More Storage, More Development And More Legal Fees

FIRST MEETING SINCE THE ELECTION
The Costa Mesa City Council will hold its first meeting following the elections last week on Tuesday, November 15, 2016 in City Council Chambers at City Hall beginning at 5:45 p.m.  There is no Closed Session prior to this meeting.  You can read the full agenda HERE.

CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar continues to provide fodder for discussion.  Even though all items on the Consent Calendar are, in theory, of such a routine nature that they all can be voted upon in one vote, without discussion, at least a couple of the items on this edition simply cry out for conversation.

THE WARRANT
Let's begin with Item #2,  the Warrant, #2566, HERE,  which lists dollars being spent on our behalf.  I'm not going to list all the entries that give me heartburn, but will mention a few that may do the same to you.

• Clean Street - $57,291.98 - Street Sweeping for September
• G4S Secure Solutions, Inc - $56,483.31 - Jail Facilities Svcs for September
• Jones & Mayer - $143,393.47 - Legal Svcs
• Kimley Horn & Associates - $25,981.50 - Consultant thru 9/30/16 (see report below)
• City of Huntington Beach - $23,660.00 - Helicopter Svcs, Sept. 2016
• Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth - $6,833.27 - Legal Svcs various

If you click on that link and simply scroll down through the pages of entries you will find more consultants, more temporary employees and other interesting items.

REMOVING GRASS IN MESA VERDE
Item #5, HERE, it the $457,737.00 contract to spruce up medians in Mesa Verde - you know, where the mayor and mayor pro tem live - by pulling out the grass and replacing it with drought-tolerant plantings.

MORE EXTENSION ON LEGAL CONTRACTS
Item #7, HERE,  is an increase request for legal services for Best, Best and Krieger, doubling the previously-authorized $75,000.  Each time we see one of these kinds of bills I find myself wondering just what the heck Jones & Mayer are doing for us as our contract legal department?  When they were hired it was on the presumption that their firm was a full-service legal firm and would be handling most, if not all, of our legal business in-house.  That has certainly turned out to NOT be the case.  For example, as Katrina Foley told us at the last council meeting, Rutan and Tucker cost us $50,000 defending Mayor Pro Tem Jim Righeimer's botched ballot argument, which a judge ruled was a pack of lies and misleading to the voters.

ANOTHER EXPENSIVE CONSULTING CONTRACT EXTENSION
Item #8, HERE, is an extension of a professional services contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates.  Of all the items on the Consent Calendar, this one bugs me the most.  This one asks to extend the contract so we may continue to use the services of Sherri Vander Duessen as interim Assistant Director of Community Improvement Programs in the Development Services Department.  If approved, the City will spend just under $500,000 for 14 months work by Ms. Vander Duessen, which apparently focuses mostly on sober living issues.  We should have a chance to see her in action at the Planning Commission tonight, since that meeting will focus exclusively on sober living issues.  In my view, and nothing against Ms. Vander Duessen, this situation is a perfect example of the crappy management by the current City Council majority, whose dictatorial style has created such a toxic work environment at City Hall that many, many experienced leaders have either retired early or sought other jobs.  It is tragic.  We can only hope a change in the demographic on the dais can, finally, begin to rebuild what was once an outstanding municipal organization.

CREATION OF ASSISTANT BUILDING OFFICIAL POSITION
Finally, Item #9, HERE, is the request to create a new position at City Hall - Assistant Building Official.  Apparently this is intended to fill the gap created by the recent, abrupt departure of Building Offical Khanh Nguyen.  A consultant is currently filling the job at a cost of more than $262,000 per year.  This new position would be placed at a level of $194,330 per year and provide upward mobility.  Again, the departure of seasoned, experienced staffers bites us in the posterior!

SEPARATE DISCUSSION?  WE'LL SEE...
Again, if any of these - or others - are pulled for separate discussion they will be trailed to the very end of the meeting thanks to the policies implemented by the current council majority.
 
ADOPTION OF NEW CODES
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is a mandatory adoption of the most recent model codes including Building, Residential, Green Building Standards, Fire, Plumbing, Mechanical and Electrical.  This shouldn't take long.

REVIEW OF PLANNING DECISION ON "HOLIDAY"
Public Hearing #2, HERE, should generate a lot of interest by the public.  This is a review, requested by a council member, of the Planning Application for Holiday (formerly Lion's Den and Maison) on West 19th Street.  This controversial establishment has been in the news for a couple years and has apparently undergone a couple of ownership changes.  This review, a "de novo" review - which means the entire issue may be re-heard as though it is a brand new item - calls into question the decisions made by the Planning Commission regarding compliance with state noise laws.  This one could take awhile.

SELF-STORAGE AT 375 BRISTOL STREET
Old Business #1, HERE, is the second reading of an ordinance, passed by the council on November 1, 2016 on a 5-0 vote, for a re-zone of a business site at 375 Bristol Street for a self-storage facility/retail center.  This won't take long.

OLD LOS ANGELES TIMES SITE
Old Business #2, HERE,  is also a second reading.  This is a re-zone request for a 23.4 acre site in the north part of town - the old Los Angeles Times site plus an existing baseball field.  This also passed on a 5-0 vote on November 1, 2016.  This also won't take long.

MORE SELF-STORAGE?
New Business #1, HERE,  is a General Plan Screening for a proposed self-storage facility at 390 Ford Road and 1957 Newport Boulevard on both sides of Ford Road.

A NEW URBAN PLAN WITHIN THE SOBECA PLAN
The final item on the agenda is New Business #2, HERE.  This is a new Urban Master Plan within the SoBECA Urban Plan and calls for the re-purposing of existing business facilities at 769 Baker Street and 2972 Century Place.  Plans call for retail, restaurant and food stall uses totaling 22,000 square feet; add 10,000 square feet of new retail and office uses and construct 3 live/work units and 45 residential units.

COULD BE AN INTERESTING EVENING
I have no idea how long this meeting will last.  I expect a large crowd to show up for the Holiday item, but beyond that, it's any one's guess.  Heck, we may not have a full council since Gary Monahan has previously said there's no reason for him to show up since he's termed out.  And, will Mayor Steve Mensinger show up now that it looks like he's been de-throned?  Only tomorrow will tell.

No Surprises At Planning Commission Meeting

IT SEEMED LONGER
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission - with all members present for the first time in awhile - met again Monday night and it took them almost three hours to wade through two agenda items.  It wasn't a long night - it just seemed that way.

MILITARY AFFAIRS COLLECTIONS
During Public Comments, Beth Refakes reminded us that there's still time to donate ball gowns and cocktail dresses to the women of the 1/5 Marines for the Marine Ball.  The cutoff date is September 15th.  She also reminded us that next week the Military Affairs Team will begin collecting individually-wrapped candy for the children of the 1/5 Marines for the "Trunk or Treat" event.

UPCOMING TOWN HALL
Mary Spadoni told us that there's going to be a town hall on September 22nd covering Public Safety and Sober Living Homes.

KUDOS ON BANNING RANCH.... AND SOBER LIVING HOMES
An unidentified person complimented Cindy Black for her photo in the Daily Pilot when the Banning Ranch decision was made last week, stating that it was a victory for the people.  She also told the commissioners that eight of the 15 sober living homes theoretically closed as part of the Solid Landings settlement have reopened.

None of the commissioners had comments.

UFC GYM APPROVED
Public Hearing #1, the request for a UFC Gym replacing a Mitusbishi auto dealership on Harbor Blvd. began just after 6:10 and the vote was taken just over an hour later.  During the discussions the only real sticking points seemed to be the potential for noise for the closest neighbors - more than 250 feet away - as a result of the loud music being played 24 hours a day - and the curious 900 square feet the applicant planned to abandon so they could make the parking spaces work.  Applicant Bill Fancher didn't really have a good answer about the space.  Even during lengthy discussions I don't think we ever had an adequate explanation of what was going to happen to that space.  I guess it's presumed that if the applicant says he won't be using it, then it will just sit empty.  Uh, huh...

WHAT ABOUT NOISE?
Six people spoke on this issue, most of whom were concerned about the noise spillage.  Chairman Rob Dickson seemed concerned about the "bass" (as in sea bass) sound in the music.  Seems he was referring to bass - as in second base - the deepest tones in the music.  He later corrected himself after another speaker used the word properly.  Made me smile.  In any event, after 65 minutes Dickson managed to fumble and stumble through a motion and they voted to approve the project, 5-0.

SPOTLIGHT ON "HOLIDAY"
Then came Public Hearing #2, the request for the new Holiday night club - which sits in place of the old Lion's Den/Maison that generated so much flack last year.  I suspected this one might take awhile, and also suspected it might generate some significant community input.  It did, and it did.

MEL GAVE US THE HISTORY
Senior Planner Mel Lee provided us with the staff report and the background of this property.

ROLAND WHO?
Consultant Karen Martin then presented the applicants side of the story, complete with a fancy set of slides, most of which are shown below and are fairly self-explanatory.  I must note that she couldn't distance their project from the now-infamous Roland Barrera quickly enough, as you can see in the third slide below. (click on the images if you have a hard time reading them)

EXPERT - CAN'T GET RID OF ALL THE SOUND
Another of their speakers was Landon Brown, the acoustic expert hired to help them with the noise issues.  I'll not attempt to cover everything he said, but at the end he acknowledged that it was probably not possible to contain ALL the musical noise coming from the night club, despite significant improvements to the place.  He observed that they needed a number against which to measure performance toward meeting the goals in the application.

CHEN SPOKE HIS PIECE
Ten people spoke on this issue, several of whom were not from Costa Mesa, but were in favor of the venue.  The pros and cons were evenly mixed.  Steve Chen, a resident immediately behind this site, had the proxy to speak for four other people, so Chairman Rob Dickson allowed him fifteen minutes to speak.  He addressed what he said was the overarching authority of the State agency to control this noise issue, and went on at length discussing specific sections of the state regulations - which were obliquely referred to in the conditions of approval - that he said acknowledged this fact.

CHO SAYS NO
Lawyer Michael Cho, retained by the applicant as their ABC expert to address this issue, disputed Chen's position strongly.

OWNER LOVES THE GUYS
Property Owner Larry Smith spoke in favor of the venue, stating that this ownership group was his best tenant in 44 years.

MARGINAL COMMUNITY REPLYS
Managing Partner Marty Kish spoke about the outreach engaged in with the local neighbors, indicating only one had replied so far.  They offered to place sound measuring devices at each propery.

COLIN CRITICIZED CHEN
During the discussion Colin McCarthy criticized Chen's presentation and said he was willing to support the applicant.

YOLANDA MASSAGES THE LANGUAGE
Much discussion ensued as Chairman Dickson consulted with Deputy City Attorney Yolanda Summerhill on some of the language in the resolution.  The motion that was made included a requirement for sound measuring to begin immediately and be reported back within a month instead of the 6 months in the staff report.  The commissioners voted, 5-0, to approve this project.  However, history of this site makes me think this is certainly not the end of this issue.  Without a firm sound measurement line there's too much fuzziness.  It's going to be interesting to watch this play out.

THREE HOURS - SEEMED LIKE SIX
The meeting ended just a couple minutes before 9 p.m., having spend an hour and three quarters on this issue.

Another Short Planning Commission Meeting Monday

SHORT, BUT PROBABLY LIVELY
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission will meet again on  Monday, September 12, 2016 beginning at 6:00 in City Council Chambers for what should be a fairly short meeting.  You can read the agenda HERE.  Even though the main part of the agenda has only two items on it, that doesn't mean it won't be lively - maybe even contentious.

A 24-HOUR GYM REPLACING A CAR DEALERSHIP?
For example, Public Hearing #1, HERE, is a planning application for a conditional use permit (CUP) to place a physical fitness facility (UFC GYM) at 2860 Harbor Boulevard - the site of the former Mitsubishi car dealership.  This gym would operate 24 hours a day.  The staff report recommends approval and seems to have taken into account most of the possible noise issues for adjacent apartments.  This has me wondering if this is the beginning of the demise of our Harbor Blvd. Of Cars?  Just asking...

LIVE, LOUD MUSIC UNTIL 2:00 A.M.!
Public Hearing #2, HERE, should generate some community interest.  This is a planning application for Holiday (formerly Lion's Den and Maison) at 719 West 19th Street.  Some will recall the chaos revolving about the Maison opening - codes violated or ignored and on and on.  This request asks for a CUP to permit live entertainment including, but not limited to, music, dancing and open microphones, within 200 feet of residentially-zoned properties and on-site valet parking.  Currently their public entertainment permit allows dis jockey entertainment and dancing.  The proposed hours of operation are from 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., seven days a week; proposed hours for live entertainment are 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m., seven days a week.  The staff report includes the sordid history of this venue.  We know this plan is not viewed favorably by contiguous neighbors, so I expect to see more than a few of them presenting their case Monday night.

WHAT ABOUT THE SOBER LIVING APPLICATIONS?
This is the second short meeting in a row.  We're still waiting to hear from the Development Services Department about when the avalanche of Sober Living applications will be presented to the Planning Commission.  We understand there are upwards of 50 pending consideration.  Director Gary Armstrong warned the commission a couple months ago to expect to put in extra time on those issues - referring to additional meetings necessary to handle the workload.  And, of course, the Development Services Department is working with a depleted staff and a consultant acting as the Assistant Director since Claire Flynn left for the private sector a couple months ago.  It's going to be an interesting remainder of the year for that organization.