City Council Special Minutes July 31, 2003

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MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL

of the City of Hermosa Beach, California, held on Thursday, July 31, 2003, at the hour of 5:05 p.m.

Mayor Keegan called the meeting to order.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Bernie Freedman

JOINT MEETING BETWEEN THE HERMOSA BEACH CITY COUNCIL AND THE HERMOSA BEACH CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD OF TRUSTEES

ROLL CALL

City Council

Present: Councilmembers Dunbabin, Edgerton, Yoon, Mayor Keegan
Absent: Reviczky

School District Board of Trustees

Present: Members Beck, Breen, McCurdy, Widman, President Bichlmeier
Absent: None

Also Present:

City Manager Steve Burrell
City Attorney Mike Jenkins
City Clerk Elaine Doerfling
H.B. City School District Superintendent M. Robert "Duffy" Clark
Attorneys for School District - Terry T. Tao and Jeremy K. Brust of Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Roma

PRESENTATION:

School Board President Bichlmeier presented a gift and Mayor Keegan presented a Certificate of Recognition to outgoing Superintendent Clark for his years of service. Superintendent Clark expressed appreciation to both and said it had been an honor and a privilege to work with the School District and Board.

PUBLIC PARTICIPATION

None

  1. DISCUSSION OF INTEREST BY CITY/SCHOOL DISTRICT IN THE PURCHASE OF MARINELAND MOBILE HOME PARK AS A JOINT PROJECT

    Mayor Keegan presented an overview of the proposal. City Attorney Jenkins responded to questions pertaining to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process, noting that it began with the preparation of an initial study to determine whether the project was exempt, merited a negative declaration, or required the preparation of an environmental impact report (EIR) addressing impacts and alternatives, which would take four to eight months to prepare. City Manager Burrell responded to questions, noting that the current zoning and general plan designations of the site were for a mobile home park, and that any different type of development would require a zone change and a general plan amendment.

    Coming forward to address the City Council and School Board on this issue were:

    Geoff Hirsch
    - Hermosa Beach, said the Mayor should step down from discussing this issue since he had family members living in the area; said the mobile home park residents were part of the community; said a home is a person's most valuable asset after their children; urged the School District to go back to Plan B;
    Socrates James Plane
    - Hermosa Beach, opposed any plan that involved the mobile home park; said the School District could wait a while for the Adelphia site to become available if there was a real need to acquire more land;
    Barbara Jarrett
    - Hermosa Beach, expressed concern regarding the oversimplification about moving their homes, noting that the sites were sized differently and that these were modular homes, not mobile homes;
    Larry Peha
    - Hermosa Beach, suggested moving on, as it appeared this issue lacked support and was therefore a moot point; said Plan B was still in design development;
    Pete Tucker
    - Hermosa Beach, said Measure J was intended to improve Hermosa View School as well, which seemed to have been forgotten; expressed disappointment at the master plan for the school office space; said the mobile home park was part of the City's low and moderate element;
    Janice Yales
    - Hermosa Beach, urged the Council to not change the zoning of the site;
    Marie Horowitz
    - Hermosa Beach, urged consideration of Plan B, noting it would not displace anyone;
    Kitty Corsaro
    - Hermosa Beach, said she was on disability and all of her assets were in her home; said the School Board was looking at their site as an option rather than looking at the residents as real people;
    Jackie Freedman
    - Hermosa Beach, said her family has lived near the school since 1973, urged keeping the school access open from Valley Park Avenue (agenda item 2);
    Chris Miller
    - property owner, said she grew up in Hermosa Beach; proposed renovation of the Pier Avenue School site for 7th and 8th graders, making the existing facilities available to students during the day; said the City could sell a portion of the property back to the school, which would make a new gym unnecessary, free up traffic at Valley School and utilize resources already in existence; distributed material directly to the City Council and School Board members;
    Bernie Freedman
    - Hermosa Beach, said he opposed uprooting anyone for the purpose of constructing a gym; said the children should come first, not a gym; asked if Measure J required the School District to build a gym (Supervisor Clark said the measure authorizes but does not require the School District to build a gym, but it does restrict funds to only the projects listed);
    Julie Curtis
    - Hermosa Beach, urged that access from Valley Park Avenue to the school not be closed (agenda item 2), noting that many children walk or ride their bicycles to school using that route; also urged keeping the beach access open (Mayor Keegan said the discussion would not include beach access);
    Gary Osborne
    - Hermosa Beach, said no one wanted to displace people on the north or south, but pointed out that the school needed more room;
    Roger Logue
    - Hermosa Beach, said the School District and residents should be able to work this out; agreed with the suggested use of the Pier Avenue gym; opposed putting everything on one site, noting that parking was a problem;
    John Hales
    - Hermosa Beach, asked if the proposed gym would include locker gyms and showers (Superintendent Clark said the plan was very conceptual and those items could be added);
    Jack Miller
    - Hermosa Beach, said he voted for Measure J and was concerned to now hear that the School District did not have to build a gym;
    Mary Lou Weiss
    - Hermosa Beach, noted that the purpose of tonight's meeting was to determine the City's interest in a joint venture; suggested ending the discussion if the City Council was not interesting in pursuing the land purchase;
    Patricia Love
    - Hermosa Beach, president of the mobile home park's homeowners association, said the site has been a mobile home park for many years, owned by only two families, and was currently held in a trust;
    Sharon Estes
    - Hermosa Beach, agreed with the suggestion to use the Pier Avenue facility as a junior high school;
    Rose Oldencamp
    - Hermosa Beach, said Plan C was a bad concept; said she was putting a lot of money into her home and had not yet moved in; requested ending the matter this evening;
    Lynn Logan
    - Hermosa Beach, said the property purchase was on the table by the School Board, and that a decision needed to be made quickly;
    Jerry Compton
    - Hermosa Beach, said he had put together Plan C because the School Board had approved Plan B, which would place three basketball courts next to his home; said Plan B also used up open space and field space; supported Chris Miller's idea to move two grades to the Community Center; and
    Dave Brieholtz
    - seismic engineer, said his opinion was included in a letter that Chris Miller distributed; said there was no reason for seismic retrofit of Pier Avenue School, that there was no need to address the seismic issue.

    Attorneys Tao and Brust responded to questions concerning seismic retrofit and CEQA issues, noting that the CEQA process could take three months to one year.

    Action: To not participate in a joint project with the School District for the purchase of the Marineland Mobile Home Park site.
    Motion Edgerton, second Yoon. The motion carried, noting the dissenting vote of Mayor Keegan and the absence of Reviczky.

    2. At 7:25 p.m., the meeting recessed.
    At 7:35 p.m., the meeting reconvened, with the absence of Edgerton, Reviczky and Yoon.

    Mayor Keegan announced that the City Council would be unable to continue its meeting due to lack of a quorum and officially adjourned the meeting at 7:36 p.m. He said those remaining would continue in an informal setting to hear the status reports concerning the joint use of the City Yard (agenda item 3), but none of the following agenda items were considered during the meeting.

  2. ACCESS TO VALLEY SCHOOL GROUNDS FROM VALLEY PARK AVENUE - CONSIDER A PROPOSAL TO PROHIBIT ACCESS TO THE SCHOOL GROUNDS FROM VALLEY PARK AVENUE EXCEPT FOR SCHOOL SERVICE AND EMERGENCY VEHICLES

  3. JOINT USE OF CITY YARD - RECEIVE STATUS UPDATE ON THIS ITEM FROM CITY AND DISTRICT STAFF AND THE PROJECT ARCHITECT

  4. LOCAL COASTAL PLAN REVIEW - CONSIDER DIRECTING CITY STAFF TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO THE DISTRICT IN THE SUBMITTAL OF THE COASTAL APPLICATION ONCE THE CEQA PROCESS IS COMPLETED

  5. INSTALLATION OF STOP SIGN ON SCHOOL PROPERTY AT MORNINGSIDE DRIVE AT NORTH SCHOOL PARKING LOT

ADJOURNMENT

The Special Meeting of the City Council of the City of Hermosa Beach adjourned on Thursday, July 31, 2003, at the hour of 7:36 p.m. to an Adjourned Regular Meeting on Tuesday, August 5, 2003, at the hour of 7:10 p.m., for the purpose of conducting a joint meeting with the Parks, Recreation and Community Resources Advisory Commission.

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