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Record of Proceedings

Torrance City Council Adjourned Regular Meeting – June 10, 2025

City Council — Tuesday, June 10, 2025
BodyTorrance, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, June 10, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Speaker 1

0:58

Okay.

0:59

Good evening.

1:00

I'll call this council meeting to order.

1:02

It's 5 02 PM.

1:03

Deputy City Clerk.

1:04

May I re roll call, please?

Speaker 2

1:07

Yes, Your Honor.

1:08

Councilmember Gerson.

1:11

Present.

1:11

Councilmember Kaji.

Speaker 3

1:13

Here.

Speaker 2

1:14

Councilmember Kalani.

Speaker 3

1:15

President.

Speaker 2

1:16

Councilmember Lewis is absent.

1:18

Councilmember Matsucci.

Speaker 1

1:19

Here.

Speaker 2

1:20

Councilmember Sheikh is absent.

1:21

Mayor Chen.

Speaker 1

1:22

And present.

Unassigned speaker

1:25

I'd

Speaker 1

1:25

like to welcome everyone for joining us in the council chamber along with everyone watching remotely.

1:31

Moving on to item two.

1:32

Flight salute invocation.

Unassigned speaker

1:37

Please

Speaker 1

1:37

all rise and I will lead in the flag salute and council Matucci will lead us in the invocation.

Speaker 4

1:48

I pledge allegiance to the flag to the United States of America.

1:53

And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, another God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

2:02

Dear Lord, uh, thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet here once again to try to solve some of uh Torrance's most pressing issues.

2:12

Uh we love it when the public is here sharing their opinions.

2:17

May we uh be receptive to what everyone has to

Unassigned speaker

2:21

say

Speaker 4

2:21

and make our decisions um based on the knowledge that channels through you.

2:28

Amen.

Speaker 1

2:35

Thank you.

2:37

Moving on to oral communications.

2:39

This portion of the meeting is reserved for comments not on the agenda

Unassigned speaker

2:45

under

Speaker 1

2:46

Ralph and Brown Act, City Council cannot act on items raised during public comment, but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed.

2:54

Request clarification or refer to it to staff.

2:57

Speakers under orals are limited to no longer than one minute per speaker.

3:01

Time starts when you step up to the microphone.

Speaker 2

3:21

Yes, your honor.

Speaker 1

3:39

So just go to you can start speaking once you're

Unassigned speaker

3:41

there.

Speaker 5

3:43

Um we're here from uh Côte d'Azura Vilas.

3:47

Um in a sense to uh ask for help from the city of Torrance to prevent uh wild fires in our area.

4:00

Um because of the

Unassigned speaker

4:02

uh

Speaker 5

4:03

proximity of uh eucalyptus trees that are essentially on the Palos Verdes uh estate side.

4:13

Um which is right across from uh our property.

4:19

Um estate has already been very um helpful um cutting down about twelve of them.

4:32

Um but we are left today with eight more that um uh represent

Unassigned speaker

4:39

the death law.

Speaker 1

4:44

Thank thank you, sir.

4:45

Your time is up.

4:46

Got

Unassigned speaker

4:47

it.

Speaker 1

4:47

I think uh you also sent a letter to

Unassigned speaker

4:50

me.

Speaker 1

4:50

Uh I received already, and uh city manager has it, and they'll be following

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement█████████████████████████████████████████████58%
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████38%
Procedural██3%
Fire Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Torrance City Council Meeting – June 10, 2025

The Torrance City Council convened an adjourned regular meeting on June 10, 2025, at 5:02 PM in the Council Chamber. The meeting included oral communications from the public, a recess to closed session for labor negotiations and employee discipline, and subsequent adjournment without any public votes or action items.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Three speakers from the Cote d'Azur Villas condominium complex (87 units) addressed the council regarding wildfire danger posed by a eucalyptus grove located on adjacent Palos Verdes Estates property. The first speaker (unnamed) noted that Palos Verdes had already cut down 12 trees, but 8 remained and posed a "death load" risk. Judy English requested a meeting with the city's landscape manager and fire chief to inspect the site. Greg Deedy, co-chairman of the Eucalyptus Grove Wildfire Committee, provided an aerial handout and stated that the tree canopies overlap and are 15 feet higher than the Cote d'Azur roofs. He asked Torrance to help financially in further reducing the grove. Mayor Chen confirmed receipt of a written letter and referred the matter to the city manager for follow-up.
  • One additional speaker (Porchop) criticized the meeting as an "emergency" closed session and questioned the cost of handling a single police officer's termination. The mayor clarified the closed session had been scheduled in advance, not an emergency.

Closed Session

  • The council recessed to closed session at approximately 5:10 PM to address:
    • Item 4A: Closed hearing on the appeal of the Civil Service Commission’s decision sustaining the termination of a Police Officer (12), confidential under Penal Code 832.7 and Copley Press v. Superior Court.
    • Item 5A: Conference with labor negotiator (Agency Negotiator: Aram Chaparyan) regarding multiple employee organizations.
    • Item 5B: Public employee discipline/dismissal/release under California Government Code § 54957.
  • The council reconvened in open session but made no announcements regarding any decisions or actions taken during closed session.

Key Outcomes

  • No public votes or resolutions were adopted. The meeting was adjourned to Tuesday, June 17, 2025, at 5:00 PM for closed session, with regular business to begin at 6:30 PM in the same chamber.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Good evening. I'll call this council meeting to order. It's 5 02 PM. Deputy City Clerk. May I re roll call, please? Yes, Your Honor. Councilmember Gerson. Present. Councilmember Kaji. Here. Councilmember Kalani. President. Councilmember Lewis is absent. Councilmember Matsucci. Here. Councilmember Sheikh is absent. Mayor Chen. And present. I'd like to welcome everyone for joining us in the council chamber along with everyone watching remotely. Moving on to item two. Flight salute invocation. Please all rise and I will lead in the flag salute and council Matucci will lead us in the invocation. I pledge allegiance to the flag to the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, another God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Dear Lord, uh, thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet here once again to try to solve some of uh Torrance's most pressing issues. Uh we love it when the public is here sharing their opinions. May we uh be receptive to what everyone has to say and make our decisions um based on the knowledge that channels through you. Amen. Thank you. Moving on to oral communications. This portion of the meeting is reserved for comments not on the agenda under Ralph and Brown Act, City Council cannot act on items raised during public comment, but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed. Request clarification or refer to it to staff. Speakers under orals are limited to no longer than one minute per speaker. Time starts when you step up to the microphone. Yes, your honor. So just go to you can start speaking once you're there. Um we're here from uh Côte d'Azura Vilas. Um in a sense to uh ask for help from the city of Torrance to prevent uh wild fires in our area. Um because of the uh proximity of uh eucalyptus trees that are essentially on the Palos Verdes uh estate side. Um which is right across from uh our property.

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