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4/28/1986MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF ROLLING HILLS, CALIFORNIA April 28, 1986 A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Rolling Hills was called to order at the Administration Building, 2 Portu- guese Bend Road, Rolling Hills, California by Mayor Heinsheimer at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 28, 1986. ROLL CALL PRESENT: ABSENT: ALSO PRESENT: Councilmembers Leeuwenburgh, Murdock, Pernell Mayor Heinsheimer Councilwoman Swanson (arrived at 7:40) Terrence L. Belanger Michael Jenkins June Cunningham Captain E. Omohundro Diana Chapman Jerry Faris Anne La Jeunesse Robert Brown Kevin Peterson Sam Peterson Douglas Schwantes Leah Jeffries Ginger Blake Mr. & Mrs. J. Brogdon Mr. & Mrs. W. Cross Dr. F. W. Hartwig Mrs. J. Heinsheimer Miss E. Heinsheimer W. J. Hine. - H. G. Murdock Mr. & Mrs. G. Partridge Mrs. E. Pedersen Mrs. B. Pernell Mrs. S. Reddy OATH OF OFFICE - CITY CLERK Mayor Heinsheimer said the first administer the Oath of office designating Clerk. The oath was administered to City Heinsheimer. M City Manager City Attorney City Clerk Sheriff's Lomita Station South Bay Daily Breeze Los Angeles Times Peninsula News . Southern Calif. Edison General Telephone Co. Consulting Engineer Consulting Engineer County Representative Secretary Residents to order of business is to the City Manager as City Manager Belanger by Mayor COUNCILWOMAN SWANSON ARRIVED AT THE MEETING. CITY COUNCIL INSTALLATION The City Manager explained that Councilwomen Ginny Leeuwenburgh, Jody Murdock and Gordana Swanson took out the necessary papers, indicating their intention to run for office at the Municipal Election on April 8, 1986, at which time their terms of office would expire. All candidates submitted the required filing prior to the closing date and no other candidates filed for office. On February 14, 1986 the City Council met and appointed the incumbents to office for a full term of four years, as provided by law, and the election was cancelled. Mr. Belanger said the law further requires that the incumbents be installed in office and the oath of office be administered exactly as if they had been elected on April 8. The Oath of Office was administered to Councilwomen Leeuwenburgh, Murdock and Swanson by the City Clerk. REORGANIZATION OF THE CITY COUNCIL Councilwoman Swanson moved that Councilman Pernell be elected Mayor for a term of one year,and that the appointment be made by acclamation of the Council. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Murdock and carried unanimously, and Mayor Pernell was seated. Mayor Pernell moved that Councilwoman Swanson be elected Mayor pro tempore. The motion was seconded by Councilman Heinsheimer and carried unanimously. April 28, 1986 PRESENTATIONS TO CITY COUNCIL Mayor Pernell thanked former Mayor Heinsheimer on behalf of the City Council for his dedication to the City and Community during his term as Mayor, and he presented a framed City plaque, engraved to express the Council's appreciation to former Mayor Heinsheimer. The City Manager presented framed Certificates of Election to the Councilwomen -elect. Mayor Pernell recessed the meeting and invited residents and guests to join the Council and staff at a brief reception. MEETING RECONVENED The meeting was reconvened at 8:05 p.m. CONSENT CALENDAR Items on the Consent Calendar were approved on a motion made by Councilwoman Murdock, seconded by Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh and carried unanimously. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The minutes of a meeting on April 14, 1986 were approved and accepted as presented. FINANCIAL STATEMENT The Financial Statement for March 1986 was approved and accepted as presented. PAYMENT OF BILLS Demands No. 1315 through 1335 in the amount of $15,097.66 were approved for payment from the General Fund and Demand No. 1334 in the amount of $1,524.08 was approved for payment from the Fire and Flood Self Insurance Fund. ROBERTI-Z'BERG GRANT REIMBURSEMENT PROGRAM 1065 In a letter dated April 16, 1986, the City of Rolling Hills Estates asked that the City of Rolling Hills again consider allocating their Roberti-Z'Berg-Harris Urban Open Space and Recreation Program Grant to the City of Rolling Hills Estates, since they cannot be utilized in the City of Rolling Hills and have traditionally been allocated to Rolling Hills Estates for development of 'park and recreation areas in Rolling Hills Estates that are mutually beneficial to both cities. The Community Services Director, Sam Wise, said the City Council has identified the Carriage Trail Project as the highest priority capital project in Rolling Hills Estates, and has directed that all available funds be pooled, including the current fiscal Roberti-Z'Berg-Harris grant allocation. Further, the Rolling Hills Estates City Council has directed staff to defer Chandler Park improvements, which were scheduled to begin in May of 1986, and to use funds previously allocated to that project for the construction of Carriage Trail, and to request the City of Rolling Hills to do the same. Mr. Wise advised that last year the City of Rolling Hills contributed their allocation of $1,019 for Chandler Park improvements, and he asked that the City Council authorize re -allocation of those funds to construction of Carriage Trail,, and execute a Joint Powers Agreement, an Application for" Local Assistance Grant and a Resolution approving application for grant funds under the Roberti-Z'Berg Urban Open Space and Recreation Program for Carriage Trail in the City of Rolling Hills Estates for the current allocation of $1,002. -2- I 0� April 28, 1986 Councilwoman Swanson moved that the request be approved, that $1,019 allocated by the City of Rolling Hills to the City of Rolling Hills Estates for Chandler Park improvements be re- allocated to the Carriage Trail Project, that the current fiscal year grant of $1,002 be allocated by the City of Rolling Hills for use in construction of Carriage Trail, that the Application for Local Assistance Grant and the Joint Exercise of Power Agreement be executed, and that Resolution No. 547 entitled A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF ROLLING HILLS APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR GRANT FUNDS UNDER THE ROBERTI-ZIBERG URBAN OPEN SPACE AND RECREATION PROGRAM FOR CARRIAGE TRAIL IN THE CITY OF ROLLING HILLS ESTATES be adopted, and that reading in full be waived. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Murdock and carried unanimously. STATUS OF MUNICIPAL LIABILITY INSURANCE. 1091 The City Manager reported that the City's application for membership in the Coachella Valley Joint Powers Insurance Authority was approved by their Board on April 22, 1986, and (D the approval must be reviewed by the Coachella Valley Association Lo of Governments when they meet on April 29. If approved by the Association of Governments, as expected, the Council will be notified, and the forms and premium information will be provided LL co early in May. The matter was held on the agenda. < STATUS OF FLYING TRIANGLE 1103 The Manager reported that the plan submitted to the City in February by Dr. Fritz Hartwig for buttressing the upper eastern area of the Flying Triangle landslide was distributed to Los Angeles County for review by various departments, and was also given to a private engineer and geologist, with a request that the plan be reviewed and evaluated. Mr. Belanger said the evaluation has been completed by the private engineer, who is present to address the Council; he said the County has advised that their review has not been completed, and it is anticipated that their report will be forwarded to the city later in the week. The Manager said he asked the consulting engineer and geologist to review the plan and make their comments as if they were submitted by an applicant for a project, using the same criteria and asking the same questions they would ask an applicant or developer for this kind of a project, explaining that these are the questions the City should have answered when considering the proposal. -Mayor Pernell said the proposal presented to the Council by Dr. Hartwig had three elements: technical, legal and financial, and he said it is his understanding that the geotechnical aspect will be addressed by the consultants contacted by the City Manager. Mr. Belanger said the financial aspects will be touched on as part of the geotechnical presentation, which will address the probability of accomplishing the project given the budget that has been discussed. Mayor Pernell asked the City Attorney whether the presentation by the private consultants could be heard, since the County's report has not been presented. Mr. Jenkins said there is no requirement that both reports be received before considering either one; he recommended that following the presentation by the consulting engineer and geologist, the matter be held on the agenda pending receipt of the report from the County. Mayor Pernell welcomed . Mr. Sam Peterson and Mr. Douglas Schwantes, consulting geotechnical engineers, and invited them to make their presentation. Mr. Peterson advised the Council that three reports were reviewed: two prepared by the County in 1981 and Dr. Hartwig's proposal. A field investigation was conducted, Mr. Peterson said he toured the area twice and prepared a preliminary report, and it was determined that there is not sufficient information to make a recommendation without further investigation, since the slide is much larger than the slide as it was studied by the County. -3- ,; 0 April 28, 1986 Mr. Schwantes showed the outlines of the area studied by Los Angeles County on a geological map of the area marked to define the area of the slide in 1981. An older slide, which was mapped in 1946, was also defined. Mr. Schwantes showed the area of the slide as it is at present, and also defined the direction of movement, indicated on the map by arrows. Mr. Schwantes and Mr. Peterson advised the Council that the slide at present is approximately ten times the size of the slide defined in 1981. As mapped by the U.S.G.S. the slide is presently within the City of Rolling Hills; however, Mr. Schwantes said cracks in the area of Flat Top are close to the City's southerly limits. Mr. Peterson said it is necessary , when planning to build buttresses and fill canyons, to determine whether anything will be blocked, either free water seeping from cesspools and runoff, which could create hydrostatic pressure, and cause additional problems. Also, he said that some of the houses which do not show signs of stress might be moving without breaking up. In order to fill the canyon or build a buttress it would be necessary to clean out the canyons and install sub -drains for drainage at the bottom and build storm drains to control erosion, and additional soils and geology investigations would be required in order to design something that would work. Mr. Peterson said that dumping dirt into the canyon without compaction and proper placement might result in moving the fill along with everything else. Mr. Peterson said it is not possible for him to say at this time whether the project could be done without additional drillings, explaining that in his opinion the borings made by the County have not reached the true bottom of the slide. He said there may be superficial slides near the surface, but in his opinion there is a large slide deep in the earth that is causing the movement, and it would be necessary to determine whether that is so. He said he has talked to several contractors, and it is estimated that to fill the canyon with approximately 115M cubic yards of dirt calculated to be needed to fill the two canyons, to clear the bottoms of the canyons, install sub - drains and build storm drains would cost approximately $1,500,000 and Mr. Peterson said good roads would be necessary to accommodate the trucks. As an alternative, dirt from the upper end could be carried by conveyor, moving the dirt from the head scarp into the canyon, but he said a large dirt moving operation is very expensive, and it would be necessary to get equipment down into the canyon to prepare it for the operation. Mr. Peterson said that as he and Mr. Schwantes got into the report they found that they were asking more questions, rather than answering the questions presented by the City. Mr. Schwantes said the concept of using earth buttressing to stabilize landslides is widely acknowledged as a good practice if properly applied, but in this particular case there is not sufficient information about the foundation for the buttress; also he said the impact of such a buttress on the surrounding area is not known, since buttressing of a small local area could be beneficial to the surrounding area, could have no effect, or could make the entire situation worse. He agreed with Mr. Peterson that additional study is necessary before proceeding with the proposal. Mr. James Brogdon, 5 Maverick Lane, asked Mr. Schwantes whether the movement in the Flying Triangle encroaches toward Crest Road, or whether it continues to move downhill. Mr. Schwantes said there is no evidence of significant movement uphill; he defined the area mapped by the U.S.G.S. in 1946 as the ancient slide, and said the boundaries appear to be coincident with the current slide. He said that as far as he knows, no attempt has been made to determine whether it will move north, and he said that is something that should be looked at before any plan for moving dirt from the head of the slope into the canyon is considered. -4- 9M April 28, 1986 Mr. Peter Lewine, 74 Portuguese Bend Road, noted that Dr. Hartwig's proposal talked about a commercial venture, and he asked whether the engineers considered it on that basis. Mr. Peterson said that to bring in the dirt commercially, even if there was a contractor who had 100,000 yards of dirt to dispose of close by, it would be necessary to prepare the canyons, cut into the sides to provide a foundation, and install sub -drains. He said dirt haulers use double bottom dump trucks that would require a good two-way traffic road. Further, he said smaller equipment would take too long, and it would be necessary to have equipment down in the canyon to get the dirt to the bottom to be compacted. It was Mr. Peterson's opinion that it would not , be attrative as a commercial venture, explaining that contractor would find it less expensive to dump dirt at the landfill. Mr. Peterson said the idea would be feasible in a smaller area, where a landslide is not a consideration; he said the canyons are very deep, and vibrations resulting from the equipment could be hazardous to anyone down in the canyon as part of the operation. Mr. Peterson said it is doubtful anyone would insure the project. Mr. William Cross, 63 Portuguese Bend Road, asked Mr. Peterson LO whether, in his review of the proposal, he had developed a proposal M for stabilizing the landslide, or whether he would make any Li- recommendation for stabilization. Mr. Schwantes said recommendations Co previously made by the County were reviewed, including buttressing, shear pins, caissons, de -watering, all of which were made relative to a limited area smaller in scope than the existing slide. Several things would have to be evaluated, and he said additional information about where and how the current landslide is moving would be required, since there is little information about the larger slide. The larger question, Mr. Schwantes said, is whether the slide is related to the Portuguese Bend landslide, and additional study would be needed in order to determine whether there is a relationship. Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh said she is concerned about the information provided to Mr. Peterson and Mr. Schwantes, stating that there is more current information available from the County than the 1981 report which was given to them. The Manager said the material which was provided was pertinent to the plan proposed by Dr. Hartwig, and he said additional information would be provided the engineers before the next Council meeting. Mr. Brogdon asked what the City's admitted liability for the slide is, and what liability by the City is charged by the. victims. The City Attorney explained that the City admits no liability, and that drainage is alleged by the plaintiffs in their suit against the City, Association and County. Mr. Jenkins said the matter is in the courts and is on the way to trial. Mayor Pernell ordered the matter held on the agenda for additional discussion at the next meeting.' MATTERS FROM MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL CANDIDACY FOR POSITION ON RTD BOARD - COUNCILWOMAN SWANSON Councilwoman Swanson announced that she is running for .re-election to the Board of Directors of the Rapid Transit District, and she asked for the support of the City Council. Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh moved that the City Council go on record in support of Councilwoman Swanson's candidacy, and send letters to cities in Corridor "B" requesting that their representative to the City Selection Committee vote to re-elect Mayor Pro Tem Swanson to the Board of the RTD. The motion was seconded by Councilwoman Murdock and carried unanimously. April 28, 1986 COMMENDATION TO SHERIFF'S LOMITA STATION PERSONNEL, Councilwoman Murdock related an incident that occurred in a city other than Rolling Hills, but was handled by personnel from the Sheriff's Lomita station. She asked that Captain Omohundro express her appreciation of the sensitivity and concern shown by sheriffs from the Lomita station in a situation that concerned a lost child late at night. RECESS TO LITIGATION SESSION Mayor Pernell recessed the meeting to a closed session at 8:40 p.m. to discuss pending litigation. MEETING RECONVENED I The meeting was reconvened at 9:50 p.m. and was adjourned to Monday, May 12, 1986. APPROVED: Mayor Clerk