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Home My WebLink AboutMinutes - Landscape Beautification Committee 05-21-2008 CITY OF PALM DESERT r..�T--� � � MINUTES - LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE ADJOURNED REGULAR MEETING � � Wednesday, May 21, 2008 — 11:30 a.m. Public Works Conference Room — Palm Desert Civic Center 73-510 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert, California 92260 I. Call to Order 11:30 a.m. II. Roll Call � Present: Absent: ° .,� Chairman H. Spencer Knight Member Homer Croy w Vice-Chairman Lauri Aylaian � Member Martin Alvarez � Member Mark Greenwood � � Member Richard S. Kelly � Member Connor Limont � Member Carlos L. Ortega A _ Member Bob Spiegel � � � � � Jay Niemczak (alt for Member Janis Steele) A � �� Also Present: O � � .,� 3 Tony Bagato, Principal Planner �, � -�- Mark Diercks, Transportation Engineer � � � � � �� Diane Hollinger, Landscape Specialist � ( " � � �, Pedro Rodriguez, Code Compliance Manager � � �� Z � o R yan Stendell, Senior Management Analyst � A A G� � c� eO Q r� Bertha A. Gonzalez, Recording Secretary o � � � � o. ;�; W � �:.,ts. ��:.., �a H � O H +—� �e a. � �� [�, •� Guests : �' � �° �"�� "� �� "� �'' �� E-� a U � c� �? .� c� c� •�a Dave Koller, Coachella Valley Water District H � � �� ; �� W � t?AC � _ � �-� N� f:� � � Ca III. Oral Communications A. The Committee was asked to add the Flowers on EI Paseo to the Agenda under item G of New Business. Upon a motion by 9-0 vote of the Committee Board, Flowers on EI Paseo was added to the Agenda. APPROVED MINUTES LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE May 21, 2008 IV. Consent Calendar A. MINUTES of the Regular Landscape Beautification Committee Meeting of April 16, 2008. Approve as presented. Upon a motion by Member Spiegel, second by Member Limont, and 9-0 vote of the Committee Board, the Consent Calendar was approved as presented. V. Consent Items Held Over None VI. New Business A. Time of Use Water Study— Joint Participation with CVWD Dave Koller of Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) gave a PowerPoint presentation to the Committee detailing Time of Use Study by using the Automated Reading System (AMRS). The program looks at the nexus of water and energy use by conducting a study on households for a period of 18 months. The system will store information from households into a computer chip down to one minute increments and transmit it to a radio receiver. This will allow CVWD to track and address any water usage patterns that could create water waste. Goals for the program include: 1. Determine cost effectiveness for reducing water and energy demands during peak hours 2. Increase overall water and energy conservation 3. Develop water conservation incentives program and provide customer assistance 4. Assess and monitor customer response to the demonstration Benefits included: 1. Customer Service — e.g. early leak detection 2. Shifting customer water demand out of peak periods can reduce peak pumping requirements 3. Provide side by side comparison of conservation measures 4. Excellent PR: puts City and CVWD on the cutting edge of water/ energy conservation CVWD will receive $200,000 from California Energy Commission to carry out this project and is asking the City for a financial support of $20,000. 2 APPROVED MINUTES LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE May 21, 2008 Member Knight informed the Committee that the amount is budgeted in this Fiscal Year. Upon a motion from Member Spiegel, second by Member Kelly and a 9-0 vote of the Committee Board, the project and funding was approved. B. Civic Center Parkway Turf Irriqation SYstem Renovation Member Knight informed the Committee that the Civic Center drywells do not drain well and because of irrigation overspray are always full. The standing water is creating a mosquito nuisance at City Hall. In order to conserve water, Member Knight presented the Committee with two options to renovate the Civic Center landscape: 1. Removing the turf and installing desert landscape. Estimated cost is $200,000, including the design and turf removal. 2. Using the new product subterrain irrigation. This product will irrigate the turf below the ground by using a subterraining tubing about 7" down and 14" apart and will not require turf removal. Estimated cost is $10,000. Upon a motion by Member Spiegel, second by Member Kelly and a 9-0 vote of the Committee Board, staff was directed to create a scope of work to install desert landscape at the Civic Center and present to City Council. C. On-Site Rain and Irriqation Runoff Recharqe Facilities Requirement for New and Renovated Proiects Member Greenwood requested the Committee's consideration of a change in concept on drainage. Nuisance water is not being properly addressed; therefore, Member Greenwood asks to explore the program of capturing the water onsite and recharging the water back in to the aquifer. Water will go into landscape instead of into the street and the City would be able to build less storms drains. Member Greenwood believes a possible test site could be Cook Street and Gerald Ford Drive. Concerns included: 1. Does the City have enough drains to handle storms? Yes 2. Is the City taking care of flooding issues? Yes 3. Will this be implemented on small projects? No The National Pollution Discharge Elimination requires the City to require contractors to handle their water and Mark Greenwood recommends exploring the program of water quality. 3 APPROVED MINUTES LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE May 21, 2008 Therefore, staff was directed to develop a concept and present it to the Committee at a later meeting. No action required; informational item. D. Impact on Landscape Aesthetics by the Establishment of New Line of Sight Requirements on Medians The State and Federal Government have set a standard for the plant material that is installed on free left turn medians. Previously, the City's line-of-sight criteria did not impact the median length as it does now. The new standard requires that within the 625 foot span of Median, the City cannot install any plant material taller than 3 '/z feet, because of the threat of creating a blind spot. Concerns included: 1. Impact on the amount of plant material used on medians 2. Impact on the tree placement 3. If the City does not comply and an accident was to occur, the City could be held liable. After a brief discussion, the Committee directed staff to fix any problematic areas, for example Hovley Lane East in front of Canterra Apartments which staff has received complaints on, and keep the rest of the medians as they are. E. Establishment of a Citywide Assessment for the Maintenance of City Street Medians and Riqht-A-Ways With no discussion, the Committee moved to the next item. F. Universitv Park Dust Control Demo Proiect Member Greenwood presented his concern with the 40 acres of graded land at University Park complex, located between Portola Avenue, Gerald Ford Drive and Cook Street, that requires to be stabilized. It currently contains a soil sealant, but staff believes that more needs to be done. At this time, the City's prime dust control method is to spray water, but with the current water shortage, there is a concern that more water is being wasted by spraying for dust control than if something was planted. Member Knight and Diane Hollinger have worked with a Hydro seed mix that a few developers have planted on their sites for dust control and they believe it has worked well. An example given was the northeast corner of Country Club Drive and Monterey Avenue. This experiment will determine 4 APPROVED MINUTES LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE May 21, 2008 which uses less water: the current dust control practices or the aforementioned plan. Upon a motion by Member Spiegel, second by Member Kelly and a 9-0 vote from the Committee Board, staff was directed to move forward with the program. G. Flowers on EI Paseo Member Kelly expressed his concern with ornamental grasses being used in flower mix on EI Paseo. Member Kelly wanted to ensure that no more flower grasses were planted and that the topic was discussed by the Committee incase anyone should ask. Member Knight and Diane Hollinger noted Member Kelly's concern and by Member Spiegel's request, a list of the flowers for 2008-09 Annual color will be forwarded to Member Kelly and Member Spiegel. No action required; informationa{ item. VII. Continued Business A. Proposed Desiqn Concept for San Pablo Avenue Mark Diercks, Transportation Engineer, presented the Committee with the new layout of the lanes on San Pablo befinreen the COD entrance and Magnesia Falls Drive. The goal is to improve the driving and provide parking spaces to the park visitors. Highlights included: 1. Trapping the number two lane northbound and create about 124 angle parking spaces between Civic Center Driveway and Community Center Driveway 2. Create a bike lane northbound on San Pablo 3. Replace the Tamarisk trees with a raised median for aesthetic purposes and to control traffic 4. Create one lane northbound and one lane southbound with a right turn lane at the college entrance 5. The estimated cost is between $700,000 and $1 million. 6. Concern with visitors walking on the turf area between the parking spaces and the park was discussed and dismissed. Upon a motion by Member Spiegel, second by Member Ortega and a 9-0 vote from the Committee Board, the project was approved as presented. VIII. Old Business None 5 APPROVED MINUTES LANDSCAPE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEC May 21, 2008 IX. Reports and Remarks 1. Member Kelly expressed his concern with the medians that require to be sprayed for weed control. After the weeds are sprayed; they require to be removed manually. According to Member Kelly, this does not seem to be the best method to prevent weeds. Member Knight informed the Committee that staff now requires contractors to mortar all stone in order to prevent sand build up and weed spraying. 2. An electric vehicle for demonstration purposes will be at the Corpyard until Tuesday. Member Greenwood encourages everyone to test drive the vehicle. X. Adjournment With no further business or discussion, and Landscape Beautification Committee Board concurrence, the meeting was adjourned at 12:43 p.m. H. Sp nce Knigh , Landscape Manager ATTEST: � ertha A. nzal , Recor ' g Secretary Landscape Beautification Committee 6