
At the request of Mayor Santa Ines, Director DellaLonga confirmed that staff would compile data on businesses that have received assistance through the Business Assistance Program, including 1) their current operating status; 2) outcomes for alumni of the City’s entrepreneurial programs; and 3) alumni participants’ current location and whether they ultimately opened businesses locally.
Council Member Dunton 1) suggested the Housing, HOME, and CDBG activities and Public Art Program be moved to another department, since they are time consuming; 2) suggested investing time and energy assembling properties to create larger development sites, adding a more proactive strategy in identifying adjacent parcels, and exploring acquisition opportunities in advance of developer interest; and 3) find ways to add City revenue to be able to pay for more effective economic development strategies.
Discussion ensued among Council Member Dunton, Director DellaLonga, and City Manager Smoot relative to options to move programs to other departments to alleviate the time for staff to focus on higher economic development priorities, including but not limited to HOME and CHDO funds oversight and partnership with the Chamber of Commerce for ribbon cuttings.
Mayor Pro Tem Sanchez 1) raised concerns regarding long-term property vacancies and absentee ownership patterns , suggesting the City explore mechanisms to disrupt the current state of vacant sites and incentivize their activation; 2) expressed the opinion that the City needs to increase “body heat” in the Downtown especially during the day; 3) explored the idea of how do we turn Downtown Bellflower into a destination, including walkability and child appropriate spaces; and 4) agreed with Mayor Santa Ines relative to data from the Business Assistance Program.
3 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 5-A February 9, 2026 Page 4 of 4
5 STUDY SESSION
A Consideration and possible action to discuss and provide direction regarding the City’s economic development priorities – Continued
At the request of Mayor Santa Ines, City Manager Smoot provided the status of a corridor study requested during the strategic planning session, including that this was a study under the umbrella of the Planning Department and will be a function of the Advanced Planning Division in the future.
Council Member Morse requested and received 1) clarification from Director DellaLonga relative to staff’s efforts to proactively contact owners of absentee parcels and suggested increased outreach to encourage engagement and potential redevelopment opportunities; and 2) confirmation from City Manager Smoot that if this is a role the City Council wants us to take, then Director DellaLonga and he can explore the possibility of using the services of a broker to approach property owners, noting the current projects on Flower Street as a good example of that.
Council Member Koops, 1) referencing previous discussions and suggestions from Council Member Dunton and Mayor Pro Tem Sanchez, expressed the opinion that the City’s main industry is rental units, and suggested the City capture revenue from this industry and explore a vacant property fee or tax as a tool to incentivize redevelopment and discourage long-term vacancies; 2) expressed the opinion that an income generating tax measure should be scheduled prior to the sale of the Hollywood Sports Park property, noting that there will be economic development needed in that area to provide restaurants, gas stations, and like businesses to capture revenue from future employees at that location ; 3) noted that the future light rail train crossing planned at Bellflower Boulevard will severely change the traffic patterns in Downtown and the City needs to plan for that as well; and 4) suggested approaching the graduates of the entrepreneurial programs at the end of the sessions and provide “seed money” for new businesses in the City to entice them to open in Bellflower.
At the request of Council Member Koops, Assistant City Manager/Director of Public Works Gorecki confirmed that he will provide information to the City Council as to the height of the sound walls proposed near the light rail train.
Mayor Pro Tem Sanchez suggested Council Members visit cities they like to research what they are doing successfully and emphasized the importance of social media marketing to tell the story of why Bellflower is a destination city.
4 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 5-A February 9, 2026 Page 4 of 5
5 STUDY SESSION
A Consideration and possible action to discuss and provide direction regarding the City’s economic development priorities – Continued
At the request of Mayor Pro Tem Sanchez and Council Member Koops, Consultant Elizabeth O’Neil 1) provided an overview of current restaurant and retail trends ; 2) noted changes in consumer behavior, including lower alcohol consumption among younger age groups and higher failure rates for new restaurants, even though the industry overall remains strong ; 3) highlighted growth in service- oriented businesses, such as “med-spas”, which tend to work well in smaller spaces; 4) noted that she will be speaking with colleagues regarding the retail industry and will pass the information along to Director DellaLonga; 5) noted that the Planning and Building Services process times have recently improved, which will help businesses; and 6) responded to Council Members’ questions.
Following discussion, in response to comments by Consultant O’Neil relative to movie theaters still being a viable source of entertainment and at the request of Mayor Santa Ines, City Manager Smoot confirmed that developers of the Edgeway recently re-approached staff regarding the entertainment use requirement at the development.
Following discussion, and referencing long-term vacant properties, Council Member Dunton suggested Economic Development be more proactive and have a vision for assembling properties
Following discussion, it was the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to 1) continue prioritizing Downtown Bellflower and maintain development momentum, clarifying Downtown boundaries generally extend on Bellflower Boulevard from the 91 Freeway north to Alondra Bouelvard; 2) support advancing studies for the four major corridors in coordination with broader planning efforts along major thoroughfares, including Artesia Boulevard, Woodruff Avenue, Rosecrans Avenue, and Lakewood Boulevard; 3) acknowledge housing as an important tool to support economic development ; 4) double-check the number of stories allowed Downtown and continue to support mixed-use development; 5) encourage strategic property acquisition and the possible establishment of a non-profit entity; 6) reassess public art workload and look for other options that would protect Economic Development staff capacity for key economic development priorities; 7) provide data to further evaluate the Business Assistance Program; 8) continue to evaluate desired target uses, such as grocery store uses; and 9) advance discussion on strategic property acquisition strategies and potential tools related to a door tax and a vacant property tax.
Discussion ensued among the City Council and City Attorney Berger relative to potential ballot measures for a door tax and vacant property tax.
5 Bellflower City Council Special Meeting Minutes Item No. 5-A February 9, 2026 Page 5 of 5
5 STUDY SESSION
A Consideration and possible action to discuss and provide direction regarding the City’s economic development priorities – Continued
Following discussion, 1) City Manager Smoot confirmed staff would return with information regarding a potential business license tax update and vacant property tax concept, noting timing considerations related to ballot deadlines; and 2) it was the consensus of the City Council to direct staff to hold a Special City Council Meeting on February 17, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. to discuss the viability of potential ballot measures.
6 ADJOURNMENT
Without objection, the meeting was adjourned at 4:49 p.m.
Sonny R. Santa Ines, Mayor
City of Bellflower
ATTEST:
Mayra Ochiqui, City Clerk
Approved: March 9, 2026
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