A Short-handed Council Took Awhile Last Night

SHORT COUNCIL BEGAN - MONAHAN ARRIVED LATE
The Costa Mesa City Council met last night for what will likely be the final time for the current council to all sit on the dais together, and even then they didn't get a full house.  When the meeting began Mayor Steve Mensinger and lame duck councilman Gary Monahan were not present, so Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer conducted the meeting.  Monahan showed up about 35 minutes later - Mensinger never did show up, so we may have seen the last of him since there's no reason for him to appear next Tuesday at the Special Meeting when the new council is sworn-in.

JORDAN WILL SEE US SATURDAY
As previously announced, the planned presentation to Jim Jordan was pulled from the agenda.  Jordan wrote to me later last night to say that business issues kept him from attending, but that he would be at the kickoff for the Snoopy House celebration on Saturday, December 10th, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

COUNCIL RENOVATIONS AND AIRPORT ISSUES
Public Comments was interesting.  Beth Refakes inquired about the status of the planned Council Chambers renovation project, citing recent technical glitches.  She also asked that the city involve itself in the current concerns with John Wayne Airport - plans are for all air traffic in the Los Angeles Basin to be tweaked by the FAA, and it might place more air traffic over Eastside Costa Mesa.

HIGH DENSITY HOUSING AND PARKING
Tamar Goldmann complained about high density housing and the parking pressures it places on nearby neighborhoods.

SOBER LIVING TOWN HALL AND JEFF ARTHUR
Ralph Taboada reported on his attendance at the recent ACC-OC Sober Living Home Town Hall, indicating the officials there said not much could be done.  He also praised Jeff Arthur, Chair if the Pension Oversight Committee who passed away last Saturday after a long and very debilitating illness.

BEACH PIT BBQ PERMITS
Dorothy McNiff complained about the impact the Beach Pit BBQ restaurant has on her Eastside home since it lost the shared parking on which the operating permit was based.  She wondered about some kind of collusion.

ARTHUR AND MONAHAN
Robin Leffler also praised Jeff Arthur, describing him as a fine and decent man.  She then praised Monahan as "one of the best mayors", citing that he "really knew how to run a meeting."

CONSISTENCY OF SOUND RULES
Steve Chan played a video clip from a recent Planning Commission meeting, then asked the City Attorney to investigate the State sound laws so it can be discussed when the Holiday Nightclub is discussed in January.

HELPING STANDING ROCK
Mary Spadoni praised Costa Mesa residents for their responsiveness to the plea for materials for the folks at Standing Rock.   She said clothes, large pots and pans, tables and chairs and more are needed to get the demonstrators through the winter months.  She also announced the homemade dog biscuits - $10 per jar, with all profits going to the Standing Rock folks.

OC FAIR RALLY DEBT
Reggie Mundakis advised the council that the OC Fairgrounds still owes the Orange County Sheriff's Department over $129,000 for the Trump Rally earlier this year.

TRAFFIC ON MERRIMAC WAY
Flo Martin showed a presentation of Merrimac Way, citing the plan for a new housing development to be entered and exited off Merrimac.  She showed the lack of sidewalks and the danger to bicyclists.

BIDS MENSINGER ADIEU - IN SONG
Terry Koken observed that Mensinger was absent and took some of the credit for his defeat.  He then closed with another of his trademarked ditties.

COASTAL COMMISSION MEETING ON BANNING RANCH DRILLING
Cindy Black advised that there is a California Coastal Commission meeting in Ventura at which new drilling on Banning Ranch will be discussed and suggested staffers attend.  She reminded us there will be 100 wells on the ranch.

FOLEY
During Councilmember Comments Katrina Foley addressed many issues.  She spoke about the success of the recent Home Tour and advised the next one will be held on December 7, 2017 and will also include Heroes Hall again.  She told us she recently met with new Santa Ana councilman Jose Solorio, who discussed mutual interests between our cities, among them homelessness.  Regarding John Wayne Airport, she observed that the "working group" apparently has gone by the wayside and encouraged staff to get involved.  She spoke of the Sober Living Town Hall and advised that cities and the state need to get on the same page on this issue, and that she'd like a briefing on pending legislation.  She also praised Arthur, then asked about the reinstatement of the Circle of Service.

GENIS
Sandra Genis attended an Economic Summit recently and observed that lots of jobs will likely be lost to automation.  She also told us that, while she had not attended the Sober Living Town Hall, she had attended a similar meeting with many of the same attendees.  She also suggested we find a way to work together with "that party that seems to get things done in Sacramento."  She also spoke of the Ventura Coastal Commission meeting, citing that if you attend and don't wish to speak you may be permitted to donate your time to another speaker.  She observed about the 75th Anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack today.

MONAHAN
Gary Monahan said more than he has in a year.  He thanked Robin Leffler for her praise.  He said he didn't attend the Sober Living Home Town Hall, but he does know John Moorlach and Dana Rohrabacher... what?  So, what?  He also expressed great displeasure at the fact that the attorney for all the applicants before the Planning Commission Monday failed to show up causing all items to be continued.  He said we are trying to do everything we can do, and gave a hat tip to the Planning Commissioners for their efforts.  On the subject of Homelessness, he told us he is collecting goods for Costa Mesa homeless, so folks can drop things off at his pub and he will get them to the homeless.  Then he said, "You've heard we need more police and fire, yada, yada, yada", then launched into praise for Police Chief Rob Sharpnack and Fire Chief Dan Stefano, indicating they're providing great leadership.

RIGHEIMER
Righeimer briefly spoke about parking in neighborhoods, and said we have the highest parking standards in the county.  On the subject of Sober Living Homes, he said, "The good news is that the ordinances are starting to work."  Really?  Since when?  He complained that the Affordable Care Act provided a lot of money and that there's a lot of gaming going on.  Uh, huh...

HATCH/STEFANO
CEO Tom Hatch actually had a few things to say at this meeting.  He told us he will follow up on the issues raised by speakers and councilmembers.  He also praised Arthur.  He said the staff is working on a report regarding the airport and will finalize that and get it to the council shortly.  He then announced that Interim State Fire Marshall Mike Ridgewine was in the room to make a presentation of a "Fire Chief Certificate" to our Fire Chief, Dan Stefano.  According to Ridgewine, Stefano is the most recent member of Fire Service Management to go through the rigorous process and is the 32nd person state-wide to receive this certificate.  Stefano made an excellent acceptance speech in which he praised the City management team and their support for his organization.  He told us that on January 2nd we will take delivery of two new fire engines and that they will be hiring eight (8) new firefighters next year.  He received a standing ovation when he finished - correctly so.

CONSENT CALENDAR ITEMS PULLED
Items 5,6,13 and 14 were pulled from the Consent Calendar for later discussion.

3 MINUTES FLAT ON OLD BUSINESS #1
Promptly at 7:00 Old Business #1 - the only item on the agenda - was heard.  This was the second reading of ordinances applying new State Building Codes.  It took all of 3 minutes for the council to hear and approve this item on a 4-0 vote.

HEARING CONSENT CALENDAR #5...
The council then heard the previously-pulled Consent Calendar items.  #5 - emergency hiring of professional staff - was pulled by Leffler, who opined that we should accelerate our efforts to fill existing city employees for these jobs.  The council passed the item, 4-0.

...AND #6
Item #6, was the issue involving the construction of the new Fire Station #6.  Beth Refakes pulled this one to inquire about the funding, and opined that it shouldn't come from previously-approved projects - like the Council Chambers renovation.  Righeimer told her it was coming from a budgeted amount and the remainder would be borrowed.  They passed it, 4-0.

MESA VERDE MEDIANS
Item #13, was the Mesa Verde Medians.  Leffler pulled this one to advise the council that most of the attendees at the community meeting on this subject didn't care for the current plan.  She also observed that the noticing was insufficient for that meeting.  After a very brief discussion the council passed it, 3-1, with Genis voting NO.

WEST 19TH STREET BIKE CORRIDOR
Then, at 7:15, came #14, the Cooperative Agreement for the Bicycle Corridor Improvement Program - the West 19th Street Bicycle Trail, HERE.   This one took  a surprising 40 minutes to flesh out.  Several speakers addressed this issue.

Wendy Leece was concerned about the proximity to Newport Beach and wondered if the Bicycle Committee had discussed this issue.

Jay Humphrey observed that the people have spoken via the recent election and was concerned about the hard paving planned.

Cindy Black observed that the planned route will impact protected species.

Kevin Nelson cited the specialness of this place and it's relationship to the corridor of wilderness along the Santa Ana River Trail.

Steve Ray, a member of the Banning Ranch Conservancy, observed that they will soon own Banning Ranch and offered to be of assistance to the city as they plan this infrastructure change.  He observed that the Coastal Commission will be involved in this plan.

SPLIT IT?
Foley wondered if there might be a way to split the project up and proceed only with the segment involving 19th Street until other agencies have signed in on the remainder.  Interim Public Services Director Raja Sethuraman advised her that the grant involved is for the single, large project.  She was concerned about how we will manage this project since Sethuraman has 12 or 13 vacancies in his department right now.

Monahan asked a similar question... and was given the same answer.

GET APPROVALS FIRST
Genis observed the unlikelihood of being able to build this project in 2017 because of the bureaucracy and approvals involved, including the Coastal Commission.  She suggested that Sethuraman call the resource agency involved first thing in the morning to see where we stand, and not spend another penny until those approvals are received.

HE AGREED, AND IT PASSED WITH A CAVEAT
Righeimer suggested that he didn't really want to walk away from $1.7 million in grant money, but that he agreed with Genis.  In the end the commission approved the project with the caveat that Sethuraman make the appropriate contacts before proceeding. It passed, 4-0.

GARY SAID GOOD-BYE
Then, before the City Attorney could provide a report - he didn't have one - Monahan said his goodbye's.  He said it's been a long 20 years, then proceeded to thank former staffers and every staff member in the room for their help.  He closed with a tearfilled "God Bless You All."

CLOSED WITH A TEARFUL REMEMBRANCE OF ARTHUR
Righeimer closed the meeting at 7:55 in memory of Jeff Arthur with a tear in his eye.

Banning Ranch Development Denied!

A HUGE STORY!
Better late than never, right?  In what is certainly the biggest story in our little slice of the world in many moons, the California Coastal Commission overwhelmingly denied the ddevelopment plans for the Banning Ranch oil field in West Newport Beach at the end of many hours - some reports say 8 hours, others say 13 - of discussion and testimony late last night.  The vote was 9-1!

LOTS OF FREQUENT REPORTS
I confess that I was not watching the live stream of the event, although several friends did text me with highlights and I did see a few images and videos via Facebook throughout the day.  But, that's OK, because there were plenty of very smart folks onsite, poised to report the results of the event.

LOTS OF TIMELY, EXCELLENT COVERAGE
When I head the news - just before 11:00 p.m. last night - I immediately began checking media for reports.  First up was Hannah Fry's excellent coverage, just before 11:00, HERE.  I also checked the Orange County Register and found Lauren Williams' report, HERE, that was timestamped just after 6:00 p.m., so it had been modified for the final result without changing the timestamp.  Win to the Daily Pilot.  There is also a Los Angeles Times story, HERE.  Television was all over the story.  Channels 2/9 had the story at 11:03.  KABC had it a couple minutes later.

THE FUTURE?
Nobody yet knows what the future holds for that chunk of land.  Murmurs of lawsuits, or re-filing in 6 months, float around the ether.  I guess we'll see.

LONG, HARD-FOUGHT BATTLE
The fact remains that, for those activists at the Banning Ranch Conservancy and many others who have battled tirelessly for years trying to save that piece of coastline from development won a huge victory last night.  And it wasn't just a squeaker, either.  Kudos to all those folks who have worked on this issue over the years, and to those who attended this final meeting on this issue yesterday.  Rumors of "cheating" - a Newport Beach official, or former official, may have permitted early admittance to the auditorium so prime seats could be occupied by imported "supporters" of the project - floated around.  It apparently didn't make any difference.

STEVE AND JIM WERE NO-SHOWS
An interesting sidebar - Mayor Steve Mensinger and Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer apparently had filled in speaker cards but failed to present themselves when the time came.  I'm not sure what to make of that - maybe they actually can read public opinion and chose not to oppose it in this case.

OOPS... TIMING IS EVERYTHING
In a bit of ironic timing, the first issue of Stu News Newport - the latest venture for former Daily Pilot publisher Tom Johnson - came out today and there was a featured interview with a Mike Mohler, Senior Project Manager of the Banning Ranch development.  This was the same fellow Tom had on his radio show last Sunday.  Oops!

 A BELLWETHER?  WE'LL SEE...
 Regardless, this is a huge victory for those who would preserve open space for future generations.  And, this may actually be the beginning of a broader movement that will influence the upcoming election in Costa Mesa.

He's Back - And Still Wrong!

HAVE NOT MISSED HIM
I've hesitated to mention that old Dennis Popp, the pompous pontificator on the CM Conserve blog, has been in hibernation since January 23rd.  I had assumed that he'd used up all the words that had been rattling around in his cranium, so had gone into a state of suspended animation.  Or, better yet, he just flat gave up.  But, no... we're not that lucky... he's back...

POPP ON BANNING RANCH
Today old Dennis finally produced another blog entry, HERE, this one vilifying those folks who are trying to save Banning Ranch.  Those of you who disagree with him will get agitated when you read the entry.  I apologize in advance for your discomfort and the rise in your blood pressure.

THIS IS 'CONSERVATION'?
I was amused that, near the end of his piece, he tries to provide an example of a responsible conservation organization by using an outfit called Ducks Unlimited, HERE.  He talks about how the members of this organization raise money to buy lands themselves, blah, blah, blah.  What he neglects to mention is that this organization does all this "conservation" so they have more water fowl to KILL!  Yep, they buy and create habitats so they can go blast more flying critters out of the sky for "sport".

SHOULDA KEPT SLEEPIN'...
Methinks old Dennis should have stayed in hibernation.  I can hardly wait to see him huff and puff at the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee meeting Wednesday night.  The guy is pathetic!

Banning Ranch Workshop

GOOD TURNOUT
Thursday night I joined more than 130 interested residents at the Neighborhood Community Center for a workshop on Banning Ranch conducted by the folks at the Banning Ranch Conservancy.  The room was packed and the audience was very focused on the issue.  I was surprised and amused to find the irrepressible Terry Koken sitting inside the Victoria Room, plinking away on his banjo, waiting to greet me.  No, he did not play for us.

COSTA MESA BRIEF ON THE JOB
I arrived early to find Barry Friedland setting up his cameras to cover the event.  Old Barry does an excellent job of providing coverage of many important meetings around town for replay on his Costa Mesa Brief YouTube channel.  Look for the coverage of this meeting soon.

COSTA MESA OFFICIALS IN THE AUDIENCE
Costa Mesa councilwomen Sandra Genis and Wendy Leece attended, as did former councilman Jay Humphrey and current Parks and Recreation Commissioner Bob Graham, although he left very early in the meeting.  I also saw council candidate Tony Capitelli in the audience for a few minutes.  I saw no city staff members in the audience, nor were members of the Newport Banning Ranch development group represented as speakers.  This was a one-sided affair - to stop the development of Banning Ranch.

WELSH KICKS IT OFF

The meeting, which began late, was moderated by the president of the Conservancy, Dr. Terry Welsh, who launched into the reason for the meeting - to educate the public and to get help with the project.  Following his introduction he passed the commentary to various members of the board of the Banning Ranch Conservancy and others to discuss different topics.



FORESTER ASKING FOR DOLLARS
Suzanne Forester spoke twice, hitting up the crowd for contributions and emphasizing the need to reach $25,000 in contributions by the end of the month so an anonymous generous benefactor would pony up his guarantee to match that amount.

KOKEN TO THE RESCUE
Several others spoke, including Terry Koken, who filled in for an absent speaker and joked his way through an unfamiliar slide show.  He actually did a pretty darn good job considering that he was drafted for the task just moments before.

 HENDRICKS ON FAIRVIEW PARK
Among the other speakers was resident Kim Hendricks, who spoke on Fairview Park because of the synergy between that venue and the Banning Ranch.  She emphasized the current discussions taking place by the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee and what she described as plans to develop Fairview Park.

STATUS OF LAWSUIT AND MORE
Steve Ray, Executive Director of the Banning Ranch Conservancy and host of a Saturday morning radio show on KOCI-FM 105.1, spent a good deal of time explaining the current status of the plans to develop Banning Ranch and the status of the lawsuit filed by the Conservancy to halt the development.  We learned that the plans to develop the ranch, while slowed, still move forward.  We learned that virtually ALL the traffic generated by the project will end up on Costa Mesa streets.  We learned that the development agreement agreed to by the City of Costa Mesa won't come close to covering the mitigation costs for that traffic.

WE LEARNED MORE...
We also learned that the Newport Banning Ranch development project may take as long as 15-18 years to complete once begun due to the need to mitigate oil field residue.  We learned that, while the neighboring Sunset Ridge Park project involves moving 50,000 cubic yards of dirt, the Banning Ranch project is projected to move 2.6 million cubic yards!  We learned that the City of Newport Beach was stymied on the project because it conflicted with their General Plan, so they just set about amending the General Plan to accommodate the development of this site.

LEARN MORE...

You can learn much more by visiting the web site for the Banning Ranch Conservancy, HERE.  You can contact Welsh at 714-719-2148 or Ray at 310-961-7610.  They can tell you about their plans for the proposed Banning Ranch Park and Preserve, shown below.