000 EM
INCORPORATED 1939
GALIFORNIA
MINUTES OF THE SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF PALOS VERDES ESTATES, CALIFORNIA
CALL TO ORDER AT 6:36 P.M.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Mayor Lozzi, Mayor Pro Tem Kemps, Councilmember Quinn, Councilmember Lazzaro (Councilmember McGowan was absent).
ALSO PRESENT: City Manager Kallman, City Attorney Rusin, Chief Hellinga, Deputy Com Many Development Director Bray TreaSure ren,
Antillon, and Senior Accountant Hayes
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
ACTION: Moved by Councilmember Quinn and seconded by Councilmember Lazzaro to approve the agenda.
AYES: Lazzaro, Quinn, Kemps, and Lozzi
NOES: None
ABSENT: McGowan
ABSTAIN: None
MAYOR'S REPORT - MATTERS OF COMMUNITY INTEREST
Mayor Lozzi welcomed members of the public to the return of City Council Meetings after the summer hiatus in accordance with the City's Municipal Code.
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REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
Following her welcome, the Mayor announced that the League of California Cities hosted an installation dinner at the PV Golf Club to elect Rolling Hills Estates Councilmember, Britt Huff, as the President of the Los Angeles Chapter. The Mayor also announced that she, along with Mayor Pro Tem Kemps, attended meetings with Cal Water and various volunteer committees in addition to weekly meetings with the City Manager and staff. Thereafter, Mayor Lozzi highlighted the month of August with the celebration of Palos Verdes Estates centenarian Dr. Hall Cozen attended by his children and grandchildren, friends, and neighbors. Upon congratulating Dr. Cozen, Mayor Lozzi recognized the significance of the year 1925, as the City will recognize five additional centenarians who reside in Palos Verdes Estates by the end of the 2025 calendar year.
CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
City Manager Kallman publicized that city staff found a lost tortoise, which was under care by the Palos Verdes Estates Police Department. Chief Hellinga added that the pet's owners were located and that several comments were received on social media.
Following the Chief's comments, City Manager Kalman announced that the City recently hired Cindy Gutierrez, an afternoon Receptionist who commenced employment a few weeks ago. In closing, he noted that staff members were currently drafting the publication of the city's quarterly newsletter, which is scheduled for release in October 2025.
Chief Hellinga provided a brief overview of the July statistics for crime reporting in the city. For the month of July, the Chief noted that burglaries continued to trend downward at 29 percent compared to the previous year. Following those comments, Chief Hellinga noted that counterfeit and forgeries continue to trend upward, as reported by residents.
The Chief also reported that detectives from the city's Police Department are collaborating with the United States Postal Service regarding this matter. He further advised the public to hand-deliver checks when visiting the Post Office. Thereafter, the Chief of Police highlighted his department's response times for the month of July as three minutes for emergency calls and three minutes and forty-one seconds for non- emergency calls. Additionally, Chief Heilinga commented that two hundred thirty-six 911 calls were received last July and reported that traffic collisions have decreased by five ercent for non-injury collisions and a fifty-two percent reduction for injury collisions which can be reviewed on the city's website under the Police Department's page. Ir closing, Chief Hellinga announced the following community events: National Coffee with a Cop Day, Wednesday, October 1, 2025; Palos Verdes Estates Police Department's Open House, Saturday, October 18, 2025.
Following Chief Hellinga's report, City Manager Kallman asked him to inform the public about home assessments, which are a free service to the public. In response, Chief Hellinga stated that detectives from the city's Police Department are available to provide residents with a free home assessment to evaluate the level of security of their property, entailing the homeowner's camera placement, alarm systems, lighting, and fencing as
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REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
crime deterrents. Chief Hellinga informed the public that this free service can be offered by emailing him or Captain Belda.
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE PUBLIC
Mary Madeline DelPonti- 2336 Chelsea - addressed the Council regarding the following: the city's code enforcement efforts on her property, the outcome of her appeal and recent administrative hearing proceedings, seeking legal remedy, and matters relating to her public records requests.
Trudy DelPonti - 2336 Chelsea - expressed concerns regarding code violations received on her property and interactions with the code enforcement division.
Iom DelPonti - 2336 Chelsea - addressed the Council regarding the city's issuance of administrative violations on his property, correspondence with various staff members regarding code enforcement, public works, and administrative procedures.
John Weick -1309 Via Romero - spoke on matters regarding his public records requests.
Karl Caterson - 841 Tyburn Road - requested a meeting with the city's administration and Councilmember Quinn to discuss the disposition of the vacated lots located behind the 400 block of Tyburn Road.
John Williams - 1624 Cataluna Place - addressed the Council regarding geographical systems and the water intrusion at Malaga Cove.
John Credell - 2808 Via Alvardo - spoke on behalf of the Neighborhood Watch and announced registration information for an upcoming Block Captain Drive as well as recommendations for crime prevention.
David Diller - 2140 Chelsea Road -expressed concerns about the intersection at Chelsea Road and Yarmouth Road and encouraged the city's approval to convert the intersection to a four-way stop.
CONSENT AGENDA (ITEMS 1- 6)
The City Council was addressed by resident John Williams, who provided public comment on consent agenda item number five and inquired about the publication of the final report and the timeline for discussion of the subiect matter.
ACTION: Moved by Councilmember Quinn, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Kemps to approve the consent agenda
AYES: Lazzaro, Quinn, Kemps, and Lozzi
NOES: None
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REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
ABSENT: McGowan
ABSTAIN: None
1. APPROVAL OF WARRANTS
Reviewed and approved the August 12, 2025, August 26, 2025, and September 9, 2025, Warrant Registers.
2. RECEIVE AND FILE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE PERIOD ENDING JUNE 30, 2025.
Received and filed the financial statements for the month ending June 30, 2025.
3. CITY COUNCIL MEETING ACTIONS
Approved the minutes for the July 22, 2025, Regular and Special Meetings.
4. CONSIDERATION OF APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO THE
AGREEMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2024-2025 AUDIT ASSISTANCE SERVICES WITH LSL, LLP INCREASING COMPENSATION BY $75,000
Approved Amendment No. 1 to the Agreement for Fiscal Year 2025 audit assistance services with LSL, LLP in an amount not to exceed $325,000.
5. CONSIDERATION OF THE 2025 CITYWIDE SEWER MASTER PLAN (SMP) UPDATE
Approved Resolution No. 25-25 adopting the 2025 Citywide Sewer Master Plan (SMP) update.
6. CONSIDERATION OF A JOINT PENINSULA CITIES LETTER TO GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM REQUESTING AN EXPANSION OF EXECUTIVE ORDER N-32- 25 TO INCLUDE THE PALOS VERDES PENINSULA IN SUSPENDING SB 9
APPLICATIONS WITHIN VERY HIGH FIRE HAZARD ZONES
Authorized the Mayor to sign the attached letter to Governor Gavin Newsom Letter of Support to expand Executive Order N-32-25 to include the Palos Verdes Peninsula region in suspending SB 9 applications within Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.
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REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
NEW BUSINESS
7. CONSIDERATION OF DIRECTION ON A CONCEPTUAL AGREEMENT WITH LSL
TO PROVIDE FINANCE DEPARTMENT LEADERSHIP AND ADVISORY
SERVICES
Deputy City Manager Gabriel introduced Noah Daniels and Kelly Telford, LSL Consultants, who provided a presentation to the City Council. In the presentation, Mr. Daniels and Ms. Telford discussed the following: the city's current financial reporting, the vacancy of the city's Financial Director, providing oversight and technical guidance, projects, audit recommendations, and the roles and responsibilities for city staff and LSL consultants.
Following the presentation, City Manager Kallman commented on the city's recruitment efforts, projected outcomes, as well as the report on working with the consultancy.
The Council commented on the urgency of filling the position for Finance Director and asked clarifying questions that included funding for proposed services, staff policy, and procedures, timeline for offboarding activities, training for a new Finance Director, and structure of the proposed consulting service, which were responded to by Ms. Telford, Deputy City Manager Gabriel, and City Manager Kallman.
Bob Vasey, resident and Finance Advisory Committee Member, provided public comment on staffing in the Finance Department.
ACTION: Provided direction to staff on a new agreement with LSL for the item to be considered at the next scheduled meeting and established a timeline for providing an update on the recruitment for a Finance Director.
8. CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF OFFICIAL ZONING MAP
Community Development Director Brady provided a staff report that entailed the following: the history of the city's adoption of the 1948 official zoning map, the 1983 amended zoning map, the 2024 agreement with MNS consultants to recreate the 1983 amended map, and outlined the proposed map's zoning designations
The Council asked clarifying questions that included the designation of the coastal zone on the proposed map, parklands use, and zoning designation, deed restrictions, PHA review for the proposed map, how to identify various zones on the proposed map based on the current legend, rezoning, municipal restrictions
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for Lot O which were responded to by Community Development Director Brady, City Attorney Rusin and City Manager Kallman.
Blake Gillman provided public comment on the city's historical definition of Parklands, as well as the city's legal analysis of the proposed zoning map.
ACTION: Provided direction to staff for the item to be considered at the next scheduled meeting.
MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS AND TENTATIVE FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
Councilmember Lazzaro highlighted points that were discussed during the Council's discussion of agenda item 8 - Consideration of Adoption of Official Zoning Map, as well as the city's partnership with the Palos Verdes Homes Association (PVHA) and proposed a resolution or policy to provide staff direction and guidance in coordinating information with the PVHA on land use topics. Councilmember Lazzaro also reported on his past attendance at an emergency planning event hosted by Cal Water and a meeting with the City's Emergency Preparedness and Community Outreach Coordinator, noting her recent hire with the Police Department. In closing, Councilmember Lazzaro highlighted her integral role in emergency preparedness and stated that he looked forward to future programs from the department.
Councilmember Quinn reported on his past attendance at an emergency operations training that was attended by the Fire Department, Police Department, city staff, and Cal Water, SCE, etc. In his report, Councilmember Quinn recognized Retired Oakland Fire Chief Gerald Simon, Retired Sonoma County Fire Chief, Al Terrell for their expertise in demonstrating how to effect clear communication across various agencies during an emergency. Councilmember Quinn also noted that the training was attended by Councilmember Lazzaro, • Police Captain
Belda, Emergency Preparedness and Community Outreach Coordinator Kristen Jo, and Los Angeles County Assistant Fire Chief, Brian Kane. Councilmember Quinn highlighted the training scenarios that were provided during the training, recommended a follow-up training for city staff, and expressed his gratitude for the professionalism of the training by Cal Water. In closing, Gouncilmember Quinn thanked Deputy City Manager for his efforts in facilitating the city's first Virtual Meeting Background for display during remote meetings.
Mayor Pro-Tem Kemps noted the City Manager's achievement in obtaining a year's tenure with the City and recommended two future agenda items as a performance evaluation for the City Manager and City Attorney.
Mayor Lozzi recommended future agenda items to discuss the renovation of the City's existing building for the Fire Department and review of the potential for development on Lot O.
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REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2025
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business to conduct, the meeting was adjourned at 9:13 p.m.
RESPECTFULLY submitted:
APPROVED:
ictoria A. Lozzi, Mayo
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF SEPTEMBER 9, 2025