Minutes 2023-01-23 CC 1
January 23, 2023
Monday
Special Closed Session - 5:30 p.m.
Regular Meeting – 6:30 p.m.
5:30 PM CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL CLOSED SESSION
CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Infanti called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang, California.
ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Mark Infanti, Mayor pro tem Elizabeth Orona; Councilmembers David Brown, Robert Clarke, Claudia Orona
Staff: Interim City Manager Bradley Vidro, City Attorney David Fleishman, City Clerk Annamarie Porter
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Councilmember Clarke led in the Salute to the Flag.
1. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS ON CLOSED SESSION
There were no public comments.
2. RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION – 5:36 p.m.
a. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL—Existing Litigation - pursuant to Gov. Code 54956.9(d)(1)
Name of Case:
City of Solvang – Petition to Change Water-Right Permit 15878 (Application No. A022423), under protest by California Trout and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service, and comment by California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
RECONVENE TO OPEN SESSION – 6:16 p.m.
3. ANNOUNCEMENT OF CLOSED SESSION ACTIONS
City Attorney Fleischman announced that there was no reportable action.
4. ADJOURNMENT
Adjourned at 6:17 p.m.
6:30 PM REGULAR MEETING
MINUTES
SOLVANG CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL CLOSED SESSION AND REGULAR MEETINGS
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CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Infanti called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber, 1644 Oak Street, Solvang, California.
ROLL CALL
Present: Mayor Mark Infanti; Mayor pro tem Elizabeth Orona, Councilmembers David Brown, Robert Clarke, Claudia Orona
Staff: Interim City Manager Bradley Vidro, City Attorney David Fleishman, City Clerk Annamarie Porter, Administrative Services Director Wendy Berry, Public Works Director Rodger Olds, Planning Manager, Sophia Checa, Planning Consultant Laurie Tamura (via Zoom)
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor pro tem E. Orona led in the Pledge of Allegiance.
PROCLAMATIONS, COMMENDATIONS AND CEREMONIAL ITEMS - None PRESENTATIONS – None
1. PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS ON NON-AGENDA AND CONSENT ITEMS Julie Glendenning, Mary Beth Lee, Laurie Flanagan, Sharon Price spoke against the appointment of Councilmember Clarke
Karen Waite spoke about the passing of David Crosby.
There were no other public comments and Mayor Infanti closed public comment.
2. CITY MANAGER REPORT AND ADVANCE CALENDAR
Interim City Manager Vidro reported there are fourteen candidates for the City’s City Manager position; reported the new Community Services Officer will begin working next week and presented items included in the Advance Calendar.
3. COUNCIL COMMENTS AND REQUESTS
Mayor pro tem E. Orona requested placing consideration of the selection process for the Community Oversight Committee on a future agenda.
Mayor Infanti reported attending the Solvang School to present a proclamation for the Great Kindness Challenge.
4. CONSENT ITEMS
a. Approve Order of Agenda as Presented.
b. Receive and file Santa Barbara County Sheriffs Statistics through December 2022 c. Adopt Resolution 23- 1206, a Resolution of the City Council of the City of Solvang, California, Authorizing Signatories to the City Bank Accounts with Montecito Bank & Trust d. Approve Amendment 1 to the Agreement with MuniServices LLC to examine transaction, sales and use tax records to include the Solvang local Control and Essential Services tax — Measure DocuSign Envelope ID: 1680B07E-376A-4EDD-B90D-51E04580AE74 Minutes 2023-01-23 CC 3
U (1% transaction and use tax) for a 15% contingency fee until terminated; and authorize the Mayor to execute on behalf of the City
Mayor Infanti asked about inclusion of the minutes and was advised the Minute Clerk has asked to stand down to take care of medical issues.
Motion by Mayor pro tem E. Orona, to approve the Consent Agenda, seconded by Councilmember Brown, and carried 5-0.
5. PUBLIC HEARINGS – None
6. DISCUSSION ITEMS
a. Discussion and possible action to approve FY 22-24 City Grant Funding Process timeline Administrative Services Director Berry presented a brief report.
Mayor Infanti invited public comments.
Susan Williams spoke about grant and special event funding.
There were no other public comments on this item.
Discussion followed regarding prior City policies regarding grant funding and special event funding, deadlines for both, better-defining existing policies, requesting at least one year (three years, if available) of financial statements from applicants, prioritizing Solvang-citizen services including services for youth and disadvantaged residents and considering the City budget, yearly, to determine the amount of money available for grants.
Motion by Mayor pro tem E. Orona, to approve the FY 22-24 City Grant Funding Process as amended, seconded by Councilmember C. Orona, and carried 5-0
b. Discussion and possible action for City Council appointments of members to the Design Review Committee, Planning Commission, and Tourism Advisory Committee for two-year terms ending December 31, 2024
Mayor Infanti discussed the minimum requirements, reported one of the applicants to the Tourism Advisory Committee is not eligible as they live in Santa Barbara, and explained that each Councilmember will be asked to appoint one person to each commission/committee.
Mayor Infanti invited public comments on this item.
Julie Glendenning spoke to appoint Jack Williams to the Planning Commission.
There were no other public comments.
There were no Planning Commission applicants wishing to speak.
Councilmember C. Orona appointed Joan Jamieson to the Planning Commission.
Councilmember Brown appointed Justin Rodriguez to the Planning Commission.
Mayor pro tem E. Orona appointed Aaron Peterson to the Planning Commission.
Councilmember Clarke appointed Kief Adler to the Planning Commission.
Mayor Infanti appointed Jack Williams to the Planning Commission.
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Motion by Councilmember Brown, to approve the Planning Commission member slate, as appointed, seconded by Councilmember Clarke, and carried 5-0.
Mayor Infanti announced that consideration will be given to those applying to the Design Review Committee (DRC) and invited applicants to comment. There were no applicants wishing to speak.
Councilmember Clarke appointed Esther Jacobsen Bates to the DRC.
Mayor pro tem E. Orona appointed Pat Cavanaugh to the DRC.
Councilmember C. Orona appointed Jennifer Dryden Hess to the DRC.
Councilmember Brown appointed Christopher Lapp to the DRC.
Mayor Infanti appointed Mary Von Martin to the DRC.
Motion by Mayor Infanti, to approve the Design Review Committee member slate, as appointed, seconded by Councilmember C. Orona, and carried 5-0.
Mayor Infanti announced that consideration will be given to those applying to the Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC); explained its function; noted it is comprised of seven members and invited applicants to comment.
Alexander Grenier declared he is applying for reappointment to the TAC; listed his contributions serving as a prior member and noted his love for Solvang and his interest in the continuing development of the City.
There were no other applicants wishing to speak.
Councilmember Clarke appointed Vashti Wilson to the TAC.
Mayor pro tem E. Orona appointed Tracy Beard to the TAC.
Councilmember Brown appointed John Martino to the TAC.
Councilmember C. Orona appointed Louise Smith to the TAC.
Mayor Infanti appointed Kim Jensen to the TAC.
City Council concurred to appoint two additional members to the TAC.
Councilmember Clarke nominated John Jakubek, Councilmember Brown nominated Alexander Grenier and Councilmember C. Orona seconded the nominations.
Motion by Councilmember Brown, to approve the Tourism Advisory Committee member slate (Seven members), as appointed, seconded by Mayor pro tem E. Orona, and carried 5-0.
Councilmember C. Orona announced the formation of a Citizens Oversight Committee and encouraged residents to apply for membership.
c. Accept the 2021/022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report as presented by Ahmed Badawi, CPA
Administrative Services Director Berry introduced the item; discussed highlights of the report and deferred to CPA Mitesh Desai, Badawi and Associates, for a presentation.
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Consultant Desai narrated a PowerPoint presentation with details of the 2021/022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report.
Discussion followed regarding the decrease in net pension liability from 2020, increases in plan assets, how Solvang compares to similar jurisdictions in terms of fiscal health, opportunities for risk assessment, avoiding phishing attacks and providing staff training in terms of security.
Mayor Infanti invited public comments. There were no public comments on this item.
Motion by Mayor Infanti, to accept the 2021/022 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report as presented, seconded by Mayor pro tem E. Orona, and carried 5-0.
d. Discussion and possible action to receive and file the draft Housing Element to the General Plan
Public Works Director Olds introduced the item and deferred to the Consultant for a presentation.
Ryan Lester, Deputy Product Manager, Mintier Harnish, narrated a PowerPoint presentation with details of the draft Housing Element.
Planning Consultant Tamura, (via Zoom), reported this item will return to City Council on February 13, 2023 for final review of responses to public comments and for additional steps to the process.
Mayor Infanti opened public comments for this item.
Public Comments expressing concerns were made by Dan Martin, President, Mission Oaks Owners Association, Karen Waite, John Moisan, Barbara Allen, Denise Johns, Wendy Gregersen, John Royce, Steven Martin, Kent Lockhart, Lansing Duncan, Elizabeth Breen, Josh Richmond (via Zoom), Mark Frank (via zoom), Elaine Morris.
There were no other public comments and Mayor Infanti closed public comments.
Consultant Lester responded to some concerns of residents; alleged that HCD will not eliminate a site and spoke about incentivizing housing production, including moderate-income production.
Planning Consultant Tamura, via Zoom, reported that staff will work with the consultants to complete the response to the comments and amendments to the draft Housing Element that was out for public review and the matter will be brought back to the City Council at its meeting of February 13, 2023.
Councilmember Brown spoke about the possibility of a lot line adjustment that would move one acre toward the aqueduct and rezoning the south parcel with no change on the north parcel.
Councilmember C. Orona questioned whether the deadline could be met if the City were to rezone other parcels to meet RHNA numbers without having rely on the development of Site C.
Public Works Director Olds reported the City could defer the consultant but stated the City must submit the document within two weeks and added that any changes made will have a ripple effect on the entire document.
It was noted that the February 15th deadline is for a Certified Housing Element which the City will not have by then so the City is already not meeting the deadline.
Mayor Infanti spoke about the need to make changes/corrections to the draft Housing Element; noted the matter will be turned over to consultants to make those changes and will be reviewed again, by City Council at the next City Council meeting.
Consultant Lester reported the City will have one year from the adoption deadline to do the rezoning.
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Discussion followed regarding making lot-line adjustments, in the future.
Motion by Mayor Infanti, to return the draft Housing Element to the consultant for corrections/changes and return to City Council for review, at its next regularly-scheduled meeting, seconded by Mayor pro tem E. Orona, and carried 5-0.
7. AB1234 REPORT OUT AND COUNCIL CLOSING COMMENTS - None
8. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 10:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted:
Annamarie Porter, City Clerk
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