CITY OF HIDDEN HILLS
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REGULAR CITY COUNCIL MEETING
(IN-PERSON AND VIDEO CONFERENCE)
6165 Spring Valley Road
Monday, February 27, 2023 at 5:30 p.m.
NOTE: The Hidden Hills City Council and City staff will be participating in this meeting in- person in the Council Chambers, at the teleconference locations noted above and via remote video conferencing (Zoom). Members of the public also have the opportunity to participate in- accommodation pursuant to the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA") please contact Deana Gonzalez at 818-888-9281 or [email protected]. If you are hearing impaired and would like to watch the meeting on ZOOM, once in the meeting room select the button "live transcript" and then select "show subtitles". Members of the public will have the opportunity to address the City Council on agenda and non-agenda items in person, via Zoom or by email as indicated
MINUTES
CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Hidden Hills was duly held via teleconference and in person on Monday, February 23, 2023 at the hour of 5:30 p.m. Mayor Steve Freedland called the meeting to order and presided thereover.
ROLL CALL
Council: Mayor Steve Freedland
Mayor Pro Tem Eniko Gold
Council Member Joe Loggia
Council Member Laura McCorkindale
Council Member Larry G. Weber
Staff: City Manager Kerry Kallman
City Attorney Roxanne Diaz
City Engineer Dirk Lovett
City Clerk Deana L. Gonzalez
Accounting Specialist Theresa Hernandez
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City Council Minutes
П Faguary 27, 2023
CITY COUNCIL COMMENTS
Mayor Freedland announced that Item 10B has been removed from the agenda. Mayor Freedland also announced that residents can sign up for the most recent CERT classes being hosted at the Founder's Hall in Calabasas.
Council Member McCorkindale stated that she attended the Los Angeles County Board meeting for Cal Cities, which was also attended by Sheriff Luna, who updated the cities on changes and reforms at the Sheriff's Department.
AUDIENCE
Resident Mathy Wasserman expressed her concern regarding the use of taxpayer general fund monies being used for consultants on City projects and not tangible items the residents want, including alternative designs for projects that were originally approved.
Resident and Hidden Hills Community Association Board Member Eric Epstein stated that he is the Board liaison for the City and looks forward to working together on bridging the two organizations together.
STAFF COMMENTS
City Engineer Lovett assured the Council and residents that staff has been working with contractors at job sites during these winter storms to make sure that erosion controls are in place.
PRESENTATION
City of Hidden Hills Investment Advisory Services - Update Regarding City's Investment Portfolio by City's Investment Advisors
Mr. Matt Dalton, Chief Executive Officer & Chief Investment Officer, Belle Haven Mr. David Hopkins, Senior Vice President, Beacon Pointe Advisors City Council Minutes
February 27, 2023
City Manager Kallman provided a power point presentation showing the annual investments review for the last four calendar years. The review shows the diversification of investments in the Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) vs. Schwab/Beacon Point/Belle Haven. He then introduced Mr. Matt Dalton from Belle Haven who discussed the City's portfolio by maturity breakdown; comparison of interest gained between Schwab/Beacon Point/Belle Haven vs. the Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF), and how the City's portfolio in 2022 outperformed the comparable indices, some by a rather large margin. It was also mentioned that the City can expect to receive roughly $296,626 in income based off the 2.18% yield to worse figure. At this time, it is recommended to keep the portfolio as is.
Council Member Loggia asked Mr. Dalton to provide a schedule that breaks out the maturities by month for the upcoming year, which Mr. Dalton said he would provide such schedule. Council Member Loggia also asked Mr. Dalton if the City is appropriately positioned and whether or not we should be investing more or investing less. Mr. Dalton replied that the City is well diversified and he wouldn't recommend any changes.
Mayor Freedland suggested that he and Council Member Loggia serve on an Ad Hoc Committee to review the City's Investment Policy to ensure it is up to date and working the best for the City.
Council Member Loggia agreed.
MONTHLY DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS
A. Los Angeles County Fire Department Report- January
Assistant Fire Chief Drew Smith presented the following report:
the month of January had 3 medical calls, 2 service calls, 1 hazardous condition (power line down), 1 fire call (small fire in utility room in the garage. Fire appeared to be extinguished by water lines from the sink bursting) and 5 good intent calls for a total of 12 responses; Fire Chief Smith mentioned that the Fire Department has been dealing with a lot of mud and debris flow issues but there were not any monumental problems.
City Council Minutes
February 27, 2023
B. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Report - January Deputy Mason DeMatteo presented the following report:
during the month of January there were zero Part I crimes and two trespassing calls.
C. City Engineer Report
City Engineer Lovett presented the following report:
1) Overhead Power Lines - After meeting with the HHCA and residents on Little Hollow, plans are being revised. SCE's and Charter's revised plans have been completed and AT&1 is working on theirs. City staff is working with SCE to obtain the necessary easements tor this project. SCE completed their preliminary design work for Jed Smith Road, between Fitzpatrick and Kit Carson Road. This is being reviewed by City staff. 2) LVMWD Pump Station Generator - Work on the generator began earlier this month and is scheduled to be completed in April. Staff is working with the Community Association and Water District on the design and plan review of the noise attenuation wall. 3) at its meeting of 2/27/23, the City Council will consider a proposal to schedule an envisioning workshop to discuss the conceptual design.
PUBLIC HEARING
Consideration of An Ordinance Amending the Hidden Hills Municipal Code Regarding Senate Bill 9 Subdivisions and Development Projects and Finding the Ordinance is Exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act Pursuant to California Environmental Quality Act Regulations Section 15061(b)(3)
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIDDEN HILLS AMENDING ARTICLE O TO CHAPTER 2 OF TITLE 5 OF THE HIDDEN HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE REGARDING SENATE BILL 9 SUBDIVISIONS AND
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND FINDING THE ORDINANCE TO BE EXEMPT
FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) PURSUANT TO SECTION 15061(b)(3) OF THE CEQA GUIDELINES
City Attorney Diaz presented the following report:
the item before the City Council is essentially a cleanup item to implement permanent regulations regarding Senate Bill 9, which was passed by the legislature to increase housing production by requiring a ministerial review of 2 lot subdivisions referred to as urban lot splits or development projects for up to 2 units per single family residential, which is a City Council Minutes
February 27, 2023
duplex; SB 9 requires cities to allow 2 units to be built on property zoned for a detached single family home, and further require cities to allow single family lots to be subdivided into 2 separate lots; the City can impose objective zoning and development standards, and those are in the attached ordinance as required by State law; staff believes that the proposed ordinance will impose the objective standards that have been developed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the City; and it is not precluding the development of a construction of 2 units of at least 800 square feet, which is what the law requires the City to allow, and the City is maintaining setbacks as permitted by State law; also, the ordinance will require the applicant to sign a covenant to prohibit short term rentals of any of the units on the site, and also require that those additional units be for affordable housing.
At this point, since there are no technical questions from the City Council, Mayor Freedland opened the public hearing.
As there were no more comments or objections, Mayor Freedland then closed the hearing.
As there was no further discussion, upon MOTION of Council Member Weber, seconded by Council Member McCorkindale, and unanimously carried on roll call vote, it was resolved to introduce by title only, and waive full reading of Ordinance No. 384 related to objective standards for SB 9 projects.
CONSENT CALENDAR
A. City Council Minutes - February 13, 2023 Regular Meeting B. Demand List
C. Disbursement List - January
D. Financial/Treasurer's Report - January
E. Investment Statement - January
Reconsideration of the Circumstances of the COVID-19 State of Emergency and Determine that the City will Continue to Hold Meetings via Teleconferencing Pursuant to the Finding set forth in Government Code Section 54953(e)(3) City Attorney Diaz addressed item F stating that as of 12:01 tonight the Governor will lift the state of emergency, but just in case there was a change to the policy, it was decided to include this item on the agenda for approval.
City Council Minutes
February 27, 2023
Upon MOTION of Council Member Loggia, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Gold, and carried unanimously on roll call vote, it was resolved to approve items A, B, C, D, E, and F of the consent calendar as submitted.
OLD BUSINESS
A. Consideration of Approval of an Agreement with StudioMA for Design Services Related to the Round Meadow and Mureau Roads Entrance Beautification Project City Manager Kallman presented the following report:
in 2020, the City sought proposals for landscape design services for a potential renovation project at the City's entrance at the Round Meadow and Mureau Roads intersection, and selected and approved a design concept from L. Newman Design Group, whose firm had designed the landscape component of the Long Valley entrance/parking lot project); in 2021, the City Council reconsidered the final landscape design and staff worked with StudioMA on a potential redesign of the landscaping elements of the Long Valley project, which were approved in December, 2021; once the updated design for the Long Valley project was approved, an updated design for the Round Meadow/Mureau project was recommended, as many of the elements in the Round Meadow project were based on the previous Long Valley design; in March, 2022, a contract with StudioMA was approved to provide an alternative design; in November, 2022 a rendering was presented to the Council, and input was received; StudioMA suggested that a conceptual monument be included as part of the project; to discuss and provide preliminary design concepts for an entry monument, a proposal to host an envisioning workshop is included in this proposal attached for an amount of $16,300, and also included in the proposal is an additional $7000 for a lighting design.
Mayor Pro Tem Gold asked the City Manager why staff is not recommending including the lighting design at this stage for which City Manager Kallman responded that he felt it was unnecessary to spend the money on lighting until the City Council has approved a conceptual design and rendering.
Resident Mathy Wasserman had concerns that some residents who live in the area of Round Meadow by the gate may not want a monumental entrance and suggested the Council poll the residents.
City Council Minutes
February 27, 2023
The City Council discussed approval of the lighting option in the proposal and after all the opinions were heard, upon MOTION of Council Member McCorkindale, seconded by Council Member Weber and unanimously carried on roll call vote it was resolved to approve the proposal from StudioMA in the amount of $16,300 to host an envisioning workshop and provide an updated rendering based on the workshop, and not include the lighting option at this time.
B. Consideration of Approval of a Construction Contract with Martin Construction Inc. for Phase One Fiber Conduit Construction in the Area of Ashley Ridge and Jim Bridger
This item was removed from the agenda, as announced by Mayor Freedland at the beginning of the meeting.
C. Project Update and Consideration of Approval of Southern California Edison's П Invoice for the Design, Labor and Material Costs Associated with the Little Hollow Road Undergrounding Project
City Engineer Lovett presented the following report:
in December, 2021, the City Council authorized staff to proceed with the design of utility undergrounding on Little Hollow Road, which was requested by the residents on Little Hollow Road; the estimated cost of this project is $600,000 and will remove 4 utility poles; a preliminary design was approved by all parties, and SCE required easements have been received by most affected property owners; upon receipt of all signed easements, and final plans from the utility companies, staff will advertise for construction bids to install all undergrounding infrastructure and hardware, then the utility companies will then come in and pull their wires, install electronics in the cabinets, and remove the poles; in addition to the initial design deposit of $5,000, SCE has submitted two invoices to the City, one in the amount of $39,526.81 and another in the amount of $28,966.47, which are for the balance of the design work, labor and material to install wiring and electronics, and the remove of the poles; SCE has also requested the City sign an Agreement for Replacement of Overhead with Undergrounding Electric Facilities.
Council Member Loggia stated that he is a proponent of utility undergrounding, but discussion with the City Manager and City Engineer he is questioning the process of selecting the areas to be undergrounded and prioritization of those areas, and related costs. He also suggested that the City City Council Minutes
February 27, 2023
do more publicizing to the residents about the utility undergrounding program and may be more groups of residents will come to the City to take advantage of this program.
Mayor Pro Tem Gold agreed and also expressed her desire to have a master plan or mission statement in regards to utility undergrounding. She'd like to move that an item be included on an upcoming agenda that will discuss ways of coming up with a plan to prioritize undergrounding projects, and what is the best use of taxpayer monies.
City Manager Kallman stated that at the next Council meeting, there will be an item discussing an Assessment District plan, and if the City Council agrees to move forward with such a plan, then that is something that can be worked on concurrently.
After much discussion, the following motions were made:
Upon MOTION of Mayor Pro Tem Gold, seconded by Council Member Weber, and unanimously carried on roll call vote, it was resolved to approve the payment of SCE invoice #455113 in the amount of $39,526.81 for the design, labor, and material associated with the Little Hollow Undergrounding Project, approve the payment of SCE invoice #492403 in the amount of $28,966.47 for the pole removals associated with the Little Hollow Undergrounding Project, and authorize the City Manager to sign the Agreement for Replacement of Overhead with Undergrounding Electric Facilities, subject to City Attorney review.
Upon MOTION of Mayor Pro Tem Gold, seconded by Council Member McCorkindale, and unanimously carried on roll call vote, it was resolved to agendize a discussion of prioritizing utility undergrounding projects and the City's funds, at a future Council meeting D. Report from the 2/21/23 Las Virgenes Malibu Council of Governments Meeting City Council Minutes
February 27, 2023
Mayor Pro Tem and COG President Gold reported that she is very happy to be serving as the President of the COG. Supervisor Lindsey Horvath was in attendance and provided comments about homelessness and public safety metro funding. She also ensured the COG, her commitment to the region and she will provide leadership and support to our cities and district. The COG approved retaining a grant research writing consultant, with costs to be split with the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting was adjourned Alland