The meeting was called to order at 9:04 P.M. by Mayor McTaggart at Fred Hesse Community Park, 29301 Hawthorne Boulevard.

Roll call was answered as follows:

PRESENT:Ferraro, Gardiner, Stern, and Mayor McTaggart

ABSENT:Clark

Planning Commission:

PRESENT: Jon Cartwright (Chair), Chair; Susan Cote, Tom Long, Frank Lyon, Craig Mueller, Clara Duran Reed, and David Tomblin

ABSENT: None

Finance Advisory Committee:

PRESENT: Stephen Wolowicz (Chair), John Curtis, Bill Smith, and Rick Wallace

ABSENT: Earl Butler, Becky Clark, and Gina McLeod

Also present were City Manager Les Evans; Assistant City Manager Carolynn Petru; City Attorney Carol Lynch; Director of Planning, Building, and Code Enforcement Joel Rojas; Director of Public Works Dean Allison; Finance Director Dennis McLean; Senior Planner Kit Fox; City Clerk/Administrative Services Director Jo Purcell; and, Deputy City Clerk/Recording Secretary Jackie Drasco.

Councilman Gardiner suggested that Public Comments be taken after the Consent Calendar.

Councilwoman Ferraro moved, seconded by Mayor pro tem Stern, to approve the agenda as amended.  Motion carried.

City Attorney Lynch explained that the City Council's evaluation of City Manager Evans had been favorable and that a contract had been agreed upon for the coming year beginning July 1. 

In response to Councilman Stern’s inquiry about putting this contract on the agenda a few months prior to the date for notice that the City does not wish to renew it, City Attorney Lynch responded that would pose no problems because either party could state an intention to end the contract before January 1. She felt it would be prudent to place this item on the Council calendar in November in case this was a possibility that the Council wanted to pursue the topic.

Councilwoman Ferraro moved, seconded by Mayor pro tem Stern, to approve the Consent Calendar as follows:

Approved the minutes, as amended.

(1) ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2002-30, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES INITIATING PROCEEDINGS FOR THE LEVY AND COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS WITHIN THE CITYWIDE LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING MAINTENANCE DISTRICT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2002-2003 AND ORDERING THE ENGINEER TO PREPARE A REPORT IN CONNECTION THEREWITH. (2) ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2002-31, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES APPROVING THE ENGINEER'S REPORT IN CONNECTION WITH THE LEVY AND COLLECTION OF ASSESSMENTS WITHIN THE CITYWIDE LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING MAINTENANCE DISTRICT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2002-2003.  (3) ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2002-32, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES DECLARING THE CITY COUNCIL'S INTENTION TO LEVY AND COLLECT ASSESSMENTS WITHIN THE CITYWIDE LANDSCAPING AND LIGHTING MAINTENANCE DISTRICT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2002-2003 AND SETTING A TIME AND PLACE FOR HEARING OBJECTIONS THERETO.

Approved the third amendment to the City Manager’s employment agreement.

Rejected the claim and directed the City Clerk to notify the claimant.

Ordered received and filed.

ADOPTED RESOLUTION NO. 2002-33, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES ALLOWING CERTAIN CLAIMS AND DEMANDS AND SPECIFYING FUNDS FROM WHICH THE SAME ARE TO BE PAID.

The motion to approve the Consent Calendar carried on the following roll call:

AYES:Ferraro, Gardiner, Stern, and Mayor McTaggart

NOES:None

ABSENT: Clark

Carolyn Anthony, 30174 Avenida Tranquilla, expressed her concerns about the golf course proposed for the landfill in Rolling Hills Estates, particularly because it was so near Rancho Vista Elementary School where children had to be protected from the potential toxic effects of this golf course. She reported that bulldozers were already working on a project on which an Environmental Assessment Report (EIR) had not been prepared. She said that the developer stated that results of a neighborhood survey indicated that a golf course was the first preference but that the original survey obtained by one of the school parents showed that golf was actually near the end of the preferences expressed by the community.  She objected to the quantity of fill; that there would be toxic dust blowing across the homes and playfields; and, the lack of a clay cap on top of the landfill. She reported that when she asked developers at a recent meeting at Rancho Vista Elementary School to tell her where there was a golf course surrounded closely by residences, schools, day care centers and churches, they could not provide an answer.

Joan Davidson, 1525 Via Arco, Palos Verdes Estates, said that she had been on the school board for eight years and that she was opposed to the proposed golf course.  She mentioned the danger of the golf course being built on this landfill that was subject to slides and sinkholes and has a fault running under it.  She said that the project seemed to be moving ahead at an alarming speed and he asked the Council to contact State and Federal agencies to try to stop what she felt was a toxic nightmare.

Mayor McTaggart opened the public hearing on this request to consider certain aspects of the revised Long Point project.  City Clerk Purcell announced that notice had been duly published and that all written comments were included in the agenda packet and more were distributed prior to the meeting.

Senior Planner Ara Mihranian presented the staff report of May 7, 2002 and the recommendation to (1) Consider a presentation of the revised Long Point Resort Hotel project by the applicant.  (2) Consider certification of the project’s Environmental Impact Report (EIR); and, Establish a tentative processing schedule of the revised project.

Planning Commissioner Cote said that her primary residence was within 650 feet of the project so she recused herself.

Mayor pro tem Stern asked staff about the money that Long Point owed the City.

Senior Planner Mihranian said that there was $155,000 originally owed for the preparation of the EIR and city attorney fees. He stated that a portion had been paid and that there was still $65,000 owing.   He indicated that the processing of the project could not begin until this money was paid.

Bob Lowe, founder and Chairman of Lowe Enterprises, parent company of Destination Development, 11777 San Vicente Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90049, described the history and mission statement of his company and said that they were eager to move forward with the project.

Rob Lowe, also of Lowe Enterprises, explained that their goal was to create and operate a resort hotel that fit within the Peninsula lifestyle: that it would include trails, parks, protection of wildlife habitat and ocean views, a spa and fitness center, tennis courts, and restaurants.  He said that a golf driving range and practice facility was proposed to tie in with the nearby Ocean Trails golf course.  He cited financial benefits to the City and job opportunities which the resort would provide.

Mayor pro tem Stern said that the economic projections remained constant with the revised project from the original plan and questioned if this was a valid assumption.

Rob Lowe said they believed the projections were still valid; that their goal was to open the resort in 2005 and they had no reason to think that the current recession would affect the economics of the project.

Mike Mohler, Project Manager for Destination Development Corporation, presented a PowerPoint presentation which described changes incorporated into the new design which included the following:  (1) the tunnel under Palos Verdes Drive South had been deleted; (2) the roof heights of the villas had been lowered so that they did not exceed street grade on Palos Verdes Drive South which would protect the Catalina view corridor; (3) there would be fewer golf holes since the nine-hole golf course had been eliminated; (4) the square footage of the golf clubhouse had been reduced; (5) one of the tennis courts had been deleted and replaced by the maintenance facility and this would be out of sight along with the cart barn; (6) a new parking structure would accommodate parking stalls originally proposed under the hotel building, and would be visually screened from Palos Verdes Drive South by using earth berms and landscaping.

Bob Lowe added that significant changes had been incorporated into the new plan based on community input and he felt that the revised project would fit well into the community and said that this hotel with individually owned casitas and villas and an on-site golf academy with a practice facility would provide recreation and entertainment facilities and financial benefits for the City. He urged the Council to certify the EIR and prepare resolutions with appropriate conditions for the Council's meeting on June 4, 2002.

Mayor McTaggart asked about the personal use of the casitas by the individual owners compared with the units being leased out.

Bob Lowe explained that restrictions would prevent the owner/investor from using the casita themselves for more than 30-60 days and that for the remainder of the year the casitas would be managed by the hotel for renting to guests.  He explained that the casitas were closer to the waterfront and would have more restrictions on owner use than the villas.

Bob Lowe said that the villas closer to the highway were larger and more appropriate for family use so the restriction allowed owners to use their units for a longer period of 60-90 days per year.

Planning Commissioner Reed noted that there appeared to be a typographical error in the report regarding the restricted use of these units and Bob Lowe said that he thought she was correct.

Mayor pro tem Stern asked Mr. Lowe why he felt there was no need to have further hearings with the Planning Commission and the Finance Advisory Committee.

Bob Lowe said that he felt that over the past year there had been sufficient meetings and that it was time to bring the matter before the Council.

Mayor pro tem Stern asked if the lack of the use of City land impacted the financial analysis.

Bob Lowe said that it did not.

Mayor Pro Tem Stern felt that even though the villas were below grade of the highway, the roofs would be unattractive.

Bob Lowe said that the villas would not be limited to a single grade but that they would meander and step down the slope so that they would integrate attractively into landscaping.

Mayor Pro Tem Stern asked about the $65,000 owed to the City.

Mike Mohler stepped forward and said that he would take care of it.

Finance Advisory Committee Member Steve Wolowicz said that he understood there were 400 hotel rooms and 50 casitas with three keys each.

Mike Mohler said that 360 of the rooms were in the hotel structure itself and that there were 40 bungalows, for a total of 400 rooms, and that the bungalows would create a more intimate Mediterranean village concept. He confirmed that there were three keys for each of the 50 casitas, for an additional 150 total rooms.

Councilwoman Ferraro asked for an evaluation of the resort hotel marketplace in general and how this hotel would fit into the California market and the competition it would face.

John Platt, Lowe Hospitality, said after the events of September 11, 2001, no one knew how long the travel industry would be affected but he said the recovery has been up and down but seems to be steadily improving now and he felt that the hotel industry was healthy. He said that this was a world-class site and compared it favorably to the Hotel del Coronado. He said the positive aspects of the site were that it was in a secluded community but yet close to Los Angeles International Airport and he felt that the hotel would draw the same clientele that would go to Pebble Beach or the Santa Barbara Biltmore, but this hotel would have the advantage of being closer to Los Angeles. In addition, he said that he anticipated that this site would attract international travelers.

Councilwoman Ferraro asked if Mr. Platt felt that projected room rates and occupancy would be achievable and Mr. Platt said yes.

Councilman Gardiner said that he and Mayor McTaggart had met with Bob Lowe and his staff along with the Mayor and he felt that the plan had been adjusted to address the concerns of the Planning Commission.

Mike Mohler agreed.

Councilman Gardiner said that if this were the case, why would the project go back to the Planning Commission for further review.

Mayor Pro Tem Stern said that maybe the Planning Commissioners present this evening could answer that question.

Planning Commissioner Long felt that, aside from the public land use issue, the Commission had made all the findings necessary for the issuance of each permit. He wondered if the Finance Advisory Committee might need to analyze the project again since the developers had said all along that the project would not be viable without the use of public land.

Planning Commission Chair Cartwright said that he did not feel the benefits of remanding the project to the Planning Commission would outweigh the delay and extra work for all involved and he did not feel that the Planning Commission had any other issues to discuss.

Mayor Pro Tem Stern asked if the Council could tinker with the project and the Planning Commission could provide input if needed.

Chair Cartwright said that all the Planning Commission’s concerns had been addressed and he felt the project was ready for City Council review.

Commissioner Long suggested that the Council review the conditions of approval very carefully and if it was felt that the Planning Commission could provide information, this could be requested.

Chair Cartwright agreed that if the Planning Commission was involved, its scope should be limited.

Planning Commissioner Mueller said he agreed to a certain point; however, since this is one of the most important projects to come before the City, special care should be taken to make sure that certain aspects, such as protection of view corridors and public coastal access, were covered. He said that since the Planning Commission last looked at the project, changes were made to the parking structure and the location of the pool, which might affect some of these important aspects of the project.

Councilman Gardiner asked Commissioner Long’s opinion about whether he thought the Council could sort out these important details.

Commissioner Long thought the Council could sort out these changes but if it was felt that Planning Commission assistance was appropriate, the Council would make this request or even remand it to the Commission.

Planning Commission Lyon said that he had confidence in the Planning Commission’s approval of conditions to protect the community. He said that since the City was not providing public land and therefore not directly involved financially, he felt the developers knew how best to plan the resort. Also, he pointed out that three councilmembers had served on the Planning Commission and would be sensitive to the types of findings the Commission had made.

Mayor McTaggart felt that the Planning Commission had done a thorough job thus far and he noted that there had been many revisions to the Ocean Trails project after the initial approval and there probably would be with this project as well, but he would like to do whatever might be possible to minimize revisions.

Mayor Pro Tem Stern said that even though public land was not being used, the City had said it would consider some kind of assistance; therefore, the City might be indirectly involved in the finances. He thought it would be a good idea for the Finance Advisory Committee to be involved in the analysis of the development agreement.

Councilman Gardiner did not see a need to send the project back to the Finance Advisory Committee but he felt it would be worthwhile to investigate the developer’s books because of the impact of transient occupancy tax collected. He was in favor of moving the project along.

Mayor McTaggart agreed that the Finance Advisory Committee should be involved in fine tuning the development agreement and they can begin that process if the Council certifies the EIR.

Finance Advisory Committee Member Smith said that the Council asked the Committee to determine whether tax revenue estimates were reliable and achievable. The developer had said that it was necessary to have a golf course on public land in order to obtain financing and denied access to their financial records so the Committee found that it could not give the Council a firm answer regarding expected tax revenue. He said that some financial information was eventually provided but the Commission was in doubt about how eliminating the public land from the project would affect revenue. He said that if he were on the City Council, he would recommend that the project be sent back to the Finance Advisory Committee.

Mayor McTaggart speculated that revenue projections might even be better without the nine-hole golf course.

Finance Advisory Committee Member Wallace recalled that Mr. Mohler had stressed the importance of onsite amenities rather than driving down the highway to play golf.

Mayor Pro Tem Stern said that is why he had asked if the assumptions had changed when public land was no longer involved and why he felt that the Finance Advisory Committee should be involved although he did not wish to delay the progress of the project moving forward.

Commissioner Long said that there is expense involved in complying with conditions of approval and this could be another factor for the Finance Advisory Committee to consider even though the City did not have a direct financial stake in the project.

Finance Advisory Committee Chair Wolowicz said that it might be appropriate for the Committee to go over the entire plan once more because of skepticism that the revenue projects would remain the same even though the project had been changed. He mentioned other economic factors to be considered which indirectly put the City in partnership with the developer such as timing of financing and a potential negative cash flow for the City, and insurance against landslides that the lender might require. He said that the Committee could make itself available to the Council also for questions about these financial aspects of the project.

Recess & Reconvene: At 10:49 P.M., Mayor McTaggart declared a recess. The meeting reconvened at 11:00 P.M.

Ann Shaw, 30036 Via Borica, felt that the focus of most of the Planning Commission hearings was on the land use question and she felt the new plan should go back to the Planning Commission because it was critical for the community that this development be positioned well on the site. She suggested that the developer be required to provide a 3D model.

Mayor Pro Tem Stern asked if Ms. Shaw did not think that the Council could make this determination.

Ms. Shaw said the Council could do this, but it had other things to do.

Mayor Pro Tem Stern indicated that the Planning Commission’s thorough work had provided the Council with a head start.

Ms. Shaw stated that there were now a lot of changes to resolutions which need a fresh review.

Barbara Sattler, 1904 Avenida Aprenda, San Pedro, CA 90732, representing the Palos Verdes South Bay Sierra Club, said that it was difficult to comment because the map was small and hard to read.

Jim Knight, 5 Cinnamon Lane, said that the land use issues took so much time and this was the first opportunity to look at the project without considering that issue. He did not believe that the Council should certify the EIR because there were issues which had not been addressed such as the relationship between Long Point and Ocean Trails. He said that hopefully shuttles would be used but he saw no such requirement. He wondered if a supplemental EIR was appropriate to focus on the sensitive habitat along the coastal bluff, the El Segundo Blue butterfly, and the marine habitat, and also a plan to indicate what types of chemicals would be used on the golf course.

Bob Nelson, 6612 Channelview Court, representing Seabluff Homeowners Association, said that the 60 homeowners in his association had been surveyed and 57 were in favor. He reported that of the three negative votes, all were absentee owners; and, one of the homeowners who was listed as opposed, said that he would support the project if delivery trucks were not routed through the Seabluff neighborhood, if there were no new streets connecting the Seabluff neighborhood with the resort, and, if all construction was performed within the regulations of the City.

William Tolliffe, 6347 Tarragon Road, felt the City had entered a new phase in consideration of the project and that before permits were granted, there must be assurances that the resort would comply with the General Plan, zoning requirements, height limitations, and protection of views. He said it was important to require attractive landscaping and he felt that a tennis court would be unattractive if visible from the highway. He also pointed out the importance of locating tees to prevent golf balls from flying onto the highway or toward the neighbors. He also felt that the developer should be required to provide financial background to demonstrate viability.

Tina Brawner, 2210 24^th Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405, Board Member of GLACO/West Los Angeles Whalers Drive Club, said that a model would be an improvement over the map and she was interested in the location of parking for coastal access as she said it was difficult to carry SCUBA gear and kayaks for long distances. She said that it would be nice to retain a picnic area and that a hiking trail was welcomed, but parking near the water would be appreciated.

Sonja Hayes, 64 Via Capri, felt that the project should stay with the City Council and that if there were questions, the Planning Commission and Finance Advisory Committee could be available for assistance. She said that time had been lost and she wanted to see the City have a great hotel.

Mayor Pro Tem Stern said that he did not see a substantial benefit to sending the project back to the Planning Commission and he asked about the procedure for obtaining input from the Commission. He liked the idea of a model and felt that a better visual presentation of the villas would allow the Council to better appreciate their impact. He reiterated his interest in having the Finance Advisory Committee be involved in analysis of the development agreement

City Attorney Lynch said that input from the Planning Commission would require a notice and would be unwieldy unless more joint meetings were scheduled.

Planning Commissioner Long suggested that staff could provide each commissioner with a copy of the original conditions of approval, and that the Commissioners could provide comments merely as a member of the public. He said that the public perception might have been that most of the time was spent on the land use issue, but he said that the Planning Commission focused on conditions of approval.

Mayor Pro Tem Stern felt it would be appropriate for the Commissioners to provide input as members of the public.

Mayor McTaggart said that the issues raised were important, such as the issue of shuttles between Long Point and Ocean Trails. He said that related issues would be requiring low emission vehicles and handicap access to the trails.

Councilwoman Ferraro asked whether a supplemental EIR or an addendum would be appropriate.

City Attorney Lynch said that if the Council kept jurisdiction, there could be an addendum, a negative declaration, or a supplemental EIR prepared after the EIR is certified to address potential environmental impacts resulting from the project revisions.

Mayor McTaggart was concerned also about chemicals used on the golf course and a requirement to avoid runoff from the golf course.

Councilman Gardiner said that he appreciated all the helpful comments from the public and he hoped that the Council could certify the EIR and keep the project moving forward while still addressing additional concerns.

City Attorney Lynch clarified that certifying the EIR does not preclude further analysis but invites it.

Planning Commissioner Reed asked the proper procedure for communicating ideas to the Council.

City Attorney Lynch suggested sending information through the Planning Department staff.

Councilman Gardiner said that as long as issues raised this evening were captured, he moved, seconded by Councilwoman Ferraro, to (1) Certify the EIR. (2) ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2002-34, A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF RANCHO PALOS VERDES MAKING ENVIRONMENTAL FINDINGS PURSUANT TO THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT AND CERTIFYING THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT PREPARED IN CONNECTION WITH A PROPOSED HOTEL AND RELATED USES TO BE KNOWN AS THE LONG POINT RESORT; and, (3) Continued the public hearing to June 18.

The motion carried on the following roll call vote:

AYES:Ferraro, Gardiner, Stern, and Mayor McTaggart

NOES:None

ABSENT:Clark

Consensus was to publicize the meeting and to put the resolutions on the City website.

Members of the Planning Commission and the Finance Advisory Committee left the meeting at 11:40 P.M., except for Finance Advisory Committee Chair Stephen Wolowicz, who remained for discussion of the FAC 2002-2003 agenda calendar.

Finance Director McLean presented the staff report of May 7, 2002 and the recommendation to review the proposed Rancho Palos Verdes Finance Advisory Committee proposed calendar and agenda of meetings for Fiscal Year 2002-2003 and provide staff and the Finance Advisory Committee with clarification and affirmation of the proposed agenda topics.

Mayor McTaggart asked if these meetings would be a violation of the Brown Act.

City Attorney Lynch said they would not be if they were noticed.

Mayor pro tem Stern felt that Finance Advisory Committee assistance in the search for funding would be helpful.

Steve Wolowicz, Chair of the Finance Advisory Committee said that they could provide this service with projects which would currently be under review.

Councilman Gardiner commended the Finance Advisory Committee on its ambitious schedule.

Councilman Gardiner moved, seconded by Mayor pro tem Stern to approve the proposed Rancho Palos Verdes Finance Advisory Committee proposed calendar and agenda of meetings for Fiscal Year 2002-2003 and to affirm the proposed agenda topics.  Motion carried 4-0-1.

Presentation of the staff report was waived.

The staff recommendation was to (1) Authorize the City of Rancho Palos Verdes to continue its participation in the commuter transportation transit service, known as Municipal Area Express (MAX) for the period of July 1, 2002 to June 30, 2005.  (2) Authorize the Mayor and the City Clerk to execute the Agreement for MAX Commuter Bus Service on behalf of the City of Rancho Palos Verdes.

Councilman Gardiner moved, seconded by Councilwoman Ferraro, to adopt the staff recommendation. Motion carried 4-0-1.

Presentation of the staff report was waived.

The staff recommendation was to (1) Authorize a contract limit increase of up to $128,250 for contract engineering services under the On-Call Service Agreement for CBM Consulting.  (2) Authorize a contract limit increase of up to $90,000 for contract engineering services under the On-Call Service Agreement for Merit Civil Engineering.

Councilwoman Ferraro moved, seconded by Councilman Gardiner to adopt the staff recommendation.

The motion carried on the following roll call:

AYES:Ferraro, Gardiner, Stern, and Mayor McTaggart

NOES:None

ABSENT:Clark

The staff recommendation was to (1) Appoint seven members to the Recreation & Parks Committee:  Four members with a term of office until March 7, 2006; and, three members with a term of office until March 2, 2004.  (2) Confirm the appointment of seven members to the Equestrian Committee:  Four members with a term of office until March 7, 2006; and, three members with a term of office until March 2, 2004.  (3) Appoint nine members to the Emergency Preparedness Committee:  Five members with a term of office until March 7, 2006; and, four members with a term of office until March 2, 2004.  (4) Set 6:00 P.M. Tuesday, May 21st as the date to interview appointees for the position of chair for these three boards.

Council consensus was to continue appointments to the Recreation and Parks Committee until Councilman Clark could be present.

Council consensus was to appoint all the applicants to the Equestrian Committee since there were the same number of applicants as there were members.

Councilman Gardiner moved, seconded by Councilwoman Ferraro, to change the name of the Emergency Preparedness Committee to the Emergency Preparedness Task Force and appoint all applicants to serve for one year. The motion carried 4-0-1(Councilman Clark absent).

Councilman Gardiner moved, seconded by Councilwoman Ferraro, to specify terms for the Equestrian committee as follows.  Four-year terms: Carolyn Bojorquez, Daphne Clarke, and Gordon Leon. Two-year terms: Richard Bara, Sherree Greenwood, Charlene O’Neil, and Madeline Ryan. Motion carried 4-0-1 (Councilman Clark absent).

Director Rojas presented the staff report of May 7, 2002 and the recommendation to review the current status of border issues, and provide direction to the City Council Committee and Staff.

Regarding the Harbor Hills project, Council consensus was that a Planning Department staff member should attend the May 13 Lomita Planning Commission meeting.

Dick Brunner, 1906 Peninsula Verde Drive, said that he had received notice that the Los Angeles County Community Development Commission had applied to the Lomita Planning Commission but he had not seen the application and did not know if there had been changes to the project.

Mayor McTaggart said that previously they seemed to think that they were exempt from local control but now they were before the Lomita Planning Commission and he did not know what had changed there attitude. Councilman Gardiner speculated that possibly this was because of the interest of border cities.

Director Rojas said that Senior Planner Fox would be attending and that he would be receiving a copy of the Lomita Planning Commission staff report.

Mayor McTaggart asked that a link to this report could be placed on the City's website.

Director Rojas said that the City had submitted a letter in response to the Notice of Preparation and would await the EIR.  He indicated that the CEQA process would take a month or two to complete.  He said that Rolling Hills Estates had a prepared a similar letter.

Mayor McTaggart asked about input from the school board and Director Rojas said that he had seen no input from them.

Director Rojas said that regarding the Garden Village Shopping Center, City staff had been in contact with Los Angeles City Staff and that they were awaiting the underground pipe inspection report

Request to Support Legislation Concerning Bonds For Harbor And Port Security Improvement Measure

Mayor McTaggart presented the staff report of May 7, 2002 and the recommendation to consider Council support of AB1782 (Kehoe and Lowenthal).

City Manager Evans presented the staff report of May 7, 2002 and the recommendation to:  Determine whether to (1) fund Commission and Committee member attendance at the Annual California Contract Cities Conference in Palm Springs from May 30 to June 2, 2002; and, (2) fund a City dinner on Friday, May 31st.

He discussed benefits of these groups attending this event and said that in lieu of their attendance, a staff member could take careful notes.  He felt that the groups which would benefit most from attendance would be the Emergency Preparedness Task Force and the Planning Commission.

Councilman Gardiner asked if the sessions were video taped.

City Manager Evans said that some are audio taped but not video taped.

Assistant City Manager Petru reported that none of the Planning Commissioners would be available to attend.

Mayor McTaggart was under the impression that at least one of them would be able to attend.

City Manager Evans suggested that the Council could authorize attendance and staff would work with committee chairs to determine who could attend.

Mayor pro tem Stern felt it would be beneficial to audio tape all the sessions and since RPV was the host city, maybe an investigation could be made into the ease of hooking into their microphone system to accomplish this.

City Manager Evans stated that he would see if the Recreation and Parks Department could arrange this.

Councilman Gardiner said if there were PowerPoint presentations, maybe hard copies could be obtained.

Mayor McTaggart felt sure there would be handouts, which could be shared as well.

City Manager Evans reported that although Richard, Watson & Gershon had made a generous contribution toward a dinner, additional City funds may be needed.

Mayor pro tem Stern moved, seconded by Councilwoman Ferraro to approve up to $10,000 for the dinner.

The motion carried on the following roll call:

AYES:Ferraro, Gardiner, Stern, and Mayor McTaggart

NOES:None

ABSENT:Clark

Mayor pro tem Stern reported that he met with Credit Suisse, the new owners of Ocean Trails, and he felt it was a productive first meeting with everyone getting to know each other.  He felt it was important to impress upon Credit Suisse the needs of the City and Ocean Trails obligations to the City.

Councilwoman Ferraro asked if they were receptive to this and did it appear that they would follow the plan.

Mayor pro tem Stern said that it appeared that they would be cooperative and that they no authority to do otherwise.

Mayor McTaggart asked if someone would attend the PERT graduation, which including many RPV residents, on the following Thursday night and Mayor pro tem Stern said that he would try.

Mayor McTaggart mentioned a letter received by the Secretary of State Bill Lockyear which suggested that the City provide signers for the deaf and Braille agendas for the blind.

City Manager Evans said that he understood this was to provided if a request was made.

City Attorney Lynch added that under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City had a responsibility to provide this.

Mayor McTaggart asked if there was money in the budget to cover this.

City Manager Evans said that estimates of costs would be obtained.

Councilman Gardiner said that the May 23 PV Transit agenda was to include items on fare increases and their position on cameras being installed in the buses.

City Manager Evans said that he understood the cameras have been installed for about a year.

Mayor McTaggart said that he had heard the same but that they were not operational.

____________________           MAYOR

ATTEST:

______________________

     CITY CLERK