South Pasadena City Council
April 6, 2022

Community Input Follow Up
The City Manager’s Office conducted a follow up online survey to solicit additional input on Commissions, which was hosted on the City’s website between March 16, 2022 to March 21, 2022. The survey received 18 responses from community stakeholders on additional suggestions based on the previous information provided by staff regarding this matter. The results of the survey are provided as Attachment 2, and main takeaways include:
• 66.7% of respondents are part of a current Commission/Board. • Of those that responded, 30.8% were from the Public Safety Commission, 15.4% were from the Cultural Heritage Commission, 15.4% were from the Parks and Recreation Commission, 7.7% from the Library Board of Trustees, 7.7% from the Finance Commission, 7.7% from the Planning Commission, and 7.7% from the Mobility and Transportation and Infrastructure Commission. • The majority of respondents agree with the consolidation of Commissions as discussed.
• A couple of respondents expressed concerns with specific Commission consolidations.
• A couple of respondents expressed the need for increased trainings for both staff and Commissioners.

Current Administrative Processes for Commissions and Boards The City Clerk’s Office currently oversees all Commission related administrative processes. The current processes include:
• Maintaining all applications for two years
• Checking for residency and voter registration status
• In compliance with Government Code Section 54972 (Maddy Act) posting the annual appointments list which includes membership and terms for all board, commission, and committee appointments by City Council
• Noticing of unanticipated vacancies due to resignation by posting on social media, the City’s website, and through press releases
• With a new Mayoral term, the City Clerk’s office works with the incoming Mayor to determine commissioner appointments and reappointments. The list of proposed appointments appears on an open session agenda for consensus by the City Council
• Administering Oath of Office and providing welcome packet to commissioners which includes Parliamentary procedures, Robert’s Rules of Order, Brown Act information, FPPC required filings, meeting schedule, and contact information for their specific commission
• Maintaining a directory of Commissioners and a list of absences • Coordinating Commissioners Congress which includes annual reporting of Commission activates and work plans
• Preparing certificates of appreciation for outgoing Commissioners 19 - 2
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As discussed previously, the Commission Analysis exercise revealed opportunities to improve upon staff liaison and commissioner onboarding, training and resources, including handbooks, ethics and Brown Act training. The City Clerk’s Office will also be expanding community outreach efforts in soliciting commission applications, and will bolster the application process to include a requirement that commissioners be in “good standing” with the City to be considered for the position, and ensuring that the applicants considered have no outstanding code enforcement or public safety violations.

Moving forward and in an effort to increase and approve staff and commissioner training and support, staff will be:
• Working with their respective advisory boards to align work plans with Strategic Plan and Budget, which will help to align efforts with community priorities and resources;
• Re-establishing an annual Commissioner’s Congress at a Special City Council meeting in the form of a reception, where a holistic review and update of advisory groups and efforts to Council and community will be presented. This will provide an opportunity to provide updates to the City Council, and to recognize the City’s Commissioners for their time and efforts. The tentative date is June 22, 2022;
• Scheduling Council liaison and commissioner appointments as needed and following City Council direction; and
• Creating staff liaison support policies, protocols, trainings, and onboarding processes, as well as establishing a point of contact for appointed individuals.

Analysis
The City Manager’s Office conducted assessments agency-wide to identify effectiveness of current practices and efficiencies in furthering the service provided to the community.

The amount of time that each Commission meets for varies depending on their scope of work, and the substance of respective meeting agendas:
• The Public Works Commission meets for one hour to one hour and a half on average based on the 2021-2022 meeting minutes.
• The average meeting time of the Mobility and Infrastructure Transportation Commission is two hours.
• The Public Works Commission meetings tend to focus on updates from the Public Works department while the Mobility and Infrastructure Transportation Commission agendas focus on transportation matters in the City. • The Public Art Commission meets for one hour on average, and the meeting minutes throughout 2021 and 2022 show that meetings were necessary when discussing projects such as k-rail art implementation and the proposed Black Lives Matter Mural. The staff liaison communicated that the Commission has a fairly light load and may benefit from meeting on a quarterly basis. The Commission met 7 times in 2019, 7 times in 2020, 9 times in 2021, and only 1 19 - 3
Direction on Citywide Commissions
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time so far in 2022. When analyzing the agendas throughout the years, staff found that agendas include two to three items on average. • While not discussed at the February 23, 2022 Commission Study Session, a review of the Public Safety Commission workload and a discussion with the staff liaisons revealed an opportunity to make an impact for our Police and Fire related liaisons, who often times find that they are producing meetings due to their meeting frequency requirements rather than the actual need to meet to discuss pertinent topics on their agendas. Staff has included a recommendation in this item for Council’s consideration to reduce the frequency of meetings for the Public Safety Commission to quarterly or on an as-needed basis.

The following alternatives were also discussed and considered:
• Consolidation of the Public Arts Commission into the Design Review Board • Consolidation of the Public Works Commission into the Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commission
The Public Works Department assessment completed and presented to City Council in October 2021 suggested that there were too many commissions under the department’s purview, and recommended that the number of commissions be reduced. As part of the Public Works Department reorganization presented to you in another staff report tonight, Public Works staff is exploring the feasibility of adding an Engineering position to focus on traffic and transportation projects, largely in response to the discussion around the Public Works Department’s three (3) commissions, and the emphasized need to enhance the Department’s transportation projects throughput, and further support the Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commission.

Cities of similar size to South Pasadena have an average of 6-7 Commissions while larger cities typically have about 13 Commissions. In other cities surrounding South Pasadena including Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, and Pasadena, there is one staff liaison to each Commission. Although South Pasadena also has one staff liaison per Commission, other cities in similar size to have more full-time staff members. While ‘commission specialist’ positions do not exist, full-time staff members are trained to manage and run public meetings.

Implementation Strategy and Timeline
Staff has already begun working on staff and commission onboarding and training efforts, as well as soliciting community member interest and applications in serving as commissioners. Staff liaisons have shared the strategic plan with their respective commissions, and the efforts to align work plans with strategic plan priorities and budgets is underway. A tentative date for the return of the annual Commission Congress is set for June 2022, and this will provide an opportunity for each commission to present on their work plans and focus, receive City Council feedback, and be recognized for their efforts.
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Upon receiving City Council’s direction tonight, staff will return with an item to codify any municipal code changes to the commission makeup and frequency of meetings, and with commission appointments.

Recommendations
It is recommended that the City Council:

1. Dissolve the Animal Commission;

2. Consolidate the Youth, Senior Citizen and Park and Recreation Commission scopes of work to create a seven-member Community Services Commission, and reserve at least one seat each for members of youth and senior citizen populations;

3. Direct the City Manager and staff to implement an annual Animal Events Advisory Committee to focus on “Doggy Days” and “Be Kind to Animals Day” and other programming;

4. Change frequency of meetings for the Public Arts Commission to quarterly, or on an as-needed basis;

5. Change frequency of meetings for the Public Safety Commission to quarterly, or on an as-needed basis;

6. Dissolve the Finance Ad Hoc Committee;

7. Dissolve the Economic Development Ad Hoc Committee; and

8. Consider adding an engineering staff position to further support the Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commission in the Public Works Department.

Upon receiving City Council’s direction tonight, staff will return with an item to codify any municipal code changes to the commission makeup and frequency of meetings, and with commission appointments.

Fiscal Impact
Any Council direction that affects the number of public meetings has direct fiscal impact.

The recommended motions will serve to promote greater efficiency/effectiveness in the use of staff time and City resources.

Community Outreach
Outreach for the online surveys and input opportunities were shared with Women Involved in South Pasadena Political Activism (WISPPA), Woman’s Club of South Pasadena, YMCA South Pasadena, Kiwanis Club South Pasadena, Oneonta Club, Chamber of Commerce, Chinese-American Club, Dads Uniting Dads in Education, the South Pasadenan, Pasadena Now, Nexus Plex, San Marino Tribune, Outlook Newspapers, and the SoCal News Group. The follow-up online survey available from March 16 – March 21, 2022 received 18 responses (Attachment 1).

Attachments:

1. Follow-Up Online Survey Results from March 2022

2. Commission Study Session Agenda Item- February 23, 2022 19 - 5
ATTACHMENT 1
Commission Study Session Agenda Item –
February 23, 2022
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1 19 - 7
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staff, Commissions, and City Council in serving the community.

Community Outreach
As a part of this analysis, the City Manager’s office strategically conducted outreach to ensure that feedback was solicited from all stakeholders, including staff, Commissioners, and residents.

Outreach efforts included announcing this effort at City Council meetings, hosting an online survey that became accessible on January 20, 2022 and closed on January 28, 2022 with twentyfive (25) responses, and a Community Input Discussion that was held virtually via Zoom on January 26, 2022 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm that had twenty-seven (27) attendees. Outreach for all of these feedback opportunities were posted across the City’s social media platforms including Instagram, Facebook, the City Hall Scoop. In addition, a designated page was created on our City’s website titled “Community Input on Commissions,” displaying the various ways to solicit feedback. Staff also received phone calls and correspondence from any community members unable to participate virtually, so that we could capture and include their input and suggestions on this matter.

Background
The City Council has established various Commissions, Boards, Ad Hoc Committees, and other advisory bodies to provide input and recommendations on issues that they are either subject matter experts on or passionate about. Advisory bodies are formed to address the evolving needs of a City, and to provide opportunities to vet issues and provide recommendations for City Council’s consideration. The City of South Pasadena is unique in many ways, one of which is the level of involvement from residents in local government, and the pride in serving the various advisory bodies that support the City Council and community.

These various advisory bodies are defined by the following terms:
• Commission: Commissions and Boards are interchangeable terms. They serve as an advisory role to help direct policy by making suggestions and recommendations to their local elected policymakers and government management.
• Ad Hoc Committee: A committee appointed as the need arises, to carry out a specific task, at the completion of which-that is, on presentation of its final report to the assembly-it automatically ceases to exist. A special committee may not be appointed to perform a task that falls within the assigned function of an existing standing committee. • Standing Committee: A legislative body which has either (1) a continuing subject matter jurisdiction, or (2) a meeting schedule fixed by the charter, ordinance, resolution, or formal action of the City Council. Even if comprised of less than a quorum of the governing body, a standing subcommittee is subject to the Brown Act. • Steering Committee: A committee with the role to provide advice, ensure delivery of the project outputs and the achievement of project outcomes. The steering committee provides support, guidance, and oversight of progress.
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The current advisory bodies in South Pasadena include the following:

City Council Commissions | Boards | Committees Liaison Assignments January 2021 to December 2021
Commissions, Boards, & Committees Appointed Liaisons
Animal Commission N/A Pending Review
Cultural Heritage Commission Zneimer
Design Review Board Mahmud
Finance Commission Donovan
Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commission Primuth Library Board of Trustees Mahmud
Natural Resources and Environmental Commission Cacciotti Parks and Recreation Commission Donovan
Planning Commission Mahmud
Public Arts Commission Cacciotti
Public Safety Commission Primuth
Public Works Commission Zneimer
Senior Citizen Commission Cacciotti
Youth Commission Donovan
Fourth of July – Festival of Balloons Committee Primuth South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Committee Zneimer
City Council Ad Hoc Committees Liaison Assignments
January 2021 to December 2021
City Ad Hoc Committees Appointed Liaison(s) Staff Liaison Ad Hoc Committee: City Council and South
Pasadena Unified School District
Primuth and Zneimer Arminè Chaparyan, City
Manager
Ad Hoc Committee: Finance Primuth and Donovan Ken Louie, Interim Finance Director
Ad Hoc Committee: Mission-Meridian Village
Subcommittee (08/14/2013)
Donovan and Zneimer Margaret Lin, Deputy Director of
Community Development
Ad Hoc Committee: Implementation, Caltrans
Surplus Properties Disposition
Replaced “Leg” & “non-leg” committees by
council action on Dec, 1, 2021
Donovan and Primuth Angelica Frausto-Lupo, Director
of Community Development
Margaret Lin, Deputy Director of
Community Development
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Ad Hoc Committee: Recreation leased facilitiesDonovan and Cacciotti Sheila Pautsch, Community Service Director
Ad Hoc Committee: South Pasadena Chamber
of Commerce – Legislative
Mahmud Tamara Binns, Assistant to the
City Manager
Ad Hoc Committee: South Pasadena Chamber
of Commerce –
Economic Development
Primuth and Donovan Domenica Megerdichian, Deputy
City Manager
Ad Hoc Committee: South Pasadena Chamber
of Commerce –
Chamber Board
City Manager/Deputy City
Manager
Ad Hoc Committee: Economic Development N/A Pending Review N/A Pending Review Furthermore, the table below shows a breakdown of which Departments have purview over each of the Commissions and advisory bodies.

Department Commissions Committees # of Commissions/Boards Police
Department
Animal Commission,
Public Safety Commission
None. 2 Commissions
Fire
Department
Public Safety Commission None. 1 Commission
Community
Development
Department
Cultural Heritage
Commission, Design and
Review Board, Planning
Commission, Public Arts
Commission
Ad Hoc Committee:

Mission-Meridian Village
Subcommittee, Ad Hoc
Committee:

Implementation, Caltrans
Surplus Properties
4 Commissions, 2 Ad Hoc
Committees
Public Works
Department
Mobility and
Transportation
Infrastructure Commission,
Natural Resources and
Environmental
Commission, Public
Works Commission
None. 3 Commissions
Community
Services
Department
Parks and Recreation
Commission, Youth
Commission, Senior
Citizen Commission
Ad Hoc Committee:

Recreation leased facilities
3 Commissions, 1 Ad Hoc
Committee
Library Library Board of Trustees None. 1 Commission
Finance
Department
Finance Commission Ad Hoc Committee:

Finance
1 Commission, 1 Ad Hoc
Committee
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Commission Summaries
• Animal Commission:
o The Animal Commission was founded in the 1980’s, and has served as an advisory body regarding all animal related issues in the City. In the late 90’s to early 2000’s, the City developed a contract with the Pasadena Humane Society to oversee all animal related issues. The most recent staff liaison to the Animal Commission was Lieutenant Thomas Jacobs while Michael Cacciotti served as the Council Liaison. In 2014, the Commission began focusing on creating ordinances, including issues related to birds, although these efforts did not continue in prior years. The Animal Commission has also led annual events including “Doggy Days,” and “Be Kind to Animal Day.” These events were received positively both by staff and the community. In March of 2021, the City Council considered abolishing the Animal Commission; although the Commission remains active, a meeting has not been held for over two years. • Cultural Heritage Commission:
o The Cultural Heritage Commission began in 1971, and is under the purview of the Community Development Department and is responsible for all issues relating to identification, retention, and preservation of landmarks and historic districts. The Commission’s responsibilities include reviewing various projects and recommending to the City Council whether those projects be designated as historical landmarks. Planning Manager Matt Chang is the current staff liaison to this Commission, and Councilmember Zneimer serves as the Council liaison. • Design and Review Board:
o The Design and Review Board is under the purview of the Community Development Department. This board serves as an advisory to the Planning Commission and represents the professions of architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, graphics, or related fields. The current staff liaison for the Design and Review board is Planning Manager, Matt Chang, and Councilmember Mahmud serves at the Council liaison.
• Finance Commission:
o The Finance Commission serves as an advisory to the City Council and Finance Department in all matters related to the financial, budgetary, banking, accounting, and licensing within the City. Interim Finance Director Ken Louie is the current staff liaison to the Commission, and Councilmember Donovan serves as the Council liaison.
• Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commission:
o The Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commission was created on February 19, 2020 to separate mobility and transportation policy matters from the Public Works Commission. The Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure 19 - 11
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Commission provides input to Council on traffic management plans, transit, multi-modal transportation and active transportation, evolving transportation, parking management, and mobility technologies. In addition, they provide input on transportation related Capital Improvement Project items, Neighborhood Traffic Management Plan, and the Active Transportation Plan. Public Works Director Ted Gerber is the current staff liaison to this Commission, and Councilmember Primuth serves as the Council liaison.
• Library Board of Trustees:
o The Library Board of Trustees is an advisory body to the City Council that provides input on the Library’s needs and traditions, assists with promoting library interests, supports funding levels, and assists members in developing and writing policies that govern the operations of the Library. The Library Board of Trustees core responsibilities also include establishing rules and regulations for the administration of the Library, reviewing and submitting annual operating budgets and making recommendations with respect to appointments, suspension or removal of the City Librarian. Library Director Cathy Billings acts as the current staff liaison to the Board, and Councilmember Mahmud serves at the Council liaison.
• Natural Resources and Environmental Commission:
o The Commission began in 2007, and is advisory to the City Council in all matters pertaining to energy, science and technology, natural resources, and the environment. The Natural Resources and Environmental Commission assists the City in planning, programming, use, and conservation of energy and natural resources. The Natural Resources and Environmental Commission is one of two commissions in South Pasadena that have seven members. Environmental Services and Sustainability Manager Arpy Kasparian is the current staff liaison to this Commission, and Mayor Cacciotti serves as the Council liaison. • Parks and Recreation Commission:
o The Parks and Recreation Commission is a five member body that is advisory to the City Council on all matters pertaining to parks and public recreation; formulates and proposes policies on recreation services for approval by the City Council; recommends the adoption of standards on organizations, facilities and parks, programs, and financial support; informs the public of the policies and functions of the recreation and parks program as directed by the City Council; and takes periodic inventories of recreation services that exist or may be needed and interprets the need of the public to the City Council and Community Services Director. Community Services Director Sheila Pautsch is the current staff liaison to this Commission, and Councilmember Donovan serves as the Council liaison. • Planning Commission:
o The Planning Commission is advisory to the City Council on matters pertaining to 19 - 12
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subdivisions, zoning, parks and boulevards, beautification of the city and in general all matters regarding the orderly and physical development of South Pasadena. The current staff liaison to the Planning Commission is Planning Manager, Matt Chang while Diana Mahmud serves as the council liaison. • Public Arts Commission:
o The Public Arts Commission was established a couple of years ago with the purpose to integrate art into public spaces within the City. The Public Art Commission is a five member body that is responsible for the review and approval of public art projects associated with the Public Art Program. These projects include, but are not limited to, proposed site-specific public art, art donations, and public art developed with the funds from the Public Art Development Fee. The current staff liaison to the Public Arts Commission is Deputy Director of Community Development, Margaret Lin while Diana Mahmud serves as the council liaison.
• Public Safety Commission:
o The Public Safety Commission is one of the two commissions that has seven commissioners on board. The commission serves in primary support capacity to the City’s public safety personnel in an endeavor to improve the City’s existing emergency response capability and provide recommendations to Council on issues related to public safety. These issues include crime trends, incidents in the City, fire prevention, and traffic. The current staff liaisons are Police Chief, Brian Solinsky and Fire Chief, Paul Riddle while Jon Primuth serves as the council liaison.
• Public Works Commission:
o The Public Works Commission has been established since 2012, and focuses on public works inquiries related to water, sewer, storm water, and buildings including City facilities. The commission focuses on issues non-transportation and infrastructure related since the development of the Mobility Transportation and Infrastructure Commission was formed. The current staff liaison to the Public Works Commission is Director of Public Works, Ted Gerber while Evelyn Zneimer serves as the council liaison.
• Senior Citizen Commission:
o The Senior Citizen Commission is a five member body that is advisory to Council on all matters pertaining to senior citizens in the City. Such matters include the advancement of senior citizen planning and programming and to formulate policies for senior citizen services. The current staff liaison to the Senior Citizen Commission is Community Services Supervisor, Melissa Synder while Michael Cacciotti serves as the council liaison.
• Youth Commission:
o The Youth Commission is represented by students of the South Pasadena Middle 19 - 13
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School and South Pasadena High School. The students on the commission are involved in coordinating activities, events, and volunteering for charitable fundraisers and food drives. There are ten youth members on the commission, an adult Community-at-Large member, and a South Pasadena Unified School District representative.

The City Council has created a number of Ad Hoc Committees to focus on specific topics. Ad Hoc Committees serve for a specific period of time, or until the work before them is completed, and should be dissolved or disbanded at that point. While many of the Ad Hoc Committees listed above are relevant and active, two committees—Finance and Economic Development—have completed the work under their purview, and are ready to officially be dissolved. At any point, City Council can create Ad Hoc committees to focus on a specific topic, and staff will work on aligning Ad Hoc committee status review on an annual basis to align with committee appointments.

Staff Liaison Feedback
The City Manager’s Office met with staff liaisons of each Commission to discuss workload, staff time spent on Commission related work, strengths, shortcomings, and recommendations in managing Commission workflow and output. (Attachment 1) shows the time and resources (staffing and staff time) typically spent on Commission related preparations and workflows. Our interviews revealed noteworthy input, including:

Specific Commissions:
• The Animal Commission was responsible for well-received annual events, and could be incorporated into a Community Services Commission.
• On average, the Parks and Recreation Commission runs for 35-45 minutes. Meetings as needed would be helpful to reduce staff time.
• The Senior Commission is able to go months without meetings due to lack of discussion items.
• The Youth Commission often does not have topics to discuss, and Commissioners have not attended volunteer opportunity events. The City has experienced difficulty in recruiting for Commissioners.
• The Public Works Commission provides Public Works updates to Commissioners when meetings do not have lengthy agendas.
• The Public Safety Commission discusses police related issues for about 90% of items. • Public Art Commission has significant overlap with the Planning Commission.

Common themes:
• The majority of staff liaisons believe that more detailed training and onboarding processes would be beneficial in standardizing processes. Ideas for this training include creating an onboarding manual for Commissioners.
• The majority of staff would also like to sit through training sessions for preparing minutes and preparing for Commission meetings.
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Community Input
The City Manager’s Office conducted an online survey to solicit input on Commissions, which was hosted on the City’s website between January 20, 2022 to January 28, 2022. The survey received 25 responses on strengths, shortcomings and suggestions of our current Commission structure and management (Attachment 2). Some noteworthy responses include:
• 84% of respondents are or have served on a South Pasadena Commission or Board. • Responses were received from individuals from or previously from all Commissions, except for the Senior Citizen Commission and the Youth Commission. • Five (5) respondents who wanted to see additional topics covered by Commissions, including diversity, equity, inclusion, homelessness, and mental health. • Many strengths and accomplishments were highlighted across various Commissions, and comments were generally appreciative and supportive of efforts. • Common themes for improvement opportunities for Commissions include better communication with staff, defining roles, increased utilization of feedback from Commissions, increased outreach on meetings to increase participation, and additional resources for success.
• Multiple responses stated the need for increased training for basics of Commission meeting procedures and Brown Act training.
• Many respondents suggested a need for improvements for the City’s public meeting process included reducing the amount of Commissions, giving Commission more of a voice, encouraging in-person meetings, aligning Commissions with the City’s Strategic Plan, and increased facilitated discussions on sensitive topics.

The City Manager’s Office also hosted a virtual Community Input Discussion hosted via Zoom by the City Manager’s Office. There were 27 participants, as well as staff liaisons and departments heads at the listening session, and commentary was similar to the input collected via the online survey. Main takeaways from the virtual community input session include:
• Virtual meetings are difficult and not inclusive; residents struggle to communicate digitally. However, virtual meetings are helpful and allow working professionals to be involved with City Council and appointed positions.
• A number of new topics important to the community are not a focus of any existing advisory body: housing rights, energy, mental health, homelessness, social services • We need a strategic approach to managing Commissions—connect efforts to the strategic plan and to the City budget to be able to fund efforts. Can we include joint meetings for topics that overlap?
• Abolish the Design Review Board and focus efforts on the Planning Commission.

Consider establishing informal reviews of planning projects with applicants; fully staffed Planning division should focus on backlog and objective planning processes. • Define all of the types of advisory bodies—is one more important than another? • Meetings are too formal, with Commissioners sitting at the dais and limiting comment times. Can we make public meetings more informal and less burdensome in managing? • Suggest a Good Governance Commission to be created to advise the Mayor on how the City is being run, and suggestion to reorganize the Finance Commission. 19 - 15
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• Considering the staff turnover of the last few years, there is a need for institutional knowledge. How do we bring that to advisory boards?
• The amount of advisory board and work generated is concerning—is it sustainable? There are opportunities for joint meetings or combining efforts for overlapping topics. • Need more public outreach and information, public engagement in City projects and programs. Need to improve upon and focus on communications, customer service to close the loop on resident correspondence and inquiries. • Consider term limits on “higher level” commissions (Planning, MTIC) to allow other impressive candidates an opportunity to serve.
• Commissioner onboarding and training is needed- focus on Brown Act and Ethics, but include City functions, budget, strategic plan, General Plan. What do we have local control over, how do we work with other agencies and government levels? Government 101 to benefit the appointee’s education and perspective.

Practices in Local and Comparable Cities
Staff has researched the practices in nearby and comparable cities, considering to population and size, number of commissions/advisory boards, the focus of those bodies, and any notable similarities or differences to the City of South Pasadena (Attachment 3). Cities of similar size typically have 6-7 commissions, while larger cities such as Glendale and Torrance have 13.

Larger cities (by geography and population) have fewer number of commissions, but in some cases, the commissions are consolidated with wider scopes of topics to focus on. Examples include the City of Glendale's Parks, Recreation & Community Services Commission that covers all recreational programs and the City’s parks, and the City of Sierra Madre Community Services Commission that oversees the City’s recreation services and programs, all special events, parks, and facilities. The Cities of Sierra Madre, Alhambra, San Gabriel, Rosemead, San Fernando, Duarte, and Ontario have consolidated commissions that oversee planning, building, historical properties, and zoning regulations.

Many cities create and utilize training guides and manuals for onboarding Commissioners that include the City Charter, background on government, the role of commissions, conduct standards, public meeting procedures, and Ralph M. Brown Act requirements. This is a resource we can create and utilize in our efforts.

Discussion/Analysis
The City Manager’s Office is conducting assessments agency wide to identify effectiveness of current practices and efficiencies in furthering the service provided to the community. As a part of this exercise, staff has focused on collecting all relevant information for a fruitful discussion on the City’s Commissions and Committees, including input from current staff liaisons, input from the community, researching the practices of local and comparable cities, and considering some recommendations on how to improve upon public meetings as well as create some efficiencies considering limited staff time and resources. The goal of this exercise is to provide the City Council with current information and possible solutions to creating more effective advisory board processes in our City.
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Staff liaison input provided that that each staff member involved in Commissions is spending about 8-10 hours a month on average per Commission. Of the fourteen current Commissions, eight of them have one staff liaison assigned to completing tasks related to writing and reviewing staff reports, recording and uploading minutes, agenda preparation and posting, preparing presentations, and following up with Commissioners as needed. A study of the existing commissions has revealed some overlap in function and focus, which can translate to the consolidation of existing advisory bodies with similar purviews. While the City’s departments are almost fully staffed, staff has significant backlog to address in addition to the day to day operations, and as such, an opportunity to create efficiencies in Commission related workload will be effective and have significant impact on workflows and work output.

For a more specific example of how this workload may impact staff duties, the Community Development Department has four Commissioners within their purview, totaling thirty-eight hours a month spent on Commission related work, or 50% of a full-time staff member’s schedule. The Community Development Department currently has about 70 planning development cases in their backlog that they are addressing, and about 40-50 ADU applications to process. In addition to the Planning Case Log, the Community Development Department has several priority projects underway that are either a state mandate such as the Housing Element or General Plan Update or local initiative such as the Downtown Specific Plan. Additionally, staff is managing projects that are of significant interest to the community including residents, Commissioners, and community organizations such as updating the SB 9 Urgency Ordinance, Caltrans SB 381, Mills Act Audit, new permit tracking software, comprehensive parking policy study, potential occupancy inspection program, local seismic regulations, and more. Further, there are several mixed-use development projects going through the entitlement phase that require much staff time and attention.

The Public Works Department has three Commissions under the Department’s purview, which contributes to a significant workload where there might be efficiencies. The Public Works Department Assessment that was received and filed by this City Council in December 2021 specifically stated that Commission related work load is significant, and that staff is constantly in “fire drill” mode. Recommendation number seven of the assessment reads, “Re-visit the need for all three (3) of the Commissions supported by the Public Works Department… consider consolidating the Public Works Commission and Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commission into one Commission.”
As a part of this information gathering, and in reviewing staff time and resources as it relates to Commission work flows and work product, staff has identified a need to produce and provide ongoing trainings for staff commission liaison related to agenda and minute preparation, running and managing public meetings, managing workflows and in acting in their role as liaison to appointed commissioners. Efforts to align work plans with the Strategic Plan and the City’s budget will translate to effective and efficient work output. Protocols and trainings will help support the staff, and lead to improved communications, customer service, efficient meeting and workflow management.
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Moving forward, in an effort to increase and approve staff and commissioner training and support, staff will be:
• Aligning Commission work plans with the adopted Strategic Plan and the City’s Annual budget so that resources can be appropriately adjusted as needed, and the Strategic Plan and Budget are communicated as a factor in guiding work plan goals. • Re-establishing an annual Commissioner’s Congress at a Special City Council meeting in the form of a reception, where a holistic review and update of advisory groups and efforts to Council and community will be presented. This will provide an opportunity to provide updates to the City Council, and to recognize the City’s Commissioners for their time and efforts.
• Staff will provide an annual update to City Council on Ad Hoc Committees in an effort to keep track of which committees are needed to continue their work, and which have completed their work plans and should be considered for dissolution. • Council liaison and commissioner appointments will be scheduled as needed and following City Council direction.
• City Clerk’s staff will be creating staff liaison support policies, protocols, trainings as well as establishing a point of contact for appointed individuals to receive information, resources and onboarding.

The recommendations herein suggest an approach that focuses on furthering the City’s priorities and goals while creating efficiencies in work flows and output. The recommendations, if approved, would translate to the City collapsing 14 Commissioner to 9 agency-wide, as well as dissolution of two ad hoc committees that have already unofficially dissolved. The Economic Development Ad Hoc Committee has been dormant, and was previously identified as an advisory body ready to be considered for abolishment. The Finance Ad Hoc Committee has completed its work and a subset of the Committee is preparing a final report to staff, expected Spring 2022, and should be considered for dissolution as well.

With Council’s approval, the work flows and output will be significantly reduced, and will further allow staff to improve processes, training, service to the community, including communications and a collaborative and comprehensive approach to public meetings and advisory bodies.

Recommendations
It is recommended that the City Council:

1. Consolidate the Public Works and the Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commissions to a seven-member Mobility, Transportation and Infrastructure Commission;

2. Dissolve the Animal Commission;

3. Dissolve the Youth Commission;

4. Consolidate the Animal, Youth, Senior Citizen and Park and Recreation Commission scopes of work to create a seven-member Community Services Commission, and reserve at least one seat each for members of youth and senior citizen populations;

5. Create an annual Animal Events Steering Committee within the Community Services 19 - 18
Commission Study Session
February 23, 2022

Commission to focus on “Doggy Days” and “Be Kind to Animals Day” and other programming;

6. Absorb the Public Art Commission into the existing Planning Commission;

7. Dissolve the Finance Ad Hoc Committee; and

8. Dissolve the Economic Development Ad Hoc Committee.

Alternatives Considered
Should City Council wish to retain existing Commissions, staff suggests making changes to the consideration of the frequency of Commission meetings. This translates to Commissions with lighter workloads meeting on a quarterly or as-needed basis to lighten the administrative load of preparing for and holding public meetings for lighter workloads.

Should there be interest in furthering a discussion such as the creation of an all-encompassing Social Services Commission focused on mental health, homelessness, equity and/or other topics relevant to the Community that are not part of any existing body’s scope of work, City Council may consider staff’s recommendations and improvements provided herein, and direct staff to return in the next 12 months for further discussion.

Next Steps

1. City Council to discuss and provide direction to staff on staff recommendations; or

2. City Council to discuss and request further information or provide different direction to staff on this topic; and

3. Based on City Council’s direction, staff will return with an item on Commissioner appointments and implementation.

Fiscal Impact
Any Council direction that affect the number of public meetings has a fiscal impact as it related to staff time and resources. This is an effort to usher efficiencies and effectiveness in furthering the priorities of the City Council and community, and has the potential to adjust limited staff time and resources to providing direct service to the community.

Public Notification of Agenda Item
The public was made aware that this item was to be considered this evening by virtue of posting of the agenda and reports on the City’s website and bulletin board, notifications on the City’s social media pages, reference on the City’s community input online survey as well as at the virtual community listening session held on January 21, 2022.

Attachments:

1. Staff Liaison Input: Staffing and Resources

2. Community Survey Results

3. Commissions Comparison Chart of Nearby and Comparable Cities 19 - 19
ATTACHMENT 1
Staff Liaison Input: Staffing and Resources
19 - 20
Staff Liaison Input – Staffing and Resources
Department Commission Number of
staff
Staff Time Spent
Police Department Animal Commission 1 12-16 hours per month Police Department/
Fire Department
Public Safety Commission 3 30-40 hours per month
Community Development Department Design and Review Board 1 9 hours per month Community Development Department Cultural Heritage Commission 1 12 hours per month Community Development Department Planning Commission 1 12 hours per month Community Development Department Public Arts Commission 1 5 hours per month Public Works Department Natural Resources and Environmental Commission
1 15-30 hours per month
Public Works Department Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commission
3 10 hours per month
Public Works Department Public Works Commission 2 10 hours per month Community Services Department Parks and Recreation Commission 2 10 hours per month Community Services Department Senior Citizen Commission 1 8 hours per month Community Services Department Youth Commission 1 8 hours per month Library Library Board of Trustees 2 20 hours per month
Finance Department Finance Commission 3 10 hours per month 19 - 21
ATTACHMENT 2
Community Survey Results
19 - 22
Community Input on Commissions: Survey Results
19 - 23
19 - 24
Are there topics not covered by existing Commissions/Board that you would like the City Council to consider?
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity
• Energy, Affordable Housing, Tenants Rights & Issues, Mental Health, Local Economic Development & Jobs
• For a city our size, the number of commissions is plenty, if not actually a bit many • Homelessness
• Homelessness, Mental Health, Substance Use Disorders, Affordable Housing, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion in City Programs
• (9 responses) stated “No”
• Support services for homeless, more incentives for developing more low income housing • Trees inventory and maintenance including protected trees • The current boards and commissions cover the breadth of topics important for citizen input
What are some strengths or accomplishments of the Commission/Board that you have been a part of or attended meetings for?
• Both the commission and committee I sit on have been well-organized with clear direction for outcomes. The Parks and Rec Commission has offered great recommendations for movies and concerts in the parks, in addition to sending the designs for the two pocket parks to Council. The ad hoc committee just recommended a restaurant consultant for the golf course. These are very clear accomplishments that note well-utilized boards.
• Good ideas came out and were later adopted by the City. • None.
• Preserving the physical character and quality of South Pasadena. • Finance Commission: provided significant advice to the City Council regarding the CIty's finances. Public Works Commission: provided feedback to staff regarding various programs and activities of the department.
• Public Safety review of police reform policy proposals • Current Public Works department appears to be doing a good job • Supporting public art in our city. Margaret Lin is amazing and to have support from a staff member like her is a blessing.
• Very important to have and maintain design review of both small and large developments to help keep our rich architectural heritage and to help shape future development to be appropriate for our city.
• pocket park and lease meetings
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• Planning: General Plan updates, Housing Element updates, ADU updates Natural Resources: Climate Action Plan Parks and Rec: leasing agreements in the Arroyo, bike and walk path in the Arroyo Library: Fine Free Library
• None really
• Upcoming Water Shed in the Arroyo
• NREC recommended and council adopted the Climate Action Plan, which is already being used in decision making.
• CHC has recently completed on ADUs on historic properties adopted by Council • Diverse group of people with varied backgrounds coming up with solutions to resolve an issue without going to Council or plan to submit solutions for Council to consider. • Planning passed Inclusionary Housing Ordinance; Public Safety Commission studied unarmed traffic enforcement
• oversight of, and input into the way the various departments of the City are run and which projects get attention
• Commissioners are the voices of the community
• Ban on Styrofoam, water efficiency fee, tiered water rates, Climate Action Plan, city renewable energy council plan. In general, commissions ideally bring expertise from the community and community viewpoints and concerns to the city staff. • Developing programs and projects to improve traffic management and safety throughout the city
• We have great working relationships with our City staff/liaisons. The NREC supported the City in developing and passing our City's first Climate Action Plan and many action items within the plan have been implemented over the last 2 years. The CAP and Green Action Plan are helpful tools for guiding our commission on new initiatives. We can look back and see what we have accomplished and what is on the horizon. We also oversee tree removal hearings and the updates made to the ordinance have simplified and clarified that process for us as well as for City staff.
• Great input at Commissions, but can’t get to them with City staff backlog.

What are some weaknesses or improvement opportunities of the Commission you have been a part of or attended meetings for?
• For the two I’m a part of, I don’t have any recommendations. Having not attended other meetings, I can only note that it seems like we have a lot of commissions for a city our size, but if resident recruitment to participate is high and work is getting done, then they are effective.
• When a commission is controlled so as to only do what the City Manager or City Council wants
• Too many commissions. DRB and CHC should be merged. NREC abuses its power in tree removal matters. Should be more clear cut guidelines and appeals. 19 - 26
• Often too much oversight and subjectivity by the Commissioners. Valuable and necessary projects and community advancements are killed by a select few. This is creating an unequal and exclusionary community that benefits those in power only. • Public Works Commission: The department head should attend these commission meetings, at least occasionally.
• Commissions need independent authority to pursue questions and suggest policy to the council, and they need a better relationship with staff. MTIC has repeatedly complained about being ignored.
• Better communication and avoidance/cancelation of meetings • The commission works hard to move forward on public art project, policy, and advocacy, especially in terms of becoming an artist friendly city. The culture of bureaucracy and an overly risk adverse approach (especially to potential litigation) are placing obstacles for South Pasadena to become an inclusive, diverse, and equitable artist friendly city. We are really behind other surrounding cities and counties in the southern California area.
• Boards/commissions that have purview over design/development in the city must have members that have design education/experience (architects/design professionals) that can read plans, understand complex concepts and make informed decisions that will have a lasting effect. DRB has/had members that have no knowledge in this field and merely become a "rubber stamp" and contribute little to none in the evaluation of the application at hand - not good...
• We need more explanation of the matters not just a pass and stamp recommendations • Since the commission members are residents of the city, those voices need to be more relevant when decisions, plans, some actions taken. The commissions could be setting agendas instead of staff.
• There needs to be total term limits. 10 years maximum on all commissions. • Need to be more involved
• Our commission agendas are defined without commissioner input. It can be difficult to understand context for action items, since most information is discovered during commission meetings.
• Sometimes Commissions rely on technical analysis of consultants without regard to the voices and actual needs of residents concerned wasting financial resources of City • More communication between the commissions and working together when possible. • I would like to see cross-commission collaboration. All city issues are interconnected.

Speaking personally for my commission, most city decisions are related to the environment. Transportation is a climate issue. Housing is a climate issue. Energy is a climate issue. Most other commissions' decisions impact our directive and more specifically, the Climate Action Plan. As a volunteer, it is very difficult to stay up to date on every agenda item for every commission and council meeting, and often, by the time a decision has been made is when our commission is made aware. It would be beneficial to all commissions if they could be notified of other commission’s agenda items that impact them.
19 - 27
• No commission is focused on social services and housing for low-income residents • unwillingness of the City Council to listen to the input provided • less staff control and influence
• Meetings could be better publicized to facilitate more community input. Also, some issues cut across existing commissions and it might be good to have joint meetings on a periodic, as needed basis.
• Not having enough staff resources and support to implement our proposals • I believe our commissions should rotate our Chair and Vice Chair positions annually, reflecting the same protocol that Council follows. This keeps the commissioners more engaged with staff and what is going on within the City. • Need Chair reviews available for commissions to both preview or have i or items approved, also need concept level meetings available, without waiting 6 months or staff processing.

Is additional training or support for Commissioners or staff liaisons needed to improve our public meeting process?
• Compared to other cities, it seems like a very well-engaged citizenry that understand government functions well.
• I don’t know
• I think for many commissioners, it would be helpful in addition to ethics and Brown Act training, to have a session on the mechanisms
• I think the training provided has been effective. I am not sure we’ve had it over the last year, but there is typically a training on the Brown Act for incoming commissioners provided by the City Attorney. I think another helpful tool would be to provide a commission meeting “procedure and process” class. For new commissioners, who have not engaged with the City politics or attended many public meetings, it could be very confusing.
• Implicit and unconscious bias and anti-racism trainings are necessary • No
• No
• No – the staff liaison does a good job
• No, our staff liaison is very familiar with the process • Perhaps training in how to run a meeting for upcoming “chairs” would be helpful Quality level of Commissioners is high, it’s City staff that needs help and Commissioners could help and with the submitted projects
• The Brown Act review does help, but it could be more review and summary training for new commissioners, Staff liaisons are hit and miss. Some staff are very good and some staff are not.
• We need more information on what the committee can accomplish • Yes. We need more specific training on important topics (i.e. general housing, affordable housing, parking, economics/budget)
• Yes, Commissions are often asking staff for help with basics of the procedure. 19 - 28
• Yes. I think a review of how council wants a meeting held, rules of order, etc. would be helpful
• Yes, NREC needs to take a more holistic approach to tree removals. Not just save a tree at an cost.
• If by support, you mean that the City Council actually takes action suggested or at least gives credence to the suggestions, then yes.
• Less format meeting would be helpful for a better dialogue Do you have any other suggestions/input on improving the public meeting process in the City of South Pasadena?
• Reduce number of commissions and align them to city departments. Public Works to absorb MTIC and NREC. Community Services to absorb Parks and Rec and Senior Commission. CHC and DRB into one streamlined design review board. PSC to absorb animal commission. Planning commission to remain as is. No new commissions. • Yes. (1) Statistically valid sampling; (2) Weighting of sampling that takes into account demographics with the most at stake in whatever decision is being made; (3) More education, facts, and context provided to those giving input. • There are too many commissions for a City the size of South Pasadena, which places a burden on city staff. Commissions should be combined along department lines. • Commissions should matter more. They've faded into the background, in part because they've been deliberately sidelined. The council should be far more deliberate in its efforts to secure commission input. In general, South Pasadena needs a deeper deliberative process, and engagement with commissions should be part of it. • Bring back live, in person meetings so the public can be invited to participate, also, need to have an annual "in person commissioners get together" at any of the public parks or at city hall to have a time for commissioners to meet each other along with all of the city staff members, council members, etc. This will provide a benefit to the new city manager and her team. This event will provide collaboration amongst all departments. • Hopefully, sooner than later in-person meetings will be the standard again. No matter how smooth we try to make the Zoom approach work, conversation/debate back and forth between commissioners and public is stifled. On another note, having been thru several complete turnovers of the planning/building departments, my hopes are high that the new team will really get rolling. One suggestion, we on DRB probably don’t need to see soils reports, past permits documentation, and all department plan check comments in order to do our job. I think if the staff reports were slimmed down, that should reduce staff time and help more applications to be processed and reviewed. Another thought: Offer "preliminary reviews" by DRB as in the past. The DRB in particular has been light for many months we could have used our time to give comments/consultation to applicants prior to a formal submittal. This could cut down on the number of times the applicant may have to return to gain approval, and also give the applicant/designer a direction that may be more fitting than the path they were going to take. 19 - 29
• Rules, city politics have a ton of processes and we need to know more of these rules in order to be more effective.
• If Commissions were to change to Advisory then Brown Act would not be needed. But Advisory has to hold same weight as Commission. There are too many meetings and maybe some of the commissions could be combined or hold fewer meetings. • There needs to be lifetime term limits. 10 years maximum that someone can serve on all commissions. This could be specific to important ones. Like allow people after the 10 year as to serve on less popular commissions.
• Again more involvement by commissioners given the time. • Facilitated discussions are an amazing way to reach consensus in sensitive topics. The housing element (and strategic plan?) used a consulting company to facilitate meetings to collect input. Those meetings were great! Civil discussions that were well informed and made me feel heard.
• Improve our technical support
• Commission and council meeting input from residents only favors those who have the time to attend. We are a city of families and yet I never really see that type of representation for public input - the majority of those residents impacted are not the ones helping guide commissions and council with input. How can we allow for better accessibility for those who don't have the time to sit thru hours-long meetings? • Better options for public participation
• better notification of meetings agendas
• Retain the Zoom format even when in-person meetings resume. In other words, use the hybrid format.
• Better citywide publicity and notification of commission meetings, especially when there are important topics and projects to be discussed.
• Trust your Commissions and get submittals to them faster and more simply for their help and input instead of so much lost time with staff first. 19 - 30
ATTACHMENT 3
Commissions Comparison Chart of Nearby and
Comparable Cities
19 - 31
Commissions Comparison Chart of Nearby and Comparable Cities Comparison
Cities
# of
Commissions Types of Commissions
City
Population
(2019)
City of
Alhambra 12
Arts & Cultural Events Commission, Board of Library Trustees, Civil Service Commission & Board of Appeals, Design Review Board, Environmental Sustainability Commission, Historic Preservation Commission, HCDA Citizen Advisory Committee, Human Relations Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, Transportation, Youth Commission
84,647
City of San
Gabriel 6 Civil Service Commission, Community Services Commission, Design Review Commission, Planning Commission, HEAR Commission, Historic Preservation & Cultural Resource Commission. 40,143 City of
Rosemead 4 Beautification Commission, Parks Commission, Planning Commission, Traffic Commission 54,282 City of
Pasadena 20
Accessibility and Disability Commission, Arts & Culture Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals, Code Enforcement, Community Police Oversight, Commission on the Status of Women, Design Commission, Environmental Advisory, Hearing Officer, Historic Preservations, Human Relations, Human Services, Library, Northwest, Old Pasadena Parking Meter Zoning Advisory, Planning, Recreation and Parks, Senior, South Lake Parking Place, Transportation Advisory
141,258
City of Burbank About 20
Art in Public Places Committee, Board of Building and Fire Code Appeals, Board of Library Trustees, Burbank Cultural Arts Commission, Burbank Housing Corporation Board of Directors, Burbank Water and Power Board, Charter Review Committee, Civil Service Board, Community Development Goals Committee, Heritage Commission, Infrastructure Oversight Board, Landlord-Tenant Commission, Park, Recreation, and Community Services Board, Planning Board, Police Commission, Senior Citizen Board, Sustainable Burbank Commission, Transportation Commission, Youth Board
103,703
City of
Glendale 13
Arts and Culture Commission, Audit Committee, Building and Fire Board of Appeal, Civil Service Commission, CDBG Advisory Committee, Design Review Board, Glendale Water and Power, Historic Preservation Commission, Park Recreations and Community Services, Planning Commission, CSW Commission, Transportation and Parking Commission, Sustainability Commission 200,232
City of San
Fernando 6 Disaster Council, Education Committee, Parks Wellness & Recreation, Planning and Preservation, Senior Citizens, & Transportation and Safety. 23,946 City of Duarte 7 Economic Development Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, Planning Commission, Public Safety Commission, Public Services Commission, and Traffic Safety Commission 21,559 City of Sierra
Madre 6 Community Services Commission, Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Commission, Library Board of Trustees, Planning Commission, Senior Community Commission 10,932 City of Ontario 7 Development Advisory Board, Historic Preservation Subcommittee, Library Board of Trustees, Museum Board of Trustees, Planning Commission, Recreation and Parks Commission, Zoning Administrator 176,760 19 - 32
City Council
Commission Study
Session
Prepared By: The Office of the City Manager
February 23, 2022 / 6PM
19 - 33
Background
19 - 34
City Council Commissions / Boards
January 2021 to December 2021

1. Animal Commission *Pending Review*

2. Cultural Heritage Commission

3. Design and Review Board

4. Finance Commission

5. Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commission

6. Library Board of Trustees

7. Natural Resources and Environmental Commission

8. Parks and Recreation Commission

9. Planning Commission

10. Public Arts Commission

11. Public Safety Commission

12. Public Works Commission

13. Senior Citizen Commission

14. Youth Commission

15. Fourth of July – Festival of Balloons Committee

16. South Pasadena Tournament of Roses Committee
19 - 35
City Council Ad Hoc Committees
January 2021 to December 2021

1. Ad Hoc Committee: City Council and South Pasadena Unified School District

2. Ad Hoc Committee: Finance *Pending Review*

3. Ad Hoc Committee: Mission-Meridian Village Subcommittee (08/14/2013)

4. Ad Hoc Committee: Implementation, Caltrans Surplus Properties Disposition Replaced “Leg” and “non-leg” committees by council action on 12/1/2021

5. Ad Hoc Committee: Recreation leased facilities

6. Ad Hoc Committee: South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce – Legislative

7. Ad Hoc Committee: South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce - Economic Development

8. Ad Hoc Committee: South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce – Chamber Board

9. Ad Hoc Committee: Economic Development *Pending Review* 19 - 36
Staff Liaison Feedback
• The Animal Commission was responsible for well-received annual events, and could be incorporated into a Community Services Commission.
• On average, the Parks and Recreation Commission runs for 35-45 minutes. Meetings as needed would be helpful to reduce staff time.
• The Senior Commission is able to go months without meetings due to lack of discussion items. • The Youth Commission often does not have many topics to discuss, and Commissioners have not attended many City events. The City has experienced difficulty in recruiting for Commissioners. • The Public Works Commission provides Public Works updates to Commissioners when meetings do not have lengthy agendas.
• The Public Safety Commission discusses Police related-issues for about 90% of items. • Public Art Commission has significant overlap with the Planning Commission. 19 - 37
Staff Liaison Feedback: Data
Total: About 170 hours per month
The bar graph displays how
many hours are spent per staff
liaison each month to produce
work for each Commission.
• On average, each staff
member is spending 8 hours
on Commission related work.
19 - 38
Staff Liaison Feedback: Data
The pie chart displays how many
staff members produce work for each
Commission.
• 8 Commissions have 1 staff
member (57.1%)
• 3 Commissions have 2 staff
members (21.4%)
• 3 Commissions have 3 staff
members (21.4%)
19 - 39
Specific Departments
Community Development Public Works Department Community Services Department • With 4 Commissions under their
purview, the Department is totaling 38
hours per month on Commission
related work, or 50% of a full-time staff
member’s schedule.
• Other workload:
• 70 Planning Development cases
(above average)
• 40-50 ADU
• With 3 Commissions under their
purview, the Department is spending
about 30 hours per month on
Commission related work.
• The Public Works Assessment that was
received a filed by City Council in
December 2021 revealed
recommendations for Public Works to
consolidate their current 4 Commissions
to reduce workload issues.
• With 3 Commissions under their
purview, the Department is totaling
about 30 hours per month on
Commissions related work.
• The Youth Commission has had
recruitment difficulties and the Senior
Citizen Commission is able to meet
for 30-45 minutes to go through their
agenda for the month. This causes
increased workload for staff that is
preparing agendas and minutes for
these meetings.
19 - 40
Community Feedback
Survey Input Discussion
Increased outreach,
training,
communication,
acknowledgement,
less Commissions.

Improving technical
support.

Better notification of
meeting agendas.

Improved recruitment
processes to diversify
advisory bodies.

Aligning Commissions
with Strategic Plan.

Roundtables at
meetings.

Increased connection
to City Hall happenings.
19 - 41
City Comparative Analysis
Comparison Cities # of Commissions City Population (2019) City of Alhambra 12 84,647
City of San Gabriel 6 40,143
City of Rosemead 4 54,282
City of Pasadena 20 141,258
City of Burbank About 20 103,703
City of Glendale 13 200,232
City of San Fernando 6 23,946
City of Duarte 7 21,559
City of Sierra Madre 6 10,932
City of Ontario 7 176,760
Observations:
• Larger cities (by geography
and population) have fewer
numbers of commissions, or
consolidated commissions
with wider scopes of topics.
• Cities of similar size to South
Pasadena typically have 6-7
Commissions, while larger
cities have about 13.
19 - 42
City Comparative Analysis: Best Practices
Training Guides:

Training Guides in other cities include
information on the structure of Commissions,
their role and authority, information on City
functions, City facts and figures, Ethics
training, Brown Act training, and other
onboarding information.
19 - 43
Analysis/Discussion
A study of the existing commissions has revealed some overlap in function and focus, which can translate to the consolidation of existing advisory bodies with similar purviews.

While the City’s departments are almost fully staffed, staff has significant backlog to address in addition to the day to day operations, and as such, an opportunity to create efficiencies in Commission related workload will be effective and have significant impact on workflows and work output.

In addition, common themes throughout this analysis have shown a need for additional resources both for staff and Commissioners to create more effective processes. 19 - 44
Recommendations
• Consolidate the Public Works and the Mobility and Transportation Infrastructure Commissions to a sevenmember Mobility, Transportation and Infrastructure Commission; • Dissolve the Animal Commission;
• Dissolve the Youth Commission;
• Consolidate the Animal, Youth, Senior Citizen and Park and Recreation Commission scopes of work to create a seven-member Community Services Commission, and reserve at least one seat each for members of youth and senior citizen populations;
• Create an annual Animal Events Steering Committee within the Community Services Commission to focus on “Doggy Days” and “Be Kind to Animals Day” and other programming; • Absorb the Public Art Commission into the existing Planning Commission; • Dissolve the Finance Ad Hoc Committee; and
• Dissolve the Economic Development Ad Hoc Committee.
19 - 45
Alternatives
• Consideration of the frequency of Commission meetings for Commissions with lighter workloads to meet on a quarterly or as-needed basis. • Should there be interest in furthering a discussion such as the creation of an allencompassing Social Services Commission focused on mental health, homelessness, equity and/or other topics relevant to the Community that are not part of any existing body’s scope of work, City Council may consider staff’s recommendations and improvements provided herein, and direct staff to return in the next 12 months for further discussion.
19 - 46
Next Steps

1. City Council to discuss and provide direction to staff on staff recommendations; or

2. City Council to discuss and request further information or provide different direction to staff on this topic;

3. Based on City Council direction, staff will bring back an item on implementation and Commissioner appointments.
19 - 47
Q & A
Thank you!
19 - 48
ATTACHMENT 2
Follow-Up Online Survey Results from
March 2022
19 - 49
Follow Up Survey: Community Input on Commissions
Are you a part of a current Commission/Board?
18 responses
Which Board/Commission are you a part of?
13 responses

19 - 50
Do you have any feedback on how to improve service to the community through advisory bodies and commissions? This may include suggestions for City Council to consider adding or dissolving commissions, combining commissions, improving staffing or trainings, or other options for consideration.
• The recommendations of the Commissions are often ignored or undervalued.

Respect the volunteer hours that residents put in when they serve as Commissioners by taking their work seriously.
• Consolidation of Commissions
• I'm in agreement with combining some commissions.
• Training staff who are involved for the first time the in's and out's of the commissions. How to complete the Agenda, take minutes, conduct meetings, upload to city website, and post on YouTube and anything that is involved in the process of setting up and conducting the meeting.
• I do have input. Currently communication of information on how to apply, and if they need to apply, for Cultural Heritage Commission review and approval of a Certificate of Approval is opaque, if not completely inaccessible for residents wanting to do work on a historic property. There should be at least one way an applicant can easily find all the information required to put together a successful COA application package for CHC review. Requisite submittal items should be individually numbered and clearly describe individual drawing sheets required (and all information expected by the CHC to find on them) and what drafting standards to be met, and checkboxes after each line item for the applicants' and staff's use. It should clearly delineate, both verbally and graphically (i.e. using a flow chart) what it takes on the part of the applicant to achieve a Certificate of Approval from the CHC. As an added bonus staff can use the information sheets to see if each item has been completed before accepting applications. Ideally instructions for applicants would be available both online and as a handout at the Planning counter to help Staff explain the application process. Applicants are often clueless why anyone would care about old buildings. Information sheets should include why South Pasadena residents care and have created the CHC review process for construction involving older buildings. 19 - 51
• I just wanted to share that I reviewed this week's agenda and fully support the consolidations of commissions. The sheer number of commissions that we have is too taxing for city staff and for council members who have to attend all the commission meetings. I would actually encourage you to take a closer look at consolidating the design review board and cultural heritage commission. I know the initial reaction is that there would be too much work for one commission to take on, however I believe that changes can help reduce their workload. For example, if people want to get new windows it requires a full review, there should be something like an approved list of windows that staff can help residents navigate so they can do minor changes like this without a full review. I find it very concerning that the DRB, CHC and Planning Commission is a revolving door of local architects and their spouses who bounce from one to the other for decades and have been profiting from their membership. When I was renovating my home many times, I was told to hire someone from one of these commissions since they all looked out for each other and approved each other's projects. This is why I support term limits, but they cannot be abused by just shuffling them around. If there is a shortage of qualified candidates, we need to rethink their workload rather than just say let's keep using the same people. The other thing is I feel that NREC needs to be repurposed, they have essentially become the tree removal commission. Their agenda is often so full with tree removal hearings that they don't get to their other business. Last year they tried to push through a radical ordinance chance that would have vastly restructured what residents can do and greatly expanded their purview to include undefined "woody plants" and "shrubs" of certain sizes, deviating far from the intention which is to protect oak trees, larger trees and native trees in our city. Many of the tree removal applications can be handled by city staff, the current trend is that almost any contested tree removal gets pushed to the NREC where activist commissioners require residents to spend thousands of dollars getting additional reports and months of time trying to get their permits approved. They are not balancing the needs of tree preservation with homeowner rights and abusing the process to preserve trees at all costs. Often leading to these appeals going to council where they are approved 19 - 52
anyways, as they should have been from the start. In my case, I had two trees which were improperly cabled prior to my purchase of the home, the city's arborist said they were a hazard and approved the permit. One neighbor objected and this went before the NREC where they demanded I spend money to get an arborist report and took three months to approve the removal permit, the condition of the trees was already determined to be a hazard by the city arborist, what would have happened if during that time the tree fell on my home and injured/killed someone? Hazardous conditions should not be subject to interpretation and review by NREC as these members tend to be activists and not licensed arborists. We need to be careful about using the commissions simply to be the "bad guys" and "spear catchers" for council, let's allow staff to do their job and not bog them down with countless hearings and taskings from the commissioners. We need to run this city more efficiently and be cognizant of city resources, staff time and council time.
• I am one resident who believes that we have too many commissions and suggest that some areas are folded into new, broader commissions with more members.

This will allow for more accurate community representation as well will facilitate the creation of more viable sub-committees within the commissions.

Commissioners should have professional experience, civic experience or long time personal experience that relate to the function of the commissions to which they are being appointed.
• Advisory bodies might be a better way to address some city issues-for examplePublic Art could meet as needed to address public art and meetings more informal with more open discussions. Same as Animal Commission-maybe could be Advisory. At Special City Council Meeting, Feb 23, Councilmember Primuth suggested a Commission Specialist to assist with administration efficiencies. That is a very worthwhile idea to pursue. I like idea of Community Services Commission combining animal, youth, senior, park and recreation with 2 seats going to animal, 1 seat youth, 1 seat senior and 3 seats parks and rec. Then have Steering committees for specific events and try to recruit volunteer experts-for example-if an issue came up regarding the Arroyo Horse Stables-recruit horse 19 - 53
people to help advice. I like idea to combine and expand Public Works and MTIC to a nine member commission. Make it routine to dissolve Steering Committee and Ad Hoc Committee so very clear that the scope of work has a beginning date and end date and just quick announcement of dissolved. Reporting to Council from Commissions needs to be more consolidated, often material is repeated and time consuming. I would prefer term limits for all commissioners and council members-two consecutive terms, take break then can reapply for another commission or return. For Council Member-campaign again, this might help to bring in new residents for council.
• Having served on the Design Review Board, The Planning Commission and, presently, the Cultural Heritage Commission, I am well aware of the amount of staff time it takes to prepare for public meetings. I love South Pas for it's citizen participation but I believe that the amount of staff required to serve the current commissions is affecting the amount of staff time that could be spent serving the general public/city as a whole. I am in favor of dissolving or consolidating commissions.
• I suggest that some Commissions become advisory boards to reduce staff time and to not have formal "legal" meetings per Brown Act. BUT, they need a way to provide meaningful input to the City Council, e.g., Senior Citizen, Youth, Arts, NREC. I would also consider combining Design Review with Planning. • Notify the community through City Hall Scoop and social media about upcoming commission meetings, to improve awareness and public participation. Beef up Public Works staffing to include dedicated transportation engineer/expert/analyst to support MTIC and move backlogged operational and capital projects forward. • The Public Safety Commission has taken on the role of being a "Civilian Oversight Commission" of the police department. They do not have any training and experience in Law, Law Enforcement and policies and procedures and yet they are given a voice to push for ordinances affecting the public. South Pasadena spends a great amount of resources on hiring a Police Chief who is the chief law enforcement officer of the city. The commissioners are unelected, act outside of the city charter and have in the past attempted to expand their authority, which 19 - 54
was in violation of many laws. South Pasadena does not need a civilian oversight commission, the police chief is responsible for suggesting and implementing changes. The commission if not checked can become a political arm of a city council or activist group.
• I completely understand the need to reduce the number of commissions. We are a small city with limited staff. However, one of the things that makes our city so special is the involvement of our residents all the issues affecting our city. If the decisions are made to eliminate certain commissions, I would like to see more use of advisory committees, particularly in areas where there isn't the expertise and knowledge in the city departments. These committees could be called upon by the city or any commission when dealing with a particular issue. They could do the research and provide the needed information to the city when decisions need to be made. An animal advisory committee appointed by the city could provide that expertise to the city, the safety commission, the Parks and Recreation commission, NREC commission, etc. when a particular issue needs to be addressed. Having just one "animal" person on the Parks and Recreation commission doesn't fit the bill. Why would the public even think about going to the Park & Rec commission for a safety issue involving coyotes for example? Where would the public go if they are concerned about the rat poison being left out around restaurants which poisons more than rats? Which commission does the public go to if their cars are being attacked by peafowl? By having a advisory committee, no matter where the public goes to bring their concerns, the city and/or commissions can turn to the experts. This could actually save the city staff much valuable time and energy. Also, this would be reassuring to the public who cares about animal issues. There is no way the public can check every commission agenda to see if there is an issue related to animals. By having an advisory committee, the public would know that the city isn't making decisions about animals in a vacuum.
• Please maintain the public safety commission at 7 members, which allows for broader participation in key issues facing the commission. Please also consider changing the public safety commission's meeting time to evenings, or allowing 19 - 55
the commission to vote on and choose the timing for itself. Given the overlap with MTIC and other commissions, periodic joint meetings should be encouraged.

Finally, please consider allowing remote participation as a consistent option - it fosters more direct public participation
• I strongly feel the expertise for the arts commission is unique and should be maintained separately. I am also concerned that the seniors and youth will be marginalized if these commissions are dissolved.
• If the Council follows the study recommendation to absorb the Public Art Commission into the planning commission, it should either 1) create a Public Art Board, structured in a similar fashion to the Design Review Board, or 2) incorporate the issues covered by the former Public Art Commission into the work of the Design Review Board. Public Art should not, in other words, become merely a floating agenda item on the Planning Commission’s agenda. While the efforts that the City has made in the past two years to clean up it’s financial situation are laudable, the Council should not dissolve the Finance Ad Hoc Committee at this time. While there has been progress, there has not been enough, and the City has still not shown that it can keep it’s books and deliver accurate financial information to the Council and to citizens.
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