1987 08 04 CC Minutes"^ 359
MINUTES
A special meeting of the A regular meeting of the
City Council held at City City Council held at City
Hall, 78-105 Hall, 78-105 Calle Estado,
La Quinta, California La Quinta, California
August 4, 1987 2:00 p.m. August 4, 1987 7:30 p.m.
m
1. CALL TO ORDER
Cr) A. Mayor Hoyle called the adjourned special meeting of the City
Council to order at 2:00 p.m.
B. The Mayor then invited Paul Rothchild to lead the flag
salute.
2. ROLL CALL
Present: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena, Sniff and
Mayor Hoyle.
Absent: None.
Also Present: City Manager Kiedrowski, City Attorney
Longtin, Finance Director Harvey,
Planning Director Crump, Community
Safety Director Hirdler, Public Works Director
Reynolds, Community Development Specialist
Bradshaw and Secretary Beaver.
4. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
5. COMMENT BY COUNCIL MEMBERS
Councilmember Cox requested continuance on this item until a
later date, but did state that the 1/2 Sales Tax Issue Went to
Riverside County Transportation Commission as they are the agency
that will make the decision as to whether or not the 1/2 Sales
Tax Issue will go to the November ballots.
6. HEARINGS
A. Adoption of New Sign Regulations City Initiated)
Zoning Ordinance Amendment No. 87-003
Planning Director Crump stated that the City is currently using
the 82 Edition of the County Zoning Regulations and briefly
described what the sign regulations do and what they don't do.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^360 Minutes City Council
August 4, 1987
Page Two
Andy Vossler, P.O. Box 255 La Quinta, spoke briefly on behalf of
the Chamber, stating that this ordinance is very adequate and
feels it provides a good deal of flexibility. He also encourages
the City to proceed with placing of new signage around the City.
It was the general consensus of the Council that in reference to
garage sale signs, individuals should be able to place up to 2
additional signs off subject property advertising their sale, if
they receive permission from the private property owner.
Councilmember Bohnenberger commended the staff on their work in
putting together this document.
It was moved by Councilmember Pena and seconded by Councilmember
Sniff to adopt said Negative Declaration in conjunction with the
amendment. Motion carries.
It was moved by Councilmember Bohnenberger and seconded by
Councilmember Cox to waive further reading and introduce
Ordinance No. 112, as amended. Motion carries.
It was moved by Councilmember Sniff and seconded by Councilmember
Pena to instruct Staff to bring this document back to the Council
for review in one 1) year.
3. CONFIRMATION OF AGENDA out of Agenda Order)
It was moved by Councilmember Sniff and seconded by Councilmember
Pena that the City Council declare an urgency situation exists in
as much as a business item, Land Purchase) requiring the
Council's immediate action, as it has come to their attention
since the Agenda for this meeting was prepared and posted.
Motion carries.
The City Manager reported that the above motion is pertaining to
is an offer to purchase land, a parcel on the southwest corner of
Tampico and Washington. On behalf of the Council, the City
Manager has been discussing negotiations over the past few
months, and that the Council has accepted a counter offer on said
property. The cost will be approximately $80,000 per acre plus
closing costs, and hope to put that land into escrow, upon
Council's action, August 5.
It was moved by Councilmember Sniff and seconded by Councilmember
Pena, that the City Council authorize the Mayor and City Manager
to proceed properly with the land purchase agreement for a Civic
Center Site at $80,000 per acre, which shall include all
commissions, plus paying all normal and reasonable escrow related
expenses. Motion carries.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^ Minutes City Council 357
August 4, 1987
Page Three
The City manager spoke briefly about the surrounding property
values, and stated that the land has been appraised, and the
Council feels that we are paying a fair and equitable price.
Mayor Hoyle also stated that when looking at a piece of property
this size approximately 17 acres), the projection is not only
for a civic center, but much more in the future. ROLL CALL
VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena, Sniff and Mayor
Hoyle.
NOES: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
Cr) ABSENT: None.
1) Mayor Hoyle then turned the gavel over to Mayor Pro-Tern
Bohnenberger at which time Mayor Pro-Tern stated that this is
going to be an expenditure of a large portion of funds that we
had not budgeted for in the budget process.
It was moved by Councilmember Bohnenberger and seconded by
Councilmember Pena to direct Staff to begin the scoping process
and preparation of Requests for Proposal for hiring of an
Architect to begin work on our City Hall Complex. Unanimous.
Motion Carries.
Mayor Hoyle called for a 5 minute recess at 2:58 and reconvened
ineeting at 3:05.
6 HEARINGS Continued)
B. Infrastructure Fee Program Revisions City Initiated)
The City Manager reported that the Council has been discussing
Infrastructure Fees for several months, and recommended various
changes in said program. He briefly discussed the revisions that
have been made in this program, and further stated that Staff has
not formulated a final recommendation regarding the increase of
fees.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^358Minutes City Council
August 4, 1987
Page Four
The City Manager further stated that all the scenarios are based
on projections to the future on how many units we would build,
and he believes that Staff should take a new look at these
projections on a bi-annual or annual basis to see how building
takes place based on our projections.
Mayor Hoyle opened the floor to Public Comment at 3:12, which was
as follows:
Audrey Ostrowski, P.O. Box 351, La Quinta, commented that the
education fees are something that will be very hard for owners in
the Cove to absorb, and feels that the homes under $100,000 have
been paying most of the fees for the City. She requests the
Council consider that homes under $100,000 not pay additional
fees, as property owners in the Cove can't afford to pay $3-4,000
in fees to build $70-60,000 homes.
Jim Resney-Sunrise Corporation, 75-005 Country Club Drive, Palm
Desert, expressed Sunrise's concern for the increase of
Infrastructure Fees in La Quinta, and requested that Council
reconsider increasing said fees, as La Quinta's fees are already
near the top in comparison with other cities here in the Desert.
Andy Vossler, P.O. Box 1000, La Quinta, expressed Landmark's
concern for the increase of Infrastructure Fees in La Quinta, and
feels that there is not a lot of projects being developed in the
City at this time, and feels that an increase of Infrastructure
Fee's could further slow growth down.
Paul Rothchild, 76-937 Calle Mazatlan, La Quinta, spoke briefly
on behalf of the Chamber, and expressed his concern with being
able to stay competitive if fee's are increased.
Jack Clark, Jr., P.O. Box 1371, La Quinta, expressed his concern
as a home builder in being able to pass on the increase of fees.
He further stated that our fee's are now 30% higher than in
Bermuda Dunes, and feels that an increase will stagnate growth in
La Quinta.
Sergio Alvarez, P.O. Box 780, La Quinta, spoke on behalf of the
La Quinta Joint Venture, Developers of Santa Rosa Cove, and also
is opposes the raising of Infrastructure Fees, and concurs with
the need to improve the City and continue with plans in making La
Quinta the premier place to live and feels that an increase would
slow down the rate of growth.
Dale Kirkpatrick, Bank of the Desert, P.O. Box 1627, La Quinta,
expressed his concern that the raising of these fee's would put
La Quinta at the top of the list as far as our competitive
building area is concerned, and what the material effect of being
at the top of that list, and how people would look towards La
Quinta.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^ MINUTES City Council 355
August 4, 1987
Page Five.
Mayor Hoyle closed the Public Comment at 3:31 and opened the
floor to Council Comment.
Councilmember Bohnenberger stated that this program is not new
and is something that the Council began 2-1/2 3 years ago under
a prior Council, and that our challenge as a City is to find the
needs to provide our citizens with the things they want to see
when coming to a city, such as a library, City Hall, and
recreational activities, and while we are a relatively new city,
CD we are an old community, and have been long ignored by the
County. He further stated that the way we can provide our
community with these things, is to increase our fees, and feels
Cr) that this would be the most viable solution that is available to
us at this time.
m Councilmember Pena stated that he is sympathetic to those who
will be affected by an increase in fees, and feels that a fee
that is outrageously high will have a negative effect on building
in La Quinta. He also stated that he does not want La Quinta to
have the distinction of being the highest fee city in the valley.
Councilmember Cox also agrees that we need to be aware of the
competitiveness of our business in the sales market in La Quinta,
and that a drastic increase in Infrastructure Fees would help the
downfall situation of building, but feels that there needs to be
a fair increase. She further stated that the fee structure
should be reviewed periodically, as we dont know what is going
to happen in the future, we can only project what may happen.
Councilmember Sniff stated that it is extremely important that
what we do is fair and reasonable, not only to the builders, but
to the community as well. He stated that the community has
reasonable expectations of certain improvements, and they are
deserving. He also agrees that there needs to be a periodic
review of infrastructure fees as we cannot determine what next
year is going to bring.
Mayor Hoyle concurs with Councilmember bohnenberger regarding the
need to provide the community with certain things, and that we
must raise our Infrastructure Fees in a fair and reasonable
manner.
In Reference to Resolution No. 87-39, Page 4, Item 2a, it was
moved by Councilmember Bohnenberger and seconded by Councilmember
Cox that insert under Residential to read an amount equal to
2-1/4% of the building permit valuation for each dwelling or
structure, with a maximum fee of $6,000.00. ROLL CALL VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena, Sniff and
Mayor Hoyle.
NOES: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^35?MINUTES City Council
August 4, 1987
Page Six.
In reference to Resolution No. 87-39, Page 4, Item 2b,
Commercial, Industrial and all other non-residential, it was
moved by Councilmember Bohnenberger and seconded by Councilmember
Cox that Commercial, Industrial and all other non-residential,
the amount of $6,000 per gross acre provided, howeverthat the
City may waive or reduce this Commercial/Industrial fee in cases
where applicant demonstrates that the proposed development will
generate significant sales tax and transit occupancy tax to the
City. ROLL CALL VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena and Mayor Hoyle.
NOES: Councilmember Sniff.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
It was moved by Councilmember Cox and seconded by Councilmember
Pena to adopt Resolution No. 87-39 as Amended. ROLL CALL VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena and Mayor
Hoyle.
NOES: Councilmember Sniff.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
It was moved by Councilmember Sniff and seconded by Councilmember
Pena to place the Infrastructure Issues back on the Agenda in
January, 1989. Unanimous. Motion Carries.
Mayor Hoyle called for a 10 minute recess at 4:30 and reconvened said
meeting at 4:40.
C. General Plan Amendment No. 86-016 Meisterlin)
Planning Director Crump briefly discussed the Planning Commission
action, to which recommendation from the commission is denial of
said request. However, the commission unanimously favored the
concept for utilization and projects design, with remarks to the
strategy to permit only low density land uses north of Highway
111.
Mayor Hoyle then opened the floor to Public Comment at 4:45,
which said Public Comment was as follows:
Carl Meisterlin, 49-725 Anacappa Circle, La Quinta, spoke briefly
on behalf of his project and then turned the podium over to David
Schey, 712 N. Diamond Bar Blvd, Diamond Bar, to speak on his
behalf. After some discussion, Mr. Schey did state that the
applicant is willing to allow the Council to withhold final
approval of the General Plan Amendment, dependent upon proceeding
with this specific project and the planning that needs to go with
that. He further stated that this project was specifically
designed to allow for maximum amount of open space along
Washington Street and Miles Avenue.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^ Minutes City Council 353
August 4, 1987
Page Seven
Mayor Hoyle closed Public Comment at 4:53, and opened the floor to
Council Comment which was as follows:
Councilmember Bohnenberger requested Sue Steading, 46-450
Jefferson Street, La Quinta, to speak on behalf of the Plannihg
Commission to which she stated that the Commission had a 4 to 1
vote against the Amendment to the General Plan. It was the
general consensus of the commission that the project format was
pleasurable, but directed their attention to the General Plan
m Amendment. It was also the general consensus of the commission
as she interpreted it) was that when the General Plan was
created sufficient areas of high density were designated, and
Cr) that those areas of high density were not designated at the
location of this project. Since the General Plan was adopted
m there has been 1 amendment which did create high density in
another location in the city, and that this would create a third
area to be considered.
It was the general consensus of the Council that they liked the
concept of the project, but are concerned that if the General
Plan were to be changed, whether or not the project would
proceed, if approval of the General Plan Amendment is granted.
It was moved by Councilmember Bohnenberger and seconded by
Councilmember Sniff to continue this item until the Regular
Scheduid Council Meeting, December 1, 1987. Unanimous. Motion
Carries.
Mayor called for a 5 minute recess at 5:25 and reconvened the meeting
at 5:30.
D. C?nge of Zone No. 87-024; Variance No. 87-003; and
T?tative Tract 21939 Cody & Brady)
Planniiq Director Crump spoke briefly about the project, stating
that this was originally advanced as a General Plan Amendment but
found necessary when zoning could accommodate it.
Mayor yle opened the floor to Public Comment at 5:33 to which
John C?y, P.O. Box 1198, La Quinta stated that they have done
all th? the Planning Commission has asked them to do, and was
availa?e tonight to answer any questions the Council may have.
Mayor yle then closed the Public Comment at 5:40 and opened the
floor Council discussion.
It was the general consensus of the Council that recommended
Condit?n No. 5 second access road) is unnecessary.
It was?oved by Councilmember Bohnenberger and seconded by
Counciln ember Pena, to waive further reading and introduce
Ordin?e No. 113, granting approval for Change of zone 87-024.
Motion Carries.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^354Minutes City Council
August 4, 1987
Page Eight
It was moved by Councilmember Cox and seconded by Councilmember
Pena to adopt Resolution No. 87-44, granting approval of
Tentative Tracts No. 21939, subject to attached conditions as
amended, to delete Condition No. 5, and further subject to final
adoption of the Change of Zone Ordinance No. 113. Unanimous.
Motion Carries.
Mayor Hoyle called for a recess at 5:45 to which said meeting
reconvened to the Regular Scheduled Council Meeting at 7:30 p.m.
E. Assessment of residential parcels within the City for the
Purpose of refuse collection. City initiated)
Finance Director Harvey reported that this was administerial
action for the Council to take to approve this item so that
refuse assessments can be placed on the County's Assessment Roll.
Mayor Hoyle opened the floor to Public Comment at 7:31, and
hearing none, closed the Public Hearing and opened it up to
Council discussion, to which there was none.
It was moved by Councilmember Bohnenberger and seconded by
Councilmember Sniff to waive further reading and adopt Ordinance
No. 111. ROLL CALL VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena, Sniff and Mayor
Hoyle.
NOES: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
It was moved by Councilmember Cox and seconded by Councilmember
Sniff to adopt Resolution No. 87-40. ROLL CALL VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena, Sniff and Mayor
Hoyle.
NOES: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
F. Street Vacation No. 87-011 KWL & Associates)
Planning Director Crump reported that this vacation is for a
portion of Avenue 46 in order to assemble and make available for
commercial development contiguous properties in this area.
Mayor Hoyle opened the floor to Public Comment at 7:38 and
hearing none, opened the floor to Council discussion, to which
there was none.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^ Minutes City Council 351
August 4, 1967
Page Nine
It was moved by Councilmember Sniff and seconded by Councilmember
Pena to adopt Resolution No. 87-45 vacating a certain portion of
Avenue 46. Unanimous. Motion carries.
G. Weed Abatement/Lot Cleaning Assessment City initiated)
Community Safety Director Hirdler reported that a Notice of
Public Hearing was sent to each property owner, to which no
written communications have been received regarding this matter.
m He further stated that there has been one property owner who has
paid, and original document will be amended to show same.
Cr) Mayor Hoyle then opened the floor to Public Comment at 7:40 and
hearing none, opened the floor to Council discussion, to which
m there was none.
It was moved by Councilmember Bohnenberger and seconded by
Councilmember Sniff to adopt Resolution No. 67-41, as amended.
Unanimous. Motion carries.
7. WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS
A. The City Manager stated that the City Clerk has received a
letter from Marie Reading Love expressing her thanks for the
traffic signal at Washington Street and Highland Palms.
Received and filed with no comment.
The City Manager stated that the City Clerk has received
petitions that have been submitted to the City of La Quinta
regarding cable television service in La Quinta.
It was noted that Councilmember Pena abstained from this item at
7:48 p.m.
Mayor Hoyle then opened the floor to Public Comment at 7:43 p.m.
which Public Comments were as follows:
Thomas R. Tveit, 77-780 Calle Chillon, La Quinta, stated that he
works for CVTV, and is here to answer any questions Council may
have.
James Chiocki, 77-780 Calle Chillon, La Quinta, Installation
Manager of CVTV stated that at CVTV they always keep daily
records of the communities they serve. He further stated that
their records show that there has been 99.4% of uninterrupted
service out of 3600 hours of total service being supplies since
february, 1987. He also stated that their records speak for
themselves and don't feel that they have supplied bad service to
the community.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^352Minutes City Council
August 4, 1987
Page Ten
John Bund, 54-865 Avenue Alvarado, La Quinta, stated that it
would be an understatement to say that the service has not
improved, however, with all the improvements that CVTV has
supposedly put in, he is still experiencing relatively poor
reception and outages at times.
Margaret Snow, 53-137 Avenida Bermudas, La Quinta, stated that
she too experiences frequent outages in the evening and feels
that she does not get satisfactory information or assistance when
calling to report these outages to CVTV.
Louje Campagna, P.O. Box 1286, La Quinta, stated that he is the
person responsible for starting the petition against CVTV, and
that from the period between approximately June 17 until July 12
while he was running the petition, it took 6 service calls to get
adequate reception, to which he feels is unacceptable. He went
on to say that he feels the problem rests with the Staff of
CVTV. Mr. Campagna further stated that if CVTV feels that the
subject petition is not a valid one, he requests that Mr. Nazarro
supply him with a current list of every CV? subscriber in the
community and 30 days, and he will get an official report quoting
from their list.
ayor Hoyle closed the floor to Public Comment at 7:53 and opened
the floor to Council discussion, which was as follows:
Mayor Hoyle asked the City Attorney whether or not his signing of
the Petition could be considered a conflict of interest at this
particular time, and the City Attorney stated that this petition
is only a political statement, and that in his opinion there is
not conflict or anything close to it.
After lengthy discussion, it was the general consensus of the
Council that the cable service and the public relations supplied
by CVTV to the La Quinta community needs to be improved, to which
CVTV responded by explaining to the Council what their plans are
to improve the cable service to this community.
It was moved by Councilmember and seconded by Councilmember Sniff
to send this to the Community Services Commission for follow up,
and that the follow up be with CVTV and with the community group
that circulated the petition, to see what can be done about
improving upon some of the complaints that have been lodged here.
Unanimous. Motion carries.
8. BUSINESS SESSION
A. ORDINANCE NO. 110 AMENDING THE CITY?S SUBDIVISION
REGULATIONS BY ADDING CERTAIN
REGULATIONS THEREIN RELATING TO PROCEDURES FOR PARCEL
MERGERS.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^ Minutes City Council 349
August 4, 1987
Page Eleven
It was moved by Councilmember Cox and seconded by Councilmember
Pena to waive further reading and adopt Ordinance No. 110.
ROLL CALL VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena, Sniff and Mayor
Hoyle.
NOES: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
CD g. COMMISSION/COMMITTEE REPORTS
A. Community Services Commission Minutes June 29, 1987), filed
with no comments.
cn
Councilmember Pena reported that Sunline took action at their
last board meeting to hire Sunrise Media to construct bus
shelters, and negotiated that 50% of revenues collected from
advertising panels will go back to the City.
10. CONSENT CALENDAR
It was moved by Councilmember Cox and seconded by Councilmember
Sniff to adopt Consent Calendar. ROLL CALL VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena, Sniff and Mayor
Hoyle.
NOES: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
11. REPORT OF OFFICERS
The City Attorney stated that in his opinion, Council should take
action over again in reference to action taken at the Special
Meeting on the City Hall purchase, due to rules relating to
Special Meetings.
It was moved by Councilmember Sniff and seconded by Councilmember
Cox, to declare an urgency situation exists, in as much as a
business item requiring our immediate action has come to our
attention since the Agenda for this meeting was prepared and
posted. ROLL CALL VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena, Sniff and Mayor
Hoyle.
NOES: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02
"^350Minutes City Council
August 4, 1987
Page Twelve
It was moved by Councilmember Sniff and seconded by Councilmember
Pena, that the City Council authorize the City Manager to proceed
properly with the Land Purchase Agreement for a Civic Center
Site, at $80,000 per acre, which shall include all commissions,
plus paying all normal reasonable escrow related expenses.
ROLL CALL VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena, Sniff and Mayor
Hoyle.
NOES: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
It was moved by Councilmember Bohnenberger and seconded by
Councilmember Pena that the $1,000,000 set aside in the Capital
Improvement Project, be reprogrammed for land purchasing within
the budget with the commitment that we are continuing to look at
the street and drainage construction in the Indian Springs area.
ROLL CALL VOTE):
AYES: Councilmembers Bohnenberger, Cox, Pena, Sniff and
Mayor Hoyle.
NOES: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
ABSENT: None.
The Planning Director reported that the directional signs for
developments in La Quinta, along with civic points of interest is
maturing to the point where we can expect a mock-up for display
and installation at Avenue 50 and Washington intersection. He
also reported that at the LAFCO hearing for our Sphere of
Influence Amendment will be scheduled on the August 27 Agenda.
The Community Safety Director reported that the City received 35
responses to the Natural Gas Installation survey in the Cove
area.
Prior to the adjournment of the Regular Scheduled Council
Meeting, it was brought to the attention of Mayor Hoyle that Mr.
George Shelton, 54-775 Avenida Alvarado, La Quinta would like to
address the Council on an item that was not on the Agenda. Mr.
Shelton voiced his concern with the Highway 111 Specific Plan, as
he feels that it is of great importance, and it is very sad for
the whole community when nothing is happening regarding same.
12 ADJOURNMENT
The City Council meeting held Tuesday, August 4, 1987 was
adjourned at 8:42 p.m. at City Hall, 78-105 Calle Estado, La
Quinta, California.
BIB]
02-26-96-U01
09:34:56AM-U01
CCMIN-U02
08-U02
04-U02
1987-U02