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Home My WebLink About2003 02 05 CC MIN SS2003 02 05 CC MIN SS(Ìì‹.COUNCIL CHAMBER FEBRUARY 5. 2003 14403 E. PACIFIC AVENUE WEDNESDAY BALDWIN PARK, CA 91706 5:30 P.M. The CITY COUNCIL and COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY of the City of Baldwin Park met in STUDY SESSION at the above time and place. ROLL CALL Present: Councllmember/Member: Linda Gair, Ricardo Pacheco, Mayor Pro-Tem/Vice- Chair Marlen Garcia and Mayor/Chair Manuel Lozano Absent: Councilmember/Member Bill Van Cleave Also Present: Dayle Keller, Chief Executive Officer; Arnold Alvarez-Glasman, City Attorney; Mark Kling, Chief of Police; Jose Sanchez, Finance Director; Shafique Naiyer, Public Works Director; Melecio Picazo, Interim Community Development Director; Mark Dozmati. Building Official; Gail Bishop, Lead Code Enforcement Officer; Suzie Ayala, Code Enforcement Officer and Kathleen Sessman, Deputy City Clerk SUBSEQUENT NEED ITEM ADDED TO AGENDA Attorney Alvarez-Glasman advised the Agency/City Council that an item regarding Conference with Real Property Negotiator had developed after the posting of the notice of agenda. There is an immediate need to provide a briefing to the City Council in this matter. He recommended that this matter be added to the Closed Session portion of this agenda. A motion was made to add the item as recommended by the attorney as follows: CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR GC 54956.8); Property: 3145 Baldwin Park Blvd.; Negotiating Parties: Agency Negotiating with Charles Company; Agency Negotiators: Dayle Keller, Arnold Alvarez-Glasman and Melecio Picazo; Under Negotiation: Price and Terms of Sale. MOTION: Mayor Pro Tern Garcia SECOND: Councilmember Gair Carried PRESENTATIONS CODE ENFORCEMENT PRESENTATION Mark Dozmati, Building Official presented the report as follows: This purpose of this presentation is to provide information and to discuss the City Council's desired focus for the Code Enforcement program, including priorities related to unlicensed vendor activities. Building Official Dozmati stated that the Code Enforcement Division operates citywide with the responsibility of enforcing the ordinances of the municipal code. Staff responds to service requests from citizens, referrals from other divisions and departments, other government agencies and pro-active officer initiated cases for violations within the public view. We operate with a positive attitude and stress voluntary compliance from the public. BIB] 37763-U01 2003-U02 02-U02 05-U02 CC-U02 MIN-U02 SS-U02 LI1-U03 FO8420-U03 FO16119-U03 DO16135-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 5/21/2003-U04 ROBIN-U04 STUDY-U05 SESSION-U05 CITY-U06 COUNCIL-U06 COMMUNITY-U06 REDEVELOPMENT-U06 AGENCY-U06 2003 02 05 CC MIN SS(Ìì‹.Study Session Minutes February 5. 2003 Page 2 Staff is responsible for investigating and abating violations including sub-standard dwellings, abating dangerous buildings, illegal occupancy, property use and incompatible zoning, removal of inoperative vehicles from private property, property maintenance and public nuisances, weed abatement, business licensing, unauthorized discharges into the storm drain and atmosphere, deteriorated signage and temporary banners, and illegal sales of products from the public right of way and private property. Last year the Council approved additional Code Enforcement personnel to aggressively improve and preserve alt neighborhoods throughout the City. Staff educates the public and assists each individual property owner who is violation with complying with the law. We offer solutions for compliance and enforce the municipal code with the spirit" of the law. The following priority projects are currently taking place: Major thoroughfares and retail shopping centers are a priority focus for division staff members. These corridors are highly visible to vehicular traffic and pedestrians. Ultimately, these areas represent the attitude" of the city as far as pride and property preservation is concerned. Staff pro-actively canvasses all major streets to insure both residential and commercial properties are maintained constantly. Business owners are referred to the Commercial Loan Program offered through the Economic Development Department. Staff members while performing business license inspections address landscaping maintenance issues at all retail commercial shopping centers. Properly maintained planters and grounds provide the business with an aesthetic appeal. It assists in drawing customers to patronize the businesses in addition to retaining tenant occupancy. Parking lot maintenance is a key component of property maintenance throughout the City. Slurry coating and striping clearly designates stalls for customers to park their vehicles while patronizing retail centers. Refuse bin enclosures are also a priority in maintaining commercial retail properties. Staff insures that existing refuse enclosures are structurally sound and provide adequate space for the temporary storage of refuse out of the public view. Signage and temporary banners are a top priority. Staff addresses deteriorated signs and banners that can visibly distract customers from patronizing businesses. We assist both business owners and property owners in the process of sign permits. Various areas of the City do have different standards for sign requirements and staff insures that the uses are proper to meet the code. Census Tracts 4047 and 4048 encompass roughly one third of the City's total 6.7 square mile area. Zoning uses are mixed with both Residential and Commercial/Industrial properties. Staff assigned to this detail focus predominately on service requests from the public and systematic street-by-street pro-active canvassing. Staff along with a multi-agency task force consisting of the Los Angeles County Health Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department and the Baldwin Park Police Department, designate candidate properties in need of rehabilitation. The Crime Free Multi-unit Housing Program focuses on upgrading substandard apartment complexes. This orooram imoroves the oualitv of life for low to moderate income families: insures BIB] 37763-U01 2003-U02 02-U02 05-U02 CC-U02 MIN-U02 SS-U02 LI1-U03 FO8420-U03 FO16119-U03 DO16135-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 5/21/2003-U04 ROBIN-U04 STUDY-U05 SESSION-U05 CITY-U06 COUNCIL-U06 COMMUNITY-U06 REDEVELOPMENT-U06 AGENCY-U06 2003 02 05 CC MIN SS(Ìì‹.Study Session Minutes February 5, 2003 Page 3 safe and adequate housing; and lowers or eliminates crime activity associated with blighted areas. Pro-active residential enforcement is accomplished by canvassing each street to address code violations in the public view. Staff concentrates on property maintenance, deteriorated housing, public nuisances, landscaping and the storage of inoperative vehicles on private property. Property preservation is a mandated priority and essential for tax increment. Residents are encouraged to apply for Home Improvement Loans through the City's Housing Department. The Interstate 10 corridor passes through this targeted area and predominately consists of commercial uses and light industrial uses. In order to attract new developments along the corridor, staff pro-actively canvasses the various properties to make sure conditional use permits are enforced, the property is maintained aesthetically, refers fire code and health code violations to the County and periodically requests assistance from other departments within the City such as Public Works and the Police Department to abate any code violations. Staff requests voluntary compliance from the citizens and business owners of Baldwin Park that are in violation of the code. All responsible parties are given due process of the law until alt administrative remedies have been exhausted. Staff seeks warrants as necessary and recovers all abatement costs through liens placed against the property. Others are prosecuted through the Court system. This project is targeted to improve the Arrow Highway corridor of the City and adjacent neighborhoods to Olive Avenue; Rivergrade Road to the west and Azusa Canyon Road to the east. Staff addresses violations associated with the auto salvage yards, light industrial and manufacturing businesses and all residential dwelling units. All NPDES requirements and conditional use permits are enforced. Staff also has targeted many of the older businesses with faded signage and refers business owners to the Commercial Loan Program and residential property owners to the Home Improvement Program. The goal of the Teen Center Project is to improve the adjacent residential and commercial properties. Staff again will address all property violations; encourage those in violation to apply for assistance for rehabilitation through the City's loan programs. Staff will also coordinate roll off bin donations from Waste Management for property cleanups and discarding of salvageables and debris. In 1994, the City adopted the current ordinance prohibiting vending from human powered carts in the public right of way. Staff pro-actively canvasses the City seven days a week to insure compliance with the code. Over the last eight years hundreds of vendors have been cited and have had their products confiscated. Staff has seen a significant decrease in activity over the years. During the summer months, staff works on a delayed" shift to compensate for the longer days. Although staff continues to enforce the law, vendors are not deterred from entering the City. Various reasons BIB] 37763-U01 2003-U02 02-U02 05-U02 CC-U02 MIN-U02 SS-U02 LI1-U03 FO8420-U03 FO16119-U03 DO16135-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 5/21/2003-U04 ROBIN-U04 STUDY-U05 SESSION-U05 CITY-U06 COUNCIL-U06 COMMUNITY-U06 REDEVELOPMENT-U06 AGENCY-U06 2003 02 05 CC MIN SS(Ìì‹.Study Session Minutes February 5. 2003 Page 4 include lenient fines from the Court; new vendors entering the City for the first time and citizens continuing to patronize the vendor's products. Staff researched how other cities approach vendors. Through a nationally recognized association, cities throughout the nation were invited to respond to staff's survey. Twenty-five cities responded. Some utilize their Police Departments to arrest and detain vendors until identification is verified and the individual is booked; often they are required to contact the INS for undocumented aliens. They take a zero" tolerance stance. While other cities have followed a newer trend in legalizing vendors and setting up a permit process. Some cities have designated vendor zones where vendors may congregate and offer their products for sale during certain times of the day. All cities that have legalized vending required Health Department approvals. Local Southern California cities that have legalized street vending include West Hollywood, Los Angeles, Ontario, Palm Springs, Palm Desert and Santa Ana. Mayor Lozano thanked the Code Enforcement staff for all their hard work. dedication and timely response to matters that arise throughout the City. Mayor Lozano inquired about the policy for citing big rigs parked on private property throughout Baldwin Park. Code Enforcement Officer Bishop responded stating that present citation policy is a $55.00 fee for vehicles over three-quarter ton, he suggested increasing the tonnage to one ton, so that personal vehicles would be excluded. Mayor Lozano directed staff to look into increasing the fee and changing present policy per Code Enforcement Officer Bishop's suggestion. Councilmember Gair expressed her hope that the City not consider any kind of legalized vending. She stated that it would be devastating to the hard work done thus far. Mayor Pro Tern Garcia thanked the Code Enforcement Department for their participation in the Shopping Center Improvement Committee and for changing their weekend and evening hours to discourage vending. Mayor Pro Tern Garcia brought up the issue of vendors selling produce in the evening at Home Depot and Target. She expressed her desire to take a more aggressive approach toward eradicating street vending. She suggested eliminating the existing enforcement procedure which is. citation on the first offense, confiscating product on second, and towing their vehicle on the third, and take a more aggressive approach for example confiscating all product and vehicle impound on first offense. There were no objections. After lengthy discussion and by consensus the Council directed the Baldwin Park Police Department and Code Enforcement Department to work together in an effort to improve the response time of these enforcements. Additionally, the Council requested that more stringent regulation be added and if necessary and increase in fines and fees for violations. BIB] 37763-U01 2003-U02 02-U02 05-U02 CC-U02 MIN-U02 SS-U02 LI1-U03 FO8420-U03 FO16119-U03 DO16135-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 5/21/2003-U04 ROBIN-U04 STUDY-U05 SESSION-U05 CITY-U06 COUNCIL-U06 COMMUNITY-U06 REDEVELOPMENT-U06 AGENCY-U06 2003 02 05 CC MIN SS(Ìì‹.Study Session Minutes February 5, 2003 Page 5 CLOSED SESSION The Council/Agency recessed to Closed Session at 6:30 p.m. and reconvened at 7:00 p.m., with all members present with the exception of Councilmember/Member Van Cleave who was absent. City Attorney Alvarez-Glasman reported the action as follows: CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATOR GC 54956.8) Property: Negotiating Parties: Agency Negotiators: Under Negotiation: ACTION: 3145 Baldwin Park Blvd. Agency Negotiating with The Charles Company Dayle Keller, Arnold Alvarez-Glasman and Melecio Picazo Price and Terms of Sale Discussed by Agency. Direction was given to Agency staff and Agency Negotiators. No final action was taken. Nothing further to report CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL 54956.9) ANTICIPATED LITIGATION GC Number of Cases: ACTION: 3) The three 3) cases being the cases related to business improvement loans. The Council provided direction to the City Attorney's office and staff concerning these items. City Attorney's office and staff will follow-up accordingly. No final action was taken. Nothing further to report. ADJOURN There being no other matters before the Council/Agency, the meeting was adjourned at 7:10 p.m. Approved as presented by the Council/Agency at their meeting held February 19, 2003. 1 a. AUJLJLK Kathleen Rae"Sessman Deputy City Clerk Jose Sanchez Agency Secretary c^ BIB] 37763-U01 2003-U02 02-U02 05-U02 CC-U02 MIN-U02 SS-U02 LI1-U03 FO8420-U03 FO16119-U03 DO16135-U03 C4-U03 MINUTES1-U03 5/21/2003-U04 ROBIN-U04 STUDY-U05 SESSION-U05 CITY-U06 COUNCIL-U06 COMMUNITY-U06 REDEVELOPMENT-U06 AGENCY-U06