City Council Regular Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2024 1 How to Submit Public Comment
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CITY OF SAN GABRIEL
CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING AGENDA
Tuesday, January 16, 2024 - 6:30 P.M.
City Hall Council Chamber
425 South Mission Drive, San Gabriel, California 91776
Mark Lazzaretto
City Manager
Keith Lemieux
City Attorney
Julie Nguyen
City Clerk
Kevin B. Sawkins
City Treasurer
John R. Harrington
Mayor
John Wu
Vice Mayor
Eric Chan
Council Member
Tony Ding
Council Member
Denise Menchaca
Council Member
City Council Regular Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2024 2 City Council Regular Meeting Agenda
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
• CALL TO ORDER
• PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE LED BY: Council Member Chan
• ROLL CALL: Mayor Harrington, Vice Mayor Wu, Council Members Chan, Ding, Menchaca
1. APPROVAL OF AGENDA ORDER
2. PRESENTATIONS
A. RECOGNITION OF NEW COMMUNITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (CERT) MEMBERS
3. PUBLIC COMMENT
4. CONSENT CALENDAR
All items listed under the Consent Calendar are considered routine and recommendations will be approved in one motion unless a member of the City Council or audience requests separate discussion.
A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
The minutes are a record of the official actions taken at the City Council meeting.
1. Minutes of the City Council Regular Meeting of December 19, 2023.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: Not a Project as defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Recommended Action: Approval
B. MATERIAL DEMANDS
The most recent Material Demands from the Finance Department are presented to the City Council for review and approval.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: Not a Project as defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
City Council Regular Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2024 3 Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve Material Demands as presented.
C. CASH AND INVESTMENT REPORT – DECEMBER 2023
In accordance with the City of San Gabriel’s 2023-2024 Adopted Investment Policy (Resolution No. 23-36) and California Government Code Section 53646, the Finance Director is to render an investment report to the City Council, City Treasurer, City Manager, and the City Attorney. The Cash and Investment Report is presented to receive and file in accordance with the City’s adopted 2023-2024 Investment Policy.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: Not a Project as defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the Cash and Investment Report for December 2023.
D. PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH CALIFORNIA CONSULTING FOR GRANT WRITING SERVICES IN THE AMOUNT OF $55,200 ANNUALLY On June 6, 2023, the City Council adopted the 2023-24 Fiscal Year budget that included $50,000 earmarked for grant writing services. In September 2023, staff provided a Request for Proposal to six qualified grant writing consultants. Based on proposals received, staff is recommending California Consulting for a oneyear term at a monthly retainer cost of $4,600. The Fiscal Year 2023-24 general fund non-departmental budget includes $50,000 for grant writing services. For Fiscal Year 2024-25, the agreement will be budgeted at the full contract agreement rate of $4,600 per month or $55,200 annually.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: Not a Project as defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the Professional Services Agreement with California Consulting for Grant Writing Services and authorize the City Manager to execute the agreement and issue a purchase order in the amount of $50,000.
City Council Regular Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2024 4 E. ORDINANCE NO. 699 APPROVING AN ANNEXATION AND PRE-ZONING AT 5623 NORTH GLADYS AVENUE (ANX23-001/ZC23-001/GPA23-001) –
SECOND READING AND ADOPTION
Adoption of Ordinance No. 699 would approve an annexation and pre-zoning at 5623 North Gladys Avenue. The Fiscal Year 2023-24 Adopted Budget includes the cost for required legal publication and codification of the ordinance.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: The proposed amendments would be exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under Section 15319 (Annexations of Existing Facilities and Lots for Exempt Facilities) of the CEQA guidelines. Annexations to a city or special district of areas containing existing facilities public or private structures developed to the density allowed by the current zoning or pre-zoning of either the gaining or losing governmental agency, whichever is more restrictive, provided, however, that the extension of utility services to the existing facilities would a capacity to serve only the existing facilities.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that the City Council waive reading and adopt Ordinance No. 699 entitled “An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of San Gabriel, California, Approving Planning Case Nos. ANX23-001, GPA23-001, and ZC23- 001, Approving an annexation and pre-zoning at 5623 North Gladys Avenue.
F. ORDINANCE NO. 700: AMENDING AN EXISTING PLANNED
DEVELOPMENT OVERLAY ZONE AND APPROVING A DEVELOPMENT
AGREEMENT FOR A MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT AT 201-217 SOUTH SAN GABRIEL BOULEVARD (ZC22-001 AND DA22-001) – SECOND READING
AND ADOPTION
Adoption of Ordinance No. 700 would amend an existing Planned Development Overlay Zone and approve a Development Agreement for a mixed-use development (Rubio Village). The Fiscal Year 2023-24 Adopted Budget includes the cost for required legal publication and codification of the ordinance.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: The proposed project was reviewed for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The City prepared an Initial Study (IS) to determine the proposed project's potential impact on the environment. The City has determined that the project may have a significant effect on the environment, but by implementing City Council Regular Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2024 5 the identified mitigation measures, the project's impacts could be reduced to less than significant levels. Ten mitigation measures have been identified to reduce these potential impacts to a less than significant level. The Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) contains the full text of the mitigation measures, as well as identifies the responsible party for implementation and timing.
The 30-day public review period of the Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration was initiated on August 24, 2023, and ended on September 22, 2023.
A notice regarding the CEQA comment period was posted with the Los Angeles County Recorder, published in the San Gabriel Sun newspaper, and distributed to relevant regulatory agencies. Additionally, a notice was mailed to owners and occupants within 500-feet of the project site. A total of three comment letters were submitted to the City during the public comment period. The comment letters and the Lead Agency response to comments received are included in the Final Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND).
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that the City Council waive reading and adopt Ordinance No. 700 entitled, “An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of San Gabriel, California, Approving Planning Case Nos. ZC22-001 and DA22-001, Amending an Existing Planned Development Overlay Zone and Approving a Development Agreement for a Mixed-Use Development at 201-217 South San Gabreil Boulevard.”
G. HUMAN EQUITY, ACCESS AND RELATIONS (HEAR) COMMISSION PROPOSED 2024 ANNUAL WORK PLAN
This is the 2024 Annual Workplan developed by the Human Equity, Access and Relations (HEAR) Commission for the 2024 calendar year. The Commissioners have had open and constructive dialogue to develop a plan that best fits in alignment with the goals and scope of the HEAR Commission as well as the City of San Gabriel’s Mission. The Commission estimates needing $6,000 from the general fund in order to offer the proposed programs/events. Staff will bring the budget request at the mid-year budget with the exception of the All Are Welcome Program which will be presented to Council separately and the corresponding budget request will be made at that time.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: Not a Project as defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Recommended Action:
City Council Regular Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2024 6 Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the HEAR Commission’s Annual Workplan, as presented above, for 2024. If Council would like to make any changes to the workplan, they can pull the item from consent and then discuss and adopt any changes.
5. PUBLIC HEARING – None.
6. CONTINUED BUSINESS
A. CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION AND DIRECTION ON A NEW SISTER CITY
AND FRIENDSHIP CITY POLICY FOR THE CITY OF SAN GABRIEL
This past July, the City Council discussed the possibility of forming new Sister City or Friendship City relationships and directed staff to return with a draft policy to govern how future requests are handled. Staff has drafted a proposed policy based upon examples from other cities and recommends that the City Council discuss the proposed policy and provide input and direction on how to proceed. There is no fiscal impact associated with a discussion and adoption of a policy to guide future Sister and Friendship City relationships. Should the City Council decide to consider additional partnerships or to rekindle the ones with the current cities, the fiscal impact would be minimal and included in annual City budgets. Any larger expenditures would need to be considered and approved on a case-to-case basis by the City Council in the future.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: Not a Project as defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that the City Council discuss the Sister and Friendship City policy and after providing any input and changes, adopt the policy.
Alternatives Recommendations
In addition to the recommended action, the City Council has the following options:
1. Discuss the proposed policy and provide direction on changes to be brought back for future consideration.
2. Decide not to adopt a policy at this time and direct staff to bring back any future Sister City or Friendship City requests for consideration on a case-bycase basis.
City Council Regular Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2024 7
3. Decide not to adopt a policy at this time and direct staff to not pursue any future Sister City or Friendship City relationships.
4. Some other action that the City Council decides based upon discussion at the meeting.
7. NEW BUSINESS
A. AUTHORIZATION OF AN ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE AND PROPERTY
TECHNICIAN (EPT)
Staff researched the feasibility of the addition of a second Evidence and Property Technician. For San Gabriel’s Police Department, as of 2023, processing and handling of evidence has expanded to include body worn camera footage that is frequently requested by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, attorneys, public, and the media. Producing this discoverable footage is a tedious and labor-intensive process that must be completed within a small window of time. Approval of this proposal by the City Council would result in greater operational efficiency with daily tasks and would help to meet the growing demand of public discovery. There is no fiscal impact to the fiscal 2023-24 budget, but will be included in the fiscal year 2024-25 budget. The fiscal impact for the additional Evidence and Property Technician would be approximately $101,368.00 per year at fiscal 2023-24 rates.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: Not a Project as defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt Resolution No. 24-01 and authorize the City Manager to approve the addition of a second Evidence and Property Technician for the San Gabriel Police Department.
B. PRESENTATION AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE ANNUAL COMPREHENSIVE
FINANCIAL REPORT AND OTHER AUDIT REPORTS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2023
The certified public accounting firm of Moss, Levy, Hartzheim, LLP (MLH) was engaged by the City Council to perform an audit of the financial statements and conduct compliance testing of the City of San Gabriel for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023. MLH conducted the audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards and issued an unqualified (clean) audit opinion on the financial statements. This report provides a summary of the audit report to City Council Regular Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2024 8 be used as a companion to the published Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: Not a Project as defined in Section 15378 of the State CEQA Guidelines.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that the City Council receive and file the annual audit reports for fiscal year ended June 30, 2023.
C. ADOPTION OF URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. 701 PURSUANT TO
CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 65858 PROHIBITING THE
ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICINAL CANNABIS DELIVERY BUSINESSES FOR 45 DAYS AND AN EXEMPTION FROM THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY ACT
The California Legislature adopted Senate Bill 1186 (SB 1186) in 2022, entitled the Medicinal Cannabis Patient’s Right of Access Act, which precluded cities and counties from adopting or enforcing regulations that prohibit or have the effect of prohibiting the retail sale of medicinal cannabis by delivery. SB 1186 took effect on January 1, 2024. In order to provide the City time to adopt reasonable regulations for such uses, a 45-day moratorium is necessary. There is no fiscal impact related to this item.
California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Determination: Environmental review is not required under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to the California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Chapter 3, Sections 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) and 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378) of the CEQA Guidelines, Cal. Code of Regs, Title 14, Chapter 3, because it has no potential to result in a physical change to the environment, directly or indirectly. This is because the moratorium adopted by the proposed interim ordinance merely prohibits uses that have significant impacts on public health, safety, and welfare and does not permit any development that could result in a significant change to the environment.
Furthermore, the moratorium established by the proposed ordinance is temporary pending further study and investigation. In addition, the proposed ordinance is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15308 of the CEQA Guidelines because this ordinance is a regulatory action taken by the City in accordance with Government Code Section 65858 to assure maintenance and protection of the environment pending further review of the potential impacts of City Council Regular Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2024 9 medical marijuana facilities and mobile medical marijuana dispensaries in the City and potential modifications to the San Gabriel Municipal Code.
Recommended Action:
Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the proposed Ordinance by at least a four-fifths vote.
Alternative Option:
Do not adopt the Urgency Ordinance. This will leave the City vulnerable to dispensary operators entering the City without any established regulations or restrictions on location.
8. PUBLIC COMMENT
9. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
10. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND CONFERENCE/MEETING REPORTS
Each Council Member may address the City Council and public on matters of general information and/or concern. This is also the time for Council Members to report on conferences and/or meetings they have attended.
11. CLOSED SESSION – None.
12. ADJOURNMENT
The next regular City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 6, 2023 at 6:30 P.M. Information regarding matters to be considered at each meeting will be available on the Friday before the City Council Meeting on the City’s website at www.sangabrielcity.com.
Materials Available for Inspection. You may view agenda items online at www.sangabrielcity.com/agendacenter, or in person at City Hall, 425 South Mission Drive, San Gabriel, CA 91776. Materials related to an item on this Agenda, submitted to the City Council after distribution of the Agenda packet, will be posted on the City website.
Persons with Disabilities
Upon request, this Agenda will be made available in appropriate alternative formats to persons with disabilities, as required by Section 202 of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990.
City Council Regular Meeting Agenda – January 16, 2024 10 Persons requesting a Translator
Any person requesting translation for the meeting must notify the City Clerk Department at [email protected] at least 48 hours before the meeting.
English
Translation Services. Upon request, the agenda and any public hearing notice for a project may be translated in either Chinese, Spanish, or Vietnamese. Please direct such a request for translation to the City Clerk Department by emailing [email protected] at least 48 hours before the meeting.
Chinese (Traditional)
翻譯服務。根據要求，項目的議程和任何公開聽證會通知可以翻譯成中文、西班牙文或越
南文。請至少在會議開始前 48 小時發送電子郵件至 [email protected] 將此類翻譯請求
發送至市文員部。
Chinese (Simplified)
翻译服务。根据要求，项目的议程和任何公开听证会通知可以翻译成中文、西班牙文或越
南文。请至少在会议开始前 48 小时发送电子邮件至 [email protected] 将此类翻译请求
发送至市文员部。
Vietnamese
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Spanish
Servicios de traducción. Previa solicitud, la agenda y cualquier aviso de audiencia pública para un proyecto pueden traducirse al chino, español o vietnamita. Dirija dicha solicitud de traducción al Departamento del Secretario Municipal enviando un correo electrónico a [email protected] al menos 48 horas antes de la reunión.
Questions about this Agenda? Should any person have a question concerning any of the above Agenda items prior to the meeting, please contact the City Clerk at [email protected] during regular office hours.
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