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MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
AUGUST 9, 2022
CALL TO ORDER
The regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Highland was called to order at 6:00 p.m. by Mayor McCallon at the Donahue Council Chambers, 27215 Base Line, Highland, California.
The invocation was given by Pastor Tracy Johnson, Immanuel Baptist Church, and the Pledge of Allegiance was led by Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn.
ROLL CALL
Present: Chavez, Lilburn, McCallon, Solano, Timmer
Absent: None
REPORT FROM CLOSED SESSION
None
SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
None
PUBLIC COMMENT (ITEMS NOT ON THE AGENDA)
Christian Flores spoke as a representative for the residents of Fairway Mobile Home Park and gave an update on the progress of the resident’s concerns being addressed.
Luis Ojeda spoke regarding his concerns for a property located on Central Avenue and T hird Street that has unsightly debris and for his concerns for the misrepresentation of citizens on the westerly side of Highland.
CITY COUNCIL CONSENT CALENDAR
A MOTION was made by Council Member Solano, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn, to approve the consent calendar as submitted. Motion carried on a roll call vote, 5-0.
1. Waive the Reading of All Ordinances
Waived the reading of all Ordinances in their entirety and read by title only.
2. Minutes – July 12, 2022 City Council Regular Meeting Approved the Minutes as submitted.
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3. Minutes – July 14, 2022 City Council Special Meeting Approved the Minutes as submitted.
4. Warrant Register
Approved Warrant Register No. 744 for August 9 , 202 2, in the amount of $974,252.94 and Payroll of $229,007.60.
5. Treasurer’s Report for June 2022
Received and filed Treasurer’s Report for June 2022.
6. Claim Consideration – Anthony Serrano
Rejected claim.
7. Declare One (1) Seat Vacant on the Historic and Cultural Preservation Board 1) Declared one (1) seat vacant on the Historic and Cultural Preservation Board; and
2) Directed the City Clerk to advertise the vacancy on the Historic and Cultural Preservation Board.
8. Records Destruction Authorization
Approved the destruction of certain records.
9. Contract Bid Award – Bid No. 2022-06, “Highland HVAC Systems Maintenance, Monitoring and Repair”
Awarded the contract to provide maintenance, monitoring and repairs to City facility HVAC units to the lowest responsive bidder, F.M. Thomas Air Conditioning, Inc. (Thomas).
10. Contract Bid Award – Bid No. 2020 -11, “Asbestos Removal and Demolition of a Single-Family Residence and On -Site Improvements Located at 7433 Central Avenue”
1) Awarded the contract for Bid No. 2020-11, “Asbestos Removal and Demolition of a Single -Family Residence and On -Site Improvements Located at 7433 Central Avenue” to the respons ible low bidder, BeckCo, Inc., in the amount of $47,575.00; and
2) Approved the following budget adjustment for FY 2022/2023: Transfer $47,575 from 070-2100 (Housing Authority-Fund Balance) to be expended from 070-7000-4556 (Contract Services-Demolition).
11. Cooperative Fire Protection Agreement (Automatic Aid Agreement) between the City of Highland and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Authorized Cal Fire Battalion Chief Sean Landavazo to execute the Cooperative Fire Protection Agreement on behalf of the City.
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12. Cooperative Agreement with Caltrans for Victoria Avenue Interchange/Project No. ich17006
1) Approved a Cooperative Agreement with Caltrans for Implementation of the Project Approval/Environmental Document (PA/ED) Phase of the SR -210 Interchange; and
2) Authorized the Mayor to sign the Cooperative Agreement.
13. Revised Memorandum of Understanding with Yuh aaviatum of San Manuel Nation/Victoria Avenue Interchange
1) Approved the revised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Yuhaaviatum of San Manuel, formerly known as San Manuel Band of Mission Indians (San Manuel), for implementation of the Project Approval/Environmental Document Phase of the Victoria Avenue Interchange Project; and
2) Authorized the Mayor to sign the MOU.
14. Second Reading of Ordinance No. 453 – City of Highland Community Facilities District No. 2022-01 (Mediterra) Authorizing the Levy of a Special Tax Therein Conducted a second reading, read by title only, waive d further reading of Ordinance No. 453, an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Highland, California, Acting in its Capacity as the Legislative Body of City of Highland Community Facilities District No. 2022 -01 (Mediterra) Authorizing the Levy of a Special Tax Therein.
ORDINANCE NO. 453
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND,
CALIFORNIA, ACTING IN ITS CAPACITY AS THE LEGISLATIVE BODY OF CITY OF HIGHLAND COMMUNITY FACILITIES DISTRICT NO. 2022-01 (MEDITERRA) AUTHORIZING THE LEVY OF A SPECIAL TAX THEREIN
CITY COUNCIL PUBLIC HEARING
15. Adoption of an Urgency Ordinance, Extending for an Additional 12 Months through August 23, 2023, an Existing Moratorium on the Approval of Applications for Land Use Entitlements for New Service Station Uses or the Expansion in the Number of Pumps of Existing Service Station Uses
Mayor McCallon stated we have two public hearings on this agenda tonight. The first one is adoption of the urgency ordinance extending for an additional 12 months through August 2023 on an existing moratorium on the approval of applications for land use entitlements for new service station uses. This will be presented by Assistant Community Development Director Stater. He will now open the public hearing.
Assistant Community Development Director Stater stated thank you, Mayor, and Members of the City Council. When this was first enacted about a year ago staff has worked on an analysis of this item and some of the concerns we had with this particular use in the City. We have completed that analysis and have worked on a municipal code amendment language for that, and a GIS analysis. We just did not
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get that back to Council before the one-year expiration. We would like to take it to an ad hoc committee next Tuesday, which has been scheduled for 10:00 a.m. and then take that to the Planning Commission on September 6, then back in October at the Council meeting. Our request is for an extension at this time but we will bring the information back to you shortly.
Mayor McCallon stated this is a public hearing item. Is there anyone in the public who wishes to speak either for or against this item. Seeing none, we will close the public hearing and bring it back to the Council for discussion and action.
A MOTION was made by Council Member Timmer, seconded by Council Member Solano, to adopt Ordinance No. 454 extending the moratorium on the approval of land use entitlements for new service station uses and expansion in the number of pumps at existing stations for an additional 12 months. Motion carried, 5-0.
City Clerk Hughes introduced Urgency Ordinance No. 454
URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 454
AN INTERIM URGENCY ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND,
CALIFORNIA, ENACTED PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 EXTENDING FOR AN ADDITIONAL 12 MONTHS, THROUGH
AUGUST 23, 2023, AN EXISTING MORATORIUM ON THE APPROVAL OF
APPLICATIONS FOR LAND USE ENTITLEMENTS FOR NEW SERVICE
STATION USES OR THE EXPANSION IN THE NUMBER OF PUMPS OF
EXISTING SERVICE STATION USES IN THE CITY OF HIGHLAND,
DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF AND MAKING A DETERMINATION
OF EXEMPTION UNDER THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY ACT (CEQA)
which title was read.
16. Specific Plan Revision (SPR 22-001) Proposing an Amendment to the Greenspot Village & Marketplace Specific Plan (SPR 06 -001) to Increase the Total Dwelling Unit Count from 800 Dwelling Units to 946 Dwelling Units and Design Review Application (DRA 22 -004) Proposing the Construction of 546 Multi -Family Residential Units, a 7,500 Square Foot Leasing Office, Recreation Areas, and Outdoor Courtyards on a Vacant Site
Mayor McCallon stated he will open the public hearing and ask Associate Planner Syed to give the presentation.
Associate Planner Syed stated t hank you very much Mayor and good evening Council Members. To the north of the project site are existing residential homes along Calhoun Road and Eucalyptus A venue. To the south is vacant land with a few commercial buildings along Boulder Avenue. To the east is the existing USPS facility and to the west is more vacant land on which TREH P artners 200-unit residential complex was approved in 2021. The Greenspot Village and Marketplace specific plan was established in 2014 to outline the future developments of the Golden Triangle area. Since then, entitlements were
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approved for Rexco Development in 2020 to construct 200 apartments in Planning Area Three and additional entitlements were approved for TREH Partners in 2021 to construct 200 apartments in Planning Area Two. The build out of Planning Area Two is in orange and is the item that is being presented to you today. With 400 residential units already approved for construction and a current planning build out of 800 units, the specific plan only allows for the construction of an additional 400 units which results in a density below the minimum of 20 dwellings per acre within Planning Area Two. The applicant is looking to increase the maximum dwelling count for Planning Area Two from the current 700 to 746 and increase the total build out number from 800 to 946 for the whole specific plan. Contingent upon the specific plan revision, the applicant is proposing the construction of a 546-unit apartment complex that will build out the remainder of Planning Area Two as well as the residential portion of the entire specific plan . The 546 units comprise of complexes known as townhomes located along the eastern part of the site and garden flats which are located throughout the rest of the development. The townhomes consist of 144 units of one-, two-, and three-bedroom layouts, with an attached two car garage on the ground floor. The garden flats consist of 402 units of one- and two -bedroom layouts with assigned detached garages or covered carport spaces depending on the location of the specific unit. Primary access to the development will be provided through Access Point C, otherwise known as the extension of Calhoun R oad, which will be signalized at Greenspot R oad by the Rexco Development project. A secondary access point is proposed onto Boulder Avenue at the end of the Village Paseo , toward the southeast corner of the site. The applicant has also been conditioned to construct a 5-foot-tall wrought iron fence in the landscape median on Boulder Ave nue between Webster Street and Eucalyptus Avenue a s part of this project. The architecture for the buildings consists of Spanish influence for the townhomes and a Monterrey style elevation for the garden flats, which are two potential elevations that are discussed in t he Greenspot Village and Marketplace specific plan . A t the July 5 Planning Commission hearing , the Commissioners provided the applicant with a list of directives to incorporate into the revised design of the complex. This list has been provided for you as an attachment to the staff report. The applicant went ahead and accepted and incorporated each of the directives except for the request to replace the garden flat Monterey style shingle roofs with flat tile roofs. Perimeter landscaping along the street adjacent to portions of the development will feature ground cover comparable to the trees that are found along the rest of the Greenspot corridor such as Crepe Myrtle trees with Evergreen Pear trees. The southern portion of the Village Paseo will be accented by California Sycamores, Coast Live Oak trees, and Afghan Pines. The western and northern boundaries will feature Chinese Flame trees with clusters of Evergreen Pears and Bloodgood London plant trees and the entrance points from the southern end and Boulder Avenue will be aligned with fruitless olive trees and additional Coast Live Oak trees. The developer has been conditioned to initiate the process of establishing a Communities Fa cilities District (CFD) prior to occupancy for maintenance and upkeep of the landscaping in the median and a right -of-way and frontage along Boulder Avenue. The complexes’ residents will provide the cost for maintaining the CFD. The required number of parking spaces for the project is 1,026. 546 of those will be covered spaces and 480 being uncovered, including guest parking. The proposed design offers 639 covered spaces and 371 uncovered spaces for a total
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of 1,010. While the project substantially exceeds the required number of covered spaces, it does fall short overall by 16 spaces. This would fall into the uncovered category. Staff’s analysis of the site layout and circulation is supported by the 1,010 spaces that have been provided. As mentioned , t he townhomes will feature attached garages on the ground floor of their respective units. The garden flats will offer both detached carports and detached garages, depending on the specific location of the unit as you can see here. The remainder of the prim ary interior corridor will feature the uncovered guest parking spaces. The proposed development offers a variety of amenities for the community as well. In addition to the Village Paseo that spans the entire southern portion of the community, the complex also offers two community pools and a gym inside the clubhouse at the center of the property. Additionally, there are two tot lots, two dog parks and an entertainment terrace with community BBQ grills at the east end of the site. As discussed previously, th is project was anticipated during the adoption of the Greenspot Village and Marketplace specific plan and mitigation measures have already been included as part of these certified environmental impact reports. At the July 5 Planning Commission meeting , staff received several letters from neighboring property owners expressing their general concern on privacy and security and how they would be affected by the proposed development. The Planning Commission provided a list of directives and included additional conditions of approval to the project to h elp address their concerns. Since the Planning Commission hearing , staff has received two additional letters from adjacent developers within the Green spot Village and Marketplace specific plan that expressed their support for the development. Staff and the Planning Commission recommend the City Council introduce an ordinance to adopt Specific Plan Revision SPR22 -001 and adopt a resolution approving Design Review Application 22-004. Thank you, staff and the applicant are available to answer any questions you may have . He believes t he applicant is also here with a few short words about their company and the project.
Jonas Bronk , A lliance Residential, stated t hank you for having us here tonight. Thank you, Associate Planner Syed, for a great presentation, he really covered the bases of the what and the where of the project very, very well. Thank you to Community Development Director Mainez and Assistant Community Development Director Stater for helping us. He thinks they have been working on this project for about a year now, even thoug h in i ts original form, it look s very much like it does today. They think they have addressed it and made some improvements. He also wants to thank the Council for hearing us out tonight and you, Mayor McCallon. If you do not know much about Alliance Residential, he thinks he will just do a couple minutes on them and then if there are questions about the project specifically, he can address those as they come up. Alliance is either the largest or the second largest builder of multi-family residential projects in the nation depending upon what year you look at it and what publication you are reading. They are the local division of Alliance, the Southern California division. He has been with the company for seventeen years. This division has been open for about twenty-five years. Here is a list of the projects that have been completed under his watch since 2005. As you can see, ther e are projects in Los Angeles, San Diego, Inland Empire, and Orange County. He was going to do a case study on one of their projects, but the limited amount of time he thinks he will just talk a
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little bit about why we like this particular project here in Highland. They really like that it is part of a specific plan. They like that there are design constraints and there are planning limitations so that they will know what is coming in the future. They know what it is going to look like. They are the third project to come through so we can see that there is real momentum to create a community in this corner of Highland. This is very exciting to them. They know that there is a big need in this community. A b ig need in Southern California generally for additional housing .
They are building 546 market rate units. They do not do affordable, they will be paying the affordable in -lieu fee on the project, which he thinks is approximately $2,000,000. This will be their first project in Highland, and as they always say, this one is going to be the best. So, they always try to do a little bit better than the last project. Thank you for your time. He has the architect here, the landscape architect is here, and the civil engineer here to answer any questions the Council might have and of course he is happy to stay up here an d field questions all night, if that is what it takes.
Mayor McCallon stated thank you very much. Any questions of the applicant, any questions of staff before we go to the public.
Council Member Timmer stated just a clarification, y ou mentioned the coast redwoods. Where are you planting those? Normally they do not do very well here in this smog.
Dan Delle, MGS landscape architecture, stated are you talking about the oaks?
Council Member Timmer stated n o coast redwood, it was mentioned coast redwood he thought, unless he misheard.
Dan Delle, MGS landscape architecture, stated it was the oaks and the California, no redwoods.
Associate Planner Syed stated it was coast live oak trees. Yes, coast live oak trees on the southern portion as well at the entrances.
Mayor McCallon stated i s there anyone in the public who wishes to speak either for or against this item before we go to the letters we received? Seeing none, City Clerk Hughes has two letters that were received.
City Clerk Hughes stated she has, thank you.
City Attorney Marroquin stated she thinks we had someone come in.
Unidentified speaker stated he does not know if Council is going through letters that the homeowners up there wrote. He just wants to see where the privacy is.
Mayor McCallon stated we have those letters attached to the staff report.
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Unidentified speaker stated he is just wondering what eventually happened with that because last meeting it was kind of left on what was going to happen as far as the privacy of those neighbors on the north and on Boulder Avenue there.
Mayor McCallon stat ed it is his understanding that the Planning Commission requires an eight-foot block wall to be built along the northern border to provide some privacy along with some planting along that wall.
Unidentified speaker stated okay, so it was an 8-foot because he knows they were talking about wrought iron first or something.
Mayor McCallon stated no, it is an eight-foot block wall.
Associate Planner Syed stated it was part of the conditions and then the plans were also modified.
Unidentified speaker stated he appreciates it, thank you.
City Clerk Hughes read the first letter from Patrick Tritz, San Carlo Apartment Homes, in favor of the project.
City Clerk Hughes read the last letter from Tom Robinson, TREH Partners, in favor of the project.
City Clerk Hughes stated that concludes the comments she received.
Mayor McCallon stated very good, thank you. Anybody else wish to speak on this item? Seeing none, he will close the public hearing and bring it back to the Council for additional discussion.
Council Member Timmer stated he just wants to let others know he met with staff earlier to talk about the circulation issue s. He had a little concern, but they addressed those concerns. He has a question for Community Development Director Mainez. We have had lots of issues dealing with the State of California Housing Element. As I calculate this now, these increased units put us over 20 units per acre, he thinks. Does that meet all the state standards through what we are trying to achieve or what they are telling us to meet? And the second part is, he thinks the applicant talked about how they do not do affordable housing, but they are paying the in-lieu fee, which he supports. Can you talk about what this does in the future to meet our state's housing element requirements?
Community Development Director Mainez stated sure, it is pretty simple. This specific plan was recognized by the State HCD when we adopted our housing element. So, anything that is built within this specific plan is c redited to achieving our certification for the housing element in the past and in the future. That is the short answer.
Council Member Timmer stated s o this additional density will make that even further to meet the standards in this picture.
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Community Development Director Mainez stated it helps achieve our goals . The fact that it is not affordable is irrelevant to the housing element because the density is what the State required us to build. So, this just helps us achieve that goal as well.
Council Member Timmer stated he knows we have been fighting that battle with the State for a long time . Upfront he does not like high density projects, but he knows the State asked us politely to do certain things and as long as this project helps us meet some of those requirements then he will support what we are doing here.
Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn stated she just has a couple of questions. With adding so many additional units do we have to do an additional environmental impact report?
Community Development Director Mainez stated no, we have done our analysis and determined that the E IR that was certified for the specific plan is adequate. The additional units are insignificant to traffic, noise, or quality.
Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn stated one of her questions is on the parking. We have always prided ourselves when we built the apartments to make sure that we had garages or substantial parking arrangements for the residents that live there. So, she sees that some of them are garages, some are carports or covered parking and some we are just shy to meet the requirements of the units. Why is that?
Community Development Director Mainez stated the difference is very small.
Associate Planner Syed stated right, the total shortage is 16 spaces.
Community Development Director Mainez stated and those are uncovered.
Associate Planner Syed stated yes, uncovered.
Council Member Timmer stated how much are t hey providing, it was over 1,000 he thought.
Associate Planner Syed stated right. So according to our parking requirement, it would be 1,026. They have provided 1,010. So very close and they have actually over provided the number of covered spaces and garage spaces, and technically the shortage is in the uncovered spaces.
Community Development Director Mainez stated it is all about design. It is how they laid out that parking. You will notice on the design that Associate Planner Syed is putting up that corridor in the center is, if you think of it as a wing of a bird, that is the parking for the guests, so the east and west is well served by the guest parking. Just by design they were short somehow because we want a lot of landscaping, we want a lot of amenities and so we had to sacrifice a little bit of that parking.
Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn stated that allows for enough f rontage commercial space for this specific plan.
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Community Development Director Mainez stated y es, it certainly does. Based on the market today, absolutely.
Council Member Chavez stated he just wants to say this is a great project for the City of Highland . The design and the review are great. It is amazing, this is something that he thinks young people are really looking forward to living in. It is kind of like what is trending right now throughout southern California. He is super excited to see this pro ject go through. He will make a motion if we are done discussing.
Mayor McCallon stated he has several items he wants to talk about. First, t he landscaping plan calls for Crape Myrtles along Boulder Avenue. Crepe Myrtles are beautiful trees, but they are very messy, and they do not belong on the street. He would think that we would not put them all along Boulder Ave nue there because they create a mess on the streets and on the sidewalks. They look nice but when all those flower things fall down, they are really annoying. So, he would request that we not have Crepe Myrtles on Boulder Avenue. If they want to put them in the interior of the project, fine, but not on public right-of-way if you will, where they are dropping all that stuff onto the sidewalks.
Associate Planner Syed stated thank you Mayor, so that is correct, we understand your concern and so we consulted with our City’s landscape architect for some alternative solutions. Potentially he had suggested maybe Japanese Zelkova as an alternative tree for that area but he believes the applicant’s landscape representative is also available for some pointers, if possible.
Mayor McCallon stated as long as we do not put any messy trees there, he does not care what they are called.
Dan Delle stated it was part of the specific plan so they followed it but they have no objections to the alternatives.
Mayor McCallon stated y ou talked about garages , we have detached garages , what units get these?
Associate Planner Syed stated the detached garages are for the select few garden flats and the remainder of the garden flats get the carports. All the townhomes get the attached garages on the bottom floor.
Mayor McCallon stated he understands the garages are for the one -bedroom or two-bedroom garden flats.
Associate Planner Syed stated he believes the applicant could probably specify that a bit better.
Jonas Bronk stated every unit would get one covered space.
Mayor McCallon stated he is talking about the garage.
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Jonas Bronk stated yes, sir, well, that will just be distributed based on a vailability when units come up.
Mayor McCallon stated s o you are not going to have them assigned to any particular garden flat.
Jonas Bronk stated no, he does not think so.
Mayor McCallon stated another question is what will prevent them from being used for storage rather than cars?
Jonas Bronk stated the lease that they sign.
Mayor McCallon stated so it is going to be in the lease.
Jonas Bronk stated it will be enforced, yes.
Mayor McCallon stated because if they start using them all for storage then we really run out of parking spots.
Jonas Bronk stated yes sir.
Mayor McCallon stated and t hese days many people use their garage to store things rather than put their cars in them.
Jonas Bronk stated we have seen that problem in the past.
Mayor McCallon stated well it is going to be taken care of in the lease.
Jonas Bronk stated that is right.
Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn stated she just wants to add, normally when we do rentals and apartments, we have them sign a multi crime-free agreement. I s that something that we have asked them to do and is that something they have agreed to do?
Community Development Director Mainez stated that is a requirement of the code, so they would have to follow that standard and he thinks that was a condition but if not, it does not matter, they have to participate in that crime -free housing program, which is basic training. It is a one to two-hour seminar. They look at their lease agreements to make sure there are terms in there to make it easy to evic t problem tenants, and then there is an inspection by our Police Department , Fire and Code.
Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn stated i t might be covered but he does not look like he is familiar with that so she wants to make sure. On Boulder Avenue, there was going to be wrought iron, can you tell me about the purpose for that?
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Community Development Director Mainez stated it is a safety barrier for people running across, like Council Member Timmer pointed out, he thinks we actually have an exhibit up there.
Associate Planner Syed stated page 178 are the City Council conditions. He thinks what we are looking at is the packet or resolution that went to Planning Commission.
Mayor McCallon stated essentially there is this 8-foot block wall that is separated from the garages and the carports. The question he has, and he thinks it needs to be an engineering condition of approval, is there needs to be some engineering to take care of the drainage off those roofs and where does that drainage go? He believes there is something in the engineering conditions of approval that talk about that in the drainage section. Because now that we have that 8-foot block wall there, between the carports and the wall, the water from the carports is going to come down between those two and where is it going?
Jonas Bronk stated we have addressed that issue. If you look at this screen here, you can see that the carports are pulled back from the property line.
Mayor McCallon stated he u nderstands but what is the engineering that is going to take that water away?
Jonas Bronk stated well, there is a drain on the back of the carport itself. A leader will come down and take it into the system.
Mayor McCallon stated it is not addressed in our drainage conditions of approval, Public Works Director/City Engineer Zamano. He understands there is something and he just wants to make sure that our Engineering Department is aware.
Jonas Bronk stated he would understand that to be a standard condition and that you cannot drain your water onto somebody else ’s property in all cases so it has been considered and taken care of.
Mayor McCallon stated as far as engineering and where it is, where does the water go and that sort of thing?
City Manager Hughes stated i f you look at the engineering condition under drainage, E30, it basically requires them to drain the entire site to the south of the project which would pull the water away from that wall.
Mayor McCallon stated yes, but i t is not going to go south, it is going to go east and west to begin with.
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Council Member Timmer stated well they are required under law to maintain the water on the site. So obviously they have some way to transfer the water to put capture for percolation or other reasons. Just make a point with staff to consider this as an issue, in the minutes, how the drainage comes off the larger carports and facilities, how they are going to be handled, and make sure we do not forget to address it. To make sure that it does not slip through the cracks somehow, we need to put it in the minutes.
Mayor McCallon stated yes since we put in this wall at the last minute, my concern is have we adequately taken care of the drainage issue?
Public Works Director/City Engineer Zamano stated Mayor, we can certainly do that to amend the engineering conditions to include the drainage of the area that you have mentioned. That is a concern that has not been addressed in the current engineering conditions, is that acceptable.
Mayor McCallon stated yes.
Mark Bertone, Madole & Associates, stated he is the civil engineer on the project. He will try to save the day here. Running east/west, in the drive aisle along the northern boundary we have a large storm drain so he could see anything that is not intercepted in the gutter at the edge of the roof, you know the roof drain up there. Anything that falls from the sky and gets in that little area we could have a concrete swale with some area drain inlets to an underground pipe that would go around the garage and then tie into the storm drain out in the street. He thinks that would satisfy what you are concerned about.
Mayor McCallon stated that is what he wants to hear.
Mark Bertone stated glad to be of service.
Assistant Public Works Director Bennett stated M ayor, if he may, Engineering Condition 30 is intended to meet that concern. Assistant Community Development Director Stater suggested adding language to that condition and it could help satisfy this. When we are talking about demonstrat ing how drainage conveyance off-site will replicate pre -development flow , discharge, quantity intensity and demonstrate adequate drainage away from proposed buildings, fences, and walls.
This would be our general grading plan review and we would ask that the engineer is going to demonstrate that they are not increasing discharge or intensity to a previous location that was not seeing that drainage.
Mayor McCallon stated okay, but he likes what the engineer just said , the applicant’s engineer. The planning conditions of approval , he thinks there needs to be a condition in there that talks about what has to be done before the first occupancy. He thinks we need to add to that the wrought iron fence in the middle of Boulder Avenue needs to be done before the first occupancy.
Associate Planner Syed stated so we would like to add a condition.
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Mayor McCallon stated no, he just wants to modify that condition that talks about what has to be done before the condition of approval . T he occupancy , first occupancy, there is one in there. He is sorry he cannot find it because he does not have his notes in front of him.
Assistant Public Works Director Bennett stated again Engineering Condition 14 speaks to the improvements for Boulder Avenue.
Mayor McCallon stated there is one in there that talks about what needs to be done before first certificate of occupancy.
Community Development Director Mainez stated Mr. Mayor, you are referring to Planning Condition 11, and it does say Boulder Avenue frontage and perimeter landscaping, paseo, perimeter walls, recreational amenities shall be constructed in advance of the first residential certificate of occupancy. We will add the wrought iron fencing as well.
Mayor McCallon stated we need to add to that and the wrought iron fence in the middle of Boulder.
Community Development Director Mainez stated we will amend that.
Assistant Public Works Director Bennett stated and that is repeated again in Engineering Condition 4 prior to occupancy wrought iron fence shall be constructed.
Mayor McCallon stated in the engineering conditions; he did not see it there.
Assistant Public Works Director Bennett stated it is the second to last sentence. In a raised landscape median with a wrought iron fence along the centerline of the median for the intersection of Eucalyptus and Boulder south to the intersection of Webster.
Mayor McCallon stated yes , it should be built, but it does not say before the first occupancy and that is in the Planning Commission.
City Manager Hughes stated it is covered now in the planning.
Mayor McCallon stated right, it is covered. He believes that is all he had.
City Manager Hughes stated just to clarify, there were three items. The first was the type of tree on Boulder Avenue. Did we specify a tree type so we can include that as the record?
Mayor McCallon stated they mentioned something, he does not know which.
City Manager Hughes stated he just wants to make sure it is clear, the specific tree.
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Associate Planner Syed stated he had brought up our discussion with our City landscape architect. He suggested Japanese Zelkova to replace the Crepe Myrtles along Boulder Avenue, if the applicant’s team is okay with that.
City Manager Hughes stated okay, and then the second item was drainage away from the walls, going to the east and west direction for runoff from the buildings.
The applicant suggested some language regarding concrete s wales to remove that. Public Works Director/City Engineer Zamano, do you have a specific section in the engineering conditions you would like to modify to make sure that is clear?
Public Works Director/City Engineer Zamano stated what we can do is add that condition into the drainage section in the engineering conditions to include what City Manager Hughes indicated, that their engineer suggested, that you approved Mayor.
City Manager Hughes stated let us come up with some language, so it is clear, and it does not fall through the cracks. He thinks it would be either Engineering Condition 30 or 31. Either one of those we could add the language to. He thinks it would just be something along the lines of, to ensure that drainage to the east and west of the property is carried away from the perimeter walls , in stall concrete swales where necessary.
Public Works Director/City Engineer Zamano stated concrete swales and inlet that will collect the runoff and then drain it to the front.
City Manager Hughes stated yes, where necessary . Is that language acceptable to the applicant? Yes, he just gave me the thumbs up. Then the final item was the fence on Boulder Avenue. We are going to modify the planning condition that prior to occupancy the wr ought iron fence on Boulder Ave nue will be installed in the median. It is Planning Condition 11.
Mayor McCallon stated okay, any other comments or questions?
Council Member Timmer stated he just wants to say a couple of things , just for reference, it is really not a condition or anything. The previous plan to this revision showed Calhoun being an axis out of this project to the north, to Eucalyptus and to Boulder. He understands why we are not doing that. There are some concerns from the residents to do that, however, logically it is practical to do that be cause this is the only street you could make a left hand turn out of this project onto Boulder. We are already addressing the people walking across Boulder to get to the post office because there is no easy way to get there. No action, it is just soapbox time. The other thing is, do we have in our City’s standard designs, an issue on trees? We just talked about trees again and we have the whole street with one species of tree. Back from my educational days, you do not generally put a monoculture of the same species. If you get insect infestation or diseases, you lose
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all your trees at the same time. We try to vary the species. We talk about this but they always like to put all the same trees in for visual effect. For the health of the tree, it is not really a good idea. So again, he is off his soapbox. Just be aware that when you plant the same trees or plants, when you have an infestation of insects or disease or some other kind of problems, you can lose them all at the same time.
Mayor McCallon stated what is the Council's pleasure?
Council Member Timmer stated he will move approval of the project with those three revisions we discussed.
Council Member Chavez seconded the motion.
A MOTION was made by Council Member Timmer, seconded by Council Member Chavez, to:
1) Introduce Ordinance No. 455 to amend the Greenspot Village & Marketplace Specific Plan (SPR 22-001); and
2) Adopt City Council Resolution No. 2022 -042 to approve Design Review Application (DRA 22 -004) subject to the Conditions of Approval and Findings of Fact. Motion carried as amended, 5-0.
City Clerk Hughes introduced Ordinance No. 455
ORDINANCE NO. 455
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND,
CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE GREENSPOT VILLAGE & MARKETPLACE SPECIFIC PLAN (SPR 06-001A) AND MAKING A DETERMINATION THAT THE
ADOPTION OF THIS ORDINANCE IS EXEMPT FROM FURTHER CEQA
REVIEW UNDER CEQA GUIDELINES SECTION 15162, PUBLIC RESOURCES CODE SECTION 21666 AND GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65457
which title was read.
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-042
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND, CALIFORNIA, TO APPROVE DESIGN REVIEW (DRA 22-004) TO
CONSTRUCT 546 MULTI-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL UNITS, A 7,500 SQUARE FOOT LEASING OFFICE, TWO (2) RECREATION AREAS, AND OUTDOOR COURTYARDS ON A VACANT 25 ACRE SITE WITHIN PLANNING AREA 2 OF
THE GREENSPOT VILLAGE & MARKETPLACE SPECIFIC PLAN
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CITY COUNCIL LEGISLATIVE
17. Sheriff’s Department Schedule A Amendment for Fiscal Year 2022/2023
Director of Administrative Services Dantuono gave a brief review of the staff report.
A MOTION was made by Council Member Solano, seconded by Council Member Chavez, to:
1) Authorize the M ayor to execute the amended Schedule A contract (FY 2022/2023 for Law Enforcement Services with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department when received; and
2) Approve the following budget adjustments for FY 2022/2023; Expenditures of $303,830 from 001 -2000-4560 (Contract Services-Police Services) and Revenues of $13,065 from 001-1450-7100 (Sales Tax) and $290,765 from 001-1450-9544 (EVWD Police Services Fees). Motion carried, 5-0.
18. Amendment to Measure I Five -Year Capital Improvement Program (Fiscal Years 2021/2022 through 2025/2026)
Public Works Director/City Engineer Zamano gave a brief review of the staff report.
A MOTION was made by Council Member Solano, seconded by Council Member Timmer, to adopt Resolution No. 2022 -043 approving the Amended Measure I Five-Year Capital Improvement Program (Fiscal Years 2021/2022 through 2025/2026). Motion carried, 5-0.
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-043
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF HIGHLAND,
CALIFORNIA, APPROVING AMENDED FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL IMPROVEMENT
PROGRAM FOR MEASURE I LOCAL STREET PROGRAM FOR
FISCAL YEARS 2021/2022 THROUGH 2025/2026
19. Measure I 5-Year Capital Improvement Plan (2022/2023-2026/2027)
Public Works Director/City Engineer Zamano gave a brief review of the staff report.
A MOTION was made by Council Member Timmer, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn, to:
1) Approve the Measure I Capital Improvement Plan Expenditure Strategy (2022/2023-2026/2027); and
2) Approve Resolution No. 2022 -044 adopting the Measure I 5 -Year Capital Improvement Plan (2022/2023-2026/2027). Motion carried, 5-0.
RESOLUTION NO. 2022-044
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY HIGHLAND,
CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING THE MEASURE I FIVE-YEAR CAPITAL
IMPROVEMENT PLAN FOR FY2022/2023 THROUGH FY2026/2027
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20. City Manager Report and Comments (Work Program, Regional/Legislative/ Development Issues, Subcommittees, etc.)
City Manager Hughes stated t hank you Mayor. Just a few things. The audit, the actual field work for the audit will begin in mid -September so we will have our auditors out. On July 27 , staff participated in a public workshop held by the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District . At the workshop, the District Board explored potential opportunities for the property they purchased. Basically, the old Harmony Project, which is now referred to as the Tr es Lagos property. So, they are starting the process, essentially what they are going to do with the site. They are beginning the process now . S taff will stay engaged and we will give you updates on what they plan to do but he does not see any housing going out there.
On August 1, staff was informed that S CAG Disadvantaged Communities Active Transportation Planning Initiative, a transformative equity centered visionary tool which the City of Highland was an active participant, was honored by the California Chapter of the American Planning Association, and we will be receiving an award for that. On August 2, the Planning Commission approved entitlements for a small 54,000 square foot warehouse in the northeast corner of Third and Central. Although no tenant was disclosed, construction is anticipated to begin in early fall. On August 4, the Cultura l and Historic Preservation Board discussed a potential date and budget for the 25th Annual Citrus Harvest Festival, and we will be bringing that item forward to the City Council in September. You have probably already noticed this; the freeway contractor is starting to do some reconstruction of the cross gutter at the westbound Base Line on ramp to provide a smoother transition, so that work is underway. Design and drawings are almost complete for the reconstruction of a 1,000-foot section of trail along E mmerton Lane due to reoccurring erosion problems. We plan on putting that project out to bid within the next few weeks. The Fire Department, for the month of July , responded to 489 medical aids, 9 structure fires, 9 vegetation fires, 10 vehicle fires, 9 hazardous materials responses, 10 ringing alarms, 12 false alarms and 34 public assists. The Sheriff's Department, from July 11 to August 7, had 3,273 calls for service, made 239 reports, and arrested 136 individuals. Saturday, August 27, we will be having a compost giveaway here at City Hall. Saturday, September 10 will be a Highland Improvement Team project. Monday, September 12 a blood drive is being held.
Actually, that is a Blood Drive Committee meeting and then Monday, September 26, would be an actual blood drive and that will be held at the Highland Police Station. The illegal dumping work orders for 2022, there were 1,045. So far to date for the month of July, we have had 144. They are definitely out there picking up the trash.
21. Council Member Comments (Agency/Committee/AB 1234 Reports, District Updates, etc.)
Council Member Chavez stated he attended the Sterling Natural Resource Center grand opening . It was a really great event with a great turn out of people . The facility is amazing, and it is great for our community and great for our City. He really enjoyed it and he is glad that it is finally happening.
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Mayor Pro Tem Lilburn stated she too attended the opening of the Sterling Natural Resource Center, and it is a beautiful facility. It is a g reat opportunity for organizations to rent the facilit y. She also attended John Mu ra's retirement party and we provided him a proclamation from the City of Highl and wishing him well wishes. On August 4 , the Airport had their inaugural flight to San Francisco and Provo, Utah. Breeze came in, a lot of people have attended it . The first flight flew in from San Francisco and from Utah. The Mayor of Provo, Utah, was on the flight and the President of Breeze. She had the pleasure of christening the airplane with champagne and it was a nice event. The Highland Senior Center is having its Volunteer Recognition on August 19 to recognize all the volunteers that stuck with us during COVID. We still have about 75 to 100 volunteers. The grant for shopping for seniors is really catching on for those seniors out there that live in Highland and who meet the income qualifications. The Senior Center will go shopping within the budget to pay for groceries and provide seniors with some groceries that they would not necessarily be able to afford. So, if you know of a senior in the City of Highland that could use that help, have them please call us.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
None
CLOSED SESSION
None
ADJOURN
There being no further business, Mayor McCallon adjourned the meeting at 7:18 p.m. in memory of Senator Robert Dutton.
Submitted By: Approved By:
Betty Hughes, MMC Larry McCallon
City Clerk Mayor