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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/14/1982City Council Minutes Tuesday, September 14, 1982 - 5:30.p.m. Page 2 John Carsel, Chairman of HRC, briefly reviewed the proposed ordinance which would establish a Human Relation Commission, although the Council had adopted articles in 1975 and the Commission itself was established in 1964 but through Council motion only. He explained the HRC had, in May of 1982, completed their proposal for the enabling ordinance and submitted it to the City Attorney for review. The attorney subsequently prepared a substitute document with minor revisions which correlated more closely to the Advisory Body Handbook adopted by the Council in June of 1981. The Commission had two difficulties with the new ordin- ande: -1) Incorporating -the resolution (the Advisory Body Handbook) into an ordinance passed after the resolution. They wondered if it would be more appropriate to state that the.procedures and requirements for the functioning of and service on the'HRC would be adopted by City •resolu- tion (Section 2480.3); and 2) the Commission was concerned with items the Attorney's document omitted such as meeting times, number of officers, subcommittees, etc. Upon question, George Thacher, City Attorney, stated he would not be opposed to having Section 2480.3 deleted. . 1 Councilman Griffin stated he would like to see a statement of conduct of Commission affairs included for purposes of the meetings. After discussion it was agreed that it would be more appropriate to place this as a part of the by -laws which.the HRC had still to prepare. Councilwoman Dovey stated her main concern was to have the ordinance simplified as much as possible. City Charter requires all boards and commissions to be established by ordinance but she did not feel an ordinance was the place to put lengthy and detailed functions-and duties of 'a commission. She felt a simple statement in the ordinance, that all procedures would be.in accordance with the.Handbook,.would be adequate, rather than incorporating everything the Advisory Body.Handbook-states. Those items, which would be more subject to change should be included as apart of the by =laws, leaving the ordinance in a simplified state. Councilman Dunin agreed with:comments made.by Mrs. Dovey. The ordinance would only establish the commission's function, purpose and number of members serving. All else should.be made a part of the by -laws. Councilman Settle was concerned the ordinance not be too restrictive and allow the commission a certain amount of- flexibility, especially in. relation to Section 2480.4, Item B, which read, "To engage in studies or research into possible need for, and inadequacies in human rights and human service." Council discussed the possibility of adding a statement to that section to read, "...in human rights and human service as approved by the City Council." Councilman Griffin stated the Handbook had always been a source of confusion. The ordinance should.include.reference.to the by -laws which governs the internal procedures mechanism and"is, subsequently y, approved by the Council. The by -laws would conform with the Advisory Body Handbook. Councilman Settle agreed with Councilman Griffin. Councilman'Dunin reminded the Council•the-:Handbook:was to be used as.a guideline only and was advisory, not "made in concrete." City Council then discussed- the.following: changes: : (a) That portion of Section 2480:4,. "Purpose";be placed at the beginning of the ordinance and not on the second page. City Council Minutes Tuesday, September 14, 1982 - 5:30 p.m. Page 3 (b) Revise Section 2480.3 entitled "Handbook" to read, "All applicable procedures and requirements be established in the by -laws being consist- ent with the Advisory Body Handbook." (c) No consensus was reached on whether or not to leave in the itemized functions. Council did consider reversing Section 2480.4 items (b) and (c) with the new (b) to read as "follows: "To receive and investigate complaints and make recommendations considering community tensions and acts of discrimination and to make recommendations to the City Council regarding the means to insure community cooperation and understanding." (d) No consensus was reached on the new (c) "To engage studies or research into possible need for, and inadequacies in human rights and human service," with the possibility of adding the.words "as approved by the City Council." (e) To be revised to read, "To review and evaluate all City funding requests from groups which provide human services to provide liaison to all persons and groups receiving City.grants -in -aid funds, through. personal contact and required monthly activity reports." (h) Delete sentence: "7O 00vklf ivi ivivii ix Hooff Of fAo 0464hU01000 4¢WWOO f6 00 MY W011. of After brief discussion and upon general consensus, Council agreed to refer the ordinance for cleanup of amendments and suggested changes to Councilmembers Dovey and Dunin for review to be brought back-for future Council consideration and adoption. (5 -0) John Carsel, Chairperson of HRC, requested Council consider whether the Human Relations Commission should apply for revenue sharing.funds from the County to cover the County's fair share of much of the service provided by the Commission to residents outside City limits. He stated that approximately 30 percent of all their calls came from the County, and the H.R.C. office was not in a position to hang up on these people, but commissioners did feel the County had some obligation to the City as the City was. picking up the tab for County services. Councilman Griffin suggested the Commission and staff.get together.to review the best approach and make up a policy objective list. Councilman Dunin had no objection to Councilman Griffin's.approach; . however, he did feel a memorandum of understanding, between the City and County, be drafted; regardless of,who was the lead:agency,.the other should pay for services performed. Councilwoman Dovey agreed and-felt that when the.,package.was.put. together it should consider that, if the Human Relations Commission did-not exist, the County would be having to deal with these people in some manner. Mayor Billig stated she would reserve comments at this time. This would be a difficult task to implement.but she would be suportive of whatever alternatives and.suggestions the Commission and staff could come up with. Councilwoman Dovey cautioned that no commissioner or staff person should ever speak on behalf of the City without prior approval by.the City Council, in order to protect both staff and Commission members as well as the Council. E -1 PLANS AND SPECIFICATIONS FOR LOOMIS STREET WATER LINE After brief discussion it was moved by Councilman Settle, seconded by Councilman Griffin, to approve request by Dave Romero, Public Services Director, for plans and specifications for a 14" water line bypass in Loomis Street near Cuesta Park and authorize staff to purchase pipe and solicit for bids the installation of this project estimated to cost $35,000. 1 1 1 City Council Minutes Tuesday, September 14, Page 4 1982 - 5:30 p.m. Motion carried on the following roll call vote: AYES: Councilmembers Settle, Griffin, Dovey, Dunin and Mayor Billig NOES: None ABSENT: None 7:05 p.m. Mayor Billig declared a recess. 7:15 p.m. City Council reconvened, all Councilmembers present. 2. FLOOD CONTROL Council considered: (A) Report entitled "Tract 592 Creek Modifications: An Evaluation. "; (B) Review of problem areas on San Luis Creek; (C) Discussion of outline for Flood Management Policy Statement (continued from 3/8/82, 4/13/82 and 8/24/82). John Ashbaugh, representing Merriam, Deasy and Whisenant, architects hired by t )ie city to conduct the flood control study, introduced four members, Robert Brown, Paul Chappel, Van Holland and Roger Gamms, biologists and consultants who helped work on the report and would be available for questions. Mr. Ashbaugh then submitted an addendum to the Tract 592 Modification Study which included 1) "As -built Drawings" for Tract 592 modifications including aerial photos; 2) "Before and After" photographs of the creek illustrating overall changes; and 3) photo- graphic overview of existing creek character. He showed a series of slides and transparencies of present and modified portions of San Luis Creek discussing vegetation (which had proved successful in the creek, and which had not). He reviewed tests conducted on a portion of a modified area of the creek which would allow for better bedding for fish and other aquatic organisms and felt there could be a significant steelhead fishery area in some locations. He felt one of the alterna- tives was to construct a silt barrier up and downstream and to track the area to prevent erosion. Dave Romero, Public Services Director, responded to question of erosion of berms. He stated the trees in the middle of the creek cannot always be preserved and reminded. the Council the shrubs required of the developer in Tract 592 were by Council action, in most cases were overpowered by the original vegetation. Councilman Dunin reminded the Council the original intent was to be moving the water in the creek, not to protect the biological and aquatic life. He wanted to know what happened to the tremendous amount of money already spent on vegetation now proved unsuccessful. He had been vehemently opposed to the condition requiring pepper trees to be placed along the creek, which have all since died; and felt the Council had received some poor advice from their consultants. What would prevent this from happening in the future. John Ashbaugh explained that there really hasn't been sufficient prece- dent set elsewhere. The consultants had looked for similar areas and had been unable to find them. It is extremely expensive to repair the creek and keep it in its natural state. One approach would be to maintain the creek in its present alignment. Councilman Dunin would prefer the natural islands be used rather than 1 introducing new vegetation. Robert Brown, consultant with Cal Poly, stated only about half of the steelhead-trout passes through Tract 592. If the mitigation measure were to prove ineffective, it could reduce approximately four - fifths of the reproduction in about one -half of the steelhead population. Doing the grading outside the corridor would be the most cost effective. He did not feel siltation had been significant, and there had not been enough siltation to cause sedimentation or cementing of the creekbed, which is the biologists primary concern. City Council Minutes Tuesday, September 14, 1982 - 5:30 p.m.' - Page 5 Councilman Griffin would like to see the "purpose" section reflect that this report could be used by other agencies as a valuable tool. He felt all affected agencies should get together and review the problems and recommendations. . .. I.. Councilman Dunin suggested that the Mayor get in touch with the Corp of Engineers regarding this matter. Paul Chappel, from Fish and Game, stated Fish and Game would be willing to work with the City to help alleviate the flooding problems. Councilman Settle stated he would like to see preliminary cost compari- sons of the alternatives suggested by Mr. Romero, both in eliminating the flooding problem almost in its entirety, as well as those with the environmental trade -offs. Paul Lanspery, Administrative Officer then reviewed the flood control ' policy statement. He stated within 30 days,. items A through D could be completed and reported on; E would require another 60 days and an additional 30 days for Fish and Game to be able to respond. After brief discussion and upon general consensus, Council agreed that the outline for Flood Management Policy Statement be approved as submitted. (5 -0) Councilman Griffin stated he .would rather see staff not spend the time doing cost comparisons but rather developing a comprehensive action plan first.and then identifying some.of the costs at a later time. Councilman Settle questioned page 56 of the report with regard to the planting of poison oak as a ground cover near the creek to keep pedest- rian traffic away from the area: • - Upon question, Paul Chappel, Fish and Game, stated that the Fish and Game had been very involved with the project, much more so than the previous one. He felt there existed an excellent spirit of cooperation. Wayne.Peterson, City Engineer,-presented a report from James R. Schaaf, Project Manager with George S. Nolte and Associates, which listed channel capacities in San Luis Creek and a brief description of the hydraulic features which limit additional flow carrying ability. Mr. Peterson reviewed each of the nine areas explaining the.proposed channel improvements in various areas along the creek and the capacities for a 100 -year flow (see file No. 596). He also introduced Fala Powers from the'Corp'of Engineers and stated she was available for any questions. Dave Romero, Public Services Director, reviewed 11 tight spots in San Luis Creek, explaining and showing slides of the restricted areas, and submitted two solutions for each: 1) which would almost entirely eliminate the problem; and 2) using environmental trade -offs as part of the solution (see file no. 596). He explained at least three - fourths of ,;the problems involved since the 1969 and 1973 floods have been.taken. care of. However, remaining ones were,•in many.cases, expensive,and-. needed to be addressed. He explained that; from an engineering stand- point, the easiest way to remove the flooding problems of the creek would-be to build up.the'dam upstream of Cuesta Park; however, this would require a huge expense at one time and it would be located in an area of questionable geologic stability. .Another alternative would be to build more holding capacity in Cuesta Park, thus reducing all flood flows entering the city. Councilman Dunin questioned Mrs. Powers of the Corp of Engineers, wondering if the Corp of Engineers would be interested in getting involved if the City were to take over the Cuesta Park area. Mrs. Powers felt the Corps would be very interested but they had not looked at the area; however, funding for this budget year was depleted; and the'Corps would have to wait until next year's budget had been approved.. Councilman Dunin suggested that the Mayor get in touch with the Corp of Engineers regarding this matter. Paul Chappel, from Fish and Game, stated Fish and Game would be willing to work with the City to help alleviate the flooding problems. Councilman Settle stated he would like to see preliminary cost compari- sons of the alternatives suggested by Mr. Romero, both in eliminating the flooding problem almost in its entirety, as well as those with the environmental trade -offs. Paul Lanspery, Administrative Officer then reviewed the flood control ' policy statement. He stated within 30 days,. items A through D could be completed and reported on; E would require another 60 days and an additional 30 days for Fish and Game to be able to respond. After brief discussion and upon general consensus, Council agreed that the outline for Flood Management Policy Statement be approved as submitted. (5 -0) Councilman Griffin stated he .would rather see staff not spend the time doing cost comparisons but rather developing a comprehensive action plan first.and then identifying some.of the costs at a later time. City Council Minutes Tuesday, September 14, 1982 - 5:30 p.m. Page 6 Councilman Settle would like to see both of these being discussed at the same time. Councilman Dunin did not feel the priority was costs but rather the — alternatives be explored which were most acceptable to Fish and Game as agreement must be reached by all affected agencies: Councilman Griffin stated he did not wish the public to misperceive'what the Council was attempting to do by going about the flood control policy on a piecemeal basis. ;•� After brief discussion Public Services Department was requested to -look at the Santa Rosa Bridge problem and any other selected areas where flood problems could be mitigated by pruning, tree removal, etc. C O M M U N I C A T I O N S A. PARK HOTEL After brief discussion and upon general consensus, Council agreed that the request of John -King to declare the Park Hotel an historic building be referred to the Cultural Heritage Committee for report and recommen- dation. Motion carried (5 -0). B. CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL REGULATIONS I :I After brief discussion and upon general consensus, Council selected Councilwoman Dovey and Fire Chief Dolder be City representatives at:the California Highway Patrol Hearing concerning routes of transpoitation for hazardous materials. Motion carried (5 -0). 9:40 p.m. City Council adjourned the closed session t6 discuss - :personnel and litigation matters. 10:35 p.m. City Council reconvened in regular session,'all Councilmembers present. There being no further business to come before the City Council ;.Mayor Billig adjourned the meeting at 10:35 p.m. L i' Pamela Voges, Cit Cle I APPROVED BY COUNCIL: 10/26/82 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MINUTE'S REGULAR MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 1982 - 7:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS, CITY HALL, 990 PALM STREET SAN LUIS OBISPO, CALIFORNIA ROLL CALL Councilmembers Present: GlennaDeane Dovey; Ron Dunin,'Robert Griffin and Mayor Melanie C. Billig Absent: Allen Settle City Staff Present: Paul Lanspery, Administrative Officer; Geoff Grote, Assistant Administrative Officer; George Thacher, City Attorney; Pamela Voges, City Clerk; Toby Ross, Community Development Director; Wayne Peterson, City Engineer; Ll V' L�J