ON PALOS, VERSES ESTATE
CiTy
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IHCORPORSTED 1539
CALIFORNIA
MINUTES
OF THE MAY 10, 2023, SPECIAL JOINT MEETING
OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND PLANNING COMMISSION
OF THE CITY OF PALOS VERDES ESTATES, CALIFORNIA
CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 6:00pm.
ROLL CALL
Present: City Council: Michael Kemps, Victoria Lozzi, David McGowan, Mayor Pro Tem Dawn Murdock, Mayor Jim Roos
Planning Commission: Christian Campisi, Robert Foster, Janine Nendick, Vice - Chair Derek Lazzaro, Chair Robert Wade
Also Present: City Attorney Rusin, City Manager Ready, Community Development Director Brady, Public Works Director Seims, and City Clerk Cowley
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC
Mayor Roos addressed the volume of correspondence the City Council received regarding Town & Country Pre-School. He explained the state directs the city to complete a RHNA (Regional Housing Needs Assessment) by income categories and mandates that the city enforceable. Under a principle called Builders Remedy, a builder, without an approved Housing Element, could build low-income housing and higher density housing on any lot in the entire city. Therefore, the choice before the council and planning commission is to determine whether we prefer that penalty or meet the state's demands for rezoning to support regional housing.
He noted that the city has identified in the housing element four locations that will be discussed to determine whether the city would like to rezone. The action the city council takes today does not mandate any changes. All the properties are privately owned. The private owners do not have to do anything in response to any action the council takes tonight.
Thereafter, the following individuals addressed the city Council: Mike (inaudible); Andy Mactavish, Robert Amador, James (inaudible), woman from St. Francis Episcopal Church.
The City Council engaged in dialogue with two of the speakers regarding the requirements of the state and not being obligated to develop the property that is being rezoned.
WORKSHOP PRESENTATION
(1) Presentation of the Draft Safety Element
Community Development Director Brady introduced Henry Eckold from Dudek Consulting who presented a PowerPoint of the proposed draft Safety Element.
Mr. Eckold reviewed the draft safety element which has been updated since the last meeting in the fall. He provided a brief introduction explaining the Safety Element is one of seven elements to the General Plan. It establishes policy related to hazards to minimize, mitigate, respond to, and recover from hazards. He advised the original safety element was adopted in 1975 and a few amendments have been made but nothing comprehensive. The update is required because of SB 379, SB 99, and AB 747. It brings consistency with the Emergency Operations Plan of 2019 and the local Hazards Mitigation Plan. The Safety Element update also allows the city to incorporate the local Hazards Mitigation Plan by reference which allows for consistency moving forward. He explained the local Hazard Mitigation Plan is usually updated every five years to meet federal funding requirements.
He noted that up to this point there has been input from various methods to help develop the background report and policy. An administrative draft element has been worked on and reviewed by different departments of the city. He noted the public review period will open soon, and there are certain policies that the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection recommends so they ultimately have a review process as well. There is public comment that Mr. Eckold reviewed the comments received and how the comments have been included in the various policies. The aging population is the main vulnerable population for the city, fire is a major hazard citywide, seismic concerns and sea level rising and flooding concerns.
Other concerns brought up in the fall workshop were air pollution, airport-related hazards in nearby jurisdictions, and insuring resilience for various infrastructure such as water, power, and communications.
The consultant then reviewed the opportunities such as Palos Verdes Peninsula Public Safety Committee that has multiple benefits and ability to work with multiple jurisdictions to achieve greater goals as well as several groups that can get involved and discussions can continue to be had such as Torrance Gate, a temporary evacuation route during an evacuation. He noted they have also received feedback from city staff, agencies, some informal comments from Cal Fire, and existing volunteer programs. He added to include in policy considerations some of the programs that were paused during COVID, and outreach in getting volunteer programs is in progress. City facilities can use additional capacity and due to staff capacity, there is a limit to what can be done.
Mr. Echold viewed the update made since the fall workshop, including improvements to the vulnerable population registry which is the registry PVE Cares maintains to be activated for evacuation in an emergency, as well as accessible and well supplied resilience centers. Fire hazards citywide were addressed to include development standards, outreach, vegetation management, and potential options for doing more such as additional planning, or fire break planning. He noted feasibility studies were needed to make recommendations addressing seismic concerns; there are options such as building a database to keep track of conditions of buildings and the need for retrofits. The impact of flooding and sea level rise is another area where studies are needed for more information on the next steps, which would be in agencies that have jurisdiction over the hazards and to build relationships and communicate issues with the public, so they are aware of what is occurring with different jurisdictions.
Water, power, and communications infrastructure look at backups and redundancies when performing infrastructure purchasing and updates and considering fire protection during He next reviewed the comments received and the actions that can address the concerns that were listed and previously discussed.
Thereafter the city council and planning commissioners asked questions and discussed the issue. A discussion ensued regarding the County Fire Department's requirements as they relate to the Satety Element, whether their recommendations are binding, and if it plays into the Safety Element. Because the City has adopted the state Fire Code their recommendations would be relevant.
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 2
SPECIAL MEETING OF MAY 10, 2023
A briet discussion took place regarding the public review process and Community development Director Brady explained the next steps will be to incorporate comments from Cal Fire, the comments received tonight, and any comments received during the public comment period will be placed in a matrix along with the responses to the comments. She explained the public review process and the public hearing process before the Planning commission and City Council.
Thereafter, Mr. Echold and Community Development Director Brady responded to various deadline by which to file the Safety Element and making sure there is a push to get the Safety Element out to the public to receive comments. Mayor Pro Tem Murdock also practice is, specifically with hazardous waste.
Thereafter a brief discussion ensued regarding the fire hazard concerns and adequate routes for evacuation and access for first responders as well as the work the Palos Verdes Peninsula Fire Safety Committee is doing with their evacuation zones. (2) Presentation of the Draft Housing Element
Gina Guisar, the consultant from CSG working on the Housing Element presented an in- depth PowerPoint regarding Housing and Community Developments' comments on the draft Housing Element that was submitted and the City's responses to HCD. She noted this presentation was a high-level overview of the revisions to the draft document to address HCD's comments.
Ms. Guisar then reviewed each comment made by HCD providing a commentary on what was meant by their comments and then explained the responses made to each comment and how they were incorporated into the Housing Element.
The consultant noted HCD's comment regarding ADUs and whether the number the city is relying on for the future projection were inconsistent with previous documentation.
HCD requested clarification of which sites were used in the previous cycle. She Indicated that currently there are two sites that have been used in the last two cycles. What has happened between previous housing elements and this new housing element cycle is that HCD requires very specific criteria and substantial evidence within the document explaining that these housing sites meet their criteria. For example, the sites can't be less than half an acre or more than 10 acres. If they are less than half an acre, then the city would have to consolidate lots to make at least one acre. The criteria are so many that identifying sites is difficult. A response was added explaining that there would be a program to provide lot consolidation or allow lot consolidation. She emphasized there is only one site in the inventory that would require lot consolidation. A related comment regarding non-vacant sites. Anytime a housing element relies on non-vacant sites or sites that are occupied we must demonstrate it meets the criteria set forth by HCD. A new section, Appendix D, was added which is a sites inventory analysis that covers the four sites plus the ADUs and each site includes findings showing a chart that includes assessor's parcel numbers, sizes and information regarding each site. Another chart shows by income categories how many units each site can accommodate, and whether it meets the RHNA obligation in that category. She noted the Sites Inventory Implementation would be a mixed-use overlay zone. There is an overlay which is the rezone and the base zone that is currently in existence remains in place. She reiterated there is no obligation from the City or the property owner to redevelop the site. It is just a mechanism to allow for it to happen and to demonstrate to the state that the site can accommodate housing in the future. The consultant showed a map of the four sites that are not ADUs.
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 3
SPECIAL MEETING OF MAY 10, 2023
HCD requested a further in-depth analysis of constraints the City's development standards and CCRs do to hinder housing and what the city is going to do about it. In response an updated document was included to describe how the development standards will work in tandem with the overlay zone and there will not be a hindrance.
HCD wanted an expanded analysis of the types of disabilities of individuals in the community and the available programs as well as housing for group homes for seven or more people. Currently the code requires a CUP which is a discretionary action. The state has passed a law that the City must provide a legal means to allow for group homes that are larger than seven or more to be vibrant with no discretionary action.
HCD commented that the Housing Element must clarify compliance with new She advised that section was clarified, and a direct link was added to the City's website.
HCD requested more analysis on the length of time and any hindrances to housing. The response expanded on the permit processing, timing, and procedures. In addition, HCD commented that neighborhood compatibility review is a discretionary process that conflicts with state law and HCD was advised that the city is in the process of updating its ADU ordinance to be consistent with state law. HCD requested the number of housing units, by income level, that can be constructed, rehabilitated, and conserved over a five- year time period. Rehabilitation and conservation objectives were added to the document and included how the city included organizations and expertise in affordable housing and supportive services, in addition to the city-wide ADU survey the city sent out and the public workshop.
Thereafter the City Council asked for clarification regarding the comment on neighborhood compatibility. Ms. Guisar explained that there can be no discretionary actions. Everything must be objective, measurable, and quantifiable and HCD feels that there could be a judgment call by the board under neighborhood compatibility. Staff explained that the ADUs requiring a CUP have been put on hold until the new ADU ordinance has been adopted. Further clarifying questions were asked by the City Council and Planning Commission, to which Ms. Guisar responded. A lengthy discussion ensued regarding ADUs and state laws affecting the city's control.
The council discussed the open space zones and the City's inability to rezone all areas designated as open space without a vote of the residents and suggested the consultant meet with the City Attorney. Thereafter a lengthy discussion ensued regarding the limited areas in the city to meet the RHNA numbers and the difficulty getting HCD to accept that.
Ms. Guisar responded to questions regarding rehabilitation included on page 59 that the response would make it clear that the city will not be financially responsible for any rehabilitation.
A brief discussion ensued between the city council and staff regarding the timeline involved for the approval of both the Safety Element and the Housing Element.
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further discussion to come before the City Council and Planning Commission, the meeting was adjourned at 7:44 pm.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED
Lass Cale
Carol Cowley, Interim City Clerk
APPROVEI
Jim Roos, Mayor
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES 4
SPECIAL MEETING OF MAY 10, 2023