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12/12/1983410 MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF ROLLING HILLS, CALIFORNIA December 12, 1983 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Rolling Hills was called to order at the Administration Building, 2 Portuguese Bend Road,.Rolling Hills, California by Mayor Murdock at 7:30 P.M. Monday, December 12, 1983. ROLL CALL PRESENT: ABSENT: ALSO PRESENT: APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilmembers Heinsheimer, Leeuwenburgh, Pernell, Swanson, Mayor Murdock None Ronald L. Smith Michael Jenkins June Cunningham Richard Esposito Mr. & Mrs. H. Agid Mrs. K. Andrews Dr. & Mrs. D. Borden Dr. D. Bray Mr. & Mrs. L. Courtright Mrs. V. Doak Dr. & Mrs. R. Hoffman Mr. & Mrs. P. Mitchell Miss G. Nixon Mr. & Mrs. G. Partridge Dr. & Mrs. J. Po Mrs. E. Pedersen Mrs. B. Raine Miss B. Raine Mr. & Mrs. A. Russell Mr. & Mrs. J. Tielens Mrs. M. Wagner City Manager City Attorney Deputy City Clerk Palos Verdes News Residents The minutes of the meeting on November 28; 1983 were approved and accepted as presented on a motion made by Councilwoman Swanson, seconded by Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh and carried.by the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Heinsheimer., Leeuwenburgh, Pernell, Swanson, Mayor Murdock NOES: None ABSENT: None PAYMENT OF BILLS Councilwoman Swanson moved that Demands No. 11454, 11456 through 11489 in the amount of $23,144.57 be approved for payment from.the General Fund, and that Demands No. 11455 and 11456 in.the amount of $1,055.10 be approved for payment from the Fire and Flood Self Insurance Fund'and'that Demand No. 11483 be voided. The motion was seconded by Councilman Pernell and carried by the following.ro.11 call vote: .AYES: Councilmembers Heinsheimer, Leeuwenburgh,`,Pernell, Swanson, Mayor Murdock NOES: None ABSENT: None 4'71 December 12, 1983 PRESENTATION OF PLAQUE TO L. D. COURTRIGHT, FORMER CITY TREASURER 69 On behalf of the City Council Mayor Murdock thanked Mr. L. D. Courtright for his service to the City and community as City Treasurer from August 9, 1976 until his resignation, which became effective on October 1, 1983 because of personal commitments. The Mayor said Mr. Courtright has indicated his willingness to be available until a new City Treasurer has been appointed. A plaque, appropriately engraved, was presented to Mr. Courtright, and the Mayor recessed the meeting for a brief period so residents and members of the Council could add their good wishes to Mr. Courtright personally. DISCUSSION RE: INSTALLING AND REMOVING STRUCTURES WITHIN THE CITY 112 The Manager reported that in response to a request by a member of the City Council relative to the authority over installing and removing structures in the City, and when a bond or cash deposit should be re- quired, the Building Code, Title 15 of the Municipal Code establishes criteria and sets forth specific standards for construction and demo- lition, as well as safety. With regard to bonding, Mr. Smith said a bond or cash deposit can be required as a condition of granting a permit for construction, but is not appropriate in the removal of!a structure, which can be enforced by legal means. REVIEW OF PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION 149 The City Manager reported that at a special meeting on Friday, - December 2, 1983 the Planning Commission approved a front yard variance.. for encroachment of a residential addition at 16 Eastfield Drive known as Zoning Case No. 290, Dr. and Mrs. Arthur.Diamond. No action was taken by the Council and the information was received for the file.' - PROPOSED URGENCY ORDINANCE RE: -SALES AND USE TAXES 162 The City Manager presented a proposed ordinance relating to sales and use taxes, explaining that at the request of the State Board of Equalization the ordinance would bring the Municipal Code into agree - went with the Revenue and Taxation Code of the State, but in no way would change the taxing process by raising or lowering taxes, but_, would assure that the City continues to received an apportionment of sales tax revenue. URGENCY ORDINANCE NO. U-46 Councilwoman Swanson moved that Ordinance No. U-46 entitled AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ROLLING HILLS RELATING TO SALES AND USE TAXES, AMENDING THE ROLLING HILLS MUNICIPAL CODE, AND DECLARING THE URGENCY THEREOF be adopted. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh and carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Heinsheimer, Leeuwenburgh, Pernell, Swanson Mayor Murdock NOES: None ABSENT: None ERRONEOUS FILING OF CLAIM WITH CITY 197 The City Manager reported that correspondence dated November 14, 1983 was received from Mr. William McCormick of the law firm of Ives, - Kirwan and Dibble regarding a lawsuit in the City of Rolling Hills Estates in which the City of Rolling Hills was named as a defendant. The Manager recommended that the claim be denied, and that the City's insurance carrier be advised that the City has rejected the claim, since the City of Rolling Hills was named in error, and the property in question is in the City of Rolling Hills Estates. A motion to accept the recommendation of the City Manager and to reject the claim, advising the law firm of Ives, Kirwin and Dibble, -2- 4'72 December 12, 1983 and the City's insurance carrier,.Cal-Surance Group, was made by Councilman Pernell, seconded by Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh and carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Heinsheimer, Leeuwenburgh, Pernell, Swanson Mayor Murdock NOES: None ABSENT: None �_- BURGLAR ALARM RESPONSE 240 The City Manager reported that pursuant to adoption of.Ordinance JL No. 202 letters were sent to ten residents requesting payment of.a charge of $42.50 per occurrence for response to an activated residen- tial burglar alarm. One resident has sent a check, two residents have written to the City advising that they do not intend to pay, and two residents have telephoned to protest the charge. In discussing the matter, the Manager reported that subsequent to the billing by the City a letter was sent to the residents involved by the Sheriff's Department, referring to "false" alarms. The Council agreed that it -*- was the intent of the Ordinance to assess all residents for any response to an automatic alarm system to defray the increasing Sheriff's costs, since such alarm systems require a special service that should not be paid by the entire City. Mr. and. Mrs. Allan Russell, 6 Runningbrand Road, expressed their objections to the charge, and asked if a charge.would be made if the alarm resulted in apprehension of an offender. The City Attorney said the -'Sheriff would not bill the City if there is any evidence of Crim= inal activity. Following the discussion Councilman Pernell moved that the Council forgive the first charges, refund the payment made and schedule the matter for discussion at the first City Council meeting in February. Staff was requested to work with the Sheriff to change the mording in the Sheriff's letter to eliminate "false" alarm response..- The motion was seconded by Councilman Heinsheimer°and carried by the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Heinsheimer, Leeuwenburgh, Pernell, Swanson Mayor Murdock NOES: None ABSENT: None REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF TIME, TENTATIVE TRACT 33962, TRAPANI 621 In a letter dated November 30, 1983 Douglas McHattie,.South Bay Engineering Corporation, requested a one year extension of time for Tentative Tract 33962 to enable the Geology Section to receive and evaluate plans to remove and replace unsuitable fill material that now exists on Parcel 2. The Manager reported that the geology and hydrology reports required for filing a subdivision have not been submitted. It was the Manager's recommendation that the applicant be advised to withdraw the application for subdivision, with permis- sion to refile at a later dated when all material is available, and that a refund of the filing fee, less minimal charges to date, be made to the applicant, Dr. John Trapani. The Manager's recommenda- tion was accepted in a motion made by Councilwoman Swanson, seconded by -Councilman Heinsheimer and carried by the following.roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Heinsheimer, Leeuwenburgh, Pernell, Swanson Mayor Murdock NOES: None ABSENT: None -3- December 12, 1983 FLYING TRIANGLE AREA GEOLOGICAL UPDATE 691 ,..4,'73 In a letter to Mayor Murdock dated December 2, 1983 Betty Bathgate, President of the Board of Directors of the Rolling Hills Community Association requested that the Council ascertain if the Los Angeles County Engineer would do necessary geological explorations and obtain data for preparation of plans for the stabilization of the Flying Tri- angle landslide and Portuguese Bend Road South. Mrs. Bathgate said the Association will compensate the City for all costs -incurred, and requests an estimate of the cost of the work. The Manager reported that the County has been contacted and asked to consider doing the study, and the City Attorney is proposing that the Council consider a waiver for land owners to sign to permit drilling and geological - work to be done on their property, holding the City, Association and County harmless. A letter dated October 27, 1983 from William Cotton and Associates, proposing that investigation of landslide repair al- ternatives be developed in three phases at a cost of $85,000 was presented to the Council, and the Manager said the letter had been. - sent to the County, also. After review Mr. Arthur Keene, Supervising Engineering Geologist, said he considered the Cotton proposal to be 01) too extensive, and he recommended that the County's 1981 report be O updated, stating that the report is still valid. Specifically, Mr. Keene recommended that the report be updated to address the depth of Co the slide on the Wagner property at 54 Portuguese Bend Road, and a Co slope indicator for monitoring should be placed on the Doak property at 56 Portuguese Bend Road. Mr. Keene advised the City Manager that waivers would be required to enable the County to go onto private property to conduct the studies. The Manager recommended that the Council evaluate the recommendations of the County Engineering Geo- logist and authorize staff to proceed with the necessary actions to. communicate the input to the Rolling Hills Community Association. Councilman Pernell suggested that residents present at the meet- ing be asked to comment. Dr. Richard Hoffman,.73 Portuguese Bend Road, said that a meeting was held September 7, 1983,. attended by Mayor Mur- dock, Board Director Bray, Mr. William Cotton and Courity Geologists and some of the geologists expressed a concern about the portion of Portuguese Bend Road within the active landslide. Comments made by Dr. Ehlig about the potential failure of the road generated discussion of drainage in the area, and a boring program that could provide a, plan for stabilizing the road.. A letter waswritten to Cotton and Associates asking that they advise what would be needed,.including sub -surface strata information, to develop a plan to stabilize the road, which would mean also stabilizing the slide. Mr. Cotton's response was outlined in his letter dated October 27, 1983. Dr. Hoffman said the County's proposal that a boring be made on the Wagner property and a slope indicator be installed on the Doak pro- perty seems to be a limited approach, and he wished assurance that there would not be additional delays for more information at a later date. Councilman Heinsheimer said the goal is stated in Phase 4 of Mr. Cotton's letter as development of final .engineering.drawings and construction specifications of sufficient detail to allow con- tractors to prepare competitive cost estimates, and if it is decided to go with the County's advice, it should be determined that the end result will be the same. Further, he suggested that the County be asked for .a risk assessment of the project, outlining the potential hazards of the proposed solution. Councilman Pernell said audio: point could be established to minimize surprises. Councilwoman Swanson said the Community .,Association should be asked to put in writing exactly, what they wish to have done to eliminate misunderstanding or misinterpreta-� tion between the Association, City and County. Councilwoman Swanson moved that staff be County to prepare a plan and cost estimate to Rolling Hills Community Association, and that at the legal aspects with regard to waivers. by Councilman Heinsheimer and carried by the -4- authorized to ask the be presented to the the City Attorney look The motion was seconded following roll call vote: 4'7 4 December 12, 1983 AYES: Councilmembers Heinsheimer, Leeuwenburgh, Pernell, Swanson Mayor Murdock NOES: None ABSENT: None RECESS The meeting was recessed at 9:05 P.M. and reconvened at 9:15 P.M. MATTERS FROM MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL BALLOT MEASURE - MUNICIPAL ELECTION Councilwoman Swanson asked the final date for submittal of a ballot measure for the Municipal Election on Tuesday, April 10, 1984 and was advised that the final date is Friday, January 13, 1984. PRESENTATION OF PLAQUES Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh reported that she attended a reception at the Library.honoring three retiring Library Board Members, and an event at Hesse Park honoring two former members of the Rancho Palos Verdes City Council, and presented engraved plaques on behalf of the City of Rolling Hills. Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh said installation of new officers for the Rolling Hills Women's Club will take place on January 11, 1984 at a location to be determined, and Council members are invited ADJOURNMENT TO CLOSED SESSION Mayor Murdock adjourned the meeting to a closed session at 9:20 PM MEETING ADJOURNED The meeting was reconvened and adjourned by the Mayor to the next regular meeting at 7:30 P.M. Monday, January 9, 1984. APPROVED: M -5- City Clerk