1
THESE MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL
UNTIL APPROVED BY THE
CITY COUNCIL, SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE
CULVER CITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD,
CULVER CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD, AND
CULVER CITY PARKING AUTHORITY BOARD
SPECIAL MEETING OF THE March 23, 2015
CITY COUNCIL, SUCCESSOR AGENCY 4:00 p.m.
TO THE CULVER CITY REDEVELOPMENT
AGENCY BOARD, CULVER CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD,
CULVER CITY PARKING AUTHORITY BOARD, AND CITY COUNCIL
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA
Call to Order & Roll Call
Mayor Sahli-Wells called the meeting of the City Council and
other Legislative Bodies to order at 4:06 p.m. in the Rotunda
Room at the Veterans Memorial Building.
Present: Meghan Sahli-Wells, Mayor
Micheál O‘Leary, Vice Mayor*
Jim B. Clarke, Council Member
Jeffrey Cooper, Council Member**
Andrew Weissman, Council Member
*Vice Mayor O'Leary arrived at 4:07 p.m.
**Council Member Cooper arrived at 4:18 p.m.
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Joint Public Comment
Mayor Sahli-Wells invited public comment.
No speakers came forward and no cards were received.
o0o
Joint Consent Items March 23, 2015
2
Item JC-1
Approval of Minutes for the Special Meeting of March 9, 2015
and Adjourned Special Meeting of March 10, 2015
The City Council and Boards did not take action on this item
at this meeting.
o0o
Joint Action Items
Item J-1
JOINT CITY COUNCIL/HOUSING AUTHORITY/PARKING AUTHORITY/
SUCCESSOR AGENCY AGENDA ITEMS: (1) Consideration of
Current and Proposed Work Plans for City Departments; and
(2) Direction to the City Manager as Deemed Appropriate
Martin Cole, Assistant City Manager/City Clerk, reported
that the City Council had received correspondence from the
Parks, Recreation and Community Services Commission.
Mayor Sahli-Wells received clarification that was the only
Commission, Committee or Board to weigh in with comments.
Vice Mayor O'Leary arrived at 4:07 p.m.
Sol Blumenfeld, Community Development Director, provided
an overview of the 2014-2015 Community Development
Department Work Plan and the proposed 2015-2016 Work Plan.
Council Member Cooper arrived at 4:18 p.m.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members
regarding long-stalled projects moving forward; the Walker
Parking Study; community appreciation for the work of the
City; handling the increased workload; grants; programming
staff; the Work Plan for each project; improved
efficiencies in the department; examining the permit
processes; Parcel B; curving the staircase; seating areas;
concern with open spaces that are just open spaces; the
interactive development map; the General Design Review;
the permitting process; City Manager authorization for
additional plan check and inspection service as needed;
how to manage the work flow; current parking companies March 23, 2015
3
being used; the update to the 2010 parking data; parking
behavior; changes to the rate structure; necessary
improvements; upgrading the parking operation system;
auditing current systems; the Modern Parking contract;
annual audits; the visioning process; signage; vacating
alleys; the status of the previously vacated alleys;
shared parking; the Parking and Traffic Subcommittee;
interest level of the owners; the visioning project done
by UCLA grad students; the reimagined Fox Hills plan; the
West Washington AIP; bicycle lanes; medians and left turn
movements; the plan being prepared by Solis Engineering;
the parkway ordinance; weekend code enforcement; Storage
Solutions on Jefferson; park patrol; finding a way to
clarify which projects are in Los Angeles rather than in
Culver City; increasing a focus on grants; the return on
investment; support letters from other elected officials
and community leaders for grants; marketing different
districts; attracting economic development in the City;
rebranding Fox Hills; the Business Improvement District
(BID); Tilden Terrace; solid waste issues related to
restaurant operations; transitioning areas; ideas for
affordable housing; changes to commercial corridors; the
medians on Washington; streetscape improvements;
attracting new businesses; mixed-use development; creative
office opportunities; consolidation of the presentation
and the written work plan; overlap; the supplementary work
plan; ensuring that projects are implemented; the
importance of capturing everything for the record; forming
additional BIDs; businesses that depend on foot traffic;
creating a retail restaurant street in Culver City;
rebranding; having a BID do a land planning effort; the
visioning process; assessments; the online survey; the end
result; the plan generated from the businesses; what
happens if there is community support for changes in the
neighborhood but not for funding through signs; areas of
interest; land use; products from the visioning process;
options; the stakeholders; the Community Development Block
Grant (CDBG); the City Council/School Board Liaison
Committee; projects for the grant process; the end of the
Senior Center Loan; who the stakeholders are; the process
moving forward; the composition of the CDBG Advisory
Committee; City Council involvement in the Advisory
Committee selection; public notice; solicited
recommendations; limitations to uses; qualifying census
tracts; City-wide use to meet national objectives;
potential uses of the funds; minutes for the CDBG Advisory
Committee meetings; the Helms District; inclusion in the March 23, 2015
4
BID; the original process of creating the BID; intense
consideration of boundaries; creating a BID for
Washington/National; public improvements on private
property; creating a Transit Oriented Development (TOD)
district; appreciation for the focus on affordable
housing; the Baldwin project; ensuring that the density
bonus is used to create affordable housing in the TOD; the
Community Benefit; the process for approving Community
Benefits; the mixed use ordinance; incentive zoning; the
Lowe project; other TOD projects moving forward;
incentivizing vs. mandating; using Community Benefit to
increase density; focusing on affordable housing as a
priority; adopting resolutions on a project by project
basis; the need for affordable housing near TODs;
including affordable housing as part of the TOD
discussions; the Karsten Marsteller project; potential
density bonuses; entitlements; the comprehensive plan;
assumptions; Community Benefits; open space; the process
to make changes to Community Benefits; targeted
improvements; City Council consensus to discuss the issue
of making changes to the Community Benefit process;
bonuses and discretion; communicating competitive grants;
accessory dwelling requirements; the Planning Division
workplan; the vision of the City; a community vision of
the City; the General Plan; clarification that no funds
are available for a General Plan update; raising money
through development fees; fee studies to determine where
fees can be applied; the five-year life of the General
Plan; ongoing costs; tremendous change; including the
community in the conversation; the importance of
addressing density; adding the General Plan update to the
list; the Globe Avenue project; public support; the
funding gap; reducing the cost hurdle; introducing
additional market rate housing; reducing the amount of
subsidy required; fundraising by Habitat for Humanity;
options for funding the gap; code enforcement; a homeless
encampment in the downtown area; offering services to the
homeless; costs for the St. Joseph's services; the TOD
streetscape; including bicycle riders as stakeholders; the
definition of stakeholders; the noticing process; the
recent outreach meeting; those invested on the area; those
funding improvements; and appreciation to staff for their
efforts.
o0o
March 23, 2015
5
Recess/Reconvene
The City Council recessed the consolidated special
meetings from 5:58 p.m. to 11:43 p.m.
o0o
Joint Public Comment – Items Not on the Agenda
None.
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Items from Council Members
None.
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Adjournment
There being no further business, at 11:44 p.m., the City
Council, Housing Authority Board, Parking Authority Board and
Successor Agency Board adjourned their meetings to Tuesday,
March 24, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.
o0o
Martin R. Cole
CITY CLERK of Culver City, California
EX-OFFICIO CLERK of the City Council and Secretary of the
Boards of the Successor Agency, Housing Authority, and
Parking Authority
Culver City, California
March 23, 2015
6
MEGHAN SAHLI-WELLS
MAYOR of Culver City, California and CHAIR of the Boards
of the Successor Agency, Housing Authority, and Parking
Authority 1
THESE MINUTES ARE NOT OFFICIAL
UNTIL APPROVED BY THE
CITY COUNCIL, SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE
CULVER CITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD,
CULVER CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD, AND THE
CULVER CITY PARKING AUTHORITY BOARD
ADJOURNED SPECIAL MEETING OF THE March 24, 2015
CITY COUNCIL, SUCCESSOR AGENCY 4:00 p.m.
TO THE CULVER CITY REDEVELOPMENT
AGENCY BOARD, CULVER CITY HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD, AND
CULVER CITY PARKING AUTHORITY BOARD
CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA
Call to Order & Roll Call
Mayor Sahli-Wells called the meeting of the City Council and
Boards to order at 4:00 p.m. in the Dan Patacchia meeting
room at City Hall.
Present: Meghan Sahli-Wells, Mayor
Micheál O‘Leary, Vice Mayor
Jim B. Clarke, Council Member
Andrew Weissman, Council Member
Absent: Jeffrey Cooper, Council Member
o0o
Joint Public Comment
Mayor Sahli-Wells invited public comment.
No speakers came forward and no cards were received.
o0o
Joint Consent Items March 24, 2015
2
Item JC-1
Meeting Minutes
MOVED BY COUNCIL MEMBER/BOARD MEMBER CLARKE AND SECONDED BY
VICE MAYOR/VICE CHAIR O'LEARY THAT THE CITY COUNCIL, HOUSING
AUTHORITY BOARD, PARKING AUTHORITY BOARD AND SUCCESSOR AGENCY
TO THE REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD APPROVE THE MINUTES FROM
THE SPECIAL MEETING OF MARCH 9, 2015 AND ADJOURNED SPECIAL
MEETING OF MARCH 10, 2015. THE MOTION CARRIED BY THE
FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES: CLARKE, O'LEARY, SAHLI-WELLS, WEISSMAN
NOES: NONE
ABSENT: COOPER
o0o
Joint Action Items
Item J-1
JOINT CITY COUNCIL/HOUSING AUTHORITY/PARKING AUTHORITY/
SUCCESSOR AGENCY AGENDA ITEMS: (1) Consideration of
Current and Proposed Work Plans for City Departments; and
(2) Direction to the City Manager as Deemed Appropriate
Carol Schwab, City Attorney, provided an overview of the
2014-2015 City Attorney's Office Work Plan and the
proposed 2015-2016 Work Plan noting that there is a fair
amount of overlap with other departments and that ongoing
projects would appear in the budget for this year and the
next year.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members
regarding the Administrative Citation Ordinance; clean-up
requested by Community Development; appreciation for the
work of the City Attorney's Office; the function of the
department; effects to restaurants on the Tobacco Retail
Licensing ordinance; the prohibition of the sale of e-
cigarettes to minors vs. the smoking of e-cigarettes; the
Emergency Preparedness Ordinance with the Fire Department;
the Charter Review Subcommittee; municipal vs. county
elections; timing of the elections; the upcoming
subcommittee meeting; timing of decisions to be on the
November ballot; the Telecommunications Ordinance March 24, 2015
3
revision; the pipeline negotiations; closed session
discussions; School District attorneys; joint use issues;
crossing guards; the Safe Routes to School Program; the
Hazard Mitigation Plan; the importance of joint
participation in the grant; drought concerns; enforcement
of restrictions; state mandates; complaint driven
enforcement; water agency enforcement; the role of Golden
State Water Company; landscaping; gardeners; regulations
regarding leaf blowers; responsibility; education; the
severity of restrictions; the comprehensive update; the
Campaign Finance Subcommittee; feedback from the
subcommittees to the City Council; identified changes to
be made; complexity of the subject matter; use of DropBox;
security concerns; cell phone towers; the streamlining
process; outreach for the multi-family smoking ordinance;
the implementation program; education; the planned look
back; adequacy of the regulations; the improvement to the
City's grade from the American Lung Association due to the
City Council’s adoption of the multi-family housing
smoking ban; public health issues; Brown Act training; the
new Granicus Government Transparency system; preventive
measures to protect against litigation; the use of outside
consultants for the City Attorney's Office; the
experiences of other cities; and appreciation for the hard
work of the department.
Martin Cole, Assistant City Manager/City Clerk, reported
distributing correspondence to City Council Members; he
noted that PRCS Director Dan Hernandez had provided copies
of the Power Point presentation in advance; he clarified
that the budget would come forward in May; he discussed
Capital Improvement Projects; and the opportunity for more
in-depth consideration during the meetings in May.
Mayor Sahli-Wells invited public participation.
The following member of the audience addressed the City
Council:
The speaker expressed appreciation for streetscape and
transportation improvements being made by the City.
John Nachbar, City Manager, reported that with respect to
concerns with DropBox and security issues; the City is
exploring file sharing through the Granicus system.
March 24, 2015
4
Martin Cole, Assistant City Manager/City Clerk, summarized
comments submitted by Laura Love from AYSO regarding the
availability of playing fields.
Dan Hernandez, Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Director, provided an overview of the 2014-2015 Parks,
Recreation and Community Services Work Plan and the
proposed 2015-2016 Work Plan.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members
regarding impacts of the loss of the RSVP grant; under
funded programs; pursuit of grants; having a City-wide
grant person on staff; reluctance to add full-time,
permanent staff; contract services; providing different
opportunities to sign up for recreational activities; the
anti-bullying signage; electronic signage at Veterans
Memorial Building; costs; the importance of communication;
the upcoming Centennial; a suggestion to establish a
Friends of Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Foundation; the need for capital campaigns; the demand for
lanes at The Plunge; reassessment of lane assignments; the
process to choose recreation programs; the 70/30 profit
split; the Commission recommendation to renegotiate
contract agreements to maximize City revenue; subtracting
out the costs for maintenance; reduced rental fees for use
of the field; per player fees; the desire of the
Commission to expand programming; sustainable programs;
cost effectiveness; mission-driven programming; providing
a community service; the Youth Mentoring program; the My
Brother's Keeper program; reassigning resources; the
Senior Center Courtyard remodeling; temporary repurposing
of the fountain; interest rates; the new Senior Center
Board; security; the loss of redevelopment funds;
recombining the Cultural Affairs Commission and Parks
Recreation and Community Services Commission; the lack of
oversight over other departments; overlap with Veterans
Auditorium; the history of the creation of the Cultural
Affairs Commission; responsibilities specific to Cultural
Affairs; the Cultural Affairs Foundation Board; the letter
from the Parks, Recreation and Community Services
Commission; the budget process; input from the Commission;
coordination of signage with the Wende Museum; potential
community gardens property at Sawtelle and Braddock;
concern with addressing broken sprinklers in a timely
manner; the NFL 60 program; CDBG partial funding for the
Disability Coordinator; those Commissions with specific
roles and those Commissions looking for things to do; March 24, 2015
5
micro management; Adult Softball; per participant charges;
maintenance; Little League and AYSO; charges for field
use; contributions for field improvements; the practices
of surrounding cities; clarifying fees and instituting
regular charges rather than voluntary contributions; the
department as part of the community; congratulations to
the department on the state award; agreement to stop
watering the City Hall grounds; community tensions;
setting the proper example; preventative auditing; night
time watering; scholarships for after school care;
determining eligibility; involvement with swim teams; a
suggestion to have a band shell in one of the parks;
creating an adopt a park initiative; Tellefson Park;
providing a way for residents to donate services or cash
to support their park; neighborhood associations;
instituting an annual park clean-up day; turf,
maintenance, and urban runoff; capturing water runoff and
processing it under the parks; potential park upgrades;
the Independent Cities Association; the West Los Angeles
College Urban Runoff project; upcoming School District
field renovations; the Teen Center; kudos to staff at Vets
and their handling of the City Council meetings;
appreciation for the flexibility and coordination with the
School District with the Plunge; the Egg Hunt; increasing
visibility from a driving perspective in the recreation
corridor along Duquesne and promoting fitness; celebrating
the Syd Kronenthal Park improvements; wellness education;
Growing Great; concern with splitting up part time jobs in
order to not have to pay for health care; the practicality
of having four employees when two would do; cost savings;
expectations of temporary part-time employees; the part
time designation; over reliance on part time workers; on
site communication regarding park classes; dynamic
signage; branding; reaching the target audience; and
appreciation to staff for their efforts.
Martin Cole, Assistant City Manager/City Clerk, received
agreement from the City Council and Boards to schedule a
Closed Session meeting on April 6 at 4:00 p.m. to address
exposure to litigation with respect to urban runoff and
budget meetings from May 18-20 at 4:00 p.m.
Discussion ensued between staff and Council Members
regarding concern that the presentations would be a repeat
of presentations just made; highlighting changes in the
budget made in response to input just provided; proceeding
efficiently; notations on the agenda that information March 24, 2015
6
presented will be highlighting addendums with the original
presentation available online; the public process; low
public attendance of the meetings even with significant
outreach programs; location of the April 6 meeting;
feedback from the public that 4:00 p.m. meetings
discourage public participation; and projected length of
the budget meetings.
o0o
Joint Public Comment – Items Not on the Agenda
None.
o0o
Items from Council Members
None.
o0o
Adjournment
There being no further business, at 6:43 p.m., the City
Council, and Boards of the Culver City Housing Authority,
Culver City Parking Authority and Successor Agency to the
Culver City Redevelopment Agency adjourned this Adjourned
Special Meeting.
o0o
Martin R. Cole
CITY CLERK of Culver City, California
EX-OFFICIO CLERK of the City Council and Secretary of the
Boards of the Culver City Housing Authority, Culver City
Parking Authority and Successor Agency to the Culver City
Redevelopment Agency
Culver City, California
March 24, 2015
7
MEGHAN SAHLI-WELLS
MAYOR of Culver City, California and CHAIR of the Boards
of the Culver City Housing Authority, Culver City Parking
Authority and Successor Agency to the Culver City
Redevelopment Agency