MINUTES
CITY OF DELANO
CITY COUNCIL – REGULAR MEETING
July 17, 2023
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Alindajao called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 1015 – 11th Avenue.
INVOCATION
Pastor David Vivas offered the invocation.
FLAG SALUTE
Council Member Morris led the flag salute.
ROLL CALL
Council members present: Mayor Joe Alindajao, Mayor Pro Tem Salvador Solorio-Ruiz, Mario Nunez, Jr., Liz Morris, Veronica Vasquez
Council members absent: None
OFFICIALS PRESENT
City Manager Reyna (Via Zoom), City Clerk Garcia, City Attorney Richman (Via Zoom), Finance Director Lara Rios, City Engineer Dowling, Interim Community Development Director Monsibais, Human Resources Director Zamudio, Acting Chief Nicholson
PRESENTATIONS AND AWARDS
1. Informational presentation by South Tulare-Richgrove Refuse, Inc.
Presentation by Irma Legron from South Tulare-Richgrove Refuse, Inc.
Translator Nuvia Aguirre from Reliable Translations translated the presentation in Spanish
ITEMS FROM THE PUBLIC
1. Maria Martinez asked about the water bill. She stated that they need to update contact information on the bill. She mentioned that people received their original bill from the city and an additional recycling bill. She stated one person received a city bill for about $100 and then another bill for about $84 for recycling. She would like clarification on what happened.
Translator Nuvia Aguirre from Reliable Translations translated the public comment from Spanish to English
2. Mario Villa had a question regarding the previous meeting on the 11th regarding the cemetery for the fence that was put there. He wants to know what is happening or what is going to happen with the alley.
Translator Nuvia Aguirre from Reliable Translations translated the public comment from Spanish to English
3. Glora Lopez wants to know why they were not included in this. They told us that this could be at the next meeting because it was not able to be addressed at the previous meeting. They are concerned about this fence. This is their main issue and they do not want it to be postponed for the next meeting.
Translator Nuvia Aguirre from Reliable Translations translated the public comment from Spanish to English
4. Jose Rodriguez is also here regarding the cemetery issue. We want to have a resolution. I bought my house in 2000 and have put a lot of money into it. I have maintained it well and put a $20,000 fence with doors. It was our understanding that it was our point of access and it belonged to us. We want to know what is going to happen because we have not gotten an answer. That is our concern.
Translator Nuvia Aguirre from Reliable Translations translated the public comment from Spanish to English
5. Angelica Soto has a concern about the new bill. It shows they must pay on the 15th. We pay each month after they collect the garbage. Now do we have to pay before the middle of the month?
Mayor Alindajao explained that we cannot answer questions at this time. She was referred to STRR. Phone number was provided to her by City Engineer Dowling.
6. Pastor David Vivas also inquired about the fence being placed at the cemetery. He shared that is not a City of Delano issue. The city of Delano did not put that fence up. It was the cemetery district that put the fence up. He spoke to the manager and was told it was the cemetery. Questions should be addressed with the cemetery board. The council cannot do anything about this other than to refer these individuals there. He understands that the residents that live there were given 60 days’ notice that the fence would be there. That is his understanding and is what the cemetery manager shared with him.
7. Mary Ann Bradfield, the public information officer from US Small Business Administration Office of Disaster Recovery and Resilience. She is here today working with the chamber of commerce to make sure everybody knows that SBA is a partner with FEMA. In presidential disaster declarations, such as the one we are in. We help businesses of all sizes, homeowners, renters, private nonprofit, and small agricultural coops with physical rebuilding costs, in low interest loans as low as 2.375% for homeowners and as low as 4% for businesses. For Delano, we have economic injury loans for small businesses, small ag co-ops, and private non-profits. That means if their business was affected, even if they didn’t receive any flooding, if they had business losses, they do have low interest loans at 4% for businesses and 2.375% for private nonprofits for up to 30 years to help them get back on their feet to normal returns. They call it ‘Survive to Thrive’ and we’re not just going to be here for the short term. The SBA has all kinds of other opportunities to help small businesses as they move to the next phase of their life and she has some information. She mentioned that the deadline for physical damage is on July 20, 2023. There is no fee to apply but they do have to meet that deadline.
8. Yolanda Vega (Via Zoom) shared a few concerns. One of them being with Parks and Recreation. She has been a community member for quite some time and her concern is that our city council has raved about how our community is growing and her concern is that we have cities like McFarland, Shafter, and Wasco providing all these youth programs and our parks and rec website and for the past six months have only offered Peewee Basketball or Basketball in different age groups. On McFarland’s website you can pull up actual summer, winter, and spring programs. When you pull up our recreation all we offer is basketball. And each season is by age. We are the largest community. Shafter and Wasco are the same. She does not understand why Delano does not offer that. As a parent she drives her daughter to McFarland or Earlimart. She would like another presentation from our Recreation department on what we are doing for our youth and why we cannot accommodate and provide these services. It is very disheartening that our city cannot provide youth programs.
9. Gloria Herrera mentioned that she already shared concerns of fixing the water lines between 8th and 10th, and Asti and Austin. When they fixed it, they had dry cement and pebble residue. A lot of traffic goes through there and the back of her house gathers a lot of dust. She must sweep the residue every 3 days because it goes into her front door. She suggests putting a different finish on that alley.
10. Norma Macario shared concern on the matter of the alley. I would like a resolution as well as the other people that have spoken.
Translator Alex Zajdman from Reliable Translations translated the public comment from Spanish to English
Mayor Alindajao read public comment instructions. Translator Alex Zajdman from Reliable Translations translated the public comment instructions.
11. Zenida Martinez shared concerns related to the cemetery.
Translator Alex Zajdman from Reliable Translations translated the public comment from Spanish to English
12. Maria de Jesus Silva had shared a concern on item 27 of the regular agenda.
She was advised to hold her comments for that item.
CONSENT AGENDA
1) Authorization to waive the reading of any ordinance in its entirety and consenting to the reading of such ordinances by title only.
2) Warrant Register in the amount of $4,243,851.78
3) Warrant Register in the amount of $2,187,002.69
4) Minutes of the regular Planning Commission meeting of June 14, 2023 5) Minutes of the regular Council meeting of June 20, 2023 6) Resolution of the City Council of the City of Delano adopting a list of Fiscal Year 2023-2024 SB-1 LSR projects funded by Senate Bill (SB) 1: The Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017
7) Approval of purchase of one new 2025 Articulating Telescopic Aerial Device with material handling insulated 41 ft. Aerial Lift Truck w/ Ford F550 chassis for $231,142.00 from Altec Industries, Inc. under Sourcewell Contract # 110421- ALT and authorizing the City Manager, or her designee, to execute all required documents.
8) Ratification of the “2023 Emergency Sewer Replacement at Union-Vassar Alley from 7th to 8th Ave. Project” being performed by JM Pipeline Construction (General Engineering Contractor from Bakersfield CA), on a time and materials basis with a not to exceed budget of $110,000.00 and authorization for the City Manager, or her designee, to sign the contract and any other documents needed to carry this project to completion.
9) Award of construction contract for the “2023 Delano Antenna Towers Demolition Project” in the amount of $1,656,507.00 to Standard Industries from Ventura, CA and authorize the City Manager or her designee to sign any documents needed to carry this project to completion.
10) Resolution approving the Final Map for Tract 7429, owned by Grapevine Villa, LLC., located adjacent to and east of Albany St., between Morse Blvd. and Woollomes Avenue, and authorizing the City Clerk to file the Final Tract Map with the County Recorder.
11) Acceptance of the “2021 Cecil Avenue Sewer Trunk Line Replacement Project” and authorizing the filing of the Notice of Completion
12) Award of contract for the “SB-1 Project No. 5 Local Streets and Roads Pavement Resurfacing & Rehabilitation Project” to Mac General Engineering, in the amount of $1,844,821.00 and authorize the City Manager or her designee to sign any documents needed to complete the project.
13) Award of contract for the “SB-1 Project No. 4 Local Streets and Roads Pavement Resurfacing & Rehabilitation Project” to Burtch Construction, in the amount of $1,921,842.00 and authorize the City Manager, or her designee, to sign any documents needed to complete the project.
14) Award of contract for the “2022 20th Avenue & Norwalk Street Pavement Resurfacing & Rehabilitation Project STPL-5227(070)” to Mac General Engineering Inc., in the amount of $767,045.43 and authorize the City Manager or her designee to sign any documents needed to complete the project. 15) Approval of agreement with Provost and Pritchard Consulting Group to provide plans & specifications for the “ATP-5 Bike Lane and Sidewalk Gap Improvement Project” at various streets locations in Delano in the amount of $119,600.00 and authorize the City Manager or her designee to sign the agreement. 16) Approval of Professional Services Agreement with Perspective Design Architects, Inc. for design of the New Civic Center for $88,700.00 and authorization for the City Manager or her designee to sign this and any other documents needed to complete this project.
17) Resolution ordering the Levy and Collection of Special Taxes for Community Facilities District No. 2021-1 within the City of Delano and to Authorize the County of Kern for Fiscal Year 2023/24.
18) Approval of Professional Services Agreement with CSG Consultants for building division services and authorization for the City Manager or her designee to sign the document.
19) Approval of Large Open Purchase Orders for the Water Division for July through December of 2023.
20) First Reading of an Ordinance of the City of Delano revising Section 10.20 of the Delano Municipal Code related to Traffic Speed Zones
21) Approval of Amendment No. 5 to Lease Agreement 2012-119 for Wastewater Municipal Farm Property (Delano 2) with B&D Morris Farms adding Fagundes Ranch acreage and Authorizing the City Manager or her designee to Execute the Amendment
22) Approval of professional services agreement with Peters Engineering Group to provide engineering design services in the amount of $155,280.00 for the “2023 SB-1(6) Local Streets and Roads Pavement Resurfacing, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Maintenance Project Design” for Browning Road in Delano and authorization for the City Manager or her designee to execute the agreement. 23) Approval of agreement with QK, Inc. to provide plans and specifications for the “ATP-5 SRTS Intersection Enhancement ATPL- 5227(069) Project Design” at various locations along routes to school in Delano in the amount of $169,300.00 and authorize the City Manager, or her designee, to sign the agreement. 24) Approval of Professional Services Agreement with Perspective Design Architects, Inc. for design of the Navigation Center at 726 Fremont for $86,200.00 and authorize the City Manager or her designee to sign it and any other documents needed to complete this project.
Motion was made by Solorio-Ruiz to approve items 1-24 on consent items; 2nd by Morris
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Alindajao/ Morris/ Nunez/ Solorio-Ruiz/ Vasquez
Nayes: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
PUBLIC HEARINGS
25) An appeal of the June 14, 2023, Planning Commission decision to deny Conditional Use Permit Application No. 2023-006, applicant is requesting approval of a resolution of the Planning Commission of the City of Delano approving Conditional Use Permit No. 2023-006 to allow (a) a Convenience Store (including alcohol sales) per Section 20.5.30.B.40 and (b) a Determination of Public Convenience to allow a Type 20 License per Section 20.11.50.D at 2200 Girard Street (APN: 410-070-10)
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais provided staff report.
Pastor David Vivas shared that this is the applicants second time and appealed. On attachment B there is several questions that they provided. He noticed that they did not provide the number of employees. His question is if this will be a self-serve and no employees will be working there? The city council has a right to deny. They are requesting permission to sell alcoholic beverages, can they continue to go forward as a service station, convenience store, or fast food? He believes that it is already in operation. Can they be approved for the proposed project without the alcohol licensing? There are already six establishments right within walking distance that sell beer and alcohol. In his opinion we have way too many places. These individuals have the right to make money. We already have too many places that sell alcohol and the city does not have a limitation on that. There was a shooting on the 2200 block of Girard here this past Friday. I’m not going to say that is a contributing factor at all but to say there is no crime in that area is a figment of someone’s imagination. There is crime all over this city as we all know. Even in good neighborhoods. I would like to ask the city council to deny the conditional use permit for sales of beer and alcohol because there is certainly no shortage of it here in Delano and we do not need any more.
Mayte, the agent for the owners of Delano 76 shared that she was hired to help them provide some more information regarding the license they’re requesting. She asked if all the council had taken a moment to read their statements that have been presented. Last time they were here at the previous meeting one of the commissioners was a little bit lost on what was going on. Ms.
Danielle was able to explain to him what was going on and they still seemed not to understand.
To answer the questions about the employees, there is 4-6 employees that will be there. To answer the question about crimes, crime is not a fair argument because people will commit crimes whether they are on alcohol or not. There are other things that contribute so it is not a fair argument. The owners are just requesting a fair chance. As was explained, there are no limits to those licenses. We have complied with everything that is requested. Beer and alcohol sales bring about 40% of the revenue. The business they are opening is a very expensive business. They do have other businesses but that is beside the point. To deny them a fair chance is not right.
Everything that the law requires from ABC to the City of Delano is being met. We would like a fair chance for this business. Due diligence has been done; our homework has been done. I would like to request consideration of a fair chance. We are just requesting a chance to have a fair business. Crime is committed not only by people drinking alcohol. Whether you allow us to place the business here or if you deny us, people will open somewhere else. As individuals we make our decision to consume alcohol or not. At home it begins where they teach us what is right or wrong. To deny someone a chance for a business because they are not taught how much alcohol is too much is not the fault of the business owner. She believes the arguments that have been made are against their right to have a business.
Saleh Saeed shared that this business had a restaurant before, they were permitted to sell liquor for the restaurant. To start a business the city issues a license. Any business or small convenience store will not work without selling beer and wine anywhere. He thinks that it is competition, there are so many stores that will sell at different prices. It is not against the law to sell beer and wine; however it is getting denied because it is in the same area. He thinks that is not a good reason because America is open for everyone to sell anything legally. There is Rite Aid mixed and other supermarkets and everybody sells and has their liquor license. He thinks the city should consult and approve this license. We are already in the middle of work, and it will be helpful and will provide more taxes for the city. This is his opinion and believes it should be approved.
Suzanne Villaruz, she spoke last time against this project because she hates this project. There are quite a few facilities that sell liquor there, this facility happens to be close to family apartments just down the block across from the church. She thinks that if they market their business, they can make money that way. She does not think that this town is so dependent on alcohol that we must have another vendor sell the alcohol. But she will support whatever decision the council makes. She knows the planning commission was divided. She believes that it is the council’s decision to add even more alcohol for sale in that general area. There are a lot of places that sell alcohol, and she knows that it was denied once. She thinks they should stand by their original decision and support the planning commission. She is firmly against having this business sale alcohol. They already ruined the building that once was a beautiful building. That is just her opinion, her belief as to whether this business should sell alcohol and beer.
Gloria Herrera agrees that there are too many places that sell liquor around here. She can see that area has apartments and does not have housing. She worries about the youth that will have more access. She knows they don’t sell it to minors, but maybe other people may buy it. Alcohol does not cause crime, but it contributes to it. We don’t want another thing to affect our young people.
Maria Martinez shared that we must start at home by educating our kids to do the best for them.
It’s not the alcohol that is going to destroy them, the business needs alcohol. It’s at home where we teach the kids not to drink. We are here to do business. They count on you to do their best.
Although she is against some people here, she believes they deserve to get their license.
Angelica Soto used to live near those apartments and everyone there should have a chance to put a store no matter where it is at. What is wrong with it? If they are doing something wrong, then we can just take their license. That’s it. You have to give everybody a chance to have a business.
Crime is going to be everywhere no matter if they use alcohol or not.
Yolanda Vega shared that the council needs to think about this one because if you decide to deny this, you are setting a precedent. Businesses come here to try to thrive. They come here and try to thrive and bring revenue to our city. What is going to happen when you have another project trying to move in and we have homes being built. We have the Walmart center and other shopping centers that are coming up and alcohol will be included and sold there in those areas.
Down the street on County Line you have a liquor store right in between homes on the corner of County Line next to the laundry mat. It does start at home. This business should have the opportunity to sell. If they completed all the requirements, I don’t understand why the city would deny them the opportunity to sell and thrive in our community. Really consider approving this project because it will be beneficial to our city.
Gina Martinez suggested better planning in the future. They have already invested so much money in this project. Agreeing with what everyone had said, this is their livelihood, this is their business. Since on the topic, we should also consider providing more education on well balanced meals for the youth. She believes that alcohol is contributing. She understands that it’s close to a freeway, so we are in danger of them purchasing alcohol and then getting onto the freeway.
These are adults that are going to make their own decisions. Perhaps we can go towards another project of moving towards the school system to engage the youth center and recreational center to help introduce healthy habits at a younger age.
Public comment closed.
Council Member Vasquez asked for clarification. She asked if this family has done everything that needs regarding the policies and procedures that needed to be followed to get to this? Interim Community Development Director Monsibais responded in the affirmative Mayor Alindajao confirmed that there are 5 licenses in that general area.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais responded in the affirmative.
Mayor Alindajao asked how many alcohol licenses are in the City of Delano Interim Community Development Director Monsibais shared she does not know that information off the top of her head.
Mayor Alindajao asked if she knew at what number it may be an oversaturation in that area or in the city as a whole?
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais states that Kern County passed an ordinance that every local jurisdiction had to pass or approve a determination of alcohol convenience. Whether the area was concentrated or not, before ABC would issue the permit to the applicant, they had to have the local jurisdictions approval or denial. It’s not necessarily overconcentration and that’s why they are coming forward to process a conditional use permit, it that years ago Kern County passed this ordinance that every local jurisdiction had to approve or deny a request of this type. That is why they have come forward previously and now again to see if they can have that approval so they can move forward with ABC.
Mayor Alindajao confirmed it was a type 20 license which means they can take alcohol off the premises.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais responded in the affirmative. They can only sell beer and wine and it is not for consumption on the site.
Mayor Alindajao asked if a hard alcohol license is different.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais responded in the affirmative. A type 21 allows you to sell beer, wine, and liquor. They are not requesting that. They are just requesting to sell the beer and wine.
Mayor Alindajao confirmed that there are two parts to this business, a convenience store and a restaurant portion.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais responded in the affirmative. The development that has occurred onsite has been approved through site plan review that is not discretionary action. It is all ministerial because of their by right uses, they have the restaurant that was approved that now has the drive through. The convenience store/market was approved through the site plan review as well that allows them to do the gas station. They have approval for a future 6-unit commercial lease space that would be at the back of the project site, that is the undeveloped area. Regardless of if they obtain a conditional use permit to sell beer and wine, they can still operate the convenience store, market, and gas station. They just wouldn’t be able to provide the service of selling beer and wine at their location.
Mayor Alindajao confirmed that this is currently a restaurant in a market and at some point, it is going to be a gas station.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais shared that they are working on building the gas station now that would be in front of their property. The license is for the gas station not for the restaurant. We determined that there are 44 licenses within the City of Delano’s limits, not including restaurants.
Mayor Alindajao asked if we knew by comparison how that is equivalent to or compared to other cities?
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais stated she does not.
Council Member Vasquez asked if the City of Delano has a policy where it says there can only be so many liquor licenses in a location.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais responded that the City of Delano does not.
Council Member Vasquez shared that we do not have a policy. These business folks went into this with no policy. They had a plan and had there been a policy that probably would not have been part of the plan. But since we don’t have a policy, I would hold the city council accountable because we don’t have that. We are giving a misperception to our community and businesspeople when they come here to apply for licenses. In all fairness, if there is not a policy then we should not be stopping them because it takes a lot of time and money and not only do they need a license from the City of Delano, but they also have to go through Kern County as well. It’s a very long process. She has been watching this since it started with the planning commission and has seen the barriers they have received. It is no different from this location to the location where the marketplace is where we have multiple businesses opening with alcohol.
They are booming and thriving. I think we would want that for our entire city and community.
Until there is a policy that informs people before they start applying for these licenses and gives them a heads up. I don’t think it is fair that we deny this.
Council Member Nunez shared that he agrees with Council Member Vasquez. If we look at the intersection of Cecil and Randolph, we have 4 businesses there that have a license. We go to Cecil and Lexington we have 6. Getting to the Walmart area there is 8. When speaking with DPD officers who do ABC stings and catch people who are selling illegally to minors, these businesses have not had any negative contacts in several years. I see no reason as to why we should be denying this.
Council Member Morris shared that last time we talked about this was last June. It was denied earlier in that year. At that time, I was in favor of him getting his permit. When we look at it, what does a convenience store do? When you look at any other convenience store, that is how they do business. They sell snacks and drinks, beer, and wine. That is how they make revenue for their business. They are not going to make it only off the gas. In all fairness the applicant should be given that permit. It looks like the people in the area are fine with it. People have choices and when someone wants to bring in another grocery store, we cannot deny them because we think there are already too many grocery stores. In all fairness they should get their permit to allow them their opportunity to be competitive with anyone else.
Mayor Pro Tem Solorio-Ruiz agrees that Councilwoman Morris’s statement was spot on with her analysis on this item. He thanked that applicant for their patience since they have been here for the third time. It is frustrating to hear that, but he is aware that some of us on here did deny it initially and possibly ran to conclusions that we did not have before. Regarding this issue, as a business owner you want to provide this service as far as the food and beverage industry, he thinks alcohol already exists in that area and he has done the required permits that he needs to.
He believes that if it is denied once again, they would be setting the tone to deny some in the future as well. As he mentioned they have checked all the boxes and we need to make sure that the approach that we are taking to this decision is an objective approach. If we want to have a conversation on limiting alcohol permits that can possibly happen in the future.
Mayor Alindajao stated that as legislators they have to make decision on what is acceptable or how much tolerance the city has on certain issues. For example, if we were a strip club wanting to come into our city, the council would have to decide whether that is something that advances an issue if that’s the type of business the city wants. Council member Morris talked about the number of grocery stores there is. That is something well within the discretion of the council members to decide. Council members have to constantly make decisions on what is appropriate for the city. It is not unreasonable for council members to make decisions on those issues. Now in terms of alcohol license, certainly this is a public health issue. And this is not a discussion about whether alcohol is good or bad for the community. I think the issue here is whether there’s truly an oversaturation of alcohol licenses in the city. At 44 I believe we’re oversaturation. If you talk about region, there is a dedicated liquor store that is located there just about 4 buildings away from the applicant. There are 5 in the general area. This is going to be another gas station in a city block that sells alcohol. Not only do I find that there’s an oversaturation within the section. If you count the non-city areas, the Tulare County side can add other one. Those are my thoughts.
Motion was made by Vasquez to approve item 25;
2nd by Nunez
Vote: 4-1
Ayes: Morris/ Nunez/ Solorio-Ruiz/ Vasquez
Nayes: Alindajao
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
26) Public Hearing and Resolution ordering the Levy and Collection of Assessments for the Landscape Maintenance Districts within the City of Delano and to Authorize the County of Kern for Fiscal Year 2023/24.
City Engineer Dowling provided the staff report.
Council Member Nunez asked if this assessment is no different than what other people currently pay within the city for other districts.
City Engineer Dowling confirmed. He states that this is one of those things when people purchase property from the beginning it was part of the agreed tax.
Motion was made by Solorio-Ruiz to approve item 26;
2nd by Nunez
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Alindajao/ Morris/ Nunez/ Solorio-Ruiz/ Vasquez
Nayes: None
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
REGULAR AGENDA
27) Consideration and Introduction of an Interim Ordinance adopting a 45-day moratorium prohibiting the issuance of all new food vehicle and sidewalk vendor permits pursuant to Government Code 65858
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais provided staff report.
Maria Silva shared that she is a sidewalk vendor and sells flowers at the moment. She wanted to apply for another permit. The ladies at the front desk told her that they were not sure if permits would be issued, and she wanted to know what was going on with that. My question would be if in the near future would those permits be issued again? I am following the rules and we try to keep our product clean and we’re moving our product according to city law. We want to comply with the city and those issuing the permits. I know that lots of vendors are out there that have been having problems and some are even out there without a permit. I am just speaking for myself, and I need it for my business. I just wanted to ask the council if the city would review this policy and would they issue permits for selling on the sidewalks in the future.
Yolanda Vega (Via Zoom) shared that her concern is regarding the law that was passed in regard to allowing street vendors as long as they were within the codes and were following the city laws. Are you now trying to remove that or stop that from happening? What exactly are you trying to do in preventing the vendors that are taking the proper channels and are paying for their permit to sell if there is a law that is in place, why are we continuing to obstruct that or make changes when we haven’t even expanded on our food truck vendors. There is no ordinance in place for that as well. We are starting to go backwards instead of progressing forward. As a community we need to sit down and work with our community and for those that are trying to go through the proper channels for the livelihood of their families and there are so many vendors on the streets and vendor selling from their homes or on social media. What ordinance is in place for that as well? The city needs to take into consideration all these people going through the proper channels and obtaining the correct licenses to work alongside with them.
Jose Rodriguez was asked to take a seat for his public comment related to the cemetery.
Pastor David Vivas shared that to his understanding this is for all new food, vehicle, and sidewalk vendors. We just heard a vote right now and heard the city council talk about fairness.
You have established businesses here already who have been paying their licensing and have gone through all they needed to go through to obtain their license. Do you think it is fair to have someone on a city sidewalk selling food who has not gone to obtain their license, has not gone to obtain a permit from the health department? If you are going to be consistent about being fair, then it is not fair for the business that has gone through the right path to legally obtain all their licensing who are paying their fair share of taxes. You can’t legislate more to those that are on social media. But the one that are on our city sidewalk’s you can. And by the way, don’t we have city code enforcers? If so, are they doing their jobs in enforcing the city codes. If they are not, why do we even have city code enforcers? Is it just to fill a position here in the city and they are not doing their job? I’m not against anybody making money and earning a livelihood. Everyone deserves that, but they should do it the right way. It is not fair for the other business owners who have a legitimate established business. Recently, I went to The Little Flower shop here in Delano, I could have gone to a vendor here in the corner and gotten it half the price. But I went to The Little Flower Shop and paid retail price because that business has been there for years and has been doing everything the right way and have their licenses. The same thing with all these vendors, this is for new vendors. If they are going to be on a city sidewalk they need to come forward and comply with the ordinances. Again, if the city council does not approve this then they are not being fair to the businesses who have gone through the right channels and obtained their licenses.
Public comment closed.
Council Member Morris asked if when you go get a permit how long is the permit? Is it a day by day? Or week by week, or weekend?
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais explained that it depends on the type of permit that is being requested. If it is a vendor that sells flowers or items on the street or sidewalk, they have different day permits. For instance, for Mother’s Day, some of those vendors only ask for a weekend permit. They can do a day permit, month permit, they can do 3-months, 6-months, or a year. It just depends on the vendor itself and what type of permit they are wanting to obtain and how long they are trying to sell. Some vendors may only want to sell on those big holidays, so they only ask for that certain day. There are other vendors that are set up daily, for instance the cemetery, they have a year-round permit that they can renew.
Council Member Morris asked if they are different prices.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais confirmed that they are different prices.
Council Member Morris asked if we assume vendors selling flowers have permits? Interim Community Development Director Monsibais shared that code enforcement along with the police department have been working very hard on making sure that every vendor in Delano has a permit. I oversee code enforcement and we keep track of how often they are out on the streets, how many vendors they have cited that do not have a permit or do have a permit. This year, we have gone up in permit fees because we have been out there more making sure that every vendor has the correct permits. We have had multiple engagements with Kern County Environmental Health, police department, and code enforcement that have gone out and done raids on vendors that do not have permits. If they don’t, not only are they being cited by us, but they are also being cited by Kern County Environmental Health. If it involves a food situation, we are tackling the situation. But our ordinances are not up to date. One section reflects another section, then takes you back to another section. I have had this conversation with some of the council. We can have people patrolling, we can make sure that finance is giving every permit possible. The planning department can go through and make sure that every permit that comes through meets all the standards and requirements. However, the language that is being reflected in our current municipal codes do not reflect each other. That is one of the major obstacles that when code enforcement is going out to cite the vendors, they will point to a section and then they point to another section, and it is confusing. Our hope is to clean up the language and make it more streamlined for any resident or community member that wants to have a vendor license to be able to obtain the permit correctly and know exactly what needs to be done. As well as knowing how this process works and who and how it is enforced. This is one of the major reasons why we are requesting that we have the memorandum. It is to allow that time to go ahead and clean up the language that is within our municipal code.
Council Member Morris asked if code enforcement worked on weekends.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais shared that we do have a code enforcement officer that works specifically on nights and weekends and one of his priorities is vendors.
Council Member Morris asked if there was a way we could continue with the permits and be working on the language?
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais explained that what we are asking for is that if you currently have a vending permit, you will continue to operate as is. It is just for new ones. We are not asking to stop or cancel any vendors. California has new laws. Our ordinance is out of date. It needs to catch up to those new laws. This is a catch all, it is not to ban them. It’s to make sure that it is a streamlined process. All vendors will know exactly what needs to happen and it makes the permit easier to process when someone is coming forward to obtain one and they have all the steps in front of them.
Council Member Vasquez asked if the lady that wanted a permit, why didn’t she get one if this has not passed yet? What does that mean for pop-ups coming up? What does that mean for community events coming up? Because people get them as needed. It could be a one day, a few days, a weekend. My concern is if we hold it for 45-days can it go up to 10 months and 15 days? Do you have a timeline if this is passed? I would not like to see it for 10 months. I do understand the concept of people doing it for special events or for pop-ups, are we not going to have pop ups moving forward if people don’t get them daily or for the event? Interim Community Development Director Monsibais stated that the concerned resident that was up here earlier about the permit does have a permit to sell flowers already. She wants to add a new use of selling something different. At the moment she would not be able to if we passed this. She would be able to continue to sell flowers. Any vendor that has a license to sell currently within the City of Delano will continue to operate as they normally have. They would not be able to request any additional items or different types of products. That would be at a standstill until we came back, and your council would approve the new ordinance.
Council Member Vasquez shared that was her concern because it hadn’t come to the council. I would think she should have had the opportunity to get that permit to sell that new item since the council had not yet voted on this. I think you cheated her out of that opportunity.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais explained that it was not staff. We spoke to her husband this morning to explain what the item was for tonight. She did not come to my staff or myself. To that question, if she would have, I would have explained. But she did not talk to the planning or community development department in regard to that. I am not sure what staff she had spoken to, but we had not spoken to her. My staff spoke to her husband this afternoon and explained the situation on what was going on what was going to you tonight. And we let them know that we would contact them tomorrow and give them an update based on the determination of tonight.
Council Member Vasquez I still stand by thinking they got cheated. They could have come in and got the permit and come to the council today. So, I think we cheated them out of the opportunity.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais stated she agreed. They other thing with the pop-up events and outdoor permits. They also have to get an outdoor event permit with community development. Or they have to get a special event permit from Human Resources depending on the location. At that time, we do ask if we are going to have vendors or pop ups and selling items such as food, flowers, or any types of products that you would normally see at pop ups. Most of those types of vendors have permits that can run every day. It is not a one-day situation. They don’t have a 3-month permit. Those are typically the vendors that you would see that are selling flowers, fruit, that kind of thing on the sidewalks. The vendors that go and attend pop ups events are vendors that are constantly selling and going to multiple events throughout the month and year. They have the permit that will allow them to continue to participate in those events if they choose to and still be in compliance with all the permitting that they needed. Staff do not believe it will take us 10 months. Ricardo and I have been diligently working on updating the ordinance. We have met with a couple of council members already regarding this. Staff have already started preparing and looking at other jurisdictions that are making similar concepts with their vendor permits. We are working towards this. We would have to send it to the planning commission. The planning commission would have to make a recommendation to the city council and ultimately you would vote on whether to keep the changes. We are not trying to last 10 months. Just 45-days does not realistically align with when planning commission meets and when city council meets. It would be longer than 45 days due to the time frame, not because we are trying to delay the process by any means.
Council Member Vasquez asked if for the pop-ups during this time their permit expires, that would mean they cannot come back to renew it even if they had it for a year? That’s why I am asking because we have a lot of pop-ups, and it could possibly expire during this time. I already anticipate getting phone calls in a situation like that.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais stated that would be a question that she would refer to Rachel because I do not know. I don’t know if they have a permit, and we are renewing. Does that go through the regular process? Or because we are updating, legally I am not sure.
City Attorney Richman confirmed that she is correct. What a moratorium does, as staff and council member Nunez has asked, was for a moratorium such that those two chapters are no longer available, while we are studying it, for people to apply for those types of permits. That is what happens during a moratorium. If anyone needs to come in and apply for something under those 2 sections, during this period of the moratorium the city effectively has put on hold those chapters of their code.
Council Member Vasquez asked if it includes renewals?
City Attorney Richman stated that is correct. A renewal is basically a new permit, it’s a new application. That would be the question, can you study this and allow the current ordinance to stay live while we make the changes and bring them back? Can staff and the city continue to muddle through or is it necessary, and I am not aware of what the conflicts are, is that making it to difficult to proceed? Or can we continue while we study it and bring it forward through the normal ordinance process without a moratorium? That is the discussion to be had.
Council Member Vasquez shared that is also her question. Can staff go through it and keep it in place? I can anticipate a lot of issues happening if renewals come up and people that do not attend council meetings are unaware of this. Then they go and they already have booking for events thinking that it is routine and do a renewal. That can halt their business tremendously.
Especially if that is their only living wage that they have. What Rachel said is my question to the staff. Could we do both at the same time?
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais believes that staff can do both at the same time. We do need to update the language. It’s conflicting, if you read one section, it tells you to revert to another section. And there is still no answer. So, when we have a community resident come in and is wanting to obtain a permit it is very hard for staff to be able to help them or direct them in the manner that needs to happen because staff themselves it still trying to figure out what sections to quote. It is very hard for code enforcement or the police department to cite the vendor or not cite the vendor because they may or may not be in the perimeters of the permit or license. It is very hard for finance to issue the vendor permits because they may have not obtained the sellers permit or business license and all the requisites that need to happen. Yes, we could continue to issue these permits and work through and then update the ordinance if that is what your council chooses to vote on. But I would encourage you to vote to change and update and amend these ordinances so that we can then serve the community. Also, so the community can obtain the correct licensing and go through the proper channels.
Council Member Nunez stated that we do need to update our ordinance. According to SB1946, it specifically tells every city that the Safe Sidewalk Vendor Act is to protect the vendor and the city. There is specific stuff that needs to be done. Not just anybody can hang out at an intersection and pop their truck open and be selling shrimp out of the truck of a car. There is no food safety handling. That was the intent of this here. I don’t like the fact that we cannot continue to issue permits to people who already have them. My goal and the reason for this is to move it forward, and for anyone who wanted a new one, not issue a new one until we as a city can fix all this and we understand what we were doing. I have heard all the complaints that when law enforcement or code enforcement goes out there and a vender is at an intersection and they are trying to cite or bring someone to compliance and they find a specific section where this vendor is violating, then the vendor has paperwork stating that it contradicts the city’s own ordinance that tells them you cant do this but you read this other section they can. It puts staff in a predicament of what do we do? The goal behind this is for us as a city to get our paperwork in line. When somebody walks in here and they want to be a flower vendor they know what they need to do, what paperwork they need to fill out, and what specific permits they need. Not to come in one day and be told by upstairs they need this and then they go downstairs and are told they need something different. That is what is happening right now every time somebody comes in. The young lady that came up here earlier is trying to expand her business, but we are telling her no when we have no ordinance or anything saying that we cannot. Which is wrong on our part. Regardless of who said it she should have been guided through the whole process and started her process today. Did they make a mistake by not going to the right place because someone didn’t tell her? It’s not either here or there. It goes back to why I requested this to be put on here because there are too many people telling everyone what they need, and it is not what they are asking for but something totally different. My goal is for somebody not to be able to renew, my goal is to fix ourselves and move forward. If we do this correctly, it will be a longterm help.
Mayor Pro Tem Solorio-Ruiz thanked councilman Nunez for bringing this forward. If we recall the previous conversation about a year ago, on the left there were folks that were divided on a new food truck that we were possibly going to approve. And there were folks on the right who wanted the food truck to move forward because they did all the requirements. As it is right now, we can see that the ordinance and the logistics they do clash with each other. As of right now if we do have a permit come forward or an applicant come forward, we have the right to approve it based on the conditional use permit that is currently in place right now. Then also, if you point to another section, it’s suggesting not. So, it does not make sense. This item was brought forward with good intentions to clean ourselves up. I think 45 days is not too much to ask for. I think it is appropriate to clean up our mess and if staff are confident to bring something back and it sounds like they have been working on this for a while to bring this back. I think it is acceptable. What I don’t think is accurate is the fact that the individual here today in the audience uses words as ‘we cheated them out’ of being an applicant. I don’t think that is accurate. Because we didn’t hear terms of them trying to apply or there was intention to apply, none of that was brought forward and that staff denied that issuance or guidance to that potential applicant. It makes sense, and we might be overthinking it a little bit, it’s 45 days. Let’s just get this through and clean up our stuff.
City Attorney Richman clarified that it won’t be just 45 days. That is important for the council, and maybe Danielle can add, since it does have to go to the planning commission. I have not seen any of the ordinance changes, unless this is ready to go, it would need to have a public hearing in front of the planning commission and then another public hearing in front of the city council for those changes. If we do approve the moratorium, I just want to understand that 45 days is what statute requires and is a 2-step process. I consider those 45 days as the initial opportunity to let the public know. Then you come back, and you will usually say ‘we are asking for an extension for up to 10 months and 15 days’, but we plan to come back in 2-3 months. Just by the process that this would have to go to planning commission first then to the city council.
Interim Community Development Director Monsibais shared that she counted the days from planning commission to August 17 city council and is one day shy of 45 days. It will most likely be coming back in September to the city council because of those time periods. It would be more than 45 days. Staff do feel confident that we can have it back to your council within a timely manner and make the September city council hearings. Which would be a little bit over 45 days.
Mayor Alindajao shared that he has been working with Danielle on trying to clean up the city in a sense with a lot of illegal vendors and working on proper staffing with code enforcement. This issue first came up during the food truck issue where the way of approval of the permit was a loophole in the current law. I think that is how the conversation started, it doesn’t involve Del Rey the restaurant and the other applicant. I get the meaning behind the moratorium and the issues that we are having with the ordinance. My issue with this item is that I don’t think the harm is so great that it requires a moratorium. The current state law gives street vendors a path forwards to vend and sell items of their choice. I’m not sure, and if Rachel would like to comment on this or not, how legally we can pause state law so that we can change our own law.
Unless there is some provision within state law that allows cities to make changes of set moratoriums. I don’t know. The biggest issue for me is I think we are going to be depriving folks from their sole path of income if we pass this moratorium. 45 days is a long time. There are folk out there that vend. They sell items of goods, food for a living, and although they may meet all the conditions and criteria to properly get permitted through the city, we’re going to deny them those licenses until we change the ordinance. Rachel, if you want to chime in on this. I’m thinking of due process issues. I’m talking in terms of the ability to get a permit, although state law allows it, and then the city steps in to pause it.
City Attorney Richman clarified that the government code that provides for moratoriums is that you can for periods of time put certain approvals on hold even though they’re permitted if we believe it is creating issues within the city. Again, I am not exactly clear about what the conflicts are I know that staff if noting some of them. It is typically a higher standard. These ordinances and interim moratoriums are to be used judiciously. The question is, does the council believe that the issues and conflicts that exist here are of such a substantial nature that we can use the power that the government code gives us under 65858 to do the moratorium? That is sort of why you have a moratorium. If you believe it is creating public health and safety concerns due to the conflict. Again, I don’t know if those are present. That is a council determination based on what staff observes. Also given that it appears as if this may be coming forward soon, it may not be necessary. Even if you can’t make it within the 45 days, maybe it can just expire on its own. It appears that we might be able to continue to muddle through without having this moratorium.
That is what the discussion is at the moment. You are pointing out why sometimes these ordinances can be challenged because you deem to be certain that you’re doing so because there are real concerns with having the conflict that exists as being truly a problem for the city.
Mayor Alindajao shared that because Danielle has told us that these things can happen concurrently, I don’t see how the benefit of being able to have the 45 days to change the law is any weightier than the harm that’s produced by not having the moratorium. It sounds like the only inconvenience or harm that is going to cause the moratorium is just the fact that you can jump through loopholes to get to a permit. I don’t like that. That shouldn’t be, the law should be consistent and evenly applied. But I don’t think that the harm is so great that we might deny someone’s livelihood when they request a permit. So that’s my thought, my estimation on that. I don’t think the harm outweighs the benefit for a moratorium.
City Attorney Richman suggested if they don’t want to approve this, there can just be direction to with all due speed staff will continue to make those changes and process an actual ordinance for planning commission review and recommendation to the council. That can be the option if the council does determine that the moratorium is not necessary at this time.
Council Member Morris shared that she understands the moratorium for 45 days. What is the 10 months and 15 days? I don’t understand that.
City Attorney Richman explained that is how the statue is drafted. That is straight out of the state law statute. There is an initial 45-day period of time. Typically, whenever someone is undertaking a moratorium is because they are studying the issues, you are aware of a conflict, and you need to come forward with what those changes are. It does take a little bit of time. The state law sets those time periods. It just allows you to go for the full 10 months and 15 days, you don’t have to take that full amount of time. That’s what the statues timeframe is. There is also another provision that you can do a full 24-month moratorium as well. I didn’t use that one because that is extreme and didn’t think we want that. That is straight out of the statue, it was not a time that staff picked. You just put that in there knowing you can come back sooner.
Council Member Morris confirmed that we have 45 days for us to decide what the ordinance is going to be and then we have 10 months to get it out there to revise or inform everyone of what it is? No?
City Attorney Richman explained that moratorium is basically pauses those two chapters in your code. It pauses them in the sense that they are not effective. The entire time of the moratorium, which is 45 days plus you have to come back and extend it up to 10 months and 15 days. I agree the timeframes are odd, but it is what the statue provides. I often think the 45 days is just another initial ability to provide public notice because on some of these moratoriums, you need to come back and show what you are studying and what you are doing. We used to see these when regulations were coming down that required us to permit certain massage parlors or certain types of uses that were of concern. Where police departments and so forth would need to study things and it did take a period of time and you would have to report that back to the council. That is why that time period is there. It’s either moratorium that puts us on pause or its no moratorium, but you are going to still be processing the actual ordinance with the changes that staff and the council would like to see.
Mayor Alindajao thanked Rachel. He asked if the finding in terms of the moratorium has to be something significant. Even for a 2-year moratorium under state law.
City Attorney Richman confirmed. You’ll see in the ordinance itself it states that you are making a finding that there is a current immediate threat to public health, safety, and welfare. If these permits and licenses continue to be approved under the process we are having. I’m not privy to what the conflicts are. I just know things are not working well. Those facts are what the staff is discussing with you all. I would agree, I am not hearing anything in here that seems to be of a public health and safety, but I could be wrong there could be other issues. I’m not the decision maker here, but I do think it sounds like the staff is processing this in a timely manner.
Then you’ll be able to have an ordinance come forward that addresses the changes that staff, and council are concerned about.
Council Member Vasquez had a question about the motion. Can we just give staff direction? Or do we have to have a motion of what we are giving them direction of? City Attorney Richman stated if there is no motion or consideration on approving what is on the agenda, you can always provide staff direction. It does not have to be by motion. If staff is clear that it has what that direction is. If it is confusing, sometimes I will ask for a motion, but the staff is hearing what the concerns are.
Mayor Alindajao stated that for clarity of the record and to get the consensus on the record I prefer a motion for direction if that’s okay.
City Attorney Richman agreed that it provides clarity to staff when they know the exact direction that they got. It is not required but it can be very helpful.
Mayor Pro Tem Solorio-Ruiz shared that we all want to solve the root issue, which is permitting. Regardless of if we don’t move forward with the moratorium and we recommend to staff to discuss that item in the future I think at the end of the day we will solve the issue.
Motion by Vasquez to give direction to city staff to come forward with an ordinance for the planning commission that addresses the conflicts that staff and council have noted.
That ordinance will then come forward to the council after the planning commission. 2nd by Solorio-Ruiz
Vote: 5-0
Ayes: Alindajao/ Morris/ Nunez/ Solorio-Ruiz/ Vasquez
Nayes:
Absent: None
Abstentions: None
DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS
An update on the Aquatic Center construction by City Engineer Dowling
COUNCIL STATEMENTS AND REPORTS
Council Member Vasquez: shared she is glad Tractor Supply is here. She did want to ask and is not sure who to ask in regard to the city investing in equipment for the Spanish speakers that attend council meetings. I know I have been to community meetings where they have a headset, and somebody is speaking to them while the meeting is going on so it’s not a distraction and it flows easily. If we can look into that, I’m not sure who I would ask to look into it. The other thing that I would need direction on would be that I want to conduct a couple town halls regarding our park and recreation. I have been approached throughout the community, even from coaches asking regarding programs that we can bring. It would also be helpful to do town halls so we can recruit people to be volunteers. I don’t know who I need to talk to regarding staff so that I can arrange that, and I could facilitate them with the assistance of staff.
Council Member Nunez: stated that at the next council meeting or as soon as we can get staff out here to do a presentation of what we are currently working on at the recreation department as far as what programs we are doing and what we have done and what we have lined up here for the future. I’m very familiar with what we are doing, and we may just not be getting it out to the public correctly. If we can get staff to come out and do some type of presentation to show us all that stuff. Veronica brought up the headsets and mics. I do recall when we first started there used to be a box with headsets and mic in there. If we can get that back out here for the interpretation.
The last one, at our last city council meeting the city attorney did do a presentation regarding all the issues out there at the cemetery and maybe we can put it on the agenda and have the city attorney and or manager do the presentation of what we were given at that last meeting so everybody can hear it themselves on why we can or cannot get involved in the issue regarding the cemetery.
Council Member Morris: shared that she is very excited about the park and the pool and the progress that we’ve done out there. I look out there and see where we are. It’s exciting to see it coming up. I just wanted to give our condolences to Mario for the loss of his dad, I want to say something about his dad, and I want you to know how sweet that man is. We would see him at the senior citizen dances, and I got a chance, or we got a chance to dance with him at the Christmas party. He was having such a great time. And to see him out there on the distribution food line out at Memorial Park, his dad was always sitting there helping us with that project.
What a wonderful man he was, and he will not be forgotten by me and our condolences to you.
Mayor Pro Tem Solorio-Ruiz: shared he is also excited about Tractor Supply. I had to pull my folks out there this weekend. They went Saturday, Sunday and wanted to go again. I saw most of my colleagues there and was glad to see the grand opening. I did want to invite the community this upcoming Sunday thanks to sponsors, doners and city staff, to our 2nd Annual Back to School Supply distribution. It will be at our 11th Avenue Community Center from 1:00-3:00PM.
We will be distributing free backpacks. We coordinated with some local barbers as well as other hair stylists to offer free haircuts to boys and girls. We have about 10 barbers for the boys and about 4-5 for the girls. It’s for free so we posted on social media, if you know anyone that can go and get those services. I went the other day, and my hair cut was about $30 so imagine if you have 5 kids. Definitely take advantage of this service. We are also going to have a bounce house, community resources, and different organizations are also going to table. We will have an arts and craft section and some music to enjoy. I also want to provide my condolences to Mr. Mario Nunez on the passing of his father. Losing someone is such a tough situation to be in, it affects your entire family. My heart goes out to him and his family. I am aware that another leader in the community passed away as well. That was Josefina Flores. In honor of both Mario Nunez Sr. and Josefina Flores, I would like to close the meeting in their honor tonight.
Mayor Alindajao: I also want to express my condolences to Councilmember Nunez on the passing of his father. As well as the two young victims that lost their lives over the weekend.
There appeared to be a shooting on the Girard area of the city. Theres a lot of investigators involved to help that matter come to a resolution. I want to direct staff to bring back for discussion in the first meeting in October, a discussion regarding SB329. I would like the staff to bring recommendations. This law will go into effect January 1. It involves pay raises for council members. I believe the spirit of SB329 is to open the pool of candidates for public office. I would like to have a discussion on that with recommendations that first meeting in October with a possible effective date of January 1, 2024. Council Member Vasquez and Council Member Nunez mentioned the parks and rec getting a staff report. That would be helpful to inform the community about the programs that are going on in the City of Delano. I was also at the Tractor Supply grand opening. It’s a very modern and beautiful building. I know was an eyesore there for a while, but I am so glad that they are there. I think they are a great business. I don’t personally shop there as much but I plan to. I walked in there and it is pretty big and they offer a lot of great products and they have chocolate.
CLOSED SESSION
No items
ADJOURNMENT
Moved by Mayor Pro Tem Solorio-Ruiz seconded by Vasquez and unanimously carried 5-0 to adjourn the meeting at 8:08p.m.
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Nancy Garcia, City Clerk