Minutes 1994-02-22
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229
MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1994
CITY COUNCIL CHAMBERS, 215 EAST BRANCH STREET
ARROYO GRANDE, CALIFORNIA
The city council of the City of Arroyo Grande met at 7:30
P.M., with Mayor Matthew Peter Gallagher, III, presiding.
1. AND 2. FLAG SALUTE AND INVOCATION
Mayor Gallagher led the Pledge of Allegiance to our Flag,
and the invocation was delivered by the Rev. Randy Ouimette,
Arroyo Grande Fire Department Chaplain and Pastor at st. John's
Lutheran Church.
i 3~ ROLL CALL
I Present were Mayor Gallagher and Council Members Drew
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\ Brandy, Bernard Burke, James Souza and Mayor Gallagher. Council
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Member Gene Moots was absent. Staff members present were Interim
city Manager Rick TerBorch, City Attorney Roger Lyon, City Clerk
Nancy Davis, Planning Director Doreen Liberto-Blanck, Interim
City Engineer John Wallace, Fire Chief Kurt Latipow and Parks and
Recreation Director John Keisler.
4. ORAL COMMQNICATIONS
DIANE BRANDT of 329 Old Branch Road and ED CLERKIN of 320
Old Branch Road had questions and expressed concerns about the
design and impacts on the surrounding neighborhood of the
proposed YMCA building at the corner of Old Branch Road and West
Branch Street. Mayor Gallagher said the City is negotiating an
agreement with the YMCA. He said there would be public notice of
the project in the newspaper and property owners within 300 feet
would be notified. The Planning Director said the project would
come under a Conditional Use Permit, Architectural Review and
Environmental Review. Mr. Clerkin said there is a traffic
bottleneck already at Traffic Way and Branch Street. The
Planning Director said the City is studying the area and may be
attempting to get funding for a traffic signal there.
5. CONSENT AGENDA
It was moved by Brandy/Souza, and the motion passed
unanimously to approve Consent Agenda Items 5.a. through 5.e. and
5.g., with the recommended courses of action.
5.a. February 8, 1994, city council Minutes. Approved.
5.b. February 2, 1994, Senior Advisory Commission Minutes.
Information.
5.c. September 20, 1993, Traffic commission Minutes.
Information.
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5.d. January 17, 1994, Traffic Commission Minutes. Information.
5.e. Request to Purchase Fax Machine; Unbudgeted Item. Approved.
It was moved by Souza/Burke, and the motion passed
unanimously to approve Consent Agenda Item 5.f., with the
recommended course of action.
5.f. Request of the Village Improvement Association for the 1994
Strawberry Festival, May 2B and 29, 1994; Easter Celebration in
the Village, March 26, 1994; and Fourth of July in the Village,
July 2 and 3, 1994. Approved and city Departments to be
notified.
Mayor Gallagher referred to the cover sheet for vendor
applications for the Strawberry Festival. He said the paragraph
that stated that festival fees were being increased because the
city had increased its fees for festival services was incorrect.
Festival Chairman John Clark said that wording was unfortunate,
but at the time to printing there was talk of the city raising
fees.
Mayor Gallagher said he was concerned about charges for
festival booth space for Arroyo Grande non-profit organizations.
He said he was concerned because some non-profit organizations
may not be able to participate because of the rental charge. Mr.
Clark listed some of the local organizations that return year
after year to participate in the festival.
JIM SILVA, 1360 Brighton Avenue, owner of three stores in
the Village, said most of the Village businesses do not make
money during the festival. He said the number of festivals held
each year should be limited.
For future festival years, Staff was directed to investigate
how the city could influence the festival booth rates for non-
profit organizations.
It was moved by Brandy/Souza, and the motion passed
unanimously to approve Consent Agenda Item 5.h., with the
recommended course of action.
5.h. Water Neutralization Plan for CUP 93-513 and Parcel Map 93-
512; CUP 94-517 and Parcel Map 94-517 (Hunstad Project). Staff
recommendation accepted.
The Planning Director said the applicant has approval for a
project that is included in the water neutralization program (CUP
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FEBRUARY 22, 1994
93-513 and Parcel Map 93-512). She said the applicant has a
pending project (CUP 94-517 and Parcel Map 94-517) that will be
going to Planning Commission in the near future and that also is
included in the water neutralization program. She said there is
no guarantee that the pending project will be approved just
because the water neutralization program is approved.
The Interim city Engineer referred to his Staff Report of
February 17, 1994, and said that the neutralization offset
requires a total of 0.66 acre feet per year.
Mayor Gallagher asked if there would be implied
responsibility to approve the pending project. City Attorney
Lyon said the applicant does not get any vested right or any kind
~ of assurance that his pending project will be approved.
council Member Brandy asked if the applicant could get any
credit on the books, if his pending project does not work out and
he has already completed the water neutralization program. Ms.
Liberto-Blanck said the City does not have any established
guidelines or policies with regard to water neutralization
programs. She said Staff hopes to come back to the Council with
guidelines for a water neutralization pOlicy.
Mr. Lyon said if the City develops a policy, council could
then decide whether no not to apply it retroactively to Mr.
Hunstad's project.
After further discussion, it was moved by Brandy/Souza, and
the motion passed unanimously to approve the Water Neutralization
Plan for CUP 93-513 & Parcel Map 93-512 and the February 17,
1994, Staff Report recommendations of the Interim city Engineer.
~. REGISTER OF CHECKS
It was moved by Souza/Burke, and the motion passed
unanimously to approve Cash Disbursements in the amount of
$593,283.46, as listed in the February 16, 1994, Staff Report of
Finance Director David Bacon.
7.A. GONTINUATION OF PUBLIC HEARING - PROPOSAL FOR THE FOLLOWING:
(1) SOURCE REDUCTION AND RECYCLING ELEMENT (SRRE): (2) HOUSEHOLQ
HAZARDOUS W~STE ELEMENT (HHWE): (3) DRAFT ENV:I:RONMEN';l'AL IMPACT
REPORT (EIR): (4) JOINT POWERS AGREEMENT (JPA): CITYWIDE.
APPLICANT: SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS (LEAD AGENCY):
CITY OF ARROYO GRANOE (RESPONSIBLE AGENCY).
The Planning Director referred to her Staff Report of
February 8, 1994, and said Staff has been working on these
programs for a number of years with the Council of Governments.
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She said the jurisdictions include all the cities in the County
of San Luis Obispo and the County itself. She said one of the
reasons the bodies have been working together is that it is such
a monumental task that has been laid out by Assembly Bill 939.
She said Council may want to discuss the JPA at this meeting and
continue the rest of the items to another meeting.
STEVE DEVENCENZI of the Council of Governments said all the
documents are interrelated, but that he would explain each one
separately. He started with the Joint Powers Agreement that
establishes an Integrated Waste Management Authority for the
cities and the County of San Luis Obispo. Mayor Gallagher
questioned the structure of the JPA, which allows for the taking
of a "supervote." Mr. Devencenzi said the super vote was
established to give the cities more representation since the
county overlaps the cities. He said the supervote calls for a
two~thirds, or eight out of twelve on a vote, rather than a
single majority. council Member Burke said after studying the
matter and the alternatives offered, he supports the supervote.
Mayor Gallagher asked about stockpiling of collected
recyclables and what is being done about source reduction. Mr.
Devencenzi said the key to the matter is development of a market
for the recyclable materials. He said the County has joined with
other areas in a market development zone. He said San Luis
Obispo County has to ship its recyclables to markets.
Mr. Devencenzi said the Joint Powers Agreement will put
together a Waste Management Authority that will fund itself
through fees charged at the landfill. He said the plan will
begin with an education program to get people to not create so
much waste. He said at the beginning the Waste Management
Authority will have a manager and a secretary and will probably
contract with the COG. He said after a few years several more
staff people may be hired.
Council Members asked questions concerning the distribution
of funds throughout the County, making good use of the private
business sector, achieving cost-saving through competition,
sludge disposal and starting an education program for the public
as soon as possible.
Mr. Devencenzi said there are $700,000.00 collected from
land fill tipping fees in a fund awaiting the formation of the
Waste Management Authority. He said when the new agency is
formed, those funds can be shifted to it and some of those monies
can be used for education.
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After being assured that the Public Hearing had been duly
published and all legal requirements met, Mayor Gallagher
declared the Public Hearing open and said all persons would be
heard regarding the matter. When no one came forward to speak,
the Mayor closed the hearing to the floor.
The City Attorney told the Council it would be deciding
whether or not to give conceptual approval to the JPA and making
comments to amend the agreement. He said the final draft of the
JPA will be brought back to the Council.
Mayor Gallagher said he still supported the members of the
agency having equal votes, that is the County having one vote and
the Cities all having one vote. He said Council Member Souza's
support of privatization whenever possible and Council Member
Brandy's support of beginning an education program immediately
should be passed on the COG. Council Member Burke said he
approved of the proposed method of deciding on a quorum and the
voting procedure listed in the draft JPA.
The City Attorney suggested a motion voicing conceptual
approval of the JPA and directing Staff to transmit a letter
incorporating comments of the Council. Council Member Brandy
asked who is Staff on this matter, and the Planning Director said
the Planning Department had been staffing it for several years.
It was moved by Burke/Brandy, and the motion passed
unanimously to give general conceptual approval of the draft
Joint Powers Agreement to form an Integrated Waste Management
Authority. The motion also included comments by the Council on
spending money as soon as possible on education and highlighting
and reinforcing the privatization concept. The City Attorney
said he would discuss his concerns with the County Counsel.
It was moved by Souza/Burke, and the motion passed
unanimously to continue the hearing to 7:30 P.M. Tuesday, March
15, 1994, at a joint meeting with the Planning Commission. At
that time the Source Reduction and Recycling Element, the
Household Hazardous Waste Element and the Draft Environmental
Impact Report will be discussed.
S.A. DECLARATION OF SURPLUS EOUIPMENT
It was moved by Burke/Souza (5-0-0, Burke, Souza, Brandy and
Gallagher voting aye, Moots absent) to approve Resolution No.
3017 Declaring as Surplus a 175 Gallon Propane Tank and
Requesting Authorization to Sell the Tank to the Highest Bidder.
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8.B. REPORTS FROM VARIOUS COMMITTEE$
1. South San Luis Obispo County Sanitation District - Mayor
Gallagher said the board still is discussing the entrance of
Grover Beach on the board. He said the board is awaiting the
offshore mussel sampling program report. He said the plant
capacity is at 58 percent, and monies are being set aside to
increase plant capacity.
2. South County Area transit (SCAT) - Council Member Burke said
the SCAT heard a progress report on the Regional District
Feasibility and Transit Funding Study that is gathering
information to analyze all six Dial-a-Ride services in the County
and determine the feasibility of consolidating all transit
services under one agency with common funding. He said in
January the Department of Transportation had notified the San
Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority that it had denied the
application for a grant to fund a bus service between Santa Maria
and San Luis Obispo County. He said that created a $50,000
budget shortfall, and the denial was based on failure of the
application to meet necessary criteria.
3 . Council of Governments - Council Member Burke said the members
discussed the 1994-1995 overall work program for COG. He said
included in the program is the Route 227 Corridor Improvement
Study for the city of Arroyo Grande.
4. Solid Waste Task force Committee - No meeting
5. Zone 3 Water Advisory Committee - No meeting
6. County Water Advisory Board - No meeting
7. Long-Range Plan Update Committee - Next meeting will be
Thursday, February 24, 1994.
8. Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Committee - Council
Member Souza referred to a draft of a letter from Ray Burnell,
chairman of the committee, to supervisor Ruth Brackett supporting
an Economic vitality Corporation that would be an umbrella group
for all the economic development committees in the County. The
corporation would seek a grant from H.U.D. to organize, and then
further grants to distribute throughout the county for economic
development programs. Council directed Staff to write letters
from the city to the Supervisors asking for support of the
formation of the Economic vitality corporation.
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9. Coordinated Agriculture Support Program - The Planning
Director said the city had received a six-month extension on the
grant.
WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
Mayor Gallagher said the City has received notice from the
National Arbor Day Foundation that Arroyo Grande has been named a
"1993 Tree City USA."
10. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
The city Attorney said copies have been distributed of a
letter from Attorney Gerald Weaver, who represented Roger Fuller
in a lawsuit against the City. He said the City had denied a
second residential unit based on findings of esthetics and
- incompatibility with the neighborhood. He said the plaintiff
asked for dismissal of the case with prejudice. He said that
meant that the city had won the case.
11. CLOSED SESSION
None.
12. ADJOURNMENT
It was moved by Burke/Souza, and the motion passed
unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:20 P.M.
ATTEST: ~a. ~.J
NANCY A DAVIS, CITY CLERK
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