4/10/1989MINUTES OF A
REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
CITY OF ROLLING HILLS, CALIFORNIA
April 10, 1989
A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Rolling Hills
was called to order in the Council Chamber at the Administration
Building/City Hall, 2 Portuguese Bend Road, Rolling Hills, California,
by Mayor Murdock at 7:35 p.m., Monday, April 10, 1989.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Councilman Heinsheimer, Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh,
Councilman Pernell, Councilwoman Swanson,
Mayor Murdock
ABSENT: None
00 ALSO PRESENT: Terrence L. Belanger City Manager
L. D. Courtright City Treasurer
LO Michael Jenkins City Attorney
Betty Volkert Deputy City Clerk
m Ann Johnson Los Angeles Times
Q Frank Hill Resident
CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilwoman Swanson requested that the minutes of March 27, 19,89,
be removed from the Consent Calendar and considered under separate
action.
Councilwoman Swanson moved that the remaining item on the Consent
Calendar be approved as presented. Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh seconded
the motion, and it carried unanimously.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Councilwoman Swanson wished
to discuss the minutes
of March
27,
relative to the synopsis of the
comments made under
Open Agenda.
Following a brief discussion, Councilwoman
Swanson moved that
the
minutes of a regular meeting of
the City Council, held
on March
27,
1989, be approved as presented.
Councilman Pernell
seconded
the
motion, and it carried unanimously.
PAYMENT OF BILLS
Demands Nos. 3591 through 3595, 3597 through 3618, and 3620
through 3637, in the amount of $46,925.13, were approved for payment
from the General Fund. Demands Nos. 3596 and 3619 were voided.
OLD BUSINESS
There.were no matters for consideration under Old Business.
NEW BUSINESS
RFP FOR GENERAL PLAN REVISIONS, INCLUDING HOUSING ELEMENT
The City Manager explained that the Council has, for their review,
a Request for Proposal for all elements of the City's General Plan,
with the Housing Element being the first element to be completed in an
expeditious fashion. The format of the RFP is fairly standard. The
City would make available to interested firms a copy of the City's
existing codes so that they could make some kind of an assessment of
what might be entailed in tackling this task so that they could develop
their costs accordingly. The City Manager noted that there would need
ME
to be an additional paragraph added under Scope of Services that calls
for a revision of the Zoning Ordinance. Any revision of the General
Plan should have, as a part of it, a review of the Zoning Ordinance to
bring the Zoning Ordinance into compatibility and compliance with the
requirements of the General Plan and state law.
Councilman Pernell asked if this is mandated, and the City Manager
replied that the Housing Element is mandated. The City Manager also
commented that one issue that was discussed during the Council's
retreat was the general issue of the General Plan and the specific
issue of the Housing Element. It was thought that the best way to
approach the matter was to get a consultant to first revise the Housing
Element and, subsequently, have that same consultant revise the General
Plan.
Mayor Murdock pointed out that the Housing Element must be revised
by July 1.
Councilwoman Swanson expressed concern that the response time
being allotted, approximately 10 working days, to receive the proposals
is not adequate.
The City Manager explained that the critical timetable is the
revision of the Housing Element. The schedule is structured with the
underlying idea being that one consultant would be retained to do both
the Housing Element and the General Plan. Other cities have used a
similar timetable and have found that the turnaround time has been
adequate.
Councilwoman Swanson agreed that perhaps the response time to
prepare a proposal for only the Housing Element might be sufficient.
However, she still had concerns that to prepare an adequate proposal
for the entire General Plan might require more time.
Councilman Pernell asked if it is necessary to have the same firm
prepare both the Housing Element and the General Plan.
The City Manager commented that it is not required that the same
firm prepare both the Housing Element and the General Plan. A
discussion followed of the pros and cons of retaining the same firm to
prepare both. The City Attorney, Mr. Mike Jenkins, pointed out that
there is a natural efficiency in having one firm do the entire job.
Ultimately, Councilwoman Swanson deferred to staff's judgement and
recommendation.
Councilman Pernell moved to accept the Request for Proposal for
revisions to the General Plan and all its elements, as recommended by
staff. Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh seconded the motion.
There was also some discussion on the list of possible bidders and
what method was used in developing the list. The City Manager
explained that the list of bidders was derived from previous letters of
interest from various firms and consultants. Also, other
municipalities have lists of sources, which they are willing to share.
The City Manager also pointed out that four days had been set
aside for pre -conference meetings with interested consultants, to
answer any questions and provide them copies of the General Plan and
Zoning Ordinance, to assist them in the preparation of their
responses. Once the proposals have been received, it will then be
possible to make an assessment as to whether the task of revising the
Housing Element can be accomplished within the timeframe specified.
The State of.California has indicated that the City of Rolling Hills is
out of line with the SCAG projections. The Southern California
Association of Governments (SCAG) projections are still in the draft
stage; they are sending out all their projections again for further
comment. It is conceivable that the City of Rolling Hills could get an
extension on the statutorial deadline because finalized data from SCAG
has not been received. Therefore, the City might be able to get some
relief from the mandated July 1 deadline.
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Councilwoman Swanson noted that the selection of a consultant
would be done by a Selection Sub -committee, and requested that the
Selection Sub -committee present two finalists to be interviewed by the
full Council. There was further discussion regarding the selection
process, and Mayor Murdock suggested that on page 6, paragraph 2,
second line, the word "firm" be changed to "firms".
Councilman Heinsheimer questioned the reason for choosing to have
a pre -conference as opposed to a bidders' conference. An individual
pre -conference meeting might discourage some potential bidders, and can
be more intimidating. Councilman Heinsheimer felt that a bidders'
conference where all potential bidders meet together would be more
advantageous and invite more proposals. Thus, the City Manager
suggested that the conference date be scheduled for April 20.
Councilman Heinsheimer also questioned how the cost of the bids
will be presented since the RFP asks for individual rates as opposed to
a total cost. The City Manager explained that the purpose for
requesting rates is to be able to calculate the cost if additional work
Co is required. Following some discussion, the City Manager stated that,
to the appropriate paragraph of the RFP, he would direct potential
bidders to give a lump sum cost and attach a schedule of fees.
LO Councilman Pernell suggested that the wording be: "not to exceed lump
7 sum".
m There being no further discussion or objections, the motion on the
Q floor carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING - CONTINUED
ZONING CASE NO. 374, STEPHEN TAUS, 7 OPEN BRAND ROAD
Zoning Case No. 374 is a request for a Conditional Use Permit for
conversion of the existing stable to a guest house at 7 Open Brand
Road.
The City Manager explained that there continue to be some
questions regarding this project. Staking of the project was done late
Friday afternoon. Staff recommended that this matter be continued, in
light of the fact that the applicant nor his architect were in
attendance. This would also give the Councilmembers time to view the
staked site.
Mayor Murdock pointed out that the applicant had been asked to
stake the property at the Council's first meeting in March, and at the
Council's second meeting in March the applicant's architect requested a
continuance so that the property could be staked, which was supposed to
have been done as soon as possible.
Councilman Pernell commented that the Council had conducted one
field trip to the site and that the applicants were not well prepared.
Councilman Pernell was reluctant to conduct another field trip.
Councilwoman Swanson commented that at the first field trip that
the Council took, it was her understanding that Mrs. Janice Taus
intended to change the plan somewhat and, furthermore, it was not
obvious where the proposed stable would be located.
Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh felt that the staking that had been done
for the first field trip was not accurate and that it should be done by
a certified engineer, and that it would be impossible to make a
favorable decision based on the staking that was originally observed.
The City Manager reported that staking was done by a professional
engineer late Friday afternoon, April 7, so that it is possible to see
where the proposed access to the future stable would be and where the
proposed stable would be located on the property, in conformance with
the plan.
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The matter was discussed at some length, afterwhich, the Council
agreed to conduct another field trip and to continue the matter to the
next City Council meeting. A field trip to the site was scheduled for
Friday, April 14, at 7:30 a.m.
OPEN AGENDA
No one spoke on the Open Agenda.
MATTERS FROM MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
MEDIANS ON PALOS VERDES DRIVE NORTH
Councilwoman Leeuwenburgh reported that
Rolling Hills Estates City Council meeting,
on Palos Verdes Drive North, from Rolling
Boulevard.
MATTERS FROM STAFF
PROPOSED BUDGET CALENDAR
she had attended the
and they approved medians
Hills Road to Hawthorne
The City Manager reported that a budget calendar for Fiscal Year
1989-90 had been submitted. Also, for informational purposes, a budget
calendar for the second year (Fiscal Year 1990-91) has been submitted,
assuming a two year budget calendar.
Councilwoman Swanson suggested that the budget process be started
earlier, so that more time could be allotted for public input. She
feels that two or three public hearings are desirable to provide
everyone that wishes to the opportunity to address this issue.
Councilwoman Swanson remarked that the Council could deliberate on the
budget and, concurrently, take public testimony.
Following discussion, the budget calendar was revised such that
the development of preliminary revenue and expenditure projections will
begin April 17 and continue until June 25. Furthermore, there would be
three public hearings scheduled for May 8, May 22, and June 12. It was
also suggested that the public hearing on May 8 be noticed as a "Work
Session", just to clarify the tentativeness of the budget and the fact
that it would be a "proposed" budget as opposed to a "final" budget.
CALIFORNIA CONTRACT CITIES CONFERENCE
The City Manager reminded the Council that the California Contract
Cities is scheduled for the third week in May, in Palm Springs.
STATUS OF ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS' RECONNAISSANCE STUDY
The City Manager reported that the Army Corps of Engineers have
retained a consulting firm, Noble Consultants, to do the actual
reconnaissance study for the South Peninsula landslide evaluation.
Tomorrow, April 11, the consultant, as well as a representative from
the Corps of Engineers, and the City Manager will tour the Flying
Triangle area.
EXCHANGE OF PROP A MONIES
The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission has just approved
the request to exchange last year's Prop A monies for FAU monies.
SYNOPSIS OF COUNCIL RETREAT
Staff presented a recap of issues, identified with priorities,
that were discussed at the Council retreat on March 17 and 18 at Lake
Arrowhead. In actuality, this will become a work plan for the next
several months.
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297.
MEETING RECESSED
Mayor Murdock recessed the meeting at 8:30 p.m. to a closed
session.
CLOSED SESSION
The City Attorney requested a closed session for the purpose of
discussing pending litigation.
MEETING RECONVENED
The meeting was reconvened at 8:45 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Murdock adjourned the meeting at 8:46 p.m., to Monday, April
24, 1989, at 7:30 p.m.
APPROVED:
Mayor
jtlt��� 1, &".&U
City Clerk U
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