HomeMy WebLinkAboutSupplemental - Q&A Memo and Non Agenda Public Comments
CITY OF PALM DESERT
CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE
INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM
To: Honorable Mayor and Councilmembers
From: Heather Horning, Assistant to the City Manager
Date: February 10, 2022
Subject: City Council Agenda (February 10, 2022)
Below you will find questions received from the Mayor and/or Councilmembers and answers provided
by City staff regarding tonight’s Council meeting agenda.
Consent Calendar – Item 3:
• Question: Can Council Members attend meetings virtually after the state of emergency
ends?
o Answer: Governor Newsom declared a state of emergency in March 2020 that has
been extended multiple times and is still in effect. To facilitate virtual meetings,
Assembly Bill 361 suspends portions of the Brown Act as long as the City makes
findings every month that require: 1) proclaimed state of emergency; 2) state or
local recommendations to promote social distancing; and 3) where meeting in
person presents risks to the health or safety of attendees. Consent Item # 3 is
making the required findings in order to proceed with virtual meetings. Assembly Bill
361 expires on January 1, 2024. After this date there would not be an opportunity to
continue with virtual or hybrid meetings in the same way after the state of emergency
ends, absent further changes in legislation.
• Question: Is the California state of emergency ending on February 15th?
o Answer: There is a currently a state-wide indoor mask mandate from the California
Department of Public Health that they announced will be amended to remove the
indoor mask mandate for vaccinated individuals in certain situations on February 15th.
The Governor declared state of emergency will remain in place.
After February 15th, the California Department of Health will still require masks for all
individuals in the following indoor settings, regardless of vaccination status:
On public transit and in transportation hubs
Indoors in K-12 schools and childcare facilities
Emergency shelters and cooling and heating centers
Healthcare settings
State and local correctional facilities and detention centers
Homeless shelters
Question & Answer Page 2 of 3
Long Term Care Settings & Adult and Senior Care Facilities
Additionally, masks will still be required for unvaccinated individuals in indoor public
settings and businesses (examples: retail, restaurants, theaters, family entertainment
centers, meetings, state and local government offices serving the public. More detailed
information can be found on the California Department of Public Health’s website:
https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/guidance-for-face-
coverings.aspx.
Consent Calendar – Item 9:
• Question: There was a tie with the two lowest bids, was there another vender who came in
higher than this? If so, what was that bid amount?
o Answer: There were only two bids received.
Consent Calendar – Item 10
• Question: What is the span of recruitment? What is the scope of services to be provided? Will
it include out of state candidates to ensure a broad net is being cast in order to attract the best
candidates possible?
o Answer: The typical recruitment for Executive level positions can take up to 6 months,
but using recruitment services reduces the time to 3-4 months. This contract covers
three recruitments; City Clerk, Finance Director, Public Works Director.
The timeline and recruitment strategy for each recruitment is as follows:
City Clerk: Statewide recruitment; California experience is a priority, experience
with elections and redistricting
Finance Director: National recruitment, with a focus toward candidates with
California experience.
Public Works Director: National recruitment, with a focus toward candidates
with California experience. This is especially true if an engineer is selected for
the role, as California does not offer licensing reciprocity for certifications from
other states.
The scope of work in the contract includes the creation of the announcements,
targeting and direct outreach of candidates, screening candidates, assisting with
logistics of interviews, negotiating with final candidate, creating offer letters, and
thorough vetting and background check.
Consent Calendar – Item 11
Question: Has the Contractor’s Representative been identified for section 3.2.5 of the contract,
located on page 234 of the agenda packet?
o Answer: The Contractor’s Representative for this contract has been identified as Randy
Mitchell, Business Relationship Leader. Staff will incorporate this information into the
contract prior to its execution.
Question & Answer Page 3 of 3
Consent Calendar – Item 15
• Question: Why was the requirement of the notice being at least one eight (1/8) page
removed?
o Answer: It is a state law for these notices to be at least one eight (1/8) page in size.
Staff removed the requirement from the ordinance in order to defer to the state
requirement.
From:Owen Whiteman
To:CouncilMeeting Comments
Subject:Building Department
Date:Tuesday, February 8, 2022 11:32:41 AM
Council members
We have just finished building the new VA Clinique for the Veterans Administration here in Palm
Desert. I just wanted to pass on to you a very sincere compliment on our relationship with the City’s
building dept. Your staff both office and field have always exemplified professionalism and a real
desire to help us meet our goals and timeline. The project has been a success and much of that
success we owe to the City. The City of Palm desert is a great place to build.
Sincerely
Owen Whiteman
Superintendent, Sierra view Const.
Non Agenda Public Comment
From:Regina Basterrechea
To:CouncilMeeting Comments
Subject:74-043 El Cortez Way, Second Story Addition Privacy Concerns
Date:Thursday, February 10, 2022 7:17:36 AM
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Minutes100819.pdf
Mimecast Attachment Protection has deemed this file to be safe, but always exercise caution when opening files.
Dear Mayor Harnick, Mayor Pro-Tem Jonathan, and Council Members,
I hope this email finds you well. The reason for my message today is to bring to your
attention some privacy concerns I have that have come about due to a change in zone from R-
1 to R-2 that occurred in 2017. This change has allowed two story structures, up to 30' to be
built in a historically single story, ranch home, working class neighborhood here in Palm
Desert. The first two story structure in this zone has begun construction to the north of my
property. The property is located at 74-043 El Cortez Way.
I understand that the changes were made to increase density and I don't have an issue with
that, the issue is this particular addition has a wrap-around balcony that looks out over my
backyard to the south, to my neighbors backyard to my east and looks directly into the
neighbors pool and backyard to the east of the addition. The structure also has two large glass
doors that look directly into the neighbor to the east's backyard.
Back on October 8th of 2019, Associate Planner Mr. Kevin Schwartz, and the property owner,
Todd Estenson, brought this project to the Architecture Review Board and discussed it with
the commissioners. The commissioners were concerned with the height allowance of thirty
feet and the lack of guidelines and issued a continuance to discuss this in the future.
Unfortunately, that continuance never happened and the project was given the green light
without approval from the Architecture Review Commission and is under construction.
Please imagine how you might feel standing in your backyard, a yard that was private and now
having your family swimming with strangers looking over into your yard. I realize that
privacy is a privilege but we can do better. We can provide guidelines that allow for more
density with appropriate heights, and window placements that let in light and views but protect
everyone's privacy. Sadly, there is no doubt that this addition, if left as is, is going to
negatively impact the quality of life of the neighbors and is setting a bad precedent for future
construction.
I would very much appreciate it if this project was brought back to the Architecture Review
Committee to help solve the privacy issues. I know this isn't particularly fair to the property
owner but something needs to be done. Removing the balcony on the south and east side
would be a good start as well as adding privacy glass to the east facing windows. Guidelines
need to be established for future projects in order to prevent issues like this from happening
and it's likely there are other projects in the pipeline that will likely end up with these issues if
it's not addressed soon. s
Attached are photos of the project from my yard, I am grateful to have a very large mature tree
or I would be losing a significant amount of privacy but the rest of my neighbors are not so
lucky. I have also attached the meeting minutes from the ARC meeting that occurred back in
October of 2019.
Non Agenda Public Comment
Thank you for your service and understanding.
Sincerely,
Regina Basterrechea
74046 De Anza Way
760-799-6550 talk/text
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