WRITTEN
PUBLIC
COMMENT
CITY COUNCIL
MEETING
MAY 3, 2022
Rules of Procedure Resolution No. 2015-
023 as applied to Planning Commission
Meeting April 26, 2022
Alena Callimanis
La Quinta Residents for Responsible Development
La Quinta
CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MAY 3, 2022 - PUBLIC COMMENTS BY RESIDENT ALENA CALLIMANIS
MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA - RULES OF PROCEDURE
La Quinta Resolution No. 2015-023
• La Quinta Resolution No. 2015-023, as Amended and Restated Rules of Procedure, is applicable to City Council and all City Commissions. • In section 4, Rules, Decorum and Order, subsection (d), it is explicitly stated that “Councilmembers shall accord the utmost courtesy to each other, to city employees, and to the public appearing before the Council and shall refrain at all times from rude and derogatory remarks, reflections as to integrity, abusive comments, and statements as to motives and personalities”.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MAY 3, 2022 - PUBLIC COMMENTS BY RESIDENT ALENA CALLIMANIS
MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA - RULES OF PROCEDURE
Regarding Planning Commissioner Kevin McCune’s Conduct
during the April 26, 2022 Planning Commission Meeting
• You have received the letter from the La Quinta Residents for Responsible Development, LQRRD, dated May 3, 2022 regarding Commission McCune’s behavior during the April 26, 2022 Planning Commission Meeting • Commissioner McCune used inflammatory rhetoric, made derogatory comments about not only public comments but also about fellow Planning Commissioners’ comments that were opposed to the project • Commissioner McCune demonstrated a lack of respect regarding the public comments against the project. He was critical of the people who commented as well as the comments themselves.
• And all the while he was pounding on the table to emphasize his comments CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MAY 3, 2022 - PUBLIC COMMENTS BY RESIDENT ALENA CALLIMANIS
MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA - RULES OF PROCEDURE
Please ask for Commissioner McCune’s Resignation and
set aside the vote
• We came here today to address Commissioner McCune’s violation of Section 4 and ask you to please consider our request to have him resign from the Planning Commission
• This type of behavior and comments that were observed and are on record have no place in the City of La Quinta proceedings • Thank you for your consideration
CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MAY 3, 2022 - PUBLIC COMMENTS BY RESIDENT ALENA CALLIMANIS
MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA - RULES OF PROCEDURE
Please don’t label us “Cancel Culture”
• As you can see, we are not commenting on the other Commissioners who voted to support the Coral Mountain Project
• We are just addressing the deplorable nature of Commissioner McCune’s comments, which have no place in La Quinta City government
CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MAY 3, 2022 - PUBLIC COMMENTS BY RESIDENT ALENA CALLIMANIS
MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA - RULES OF PROCEDURE
La Quinta Residents for Responsible Development
P.O. Box 2004
La Quinta, CA 92247-2004
[email protected]
Delivered by hand and by email
May 3, 2022
Honorable Mayor Evans, Mayor Pro Tem Fitzpatrick, Council Members, City Staff and City Attorney Ihrke,
Planning Commissioner Kevin McCune violated La Quinta Resolution No. 2015-023, Amended and Restated Rules of Procedure, which is applicable to City Commissions, at the April 26, 2022 Planning Commission Meeting. Section 4, Rules, Decorum and Order, subsection (d), states that “Councilmembers shall accord the utmost courtesy to each other, to city employees, and to the public appearing before the Council and shall refrain at all times from rude and derogatory remarks, reflections as to integrity, abusive comments, and statements as to motives and personalities”. Thus, La Quinta Residents for Responsible Development, LQRRD, are respectfully requesting that you immediately ask for the resignation of Planning Commissioner McCune.
During deliberations, Commissioner McCune said while pounding the table, “If a private owner wants to develop a gated, walled community by his own money, who am I to say no”. His role was to determine if a development should move forward. However, his statement showed Commissioner McCune believes his role is to rubber stamp all developer applications.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MAY 3, 2022 - PUBLIC COMMENTS BY RESIDENT ALENA CALLIMANIS
MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA - RULES OF PROCEDURE
Furthermore, Commissioner McCune was disrespectful to the people who commented against the Project. “Most public comment is only here because it is against something. People don’t come here to support something in my history. So they will do anything they can to comment against something, even if it is redundant, off point, call it a circus, call it an amusement park, do whatever you want. He added, continuing to pound on the table, “People who are for the project are very quiet because they have to live in the same communities as those that don’t support the project, so you never hear from them”.
However, there were many presentations from supporters as well as the opposition during public testimony on March 22, April 12 and April 26.
The Commissioner labeled our comments as redundant and off point, although we have meticulously researched our presentations so they were based on scientific fact.
His misconduct at the Planning Commission Meeting was deplorable and goes against the Ethic Code of La Quinta officials. Based on the inflammatory rhetoric by Commissioner McCune, we request you set aside the vote and redo it at a future Planning Commission meeting as well.
The City’s Charter is a fundamental tenet of the City of La Quinta, its citizens and its leaders, to protect and maintain the public health, safety and welfare through self-governance at a local level.
Its goals, policies and programs are those of the people of La Quinta and are not intended to facilitate the agenda of any outside group or foreign entity.
Thank you for your urgent response to our request.
This is respectfully submitted on behalf of the LQRRD.
Alena Callimanis
LQRRD Member
CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MAY 3, 2022 - PUBLIC COMMENTS BY RESIDENT ALENA CALLIMANIS
MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA - RULES OF PROCEDURE
1 From: chuck Parker
Sent: Tuesday, May 3, 2022 2:17 PM
To: Monika Radeva; [email protected]; Linda Evans; John Pena; Kathleen Fitzpatrick; Steve Sanchez; Robert Radi
Subject: Written Public Comment May 3, 2022
Attachments: SALTON SEA REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS RESOLUTION.docx; WHY DO WE NEED NEW SALTON SEA RESOLUTIONS FROM COACHELLA VALLEY CITY COUNCILS.docx
EXTERNAL: This message originated outside of the City of La Quinta. Please use proper judgement and caution when opening attachments, clicking links or responding to requests for information.
I am unable to attend today's city council
meeting, but I would like to submit these written
comments. I am Chuck Parker of the Salton Sea
Coalition. I prepared a packet of information
related to a new Salton Sea Resolution that we
are requesting you to review, and hopefully put
on a future agenda for a vote. I would like to
submit two additional documents to supplement the
packet. The first is the proposed resolution
titleD SALTON SEA REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS
RESOLUTION.
The working is the same, I have just reversed the
positions of the first and third paragraphs. The
second is titled:
WHY DO WE NEED NEW SALTON SEA RESOLUTIONS FROM COACHELLA VALLEY CITY COUNCILS? Since the resolution is asking the two planning committees of the Salton Sea Managent Plan to take action to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions, I thought you deserve more background on those committees and what they are supposed to do.
I plan to attend your next meeting.
Thank you, Chuck Parker,
CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MAY 3, 2022 - WRITTEN COMMENTS BY RESIDENT CHUCK PARKER
MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA - SALTON SEA - REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS RESOLUTION
WHY DO WE NEED NEW SALTON SEA RESOLUTIONS FROM COACHELLA VALLEY CITY COUNCILS?
The Salton Sea Coalition thinks it is critical that the Ocean Water Independent Review Panel, and the Long Range Planning Committee hear from the cities of the Coachella Valley one more time before they make their decisions about the future of the Salton Sea. We are concerned that the two committees might make hasty decisions which would result in expensive, counterproductive projects that will only make the environmental disaster at the Salton Sea worse not better.
How are the two committees that are working on a long range plan organized? The Ocean Water Import Independent Review Panel consists of scientists selected by UC Santa Cruz in August 2021 to conduct a "comprehensive review of ocean water importation as part of the long range solution for the Salton Sea" that Coachella Valley cities called for in their resolutions in 2019 and 2020. The Long Range Planning Committee of the Salton Sea Management Plan is made up of state officials, agency officials, and a few representatives of the community. This committee is relying on Tetra Tech, a private engineering firm, to review plans that are left over from 15 years ago when the state refused to implement them because of the $9 billion dollar price tag.
These plans do not include the importation of water, nor do they include any evaluation of potential greenhouse gas emissions.
A lot has changed since 2006 when the first study on the Salton Sea recommended partial, so-called "in basin" plans such as the Perimeter Lake which avoided importing ocean water to restore the sea. We are in the midst of the worst drought on the Colorado River in 1200 years, and further cutbacks in water are a certainty making even those ill-advised plans unworkable. Only a plan relying on ocean water import offers the possibility of supplementing the Colorado River by desalinating large quantities of water.
It is scientifically imperative to choose a long-term plan for the Salton Sea that takes greenhouse gas emissions into account. The planning committees have not explained the process or criteria for comparing the non-importation proposals with the ocean water importation proposals, nor have they stated that they would evaluate the potential greenhouse gas emissions of the various plans. Finally, there is no public hearing scheduled during the months between now and December to receive public comments.
This is why it is vital that the cities submit their comments now in the form of resolutions.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MAY 3, 2022 - WRITTEN COMMENTS BY RESIDENT CHUCK PARKER
MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA - SALTON SEA - REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS RESOLUTION
SALTON SEA REDUCE GREENHOUSE GAS RESOLUTION
The Salton Sea Coalition respectfully requests that your city consider passing a new resolution:
We Resolve: Our continued support of ocean water import to refill the Salton Sea. This is the long‐range plan most likely to restore the ecosystem, protect public health, support recreation and tourism, contribute to a vigorous regional economy, and avoid ongoing releases of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.
We Resolve: The Long-Range Planning Committee of the Salton Sea Management Program must assess potential carbon emissions of all suggested long-range solutions to address the man-made problems of the Salton Sea.
We Resolve: The Ocean Water Importation Independent Review Panel must consider potential carbon emissions when conducting the "comprehensive analysis of ocean water import," that was requested by our city in 2019 and 2020 resolutions. This analysis must include emissions from a drying lakebed and proposed shallow water bodies as well as construction related emissions.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING - MAY 3, 2022 - WRITTEN COMMENTS BY RESIDENT CHUCK PARKER
MATTERS NOT ON THE AGENDA - SALTON SEA - REDUCING GREENHOUSE GAS RESOLUTION