City Council Holds Only Meeting Until September

ONLY MEETING THIS MONTH
The Costa Mesa City Council meets for its only official meeting until after the Labor Day holiday tomorrow, Tuesday, August 2, 2016 beginning at 5:45 p.m. in City Council Chambers at City Hall.  This meeting has a fairly short agenda, which you can read HERE.  The council has previously agreed to cancel the meeting scheduled for August 16th.  It will be interesting to see which council members show up for this one.

MESA WATER "UPDATE"?  ABOUT WHAT?
I did note with interest that early in the meeting Mesa Water District General Manager Paul Schoenberger will present an "update".  I wonder if he will talk about the one-sided bogus survey Mesa Water recently contracted for, and which apparently has caused their board to place a non-binding "advisory" measure on the ballot asking the voters if Mesa Water and the Costa Mesa Sanitary District should be merged?  Based on the public record of events and official utterances from folks on both sides of this issue, it certainly seems like this is just a hostile takeover attempt in a fancy dress.  And, it's my understanding that Mesa Water will spend over $150,000 to place the item on the ballot and conduct community outreach efforts to convince you voters of the value of their idea.  No biggie, right?  They'll just raise the rates if money gets tight.

CONSENT CALENDAR
The Consent Calendar has fourteen (14) items on it.  You will recall, in theory these items are of a routine nature and, therefore, could be voted upon with one vote without separate discussion.  And, the Mensinger/Righeimer council has implemented a policy whereby if a member of the public, council or staff chooses to ask for a separate discussion on any item or items, they will be trailed to the very end of the meetings - which sometimes turn out to be the next day.  I'll address a few of these items that caught my attention.

THE WARRANT
Item #2 is Warrant 2561, HERE. This is a roster of bills paid by the city. This time it amounts to more than $8 million dollars!  Some of the entries you may find of interest:

• Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth - $31,044.75 - Legal Svcs, Various
• Best Best & Krieger LLP - $10,211.42 - Legal Svcs
• Government Jobs.com Inc - $8,856.00 - App. Tracking System
• Interwest Consulting Group Inc - $7,360.00 - CIP Prog. Mgt.
• RJM Design Group Inc - $11,490.15 - Open Space Master Plan Update
• Jones & Mayer - $150,682.70 - Legal Svcs, Various
• Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $32,000.08 - Legal Svcs, Personnel
• Civil Source - $82,281.00 - Staff Support Various Proj. Apr & May
• Costa Mesa Conference & Visitor Bureau - $217,571.61 - BIA Receipts, May 2016
• HYM Engineering Inc. - $113,332.34 - Const. Contract City Pro (?)
• Johnson Favaro LLP - $115,632.00 - NCRnvtn Proj
• Jones & Mayer - $49,153.82 - Legal Svcs (Ddey) 
• Lilley Planning Group - $19,890.00 - Sr. Plng Svcs May and June
• Newport Mesa Unified School District - $508,432.12 - Developer Fees, April, May, June
• Wigmore Insurance Agency, Inc - $100,353.00 - Excess Wrkrs Comp Ins Rnwl
• Carl Warren & Company - $3,250.00 - Wkrs Comp Admin Fee June 2016
• Continental Interpreting Services Inc - $4,204.50 - Interpreting Svcs, 5 Dist. Voting Meetings
• Liebert Cassidy Whitmore - $5,864.00 - Legal, Negotiations
• Orange County Treasure Tax Collector - $13,186.49 - Teletype Svc for June 2016 (?)
• State of Califorina Dept of Justice - $13,695.00 - Fingerprint Apps, June, 2016
• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. - $425,300.12 - Insurance Premiums (Excess)
• Moore Iacofano Goltsman Inc. - $57,578.87 - Genl Plan Update and EIR
• RJM Design Group Inc - $16,521.62 - Open Space Master Plan Update
• WLC Architects Inc - $54,844.61 - Fire Station #1 Design Svcs
• Best Best & Krieger LLP - $8,137.64 - CEQA Legal May 2016 
• Compass Demographics Inc - $5,000.00 - Dist Formation
• Templeton Planning Group - $8,800.00 - Prof. Svcs, June

LEGAL FEES AND INSURANCE COSTS!
So, on this warrant we see nearly $290,000 in legal fees - just under $200,000 for Jones & Mayer alone.  And, I was interested to note the insurance costs on this warrant.  We spent nearly $600,000 for insurance costs.  Take a few moments and scroll down through the various entries.  I won't try to cover all the rest of the Consent Calendar items - you can scroll down through the agenda for that information.  There are a couple, though, that require comment.

SWAP A CODE ENFORCEMENT SLOT FOR A PLANNER
Item #9, HERE, is a request to swap one full-time Code Enforcement Officer position for a new Assistant Planner position due to the overwhelming workload in Development Services.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT SERVICES FOR "LIONS PARK PROJECTS"
This one is a contract for nearly $3 million for project management services for what is now being referred to as "Lions Park Projects" - the demolition of the Neighborhood Community Center and construction of a new library; the renovation of the current Dungan Library building as a community center and other park improvements - the total anticipated costs for which are $30 million.  The planning part will go through July, 2017 and the construction phase from that point forward to March 2020.

OPPOSING ELIMINATION OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME
Item #14, HERE, in which it is recommended that the City Council direct staff to draft a letter in opposition to Assembly Bill 385, which proposed to eliminate Daylight Savings Time in the state of California.  The Parks and Recreation Commission is opposed to this bill because it would severely restrict daylight field use - almost 4,000 hours of playable hours of field time - from March through November.

VACATION OF RIGHT-OF-WAY ON WESTSIDE
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is for the vacation of excess right-of-way at 671-673 W. 17th Street at two locations: W. 17th Street and Superior Avenue.  Significant new construction is taking place adjacent to these two sites.

APPEAL OF PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVAL
Public Hearing #2, HERE, is an appeal of a Conditional Use Permit and Share Parking at 3184 Airway Avenue involving a proposed Arts & Learning Conservatory.  The appellant, an attorney for Koll-Irvine Community Association, is asking the council to reverse the Planning Commission approval indicating the proposed use is not compatible with the other uses withn the complex.  This will be a "de novo hearing", meaning they will start over and can consider the project in it's entirety.  When this was heard by the Planning Commission the house was packed with interested parties.

CAMPAIGN SIGNAGE CHANGES
Old Business #1, HERE, is the second reading of changes to ordinances regarding campaign signage.

ANOTHER SMALL LOT DEVELOPMENT - 1974 CHARLE STREET
New Business #1, HERE, is a request to amend the land use designation from General Commercial to High Density Residential at 1974 Charle Street.  This proposal would replace existing commercial building with a 6-unit detached small lot subdivison.

Full Agenda Faces Planning Commission Monday

LOADED AGENDA - A LONG NIGHT
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission meets again Monday, June 13, 2016 in City Council Chambers beginning at 6:00 p.m. and it faces a full agenda, HERE.

CONSENT CALENDAR
In addition to the minutes of an earlier meeting, the Consent Calendar contains an item, HERE, that is considered routine.  This is the vacation of excess right-of-way at 671-673 W. 17th Street at the corner of West 17th Street and Pomona Avenue.

CAMPAIGN SIGNS CHANGES
Public Hearing #1, HERE, is an amendment to the Zoning Code affecting portable signs, including campaign signs and is a result of concern about how signs were handled during the 2014 election and also as a result of recent Federal Law.  The proposed change now refers to campaign signs as "Non-Commercial Portable Signs".  The big changes are the times and days campaign signs are permitted to be displayed.  Previously they were permitted in public right-of-way only on the weekends.  The way I read this ordinance, signs that otherwise meet the criteria established by the code may now be displayed any time, any day during the six-week period before any election and must be removed no later than 10 days following the date of the election.  And you thought we had been infested with these signs before!

SHARED PARKING ON PAULARINO AND RED HILL
Public Hearing #2, HERE, is a request for a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for properties on Paularino Avenue and Red Hill Avenue for shared parking at the two sites.  One 12,000 square foot building will be demolished to provide parking space.  The staff recommends approval.

ARTS AND LEARNING CONSERVATORY ON AIRWAY AVENUE
Public Hearing #3, HERE, is a Conditional Use Permit for Arts and Learning Conservatory and shared parking requirements at 3184 Airway Avenue, Suite A.  Those who follow this stuff may remember this site... it was the subject of some controversy the first of the year.  The Berean Community Church that occupies the site is moving and this activity will replace it.  The staff recommends approval.

LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AT THE BARLEY FORGE
Public Hearing #4, HERE, is a another amendment to the CUP for the Barley Forge microbrewery at 2957 Randolph Avenue for live entertainment daily until 11:00 p.m.  The staff recommends approval.

SELF-STORAGE AND FOOD ON BRISTOL
The final item on the agenda, Public Hearing #5, HERE, is interesting for a couple reasons.  This is a rezone and planning application for a 774-unit self-storage facility and 5,000 square foot food court building at 375 Bristol Street, the site of a current automotive center.  This site backs up to the small golf course on the east side.  I recall one of the justifications for the replacement of the automotive center with self-storage was the increasing number of high density homes with little or no storage available onsite.  An interesting sidebar is that there is a project a short distance away also on Bristol  - around a mile, adjacent to the Newport Mesa Unified School District Headquarters - in the planning stages in which an existing storage facility is going to be demolished and replaced with homes.  Very curious.  The staff recommends approval of this project.

It's That Time Of The Year...

SIGNS OF THE TIMES...
The campaign season is in full swing and, as usual, we're seeing signs popping up like mushrooms all over town.  All manner of sign ordinance violations were visible throughout the city and will likely continue to be so until November 4th, when all the craziness theoretically stops.

NOT JUST COSTA MESA, EITHER
Of course it's not limited to Costa Mesa.  Here's a sign I saw Sunday at the corner of Jamboree Road and Pacific Coast Highway.  I gave up trying to count them...

LAST CHANCE TO SEE THEM...
This week, on Thursday, we will have our final chance to see all the Costa Mesa City Council candidates (except Lee Ramos) respond to questions as a group when my friends and neighbors of the Eastside Costa Mesa Neighbors Group (ECMNG) hosts a candidate forum starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Costa Mesa Neighborhood Community Center.  All the information you need is on the flyer below.

CONTROVERSY SURROUNDS IT
This forum has been the subject of controversy lately.  First, at the last one two years ago, Mayor Jim Righeimer took exception to some of the questions asked of candidate Steve Mensinger and, following the forum, cornered the moderator and members of the host organization and read them the riot act.  Many of us who attended that forum thought it was the best of the bunch that time around, just as it had been in the previous cycle.  We're hoping for that same level of professionalism this time, too.

BULLYING
Speaking of reading the riot act, Mensinger returned the favor when he cornered Daily Pilot City Editor Alicia Lopez following the last forum - the Feet To The Fire Forum - and chewed her out for questions she asked Righeimer.  These guys have developed bullying into an art form!

NO CMTV THIS TIME
The ECMNG forum will NOT be televised by the folks at Costa Mesa Television.  The City, apparently bowing to political pressure, has chosen to not cover this event while covering the previous two forums.  The first lame excuse was covered in a press release that told us that another outside law firm had advised them of potential complications.  In fact, the language used was anything but clear.  Then, CEO Tom Hatch offered up yet another lame excuse at a council meeting, blaming Video Production Coordinator Dane Bora for overstepping his grounds during the first forum this year - the one hosted by Mesa Verde Community, Inc. - and covered by CMTV.  It is my understanding that the ECMNG has made private arrangements for television coverage of this event and it will be posted on the Internet promptly.

WHO WILL SHOW UP?
While we presume all the candidates will show up for this one, there have been some rumblings that Righeimer, in addition to Ramos, might not show up.  I actually hope ALL the candidates attend this event.  The voters of this city deserve to hear their positions on important issues in this kind of a setting.

SEE YOU THERE...
I'll remind you later in the week of this event.  See you all there.

More Sign Intrigue

JUNK FOR MY RUMOR CLOSET
For the past few weeks I've been hearing rumblings about political signs popping up like mushrooms in yards of vacant homes - empty rentals, abandoned homes and those about to go on the market.  Until this morning I had nothing concrete to report, so I had just stashed those rumors in my rumor closet, to ferment with the rest of the stuff in there.

 
STEALTH SIGN PLACEMENT
This morning, though, a friend related a first-person story that prompted me to pass it along.  It seems my friend heard a car trunk slam outside his house early this morning and, when investigating it, found four new political signs in the lawn of the house across the street from his home.  They had not been there the night before.


THE HOUSE WAS VACANT
This house is a rental and the occupants, who had moved out, were not registered voters in Orange County.  So, my friend called the owners of the home to see if they might have returned overnight and was told that they won't be home until after the election and, in fact, they had listed the house for sale.



USING MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE (MLS) FOR SIGN PLACEMENT?
My friend was curious, and I am, too, since it appears that some folks may be checking the MLS listings and placing signs in the lawns of homes they know to be vacant without permission for those responsible for the property.

THE SIGNS WERE REMOVED
Oh, yes, the offending signs - a Yes on V, Vote for 3Ms, Vote for Monahan and Vote for Mensinger -  were removed at the direction of the property owner.