MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
OCTOBER 24, 2023
The regular meeting of the Rosemead City Council was called to order by Mayor Ly at 7:18 p.m., in the Rosemead City Council Chamber located at 8838 East Valley Boulevard, Rosemead, California.
PRESENT: Mayor Ly, Mayor Pro Tem Clark, Council Members Armenta, Dang, and Low
ABSENT: None
STAFF PRESENT: City Manager Kim, City Attorney Richman, Interim Director of Community Development Wong, Director of Finance Chua, Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking, Director of Public Works Wang, and City Clerk Hernandez PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - Council Member Dang
INVOCATION - Mayor Ly
PUBLIC COMMENT
There being no speakers, Mayor Ly opened and closed the Public Comment period.
PRESENTATIONS
A. Introduction of New City Employee: Associate City Engineer, Sevan Petrossian Director of Public Works Wang introduced Associate City Engineer Sevan Petrossian. The City Council welcomed Mr. Petrossian to the Rosemead family.
B. Proclamation Declaring the Week of October 23-31, 2023 as "Red Ribbon Week" in the City of Rosemead
Public Safety Supervisor Wong stated "Red Ribbon Week" is a collaborative effort to establish an atmosphere that supports awareness, education, and on-going initiatives to stand together as a city to promote living healthy and drug-free lifestyles. Shared to show our commitment, City staff and the Rosemead Special Assignment Team from Temple Sheriff's Station are participating in various events such as attending the Red Ribbon Assembly at both Savannah Elementary and Janson Elementary; thanked Parks staff for assisting with tying red ribbons around the Civic Center Plaza to display Rosemead's support for a drug-free community.
The City Council presented the Proclamation declaring the week of October 23-31, 2023, as "Red Ribbon Week".
PUBLIC HEARING
Rosemead City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes of October 24, 2023
CEQA: The following item is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act, unless noted on the item.
A. Public Hearing on Municipal Code Amendment 23-02
Municipal Code Amendment 23-02 (MCA 23-02) is a City initiated amendment intended to bring Chapter 17.40 (Cannabis Facilities, Cultivation, and Deliveries) of the Rosemead Municipal Code (RMC) and RMC Section 17.20.020 (Commercial and Industrial Land Uses and Permit Requirements) up to compliance with Senate Bill (SB) 1186 (Medicinal Cannabis Patients' Right of Access Act), which will become effective on January 1, 2024. MCA 23-02 will update the City's existing regulations for deliveries of medicinal cannabis and provide regulatory and operational restrictions for the establishment of a physical, non-storefront, delivery-only medicinal cannabis retail location as a conditionally permitted use in accordance with State law.
Recommendation: That the City Council take the following actions:
1. Conduct a public hearing and receive public testimony; and
2. Introduce for the first reading, by title only, Ordinance No. 1018, entitled:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ROSEMEAD, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STATE OF
CALIFORNIA, FOR THE APPROVAL OF MCA 23-02,
AMENDING SECTIONS 17.20.020, 17.40.010, 17.40.020,
17.40.030, 17.40.040, 17.40.050 AND ADDING SECTIONS
17.40.060 AND 17.40.070 TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH
SENATE BILL 1186 (MEDICINAL CANNABIS PATIENTS'
RIGHT OF ACCESS ACT)
Associate Planner Lao presented the report. Noted after careful deliberation with the City Attorney's Office, staff utilized the similar methodology that was applied when the city adopted regulatory and operational restrictions for adult entertainment and business uses. There are generally two approaches that are used when regulating the location of the proposed uses: 1) The dispersal method will provide locations for non-storefront, delivery-only medicinal cannabis retail uses; and 2) The concentration method has all uses located in one area with no specific parameters. Staff decided to use the dispersal method which will ensure that they are located 500 feet away from sensitive land uses such as public or private schools, daycares, city facilities, police or fire stations, public parks or playgrounds, places of religious assembly, and dwellings in the R-1, R-2, and R-3 zones within the city limits.
Council Member Armenta inquired how companies are still able to come and deliver cannabis within Rosemead even though the city had a moratorium on distribution and cultivation of cannabis.
Rosemead City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes of October 24, 2023
City Attorney Richman explained it has been determined that we are prohibited from telling a city that allows cannabis for medicinal purposes that they are banned from delivering from other locations to residents within Rosemead.
Council Member Armenta thanked City Attorney Richman for the clarification; emphasized the importance of advocating for local control.
There being no comments, Mayor Ly opened and closed the Public Comment period.
Mayor Pro Tem Clark pointed out that our hands are tied, and we must comply because it is State law.
Council Member Armenta thanked City Attorney Richman for going right into action to ensure Rosemead was protected even though we did not know what the outcome was going to be with this on the ballot.
Mayor Ly commended staff for responding to SB 1186 in the most responsible way and respecting the will of the voters while protecting our residents.
ACTION: Moved by Council Member Armenta and seconded by Council Member Dang to introduce for the first reading, by title only, Ordinance No. 1018, entitled:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
ROSEMEAD, COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES, STATE OF
CALIFORNIA, FOR THE APPROVAL OF MCA 23-02,
AMENDING SECTIONS 17.20.020, 17.40.010, 17.40.020,
17.40.030, 17.40.040, 17.40.050 AND ADDING SECTIONS
17.40.060 AND 17.40.070 TO BE IN COMPLIANCE WITH
SENATE BILL 1186 (MEDICINAL CANNABIS PATIENTS'
RIGHT OF ACCESS ACT)
City Attorney Richman read the title of the ordinance for the record.
The motion was carried out by the following roll call vote AYES: Armenta, Clark, Dang, Low, Ly NOES: None ABSENT: None
CONSENT CALENDAR
ACTION: Moved by Mayor Pro Tem Clark and seconded by Council Member Armenta to approve the Consent Calendar Items A and B. The motion was carried out by the following roll call vote AYES: Armenta, Clark, Dang, Low, Ly NOES: None ABSENT: None
CEQA: The following items are not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act, unless noted on the item.
Rosemead City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes of October 24, 2023
A. Claims and Demands
• Resolution No. 2023-66
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF ROSEMEAD, CALIFORNIA, ALLOWING CERTAIN
CLAIMS AND DEMANDS IN THE SUM OF $663,788.71
CHECKS NUMBERED 115134 THROUGH NUMBER 115251.
DRAFTS NUMBERED 6785 THROUGH NUMBER 6825
AND EFT NUMBERED 51903 THROUGH NUMBER 51936
INCLUSIVELY
Recommendation: Adopt Resolution No. 2023-66.
B. Minutes
i 25,2023 and Thy 25, Lity Council approve the special meting minutes of
6. MATTERS FROM MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL
A. Discussion on Public Safety
At the request of Mayor Steven Ly, he would like to discuss Public Safety measures and strategies to help improve law enforcement response calls and Deputy presence in the community.
Recommendation: That the City Council discuss and provide direction to City staff.
Mayor Ly asserted that Item 6A would be discussed prior to Item 5A.
Mayor Ly stated our goal is to find other resources and tools in this challenging environment to help us continue the joint efforts of improving public safety Captain Jorge Meza, Temple Sheriff Station, stated he is looking forward to collaborating to improve public safety and response times within Rosemead.
Lieutenant Kevin Tiwari presented a report of response times from July to September 2023 comparing Rosemead to the other contract cities (Duarte, South El Monte, and Temple City that Temple Station provides services to.
Noted the response times are broken down by the type of calls: emergent, priority, and routine as well as by three (3) shifts from: 1) Early morning from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., 2) Morning AM shift from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m., and 3) Night PM shift from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. The comparison shows that Rosemead's emergent and priority calls are well within the threshold; however, the routine calls are higher than the average. Many factors go into the longer response times, such as geographic area, call volumes, and the ratio of deputies to citizens, as well as others.
Rosemead City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes of October 24, 2023
Response Times Emergent Priority Routine
Duarte 3.9 9.5 43.4
Rosemead 4 11 67.4
South El Monte 5 10.6 56.4
Temple City 4.2 9.6 50.3
Mayor Ly explained emergency calls are life threatening, priority calls are not life threatening but can escalate for example if your house is robbed and you think he burglar is still around, and then an example of a routine call could be a ca ccident where a deputy is needed to take a Police repor Council Member Low asked what the average number of calls of service for each shift.
Captain Meza clarified that each Deputy receives an average of 18 calls per shift.
Council Member Armenta indicated that Duarte is 6.71 square miles, Rosemead is 5.18 square miles, South El Monte is 2.85 square miles, and Temple City is
4.0 square miles. Asked how many patrol cars are provided in the contracted cities.
Captain Meza responded Rosemead is our largest contract with three cars assigned on the Morning AM shift, with one additional for the Early AM shift and two additional cars for the overlap; stated the other cities fill the same number of cars which is 2 units per shift and 1 overlapped shift to transition the AM and PM shifts.
Council Member Low asked for a breakdown on how many cars there are per shift.
Lieutenant Tiwari gave the following breakdown:
• Morning AM Shift from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. - Three (3) cars, then from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. there is one (1) additional car with a total of four (4) cars. • Night PM Shift from 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. - Four (4) cars, then at 6 p.m., the first overlapped car will be done and then 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. you will have two (2) additional cars.
Early Morning Shift from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. - Three (3) cars. • Stated the three shifts include a total of 29.5 Deputies.
Council Member Dang inquired how many total patrol cars and SAOs are assigned per day to Rosemead
Captain Meza replied there are 12 patrol cars and 18 SAOs including Lieutenant Tiwari working per day.
Mayor Ly stated of the cities listed that Rosemead is the only one with a Lieutenant dedicated to the city.
Captain Meza affirmed that was correct.
Rosemead City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes of October 24, 2023
Mayor Ly shared that he has the utmost respect for all that the deputies do especially while tacing the challenges they do; opined he would like to see Rosemead's response times improve as follows: emergent calls - 3 minutes, priority calls - 5 minutes or less, and routine calls - 30 minutes or less. Asked how we are administering the integration of our COs specifically on the routine calls that are nondangerous (i.e. traffic collision calls).
City Manager Kim stated we started hiring more COs and are completing training; indicated we are in the process of installing equipment such as radios and laptop computers in the COs vehicles, so they have access to respond to and coordinate better with the Sheriff's Department. Noted the installation of the laptop computers are an ongoing process that will take about 6-8 months, but we will have better integration.
Mayor Ly inquired how are we looking at deploying the CSOs. Commented that I know there was a push to have them in the 2 p.m. to 10 p.m. shift since that is where the shortage is at. Asked if it is a routine call, will the Watch Sergeant/ Commander at Temple Station dispatch a Deputy or CSO, or do the residents have to do something special to request a CSO?
City Manager Kim affirmed that is correct; responded based on the number of COs we will coordinate to place them at the right location and time. Temple Station will not be controlling the COs since they are city employees; noted the CSOs will be able to hear what calls are going out through the radio, for instance if there is a traffic collision call, then the CSO will know to respond to take the report.
Lieutenant Tiwari clarified that if a resident calls the Temple Station, the dispatcher will have a log and based on the criteria of the call input, then dispatch the COs for nonhazardous or nonworkable type calls (i.e. traffic collisions, found wallet, etc.). The CSOs will have access from the Mobile Digital Computers (MDCS), and CSOs will have the same capability as a deputy to acknowledge the call enroute, pull the Sheriff's Department file number and issue the paperwork.
Mayor Ly thanked Lieutenant Tiwari for the clarification.
Council Member Armenta asked how the Park Rangers recently hired are being utilized to ensure incidents at the park are handled accordingly.
Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking responded that it depends on the ncident, Park Rangers would be in contact with both the Code Enforcement ind the Sheriff's Department; indicated three of the Park Rangers will star training tomorrow.
Council Member Armenta emphasized that we do not want them to act as our deputies rather as a support team to the deputies as an extra set of eyes to hopefully deter any incidents at the park.
Rosemead City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes of October 24, 2023
Lieutenant Tiwari reiterated he will work with Mr. Boecking and the Park Rangers to ensure they understand that their role is to serve as a "good witness" but should not engage as there is nothing worth risking their lives.
Council Member Dang asked what would happen if he called Temple Station as a resident witnessing a fight at the park. Questioned what the process would be if a lost wallet was found at the park.
Captain Meza responded deputies would be dispatched there as a priority call for the fight, and depending on if weapons are involved, it could be escalated to an emergent call. Indicated if a lost wallet is found, then Temple Station would dispatch a CSO to take the report of the lost wallet.
Council Member Dang asked at what point the CSO hands over the lost wallet to the Park Ranger.
Director of Parks and Recreation Boecking stated depending on the time of day, location of where it's found and if the Park Ranger is on duty, then the CSO can contact the Park Ranger to take over in that capacity.
Council Member Dang inquired if the Temple Station would also be able to dispatch the Park Rangers if a routine call is at a park.
Captain Meza stated once there is an understanding of the Park Rangers' role and if the Council so desires then we can incorporate them in the notification system similar to the CSOs.
Mayor Ly opined there is no need to add complexities by combining programs; emphasized utilizing the CSOs in this capacity is still a pilot program being tested.
Council Member Armenta noted there is a cycle changing as many people are reporting things on social media and incidents that used to only happen at night are now happening during broad daylight as people are becoming more brazen.
Council Member Low asked what else can be done to assist the deputies with reducing response times.
Captain Meza stated it would be beneficial to reduce response times if the leputies are able to write some of the reports at the Substation rather than having o drive back to Temple Station at the Public Safety Center Mayor Ly asked for an update on the renovation of the Substation.
City Manager Kim replied that the computer system has been upgraded for about a year, so the deputies are able to write their reports at the Substation; noted the Substation's full renovation is a work in progress, however, due to different factors there have been delays.
Rosemead City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes of October 24, 2023
Mayor Ly requested an item be added to the next Council meeting agenda to provide an update on the renovation of the Substation. Asked what the current status of the Reserve Deputy Program is and if there is a shortage; noted we can look into expanding the Reserve Deputy Program or creating our own Reserve Officer Program, if needed.
Captain Meza asserted that we have ten (10) Level One Reserves who are full-time, 24-hour Peace Officers status but only have to provide 16 hours of volunteer time a month and are located out of Temple Station.
Mayor Ly stated it is my understanding that Level One Reserves must partner with someone while on duty.
Captain Meza corrected that it is Level Two Reserves that must partner with someone while on duty. Typically, the Reserves we have are former Police Officers that are older and do not like to work in a controlled environment and only work city events or mobile ranges. Asserted that even if the city creates their own Reserve Officer Program, it will still have to be connected to a Police Department such as the Temple Sheriff Station.
Mayor Ly asked for staff to send this discussion to the Public Safety Commission to get their thoughts on the cost benefits analysis of working with the Temple Sheriff Station and building a stronger Deputy Reserve Program to support the ig of lose pod veily of party reing orio onds Police car Pry am. utilizing Reserves to increase operational support of the Deputies.
Council Member Low referred to the data provided and asked about how the time is spent per shift.
Lieutenant Tiwari commented that the deputies respond to the various calls and that every deputy stays two to three hours to conclude paperwork and the Temple Station incurs that cost of the overtime.
Captain Meza asserted that our deputies have a strong work ethic and are passionate about serving the Rosemead community.
Council Member Low asked what would happen if a priority call came in and the deputy is in the middle of compiling paperwork.
Captain Meza stated they would take a break from the paperwork and proceed to the priority call.
Mayor Ly stated it appears that the deputies work on their reports in between calls or at the end of their shifts as they respond to emergent and priority calls first.
Rosemead City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes of October 24, 2023
Lieutenant Tiwari shared if the call threshold is over 30 minutes, the Dispatch desk is instructed to call back and advise that the deputies are aware of the situation but have an emergent call and will attend to your call when finished responding to the emergent call.
Captain Meza indicated that every emergent and priority call gets assigned two deputies, and a routine call will get one deputy assigned.
Council Member Dang opined we want to support the Sheriff's Team, but also don't want to have the optics that we are giving you all these resources without holding you accountable. Asked if the Sheriff's Department could figure out internally what is not working as something seems off based on the surrounding cities' data. We are brainstorming on how to help, but we also want you to bring a game plan for us to consider.
Lieutenant Tiwari explained Rosemead requires more resources because the neighboring cities do not have the same demand in calls that Rosemead does.
Council Member Dang thanked Captain Meza and Lieutenant Tiwari for all the data provided.
Mayor Ly expressed appreciation and emphasized it is the deputies in the front of the line that assume the leadership role and risk their lives every day to protect our residents and business community.
5. MATTERS FROM CITY MANAGER & STAFF
Report, Discussion, and Direction Regarding the 2030 Imagine Rosemead Strategic Plan
On October 26, 2021, the Rosemead City Council adopted a new Strategic Plan that imagines what the City will be like in the coming 10 years. The strategic plan has acted as a roadmap for implementing Rosemead's vision for the City as well as ongoing improvements. This update outlines the first two years of the plan and rovides a progress report on the goals and items that were identified in the 2030 Recommendation: That the City Council discuss and provide direction on the Strategic Plan.
Mayor Ly tabled Item 5A and directed staff to schedule a 6:00 p.m. Study Session at the next meeting directly following Senator Susan Rubio's presentation.
Rosemead City Council Regular Meeting
Ainutes of October 24, 202.
age 9 of 10
6. MATTERS FROM MAYOR & CITY COUNCIL
B. Council Comments
Mayor Ly invited the community to join the Beautification Commission at our next Community Clean-up on Saturday, November 4th. Check-in is at 8:30 a.m., at Savannah Memorial Park, 9263 Valley Boulevard, Rosemead. Volunteers will assist with preparing the venue for Veterans' Day by placing flags to honor Veterans who served for our country. There will be other tasks such as weed abatement, and picking up litter, at the location. This is one of our larger scaled events, so bring as many family members or friends as the more volunteers the better! To register, email your name and contact information to [email protected]. For those interested, a certificate for community service hours will be available. We look forward to you joining us on November 4"!
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Ly adjourned the meeting at 8:58 p.m. The next City Council meeting will take place on November 14, 2023, at 7:00 p.m. in the Rosemead City Hall Council Chamber.
LAS
Ericka Hernandez, City Clerk
APPROVED:
Steven Ly, Mayor
Rosemead City Council Regular Meeting
Minutes of October 24, 2023