HomeMy WebLinkAboutPRELIM - CC - 03/13/08 �����
PRELIMINARY MINUTES
REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING
THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008
CIVIC CENTER COUNCIL CHAMBER
73510 FRED WARING DRIVE, PALM DESERT, CA 92260
I. CALL TO ORDER - 3:00 P.M.
Mayor Benson convened the meeting at 3:00 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Present:
Councilman Jim Ferguson
Councilmember Cindy Finerty
Councilman Richard S. Kelly
Mayor Pro Tem Robert A. Spiegel
Mayor Jean M. Benson
Also Present:
Carlos L. Ortega, City Manager/RDA Executive Director
David J. Erwin, City Attorney
Sheila R. Gilligan, ACM for Community Services
Homer Croy, ACM for Development Services
Justin McCarthy, ACM for Redevelopment
Stephen Y. Aryan, Assistant to the City Manager
Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
Bo Chen, City Engineer
Russell Grance, Director of Building & Safety
Lauri Aylaian, Director of Community Development
Patrick Conlon, Director of the Office of Energy Management
Paul S. Gibson, Director of Finance/City Treasurer
Janet M. Moore, Director of Housing
Doug Van Gelder, Director of Information Systems
Mark Greenwood, Director of Public Works
David Yrigoyen, Director of Redevelopment & Housing
Frankie Riddle, Director of Special Programs
Dennis Dawson, Division Chief, Palm Desert Fire/Riverside Co. Fire/Cal Fire
Steve Brooker, Battalion Chief, Palm Desert Fire/Riverside Co. Fire/Cal Fire
Dan Wilham, Chief, Palm Desert Potice/Riverside Co. Sheriff's Dept.
Frank Taylor, Asst. Chief, Palm Desert Police/Riverside Co. Sheriff's Dept.
Grace L. Mendoza, Deputy City Clerk
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 13, 2008
III. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - A(CLOSED SESSION ITEMS)
Residents of the Casablanca Development in Palm Desert appealed to the City
Council with their concerns and frustration over the negative impacts they are
suffering from the project being built adjacent to their neighborhood, Villa Portofino.
They were exasperated with the lack of attention being given this project to ensure
compliance with all required conditions. In addition to some prior related issues,
once the stand of oleander shrubs bordering their homes was recently removed,
they've been subjected to even greater amounts of blow sand/PM10, which was
unhealthy, especially for those with respiratory system difficulties, and aesthetically
unpleasant. Further, the area that k�as yet to be developed at Villa Portofino was
at a greater elevation than theirs, meaning privacy for the Casablanca residents
would be compromised. The impacts were costing them financially, physically, and
emotionally. The following came forward wanting to know what the City intended
to do about this situation:
MR. ALLAN McCAFFREY, Armanac Court, Palm Desert.
MS. GAIL CHRISTIANSEN, Calle Bisque, Palm Desert.
MR. JAMES LARABY, Aventine Court, Palm Desert.
MR. ROBERT WIMMER, Colada Court, Palm Desert.
MR. HOWARD BUTZER, Colada Court, Palm Desert.
MR. PAUL MELTZNER, Armanac Court, Palm Desert.
MR. JERRY WIENER, Colada Court, Palm Desert.
Councilman Ferguson responded that obviously, the City was adverse to the
property owner, the reason it was a matter on the Closed Session agenda that
couldn't be discussed here. However, he said that dust(fugitive particulate matter)
was regulated by the Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), which had
inspectors who monitored for fugitive dust; every project was required to have a sign
including a telephone number to call 24 hours/day. If the sign was not present, he
advised that Supervisor Roy Wilson was current Chairman of the SCAQMD,and the
project owner could be subject to fines of $5,000/day if dust matter was going
across the property line into the Casablanca development. He urged the residents
to obtain the phone number from City staff; they could go home tonight and call to
have an inspector come out and monitor the dust.
MS. CHRISTIANSEN noted she had called SCAQMD, and an inspector came to
their property; however, the inspector said she could not issue a violation unless
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 13, 2008
she personally witnessed the blowing sand. That inspector works three days/week
and lives in Orange County.
Councilman Ferguson replied that he would ask Mr. Croy to get in touch with
SupervisorWilson to request stepped-up enforcementthrough SCAQMD. He noted
that while the City was not allowed to issue citations for dust issues, SCAQMD was.
He reiterated that residents' contacting SCAQMD was their quickest avenue for
relief in the short-term, and City Council would be looking at the long-term.
Mayor Benson agreed that this matter was a legal one that would be discussed in
the Closed Session about to be called,which was the reason City officials could not
comment on it at this time.
Councilman Kelly thanked the residents for coming forward to state their concerns
that was extremely valuable information for the item to be discussed.
IV. ADJOURN TO CLOSED SESSION
Request for Closed Session:
Conference with Real Property Negotiator pursuant to Government Code
Section 54956.8:
1) Property: Parcels A & B of the North Half of the Northeast Quarter
Section 8, Township 5 South, Range 6 East (Villa Portofino)
Negotiating Parties:
Agency: Carlos L. Ortega/City of Palm Desert
Property Owner: Royce International
Under Negotiation: x Price x Terms of Payment
Conference with Legal Counsel regarding existing litigation pursuant to
Government Code Section 54956.9(a):
a) Silver Spur Reserve v. City of Palm Desert, et al., Riverside County
Superior Court, Case No. CIV 80790; DCA No. E023514
Conference with Legal Counsel regarding significant exposure to litigation
pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.9(b):
Number of potential cases: 2
With City Council concurrence, Mayor Benson adjourned the meeting to Closed
Session at 3:16 p.m. She reconvened the meeting at 4:03 p.m.
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 13, 2008
V. RECONVENE REGULAR MEETING - 4:00 P.M.
A. REPORT ON ACTION FROM CLOSED SESSION.
None
Councilman Ferguson noted for members of the audience from the
Casablanca Development who addressed City Council at 3:00 p.m. about
Villa Portofino, that the matter was discussed in Closed Session. He said
because it was an adverse position, the City Council was limited as to what
it could comment on; however, the City Attorney had been asked to meet
with those residents outside the Council Chamber to brief them about the
situation. He invited those residents to meet the City Attorney outside at this
time.
VI. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - Mayor Jean M. Benson
VII. INVOCATION - Mayor Pro Tem Robert A. Spiegel
VIII. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS - B
MR. ROB BALLEW, Family YMCA of the Desert, announced the YMCA's Annual
Easter Egg Hunt that was coming up on Saturday, March 22, at 9:00 a.m. in Civic
Center Park. He said 1,100 participants were anticipated, and after the Egg Hunt,
they would be hosting a Healthy Kids Day until 1:00 p.m., where kids and families
could learn about healthy lifestyles through interactive sports and activities. He
presented fliers and five golden eggs to the City Council.
LT. FRANK TAYLOR, Palm Desert Assistant Chief of Police,formally introduced the
City's new Chief of Police and Captain of the Palm Desert Station, Dan Wilham.
CAPT. WILHAM noted while he'd had the opportunity to personally speak with
several of the City Councilmembers, he was pleased to be before them all today.
He said he was happy to be back in the City, previously working as the
Investigations Lieutenant for several years before transferring to the Homicide
Division. His base of experience in law enforcement was pretty broad, having
served for some 23 years, and he related that he shared many of the same ideals
and objectives as former Chief Steve Thetford. He looked forward to serving the
City of Palm Desert and working with the City Council for a long period of time.
Parks & Recreation Services Manager Janis Steele and Parks Facilities Manager
Jay Niemczak presented the City Council with the 2007 California Park &
Recreation Society Award of Excellence - Facility Design & Park Planning -
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 13, 2008
Community Park Populations 20,000-50,000 for Freedom Park. She said the award
was received on February 29 at the CPRS Conference, noting that it was a longtime
project involving nearly all City departments and staff, members of nearly every City
Committee and Commission, and the City Council. She thanked everyone for their
assistance and support.
Mayor Benson congratulated Ms. Steele for her contributions that saw the project
through to completion; the City was very proud of staff's accomplishments. She
said Freedom Park was another wonderful addition to the City's recreational areas
for all constituents to enjoy.
IX. AWARDS, PRESENTATIONS, AND APPOINTMENTS
A. PRESENTATION TO RECOGNIZE RICK DARIUS FOR HIS SERVICE TO
THE CITY OF PALM DESERT AND ITS MARKETING COMMITTEE.
On behalf of the entire City Council, Mayor Benson presented an engraved
crystal clock to Mr. Darius in appreciation for his tenure on the City's
Marketing Committee. She commented that the Committee meets monthly
to provide advice on various programs to present the City through printed
materials and events. She noted that while the City was sorry to see him
leave the Marketing Committee, he would continue to benefit Palm Desert
through his position at the McCallum Theatre.
B. PRESENTATION TO RECOGNIZE CITY OF PALM DESERT/
PALM DESERT REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY EMPLOYEES FOR
EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE - FEBRUARY 2008.
On behalf of the entire City Council, Mayor Benson and Mr. Ortega honored
the following employees for their exemplary service by presenting them with
a printed certificate and $100 gift certificate: Barbara Blythe, Mary Gates,
David Hermann, Rochelle Hogele, Gloria Martinez, Jennifer McNeil,
Grace Mendoza, Miriam Miller, Frankie Riddle, Deborah Schwartz,
Patricia Scully, Debbie Thompson, and Lori Wimbish.
C. APPOINTMENT TO THE MARKETING COMMITTEE.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, appoint Melissa Allensworth
from the McCallum Theatre to the Marketing Committee to fill the vacancy created by the
resignation of Richard Darius (term 12/31/11). Motion was seconded by Finerty and
carried by a 5-0 vote.
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 13, 2008
D. PRESENTATION BY DOUG WALKER, THE CITY'S APPOINTED
REPRESENTATIVE TO THE COACHELLA VALLEY MOSQUITO &
VECTOR CONTROL DISTRICT.
Mr. Walker commented that he appreciated the opportunity and it had been
a pleasure to serve in this capacity for just over one year, noting that last
year he'd provided a brief update to then-Mayor Kelly and Mr. Ortega. He
shared some of his background and familiarity with the Coachella Valley and
surrounding areas, including being a Palm Desert resident since 1971 and
member of the faculty and administrative staff at College of the Desert for 34
years. His Master's Degree in Entomologywas received from the University
of California, Davis, recently recognized for its top Entomology Department.
From his perspective, the District is in excellent shape and doing a very
effective job based on its objectives for controlling nuisance pests and
disease-transmitting organisms in a proactive fashion. He provided a Power
Point presentation, highlighting that the District currently employed over 50
administrative staff and technicians. He noted that Trustee Ben Laflin had
just resigned from the Board after 54 years of service, and the Administration
Building had just been dedicated in his honor. He went on to relate that the
District:
— Has three primary sources of revenue: property taxes, pass-through
revenues, and the Special Assessment for Mosquito, Fire Ant, and Disease
Control passed by voters a few years ago.
— Primary programs carried out by the District included:
•Surveillance for mosquitoes, Red Imported Fire Ants(RIFA), gnats, and
flies. District formed in 1928 to combat eye gnats,which traveled in large
clouds, causing schools to be closed for days at a time. It is unlikely the
tourist industry and other development would have occurred in the
Coachella Valley if these vectors hadn't been successfully controlled.
• Vector Control - control of disease-carrying organisms, such as
mosquitoes.
• Biological Control - measures such as mosquito fish, desert tadpole
shrimp, and nematodes.
• Disease Surveillance Research-facilities on-site and partnerships with
UC-Riverside and UC-Davis in order to readily respond to the next
disease that arrives in the Coachella Valley.
• Public Education and Information Programs.
He felt the RIFA Program was of particular interest to Palm Desert. While
the District has been questioned for having a significant financial reserve,
work to control RIFA required significant expenditures. New, more effective
materials to control RIFA have become available this year, and the District
did go over budget to acquire those materials now that neither the State nor
County participate in this activity. Therefore, the District has been able to
launch a full-scale effort with significant success, especially since
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 13, 2008
Palm Desert is the area most greatly affected. With regard to West Nile
Virus, one death in the Valley last year was attributed to this disease, but it
was uncertain where that individual picked up the virus in the Palm Springs
area; generally, that program had been quite successful. He invited City
Councilmembers to visit the District facilities in Indio, as he felt they would
be impressed with the operations there, and he also offered to go along.
Mr. Walker went on to say he'd been serving on the District's Finance
Committee for several months and reported the finances were in very good
shape. The audit completed in October revealed there were no deficiencies
in internal control, and he provided assurance that he and other Board
Members were very conscientious about the financial activities. He noted
that even though he'd only been serving a little more than a year, he was
now one of the senior Board Members, and everyone wanted to become
more familiar with the operation to ensure it was being done correctly. As a
result, in January the Board has hired the accounting firm of Moreland &
Associates in a consulting capacity to review the DistricYs budget
procedures,financial accounting systems, and to advise both the Board and
staff on these matters, with a report anticipated to be presented in April. He
said the recent negative articles about ongoing investigations at the District
were unfortunate in relation to the staff's accomplishments. To his
knowledge, the investigations have revealed no wrongdoing or any illegal
activities. He added that the incident at Tuesday night's meeting was also
unfortunate in terms of a personal attack, but the Brown Act prevented the
Board from addressing the matter that night, so a special meeting has been
scheduled for next week to discuss the current questions. Summarizing, he
said the 80-year-old District was doing an excellent job for the entire
community. It was one of the top in the State and the nation, with an
outstanding and dedicated staff, and he truly appreciated the job done by the
previous Board Trustees and theirforesight in terms of bio-control, research,
surveillance efforts, and their goal of being proactive vs. reactive. He was
proud to represent the City of Palm Desert and its citizens.
Councilman Ferguson thanked Mr. Walker for his service as Palm Desert's
representative to the Board, adding that while the newspaper articles have
brought a lot of attention to what has otherwise been a stellar board, the
relative absence of fire ants, mosquitoes, gnats, and flies he believed is a
testament to that. He felt the Board was doing a good job, and if financial
success was a criticism, then the City of Palm Desert was also guilty.
Councilman Kelly agreed and thanked Mr. Walker for one of the best
presentations the City's received from one of its representatives since he
was on the Council. Councilmembers all concurred.
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PRELIMINARY MINUTES
REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 13, 2008
X. CONSENT CALENDAR
A. MINUTES of the Regular City Council Meeting of February 28, 2008.
Rec: Approve as presented.
B. CLAIMS AND DEMANDS AGAINST THE CITY TREASURY - Warrant
Nos. 173, 195, and 196.
Rec: Approve as presented.
C. APPLICATION FOR ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE LICENSE by Jensen's
Complete Shopping, Inc., for Z Pizza, 73-607 Highway 111, Palm Desert.
Rec: Receive and file.
D. CITY COMMITTEE AND COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES.
1. Library Promotion Committee Meeting of November 28, 2007.
2. Marketing Committee Meeting of January 15, 2008.
3. Parks & Recreation Commission Meeting of January 23, 2008.
Rec: Receive and file.
E. REQUEST FOR DECLARATION of Surplus Property and Disposal
Authorization(Miscellaneous Computerand Related Accessory Equipment).
Rec: By Minute Motion, declare items listed on the accompanying staff
report's Exhibit "A" as surplus property and authorize disposal as
appropriate.
F. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION to Issue a Notice Inviting Bids for the
Repair and ResurFacing of Mesa View Drive (Contract No. C27370).
Rec: By Minute Motion, authorize staffto issue a Notice Inviting Bids for the
subject project.
G. REQUEST FOR AWARD OF CONTRACT to Candyl Golf Group, Inc., for
Sand Replacement at the Civic Center Park Volleyball Courts (Contract
No. C27380).
Rec: By Minute Motion, award the subject contract to Candyl Golf Group,
Inc., La Quinta, California, in the amount of$34,930 for replacement
of used and contaminated sand at the Civic Center Park Volleyball
Courts, and authorize the Mayor to execute same — funds are
available in Account No. 430-4618-454-4001.
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 13, 2008
H. REQUEST FOR AWARD OF CONTRACT with Brett Fiore of Signature
Sculpture Restoration and Maintenance for Maintenance of the City of
Palm Desert's Public Art Collection and the EI Paseo Exhibition (Contract
No. C27390).
Removed for separate consideration under Section XI, Consent Items Held
Over. Please see that portion of the Minutes for Council discussion and
action.
I. REQUEST FOR SUPPORT of the Cold Weather Shelter Located On
McLane in North Palm Springs.
Rec: By Minute Motion, approve the City of Palm Desert's support of the
Cold Weather Shelter in the amount of$6,200 and authorize payment
from Account No. 110-4132-411-3090.
J. REQUEST FOR RATIFICATION of the City Manager's Approval of the
Purchase of Three Stryker Power Assist Gurney Systems.
Rec: By Minute Motion: 1) Ratify the City Manager's approval for purchase
of three Stryker Power Assist Gurney systems; 2) appropriate
$37,367.72 from Unobligated Fund 230 for said purchase.
K. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL of Out-of-State Travel for Director of
Information Systems to Attend the Two-day Observer Analyzer Basic
Network Analysis Class in Phoenix, Arizona.
Rec: By Minute Motion, approve the subject request for the Director of
Information Systems April 14-15, 2008 — funds are available in
Account No. 110-4190-415-3120.
Councilman Ferguson requested item H be removed for separate action
under Section XI, Consent Items Held Over.
Upon motion by Spiegel, second by Kelly, and 5-0 vote of the City Council, the
remainder of the Consent Calendar was approved as presented.
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REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 13, 2008
XI. CONSENT ITEMS HELD OVER
H. REQUEST FOR AWARD OF CONTRACT with Brett Fiore of Signature
Sculpture Restoration and Maintenance for Maintenance of the City of
Palm Desert's Public Art Collection and the EI Paseo Exhibition (Contract
No. C27390).
Councilman Ferguson stated it seemed $50,000 to monitorthe sculptures on
the median on EI Paseo was awfully high unless they were abused and the
vendor did such a good job of maintaining or repairing them. However, he's
never seen them in a state of disrepair.
Public Arts Manager Richard Twedt replied the contract included 18 pieces
from the EI Paseo median, 48 pieces from the City's permanent collection for
a total of 65 pieces. The 18 pieces on EI Paseo get serviced once a month,
and the 48 pieces from the permanent collection get serviced twice a month.
It could require a half or full day of waxing, cleaning, or repair work
depending on the type of piece. The cleaning service for the permanent
collection can be quite expensive because they require special types of
calcium detoxification. Further responding, he confirmed the pieces on EI
Paseo were on loan to the City, and each artist representative provided a
form with instructions on how to take care of the piece so that the patina or
paint job was not destroyed.
Mayor Benson recalled at one time the City didn't have the service and a lot
of the pieces at the park were really getting beat.
Councilman Ferguson said he appreciated the explanation because he could
see the amount of person hours needed to take care of 65 pieces, which
wasn't evident based on the agenda.
Councilman Ferguson moved to, by Minute Motion: 1) Award the subject contract
to Brett Fiore of Signature Sculpture Restoration and Maintenance, Palm Desert,
California, for one (1) year in the amount of $47,940; 2) authorize the Mayor to execute
said contract — funds are available in Account No. 240-4650-454-3372. Motion was
seconded by Spiegel and carried by a 5-0 vote.
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PRELIMINARY MINUTES
REGULAR PALM DESERT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MARCH 13, 2008
XII. RESOLUTIONS
A. RESOLUTION NO. 08-15 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF
THE CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, ENDORSING THE
COACHELLA VALLEY ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS' (CVAG)
HOMELESS COMMITTEE'S STRATEGIC PLAN TO END
HOMELESSNESS.
MS. AURORA WILSON, representative of CVAG stated the plan was
self-explanatory but was available to answer questions.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel moved to waive further reading and adopt Resolution
No. 08-15. Motion was seconded by Ferguson.
Councilman Ferguson asked if there was a cost associated with this plan for
the member cities of CVAG.
MS. WILSON replied not at this time. She was confident the City's legal
counsel reviewed the Resolution and found nothing that would bind or
commit the City financially. However, there was wording in the last two
"Whereas" paragraphs that asked each jurisdiction to recognize and
acknowledge that in order to successfully carry out the plan long-term
revenue streams were needed,which may include financial contribution from
the member jurisdictions. She went on to say CVAG may later return to ask
for a financial contribution but it was not stated in the subject Resolution, and
approval by Council of this Resolution would not financially commit the City.
Councilman Ferguson said he wasn't opposed to contributing but just wanted
to know if there was an amount.
Mayor Benson noted there was a financial committee reviewing it.
Mayor Benson called for the vote, and the motion carried by a 5-0 vote.
XIII. ORDINANCES
For Introduction:
None
For Adoption:
None
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XIV. NEW BUSINESS
A. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF $120,000 IN FACADE ENHANCEMENT
PROGRAM CONSIDERATION FUNDS TO DESERT EL PASEO, L.P.,AND
HARKHAM FAMILY ENTERPRISES, L.P., FOR"COLONNADE EL PASEO
RETAIL AND RESTAURANT" LOCATED AT 73-399 EL PASEO
(Desert EI Paseo, L.P., and Harkham Family Enterprises, L.P., Applicants).
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel asked for the amount of sales tax this development
would create for the City.
Projects Administrator Bryce White replied he didn't have that information but
could return to Council with that amount.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel said it would be good to known since the building
had already been torn down.
Mr. White agreed the enhancement was moving forward. He said the
projected cost for the new building was $3.3 million of which the City's
participation was less than 5%. Further responding, he said funds were set
aside from the current year's General Fund budget.
Mr. McCarthy explained the General Fund monies were off-sets from
redevelopment.
Councilman Kelly stated the enhancement wasn't exactly what the Council
had imagined. On the other hand, when a developer is willing to
spend/invest $3 million to clean up an old building in the City, it was a real
opportunity and he would move approval to contribute $120,000 on that
basis.
Councilman Kelly moved to, by Minute Motion, approve $120,000 in Facade
Enhancement Program Consideration funds to Desert EI Paseo and Harkham Family
Enterprises for "Colonnade EI Paseo Retail and Restaurant" located at 73-399 EI Paseo
— funds are available in Account No. 400-4800-454-3875. Motion was seconded by
Finerty.
Responding to Councilman Ferguson, Mr. White confirmed this project had
been recently approved on a 3-2 vote.
Councilman Ferguson stated the Applicant had requested a height
exception, which normally weren't granted unless the City received
something back, and that project was assessed a $70,000 parking
contribution. If the Applicant was requesting money from the City, why
wasn't it all included in one package so that Council could evaluate all the
dollars flowing in with the special exemptions granted by the City. It seemed
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disingenuous for the Applicant to ask for another $120,000 from the City
when they've already committed to building the new building and received
approval on a 3-2 vote.
Mr. White replied the two were not directly related, but this project could be
denied if that's what Council wished. However, the two individuals who voted
against the project met at the Retail Committee and voted in favor of it.
Councilman Ferguson stated that was neither here nor there. He asked why
wasn't the whole thing presented to Council in one package.
Mr. White replied the City didn't have a provision for doing that.
Councilman Ferguson stated the Facade Enhancement Program was
originally intended for tenants of buildings that had owners that weren't
witling to make significant investments to their building. The program was
intended to spruce up older structures predominately along Highway 111.
He knew some project were done on EI Paseo where full scale
redevelopment wasn't occurring such as this. It seemed like the City was
headed towards a direct subsidy of developers that were doing new projects
as opposed to helping small businesses that simply want to make their
facade look better.
Mr. White replied that in relationship to this particular project there were four
projects immediately across the street the City participated in over the past
five years, and without that level of improvement that took place, this
particular project would probably not be taking place. He believed those
improvements influenced others. Further responding he said the program
had always been a subsidy.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel said Palm Springs would love to have this
development downtown.
Councilman Ferguson stated he wished the developerwould have presented
all of his requests at one time because it could have changed the vote one
way or the other. He felt it was disingenuous to request an additional
$120,000, and thought it was well beyond the scope of the Facade
Enhancement Program that Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel started almost ten years
ago.
Mr. McCarthy acknowledged Council's concern and stated staff will try to be
mindful to make sure all these issues are addressed simultaneously when
project are brought forward. He noted there were four other comparable
projects where Facade Enhancement was used to facilitate Enhanced
Architectural Design, i.e., EI Paseo Plaza and Enterprise Rental Car, and it
was not the first time this had been done.
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Councilman Ferguson stated that was fair enough, but when the Applicant
was assessed $70,000 for parking, he felt it was harsh given that the
developer was doing something good for the City. Little did he know the
Applicant would be requesting an additional $120,000.
Mayor Benson called for the vote, and the motion carried by a 4-1 vote, with
Ferguson voting NO.
B. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF THE CONSTRUCTION AND
INSTALLATION OF SIGNS FOR THE CITY OF PALM DESERT
"WAYFINDING PROGRAM."
Mr. Ortega noted the staff report and offered that staff was available to
answer questions.
Councilman Kelly stated it was a tremendous effort on staff's part to put
together this great program and commended staff for bringing it forth.
Councilman Kelly moved to, by Minute Motion: 1) Approve the "Wayfinding" sign
design; 2) appropriate $100,000 from the General Fund for the "Wayfinding Program;" 3)
appropriate a 10%contingency of$10,000 for the Program; 4)authorize staff to solicit bids
for fabrication of the "Wayfinding" signs. Motion was seconded by Finerty.
Councilmember Finerty stated she had no clue what a"Wayfinding Program"
was and was pleasantly surprised. She said it was attractive, and it was a
job well done.
Responding to questions about the colors and size of the signs,
Mr. Greenwood replied the colors were blue and green and the size was
approximately four to six feet wide. He wasn't sure if the sign format
followed the current requirements for the City's Sign Ordinance, but it did
follow the design guidelines for traffic as directional traffic signs. He said the
current signs were in poor format. Many have a series of placard added on
top of each other giving it a haphazard look. The proposed signs will be
comprehensive and on one panel with a professional appearance.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel said he's viewed the signs and believed it will help
the City. In particular at the Visitor Center.
Councilman Ferguson agreed. However, he didn't think blue and green were
necessarily amicable colors to the aesthetics in the community.
Mr. Greenwood explained the color choices were determined by a committee
comprised of staff inembers from various departments, and they tried to
come up with something unique.
14
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Councilman Ferguson agreed the colors were unique, but recognized the
City needed to make an improvement in this area.
Mayor Benson agreed staff needed to be commended for their efforts. She
requested priority be given to the VisitorCenter, Chamberof Commerce, and
the Civic Center because visitors primarily looked for these locations first.
' Mayor Benson called for the vote, and the motion carried by a 5-0 vote.
C. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF THE CALIFORNIA EMPLOYER'S
RETIREE BENEFIT TRUST PROGRAM AGREEMENT AND ELECTION,
AND AUTHORIZATION FOR TRANSFER OF FUNDS TO THE
CALIFORNIA EMPLOYER'S RETIREE BENEFIT TRUST FOR THE
CITY OF PALM DESERT (CONTRACT NO. C27400).
Responding to question, Mr. Ortega confirmed the subject agreement was
signed off by the employees.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion: 1)Appropriate$6,481,631 plus
the first year Annual Required Contribution of $759,139 from Fund 576 - Retiree Health
Fund; 2) authorize staff to sign all necessary agreements to implement funding the City's
Retiree Health Program with CaIPERS Trust; 3) authorize staff to transfer the funds to
CaIPERS Trust. Motion was seconded by Ferguson and carried by a 5-0 vote.
D. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT WITH
CALTRANS FOR THE MONTEREY AVENUE/INTERSTATE 10 (I-10)
INTERCHANGE RAMP MODIFICATION (CONTRACT NO. C22310C,
PROJECT NO. 669-02).
Councilman Ferguson moved to, by Minute Motion: 1) Approve the subject
Cooperative Agreement between the City of Palm Desert and Caltrans that outlines the
roles and responsibilities of both agencies for the Project Approval/Environmental
Documentation, Design, and Right-of-Way Acquisition Phases of the Monterey Avenue/I-
10 Interchange Ramp Modification Project; 2) authorize the Mayor to execute the
Agreement. Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by a 5-0 vote.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel stated the entire project will cost about$8,890,000.,
and the City's portion was about$2,896,000. He asked if there was any way
the City could obtain more than the $5,993,00 it would receive from taxes
and Measure A.
Councilman Kelly noted the City would also receive $500,000 from the
developer.
Responding to question, Engineering Manager John Garcia replied the City
would receive a 50% reimbursement from TUMF Measure A funds. It would
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not be at a 75% reimbursement because at the time the City was awarded
the percentage was 50%. In addition, the City was successful in getting a
grant from CVAG to help pay for iYs local share of the project.
Councilman Kelly said it would be an extreme improvement to that
interchange to keep the westbound traffic to I-10 from backing up. He
thought it was well worth doing this considering what cities paid for
infrastructure now a days, and it wouldn't have to do it alone.
Councilmember Finerty said if she's learned anything from Councilman Kelly,
it was that now was the time to get it done and not wait like it did with the
Portola Bridge. She said it seemed like a great opportunity to do this now.
Councilman Kelly said the City built the Cook Street interchange, and it was
completed in about three years. Five other interchanges have been under
review in an effort to construct for the past ten years, and they are still a
couple of years down the road. He said interchanges could only provide
good for the environment. Other interchanges in the Coachella Valley have
cars lined up for a mile on each side. Just prior to Caltrans taking over, it
promoted staff and the new personnel didn't like how the previous
administration went about their approval process. He said it was the most
frustrating thing in the world to try to get through an environmental and
Caltrans approval.
Councilman Ferguson said it was a credit to Councilman Kelly's
long-standing service on transportation that the Monterrey,Washington, and
Cook Street interchanges were redone. Cities like Palm Springs and
Cathedral City were dying to have theirs improved and were still waiting.
Today the Council was voting on a small participation in a remodification of
an already existing improvement. If one compared the cost of this project to
the Portola Bridge, which was four or five times as much, this was a bargain.
Councilman Kelly said if the public only knew what went on in trying to get an
interchange through the process they would think it can't be done. He said
the public had to understand what the State of California and the
environmental laws passed into legislature were doing to the ability for the
City to provide infrastructure.
Mayor Benson called for the vote, and the motion carried by a 5-0 vote.
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E. CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA, PROVIDING FOR THE
IDENTIFICATION, DESIGNATION, PROTECTION, AND ENHANCEMENT
OF THE CITY'S CULTURAL RESOURCES.
Following is a verbatim transcript of the discussion and action of this item for staff's
reference.
�
JMB Jean M. Benson, Mayor
KP Karen Prinzmetal, Palm Desert Resident
RAS Robert A. Spiegel, Mayor Pro Tem
JF Jim Ferguson, Councilman
RSK Richard S. Kelly, Councilman
KH Kim Housken, Chair of Historic Preservation Committee
RG Russell Grance, Director of Building & Safety
CF Cindy Finerty, Councilmember
RDK Rachelle D. Klassen, City Clerk
JMB The next is "Consideration of an Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Palm
Desert,"oh excuse me. Request for...oh no, I'm sorry. "Consideration wherein the
City Council, the City of Palm Desert providing for the Identification, Designation,
Protection, and Enhancement of the City's Cultural Resources." I do have a couple
of cards that want to speak to this. The first one is Karen Prinzmetal.
KP Hi my name is Karen Prinzmetal, and I live at 916 Sandpiper in Palm Desert, and
we've been residents at Palm Desert for ten years at the Sandpiper. So, historic
preservation has been very, very important to me. I see our City as being one of the
most forward thinking in all areas. And i feel that when we...got a committee
together through the City to work on historic preservation that that was another
aspect of very forward thinking city government. I am very concerned that there's
a possibility that the City— that the Committee will not have the power any more.
That it's being discussed that one person would have the power to make decisions,
and i feel that as with the City Council, where you have many voices speaking, and
thinking, and discussing issues, the idea of having a committee talking about
historic preservation to make our City worthwhile with our heritage,that many voices
speak much better than one voice. And having one person make a decision,
everybody has a point of view, and i feel very uncomfortable having a person
designated. That person may feel that a Tuscan architecture is the most fabulous
way to go, but there's no other voices to bring Mid-Century Modern, to bring
Spanish, to bring all other kinds of architecture into that. So I would like to ask that
we keep the Committee. I think the Committee is formed and contains many very
bright people in different areas of architecture in the City as opposed to one person,
that may only have one point of view. Thank you.
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RAS Why, let me ask you. I'm sorry let me ask you a question. Are you suggesting that
we don't need a resource preservation officer?
KP Right. I think with the Committee, having a Committee of multiple voices being able
to discuss issues that come before them, that's what a committee does. We don't
have one Mayor making decisions for a City. We have many voices, and i feel that
that's proactive. I feel it's much more democratic, and so that would be my hope.
RAS Thank you.
JF Madam Mayor, would it be appropriate if we got a brief staff report on this?
Because as I read it, I'm not seeing the same thing thaYs...
JMB I thought we have it after we hear the public.
JF Well how do they know and maybe they've all read it, but you know...whenever
you'd like it, but at some point I would like staff to stand up and explain what
changes are being made, what's happening to the committee, and specifically what
the recommendations are...so that everyone here may know, who may not have
read the staff report.
RSK Well even after reading it, I need a staff report. There's a lot of things I don't
understand.
JF It's a little confusing, wasn't it?
RSK Yeah, well...l'm mean we're wrestling with two pieces of paper and trying to, I'll tell
you I'm lost.
JMB I just figured if we heard what their concerns was...
JF Okay, either way.
JMB ...we could address it all at once. We would know. We just have one other
speaker. Thank you for your comment.
KP Thank you.
JMB We just have one other speaker, which is Kim Hut— Housken. Kim not here? -
RAS Yes she is.
KH Actually Kim Housken, 73227, I'rr� the Chair of the Committee so I don't know if
you'd wait, would you prefer to wait and hear my comments after the staff report or
should I go ahead and speak now?
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RSK Pull it up (referring to microphone).
JMB IYs up to you. Do you want the staff report then? Alright they want the staff report.
So who's gonna' do that? You are.
RG What I can do is expand a little bit further on the staff report discussion, and what
you have already in your packet. And I can only briefly...interject my knowledge
from November forward, November of last year forward. I was tasked to bring it to
Council an ordinance to address the City's cultural resources. I had the latest draft
from the Committee and I sat down with staff to go over the ordinance to develop
the final document. I was given direction by Administration what the staff—or what
the Ordinance should look—entail. The latest document that you have before you
has been approved and reviewed by staff and the City Attorney as a recommended
form...
JF Okay let's hold up right there. Which is the latest document, I got two?
RG It would be the addendum that you have. There is one in the upper right hand
corner that has HPC, that is their recommended document. The other one should
say City recommended or Attorney approved.
JF Let me ask the Clerk. Is it the one with the stamp on it that we add it?
RDK Correct.
JF Okay so the thinner of the two...
RG The thinner of the two is the one that staff had modified from the draft document
that the Committee came up with, the latest one.
JMB I only have one.
CF That's all I have is one.
RSK I have two.
CF I guess it's after the staff report.
RSK If I had only one, that would of been helpful.
JF Okay let me ask a second question then just to kind of...in the second one, there's
no reference to personnel being made. In the first one there is a reference to a
$115,000 full-time employee and to a$42,000 part-time employee. Does that mean
these have been eliminated in the new draft?
RG They wouldn't necessarily be needed or required.
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JF Okay then I'm on the right page.
RSK What was the answer, I didn't hear the answer.
RG They wouldn't necessarily be needed or required on the staff's...
RSK Would not be needed or required?
RG Yes.
RSK In the second one...
RG On the second Ordinance, yeah.
JF You may want to pull the microphone a little bit closer cuz' I think we're gonna' have
problems hearing you. So no employees on the second one?
RG Correct. Staff delivered the modified Ordinance that we modified, that the
Committee gave us and brought it forward at their January 29th meeting. At that
meeting I introduced the Ordinance that was reviewed and approved by City
Attorney and staff. The Committee voted to reject it 7-0, and directed me to take it
back to staff for revisions. Staff and I met,we felt that the Ordinance was complete,
met all the statutory requirements, it could meet all the needs of the City as it
addressed the cultural resources.
JF Question?
RG Yes Sir.
JF And I'm sorry to cut you off but I, I...the first speaker really triggered me. In 2 point,
are 29.30.010 says, "There is hereby created a Cultural Resources Preservation
Committee consisting of seven members."
RG Correct.
JF Is there anything in here that leaves decision making up to one person?
RG No Sir.
JF Okay.
RG We took it back and then we had the next meeting, which was a "Special Meeting"
on February 15`h. At that meeting I re-introduced the Ordinance that staff
recommended and again was approved bythe CityAttorney. Planning was present
at that meeting to answer any questions of the Committee, but after a lengthy
discussion the Committee continued to have a difference of opinion on what was—
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what comprised the Ordinance and the direction we should go. It was
recommended by the City Attorney at that time to pre— to take the minutes of the
meeting, and both Ordinance, and move forward to Council, and have Council give
us direction. At the end of that meeting, it was advised by Mr. Homer Croy that we
have a sub-committee meeting of, of three of the committee members. We had that
meeting to try to reconcile differences between the two documents. After a long
discussion, there was still philosophical differences..what we ended up doing is
again you have two documents before you, and I think at this point we're at an
impasse with the Committee as to what really the City should move forward with. So
that's why we're here tonight to get some better direction from you.
JMB Any questions of...
RAS Maybe we ought to hear from Kim now...
CF Yeah.
RAS ...to tell us what's wrong with this piece of paper I got in front of ine.
KH Good afternoon Mayor Benson, City Councilmembers. Again, I'm Kim Housken,
73227 Somera. I am the current Chair of the Historic Preservation Committee and
I would like to, obviously we're here to talk about the Ordinance, but going hand in
hand with the Ordinance, I do want to recognize the efforts put forth by the
Committee in the process of serving properties throughout the City we were
successful in collaborating with the Art in Public Places(AIPP) program to produce,
I'm sure you're familiar with the art and architecture book, which we think has been
very well received. A very— beautiful book that highlights many of the cultural
resources here in the City that even long-time residents weren't aware we had.
We've had an extremely popular open house at the Hopalong Cassidy house, and
this past year we hosted a bus tour for City staff and a few members of the
community, which again, I think was well received. Throughout this, we, did begin
the process of developing a new Cultural Resources Ordinance and in doing so, we
hired a consultant LSA and we used the Cultural Resources element of the General
Plan as our guide. The draft portion thaYs before you is a working document that
dates back to 2006. At the time that we were adding this process, we had received
I believe it was approximately 28 comments from the City Attorney on a memo from
10-08-06. And at the point that you're looking at all of those comments, I believe
were incorporated in the document. The document was then sent out and we've
been somewhat waiting for it ever since. Again I want to stress, the version that's
before you was never finalized by LSA, the consultant, nor was it ever voted on by
this Committee. Be that as it may, here we are. Some highlights of, of the version .
that we are putting forth include the fact that property owner consent is required for
Landmark Designation. I know there's been a lot of discussion about protecting
property owner rights, and this is included in the version that we are submitting
before you. Also with respect to landmarks being designated, once a landmark, you
have the property owner's consent, it's been studies, it's been designated, it is
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merely a recommendation of our Committee. In it— everything we do comes to the
City Council. So we are not trying to separate our self's, remove our self's.
Everything we do is based on a recommendation coming to you. So ultimately you'll
be the one's determining if something is a suitable landmark for the City of Palm
Desert. Another area of our Ordinance and I'll try to give just a little of history, I'm
not sure how much experience you all have with Historic Preservation. Once
something is declared a landmark it's listed in the register. If the property owner
chooses to make changes to their home,they come in and they apply for something
that is called Certificate of Appropriateness. Now what we incorporated in the LSA
version of the Ordinance was a two tier approach, and the reason we did that, we
did one an Administrative Certificate of Appropriateness. So if one comes in and
let's say they want to re-roof their house and they are using similar materials or if
they want to replace a window, these things can be done administratively. We
wanted to make it easy for owners of—you know of historic landmarks, make it easy
for them to do these things to their home. And in our version of the Ordinance,
you'll find I believe a list 14 different items that can be done strictly administratively.
It's not until someone, and also additionally, Historic Preservation really just deals
with the out's—out exterior of the building. You know anyone can do whatever they
want inside the house. However, if someone decides they come in and they want
to add a second story on their historic building, if they want to wipe out a wing on
the building. Something like that would be elevated to the committee and they
would take a closer look at it. Again, the decision that we would make regarding
that if it was appropriate or not, can always be appealed to Council as well. (Pause
to take a drink of water.) Another thing that I would sort of respectfully debate with
staff is that I don't believe our version of the Ordinance does require the hiring of a
Historic Preservation Officer in a full-time position. I think the way we have crafted
the Ordinance, it allows for again an Administrator to handle most of these things.
We're aware, well aware of the fact that our, our, the formation of our Committee
has been somewhat of a burden on the Planning, or I'm sorry, the Building &Safety
staff, and they've always been very kind, very gracious, accommodating us, doing
our agenda's and so on. In the past we have made recommendations, perhaps a
Planning position could be split cuz' often times this is under Planning. We've
thrown out ideas that you know, this could be done on consultant as needed basis.
We've even recently said "Gee maybe we could team up with Indian Wells, Rancho
Mirage our Cove Communities. Maybe they could share, you know some type of
position like this. So while we're aware that we have added a burden to the staff,
I don't feel that hiring a full-time position and a part-time Administrative is
necessary. Concerns that I have with the staff's version of the Ordinance are really
namely two areas. The first area deals with the powers and duties that are
assigned this administrative person, which basically gives authority to this one
figure. What I'm hearing is that we wouldn't need an additional staff person with the
staff's version of the Ordinance, but I would question that. I feel if this is the
direction you do want to go, if you choose to go with the staff's version, I would
really recommend that you do hire a qualified person. Because at this point in their
version, that it is...the discretionary...l'm sorry. Let me just read from this, I'm just...
If you do choose to move in the direction of the staff Ordinance in which power
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authority and discretion lies strictly with one person, an Administrator, well that's
when I would recommend hiring a professional who has qualifications, and I would
recommend those qualifications should be spelled out in the definition section of the
Ordinance, so that we do know who is making these decisions. And if thaYs the
direction you choose to go, that's fine. And they would have most of the decision
making authority and things like the Certificate of Appropriateness now, is all
handled by one administrator. And again this is in the staff version, everything that
is referred to the Committee is merely discretionary. So it does seem that a lot of
power is being shifted onto one person. Another area of concern is regarding the
surveying of property requiring owner consent. I have to say this is a catch 22.
How can you survey a property— or how can you contact the owner to get their
permission if you haven't surveyed the property or even looked at it. And I'm, I've
mentioned this before to staff and I've been told maybe it's semantics, but when
we're discussing survey's here there's, they're done on two levels typically. One
could be considered a windshield survey or a recognizance survey where you can
drive a neighborhood, you knowwhere a home is, you knowthe address, you know
the style it's built, is it still there? This is the type of surveying we're talking about
and in the staff's version of the Ordinance, suddenly property owner consent is
required. I would also have to say that that really is not consistent with the General
Plan. In the General Plan we are, we are directed to expeditiously conduct a
Citywide cultural resources surveyto inventory all cultural resources within the City's
jurisdiction. Again it seems like if we're gonna' be changing the General Plan policy,
then I guess you need to notify us, because really, this is what we've been working
off is the General Plan. Lastly, a concern I have in the staff version of the
Ordinance would be that the Committee is required to meet only once per year. If
we, if we choose to pursue this Certified Local Government program "CLG," they
have a minimum of four meetings a year, and we think that's very reasonable at the
minimum. At this point we had been meeting monthly up until the time that Ali left
and we've had some staffing changes, and you know, the position, you know was
open for a while up until the time Ali left, we were meeting monthly. And I would
have to say that things like the Art and Architecture book and that, that, you know
the survey, or the two (unclear) survey that we've done. These things wouldn't be
accomplished if we were not allowed to survey places and if we were only meeting
once a year, these wouldn't be accomplished. Lastly I would have to say, I have
concerns about the minutes of the February 15th meeting that are included in your
packet. Apparently there were recording issues and portions are inaudible. Just so
you know, these minutes have not been accepted by the Committee and there are
many highly unusual editorial comments. I think what has been done does not
serve this process well and I would request that if this is truly to be a verbatim
transcript, that any comments in parenthesis or brackets be removed. We certainly
welcome your direction, we are willing to work with you no matter which way you
choose to go. We do feel that we've accomplished many things, and that this
Ordinance is just one small facet of who we are. There are other Committee
members here as well. If you have any questions of any of us, we would welcome
your questions, we look forward to dialog with you and perhaps this, this whole
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Ordinance,we could have an Ordinance study session, and we could go overthese
things. Thank you.
RAS I have a question Kim. My son happens to live in the suburb of St. Louis and he
lives in a house that's about 110 years old, and it's been designated as a historical
preservation house. And consequently he can't do anything to the outside, he didn't
plan on doing anything to the outside, but he can't do anything on the outside. Do
we have any year limit on what we're talking about here? Does it have to be 50
years old, 20 years old, or 5 years old?
KH Well I'd have to tell you that, that often times 50 years is used as a milestone, but
I think it's recognized that with the mid-century modern architecture that we have
here in the City, that again 50 is merely a milestone. We actually, we the
Committee actually consider the Visitor Center the first LEED building here in the
desert to be very significant, and it is merely, you know, a few years old. So that is
about...
RAS So you're not putting an age on it?
KH Well there is, there is actually an age in there, regarding lat— review later on. But
anyone, the way we would like to see it, is anyone could come and nominate and
say I think I live in a historic house and we'll take a look at it and they can make a
recommendation. We'll agree or disagree and send it up to you all, and you'll either
approve it or deny it.
RAS And if it is determined to be historic house, they then get a reduction on their
property taxes.
KH That, that's not necessarily. That is something that they would have to enter into
with the City, and that would be something the property owner would choose to do.
And by doing so, they're agreeing to take, you know, they use a portion of their
property tax to maintain, to restore, to rehabilitate. That's a contract between the
City and the property owner. And I'd have to say that I've received several calls
from people regarding the Mills Act, and I've been telling them, you know, this is
something, you know, we have been working on an Ordinance and the Mills Act is
sort of coming along with it. I don't have an answer for you yet, but you know
(unclear).
RAS It's interesting because the areas you're talking about the majority of the real estate
taxes don't go to the City, in fact almost nothing. It goes to the County and it goes
primarily to the schools, but the City could make that decision?
KH You know I am not an expert on the Mills Act. I, I just know that it's certainly a
benefit to property owner that are recent purchasers of property because obviously
you're taxes would be higher.
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RAS Thank you.
JMB Any other questions of Kim?
KH Thank you.
JMB Okay I don't have any other cards, is there anybody else that wanted to speak on
this. Okay seeing none, Jim?
JF Well let me start off with my comments. I think I spent as much time if not more
than anybody on this issue and it goes back to a study session when I was last
Mayor, which was several years ago, before we had LSA, before we had a
recommendation. But before I get into my comments, I do want to thank the
members of the Historical Preservation Committee or Commission. Because we
have been through two building directors, our Ordinance was 20 years old and it did
refer to a building director when I personally believed most of those decision
aesthetic and otherwise architectural in particular should go through the Planning
Department process with the Architectural Review Committee, and there was
always that tension there. And of course, we now have a new Planning Director as
well as a new Building &Safety Director, neither of which was here when this whole
debate got started and before we got LSA involved. I do have a number of
comments. I guess my overall feeling is that I think we're cascading down a slippery
slope that none of the five of us, and I don't want to speak to any of it until I fully
understand. As I went through the, I think is the most recent Ordinance, I only
made it through page ten and I had 28 changes that I would recommend that
probably go farther than the current Committee is comfortable with. I, I evaluated
this Committee, which I guess sort of sprung some new life several years ago, by
simply comparing to our other Committees/Commissions. Let me just start with the
comment that power and authority and discretion being vested in one person. You
know, respectfully the power and authority and discretion is vested in five people
and we're all sitting right here. And that's the way it is with every Committee and
Commission that we have. We do have two commissions the Architectural Review
Commission and the Planning Commission that can make decisions, and if none
of us decides to appeal it, it becomes a final decision, but it is subject to our review,
our discretion and our power. Most of my comments in going through this were
neither the Administrator nor the Committee, nor anybody else underneath this
Council, I believe has any authority other than to make recommendations to this
Council. That includes our City Manager. He does have some discretion, but that
is discretion that we voted to give him some time ago. In taking a look at the things
that are being requested, I guess the one that strikes me nearest and dearest to my
heart is consent of the property owner. You know, my philosophy, our government,
is that you're free to do with your property with all the incidents of property
ownership. We do have a Zoning Ordinance, we have minimum requirements for
setbacks, we do have some architectural review guidelines, but by and large it's
your property, it's your house, you can do what you want. Having done all that to
come to a body and ask for a Certificate of Appropriateness, when you otherwise
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meet our Zoning Ordinances, and conditions, and architectural review guidelines,
seems extremely foreign to me. Even more foreign to me is that you can do it
without your consent that we can come along and say, "hum I like that house, you're
now on a list, this list now requires you to come through a new layer of bureaucracy
in the City Hall to get a Certificate of Appropriateness that then goes to an
Administrator,that then may or may not come to the City Council depending on how
this is worded." Just to do what you are free to do right now with a simple over the
counter permit. It seems to me to be a very unnecessary layer of bureaucracy. I
recognized that there are some historic elements to the City of Palm Desert, but I
also recognize we're 35 years old. It's younger than every member of this Council.
In fact Jean was on the first City Council that was here. I think there are the
occasions where we think things are historical, but I think that those should probably
be brought to our attention, you know much like the Hopalong House. The Council
evaluated it, we actually took a look at buying it and ultimately decided not to. You
know that was within our prerogative as Councilmembers. I personally do not
believe that a Historic Preservation Committee other than one constituted to make
recommendations to us to look at things before there is, you know a list, before
there is any designation, the suggestions comes to us that we might want to think
about this and then we make the decision whether or not to do it, is appropriate. If
we have a person at City Hall that triage's those and again if they decide that they
don't want to recommend it to us and the Historic Preservation Committee does,
then they can still come to us but I don't want to stigmatize anybody's property by
going on to a list for Certificate of Appropriateness that may cloud their title or
diminish the value of their property or certainly be against their wishes is something
I ever want to see the City of Palm Desert doing. And I say that with all do respect
to the Committee because I do think they serve a pun—function. I'm not inviting you
to respond to my comments ma'am, I'm simply making them as you did yours. I
thinkthatthe Historic Preservation Committee serves atthe pleasure of the Council.
They do not dictate what consultant we use, what house that report gets written,
those come to us from the staff. You very correctly issued your list of differences
with that report. I have my own differences and we're gonna' make a decision what
to do later on this afternoon. But the Committee is just that, it serves at the
� pleasure of the Council. I do not believe the Committee should make its own rules.
I think the City has rules for all of its committees/commissions, and I think those
rules ought to be followed uniformly across the board. I guess in summary, you
know having started way back when on this Commission and probably being the
only staff member if you will, that has been through every reiterations and had a
study session with this Commission, my tugging all along has been, it ought to be
like any other committee/commission, nothing ought to happen with a persons
property without this Council's approval. In a sense, untike listing a persons
property on a survey as historic being to a lesser degree no different than eminent
domain if there isn't property owner consent. It's the City imposing its will against
the will of a property owner to make a designation that may affect the value of that
person's property, and it shouldn't be done forcefully, and it should only be
suggested by the Council upon the recommendation of the Committee as vetted
through our staff. I don't like the current version that we have and I'm probably, the
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last point I'm gonna' make because I don't want to drawn on too long. I would like
our resident to take a look at this. The Committee's wrestled with it, staff has, we
just now got two versions that I don't think either of us fully understand but I'd like
our residents to know how we're proposing to treat their homes and their property
and give them a chance to weigh in. And regardless of how our discussion turns
out today, at a minimum I'd like to see us take a little bit more time and proceed
cautiously on something I think, is at least new for me and perhaps some of my
colleagues. Thank you.
KH I really would like to clarify...
JMB Dick did...
KH Could I just clarify one thing cuz', because I think there are, I'm sorry maybe I didn't
explain it well but again everything comes through you, and it is not until something
registered as a landmark that it needs a Certificate of Appropriateness.
JF Okay, again I didn't invite a rebuttal, you had your chance.
KH Okay, I'm sorry it's not a rebuttal but to be a landmark you need property owner
consent...
JF We, we could go on all day with our differences of opinion ma'am.
RSK Well I agree 100%with Councilman Ferguson that it's a slippery slope and we can't
go to quick, and we need to understand it. I also agree with the comment, when
you someone's property on a list, right there you have done something to the
property, and I agree with, you know property rights. Everybody has property rights
as long as they don't negatively affect other citizens. Saying that I still, I love history
and I've, I've been around long enough. I like old things too. I kept Mary Helen for
63 years. (Laughter) I think there is a real place for conservation of our cultural
resources. You know you think of Desert Magazine and that building. At one time
I thought it was a great idea to at least put a temporary City Hall in there while we
did other ones and we'd always have use of that building. It would of been a
wonderFul building for the City to have bought at one time. We all like to have
cultural resources preserved but at the same time, we don't want someone coming
in and telling us what to do with our property also. So we have to hit the happy
medium and remember that when you put one on the list, immediately that affects
the value of that piece of property. I agree with that.
CF I agree that we need to go slower and it seems to me it's the process. I think that
we all realize that we need to preserve that which is historic for our City. But I think
the question that the Committee and staff and the Council is struggling with without
affecting property owner rights is how do we go about doing that, so that we don't
negatively impact anyone along the way. And I'm not clearthrough all these pieces
of paper that we have clear cut direction on how we can proceed. If we see
27
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something that is appropriate...we have this Committee should they then go and
look at it and make a recommendation to us. At what point, in the slippery slope
that you talked to, at what point do we start with a property and say Gee maybe this
is something that we do need to look at without the property going on a list that
could potentially negatively impact the value. And so if we were to go slower, my
suggestion might be for the Council's consideration, is that we have a couple of
liaisons from the Council to work with the Committee and staff and to work through
this so that we come up with at least a process. Maybe we disagree at the end of
the day, but at least we've tried to come up with something that everyone is
comfortable with that could preserve some historical properties within the City
without infringing on individual property owner's rights.
JMB Bob?
RAS Thanks. I agree with a lot of everything we've said tonight. I agree that we're not
gonna make a decision tonight. I agree that we ought to have a Committee of
concerned Council, two members, members of the Historical Preservation
Committee, and a couple of Realtors's that live in our City to see how it would affect
them. To get their feeling on what we're doing and then come back to us. So with
that, I would move that we continue this item for at least a month.
JMB Other...been sitting here to think of the other one I had was a study session where
we have pros and cons of both of these so that we understand what they are. I
think as staff and Kim said, they've gone through this over and over and they seem
to be on an impasse. So, if, if we understood what the difference between the City
one was and all the aspects other than the fact of hiring somebody with...may or
may not be necessary. And the wording where Kim said the City one is once a
year, it doesn't say once a year. It says a minimum of once a year. So I think we
need to know, really the differences of—there's ten differences, IeYs see what they
are and what we think on the differences.
JF Well, I guess I would agree with Councilmember Finerty having sat through a study
session three years ago on this same issue and having followed it over those three
years, it seems to me that a lot of umbrage was taken by members of the
Committee by the fact that there was a staff report that didn't comport with their idea
of what they wanted to do and differed to some degree with what our consultant
said it wanted to do. My thought at that time was well you serve at the pleasure of
the City and if our staff wants to make a recommendation they are free to do it, and
obviously the Committee has made their points of view. You know if there is an
issue of process maybe two members of the liaison of that committee can help iron
that out, but establishing that one threshold that it's the Council that makes the
direction, that staff implements and that the Committee follows, I think clears up a
lot of stuff for us. We hire consultants and we don't always follow their directions.
We don't always like them frankly. Committees are generators of many ideas,
some of which are great ideas that we didn't think of, and some of which we don't
think so much of, but that's the way our committee/commission process works.
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Have another study session is fine. Frankly I think if we get two Councilmembers
that are willing to put in the time and the effort with the Committee, we can come up
with something. I certainly, like I said, have 28 suggestions on the first ten pages.
RAS You can get some resident (unclear)
JF And get a broader spectrum of people.
JMB Which one's...
JF Pardon me?
JMB On which...you have 28 on thiers or on Dave's?
JF On our's.
JMB On the City one?
JF On the City one, which I think goes farther than even the Parks& Rec people would
like in terms of limiting the authority of that Committee.
RAS It's not the Parks & Rec.
JF Not Parks & Rec, I'm sorry. Historic Preservation.
RAS Well I make the motion that we continue this for a minimum of one month and have
two Councilmembers assigned to a group of people, including our City Attorney to
meet with the Committee and come up with a new agenda.
JF Can I recommend Councilman Kelly and Councilmember Finerty?
RSK I was just about to recommend Councilman Ferguson and Councilmember Finerty.
(Laughter)
JF Well the Committee may find that opinion a little too one-sided so...
RSK I think you have all the significant points lined up there, much better than I do. So
I'm volunteering you and Councilmember Finerty.
JF Okay.
RSK Alright he's willing to.
JMB Okay so we have a motion to continue it for a month...
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JF We can continue it until the Committee is ready to come back with a
recommendation.
RSK You can continue to a date uncertain.
RAS Yeah.
JF And do we have the freedom to invite Realtors and members of the community as
well.
RSK What ah...yup.
CF Yes so we know the total impact.
JF The broad spectrum of opinion.
CF Yes. I would second then Councilman Spiegel's motion.
JMB Okay please vote.
RDK Motion carries unanimous vote.
For purpose of clarification, the motion was:
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion to continue this matter
indefinitely, with Councilmembers Ferguson and Finerty appointed to a subcommittee of
the City Attorney, staff, Committee Members, and members of the community as deemed
appropriate to work through the issues and return to City Council thereafter. Motion was
seconded by Finerty and carried by a 5-0 vote.
F. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION FOR STAFF TO NEGOTIATE A NEW
FRANCHISE AGREEMENT FOR MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE SERVICES
WITH BURRTEC WASTE AND RECYCLING (CONTRACT NO. C27410).
Mr. Ortega stated the current agreement with Burrtec will expire at the
beginning of 2009, and staff was requesting permission to begin negotiations
for a new contract. He offered that staff was available to answer questions.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel stated he and Councilman Kelly met with the
Assistant City Manager, and the staff report and recommendation were the
results of that meeting.
Councilmember Finerty agreed Burrtec provided excellent service and were
very responsive to problems. She found no reason to change vendor at this
point.
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Councilmember Finerty moved to, by Minute Motion, authorize staff to negotiate a
new Franchise Agreement with Burrtec Waste and Recycling for Municipal Solid Waste
Services and submit negotiated contract to the City Council for approval. Motion was
seconded by Spiegel.
Councilman Ferguson noted he previously presented Waste Management,
which was the predecessorto Burrtec. He said he hadn't represented Waste
Management for more than five years and had abstained from voting. He
saw no legal reason to continue to abstain and announced he would start
voting on items relating to Burrtec Waste and Recycling services.
Mayor Benson called for the vote, and the motion carried by a 5-0 vote.
NOTE: THE FOLLOWING ITEM WAS LISTED ON AN AGENDA ADDENDUM POSTED
AT LEAST 72 HOURS PRIOR TO THE MEETING.
G. INFORMATIONAL REPORT REGARDING ADDITIONAL BIKE LANES ON
VARIOUS STREETS THROUGHOUT THE CITY OF PALM DESERT.
Mr. Ortega noted this was an informational item and staff was not asking for
any authorization.
Councilmember Finerty moved to, by Minute Motion receive and file the
informational report regarding additional bike lanes on various streets throughout the City
Palm Desert. Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by 5-0 vote.
XV. CONTINUED BUSINESS
A. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF MID-YEAR BUDGET ADJUSTMENT TO
THE LEGAL SERVICES FUND, ACCOUNT NO. 110-4121-411-3015
(Continued from the meetings of February 14 and February 28, 2008).
Mr. Erwin requested this item be continued to the next regular meeting.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion continue this matter to the
meeting of March 27, 2008. Motion was seconded by Ferguson and carried by a 5-0 vote.
B. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO PURCHASE OFFICE
FURNISHINGS FOR THE HENDERSON COMMUNITY BUILDING
(CONTRACT NO. C27270) (Continued from the meeting of February 14,
2008).
Mr. Ortega noted the staff report. He said at the last meeting two
Councilmembers were appointed to work with staff on a recommendation.
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Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel stated the Chamber of Commerce, who will be
sharing the Henderson Community Building were concerned the tables were
too heavy to move, and the facility couldn't be used to its optimum.
Project Coordinator Missy Grisa stated the intention of the room design was
to be a multi-use facility. She explained that the larger conference room
has a partition that can be pulled to make it even larger, and on the other
side of the same conference room was a pocket door that moved back into
a wall to expand that area out into the backside patio. The furniture selected
by the subcommittee changed the use. Responding to question, she said a
solid top table will have clips underneath to hold the tables together, but can
be pulled apart to expand, but they will not be movable outside of that
conference room.
Ms. Gilligan stated her division was responsible for the Portola Community
Center and the utilization of the rooms. When the Henderson Building was
approved staff believed it was with the intention that the City could use the
multi-use room for lectures and accommodate between 50-75 people. A
couple of days ago staff came up with a policy on the use of these room at
the Henderson Building once it opened. She and Director of Special
Programs Frankie Riddle calculated a reduced number from 50-75 people
to a maximum of 23 in the multi-use room. She reviewed the furnishings
selected by the subcommittee, which she thought were incredibly beautiful,
but as far as the use of the large conference room, they've determined the
new selection limits the use for lecture series, etc., because it would
decrease its capacity to 23 people. She met with Ms. Grisa this morning to
see if there was any way of putting the furniture on wheels because the
tables are heavy, and even if they were moved, they could only be moved
against the wall. The tables can't be folded up or moved elsewhere. She
acknowledged it was at the discretion of Council but staff had been telling
people that it was a multi-purpose room available for a lecture series. It was
not her intention to jump in at the last minute, but it was a concern for use in
the future.
Responding to question, Ms. Grisa said one conference room could sit 23
people. She explained the tables could be rearranged and pushed together
to form a t-shape allowing for 35 seats using both conference rooms, but that
the tables were heavy and difficult to move.
Councilmember Finerty said the original set of furniture presented was
collapsible and stackable, but the subcommittee did not feel that type of
furniture was for this building. The building is nice and modern and the
subcommittee chose fabrics that were striking. The problem now was
whetherto accommodate a large group and lessen the aesthetics, and itwas
now a choice the Council needed to make. She didn't know what types of
groups we're looking to use the Henderson Building versus who went to the
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Portola Community Center, but for the amount of money spent on the
Henderson Building, she felt the furniture needed to represent it well.
Ms. Grisa agreed with Councilmember Finerty's comments. However, she's
received comments from people wanting to use the space more in an
audience sitting.
Councilmember Finerty stated the audience sitting was new information to
her today. She recalled discussing moving the one large table apart and
thought that was a compromise to allow more people to use in a more
diverse way. She did not realize the City was looking to having lectures in
this room. If the City was looking to have lectures, what was the point of
having a table in the first place.
Councilman Ferguson stated Council appointed a subcommittee because it
wasn't satisfied with what was previously presented. The subcommittee met
with Ms. Grisa and all the concerns raised today were raised then. He said
Assistant City Manager for Community Services should have brought
concerns to the subcommittee instead of to Council at the last minute. He
recalled when he first got involved with the City there were modular tables in
the North Wing Conference Room and in the Administrative Conference
Room and those tables tore the carpet when moved, provided uneven
surfaces, they wobbled, and knocked over drinks. Over the years the City's
moved toward fixed tables in all its rooms. He and Councilman Kelly have
worked in a conference room over at the Brothers Building ultimately for use
by CVAG and nominal use by every tenant. He said every time the City
addressed conference room needs it went with a nice finished look and fixed
tables because it made more sense. If people want to have a lecture they
are free to use this auditorium,the Civic Center Council Chamber. It was the
first time he's heard about the Portola Community Center,which he believed
couldn't be use for lectures. He reminded everyone the Henderson Building
was a community building used by the Historical Society, Mountains
Conservancy, Friends of the Desert Mountains, the Cancer Foundation, and
for people that need to have a meeting, usually board meetings. He wasn't
concerned how many people it took to move a table, but the question now
was whether the tables would be portable or not. The original proposal
recommended portable tables, and Council assigned a subcommittee to
come up with an alternative that would be better. He fett the current
recommendation was sensible based on whaYs been done at City Hall.
Councilman Ferguson moved to, by Minute Motion: 1) Approve the purchase of
furnishingsfrom Total Plan Business Interiors, Rancho Mirage,California,and Commercial
Design Systems, Tualatin, Oregon, for the Henderson Community Building in the amount
of $99,200; 2) appropriate $99,200 from the City's Unobligated Funds to Account No.
400-4367-433-4001 forthis purpose. Motion was seconded by Finerty and carried by a 4-1
vote, with Spiegel voting NO.
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XVI. OLD BUSINESS
A. REQUEST FOR AUTHORIZATION TO SUSPEND ENFORCEMENT
ACTION AND CONTINUE HEARING OF APPEAL OF A NOTICE TO
ABATE RECREATIONAL VEHICLE STORAGE AT PALM DESERT MOBILE
ESTATES, LOCATED AT THE SOUTHWEST CORNER OF
PORTOLA AVENUE AND THE WHITEWATER STORM CHANNEL, FOR
SIXTY (60) DAYS Case No. 07-369 (Mark Bessire/Palm Desert Mobile
Estates, Appellant).
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion, extend for sixty(60)days the
continuance of action on the Palm Desert Mobile Estates Notice to Abate in order to allow
completion of a three-way landscaping and maintenance agreement between the
Appellant, City of Palm Desert, and Coachella Valley Water District. Motion was seconded
by Ferguson and carried by a 5-0 vote.
B. REQUEST FOR ACCEPTANCE OF WORK AND APPROVAL OF AN
AMENDMENT TO THE AGREEMENT WITH THE COACHELLA VALLEY
ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (CVAG) FOR THE WHITEWATER
BRIDGE AT PORTOLA AVENUE (PROJECT NO. 647-04).
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion: 1) Accept the work as
complete and authorize the City Clerk to file a Notice of Completion for Construction of the
Whitewater Bridge at Portola Avenue — Contract No. C22870B (Granite Construction
Company, Indio, CA); 2) approve Amendment No. 2 to Contract No. C22870A -
Reimbursement Agreement with CVAG for Construction of the Whitewater Bridge at
Portola Avenue -to increase funding by $1,200,000 for a total authorized reimbursement
of$7,450,000, and authorize the Mayorto execute the Amendment. Motion was seconded
by Kelly and carried by a 5-0 vote.
C. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF AMENDMENT NO. 2 TO CONTRACT
NO. C23760—REIMBURSEMENTAGREEMENT WITH THE COACHELLA
VALLEY ASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (CVAG) FOR THE DESIGN
AND CONSTRUCTION OF COOK STREET WIDENING BETWEEN FRED
WARING DRIVE AND FRANK SINATRA DRIVE (PROJECT NO. 601-05).
Councilmember Finerty moved to, by Minute Motion, approve Amendment No. 2 to
the subject Reimbursement Agreement with CVAG, increasing the matching contribution
by$2,250,000, fortotal CVAG funding of$5,000,000, and authorize the Mayorto execute
same. Motion was seconded by Kelly and carried by a 5-0 vote.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel asked if there would be a public hearing before
anything got done because there were many people that live in that area that
were not in favor.
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Mr. Ortega replied an environmental assessment would be conducted and
it will raise all issues involved.
Councilmember Finerty stated the City would have Environmental Impact
Reports and were perhaps already in process. Engineering Manager John
Garcia agreed.
Mayor Benson called for the vote, and the motion carried by a 5-0 vote.
D. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF THE COMMUNITY/AQUATIC CENTER
COMPONENTS AND TENTATIVE TIME LINE.
Mr. Ortega noted the staff report, which contained input from Parks &
Recreation Commission. He said staff was seeking directive to finalize
design, search for appropriate site, and return to Council with the total
project.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel moved to, by Minute Motion: 1) Approve the
Community/Aquatic Center components as presented in the accompanying staff report;
2)approve the tentative time line as presented; 3)authorize staff to develop a Request For
Qualifications (RFQ) for Design/Build process for this facility (Contract No. C27420).
Councilman Kelly said he thought everyone did a fantastic job considering
all the problems and disagreements. He said staff, Parks & Recreation
Commission, and those that went on the tour put together a good proposal.
He supported Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel's motion to move ahead.
Motion was seconded by Kelly.
Councilman Ferguson stated that for a variety of reasons he would not vote
in favor of this item. He said a lot of studies had been done on this project,
a consultant was hired for the pool portion last summer, and the results were
presented to Council. At that time Councilman Kelly held up a memo given
to him by the City Manager dated 1996 to start on the pool project, and
twelve years later Council was still reviewing it. He said the City was offered
a valuable piece of land at the College of the Desert (COD), it had
commitments from the YMCA that required an expansion of at least 10,000
square feet to their current facility, it was in the middle of discussions with the
Coachella Valley Park& Recreation District on whether the City will continue
its contract with them, and there was somewhat of a consensus that this be
done on the east side of San Pablo but it was not definitive. The question
still remains on what to do with the offer of land from COD on the west side
of San Pablo. Today's proposal has a $20 million figure on the project. With
the work of the YMCA, Park and Recreation Center, and the City, plus the
standing legal obligations on the YMCA, and offers from COD, he couldn't
imagine spending that amount for facilities that already existed in the City.
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He asked why there wasn't a better way to do this than what was currently
being proposed by staff.
Councilmember Finerty stated she went on the bus tour and viewed the
fitness centers. The one in the City of Coronado was particularly nice and
right on the ocean but even that one didn't have an indoor pool as was
recommended in this proposal. An indoor pool would make sense in
Minneapolis but not in the desert where warm weather was enjoyed, and the
rest of the Country was enjoying the cold weather. In the City of Coronado
the Olympic size pool had an area where the water was heated at a higher
temperature to accommodate those that required the warmer water. She
also attended the City Council retreat and it was decided a fitness centerwas
a good thing to do and it became one of the City's goals. While she was
enthusiastic about a fitness center, she remembered another goal, which
was Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability. She is still experiencing the
shock from the $20 million price tag. She's also concerned the signal to
designers and architects about what the City might be willing to pay and
often times bids didn't come in on budget. More importantly was the annual
cost to maintain such a facility. She felt there were other competing
worthwhile needs in the City as discussed at the Public Safety meeting. She
said there was a need for a Narcotic Task Force Officer. She said it was one
of the Sheriff's Department goal for 2008. She questioned where the $20
million to construct and to maintain the facility would come from, and she
wasn't convinced it was the best use of taxpayers dollars even if the funds
were found. She understood the reason for having a project and wanting it
on fast track and knew the enthusiasm that came out of it, but with the
current economic situation the process needed to be slowed down, and she
could not support it today.
Mayor Benson stated there was nothing worse than getting the news from
the Desert Sun. The $20 million price tag was a shock to her as well. She
thought in various discussions and tours made that there were other options
of combining the YMCA and CV Park & Recreation and adding on to that
space with an outdoor pool and perhaps some indoor fitness rooms with City
land. The City had two great facilities that could be combined, but to hire a
consultant wasn't what she envisioned when she said it was her priority to
have such a facility. If Council wanted to design and build and then see what
price was given was not the way she wished to proceed. She said the City
needed a entire facility with indoor equipment probably more than what was
already at the Park and Recreation Center and at the YMCA. She said the
YMCA at the City of Encenitas had one of the best facilities of the entire tour.
She felt the City had a ways to go on the planning of what the City wanted
before it committed to this type of money.
Mayor Benson called forthe vote, and the motion to approve FAILED on a 2-3 vote,
with Ferguson, Finerty, and Benson voting NO.
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Mr. Ortega asked if Council wished to provide a different direction to staff or
if it wished to drop the project at this point.
Mayor Benson suggested a Study Session to decide what Council wanted
and then decide how to proceed. Councilmembers Ferguson and Finerty
agreed.
Councilman Ferguson stated at least two Councilmembers articulated a
desire to combine the recreational functions between the YMCA and the
Park and Recreation Center and both had good existing buildings.
Councilman Kelly pointed out the proposal did not disagree with combining
both facilities, it didn't eliminate anything he heard, and the indoor pool was
going to be mainly the therapeutic pool. He still felt all the work invested by
staff and the Commission was worthwhile pursuing.
Mayor Benson said the motion failed and Council was now at the point of a
Study Session on where, what, and how, and the City Manager will set that
meeting up. She thanked those who participated in the study and that
certainly valuable information was obtained that could be used.
XVII. PUBLIC HEARINGS
A. REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF A SECOND AMENDMENT TO
DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT 02-01, STONE EAGLE DEVELOPMENT,
ALLOWING A 25-FOOT 2-INCH MAXIMUM ROOF HEIGHT FOR A
TWO-STORY DETACHED GARAGE/CASITA UNIT ON 19 LOTS WITHIN
STONE EAGLE GOLF COURSE Case Nos. DA 02-01 Amendment#2 and
MISC 08-15 (Stone Eagle Development, LLC, Applicant).
Councilman Ferguson stated he made an inquiry to the City Attorney to
check and see if he was able to participate in this proceeding given his
potential proximity to a former client.
Mr. Erwin acknowledged the request and stated he reviewed the factual
circumstances of the prior representation and distance to the subject
property and found nothing that would disqualify Councilman Ferguson from
voting.
Ms. Aylaian noted the detailed staff report for the post amendment to
Development Agreement. She said this was the second amendment to the
Development Agreement. The original development was proposed and
approved Hillside Planned Residential(HPR),which meant the development
standards were approved forthis particulardevelopment. This development
had a limitation on height of 20 feet from the finished pad elevations. The
limitation also stated that in no case the building exceed two living stories
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above the pad elevation of the building site. The developer anticipated
obtaining 20 feet overall height by lowering a portion of the building below
the finished pad elevation by two feet. When the developer submitted for
approval on one of the homes it did not include a depressed or lower section
underneath the garage and the overall height increased to 25'2". At that
point, staff asked the developer to stop in order to investigate what potential
options could be resolved in this predicament. Four different options were
investigated and explored. She went on to explain the various options in
detail on the overhead. She explained the various problems encountered
with each option, which included drainage problems to higher height
elevations. The final solution staff considered was to allow the developer to
build the homes on the pads as they were constructed and consider
modifying the development agreement to allow the extra height above what
was originally approved. Staff was concerned about the visual impact it
might have to surrounding properties because the development was on the
hillside. The developer erected story poles in the worse case scenario so
that staff could see what views would be changed from the tallest of the
homes. She displayed several photos from various angles, which illustrated
none or very nominal impact to the mountain views. Staff felt the best
solution was to keep the high quality architecture ratherthan making a"boxy"
building and to allow the developer the additional five feet as long as the
materials blended in with the surrounding mountain site. Staff notified
residents within 4,000 feet, which was 1,300 legal notices. Staff received
only two letters in response to the legal notices. At the Planning Commission
there were two people who spoke on the issue. One property owner was
opposed to the project in general but did not object strongly to the proposed
amendment, and the other property owner spoke in favor. The architecture
was reviewed and recommended for approval by the Architectural Review
Commission. The Planning Commission reviewed it and voted 3-2 for
approval. The dissenting votes were concerned about the views from the
Sommerset neighborhood and the Applicant was now looking at building
heights after the fact.
Councilmember Finerty asked that the Southridge plan be displayed so that
she could explain her question. She suggested lowering the garage height,
still living the room and roof heights the same, to help mitigate the visibility
from Highway 74 and from Sommerset.
Ms. Aylaian responded lowering the height of the garage was one
consideration looked at and determined that today's vehicles were tallerthan
they used to be a number of years ago. The height for the clearance to get
into the garage plus the additional height above for the garage door to
re-track determined the minimum height that was acceptable to get vehicles
to go in. Further responding to the questions about height, she said the
general garage height was 9'6"with height above that forthe ceiling structure
of the garage and floor structure of the room above, which was also 9'6".
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Councilman Ferguson noted the agenda was published in the newspaper
and some community comments received resonated with him, which he
would like clarified. If Council voted to an amendment to a development
agreement was the Council then setting a precedent on height in the City of
Patm Desert.
Mr. Erwin stated the development agreement process was an individual
process that basically established no particular precedent for the City's
height or anything. A development agreement was a specific limitation or
permission on one particular property based upon the facts there, and it was
not a precedent.
Mayor Benson declared the public hearing open and invited anyone IN FAVOR of
or OPPOSITION to this request.
MR.TED LENNON, Presidentof Stone Eagle Development,SilverSpurTrail
in Palm Desert, stated he wished to point out that height was almost never
an issue because the building was approved at 24 feet height and it went
through Council. He said the units were sold as is and half a dozen had
already been sold and some were under construction. The clubhouse was
approved for 40 feet. He stated he was willing to reduce the clubhouse
height limit to 32 feet as a concession in order to get these 19 units
approved. He noted it was pretty special that all five members of the City
Council took the time to visit a site and looked at an issue such as this one
and was thankful regardless of what the voting result were.
Councilmember Finerty realized the peak of the roof was onty 3% of that
particular building, and acknowledged his concession to bring the clubhouse
down to 32 feet. She appreciated the offer.
Councilman Ferguson asked what was the developer's anticipated height for
the clubhouse.
MR. LENNON responded he was investigating an option of second story but
realistically they could do 36 feet. His reserve clubhouse was about 35-36
feet and it was only one story. Further responding, he said they planned to
go through the whole process for the final approval. His point was that he
was willing to negotiate the height but wouldn't say he'd go down to 32 feet.
Councilman Ferguson stated he wouldn't know what the City would be
getting as a result nor did he think it needed anything, given that the project
was already approved at a certain height. He said it was good to lower
heights if there was a reason, but it was the Council's general philosophy
that if you're in a gated community with its own architectural guidelines and
standards, and it didn't impair others property and to a certain degree their
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views, difference was given to the developer. He'd hate forthe developerto
make a concession of 32 feet to the clubhouse when it may look worse.
MR. LENNON rejected his offer.
MR. ANTOINE BABAI, Palm Desert, stated that Stone Eagle must meet all
conditions of approval, which was set by the Planning Commission. He said
Stone Eagle had not met the conditions, which included granting easement
to adjacent propertyowners. He asked howthe Planning Commission could
now grant approval for Stone Eagle's latest request. He said he had copies
of previous approvals by the Planning Commission to Stone Eagle.
Ms. Aylaian understood the question to be how the developer could deviate
from what was approved by the Planning Commission and responded the
developer was essentially asking the City to change the development
agreement, the rules under which it operated. So staff was recommending
that the request be approved under those underlined rules, and as the City
Attorney mentioned those rules were developed for this particular project.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel stated Mr. Babai was asking about the easement to
adjacent land owners.
Councilman Ferguson asked Mr. Babai if he was currently in litigation with
Stone Eagle on the very issue.
MR. BABAI responded he was.
Councilman Ferguson asked why he thought it was appropriate for the City
to weight in on litigation it was not a party to.
MR. BABAI replied he liked to hear what was going on and that the Planning
Commission had set forth conditions of development. He said property
owners adjacent to Stone Eagle could not develop or do anything with their
property.
Councilman Ferguson asked what did this issue have to do with the height
of the proposed building.
MR. BABAI responded he had nothing against the height.
With no further testimony offered, Mayor Benson declared the public hearing
closed.
Councilman Kelly stated he went out to visit the site location and thought the
developer did a great job of blending the facilities and driveways into the
hillside. He said if the roof tops were flatten it would probably look terrible. He
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went on to say the primary goal of the first Hillside Ordinance 25 years ago
was to blend the houses with the hillside. In this project, the developer
should be commended because even the driveways blended in with the
hillside.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel stated all Councilmembers visited Ted Lennon's
development, since some of the houses were already built. The homes are
very attractive, but they are not inexpensive. He was confident Mr. Babai
would work things out with Mr. Ted Lennard or the Court's will, but today
Council was strictly looking at the structure and the blending of the buitding
into the hillside.
Councilman Ferguson stated everyone talked about views as if it was a
vested right and it wasn't. There wasn't such a thing as implied easement
of view, but Council tried to maintain a balance in the interest of neighbors
to make sure noone offensively harms an adjoining or a distant neighbor.
We amended the City's Hillside Ordinance because the City realized with the
Hagadone house that impairment of view could be significant and it can be
well beyond 300 or 1,000 feet. The City's Ordinances were meant to reflect
an appropriate balance, and when the City did a development agreement it
was usually after many factors were taken into consideration as was the
case with Stone Eagle. The person most impacted was the owner of the
Whitman (sp?) property, which was immediately adjacent, and he said he
liked the roof the way they were because it increased the value of his
property and the view was much more aesthetic. When he looked at the
vertical story poles, he couldn't even find the roof element because it was the
same color as the tile would be when it gets developed. He thanked the
developer for providing the story poles on his own accord. He thought it was
a wonderful development and wouldn't want to take away from it, which was
why he expressed his reluctance with the developer automatically offering to
lower the height on the clubhouse. He hoped Mr. Babi will work out his civil
matter but that was not an issue before Council this evening.
Mayor Benson said if anyone was to blame for the view on the hillside it was
owed to the County. Some of the buildings they've allowed are worse than
what this light adjustment would make. She said there were several homes
up there that hit you in the face that the City had nothing to do with.
Councilmember Finerty said everyone knew how she felt about hillside
development, and she struggled with her decision. The deciding factors for
her were when she went the site location and saw another building at a
higher elevation that was only 20 feet. That building was more evident than
where the story poles roof line would be. The other part that was convincing
was that it was only 33% of the building and of that 33% there was a lesser
percent because of the peak that went up to the 24 feet. Lastly the
multi-shade earth tone tile that blended into the mountainside helped to
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persuade her decision to support this project. With regards to the City
Attorney's clarification on the development agreement not being a precedent
setting, she's is still doubtful about that issue. She said the original Gardens
was approved at 44 feet height and most recently the Village at the Gardens
was approved at a height of 42 feet. She said even though it is said
development agreements are not precedent setting, they are presented to
Council in a form of a precedence and that's what makes her nervous.
Mayor Pro Tem Spiegel moved to waive further reading and: 1) Pass Ordinance
No. 1152 to second reading, approving a Second Amendment to Development Agreement
02-01, Stone Eagte Development; 2) Adopt Resolution No. 08-16, approving Case No.
MISC 08-15, subject to attached conditions. Motion was seconded by Ferguson and
carried by a 5-0 vote.
XVIII. REPORTS AND REMARKS
A. CITY MANAGER
None
B. CITY ATTORNEY
None
C. CITY CLERK
None
D. PUBLIC SAFETY
o Fire Department
None
o Police Department
Please see introduction of Captain Dan Wilham under Item VIII - Oral
Communications - B earlier in the meeting. ,
E. MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
o City Council Requests for Action:
None
o City Council Committee Reports:
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1. Gas for Electric Lawn Mower Exchanae — Councilmember Finerty
reported that in its further effort to reduce airborne pollutants, CVAG
(Coachella Valley Association of Governments) was promoting the
exchange of operable gas lawn mowers for new, cordless electric
lawn mowers for$100. She said the Exchange Event was scheduled
for April 5, and participants needed to pre-register.
2. Coachella Valle�Water District (CVWD) — Councilmember Finerty
went on to report that Tom Kirk recently made a presentation on
nuisance water, as he was working with CVWD General Manager
Steve Robbins to develop a joint partnership with the City of
La Quinta whereby each agency would put up $50,000 for a program
to remove as much turf-scape as possible and replace it with drought-
tolerant landscaping. She said they planned to hire landscape
architects to help design appropriate installations. Upon inquiry about
applying this in other cities, she was advised that once the program
is fine-tuned in approximately 60 days, it would be made available to
other jurisdictions. Currently, program developers were anticipating
a maximum rebate of$1,000 to encourage residents to participate in
changing out their turf areas for desert-scape. Additionally, she said
CVWD was also exploring the possibility of administering a tiered
water rate to promote savings and water conservation.
o City Council Comments:
1. Valleywide LY,ceum on Enerqy Conservation and Efficiencv—
Councilman Ferguson announced that on April 25, 2008, the
University of California, Riverside, in conjunction with the Building
Industry Association (BIA), Coachella Valley Economic Partnership
(CVEP), and Coachella Valley Association of Governments (CVAG)
would be hosting a Valleywide Lyceum on Energy Conservation and
Efficiency. He said Palm Desert's efforts and its proposed legislation
would be prominently featured at the seminar,with both the President
of the Public Utilities Commission and Chair of the California Air
Resources Board to be in attendance. He wanted to let his
colleagues know about the event and encourage them to attend.
2. BIGHORN Rideshare Award - Councilman Kelly noted
Councilmembers had received a faxed announcement about Bighorn
being recognized for its Rideshare Program tomorrow at 11:00 a.m.
He said if interested in attending, they should let their secretary know
in order to RSVP.
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3. Lexus Southern California Team Plav— Councilman Kelly remarked
that he was watching television earlier this week and came upon the
subject program, where the play had taken place at Desert Willow
Golf Resort last summer. He was unsure if Palm Desert paid for the
associated advertising but noted that people in the community had
commented to him that they'd seen the program, which included four,
one-minute segments featuring Palm Desert activities and
restaurants, EI Paseo, etc. He said the announcers were very
complimentary to the City, and it was a very worthwhile promotional
effo rt.
4. Little League Baseball Opening Dav - March 15 — Mayor Pro Tem
Spiegel stated that the Little League Baseball Season would be
opening Saturday on the Civic Center Park baseball fields, and
Don Sutton would be throwing out the first pitch. He said the Marine
Corps Band would be there, 700 kids were expected to be
participating, and there would also be an aerial fly-over, all promising
to be quite exciting.
XIX. ADJOURNMENT
Upon a motion by Spiegel, second by Ferguson, and 5-0 vote of the City Council,
Mayor Benson adjourned the meeting at 6:35 p.m.
JEAN M. BENSON, MAYOR
ATTEST:
RACHELLE D. KLASSEN, CITY CLERK
CITY OF PALM DESERT, CALIFORNIA
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