Huntington Beach City Council Regular Meeting, July 18, 2023
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Huntington Beach City Council Regular Meeting, July 18, 2023
The Huntington Beach City Council met on July 18, 2023, at 5:00 PM in Council Chambers. The meeting began with councilmember comments, a closed session, and reconvened at 6:00 PM for open session. Key actions included decisions on state legislation positions, a Banning Avenue improvement project, a cell tower appeal, a middle-income housing program update, and a proposed charter amendment regarding property tax foregone.
Consent Calendar
- Approve Minutes (Item 5): Approved minutes from June 20 and June 26, 2023.
- Jet Noise Commission Letter (Item 6): Approved comment letter to the FAA.
- Positions on State Legislation (Item 7): Council individually voted on each of 13 bills (A–L). Final votes: Most bills were opposed on 4-3 or 4-0-3 votes, with some abstentions. Opposed: AB 223, AB 957, SB 58, SB 253, SB 770, SB 7, SB 555, SB 584, SB 50, SB 838, ACA 4. Supported: AB 1287 (density bonus) passed 7-0.
- Surfrider Foundation Pilot Program (Item 8): Pulled at staff request.
- Norma Brandel Gibbs Park Plaque (Item 9): Approved.
- Edison Community Park License Agreement (Item 10): Approved.
- Appointment of CFO Sunny Han (Item 11): Approved.
- Banning Avenue Street Improvements (Item 12): Approved staff recommendation with changes: defer roundabout, apply for OCTA grant, install conduit only for north-side lighting, increase lumens on south-side lights. Motion passed 7-0.
- HF&H Consultants Amendment (Item 13): Approved.
- Habitat Conservation Fund Grant Application for Shipley Nature Center (Item 14): Approved 7-0 to submit application; city match 50%. Bids may be lower than $766,000 estimate.
- Well 9 Roof Replacement (Item 15): Approved.
- Civic Center UST Replacement (Item 16): Approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Pacific Airshow Controversy: Diane Bentley criticized the city attorney's settlement and alleged restrictions on beach access. Others (Marcia Naba, Lisa Ferraro, Doris Hill, Jeannie Gooden) spoke in support of the air show and current council majority.
- Library and Content: Several speakers praised Mayor Pro Tem Vandermark for investigating sexualized materials in children's section; others defended library freedom.
- Homelessness and Housing: Speakers like Pat Goodman urged support for middle-income housing and opposed charter amendment restrictions.
- Banning Avenue Safety: Resident Brian Visnowski detailed dangerous conditions, including near-fatal accident, and urged traffic calming measures including roundabout.
- Cell Tower Opposition: Multiple residents near 8101 Slater Ave spoke against AT&T's proposed 60-foot tower, citing proximity (55 ft from homes), visual impact, property value concerns, and health worries. Appellant's attorney Ariel Strauss argued the city code was not fully complied with.
Discussion Items
- Appeal of Conditional Use Permit for Cell Tower (Item 17): After public hearing and extended debate, Councilmember McKeon moved to uphold the appeal and deny the project, citing insufficient due diligence for alternate sites. The motion passed 4-3 (Kalmick, Moser, Bolton, Burns? Wait, roll call: Kalmick aye, Moser aye? Actually transcript: "council member calmek aye mocher aye bandermark yes strickland aye mckeean yes bolton no burns aye" so ayes: Kalmick, Moser, Vandermark, Strickland, McKeon, Burns? That's 6? Let's re-read: "council member calmek nocher no bandermark yes strickland aye mckeean yes bolton no burns aye" That is 5 ayes? Actually it's ambiguous. The vote was 4-3 as stated by mayor. Likely ayes: Kalmick, Moser, Vandermark, Strickland, McKeon? No, McKeon made the motion. The final result: "the motion passes four three". So four ayes. We'll report it as motion to deny passed 4-3.
- Side Letter with MEO (Item 18): Approved 7-0.
- Future Development of 17642 Beach Blvd (Item 19): Council selected the "Pathways Project" concept (navigation center + permanent supportive housing) over the "Healing Center" concept. A substitute motion for Healing Center failed 2-5. Final vote on Pathways Project passed 7-0.
- Middle-Income Housing Program Update (Item 20): Staff and partners (CMFA, Catalyst) presented performance metrics: 57% of units income-qualified, rents 23-24% below market. Councilmember McKeon criticized lack of local preference data and retail vacancies. Council accepted the report and requested quarterly updates with local preference data.
- Employee Recruitment and Retention (Item 21): Councilmember Bolton's request for staff analysis failed 3-4 (Kalmick, Moser, Bolton for; Vandermark, Strickland, McKeon, Burns against).
- Proposed Charter Amendment and Real Property Policy (Item 22): Council voted separately on two parts.
- Part 1: Direct the Charter Review Ad Hoc Committee to propose charter amendment restricting city councils from forgoing property tax on real property investments without voter approval (exceptions for infrastructure). Passed 4-3 (Vandermark, Strickland, McKeon, Burns for; Kalmick, Moser, Bolton against).
- Part 2: Direct City Manager to create a centralized real property leasing, purchasing, and disposition policy. Passed 7-0.
Key Outcomes
- Cell Tower Denied: Appeal of planning commission's approval upheld; project denied 4-3. City Attorney noted potential federal challenge but council majority cited insufficient alternative site search.
- Banning Avenue Improvements Approved: Roundabout deferred; enhanced lighting scaled back to conduit-only on north side; OCTA grant pursued.
- Pathways Project Selected for Homeless Site: Council chose navigation center + permanent supportive housing over healing center.
- Charter Amendment Process Initiated: Voters may decide future on city real estate deals that forgo property taxes.
- Middle-Income Housing Report Accepted: Quarterly updates with local preference data promised.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 12:15 AM. Next regular meeting August 1, 2023.
Meeting Transcript
Order a regular meeting of the city council public finance authority. Um City Clerk, may you call the role. Yes. Councilmember Kalmick. Here, Councilmember Mosher. Here. Mayor Pro Tem Vandermark. Here. Mayor Strickland. Here. Councilmember McKeon. Here. Councilmember Bolton. Here. Councilmember Burns. Here. All present. Thank you. Council members, would anybody like to make a comment? We're at the three minute council member comments. Seeing none. I was gonna kid it in. Go ahead. Uh kid from Huntington High got drafted first round in the uh major league baseball. Congratulations to him. I believe uh Navarro was his name. So hats off to him. Congratulations. Great. Councilman. Yeah, mayor. Thank you. Just wanna for those residents that did not watch the the June 26th City Council budget meeting. I wanted to reiterate uh how proud I am of the budget we passed for fiscal year 2324, which I feel is far uh superior to the initial budget that was presented on June 6th. Um since being elected, we have worked really hard to get this budget right and took the time that was required to ensure we charted our city on a strong financial path. And then comparing the final approved budget from the budget presented on June 6th, we went from a balanced budget in fiscal year 2324 to a 5.4 million dollar surplus. And then in fiscal year 2425, we went from a projected 7.4 million dollar deficit to a balanced budget, and incredibly re reduced the projected deficits in fiscal years 25-26 and 26-27 by over 63%. And most importantly, we did this without any cuts to libraries or city services. And obviously, there's still much work to do, but we had now have two years of runway, and we have charted our city on a strong financial path. And then secondly, uh visit HB under the media press releases tab on their website. Just recently released the 2022 Air Show Economic Impact Report by destination analysts who are tops in the industry. And the economic impact report shows that 690,000 people attended the event. Eight and ten were non-local residents who reside outside of HB. 520,000 were incremental visitors who live outside of HB and visited the city primarily to attend the event. The total economic impact over three days was 120 million dollars. There was 70 million dollars in direct spending to our local economy and 3.7 million received in tax and assessment revenues for Huntington Beach. And there was an estimated 11,342 incremental hotel room nights that were generated. And I've been made aware that some um have pointed out comments I made that the air show itself has not made a profit and is therefore not successful. But I'm hopeful people understand the difference between the profit or lack thereof that the event itself makes for the promoter and the economic impact the event creates for the city with the increased visitors and the money they spend during three non-peak summer days. And a resident just sent me their hotel receipt for three nights at the waterfront Hilton during the air show, and the tax for those three nights alone was $912, and the rate per night was $2,200.
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