[0:13] Good evening, everybody. I now call to order the regular meeting of the city council and housing authority for Tuesday, October 7th, 2025. Now, please join me in standing and we'll sing the national anthem together, and then we'll say the Pledge of Allegiance together.

[0:32] I

[1:59] pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which

[2:06] it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

[2:21] Okay, now is the time for our moment of solemn expression.

[2:27] And today we have, from redemption, church, a very important person in our community, Pastor

[2:34] Christine, no, to help us with this, and please, in these times, could you please lead us in a prayer?

[2:46] Sure, thank you, Mayor.

[2:47] Hello, Council, and hello to all my neighbors.

[2:50] I was thinking earlier today about, why do we do this?

[2:55] What's the point of a moment of solemn expression?

[2:59] And I looked up the definition of the word, solemn, which I think leads us to the point.

[3:06] It's serious, sincere, dignified, I think it's a reminder for us to center ourselves on the issues that are waiting for our community.

[3:18] The decisions you have before you, the discussions that we have as a community impact the way we live together.

[3:24] They impact our environment, many times the impact our housing and our livelihoods.

[3:31] And so I was just reminded of what it is

[3:35] that we're here together to do.

[3:37] And regarding the expression point

[3:39] that led me to just want to express my gratitude

[3:43] to you for serving our community.

[3:45] Often when I do this, I try to discern

[3:48] what's the word needed in the moment.

[3:51] And some of you I know, some of you I don't know.

[3:54] Some of us have collaborated together, some of us haven't.

[3:57] But regardless of my relationship to you,

[4:00] want to express my gratitude to you because you serve us in a time when I think we've lost

[4:08] our way in what it means to serve and disagree civically and I want to thank you for doing

[4:14] that well in our community.

[4:16] So I just offer a reminder from the scriptures that I follow in Matthew 25.

[4:25] It says, Jesus called them together and said, you know that the rulers lured it over them and their high officials exercised authority over them, but not so with you.

[4:38] Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be your slave, just as I came not to be served but to serve and to give my life for many.

[4:51] So I just invite us in the remainder of my time to all of us together quietly pray for humility.

[5:01] I

[5:13] thank you for the people who serve our community.

[5:18] Not just the council here, but the staff, my neighbors, those who care, one for another, in many, many ways, those who are represented here in this room and all the communities and neighborhoods that they represent. And God, I want to bless this council. I bless them for their service. I ask your blessing over them, ask for your wisdom and your humility as they,

[5:42] to certain these important issues before our community this evening.

[5:46] Amen.

[5:47] Amen.

[5:49] Thank you, Pastor.

[5:55] Madam Clerk, would you please do the roll call?

[5:58] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[5:59] The record will reflect that all councils present except for Council Member Marth.

[6:05] Madam City Attorney, do you have a closed session report?

[6:09] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[6:11] We were able to get through some of the closed session items.

[6:14] direction was given on those, we do have three more items that we will need to take up at the end of the regular session this evening.

[6:23] Should there be any reporting out for that, I can do that after the remainder of the closed session.

[6:29] Thank you, Madam City Attorney.

[6:31] Okay, so we have four presentations today.

[6:35] The first one is for breast cancer awareness month.

[6:39] Tonight, we have the honor of recognizing breast cancer awareness month by

[6:43] by presenting a proclamation to an organization that has been a true leader in the fight against

[6:50] cancer.

[6:51] The City of Hope, let's give it up for the City of Hope.

[7:00] Each October communities across the nation come together and raise awareness about the risks

[7:05] of breast cancer.

[7:07] Promote education to those susceptible to the disease, support research, encourage early

[7:13] detection, and advocate for effective treatment.

[7:16] This month gives us a chance not only to remember those who have lost their lives to this terrible disease,

[7:23] but also to support those still battling breast cancer and to celebrate the survivors who continue to inspire us with their strength and resilience.

[7:34] Here in Orange County City of Hope plays an exemplary role in this effort.

[7:41] At the City of Hope, Orange County, Lennar Foundation Cancer Center, the most advanced

[7:48] cancer center in the county, patients receive every aspect of care they need in one place,

[7:55] from prevention through survivorship.

[7:59] Since opening their first Orange County clinic location in 2020, the City of Hope has already

[8:05] cared for more than 40,000 patients.

[8:08] This December, the City of Hope will also open Orange County's only cancer specialty hospital on its Irvine academic cancer campus.

[8:18] Expanding access to life-saving treatments, clinical trials, and world-renowned expertise for the 3.2 million people who call Orange County home.

[8:29] Although breast cancer mortality rates have dropped, thanks to early detection and improved

[8:35] treatments, breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 20 to 49.

[8:43] Underscoring the importance of awareness and continued innovation and care.

[8:49] So now I'd like to invite up to the podium, Melanie Leach, imaging service manager at the

[8:56] the City of Hope to provide some remarks.

[8:58] And while she's walking up, I'm going to read from the proclamation that we're going to present to Melanie after she's done speaking.

[9:06] And here's starting with the recitals.

[9:09] Whereas approximately one in eight US women will develop invasive breast cancer during their lifetime.

[9:17] Whereas in 2025, approximately 2,800 new cases of invasive breast cancer are expected to be diagnosed in men in the United States with about 510 expected deaths, whereas during the breast cancer awareness month, we honor the courage, resilience and strength of breast cancer survivors, offer our heart-felt support and prayers to those currently battling disease,

[9:46] is, remember, lives lost and stand with families impacted by this journey.

[9:52] And whereas the City of Hope is a nationally recognized leader in cancer care, conducting

[9:58] groundbreaking clinical-

[10:00] Local trials, and providing compassionate, patient-centered treatment right here in Orange County. Now, therefore, on behalf of the great city of Costa Mesa, I, John B. Stevens, the mayor, do hereby proclaim the month of October, 2025, as breast cancer awareness month in Costa Mesa. We encourage all residents to raise awareness, support, education, and early detection efforts, and partner with leaders, like the city of Hope, in the fight against

[10:29] breast cancer. And with that, Ms. Leach, you have the floor for a few words.

[10:34] Okay. Thank you, Mayor Stevens and the Costa Mesa City Council for inviting me here tonight and for this

[10:40] commendation. We appreciate the City of Costa Mesa recognizing breast cancer awareness month and the

[10:47] City of Hope Orange County's contributions to the community. breast cancer impacts one in eight

[10:53] women in their lifetimes and one in seven women in Orange County. We are seeing rises in the

[10:59] disease in younger women.

[11:02] Throughout October, breast cancer providers across the national system are wearing pink

[11:07] lab coats.

[11:09] This pink is for a purpose.

[11:11] It's a visible sign of our commitment to keep advancing breast cancer treatment and cures.

[11:18] It's also a call for action for wider access to breast cancer screenings, more research focused

[11:24] on breast cancer in younger women and earlier risk assessments.

[11:28] At City of Hope we only focus on cancer.

[11:31] We are proud to say that our Cancer Center in Irvine City of Hope Orange County Linar Cancer Foundation Center is the most advanced in all of Orange County.

[11:41] We offer comprehensive breast cancer prevention and treatment services, including state-of-the-art mammography at our Cancer Center.

[11:50] We're committed to improving the health of our community for our friends and neighbors.

[11:56] In less than two months we're opening our, sorry, in less than two months we're opening

[12:03] our Orange County's only cancer specialty hospital, bringing more cancer expertise

[12:08] to our community.

[12:10] I'd like to leave you with a few final words.

[12:12] If you are a woman 40 or older, please schedule your mammogram.

[12:16] You can call us at 949-671-4100.

[12:21] Please know that our breast cancer specialists only focus on this disease and we are here to help you.

[12:27] Thank you.

[12:28] Thank you.

[12:29] All

[12:35] right, Council, let's go down and take a photo.

[13:42] Quick one, will you?

[14:07] All right, everyone.

[14:08] We won, so now we're moving to our second presentation for the Newport Mesa Girl Softball 8U Nighthawks.

[14:16] Let's give it up for her.

[14:27] So let's hear about the nighthawks and I want to tell the girls I tell them a little story, so I'm going to tell them a little story.

[14:33] So our second presentation tonight highlights the outstanding talent and determination of young athletes right here in our community.

[14:40] This summer, the Newport Mesa Girl Softball 8U Nighthawks all stars competed in the district

[14:48] championship and has achieved something historic.

[14:52] They advance further than ever before, finishing in fourth place and qualifying for the state

[14:57] tournament.

[14:57] of the 12 play.

[15:00] Members, on the A.U. All-Star team, six live in Costa Mesa. Yeah,

[15:08] along with their coach, coach Jack Boyle. You live in Costa Mesa, great. And these young athletes represent the spirit of teamwork, dedication, and perseverance. And we are incredibly proud of their accomplishments. Okay, so I'm going to call Coach Boyle up to present the certificates to you but I told you I tell you a story. This story is about the

[15:31] happiest moment of my life okay and the happiest moment of my life happened I

[15:38] had Thornton Park and I was in the first-based coaching box coaching an eight

[15:42] you softball team girls just like you and I had girls anywhere from eight to six

[15:48] on my team as a matter of fact the six six-year-olds on my team one of them was

[15:52] the pitcher and the other one was a good player and both of them eventually played

[15:55] in college but so we're at this game and I was coaching a team called the Cherry

[16:00] And it was a wrecked team just like you.

[16:03] It's a pretty cool name out of Fountain Valley.

[16:06] And we're playing against the Santa Ana team.

[16:07] We're a half a game up in the standings

[16:09] and it's toward the end of the year.

[16:12] And we should have beat this team by a lot.

[16:15] And for some reason we were the home team.

[16:16] It's very important to this story.

[16:19] And somehow we were down by five runs

[16:21] going into the last bottom of the last inning.

[16:24] First girl gets out.

[16:26] Second girl gets a triple, but she overruns

[16:28] third base and gets tagged out by the third baseman.

[16:32] So there we were.

[16:33] We had nobody on, two outs, and we're down by five runs.

[16:39] So a couple of girls get on base

[16:43] and we somehow we scratched out three runs.

[16:47] So now we're down by two runs and we get a couple

[16:52] of other girls on base and a little girl comes up

[16:55] and her name is Stephanie Sy.

[16:56] I'll never, I mean, I will never forget this to the day I die, I can tell this story.

[17:01] So she gets up and Stephanie was a special player.

[17:03] She came out after the draft, she came to play on my team.

[17:07] She started the year and she just came out with her glove and it still had a price tag dangling

[17:13] from the bottom of the glove.

[17:15] I said, let's cut the price tag off and she had some of the best hand eye coordination

[17:19] of any kid I ever coached.

[17:21] I coached Softball for 11 years.

[17:24] I coached Softball and Lidley and we'll get to Lidley later for a total of 18 years.

[17:31] So she gets up in Thornton Park, two runners on base, two outs, and she hits this ball over

[17:38] the right fielder set.

[17:40] Now this was in 2008, I didn't tell you that.

[17:43] The ball is still rolling, she hit it so far.

[17:46] And she comes around first base, second base, and I'm screaming and you know that coaches

[17:52] know I'm waving my arms.

[17:53] I'm saying sender, sender, sender, and I'm losing it, and she scores the last run.

[18:01] We win the game by one, walk off, free run, home run for Stephanie.

[18:05] We were down five runs with nobody on and two outs, and we win the game.

[18:11] I'm still ecstatic.

[18:13] It was the happiest moment of my life.

[18:16] I have got four kids.

[18:17] Their birth does not even come anywhere near.

[18:26] I don't know if I told you, Stephanie went on to play and she was a great high school player for

[18:32] Fountain Valley, the two six-year-olds, I think, played in college.

[18:35] One of them played catcher for Harvard University in the Ivy League.

[18:40] So anyway, so I say to Stephanie, I go, Stephanie, if you play a thousand games,

[18:46] You'll never hit it hit like that. And I don't think she ever did, but she was a good player.

[18:52] And the parents were beside themselves. It was pandamodium. And I can't even imagine how

[18:59] excited your parents were when you won these games. Oh my gosh. So kids,

[19:03] you bring so much joy to your parents. You bring so much joy to your coaches. And I just want to

[19:10] honor you. And I know that some of these parents, you've given them the happiest days of their

[19:15] of their lives. So with that coach, you have the floor.

[19:29] Thank you, Mayor Stevens. Thank you, Christmas City Council.

[19:32] I'm not sure I can top that story, but it's nice to know that you know your ball, so that's good.

[19:39] And that's a testament to baseball and softball as a sport, which makes it one of the greatest sports on Earth is the fact that no matter how far you're down, there's no time limit.

[19:49] You can always come back. So, you never give up and good things can happen.

[19:53] And these girls embody that philosophy of never giving up the most fun girls I've had to come

[20:00] I've coached several seasons as well, not quite as many as you, but I'm working on it. I also have three daughters. But this team was just special from the start. They worked hard. They kept a positive mental attitude. They never gave up. And most importantly, they had fun, right? Girls, do you have fun? Yes. Those tournaments and the state tournament Lancaster were some of the best times I've had as a coach. And I know some of the families have articulated that to me as well.

[20:28] hanging out, not just playing the games, but in between the games and just bonding as a team and as families.

[20:35] And part of this is, I couldn't have done this, we couldn't have done this without incredible support of coaches.

[20:41] We have two here, in addition to me, we're missing two others, but incredibly supportive families.

[20:47] Everybody jelled, everybody got together, everybody was positive, and that's not always the case in youth sports.

[20:52] So I want to thank all the families for being so supportive for our girls.

[20:56] So, without further ado, I'm so proud to give you girls these certificates and when I call your name, I'll hand you the certificate and please stay up here because we're going to take a picture, okay?

[21:07] So, the first girl is Stella Alderette.

[21:22] Next girl is Dottie Boyle.

[21:30] Evie Cox,

[21:41] Hannah Domosek,

[21:49] Hadley Fabian,

[21:55] Vinnie Foley,

[22:01] Sage Harris,

[22:12] Adrian Yadi,

[22:19] Maya McCary,

[22:25] Touloua Messner,

[22:33] Lightning Lizzy Stone,

[22:39] last, certainly not least, Maddie Wang.

[22:47] And then my fellow coaches, Carlos Aldorette,

[22:55] and Alyssa Yadi.

[23:03] Thank you.

[23:04] All right.

[23:04] All right, council, let's go.

[24:47] all right our net we have another great praise we have two more presentations

[24:53] regarding Little League so the next one is for Gavin Brand and away to your

[24:58] read.

[25:03] I'll read it, you listen. It's a really remarkable story. So our third presentation this evening is a special recognition for remarkable young man in our community, Gavin Branden, age 12, from Costa Mesa, Little League. There you go, woo.

[25:26] Gavin recently made our entire community proud by advancing to the semifinals and

[25:32] the T-Mobile Little League home run derby, the national Little League home run derby.

[25:37] Over the summer he competed in the regional finals in Atlanta, Georgia during the Major

[25:43] League Baseball All-Star Weekend where he hit an incredible 24 home runs, earning him

[25:50] a spot in the top four in the nation and the honor of representing the West region in the

[25:57] finals.

[25:58] Can you believe he's from Costa Mesa?

[26:00] Gavin then traveled to Williamsport, Pennsylvania,

[26:03] which is the headquarters of Little League Baseball.

[26:09] And he competed on the national stage

[26:12] with his performance broadcast live on ESPN just last Friday.

[26:18] His journey began right here in the great city of Costa Mesa.

[26:22] In June, Gavin won the District 62 home run derby with an impressive 55 home runs in a single day.

[26:35] 55 home runs,

[26:46] that's unbelievable.

[26:49] Gavin, your dedication, hard work and sportsmanship have inspired not only your teammates and family but the entire Costa Mesa community and the Nighthawks.

[26:59] You have shown what it means to dream big and to represent your hometown with pride.

[27:07] At this time, I would like to invite Gavin's coach to the podium to share a few words about his accomplishments on behalf of the city of Costa Mesa.

[27:16] It is my honor to recognize you, Gavin, for this outstanding achievement and to celebrate your accomplishments to the proud story of the great Costa Mesa little league.

[27:28] Congratulations, Gavin. Come on up, Coach.

[27:33] Come on up, Gavin. Come on up, Coach.

[27:38] So, where's Gavin's coach? Brian, yeah, come on up. Come on up, Brian, you come up.

[27:47] And Gavin, Gavin, you come up too with your coach. This is Gavin, right here.

[27:55] I'm here.

[27:58] How about here?

[28:01] You know this is like my favorite thing to do on the planet, and that's talking in front

[28:05] of a bunch of people.

[28:08] But I will say while I was technically his coach, I think I was just his biggest fan.

[28:15] I was his first base coach, and all I did all season was give him a high five after every

[28:20] home runny hit and just walked around the bases.

[28:22] It was probably like my favorite season of all time.

[28:27] I've never seen a kid like this.

[28:29] He's not a kid you have to coach.

[28:31] He says thank you after every practice in every game,

[28:34] and he's just a pleasure to coach.

[28:36] Love you, man.

[28:37] Thank you.

[28:38] Thank you.

[28:38] Yeah, that,

[28:43] that, that, how'd you do it?

[28:46] How do you hit so many home runs?

[28:47] I don't know.

[28:51] I shut up with the bed on the bones.

[28:58] We're all very proud of you Gavin and we're going to take a photo with you now, okay?

[29:03] All right, wait, let's hear it for Gavin.

[29:10] And nobody leave after this.

[29:12] We got a fourth presentation.

[30:12] All right. So we have one more, we have one more little league presentation, and it's a very special presentation for the entire little league. It's a combination for the outgoing little league president, Brian Clark. Brian.

[30:31] So here, here's a few words about Brian. Brian has dedicated over a decade of volunteer service to Costa Mesa little league, exemplifying strong morals, ethics, and character, and setting a standard for others to follow.

[30:47] Brian Clark has been an integral part of Costa Mesa Little League since 2016, serving on the Costa Mesa Little League board for more than six years and most recently as the president from 2023 to 2025.

[31:01] During his tenure as president, which concluded on October 1, 2025, Brian led a thriving lead with an average annual registration of 735 players across spring and fall seasons, supporting approximately 56 spring teams and over 150 volunteer parents management managers coaches and board members each year and they all had an opinion.

[31:31] He doesn't say that, I just know it's true.

[31:36] Under his leadership, Costa Mesa Little League celebrated numerous accomplishments including

[31:42] multiple District 62 All-Star Banners in 2024, a District 62 Tournament of Champions

[31:48] Banner in 2024, and critical facility enhancements such as New Turf installation, John Deere Utility

[31:56] community vehicles, new scoreboards, dug out shade structures, and snack bar improvements

[32:01] that became a highlight for players and families alike.

[32:06] Beyond these tangible improvements, Brian's most enduring legacy is the strong and vibrant

[32:12] community culture he fostered when built on teamwork, integrity, and shared commitment

[32:18] to use sports.

[32:19] courts. Clark served as a role model and mentored many young athletes through his career

[32:26] inspiring and encouraging them to reach their full potential. The city of Costa Mesa also

[32:32] extends heartfelt gratitude to Brian's wife Terry for her constant support and their

[32:39] son Spencer who played in Costa Mesa American Little League in Bradley or sorry I said

[32:45] with Costa Mesa little league, I'm sorry, I used to call it Costa Mesa American little league,

[32:50] who is entering his final season for their shared dedication and contribution to this meaningful journey.

[32:58] The city of Costa Mesa recognizes Brian's South leadership, exemplary community service,

[33:04] and dedication to faithfully overseeing use sports in our community.

[33:09] And it goes on now, therefore I, John B. Stevens, the mayor of the great city of Costa Mesa,

[33:14] I do hereby proclaim this special commendation to Brian Clark in recognition of his service

[33:20] and dedication to the Costa Mesa community and Costa Mesa little league players, coaches,

[33:26] and families.

[33:27] President Clark, come on out, President,

[33:35] President, yeah, yeah, you have definitely earned

[33:42] the floor.

[33:43] Oh, thank you.

[33:44] And like any good baseball family, my wife is in Santa Margarita with my son at baseball

[33:49] practice and my younger son, it was taken home by his coach, came here from

[33:54] practice. But just as they say, thank you. Thank you for support. Many of you've

[33:57] been here for opening days. I know Brian is back here who oversees help with

[34:01] us with this wonderful staff, with the support.

[34:06] You know, a couple of things is

[34:08] a little bit about use sports. It is important, you know, to our community. It's

[34:12] important that we have great opportunities. I'm always prideful. I want to

[34:17] I think some of our board members are here, Rachel, Coral, Folk, Nguyen, and Mario, Washington.

[34:23] And many others who aren't here, it's all volunteer lead.

[34:27] We're all here to really make the best experience for everyone in Costa Mesa, and

[34:32] just want to thank you for the continued support.

[34:34] I think the one thing that I'm most proud of is that many people have a great experience in Lidliga.

[34:41] And it's really become a big community experience.

[34:44] It's one where we've really supported and encouraged others to come back.

[34:49] And it's one where kids have not just played for one year but it played for 10.

[34:54] Both my kids, my older one, he aged out but will have been there from age four.

[35:00] 12. And in the same league, made friends with the people I just mentioned, a folk has been my vice president by my side for two years. We have spent a lot of time texting each other, talking about what field equipment we should buy and obsessing over the weather and whether or not the fields will be open. So happy to pass that on to my new president, Theresa Byrne. And thank you so much for the recognition. Appreciate it.

[35:29] and happy to serve, thank you.

[36:24] So

[36:45] first thing ever, is

[36:54] there any more?

[37:04] Bye bye girls, bye bye everybody.

[37:07] Thanks for coming, thanks for coming.

[37:52] All right everybody, now it's time for public comments to be heard at this time.

[37:55] You can speak about anything on the consent calendar, and you can also speak about anything that's not on the one of our regular

[38:03] items. So pretty much everything except what's on our

[38:07] public hearing and our old business items today.

[38:11] You get three minutes. You're going to hear a little beep at two minutes. Please wrap it up at that point in time.

[38:18] We'll go to the people within the chambers first, and then we'll get our public commenters on Zoom.

[38:23] If you're speaking English to Spanish translation, you get five minutes.

[38:27] Everybody please, you can say whatever you want, no problem with the content.

[38:31] Just be respectful in the sense that don't interrupt or disrupt anybody who's speaking.

[38:37] And then you can clap afterwards, but don't disrupt or interrupt anybody who's speaking.

[38:44] So with that, ma'am, you've got the floor.

[38:47] Hi, my name is Wendy Simo. I'm here about the gym at 140 East 17th Street. So, you guys did your little noise sample or whatever.

[38:59] And then you guys now continually see, let the gym open their door at 7 a.m., it's not hot outside. There's nothing hot about sign.

[39:07] and then they keep it open, they'll shut it whenever they don't have workouts and then they open it again until 8.30 at night from 7 a.m.

[39:15] to 8.30 at night our community has to hear an instructor 4.3.2.1 any type of music they want and the city's like oh well

[39:24] they just need to ventilate their gym you know put the fan in front of the fire safety door so they can get probably a

[39:29] circulation, so I want to know, is it just gyms that you allow not to have proper circulation?

[39:35] Or is there other branches of businesses out there that aren't required to have proper circulation?

[39:42] For the health and welfare of the people at their establishment.

[39:48] Is there any other place in Costa Mesa that lets their main source of business outside of its building?

[39:55] Constantly, and the city does nothing about it?

[39:58] I know you guys did your little on this.

[40:00] Classical, sound sample, I know all about it. You guys can find it online, I'm sure. But it made the gym what, golden, they knit, but the gym isn't golden because I live right across from it, less than 200 feet yards, whatever from it. Constantly all day. Could you guys imagine if you guys had to deal with that all day, whenever you're home, you just want to sit outside, relax. And you got to hear somebody screaming on a microphone, having a workout. Would you want any of your family, any of your

[40:29] Your friends have to go through this because our community has to go through it every day.

[40:35] Sunday through Sunday, every day, every day, never goes away.

[40:40] And I don't understand why it still goes on.

[40:43] It's just beyond me.

[40:45] You know, I may not email my council member.

[40:48] I send you guys evidence, and then the evidence that I sent that you guys played last time

[40:52] I was here was awfully low, but it wasn't so low that somebody from the city called me and

[40:58] I was like, hey, when did this happen?

[41:00] What's going on because it was very loud, but you guys made it seem like it wasn't that loud.

[41:05] But yeah, you're here for us, right?

[41:07] You're sticking up for us?

[41:09] Thanks.

[41:10] Thank you.

[41:11] Thank you.

[41:12] Yes?

[41:15] I'm Dana Lavon, and how are you guys today?

[41:19] I have been coming here quite a few times to talk about something that's very near and dear to my heart.

[41:27] It's the TNR program.

[41:28] 7 years ago, I was elected to the Animal Services Committee, and I submitted the TNR program that I thought that we could copy.

[41:39] And it kept going to, whoever was going to be in charge, and it kept coming back.

[41:46] We need more information, we need more information.

[41:49] So we submitted something else, we need more information.

[41:52] 7 years later, I figured, well, if you need more information, let me figure out how I can

[41:58] give you the information. And I went online and I found, just like, if you're aware, we

[42:04] have a coyote website where if you see a coyote, you put it in the website, so the police

[42:12] department can track it. Well, I found the same type of program for

[42:18] So I gave it to the, I think, the lieutenant at a meeting.

[42:25] She has all the information of what this website does, how easy it is to use.

[42:31] And meanwhile, nothing has been done.

[42:34] So I just have to say that I'm not sure if you're serious about it and obviously not because it's very important.

[42:42] And all these kittens now are being sent to priceless pets.

[42:48] Nobody wants all these kittens, by the time they get older, no one wants an older cat they want to kitten.

[42:54] So it's not fair to the kittens, it's not fair to the people that take care of the furlough community because they have to go out and buy all the food and keep them alive.

[43:05] And I'm still at a loss as to why we cannot have a program.

[43:13] And I feel that I've given you all the information you have requested on, you wanted numbers.

[43:20] This is a way to track your numbers.

[43:22] And I just wanted you to know that this has been very frustrating and I'm really sorry

[43:26] that it's happening.

[43:28] Thank you.

[43:47] I have been a resident of Costa Mesa for 33 years, I attended Costa Mesa High School and my husband went to Estancia.

[43:58] We both attended OCC.

[44:00] His parents bought their home here in 1968, and he and I have lived in our home here since 2008.

[44:08] I own my own business here in town, and my husband teaches at Newport, Macy Unified School District.

[44:14] All three of our children have had their first jobs here in Costa Mesa, and my son and I have been volunteers of priceless pets.

[44:23] As you can see, we have a vested interest in Costa Mesa.

[44:26] I've been involved with attempting to rescue some of the hundreds of stray and feral cats here in our city.

[44:34] I've personally had 28 kittens in my home at one time,

[44:38] raising them to be old enough to be spayed or neutered and get adopted.

[44:43] In addition, all four of my pet cats came to me from our city's streets.

[44:48] I feel so grateful for the small part I've been able to do to decrease the seemingly endless cycle of cats

[44:55] having kittens, but it's not enough. I'm not individually.

[45:00] Equipped to finance and sustain an ongoing kitten rescue and adoption program indefinitely. The kitten factories just keep making more. We need TNR to be legal in this city so that anyone can ethically participate in helping reduce the excess production of new kittens. This method has a proven track record of curbing the increase in feral cat populations. This should not be prohibited by the city of Costa Mesa.

[45:29] allowing TNR benefits the whole city. The unchecked increase of feral cats

[45:36] multiplies unsanitary scats in people's yards. They subsist by killing and

[45:43] eating songbirds. They attract and feed coyotes which in turn multiply and

[45:48] prey on citizens pets. Sweet feral kittens have to struggle to find food to

[45:54] avoid being eaten by predators, getting hit by cars or suffering from disease and

[45:59] exposure. And our community members suffer emotionally when they find starving kittens

[46:04] that they can't even turn over to animal control because priceless pets is full. Decreasing

[46:09] the feral cat population through TNR will reduce the associated harms. Please help make

[46:15] our city healthier, safer, and more humane. Please make this an agenda item so that we can

[46:20] make progress on legalizing TNR and Costa Mesa. Thank you.

[46:25] Yes,

[46:31] ma'am.

[46:32] Good evening.

[46:33] My name is Angela Mennaris, and I'm a Costa Mesa resident speaking its part of TNR

[46:37] trap neuter release, as most humane and effective way to manage our community's free roaming

[46:43] cats.

[46:44] TNR is simple, science-based approach, cats are humane, trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated,

[46:49] and then returned to their outdoor homes.

[46:52] This stops the breeding cycle, reduces news and behaviors, and allows population to decline

[46:57] naturally over time.

[46:58] Vaccinations also protect the cats and help prevent the spread of diseases within the community.

[47:04] Across Orange County throughout California, cities embrace TNR and have seen real success.

[47:09] They've lowered shelter intake and youth and major rates, saved taxpayer dollars,

[47:14] and built strong partnerships between residents, volunteers, and animal services.

[47:18] It's a compassionate solution that reflects who we are as a community.

[47:23] Carrying, responsible, and forward-thinking.

[47:26] Community cats didn't choose this life.

[47:28] They're here because of human behavior.

[47:30] And it's up to us to respond humanely and responsibly.

[47:34] Tina gives us that path.

[47:36] One that works for both people and animals.

[47:38] I urge the City Council to support Tina programs and partnerships,

[47:42] so Costa Mesa can continue to be a leader in the main effect of animal care.

[47:47] Thank you for your time and continue service.

[47:48] Thank you, Angela.

[47:54] Good evening there in City Council.

[47:57] My name is Mike Rau.

[47:59] By way, I have a little background.

[48:00] I am an alum of the University of UCLA, where I created and directed a program for

[48:11] undergraduates at the Institute for Applied Mathematics.

[48:16] at UCLA, my graduate degrees are in mathematics

[48:23] from Stanford University, PhD, and Master's degree.

[48:28] So just a little bit of background.

[48:31] I lived in Irvine and I've learned a lot about OCPA.

[48:36] Delay the vote to join OCPA until an independent

[48:40] risk study is commissioned and much more outreach is made

[48:44] to inform Costa Mesa that joining OCPA would opt in the entire city and the entire city could

[48:53] pay more for electricity than under SE Edison. What would it cost an average residence or business

[49:01] if Costa Mesa joins OCPA? OCPA publishes a joint rate mailer and the CPU California Public Utilities

[49:12] commission, website, publishes rate comparisons to informed consumers.

[49:18] But OCPA didn't show the dollar numbers in their September 2nd presentation,

[49:24] nor was this data included in the agenda packet.

[49:27] It's a big red warning flag that OCPA chose not to disclose the dollar cost.

[49:34] Currently, an OCPA average monthly electric bill is $105 per month for

[49:40] residents and 260 bucks for businesses.

[49:44] If Costa Mesa joins OCPA and chooses the proposed smart choice service under the current

[49:50] rates, residents will pay an average of $50 per year more than they would to Edison and

[49:57] business is $70.

[50:00] There's more than to Edison. Under OCPA's 100% renewable plan, residents would pay $70 per year more and businesses 130 more. OCPA does have a basic choice plan which they use as a lure, the so-called 3% less on generation that could save two or $3 per month, but basic choice greenhouse gas emissions are much higher than Edison. That is greenhouse gas emissions.

[50:29] emissions are much higher than Edison.

[50:33] OCPA didn't explain either on September 2nd, another big red flag.

[50:39] OCPA is losing money so when they move to rates based on cost recovery,

[50:44] they will probably likely change more.

[50:47] The phrase cost recovery was in OCPA's presentation,

[50:51] but the implications were not explained.

[50:54] Thank you.

[50:56] Thank you, sir.

[50:59] Jim, you've got the floor.

[51:01] Mr. Mayor, I have a presentation.

[51:02] You might, I don't know if it's up, but you might want to go to the next speaker.

[51:08] Do we have it?

[51:10] Yeah, it's all right, we can just wait.

[51:14] Do you want to wait or do you want to go to the next speaker, Madam Clerk?

[51:19] Oh, it's up, it's not on our, there it is, I got it, we have it.

[51:24] You're ready to go.

[51:26] Thank you.

[51:30] Ready when you are.

[51:31] We're ready.

[51:32] Excellent. Through the mayor, disappointed the council member, Mara isn't here to hear from the constituent's instead of an ethics policy, maybe we need an attendance policy.

[51:42] I rise tonight in support, in appreciation for the city council's bold and bipartisan action, necessary action to terminate the relationship with the former absentee city manager.

[51:59] absolutely necessary to move forward.

[52:02] And I encourage you to defend the frivolous lawsuit vigorously.

[52:08] A couple of things I wanted to bring you to your attention to say,

[52:11] we're not done, it's just the beginning.

[52:15] Tony, can you advance that for me? Thanks, buddy.

[52:18] So, we spent $3.5 million on Tessa, right?

[52:22] I've been asking anyone who listened, counsel and staff,

[52:25] please provide me facts and data that I know is available

[52:29] because I see it in other cities.

[52:31] How long does a permit take in Costa Mesa?

[52:34] Do you know how many reports we've seen

[52:36] since we implemented the three and a half million dollar solution?

[52:38] Not a one.

[52:41] By now you've figured out what this chart is.

[52:44] Fast as blue, red is slow.

[52:48] We are the only city that is even a shade of red.

[52:51] It is bright glowing red.

[52:54] Congratulations.

[52:55] You will not be receiving a participation trophy tonight

[52:58] like we've seen.

[52:59] In fact, we're tied for a last in the state.

[53:02] We also just received a letter from the same HCCD that provides this because the city won't.

[53:07] Of a noncompliance on our housing element.

[53:10] We missed the date.

[53:11] Oops.

[53:12] Do you know what that means?

[53:13] We are subject to builders remedy.

[53:15] I am now getting calls from the community saying, let's go and coast the mesa.

[53:19] They can't stop us.

[53:20] I just think that's a problem.

[53:22] So during council comments, I am expecting every single council member to look,

[53:26] left down the desk and say, city manager, will somebody reach out to Jim Fitzpatrick?

[53:31] He knows the exact reports that we want to see and we need a solution.

[53:35] Somebody needs to call Mayor Alex down Laguna, he figured it out, he figured it out.

[53:40] Next one, here we have city council caring loudly, we have the city of Newport Beach.

[53:46] Could you advance that time?

[53:48] City of Newport Beach coming over here, cutting checks, throwing their issues over the fence and coast of Mesa, right?

[53:54] Next slide, this is alarming.

[53:57] What you tried to do was convert the Motel 6.

[54:00] You created more calls for service at Mesa Vista than the problem Motel, the Vagabond Inn.

[54:07] Again, in comments, city manager, bring this back to council.

[54:11] We need a study of this and we need solutions.

[54:13] You've come after sober living homes because they don't have the right management.

[54:16] They're not creating any issues here, the city is.

[54:19] Lastly, we're in a structural budget deficit.

[54:22] This HDL report was laid.

[54:23] The people at the bottom could do advanced that, Tony.

[54:26] The people at the bottom of this list, the council, the planning commission,

[54:29] the fire pack, the Chamber of Commerce aren't receiving this important information

[54:33] during a structural budget deficit.

[54:34] City Manager, could you fix this?

[54:36] Thank you.

[54:37] Thank you, Jim.

[54:43] Yes, ma'am, we have the floor.

[54:44] I'm Vicki Johnson, and I have a slide.

[54:46] Okay, just wait, wait, let's get the slide before he start talking.

[54:54] Let's make sure we have it.

[54:55] Vicki Johnson.

[54:57] Vicki Johnson, okay.

[55:00] Hello, city council and mayor. My name is Vicki Vicki. Let's get your slide up. Okay, we got it. Vicki. It's okay. Vicki, you're ready to go. We have your slide. You're ready? Okay, I'm so sorry. I don't care. It's okay. Hello, city council and mayor. I'm Vicki Johnson. I'm here as a resident of Orange County to urge you. Do not vote to join the Orange County power authority.

[55:27] The power OCPA purchases affects the air we all breathe.

[55:32] The 2020 for power content labels were just published October 1st.

[55:39] These are California mandated disclosures about greenhouse gas emissions by electricity providers.

[55:46] They are very important disclosures to protect us like the ingredients labels for food.

[55:54] The greenhouse gas emissions are expressed to CO2 equivalents per megawatt hour.

[56:00] Reducing emissions is the key climate goal.

[56:04] This 224, 2024 data for OCPA is alarming.

[56:09] OCPA's basic choice power has almost twice the emissions of SE's default power.

[56:17] SCE-515, OCPA-942 circled in red. Lower is better. OCPA-942 is almost twice as dirty

[56:29] as SCE-515. This is very concerning. For half of 2024, Huntington Beach was on basic

[56:39] until it exited. Now all of Irvine is on basic choice this year. OCPA never gave

[56:47] a warning that basic choice power was so dirty near the top of the

[56:53] emission scale. 2023 basic choice emissions were also higher than SE. OCPA's

[57:01] smart choice has higher emissions than SE's 50% green rate and SEPE's

[57:07] community solar and OCPA charges a premium for smart choice.

[57:13] OCPA will not disclose the power it purchases, even under

[57:16] NDA. OCPA's lack of transparency about power purchases was

[57:22] cited by the County of Orange, including Supervisor Folling,

[57:26] your ex- mayor, your costumator and Huntington Beach also

[57:30] cited this as reasons they exited OCPA. OCPA makes no guarantees

[57:36] about lower rates or lower greenhouse gas emissions than SCE, no guarantees.

[57:43] This data shows OCPA isn't able to meet climate goals more affordably than SCE.

[57:52] Do not vote to join OCPA.

[57:54] The SCE's community solar is a great option.

[57:58] They keep telling you there's no choice.

[58:00] SCE offers a community solar option.

[58:03] It's individual enrollment, it saves 10% off of generation.

[58:08] And you can see here that it's emissions is lower than OCPA's offerings for smart choice.

[58:18] Thank you very much.

[58:20] Thank you, ma'am.

[58:23] You have the floor.

[58:25] Hi, Mr. Mayor, members of the council, Madam Attorney, Madam, this is the manager.

[58:31] or my name is Stacey Bushee.

[58:35] You may or may not have seen an email that I sent earlier

[58:38] today.

[58:40] You, yes, that is part of it, one of the attachments.

[58:44] I had the pleasure of attending a webinar this weekend

[58:48] but I wouldn't highly encourage all of you

[58:50] to attend as well, $10.

[58:52] And I included an attachment from that webinar.

[58:57] It's a TNR handbook.

[58:58] and the webinar was persuading municipal officials to go with TNR and I think you'll

[59:07] find everything in here to answer any questions you have about whether or not a TNR program

[59:12] is right for any city, not just our city.

[59:16] So about seven months ago is when I was alerted to the fact that TNR is not really allowed

[59:24] in Costa Mesa because there's a problem with the release of the animals.

[59:29] So I attended an animal services committee meeting in February, Madam Mayor, sorry, Mr.

[59:36] Mayor, you're there.

[59:38] And fortunately it was determined that same day along with the city attorney and the police

[59:46] chief and Mayor Stevens that for the last seven years the animal services committee was

[59:53] spinning their wheels, trying to amend or rewrite sections 3-1, 3-2.

[1:00:00] 6 and 3-15. Unfortunately, it turns out that was the wrong ordinance. They should have been looking at 3-5-4 and or 3-5-3. And right there, in black and white, it gives the shelter authority as an agent of the government to release these cats. So, that was seven months ago. It's been seven months now. So, I want to know where are we with this. I understand, Mr. Mayor, that you had a agenda report ready to go.

[1:00:29] and at that meeting you said that you were in fact not going to present that agenda report

[1:00:34] because with this new information you're going to have to edit it and that that decision

[1:00:41] light in your hands. You said that it's your decision whether you ask Council for more

[1:00:50] staff time and until then the staff is not authorised. So are we authorising that? What are

[1:00:59] agenda or can another member please help us out here? I mean, it's been so long.

[1:01:05] Seven years looking at the wrong codes and now we're waiting to just get

[1:01:10] authorization to talk about getting time to study it and then what? How much

[1:01:15] more time do we have to keep allowing? How much longer does our shelter have to

[1:01:20] keep paying the price to remove these cats because they can't release them here?

[1:01:26] So I hope you all look through the information I gave you, I mean really there's nothing

[1:01:30] that doesn't cover.

[1:01:42] Okay.

[1:01:42] Can you guys hear me?

[1:01:44] Good evening, Mayor Stevens and City Council members.

[1:01:46] Thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight.

[1:01:48] My name is Megan.

[1:01:50] I've been a resident for Costa Mesa for the last ten years and I'm here again to speak on

[1:01:54] the urgent need for a trap new to return a release program for our city.

[1:02:00] Because my time is limited, I just want to share one story, many others are sharing the

[1:02:03] facts of why it's important, and I fully agree with them, but I just wanted to share a story.

[1:02:08] One that represents, I believe, what's happening all over Costa Mesa.

[1:02:11] For the past six months, I have been working in two junk yards where nearly 26 cats have struggled to survive.

[1:02:17] Without T&R, their lives would have been filled with suffering and much worse.

[1:02:22] From the colony of 26, two were killed, one is sweet, girl named Princess,

[1:02:27] friendly, trusting, and loved by the neighbors there.

[1:02:29] but before we could rescue her, she was killed after being hit by a car.

[1:02:33] The neighborhood built a small memorial that still stands today because her life mattered,

[1:02:38] and others have dropped off momentos to show her impact.

[1:02:42] Another was a six-month-old calico named Cali.

[1:02:45] Animal control ruled her death as also being hit by a car,

[1:02:48] but many of us believe something more sinister happened.

[1:02:51] As a neighbor made it clear, he was going to make cats disappear,

[1:02:54] and that's exactly what began to happen.

[1:02:56] I personally removed nine of the cats from that colony.

[1:02:59] Six were newborn kittens.

[1:03:01] I found panting from the heat and under palace.

[1:03:03] I bottle fed them for weeks while they were strong enough

[1:03:05] to move into a foster home.

[1:03:07] One cat Theo needed two eye surgeries,

[1:03:10] costing me $1,700 out of my own pocket.

[1:03:13] I can now happily say that he is thriving

[1:03:14] and in an adoptive home.

[1:03:16] Two teenage kittens remain with me.

[1:03:18] One survived blunt forced trauma,

[1:03:20] so severe that her intestines ruptured into her diaphragm

[1:03:23] and this was not after being hit by a car.

[1:03:25] Staving her life costs me $7,000 a debt I am still paying off.

[1:03:29] This isn't an isolated story.

[1:03:31] It's one of many playing across Costa Mesa, and while the city continues to do that, nothing, excuse me.

[1:03:37] A petition with over 800 signatures was started proving that this community wants a TNR program.

[1:03:42] The public supports it, the science supports it, but this council does not.

[1:03:48] Excuse me, let's see, to say at this point it doesn't come close, I'm angry, I'm heartbroken, and

[1:03:54] And I'm tired of begging the City Council to do the right thing.

[1:03:57] Costa Mises City that claims to value compassion, but compassion means action, not silence.

[1:04:02] Every week that passes without a TNR program,

[1:04:05] more cats die, more kittens are born, and the residents burn out trying to fix the problem.

[1:04:10] You've ignored the research, you've ignored the community, and you've ignored the suffering.

[1:04:14] Tonight, I'm asking you how many more cats need to die before the City Council acts.

[1:04:18] How many more residents have to spend their own money doing the job the City refuses to do.

[1:04:21] So we cannot keep pretending this problem does not exist.

[1:04:25] I will leave you with this because I and others chose not to give up 24 of our colony cats can no longer reproduce.

[1:04:31] That is a progress made without your help.

[1:04:33] Imagine what we could accomplish with it.

[1:04:35] Thank you.

[1:04:40] Yeah, yes, you have the floor, yes.

[1:04:43] Sorry.

[1:04:44] Hi, thank you.

[1:04:45] My name is Diane Lugo-Edmondson, good afternoon, good evening.

[1:04:51] So, I'm kind of new at this, but I am with that TNR program, I see cats, I live in the community, I work in the community.

[1:05:00] committee, a shop in the community, I'm all over Costa Mesa. And very often I do see these little cats just wandering around. Some I've seen with kittens, little by little, some of these cats, I see less of until finally I don't see them. I don't know what's happened to them. Maybe a coyote got to them. When I call the city regarding coyotes, they tell me they can't do anything about it unless I have contained the coyote. How do you do that? So when I call regarding a cat,

[1:05:29] that I've seen that needs help, I'm told, the shelters are full, I should call another

[1:05:35] shelter called priceless pets.

[1:05:37] I don't think priceless pets can do very much anymore right now.

[1:05:41] They're hands are full, everybody is calling them, there's cats everywhere.

[1:05:45] And they just scuttle and go underbrush or undercars when you try to call them out.

[1:05:51] You can put a can of food out there, but that doesn't help the problem.

[1:05:55] I understand from the last meeting that I was here that something has been already

[1:05:59] given to the council, like, and it's been table for years, like five years, and it's still going on.

[1:06:06] So I'm asking also what everybody's been asking is what is the city going to do about it?

[1:06:11] It's not fair to the cats, it's not fair to the community, it's not fair to us.

[1:06:16] And if I run over a cat, that we've already addressed a problem with you, who is responsible for that?

[1:06:24] Thank you.

[1:06:25] Thank you.

[1:06:30] Good evening, Honourable Mayor and members of the City Council.

[1:06:33] My name's Erica.

[1:06:34] I'm speaking tonight to formally request the discussion of legalizing a trap new to return

[1:06:39] program be added to the next agenda for the City Council meeting.

[1:06:43] I'm not alone in this request, a significant amount of costamase of residents support this

[1:06:49] initiative, including the 887 individuals who have signed a change.org petition calling

[1:06:54] for the legalization of TNR in the city.

[1:06:56] As the City Council, you have vested interest in the public health wildlife preservation,

[1:07:01] effective animal control, and responsible use of municipal resources in Costa Mesa.

[1:07:07] Currently, the city's approach of relying solely on trap and remove or

[1:07:10] euthanasia has proven to be an ineffective and costly method for managing the community cap population.

[1:07:17] In contrast, the legal TNR program offers humane, sustainable,

[1:07:26] and

[1:07:26] established collaborative framework involving animal services, local animal advocates,

[1:07:30] and volunteer residents, and the veterinary providers like priceless pets.

[1:07:34] This framework could lead to greater transparency and a more effective management of the cat population.

[1:07:40] By adding the discussion about legalization of TNR programs to the agenda,

[1:07:44] you will be taking proactive steps to addressing growing community cat population,

[1:07:49] reducing long-term costs associated with current animal control methods,

[1:07:52] improve the quality of life, all-coast-a-mace residents for all-coast-a-mace residents by reducing new-since behaviors associated with unfixed cat populations.

[1:08:03] I, along with many others, thank you for your time and consideration of this important community issue.

[1:08:08] Thank you.

[1:08:09] Thank you.

[1:08:13] Backly, you have the floor.

[1:08:15] Good evening. My name is Becca Walls.

[1:08:16] I was on the Animal Service Committee for the first seven years.

[1:08:19] I was the chair for five of those years and no longer on that committee.

[1:08:23] but I just want to first of all say, how many people in this room are here for TNR?

[1:08:30] That's scary, I wish you could get that on TV, it's over half the chambers, raise your hand.

[1:08:34] So I do want to do a couple things here.

[1:08:37] So we drafted an ordinance in 2020-2021, animal control at the time, turned it down.

[1:08:43] We drafted that ordinance again in February.

[1:08:45] It was brought to the Animal Service Committee in March, it was brought to City Council.

[1:08:49] There was some interest by City Council, I won't point out those folks.

[1:08:53] but I have sent emails as well as others that I've been blind CCed on and we have not heard back from council members

[1:08:58] We would hope that we would at least get an acknowledgment even if it's an acknowledgment of I don't care

[1:09:03] That's fine. I'd rather get something than nothing

[1:09:07] We did a little

[1:09:09] Change.org, which I kind of thought would be like a hundred people and as of right now

[1:09:13] It's 891 people have signed that petition and per change change.org

[1:09:18] It looks like two thirds of that are people within the Costa Mesa area

[1:09:21] So that's a pretty significant amount of people who have interest in this.

[1:09:24] My feeds on all social medias are flooded with supportive TNR.

[1:09:28] I understand that the data isn't exactly what the police department would like.

[1:09:33] It will never be unless we have it legalized as the first step.

[1:09:37] All these sob stories that you're hearing that people love cats and care about cats.

[1:09:41] Hey, I'm a dog person, but I'm still here because animal lives matter.

[1:09:45] That being said, those sob stories don't have to happen if we have TNR.

[1:09:49] Those letters don't have to be born.

[1:09:50] and those kittens don't have to suffer.

[1:09:52] These ladies don't have to go out in the middle of the night

[1:09:54] and save animals if we have TNR.

[1:09:56] And it's the R part that needs to be legalized.

[1:09:58] is returning to the community.

[1:10:01] So what I'm asking from you guys today is transparency and communication about this. I know that the interim city manager when you first came on, you did acknowledge TNR, and I'm super grateful for that. Thank you for that. I understand at the last animal service committee meeting. It was said that it will be on the next agenda and that it's been worked on since I've left the animal service committee. It has not been actively worked on. So since March or April of this year.

[1:10:25] So we have now given you six months, I have laid low for six months, and we are coming back saying, hey, where are we?

[1:10:32] What is our update? So my request is a timeline for this to be an agenda item. You can tell me 24 months.

[1:10:38] That's fine, but give us a timeline. Give us a factual timeline that we can hold you accountable to for what's next.

[1:10:44] Also, a timeline for our memo to ask staff to continue to work on this, to get more information.

[1:10:49] I think that that's fair. Staff has spent way more than four hours fighting this.

[1:10:53] So let's give them time to actually work on this, a timeline for the change of the ordinance.

[1:10:58] And then also in the 226 Animal Service Committee meeting, it was determined by the city attorney that

[1:11:05] crisis pets could release cats, but the captain of the police said not without a process, and

[1:11:09] that process is not been identified.

[1:11:11] So those are my four requests.

[1:11:13] Thank you so much.

[1:11:14] Yes,

[1:11:21] good evening, excuse me, good evening mayor and council members.

[1:11:25] As we have for the last seven years, private citizens continue to take responsibility for reducing the cat population in Costa Mesa.

[1:11:34] As it stands now, the police department is researching best practices and is scheduled to share their information by the end of the year.

[1:11:41] Information about TNR best practices has been shared with committee members for the last seven years.

[1:11:47] Unfortunately, it hasn't made a difference or helped speed up the process.

[1:11:51] During this time, the cat population has grown exponentially.

[1:11:56] I don't know how many of you know that unlike dogs who only go into heat a couple times a year,

[1:12:03] unspaid cats typically go into heat every two to three weeks.

[1:12:08] 60 days later, they have an average of four kittens.

[1:12:13] Four months later, all of those kittens become sexually mature and

[1:12:17] they can all have a litter, a litter of kittens.

[1:12:19] Unlike

[1:12:23] the first cities who put TNR programs into practice, you have a group of people with years of experience and many webinar and conference hours continuing our education of TNR best practices.

[1:12:36] I would encourage those doing the research to take advantage of that knowledge and utilize the resource that is your community members.

[1:12:44] Thank you.

[1:12:51] Good evening, Mayor Stevens and City Council.

[1:12:54] My name is Ann Gildersley, I'm a resident of the city.

[1:12:58] I'm also a Trapper, Rescuerre, Foster, Animal Advocate, mainly for cats.

[1:13:05] I wanted to just come and show my support tonight, but

[1:13:10] I did in February of last of this year send information over on studies that have been done on TNR.

[1:13:16] And there aren't a lot of studies, but the studies that are out there all show that the reduction in cat populations in various communities where they've been studied is significantly high.

[1:13:30] In some it's 50%, some it's 75, and some it's even up to 100% through attrition over time.

[1:13:37] So I would urge you to consider this some information about cats that a kitten, if it hasn't been socialized,

[1:13:46] by the time it is three months old, something its brain shuts off, and it will become a feral cat.

[1:13:51] So there is no place for these feral cats, but out in our communities.

[1:13:56] And then if someone doesn't fix these cats, then as the other, as the others have said,

[1:14:01] you're going to end up with so many cats that it's just overwhelming.

[1:14:07] And I don't like being out at midnight trying to catch cats, but I do it because I want to try to reduce populations.

[1:14:14] And this will also eventually reduce costs in the city as well.

[1:14:19] Prices pets is overwhelmed and to the point where they now turn down people.

[1:14:25] They tell people, leave the cat where you found it.

[1:14:28] I mean, this is difficult for residents.

[1:14:30] Residents don't want to leave cats where they found them and not feed them, so they'll go away.

[1:14:34] So I would urge you to consider putting into place a formal process like the last speaker just said,

[1:14:43] But rely on some of your constituents here who have a lot of information.

[1:14:49] We're happy to share anything we can with you.

[1:14:51] Thank you.

[1:14:53] Thank you.

[1:14:58] Well, I am.

[1:15:00] I wasn't going to speak to that because I've been losing my voice, but I've also been very depressed lately because of this subject of TNR. I have a rescue. I'm the founder of Forever Heaven. I've been doing this for six years. I've spent my entire inheritance on it. I fight all the time. I'm on Google search. I get calls all day long. People saying they've got litters of kittens. They don't know what to do with.

[1:15:28] They just showed up in the backyard or on their front steps and they're asking and everyone

[1:15:34] they call us is sorry, we're full, they hang up.

[1:15:37] I stay on the phone with them, I talk them through what they could possibly do to help

[1:15:41] and it's without TNR, it just keeps mounting.

[1:15:48] And being able to release it, that should be easy, you know.

[1:15:51] It's better than what we, if they're going to do, if we leave them there.

[1:15:55] So, let us return them, but also we need to start thinking about some sanctuary land.

[1:16:02] We need to start thinking about some kind of fun that we can put together to help people that bring them in.

[1:16:08] So, it's not we're not losing our homes trying to help this problem.

[1:16:12] So, if the city helps, we can be proud of that section of our city.

[1:16:17] I'm looking at leaving, I'm depressed because Costa Mesa hasn't done anything and

[1:16:22] You're just dragging your feet and we need help.

[1:16:26] We are all ready to help.

[1:16:27] We've got traps, we can do it.

[1:16:29] We just need a little extra help from our city, Costa Mesa,

[1:16:33] so we can be proud.

[1:16:34] Thank you.

[1:16:37] Yes, sir.

[1:16:41] If you're going to speak, come on up,

[1:16:43] so we kind of get a sense of how many people are coming up.

[1:16:46] Well, good.

[1:16:46] Thank you for listening to us.

[1:16:49] I don't want to change the name of the city to Kat's,

[1:16:53] to Mesa.

[1:16:54] I want to keep this thing civil.

[1:16:55] I want to keep it realistic.

[1:16:59] My wife is sick.

[1:17:01] I've been here a resident for 43 years paying taxes and being a good citizen and loving our city.

[1:17:08] But things are just a little crazy with this, and we need answers now.

[1:17:13] We need the same solve now, not studies and studies, and let's get a committee and get a room and talk each other to death.

[1:17:22] we need to have the same result.

[1:17:24] My wife is sick, I've spent hundreds of dollars on just

[1:17:28] fully treatments around my house in and out.

[1:17:31] And you can't have that stuff inside, it makes you sick.

[1:17:35] So this is turning into kind of an issue where it's physically

[1:17:39] harming my family and who's responsible.

[1:17:43] It's cats, okay.

[1:17:46] But where's the liability lie when someone gets injured,

[1:17:50] When a human being starts getting sick as a result, that's all they need to say.

[1:17:56] Please consider doing something quickly, thank you.

[1:18:00] Thank you.

[1:18:04] I'll make it quick.

[1:18:05] My name's Kendra Cagan, Costa Meso resident.

[1:18:09] I know a lot of these guys over here are TNR friends.

[1:18:12] I've been a foster with Prices Pets for about five years.

[1:18:17] I was foster coordinator for three years for mama dogs and puppy.

[1:18:21] we use so I am full dog like Becca is, but kitten season just wipes us out.

[1:18:28] You think that it's fun, that have like a litter of kittens in your house all year long or

[1:18:34] all through the kitten season and it's not, it's as fosters we are exhausted and

[1:18:40] we need help.

[1:18:41] Other cities when people bring in litters of kittens that have been found,

[1:18:47] they will send a TNR team out to where they were found so they can trap the mamas and the papas and get them fixed so we can stop the cycle.

[1:18:55] So we just need your help in putting that together.

[1:18:57] Thank you.

[1:18:58] Got it.

[1:19:03] Hi there, my name is Dawn Curtis, and I am also a resident of Post Mesa and have been involved with TNR now for about a year.

[1:19:13] And I just wanted to give an example, just in this last month.

[1:19:19] I helped someone with a mother cat who was going to have more kittens for the third time.

[1:19:27] And she had four kittens also at that time, that were four or five weeks old each.

[1:19:36] So if you thought about that, she is probably going to have five to seven more kittens.

[1:19:44] And then each of her kittens, four kittens are going to be responsible for four to seven kittens.

[1:19:55] That's 50 kittens.

[1:19:57] and from one...

[1:20:00] One cat in one home. And so it's small, but I was able to stop that and a lot of these other gals get out there and take care of other cats. And we're doing the best we can. And we need help, a lot of help. And I was here last year in the spring. And it would seem that not a whole lot has happened since then. And it needs to be

[1:20:29] done yeah but thank you all right anybody on zoom yes Mary please Mary

[1:20:41] of the floor

[1:20:46] Mary you have the floor hello good evening Mayor Stevens and

[1:20:53] members of the City Council I want to offer some public comment on consent

[1:20:58] item number five I want to make clear that I have no problem with pain and

[1:21:04] attorney $465 per hour. In fact, I've been practicing for 23 years, I'm licensed in multiple

[1:21:12] states, and I personally wouldn't do this kind of work for such a low hourly rate, so

[1:21:18] that is not the issue here. The problem that I have is twofold. First is, the law firm

[1:21:25] of Everett Dory comes in with a low hourly rate, and that obviously will save the city money,

[1:21:31] But when they're tactics and they're professionalism or lack thereof, unnecessary fighting where they're creating fights and they're making issues about everything in the litigation, that drives up cost.

[1:21:44] Not just for parties like myself, I am CEO and General Counsel for Insight Psychology and Addiction who until recently had housing, supportive housing for the mentally disabled in Costa Mesa.

[1:21:58] But as a respected member of the bar, I have a problem with litigation tactics like those

[1:22:04] that Everett Dory has been using not only in my litigation with insight, but also with

[1:22:10] other litigation matters.

[1:22:12] And I won't rehash all of the things that were put in the letter that I provided to the

[1:22:16] City Clerk yesterday.

[1:22:17] I think you have in your packet.

[1:22:19] But what I want to do is say that this isn't about $100 more.

[1:22:24] It's about this litigation as a whole is costing the city millions of dollars.

[1:22:30] In fact, according to the city's own press release, as of April of 2025, the city has

[1:22:37] spent over $20 million on the group home litigation.

[1:22:41] So that's the first problem is that the city is spending more money because of the tactics

[1:22:47] of Everett Dory, and there is absolutely no supervision going on.

[1:22:51] The reason I come to this opinion is the second problem that I have, which is a complete

[1:22:57] lack of information and not only that, but I would go so far as to say intentionally misleading.

[1:23:02] And what I'm talking about is in the fiscal impact portion of the staff report, it says

[1:23:09] that the fiscal impact is that over the last three years, the city has averaged with

[1:23:15] Everett Dory's firm $108,000 a year and the city attorney anticipates that the impact

[1:23:23] of amending the hourly rate by $100 per hour is going to affect the budget or these costs

[1:23:30] by 27% or $29,000.

[1:23:35] That means that basically the city attorney who wrote this and is proposing you to approve

[1:23:41] this amendment is suggesting that over the last three years, it's been 108,000 a year.

[1:23:46] That is absolutely not correct.

[1:23:49] Just an Insights litigation alone as of October of 2022, six over six.

[1:23:56] Sorry, that's your time.

[1:23:58] No further speakers, Mr. Mayor.

[1:23:59] Okay, close public comment.

[1:24:01] So anyway, we normally go now.

[1:24:03] We're going to go to committee reports and comments and suggestions.

[1:24:07] But on TNR, and I'm going to start with Gameros, but I'm going to take the time to talk about TNR that way.

[1:24:15] You guys can either stay for all the comments or you're free to go, whatever you want.

[1:24:20] You're always welcome here.

[1:24:22] So I can't remember the month, but I brought an item for the Council to consider four hours to spend on TNR.

[1:24:30] We had a lot of good comments from people.

[1:24:33] We appreciate it.

[1:24:34] I appreciate the comments tonight.

[1:24:35] There was sufficient support through the comments of the council.

[1:24:40] We don't need to bring back the four hours, that's not going to happen.

[1:24:43] However, because we're going to move forward with the analysis, I'm going to explain the timeline in a second.

[1:24:50] However, when we talked to the PD and we talked to priceless pets and the animal services committee,

[1:24:55] we decided to prioritize priceless.

[1:25:00] So, the pet's getting into their new space, okay? Part of the reason for that is we need them to be up and running in fully in their new space in order to execute on the TNR. But we're not just stopping and waiting for that to happen. Part of the timeline is they're expected to have their soft opening at the beginning of November, so it's less than a month away. We have the PDE has worked to get them through the approval process through the Planning Commission.

[1:25:29] prices pets and they did that, and so they're moving forward with their tenant improvements and they're getting ready to go.

[1:25:36] The police department who's in charge of this effort has also began working on a draft ordinance, and it will be presented to the animal services committee this month on October 22nd.

[1:25:52] As I said, the soft opening for priceless pets is in November, beginning of November.

[1:26:00] The expectation is they'll be fully running by the beginning of the year, and by that time, if we work in October, November and December, we have some meetings coming up, we may be able to get a vote of the City Council on the TNR program before the first of the year.

[1:26:19] So when they open and they're fully staffed, they'll be able to hit the ground running.

[1:26:24] So thank you for coming out, I appreciate it.

[1:26:27] Thank you for coming out the last time.

[1:26:29] We heard you, we're listening to you, we're going to continue to listen to you.

[1:26:32] The delay was because we needed priceless pets to get into their new space.

[1:26:37] They had to go to the planning commission and we prioritized that.

[1:26:41] And the failing on my part and maybe others at the city was failing to clearly communicate that timeline and the reason for the delay.

[1:26:56] So for that, I accept accountability, and I'm sorry, but we're moving forward, and if you wish to participate on the 22nd, you can do so at the Animal Services Committee.

[1:27:07] And I really appreciate you guys being here.

[1:27:09] Now with that, we're going to go to Councilmember Cameroos for his comments.

[1:27:18] Okay, great. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I do appreciate your comments.

[1:27:22] So, I do have a few things I want to go over, but I too want to talk about how we care about our animals.

[1:27:29] So, at my house, we do truly care about animals. And what I want to say to everyone is,

[1:27:35] I really want to thank you for coming to voice your concerns.

[1:27:40] your voice is my voice, okay? When I hear you speak about something, I'm going to react.

[1:27:46] Especially when it comes to animals. For those of you who don't know, my wife is the manager of

[1:27:51] priceless pets. So at my house, it's always priceless pets, okay? We have no less than five

[1:27:59] animals in my home at anyone given time. We're constantly caring for and helping if it's not a

[1:28:05] turtle, it's a rabbit, no snakes, nothing scary at our house, but we're constantly taking

[1:28:12] in fostering, transporting, helping, whatever we can do, not just for cats, but for dogs

[1:28:18] because our family, my kids, my wife, and myself, we love animals.

[1:28:23] So we definitely don't want to see a stream on the cat population, on the same note.

[1:28:27] We also want to see a positive reinforcement in a way that we can go about in a professional manner to try and mitigate this problem.

[1:28:40] I personally cannot vote on whatever takes place as far as moving forward with anything with priceless pets because of my position, but

[1:28:50] But I'm definitely here to listen and to help in any way that I can.

[1:28:55] So for those of you who don't know who I am, I'm Council Member Lorne Gameros.

[1:29:00] My phone number is 949-524-0085.

[1:29:05] You can call me anytime you want.

[1:29:07] I'll be glad to do whatever I can and help you out.

[1:29:09] And if you didn't get the number, go to YouTube and watch it back.

[1:29:13] The second thing I want to talk about is youth sports.

[1:29:18] Growing up, my family was involved in youth sports.

[1:29:21] I played soccer, my cousins played soccer, and I got to see firsthand as a youngster the importance of being involved in a group team related activity.

[1:29:34] It's such a release. It's so great to be recognized. Like we did this evening, we recognize so many great young people and there was nothing but smiles and elation, not just on their face, but on the parents face.

[1:29:46] case. So I just want to remind everyone if you have the chance to be involved in you sports

[1:29:52] in any way shape or form, get involved. Everybody will appreciate it just as much as you will.

[1:30:00] I have, and I hope in the future that my children will be involved with their children. I do want to take the time to thank Mayor Stevens. He was involved with eSports. He has a lot of great stories to tell. I know that my councilman Vuly was also involved with eSports. And I know that countless other council members have also been involved in a great eSports program. So please remember, it's really important that we want to keep that moving in our city.

[1:30:27] The last thing I want to talk about, and I know I beat on this a long time, I always want to try and take a moment to recognize our emergency personnel services.

[1:30:37] They're out there kicking their boots every day, if it's not PD, it's fire.

[1:30:44] And one of the reasons that I always like to take a moment and acknowledge them is because when there's an emergency, that's where you go to.

[1:30:53] There's not, well, if the police department can't be there, let me go call the, no, it's

[1:30:58] the police department.

[1:31:00] If the fire department can't be there, there's no one else.

[1:31:03] It's the police department, and it's the fire department.

[1:31:06] And we have to make sure that we recognize that they are one of the most, if not the most

[1:31:12] important thing in our community when there's an emergency.

[1:31:16] I personally, about four years ago, experienced this first hand for a clock in the morning, my phone rings.

[1:31:23] It's my mom. I think I'm having a heart attack.

[1:31:27] Oh, great. Don't panic. What do you think I did?

[1:31:30] Running around the house, lights are out, trying to find my keys, telling myself not to panic.

[1:31:35] Trying to remember where my mom's address is, waking my wife up, needless to say,

[1:31:40] I hauled but to her house which she lives in Costa Mesa and I live in Costa Mesa.

[1:31:45] I didn't break any laws.

[1:31:47] They still beat me to my house, to my mom's house.

[1:31:50] But when they got there, they acted in such a great degree of professionalism.

[1:31:55] They looked at her and they said, yep, you're having a heart attack.

[1:31:57] We're going to get you to hoag right away.

[1:31:59] I just want to close by saying if it wasn't for them, my mom would not be at home recuperating

[1:32:06] from her open heart surgery today.

[1:32:08] So thank you very much.

[1:32:09] That's all I got.

[1:32:14] That's great.

[1:32:16] Now, and he's from District 2, by the way.

[1:32:19] And now from District 5, Council Member Arles Reynolds.

[1:32:23] Thank you.

[1:32:24] I'll just start by saying since it was mentioned earlier,

[1:32:28] Council Member Mar is not here because she was ill.

[1:32:30] Or she is ill.

[1:32:31] I was ill last meeting.

[1:32:33] I think it's a reasonable reason to miss a council meeting,

[1:32:36] but for those who heard that public comment,

[1:32:38] I wanted to make that clear.

[1:32:40] Mayor, thank you for the update on T and R. I would just request maybe during Council

[1:32:46] member comments sharing updates since it has been an issue that sort of bubbled up the

[1:32:50] Council a few times and give us some updates if there's any further delays that may be helpful

[1:32:55] for us.

[1:32:58] I just wanted to share, I guess I'll call it three events coming up that I'm very excited

[1:33:02] about and folks may be interested in. This coming Saturday, there is a climate action festival.

[1:33:10] This is hosted by a collaboration largely run by UC Irvine, but are the chair of our parks and

[1:33:17] community services commission as the lead on this event. So this coming Saturday at Harbor Christian

[1:33:23] in church, the event runs 11 a.m. to 4.30 p.m., and then in the evening, I am involved in

[1:33:32] moderating a panel with two internationally acclaimed authors, Christina Cleveland and

[1:33:38] Victor Vies and your, and that's a panel discussing the, sort of, the nexus of faith, environment

[1:33:45] and community, and there will be a taco bar. So that's the Saturday. I encourage you to

[1:33:51] and that event at Harbor Christian Church.

[1:33:54] In a couple of weeks, we have our second to last city

[1:33:57] bike safety rodeo.

[1:33:59] These have been really fantastic events

[1:34:01] where if you go even just as a spectator,

[1:34:04] you get to watch kids literally learn how to ride a bike.

[1:34:07] Really fun, a lot of good skills at these events

[1:34:10] and we do give out free helmets at these events.

[1:34:12] So it's our second to last one on October 25th,

[1:34:15] one to 5 p.m., and I've asked city staff

[1:34:19] to promote these events far and wide. This is the second-to-last event. Our last event is in November.

[1:34:25] I'm still hearing from families who wish they heard about the event beforehand. So

[1:34:31] let's please really promote these events publicly. And then third, the Costa Mesa Historical Society

[1:34:39] is coming up on its 60th anniversary next year. So they've, as part of that, recently launched a

[1:34:45] membership drive. Their goal is to get I think a thousand new members before, I think it's the

[1:34:52] end of October, but let's say by the end of the year, it's only $20 to become a member, $15 if you're a

[1:34:58] Senior.

[1:35:00] And the historical society has really done some interesting and fun events about the fascinating, very diverse history of Costa Mesa. So it would encourage all council members to become members, and it would encourage the public to become members. And I'll ask staff to also share information about that drive since we did combine our committee with the historical society in promoting Costa Mesa history. Thank you. Thank you, council member.

[1:35:27] We're now up from District 6, Council Member Jeff Pettis.

[1:35:33] Thank you, Mayor, appreciate it.

[1:35:36] So it's just a couple things tonight.

[1:35:38] It was nice to see the little girls for the sports, for the softball, baseball.

[1:35:44] It was nice to see you and reminds me of my kids being little.

[1:35:47] Hey, so real quick, I'm getting, I've been getting for a long time residents.

[1:35:52] I mentioned this several months back, but I imagine sometimes things take time regarding

[1:35:57] Starting the plaques, Roger, for the missing plaques that have been stolen at Fairview Park for a long placenture there.

[1:36:02] Don't know, I just, I had forgot about it a little bit until I was reminded by my district folks that they walked by there.

[1:36:10] So hopefully we can get that going, appreciate it, thank you very much.

[1:36:14] And on every, well, I know that community engagement is a huge thing for me, it always has been the main reason why I ran for office.

[1:36:22] and I receive the over and speaking of community engagement,

[1:36:28] receive the neighbourhoods where we all belong, survey and the email for the sign up for their email stuff.

[1:36:38] And the survey is the City of the Coast of Mesa planning to allow housing to select commercial and

[1:36:44] industrial areas to comply with the state housing stuff.

[1:36:48] And when I want to take the survey, there are a few things you can choose that says,

[1:36:52] just please pick four of your top and mobility, amenities, outdoor spaces, landscaping things

[1:36:59] like that.

[1:37:00] And I might have picked one or two of them and I want to submit and it makes you choose

[1:37:05] four.

[1:37:06] So my feeling I was left with, again, we're back to a foregone conclusion kind of in search

[1:37:11] of validation.

[1:37:13] I would have liked to have had the option to only choose one or two other than having to

[1:37:19] be forced to choose two or three that I might not have picked in order to submit the survey.

[1:37:25] So that is concerning to me.

[1:37:28] And also I have it, I also received information from a person in a commission that the town hall,

[1:37:36] they were told that the town hall will absolutely not be entertained and not happen.

[1:37:41] So that's a concern for me, it's left with, I'm left with, I might,

[1:37:47] I was thinking maybe I'll have my own town hall right now and not a good idea that I'd be the face of this whole thing

[1:37:52] or mate, but I'm gonna come up with some of my own personal ideas to get community engagement on this thing because I believe this needs to happen

[1:37:59] and I'm left with the question of why would this be happening, why would we have a scenario with an issue that's such a big deal like our housing element

[1:38:13] And it just so happened in another resident brought up, something that was, I'm not going to be labor of this report that we got in the mail or it's into the city regarding the HD notice of violation, but the concerning paragraph for me was the findings in the conclusions are the HD finds that the city has failed to timely a dose of statically compliant housing element or required rezoning and is therefore in violation of state law.

[1:38:39] Under government code section 65585, subdivision I,

[1:38:44] HED must give the city a reasonable time, no longer than 30 days to respond to these findings.

[1:38:50] Therefore, the city, as it can tell, September 21, 2025,

[1:38:54] to provide a written response in this notice before HED may take any of the actions authorized by section 65585,

[1:39:01] including but not limited to referral to the California office of the attorney general.

[1:39:06] And this letter was August 22, and I know that this goes back a number of years, and there's been some things that happened in the city, and I don't know there might very well be action being taken on it now that I don't know of, but that's a concern for me, and I just want to think that maybe this was driving some of the lack of willingness to engage the community on these things.

[1:39:31] So I would like to remind just everybody, this isn't, this might sound like an inflammatory

[1:39:37] statement, but this time next year we'll be getting ready to elect a new City Council

[1:39:41] and how that will look is anybody's guess, but these issues are going to be a major priority

[1:39:47] and a year is not very much time to get our focus straight on this thing.

[1:39:54] So thank you very much.

[1:39:56] Thank you, Council Member. Next up from District 1.

[1:40:00] Council Member Mike Bealy. Thank you, Mayor City Council and members of the public. Just a couple things tonight. Work and family life kind of kept me busy since last session, but I did find time to attend a couple things and then a few comments I wanted to make. But I had the opportunity to attend the Hispanic prayer breakfast over at Vanguard University. It was a great event and actually personally moving for me. We had the president of

[1:40:29] of Cerritos College, Jose Fiero.

[1:40:32] And I was pleasantly surprised,

[1:40:33] and I see my friend Isbel here in the audience.

[1:40:37] His story was pretty amazing.

[1:40:39] His parents came over here from Columbia.

[1:40:42] He was born in Wisconsin.

[1:40:44] Well, his dad was there studying

[1:40:46] and then he returned back and was raised outside Bogotá.

[1:40:50] And the reason that kind of touched me,

[1:40:53] I met my wife down in Bogotá a number of years ago.

[1:40:56] I mean, he was born and raised in a town, Fusagasuga, which is right outside Bogotá.

[1:41:03] So it was a neat, prayerful, and a wonderful community event.

[1:41:08] And I was glad I could be there with Mayor Stevens and a few other council members.

[1:41:14] A couple of things I wanted to touch on.

[1:41:15] I wanted to thank Parks and Rec Department, Brian Gruner, and kind of pivot on some comments

[1:41:22] that council member Lauren Gameros had said.

[1:41:25] You know, I commented a number of sessions ago about this concept of free play and making

[1:41:31] some more fields available for kind of unsupervised free time for kids to get out there and just

[1:41:38] develop and do things and not be overcoached and overmanaged and kind of where we're at today.

[1:41:44] And I won't belabor that, but I appreciate you're moving forward with that.

[1:41:48] You had some good input for me and Marshell be revealed and then not too distant future.

[1:41:53] So I appreciate you and staff jumping on that.

[1:41:57] I want to thank Econ and Development Services Carey for taking time to follow up with me on some inquiries I had from a property owner in District 1 who has some challenges or he's just doing some preliminary research on some potential development.

[1:42:16] And I was hoping to get them some answers and learning a lot on zoning issues and measure K and what we can and can't do and variances, but I appreciate your responsiveness in that regard.

[1:42:35] I was invited and actually Council Member Pettis and I attended a working wardrobes charity event and an amazing charitable organization and they take a lot of donations.

[1:42:46] And it started out as kind of a charity that focused on better women in helping them get their lives back.

[1:42:56] And once they get past a certain stage, helping them feel good about themselves again.

[1:43:02] And it's pivoted into assisting veterans.

[1:43:04] And it's turned into an amazing organization, run by presently by body promotion.

[1:43:10] It was just nice to be out there and doing that.

[1:43:13] and a shout out to the City Manager as well.

[1:43:16] I had several community issues that popped up,

[1:43:21] and I appreciate your responsiveness

[1:43:23] and got me on the phone with a couple people

[1:43:26] and we tried to let the community,

[1:43:29] these guys with real issues know that we're doing our best

[1:43:33] to work through them and get them resolved

[1:43:37] or at least know that they're being heard

[1:43:40] and we're working on things.

[1:43:42] Last thing I want to comment on, I heard Jim get up here tonight and raise several issues and it's never easy to hear criticism.

[1:43:52] I often say what's neat about being here on council or I don't know if it needs the right word.

[1:43:58] Things are going great, the streets are paved, my trash is being picked up on time.

[1:44:06] I don't really get off the couch or the community doesn't get off the couch to come down

[1:44:11] here and give us all high fives.

[1:44:13] It's usually when things aren't going right and it's fine, you know, we need to hear

[1:44:17] about that and it's never easy or pleasant to hear criticism but you know what, it is a

[1:44:23] necessary part of this job and if it's constructive criticism it helps educate us and helps us

[1:44:29] focus our efforts and it helps us try to improve things.

[1:44:33] And I do believe Jim Raid several points that are worthy of further diving into and the issue on the housing element or what not.

[1:44:45] I know there's been some emails involving myself and city manager and Kerry on the econ development front and that is an issue, obviously, and I heard council member.

[1:45:01] So it's clearly a critical issue here in this city, and it needs to be addressed, and we will be addressing it. And I do think we've got a great opportunity right now. Kudos to our newly appointed city manager. And we just recently had Kerry come on board. And you know, it's a reset time. And let's identify these issues. And let's kind of hit the ground running and do what we can, you know.

[1:45:27] I did make an inquiry because as a newer member of this council, I'm really not clear on where we are at, I'm getting a clear understanding of where we are, but let's have a path forward on where we're going on that issue in particular.

[1:45:45] We're here to provide services for our community and that's our point of contact and we want to be responsive to business.

[1:45:55] We want to be responsive to developers and we outweighed a lot of money for this state of the art system and let's figure out what we have to do to make that as effective and as useful and as responsive as possible.

[1:46:12] And the last issue that was touched on, not the last, but one of the issues that was touched on, that was a little eye popping to see the calls for service happening at the vagabond.

[1:46:23] And I think I'd like to get together with Nate, who's kind of the point man on our homeless issues, Chief LePoint, who's obviously has to tip of the spear when it comes to interact.

[1:46:37] with people who are struggling in our society, and I'm concerned, you know, I was at one point

[1:46:44] going to talk about a study session, and we as a city it seems, we're at the forefront

[1:46:52] of the homeless shelters and obtaining state and county grants and converting our hotels,

[1:46:59] and you know, at some point we have to ask ourselves, just because we have been awarded grants

[1:47:06] or not, is it money that we want to take and are these, do we need additional housing?

[1:47:15] Or, anyways, that's for another discussion and other time, but these are all critical

[1:47:20] issues that need to be looked at and need to be addressed, and I thank the community for

[1:47:25] raising them.

[1:47:26] And Usman said tonight on TNR, I won't double down on that.

[1:47:29] It sounds like it's moving forward, I haven't been involved in those discussions, but as

[1:47:35] other council members have said and the mayor will hold everybody to that and we'll make sure that

[1:47:42] the progress that's being made in that regard is moving forward so those are my thoughts thanks.

[1:47:50] So thank you very much council member now from district four our mayor pro tem manwell chavez thank you

[1:47:57] mayor steven thank you everyone for joining us today as always thanks the students joining us for

[1:48:01] Lisa, happy to have you here.

[1:48:04] Really have this one comment and one adjournment today.

[1:48:10] You know, it's a time to explain it's a time to listen.

[1:48:13] And I think today was a great example of a time to listen.

[1:48:17] We heard not only from us, I was talking about the Trapman release program, which I'm happy

[1:48:22] to hear this progression on because I know that's something I want to see resolved in the

[1:48:27] for our community. We also had Mr. Fitzpatrick show us data from HCD showing us what we've heard

[1:48:35] colloquially a couple times which is that it is a little hard sometimes in Costa Mesa to move forward

[1:48:43] with permits. I say this not because I want to come at staff, I know they do a great job. I do this

[1:48:52] is because it's an opportunity for us to really reevaluate

[1:48:55] and find ways to be more efficient and productive.

[1:49:00] Any delay we have on building permits

[1:49:03] is either delay someone has to improve their property.

[1:49:06] It's either delays we have in bringing in new housing stock

[1:49:09] that could help us solve the housing crisis

[1:49:12] we have in California.

[1:49:14] The one that sees people like myself

[1:49:15] who are in our 30s not have the opportunity

[1:49:18] to really attain a ownership

[1:49:20] because there's no options available for us.

[1:49:21] that has an effect on the economy because then young people leave Costa Mesa and all of a sudden we have more traffic coming to work in our cities.

[1:49:32] We have to listen sometimes and see what we can do better.

[1:49:36] So I really want to encourage and challenge our staff and I do want to just come back as a council item.

[1:49:42] There's any ways for us to streamline any processes, fix any added ordinances.

[1:49:47] I want us to do that.

[1:49:48] This council, you know, it's so about to come in the end of our terms on this

[1:49:54] dius and I want to see us move tangibly towards addressing this issue.

[1:50:00] Because for me, it really comes out to one thing. When I talk to folks in my community, the number one thing they mention is the cost of living. Primarily when it comes to the cost of renting and the cost of my ownership, these are tied to our inefficiencies. So I don't want to be a dead horse. I don't want to make a steam like I'm critical in the sense that I think that's a good job, but let's find ways to be more efficient. And I want to challenge you to manage to bring back an ordinance for us to evaluate and see how we can streamline these processes. Because that's the only way we make things more affordable for residents.

[1:50:29] here in Costa Mesa, and to track more businesses to Costa Mesa, and make sure that we have a thriving community for everyone in our city.

[1:50:38] And with that, I want to mention my adjournment.

[1:50:41] Over the break, it's very unfortunate news.

[1:50:44] We had a student at New Pearl Harbor High School, a pass away, an e-bike accident.

[1:50:49] This did not occur in Costa Mesa, it occurred in New Pearl Beach, but I still think it'd be nice for us to adjourn the meeting in honor of Jagger Boys, who recently passed away.

[1:51:01] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[1:51:05] Thanks, Mayor Pro Tem.

[1:51:06] We'll do.

[1:51:08] So, I'm gonna go even further than what I appreciate

[1:51:12] all the comments, all the comments were great.

[1:51:14] Thank you again for everybody who came up and spoke.

[1:51:17] I'm gonna double down on what Council Member Buley said

[1:51:19] is it's not only don't mind people coming up

[1:51:24] and telling us things that are having trouble with,

[1:51:28] that they're dissatisfied with.

[1:51:30] at the city. I encourage it and I like it. When I first got on council a prior council member that was serving well it's a prior council member serving with me at the time said the key to this job is to satisfy the agitated without agitating the satisfied right so we don't know that you're agitated unless you express yourself and that's the purpose of this and it's not just the people are agitated and they express themselves at public comment but I think

[1:51:59] I think I'm maybe the only mayor in Orange County that puts my cell phone number out and trust me, people use it.

[1:52:08] And I have some things to comment on specifically because they were raised earlier.

[1:52:13] I already talked about TNR and that's moving forward and again, I appreciate you guys were frustrated, you're agitated.

[1:52:19] It's like what are you guys doing?

[1:52:20] You came and talked to us and I explained it to you, I'm glad, thank you, very grateful that you did that.

[1:52:26] We're regarding HCD, yeah, it's a pickle, and it's a pickle that we've created over time.

[1:52:34] I was on a telephone call with the people at HCD, there was a number of HCD staff and

[1:52:39] the number of the city of Costa Mesa staff, and director Ty told about all the great things we're doing.

[1:52:44] In fact, we're doing a lot of great things.

[1:52:46] We're having pop-ups and engagement, and we're moving forward, and we're doing our zoning and

[1:52:51] working on FFDC, Fairview Developmental Center and all the great things that her department

[1:52:57] is doing and she's doing. And they were like, oh, that's all great. Problem is, you

[1:53:02] should have done it three years ago. And we're really far behind, dangerously far behind.

[1:53:13] And there's just, there's no good reason for it. But we're doing the best we can at the

[1:53:21] At this point forward and getting our new city manager which we made her the city manager just recently at the last meeting and she's working with the HCD to work on an accelerated schedule and we will meet that schedule if we do not exceed that schedule and it is a high priority for us to the highest priority to get the rezoning done and to and to satisfy HCD and move forward with a certified

[1:53:51] and compliant housing element.

[1:53:57] Anyway, all we can do is what we can do now is what we can do going forward.

[1:54:04] But I appreciate it sitting in that phone call and listening to the candor of HCD

[1:54:13] and to use a term that I used earlier, they were agitated.

[1:54:17] and so it's our responsibility to satisfy them and we will do it as to responsiveness also brought

[1:54:27] up by Jim Fitzpatrick. True that, you know, a lot of people burn up my line, my cell phone line,

[1:54:36] saying things take too long, whether it's a CUP or Permit or whatever it is. So the Council in April of

[1:54:44] 2024 had a session where we all commented on what we want to do to improve the city.

[1:55:00] Local 24, and we all said better customer service, more speed, more responsiveness, and to be honest, I haven't seen it. So, again, people are agitated. We need to satisfy them. It's a high priority.

[1:55:22] Mesa Vista calls. I was at the opening of Mesa Vista. I voted for money to go into Mesa Vista. I was at the opening with Governor Newsom.

[1:55:35] And it's not the first time that I've heard that there are a lot of calls for service at Mesa, Vista.

[1:55:42] People are agitated about that.

[1:55:44] We need to satisfy them.

[1:55:45] We need to fix it.

[1:55:47] And it's a gift that people come and tell us that.

[1:55:50] I'm glad that they do.

[1:55:53] We do a lot of great work, of course, in the homeless area, as Councilmember Buley pointed out.

[1:55:59] And we have a town hall on homelessness that's going to happen and are all of our efforts on October 15th.

[1:56:11] And it's at 5.30 at the Norma Herzog Community Center.

[1:56:16] You're all invited among other people that will speak as the great Nate Robbins,

[1:56:23] who's going to tell us all about the great work that he does and other members of the staff.

[1:56:27] I encourage you all to go.

[1:56:29] It's very important, the work that that team does, and they do a wonderful job we've

[1:56:35] housed since 2019, 462 people, 462 people from the streets of Costa Mesa in

[1:56:43] department at housing. We have a lot to be proud of in the city, but we have a lot

[1:56:48] to fix, and I can assure you that when you're not the first person, if you tell me

[1:56:54] about it, you're not the first person that tells me, I see it, I see everything in the

[1:57:00] city with my own eyes. And we have room for improvement and with our new administration,

[1:57:06] we will improve. With that, we're going to now hear from the new city manager with these

[1:57:13] high expectations, Cecilia Gallardo-Daily.

[1:57:17] Thank you, Mayor, members of the council. First, I'm excited to share and recognize several

[1:57:23] recent accomplishments. The first recognition is for our Public Works Department Transportation

[1:57:28] Services team. Under the leadership of Raja Setharaman, they were honored with the prestigious

[1:57:36] outstanding Bikeways and Trails Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers for their

[1:57:41] exceptional work on the Adams Avenue and Pine Creek Drive project. There's a photo of the

[1:57:47] guys accepting the award. This award recognizes the team's commitment to enhancing transportation

[1:57:52] information infrastructure and promoting sustainability options within the community.

[1:57:57] This might sound familiar because this is the second major award for this project.

[1:58:02] So, congratulations again to Raja and his entire public works team for their continued outstanding work.

[1:58:09] I'd also like to congratulate our Costa Mesa TV team for winning two first place awards.

[1:58:15] Awards at the 2025 California Association of Public Information Officials star awards

[1:58:22] luncheon that was held last week.

[1:58:25] And there's a picture of our Acting Assistant City Manager, Alma Reyes, and the award-winning

[1:58:31] team.

[1:58:32] Over 600 video entries from municipalities and public agencies throughout California and Nevada

[1:58:39] competed in over 40 categories, recognizing excellence in government video programming.

[1:58:44] The team took home first place for the following categories, social media short form and sports programming edited.

[1:58:53] CMTV was also nominated for best overall programming in one second and third place honors for their entries in the ethnic experience and diversity equity and inclusion categories.

[1:59:04] So we take great pride when the dedication of these teams is recognized and rewarded, so congratulations.

[1:59:11] So we have some upcoming events in the city that I'd like to talk about.

[1:59:17] The first is a fair housing workshop.

[1:59:19] So this Thursday, October 9th, the Fair Housing Foundation will host a fair housing workshop

[1:59:24] from 6 p.m. to 7.30 p.m. in the community room here at City Hall.

[1:59:29] During this workshop, you can expect to learn about fair housing laws, tenant and landlord

[1:59:34] rights, and insights into equal housing rights and responsibilities.

[1:59:39] Experts from the Fair Housing Foundation will be available to answer your question.

[1:59:43] So whether you're a tenant, landlord, or advocate, this workshop is an opportunity to stay informed about fair and equitable housing in our city.

[1:59:52] The next event the mayor already talked about is our homeless solutions town hall.

[1:59:57] It will include presentation.

[2:00:00] Thank you for your questions by our neighborhood for our network for homeless solutions, manager, Nate Robbins, as well as the code enforcement and the police department. And lastly, we have the great shakeout. The city and Costa Mesa Fire and Rescue, along with the Costa Mesa Police Department, encourage the community to take part in this year's great shakeout drill. On Thursday, October 16 at 10.16 a.m. This is an annual opportunity to practice drop cover and hold on during

[2:00:29] in earthquake. During the event of an actual earthquake, people should drop to the ground,

[2:00:35] cover under a desk or sturdy surface and hold on until all shaking stops. In addition

[2:00:41] to participate in the earthquake drill, we encourage the community to prepare for emergencies

[2:00:46] by making a plan, building the kit, and being informed. Last month, we announced the availability

[2:00:54] of the city's emergency preparedness guide to help you become prepared in the event of an emergency.

[2:01:01] We have these booklets available in the back of the chambers.

[2:01:05] And the public can also access a digital version of the handbook online at the office of emergency management page on the city's website.

[2:01:14] Thank you.

[2:01:15] Thank you city manager, now for the report by the city attorney, Ms. Hall Barlow.

[2:01:20] Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

[2:01:23] Just a quick update on one of our previously pending litigation matters.

[2:01:28] I try to report to the Councillor on these as they are resolved.

[2:01:32] This one happened right after I left for vacation.

[2:01:37] We have successfully had the city dismissed from a lawsuit by Ida Pepper that involved a

[2:01:44] a trip and fall on private property and it is just one of several that we've had successfully gone city's way in the last just a couple of months so I'm very pleased to report on that.

[2:01:58] That is all.

[2:02:00] All right. Thank you very much. Now we're going to go to the consent calendar. All items on the consent calendar are going to be voted at one time and are considered to be routine.

[2:02:11] I mean, a member of the public has pulled item number five.

[2:02:16] And council member Gameros is going to accuse himself from consent calendar item number three.

[2:02:25] Because his wife, as stated earlier, works for priceless pets.

[2:02:29] And I'm going to do the same because of a campaign contribution from where disposal who's on the warrants.

[2:02:36] So, with all that said, everything except for number five, can I get a motion on the consent calendar?

[2:02:43] Moose, consent calendar?

[2:02:45] Okay, that's Council Member, sorry, Mayor Pro Tem Chavez, and I'll go ahead and second it.

[2:02:51] Oh, Buele, Council Member Buele is going to second it.

[2:02:55] Okay, let's call for the question on the balance of the consent calendar.

[2:03:03] Okay.

[2:03:04] Yes.

[2:03:05] You can't push it.

[2:03:06] Judge Green here.

[2:03:07] It says.

[2:03:10] Oh.

[2:03:12] Motion carries 6-0.

[2:03:14] Okay, good.

[2:03:15] And then we have number five, then.

[2:03:18] Madam Clerk, would you please read the title of number five?

[2:03:21] Yes.

[2:03:22] This is proposed amendment to professional services agreement for Everett Dory, LLP, for legal services, and it was pulled by a member of the public.

[2:03:30] Okay.

[2:03:30] Okay. Well, why don't we just open it up for public comment and then we'll hear the public comment and if there's any questions from council of staff, we can address that.

[2:03:48] Through

[2:03:51] the mayor, I originally had a presentation and I saw some very alarming public comments with the transcript of the court, so what I was going to say is our litigation costs are out of control.

[2:04:04] have you seen the warrants and the laundry list of costs? I don't think you're

[2:04:09] given the being given the right story. Maybe in closed session you guys can get

[2:04:13] an audit and this is what I'm going to call for, both an audit of our litigation

[2:04:17] and the process. Who oversees what we're doing? Is the mayor, city manager, city

[2:04:23] attorney? Who is the belly button of accountability on this? Because I think it's

[2:04:28] running wild. Next slide please. So I was going to talk I am tired of seeing on

[2:04:33] in every closed session, this laundry list of money piling up,

[2:04:38] I'm a taxpayer in this city.

[2:04:40] I don't see a skill set.

[2:04:41] Cool, we got a trip and fall, right?

[2:04:44] Peanuts, next slide please.

[2:04:48] I was going to come and talk about this,

[2:04:50] this is a classic BB&K.

[2:04:52] They come in, they win it with a low ball offer,

[2:04:55] and then they make their money by throwing bodies at the issue, right?

[2:04:59] They keep the meter running,

[2:05:00] Because they don't settle, who is managing this process, right? This is what I was going to talk about. Next slide, please. This is just from the warrants recently. This meter is running. You're asking for a, they're asking you to make a pay increase, okay? In the comments that we heard today, every door he's preparing for trial to accept the trial judge will not allow them to move their October date. They have no billable hours. There's two attorneys up there. You guys know it's irresponsible for

[2:05:29] you do not bill on a regular basis. Are you kidding me? They are preparing for trial and can't

[2:05:35] submit you in the pay raises retroactive and that's what this inefficient incomplete staff

[2:05:41] report is asking you to do. Next slide please. So, we have to start making this stuff go away,

[2:05:49] right? You guys got to figure out how to settle and get this stuff off of our books except the

[2:05:53] If you go on with the city manager, it is frivolous and defendant vigorously.

[2:05:59] Have you read the public comments in the court transcript of how sigh-evert is representing our city?

[2:06:08] I am offended as a taxpayer.

[2:06:10] I'm not asking you to vote no on the pay increase.

[2:06:13] I'm asking you to investigate and I think you're going to terminate the relationship.

[2:06:18] That's where we need to be.

[2:06:20] If you vote for this pay increase, it is irresponsible.

[2:06:24] There is no oversight. There is no process. This is a woefully inefficient staff report.

[2:06:31] You're not given all the facts. And based on, I can't believe that an attorney would put all the stuff in public about how they say

[2:06:37] a representative of our city is behaving and how the trial court judge is admonishing them.

[2:06:41] This is coast of Mesa. Stick up for our city. You heard loud and clear that the priorities of this city are not being followed by many of these residents.

[2:06:50] This is a time to send a message, and a message is no longer represent this.

[2:06:58] Thank you very much.

[2:07:00] Any comments on Zoom?

[2:07:02] No, Mr. Mayor.

[2:07:03] Okay, we'll close public comment, and then let's do a motion on this one.

[2:07:10] And I move to approve the increase in fees to Everett Dory.

[2:07:22] Seconded by Mary Prattem Chavez, let's call for the question.

[2:07:30] Oh yeah, of course.

[2:07:33] Yeah, after given some accolades and shout outs to Jim Fitzpatrick in saying we welcome criticism, it's also incumbent upon us sometimes to question the criticism.

[2:07:48] And Jim unfortunately just laughed maybe we'll check out a YouTube a little bit later.

[2:07:53] Correct, I'm a 30 year civil litigation trial attorney.

[2:07:57] Also correct, shortly after being elected, I was invited to take part in a mediation involving the caller who was called in tonight, and the insight I'm going to get a litigation, I can't get into specifics there, but what I can comment on is I watched ever at Dory, and I watched his team, and they are highly skilled and extremely competent attorneys.

[2:08:26] And I'm not shocked that an adversary would criticize him,

[2:08:31] shock, I'm telling you, there's gambling going on in this casino.

[2:08:34] I can tell you that he's a competent attorney.

[2:08:38] I wasn't here when he was retained, but I have learned that at the time he was retained,

[2:08:45] there was a public outcry about the fact that the city was being overrun was sober living houses.

[2:08:53] And the community was adamant, do something.

[2:08:58] And so the city tried to craft some ordinances and tried to do something to bring this issue under control.

[2:09:05] And I think it a great deal of foresight.

[2:09:08] Prior accounts, I think Mayor Steven spearheaded with some other council members,

[2:09:13] had the foresight to think rather than is each one of these sober living houses,

[2:09:21] Files separate individual lawsuits against the city, and we go out and we find an independent new law firm to handle each lawsuit and get educated on this newly developing burgeoning industry, and the ever changing statutory changes that are taking place, how about if we find a firm who's willing to dedicate themselves to this issue and give us reasonable rates.

[2:09:48] And, again, I've only had limited engagement with ever in his firm, but they've accomplished

[2:09:54] that time's tan in my humble opinion.

[2:09:57] And then when I looked at his rate increase...

[2:10:00] Believe me, I've heard all the attorney jokes and I know it all out there and I'll get overpaid and we don't work that hard. And whatever the public perception is, but I can tell you I'm fairly familiar with what our market rates. And this current based on his skill, his experience and what I've seen with my own two eyes, and I'm a third of your trial attorney.

[2:10:23] He's below market rate, even with this raise. So I have no problem on that.

[2:10:29] But I'm actually glad that this item was pulled because it gives me an opportunity to comment on something that I think this city and all cities right now are dealing with and we have to keep an eye on it's been in the news quite a bit lately and I'll just touch on one thing city of LA in 2022.

[2:10:51] Two, 91 million in settlements.

[2:10:54] The trip and fall, the person who stubs their toe on a crack, the person who gets arrested and they sue our law enforcement because there are civil rights have been impacted.

[2:11:05] I'm sure fire department goes to assist somebody, and it wasn't handled perfectly in their eyes, and they find a plane of satanic, and they file a lawsuit.

[2:11:16] to $91 million in 2022.

[2:11:19] But wait, 2024, $289 million.

[2:11:24] 2025, they're on paced $320 million.

[2:11:28] It's become a cottage industry.

[2:11:31] And I appreciate, again, that we've got members

[2:11:33] of the community who are looking at the litigation fees

[2:11:37] and the attorney fees and the cost.

[2:11:40] And it's plaguing cities.

[2:11:42] And those funds come directly out

[2:11:44] of your general fund.

[2:11:47] Every time we settle one of these exorbitant cases,

[2:11:50] it's another CIP project that we have to reconsider.

[2:11:55] And I know we're just a city council,

[2:11:57] but I think I heard Mayor Stevens comment.

[2:11:59] We're going to talk to Congress,

[2:12:01] and I tell you, in the litigation world,

[2:12:04] and I'm not going to be a big friend of the plaintiffs bar

[2:12:08] by making this comment, but medical malpractice suits

[2:12:12] were so overrunning the medical profession that they created a whole statutory scheme called

[2:12:19] Micra, which limits the amount of recovery that any plaintiff can bring in a medical

[2:12:26] malpractice. I think our Congress, our state capital has to start thinking along those

[2:12:33] lines because it's become a cottage industry that anything happens in some city, plaintiff

[2:12:39] finds an attorney and they sue and there's no cap.

[2:12:45] So anyways, I'm glad they pulled that and I appreciate and our constituents are

[2:12:50] right to be concerned on the exorbitant legal fees and when we're going to propose a raise

[2:12:58] for some attorneys but it's a real issue and it's a lot bigger issue and a much more complicated

[2:13:04] And yes, I'm a 30-year trial attorney, so I can comment on this issue.

[2:13:09] So I just wanted to say that.

[2:13:11] Councilmember, I'm glad you did.

[2:13:13] Now I have to talk.

[2:13:14] So, yeah, he's right about, he's done his homework.

[2:13:18] He's right about almost everything he said.

[2:13:20] I just want to take, and write about everything he said.

[2:13:23] I just want to take it to the next level.

[2:13:24] I mean, the rates here are way below market, just to put it in perspective.

[2:13:31] It's less than half of my billing rate.

[2:13:33] And I'm not, I have no shortage of self-esteem, but I can tell you that I am not twice the lawyer of SI Everett, okay?

[2:13:41] And so he's, it's a very, very fair rate.

[2:13:46] I mean, my goodness, we did put him in here for the sole purpose, as council members said.

[2:13:51] Bully said, of getting a firm that would build a team that would have a subject matter expertise in this area.

[2:13:58] because we didn't have that and we spent $8 million on the Yellowstone case with Jennifer Keller.

[2:14:06] That's the lion's share of our $20 million that we spent on this endeavor for over 10 years.

[2:14:14] And so as I did that, he put together a team, he won the Ohio House case, he won the Ohio House appeal with MC Sumgaila.

[2:14:25] And as a result of that in 13 states in the United States of America, that is the law regarding and our ordinance has held up in federal court.

[2:14:37] So thank you to their work, are they perfect?

[2:14:40] No, no lawyers perfect.

[2:14:42] Have they filed motions and lost 100% and also do you even a lawyer who has practiced law for 36 years?

[2:14:52] Do you want your mayor to micromanage your outside council? You do not want that and I will not do it because

[2:15:00] Because that's my profession, and I won't do it at any, at zero rates, much less, sigh, ever its rates.

[2:15:07] So, that's the reason for the motion. It's an easy decision for me.

[2:15:12] Let's call for the question.

[2:15:13] Mr. Mayor, can I just ask one clear of my own question?

[2:15:15] Does that include the retroactive request to September the 2nd?

[2:15:19] Yes.

[2:15:20] Thank you.

[2:15:21] Call for the question.

[2:15:29] Motion carries 6, 0.

[2:15:31] Thanks.

[2:15:31] Okay, we will be able to get through the rest of the calendar quickly, but I need to take a short break.

[2:15:40] So let's come back in at 830.

[2:29:39] We're back on the record. Okay, so we're at I think public hearing, excuse me, council members, we're I think at item number of public hearing number one, right? Can you please read the title? Thank you. This is the final environmental impact report, general plan amendment, rezone, specific plan amendment, master plan.

[2:29:59] you

[2:30:00] Investing tentative parcel map, density, bonus and development agreement for high of live, three phase, 1,050 unit residential development with 3,0690 square feet retail component at 3333 Susan Street. Honorable Marin City Council, the applicant has requested that the item be continued to a date uncertain at this time. And that is staff's recommendation for tonight. Additionally, Director Tai is available to answer any questions you have. And this concludes the report.

[2:30:30] Yes. Yes, the hive is not going to happen. So, let's, why don't we just, do we have to do it? Do we have to take action?

[2:30:41] Yes. In the public comment, also please.

[2:30:44] Okay, open it up for public comment. No, yes, go ahead. Iga, you have the floor.

[2:30:54] Oh, sorry, I had to get your mic hot. There you go.

[2:30:57] Thanks, council members. Nice seeing you guys. I really wasn't planning, but on speaking, but

[2:31:02] But I have nothing against any development, the problem with the infrastructure truly can't handle it.

[2:31:11] So we'll work through this and I'm sure you guys are going to make all the right decisions.

[2:31:17] Thank you.

[2:31:19] Thanks, appreciate it.

[2:31:20] Anybody on Zoom?

[2:31:21] No, Mr. Mayor.

[2:31:22] Close public comment.

[2:31:24] Yeah, you wish to be heard, Councillor?

[2:31:27] Yes, of course.

[2:31:27] Yes, just a quick question on the staff recommendation.

[2:31:34] So the recommendation is continue to a date uncertain.

[2:31:38] Is there a deadline on that, like at what point does an application expire if action hasn't

[2:31:43] been taken?

[2:31:45] If at all.

[2:31:46] Yeah, thank you for that question, Council Member Reynolds.

[2:31:49] So long as we're in constant contact with the applicant and they have not submitted any

[2:31:54] sort of withdrawal, we will keep the application active.

[2:31:56] until such a time they tell us they are ready to proceed and then we'll start the public hearing notification process over and that

[2:32:03] includes publication to the newspaper as well as mailing to the surrounding radius as required.

[2:32:09] And so we just start the public hearing process as a new and then conduct the public hearing at that point.

[2:32:14] Okay, thank you.

[2:32:16] So Councilmember Reynolds made the motion to continue to an indefinite time. I seconded it.

[2:32:21] Do you have any comments, Councilmember?

[2:32:23] No.

[2:32:23] Okay, I just have some comments.

[2:32:26] I'm 99% sure that this is fine to say.

[2:32:30] So this was a great, very promising project.

[2:32:32] Thank you very much for legacy, Invesco, Tim O'Brien,

[2:32:37] Pam Spetto, the whole team that worked so hard on this.

[2:32:44] We spent a lot of time and also thank you very much

[2:32:47] to the staff for working so hard on it.

[2:32:50] It's just sometimes, you know, everybody has property rights, and we respect those property rights.

[2:32:56] The property was sold by Invesco to a company called Drawbridge.

[2:33:00] Drawbridge in term entered into a 15 year lease with Andral.

[2:33:05] Andral, of course, is a great corporate citizen of the city of Costa Mesa.

[2:33:10] It's wonderful that they're expanding.

[2:33:12] It's disappointing that we can't go forward with the beautiful housing project.

[2:33:16] But I'm very pleased by Andrew and they're an excellent employer and they were glad to have them in the community and welcome to Costa Mesa draw bridge.

[2:33:28] So with that, let's call for the question.

[2:33:33] Okay, motion carries 6-0.

[2:33:36] Okay.

[2:33:39] Public hearing item number two, please read the title.

[2:33:42] A pill of planning application 23-14 and tentative parcel map, 2023-117 for a residential small light subdivision to create two parcels, each containing a new two-story detached single-family resident and an attached two-car garage at 2308 Santa Ana Avenue and staff presentation by Miss Curly Assistant Planner.

[2:34:07] Miss Curly, welcome, you have the floor.

[2:34:09] Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Good evening, Mayor and members of the City Council.

[2:34:16] I am Assistant Planner, Caitlin Curley. This evening, I will be presenting an appeal of

[2:34:22] a design review and tentative parcel map for a property located at 2308 Santa Ana Avenue.

[2:34:32] This project was heard by the Planning Commission on August 11, 2025.

[2:34:38] It was approved with a 7 to 0 vote with an added condition of approval to screen the south side of parcel 2 and replace palm trees on the property.

[2:34:50] The commission also directed staff to further enforce second floor privacy standards along the 7 building facades.

[2:34:58] and it's

[2:35:00] The appeal was filed on August 18th.

[2:35:06] The project site is located at the intersection of Santa Ana Avenue and 23rd Street. The subject parcel is rectangular and it is currently developed with a single family home and detached garage.

[2:35:22] The project includes a design review for a small, lot residential development consisting of two two-story single-family dwelling units and a tentative parcel map

[2:35:34] to subdivide the lot into two parcels with one of the residential units on each lot.

[2:35:40] Site improvements, including new hardscape and landscaping, are also proposed,

[2:35:45] and the existing single-family residential unit and garage will be demolished.

[2:35:53] The project includes two single-family homes, each with three bedrooms and a two-car garage with two open parking spaces.

[2:36:01] The project complies with all development standards.

[2:36:04] In

[2:36:09] response to Commissioner, comments, and the appeal staff have met with the applicant to discuss modifications to the project design to mitigate privacy impacts and comply with the conditions of approval.

[2:36:23] The applicant has provided an updated landscaping plan in order to comply with the conditions.

[2:36:28] The applicant has revised the planting plan to remove the palm trees and include additional

[2:36:35] trees to screen the proposed second-story windows and structure along the southern property

[2:36:41] line. The revised plans show you pines to be planted along the south side of the property

[2:36:48] to provide the additional screening.

[2:36:53] The Planning Commission conditionally approved

[2:36:56] to approve the project on August 11th with two of the conditions related to privacy impacts on neighboring properties.

[2:37:04] Condition of approval number three is a standard condition commonly applied to two story projects,

[2:37:11] and requires the application of mitigation measures to two story construction to protect neighbor's privacy.

[2:37:19] The commission provided direction for the final project design to be modified to meet these conditions.

[2:37:24] conditions.

[2:37:25] Condition of approval 14 was added by the commission and required palm trees at the rear

[2:37:31] of the property be replaced by a different type of tree and for trees to be placed along

[2:37:36] the south side of parcel 2 to screen the project from neighboring residences.

[2:37:41] As shown in the previous slide, the applicant does propose a modified landscape plan to meet

[2:37:46] these conditions.

[2:37:48] The City Council has the authority to modify these conditions as it gains appropriate.

[2:37:52] The

[2:37:57] appellant had four main concerns regarding this project.

[2:38:01] Limiting noted, limited noticing for the project, a lack of sufficient evidence regarding the commission's decision,

[2:38:08] the presence of adverse impacts on neighboring properties and vague conditions of approval.

[2:38:18] The project was noticed as required by the Costa Mesa Municipal Code, which requires public noticing no less than 10 days prior to the hearing in the form of mailers,

[2:38:29] postings on the project site and a newspaper publication.

[2:38:35] The noticing dates for this project comply with that section of the code.

[2:38:41] The Brown Act also requires an agenda to be posted at least 72 hours prior to a regular meeting.

[2:38:48] The meeting agenda, project agenda report, and corresponding attachments were posted on the city's website four days prior to the meeting.

[2:38:57] The Planning Commission was presented with all relevant materials related to the project

[2:39:03] during the hearing, reviewed the materials provided, and made an informed and deliberate

[2:39:09] decision to approve the project, subject to the revised conditions of approval.

[2:39:15] Public correspondence was received prior to the hearing, and was provided to the commission.

[2:39:22] Additionally public comments were made during the hearing.

[2:39:24] The Planning Commission reviewed the project for potential adverse impacts and determined

[2:39:32] that further steps should be taken to protect the privacy of neighboring backyards.

[2:39:37] The Commission emphasized condition of approval number three and added condition of approval

[2:39:44] number 14.

[2:39:46] The applicant has provided an updated landscaping plan to meet these conditions.

[2:39:53] All conditions of approval provided as part of staff's recommendation and approved by the Planning Commission.

[2:40:00] Our standard conditions of approval utilized for similar projects. These conditions of approval have been applied and enforced in the past, without substantial issues on the part of city or applicants. The Planning Commission adopted condition number 14 for additional landscaping to provide screening to neighboring properties.

[2:40:27] Pursuant to Title 13, Section 1329D of the Coast of Mesa Municipal

[2:40:33] multiple code, three types of public notification have been completed for this City Council hearing.

[2:40:47] This is a hearing, this appeal hearing is a de novo review.

[2:40:52] City Council may exercise its independent judgment and discretion in making a decision on the project, and the appeal hearing is not limited to the grounds stated for the appeal.

[2:41:03] The City Council's decision on this matter is the final decision.

[2:41:07] In conclusion, staff recommends the City Council adopt a resolution to find that the project

[2:41:16] is categorically exempt from the provisions of SQL guidelines under class 15, minor divisions

[2:41:22] of land, and class 3, new construction, or conversion of small structures, and public resources

[2:41:28] is Code Section 21080.66, and uphold the Planning Commission's approval of Planning Application

[2:41:37] 2314 and Partial Map 2023-17 based on findings of fact and subject to conditions of approval.

[2:41:48] The applicant, the appellant, and staff are available for questions at this time.

[2:41:54] I believe the applicants and appellant also have presentations they'd like to make.

[2:41:59] Thank you.

[2:42:01] All right.

[2:42:04] So why don't we hear from the applicant and the appellant before we do our questions,

[2:42:12] and that way maybe they'll answer some of our questions.

[2:42:15] So let's hear from the applicant and please just say anything to supplement what was

[2:42:24] I just said by the staff and please, there's no need to repeat it.

[2:42:30] We heard what the staff, what, dock, Caitlin, Ms. Carly said.

[2:42:34] So you have the floor and then we'll give the appellant the floor.

[2:42:38] Go ahead.

[2:42:39] All right, thank you, Mayor Stephens and the City Council.

[2:42:42] My name is Ollie Seiji and I'm the property owner, and with me is my attorney, Morgan Gallagher, from the law firm of Cox and Castle.

[2:42:50] In case you have any questions for either of us, we'll both be available.

[2:42:54] I'll read a little bit about the description of the project.

[2:42:56] The project is a tremendous improvement to the city of Costa Mesa and its community and the economy.

[2:43:02] Before I purchased the property, the property was left in the state of the spare with significant deferred maintenance.

[2:43:09] Having lived, worked, and built homes in Costa Mesa, I'm aware of the architectural diversity.

[2:43:16] People and character and believe this project will be harmoniously blended into its environment.

[2:43:22] The designs of the homes were created by leading architect Mark Gross and associates.

[2:43:28] Mark Gross has designed exceptional homes on the east side.

[2:43:32] And was the reason why I chose him on this project.

[2:43:36] Each home is custom designed in a coastal modern style.

[2:43:40] It combines elements of coastal and contemporary aesthetics to create a fresh and relaxed atmosphere.

[2:43:47] the interiors are well-apportioned for growing families and appropriate to

[2:43:52] surroundings and other new construction projects. We worked closely with the

[2:43:58] city planning department to bring these plans together and they were approved by

[2:44:01] the planning commission unanimously with very positive comments around the

[2:44:06] thoughtfulness of the home sizes, open space and overall design considering the

[2:44:12] large size of the lot.

[2:44:14] We ask for no variances, complied with all the code requirements, exceeded them in

[2:44:19] many aspects, like open space, square footage, yard space.

[2:44:25] We work with city staff to minimize privacy impacts and neighbors.

[2:44:29] While none of the adjacent neighbors have second story windows, we still made modifications

[2:44:34] to both the number of windows, size of the windows, placement of the windows to minimize

[2:44:40] impacts to adjacent yards. We took the Planning Commission feedback on the use of palm trees and

[2:44:46] work with city staff on an updated planting plan. We replaced all the palm trees with another

[2:44:52] tree variety, positioned them on the southwest side of the property to create additional privacy

[2:44:57] screens in front of the windows that remain on the-

[2:45:00] On that side, we provided precise grading and precise landscape plan, down to the very individual plants, by licensed PE, professional engineer, who has done several projects in Costa Mesa, and was reviewed and approved by the public works department. I'm really excited about this project, and I'm here to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you, sir. Now we'll hear from the appellant, and then we'll take any questions from council of any staff.

[2:45:31] You have the floor, sir.

[2:45:39] Good evening, mayor, good evening, council members.

[2:45:43] My name is Mike Tchaikovsky, and I'm a resident at 323rd Street, Costa Mesa.

[2:45:51] My wife and I, we are here to appeal planning commission approval of the project at the given

[2:45:56] address.

[2:45:57] The property is bordering our backyard, and our detailed 41 pages long appeal letter has

[2:46:05] been filed with the City Customs Applying Department.

[2:46:08] The letter includes references, documents, and attachments.

[2:46:14] Okay, there was not enough time frame of notice about the project, about the proposed

[2:46:20] project.

[2:46:23] For the Customs, the project drawing proposed on Costa Mesa planning department on Friday

[2:46:29] evening, August 8.

[2:46:31] And the Planning Commission hearing took place on Monday evening, August 11th.

[2:46:37] We had only one business day, only one business day was given a department for

[2:46:43] neighbor for us and never to review the proposed project documents before the

[2:46:48] planning commission hearing.

[2:46:50] For the Costa Mesa planning commission hearing that involves public, involves

[2:46:55] public notice, require notification last at least 10 days before the hearing.

[2:47:01] And this notification should include information about the project including plans.

[2:47:05] The plans were not posted until Friday evening and the hearing took place on Monday.

[2:47:18] We, therefore, will respectfully demand that project proposal descend back to the city

[2:47:24] of Costa Mesa planning the partner for the proper due process that we are entitled to.

[2:47:32] The city, in this case, the planning and zoning staff report states, at least in the least

[2:47:38] three places, the lot is level and flat.

[2:47:43] Slide, please,

[2:47:48] could I, could I get a slide?

[2:47:52] No, first slide.

[2:47:54] Yeah.

[2:47:57] To achieve the higher building height, the project

[2:48:01] hardly can't propose it to rise the entire lot by one, by number

[2:48:05] one, by about 2.5 feet and 3 feet, and the number two building

[2:48:09] about 3 feet.

[2:48:13] In this, in other words, the applicant proposes to build a hill on his flat

[2:48:18] lab in the middle of surrounding flat labs of the neighbors. The question is why the

[2:48:25] great of the entire lab has been significantly raised. The geo-report, the geo-notes and

[2:48:30] the growing, don't call for that. The geo-notes don't mention that the project will need

[2:48:36] approximately 800 cubic yards of imported fuel that's about 100 dump trucks of imported

[2:48:43] soil to build a hill. With geotechnical requirements on three feet of the minimum depth

[2:48:49] to be existing soil to be excavated and re-compacted, that's at least at least 1500 cubic yards

[2:48:58] or 180 dump trucks of soil to be handled.

[2:49:01] So, again, this was the report, the staff report said this were all flat lots.

[2:49:10] The building, there's a building code that calls for the floor to be 74, whatever the 74

[2:49:17] feet, but not the surrounding grade, just the floor.

[2:49:21] So the whole grade was raised to the property lines.

[2:49:28] Next slide, please.

[2:49:33] Next slide.

[2:49:34] Yeah, that's a place, this is the place in Balboa where they have a flat plane and not

[2:49:44] necessarily greats go all the way to the floor, next, please, same here.

[2:49:51] The state promotes, as far as drainage, the state promotes and requires low impact development

[2:49:59] you

[2:50:00] The government strategies that include various methods, there was no roofed drainage included on the drawing. So we don't know how the sink on the drain and where it's going to connect. Okay, the long driveway is not permanent, but so it doesn't absorb the, doesn't absorb water. So it's just, you know, flooding the place. Any excess water can be handled with a sand pump. It appears that other neighbors in the area use sand pumps to handle access water.

[2:50:29] So, why not on this project?

[2:50:30] Why to raise the whole great and burden all the neighbors around?

[2:50:35] There is an existing under-trans stormwater system, service the Santa Ana Avenue, if the

[2:50:42] system needs improvement, the applicants should help to improve that, or instead of putting

[2:50:49] all the burden on the neighbors to potentially get flooded from the higher grade.

[2:50:56] It appears there's no other reason to make the proposed building higher about 2.5 feet than

[2:51:01] having better view of the neighbors and the, you know, infringement of their private life.

[2:51:08] Because of the significant rate change at the proper, the retaining walls construction,

[2:51:13] the neighbors will be exposed, not only neighbors, neighbors, you know, probably without their

[2:51:17] variants also the next slide, please. There was no any type of design even no

[2:51:25] presentation, no any detailed information shown in the drawing, how the

[2:51:31] retaining or the property line will look like. There was a deferral to the

[2:51:35] landscaping drawing and this is five foot tall retaining wall which greatly

[2:51:39] will affect us. But you know there was no information and the next slide, please.

[2:51:48] And, yeah, that's about two feet space between the houses and our fence with a higher ground,

[2:51:56] where everything is going to be jumped in and possibly flood our property.

[2:52:00] This is not a detail taken from the drawing.

[2:52:04] This is what's going to happen if this thing is approved.

[2:52:08] Drain for the retaining will be much lower.

[2:52:11] It's going to have no outlets.

[2:52:12] So, because of this below street level, next place, yeah, it's Pascal's principle where,

[2:52:20] you know, higher, lower, there's going to be always next place, there's going to be

[2:52:25] a problem, next place, next place, yeah, gravel doesn't stop, if there is a tiny wall

[2:52:35] installed at the probability line, drains will need it to be installed below the top

[2:52:43] of our lot and potentially floods, our lot.

[2:52:48] Next, please, next, please.

[2:52:50] Location, orientation of the property line as shown

[2:52:53] and certify our drawing is not legitimate.

[2:52:59] Next, please, yeah, yeah, this one is fine.

[2:53:02] Please, back, please.

[2:53:05] Yeah, our offense is shown inside their property,

[2:53:08] actually, their property, inside our property.

[2:53:11] That's why we're of course concerned we checked that we have a similar map

[2:53:16] I mean I think on map that was done by professional land surveyor in 2007 and it's different than this

[2:53:23] Then we I call the state and found out that guy who prepared this map. He is not the license surveyor in state of California

[2:53:30] So we actually

[2:53:33] File the complaint with the state the number is 2025-424

[2:53:38] or a person who certified is strolling is not licensed California,

[2:53:44] and California says that a person is not licensed land surveys cannot certify property lines.

[2:53:52] So that's a big problem in this project.

[2:53:58] The project documents will include the one that will mean the soil investigation.

[2:54:02] It's not their environmental investigation and report for the existing structure as best

[2:54:07] substance substractions and utilities, contamination of soil.

[2:54:11] There was a record of sewer leaking in this property.

[2:54:14] So it's most likely contamination.

[2:54:17] Nothing has been done about this.

[2:54:19] Cross drainage study and report,

[2:54:23] a vague condition of approval.

[2:54:29] Windows that the drawing show actually is,

[2:54:33] Windows dimensions and location is not specified.

[2:54:36] Basically, windows are shown and the railway plan is free-floating windows.

[2:54:43] I mean, there is no, I mean, this is planning item, the planning should fix window location

[2:54:48] and sizes for the neighbors, but it hasn't been done.

[2:54:51] And the next piece,

[2:54:55] yeah, that's the views.

[2:55:01] Next, please.

[2:55:05] Next slide. Yeah, this one, number seven, upstairs windows, a bathroom window.

[2:55:11] It's a very big window.

[2:55:14] Number six window, it shows 44 inches minimum height, but doesn't say what, I mean, maximum height, but doesn't say what the minimum. So basically, can run window all the way down to the floor because it's not.

[2:55:27] And number three window on the side, there's two other windows on the backyard on the same

[2:55:34] room.

[2:55:35] So we don't understand why the applicant needs big window on the site looking overlooking

[2:55:42] up backyard.

[2:55:43] This facade, this facade, this side of the house, all these windows are on our backyard side.

[2:55:51] Next please.

[2:55:53] Yeah, the windows should be moved next place, previous place, go back, one, oh yeah, thank

[2:56:03] you.

[2:56:07] I will stop there, I will have 10 minutes, so I'm just rushing through this, sorry

[2:56:13] about that.

[2:56:16] Yeah, this is the neighbor across the street from us and there is a house behind

[2:56:21] This photo was used by the staff report of comparable properties in our area and the house behind next slide, please.

[2:56:32] The house behind on the one-on-left picture has no windows on the side because of the backyard of the neighbor.

[2:56:39] where they, you know, they were more, yeah.

[2:56:44] And the next thing on the right, okay, next, next, please,

[2:56:49] trees, there's a lot of trees on the property line.

[2:56:52] There are all trees, there's a retaining,

[2:56:55] deep retaining wall proposed, right, at the property line.

[2:56:58] We don't know what they're gonna do with this.

[2:57:00] The study, there was no study on trees.

[2:57:03] You know, most trees will be killed if this retaining wall takes place.

[2:57:13] And also we say, condition number four, we say the presence of division map should not

[2:57:19] be recorded with the county, it was based on top of map and property line surveying done

[2:57:24] by the person who is not licensed professional land surveying in the state of California.

[2:57:30] The building top is not fixed elevation and that should be done because it should be related

[2:57:37] to NAVD system that, you know, couldn't be changed if the dimensions are from the ground

[2:57:45] that could be easily changed, growing to not show drainage system for roofs, yeah, that's

[2:57:51] all. Next, yeah. Drainage system, there's no any type of system shown on the rowings for

[2:57:57] the drainage system of the roofs. And, you know, it's important because this roof is about

[2:58:01] about four feet from our property line, okay.

[2:58:06] In the summary, an hour summary we would like to emphasize

[2:58:10] and put on record that the project approved by the seat

[2:58:14] of cost of misapplying commission didn't follow

[2:58:17] a due process of public notice before the

[2:58:19] plain commission hearing and was not ready

[2:58:22] for the plain commission hearing and approval.

[2:58:25] As it raises very serious design privacy, security

[2:58:28] and safety concerns and exposes as the neighbor's potential legal litigations and monetary damages.

[2:58:35] After approximately two years of the department's plan check, some very important planning-related

[2:58:42] details of the project are either incomplete or they are totally omitted.

[2:58:49] The approved surveying drawings that includes property line location orientation has been

[2:58:54] prepared and T certified by an unlicensed professional.

[2:58:59] In this case, the planning decision to approve the wrong certified by unlicensed professional

[2:59:04] exposes us to immediately legal dispute with the developer.

[2:59:09] The 27-foot height limit was set for the neighbor's perspective and privacy.

[2:59:17] We oppose the raising of the great level on the flat lot to subvert the building height limit.

[2:59:25] Basically, the building height was measured from the great was raised and the height was measured from the grid.

[2:59:34] And then with the nine-foot ceiling, I mean, nine-foot ceiling heights, we do not have a problem with the proposed houses floor being higher to meet the street

[2:59:45] get the elevation, however, we categorically pose rising the natural grade at our property

[2:59:53] line, thus altering the natural stone water flow and drainage pattern that will adversely

[2:59:59] affect our

[3:00:30] It would establish a dangerous precedent for our neighbors. The 7-foot height limit will lose its meaning. Our customers on neighborhood will look like a chessboard, chessboard, with the blood squares representing newly built hills and white squares representing lower lots or vice versa. The neighborhood will become like an old-time neighborhood of lords and commoners with some properties owners having told houses on

[3:00:59] the hills, overlooking neighbors, private backyards, and the lower property owners losing their

[3:01:07] sunlight, privacy, and getting outside the water, and possibly even so early because some

[3:01:14] pipes will run higher than our yard.

[3:01:19] And that would, you know, be naturally squeezed out from the neighbors, build up hills down the

[3:01:24] across to the yards.

[3:01:28] allowing the Chancellor-type development, unfortunately, can lead to disputes between

[3:01:34] neighbors. Some disputes could even lead to causes of action.

[3:01:39] Thank you for your attention.

[3:01:40] Thank you, sir.

[3:01:41] Thank you.

[3:01:42] Okay.

[3:01:43] So, counsel, do you have any questions of either the applicant, the staff, or the appellant?

[3:01:47] Counsel member Gameros, you have the floor.

[3:01:50] Okay.

[3:01:55] Thank you. I have several questions. I guess I'm going to start with staff here.

[3:02:04] So there's an allegation that the plans were not submitted for public review until Friday, the Friday before the Monday that the Planning Commission was. Is that correct?

[3:02:19] Thank you, Council Member Gameros.

[3:02:21] The Planning Commission packet was released.

[3:02:24] The question was directed to staff, I'm sorry, you got it, go ahead.

[3:02:30] Sorry about that.

[3:02:31] The Planning Commission packet published on Thursday, August 7th.

[3:02:36] The Planning Commission packet was published on Thursday, August 7th, and

[3:02:40] when was the Planning Commission meeting?

[3:02:42] It was on Monday, August 11th, so that met the 72-hour agenda posting regulation.

[3:02:48] Okay.

[3:02:49] And the packet included the full staff report and the plans as well.

[3:02:52] Okay.

[3:02:53] And then there was also an allegation about roof drains.

[3:03:00] Do the homes have roof drains?

[3:03:02] Do the new ones?

[3:03:06] Thank you for your question, Council Member.

[3:03:10] Things like roof drainage, downspouts, et cetera are generally shown on building plans and

[3:03:17] And evaluated at that time, the plans presented here and to planning commission are more conceptual

[3:03:24] illustrating the general design of the property.

[3:03:27] But during the plan check process, all of those issues, drainage downspouts will be evaluated

[3:03:32] to make sure that they comply with code.

[3:03:39] And just to add on to that, the roof plan shown, generally these are designed with gutters

[3:03:45] and downspouts, and they will drain onto the property just right at the side of the house.

[3:03:51] Okay. And then another question I have here. It's showing,

[3:03:57] I'm a little confused, but it's,

[3:03:59] it looks like it's showing that there's a raise elevation here. It looks like we're raising the

[3:04:07] grade and there's import fill coming in, is that correct?

[3:04:12] That's correct, Councilmember.

[3:04:13] Okay, why are we having, I don't know how much, but I heard 800 cubic yards of import fill coming in

[3:04:20] for this. Why? I'm just curious.

[3:04:23] There were drainage concerns on the site right now. It doesn't quite drain to the street properly.

[3:04:30] So the grade raise was necessary to make the site drain properly to the street.

[3:04:38] I can add on to that. The sites currently below the sidewalk.

[3:04:42] So can't drain to the street and the site currently drains in an eastward direction and the

[3:04:51] The street of San Ana Avenue is the western boundary of the site.

[3:04:54] And so in order for both lots to drain onto the sidewalk of the site.

[3:05:00] The site actually has to be higher because the sidewalk elevation is over 72 feet above sea level, and currently the site is 71 in change at its highest point. And so it needs to be raised in order for water to drain onto the street where it's required to drain. So does the 2308 Senate Avenue lot drain properly?

[3:05:22] Today, not currently, no. Okay. I'm probably going to have more questions as this moves on.

[3:05:28] but I'm going to hold off for now and anyone else would like to ask, please.

[3:05:33] Thank you.

[3:05:34] Appreciate your answers there.

[3:05:37] I have just a couple of quick questions.

[3:05:40] When did you first apply to the city of Costa Mesa for this permit?

[3:05:48] Or whatever, wait with the CUP, I guess.

[3:05:50] So is there a question for me for this?

[3:05:51] Yeah, I believe it was 2023.

[3:05:54] I don't recall exactly.

[3:05:55] I want to say it was 2023.

[3:05:57] Okay.

[3:05:57] So the process to get you from the beginning to get to where you are right now has been approximately two years correct

[3:06:04] And honestly it's been two months just to get here from the planning commission

[3:06:07] I think it took two months to get on the planning commission and so four months or five months have just been

[3:06:16] Commissions and so and maybe this is for the lawyer who has

[3:06:20] Experience maybe with other jurisdictions. I mean how does that length of time compare to

[3:06:27] a prior experience, time in other jurisdictions,

[3:06:33] and there's no wrong answer.

[3:06:35] I just want the truth so I can help diagnose some issues.

[3:06:39] That's a very long time.

[3:06:40] Usually a two year entitlement window would be

[3:06:43] for a very large project, not two single family homes

[3:06:47] and a lot, but in just to clarify,

[3:06:49] this is a tentative map and design review.

[3:06:51] There's no CUP, it's completely compliant with the code.

[3:06:54] I got it.

[3:06:55] But I got the wording wrong and I knew I would, but thank you for correcting me, but for this process to get to the tentative design review and map, you would have expected it to take how long?

[3:07:13] For something like this, six months.

[3:07:15] Six months.

[3:07:15] So it's taken approximately four times as long as you would normally expect in your experience.

[3:07:29] Okay.

[3:07:30] And then the other question I have is, you know, number six on the staff slide, please.

[3:07:38] So,

[3:07:52] oh, okay, we had it, now it's gone, six, thank you.

[3:07:57] So, the little green rectangles, that's the driveway, correct?

[3:08:05] Yeah.

[3:08:06] That's correct.

[3:08:07] And is the material that's being used or proposed to be used, is that permeable?

[3:08:14] That driveway is concrete with broken, like separated by this artificial grass in order

[3:08:26] to create a decorative driveway approach.

[3:08:28] Oh, so that the green part is the grass?

[3:08:32] Correct.

[3:08:33] So, okay, so then it's concrete which is not permeable.

[3:08:36] Correct.

[3:08:37] And then the grass is.

[3:08:38] Correct.

[3:08:39] In fact, the partition between them would be permeable.

[3:08:44] Okay.

[3:08:45] What are the advantages and disadvantages of having a permeable driveway?

[3:08:50] I mean, it's probably your call that I'm just curious.

[3:08:54] From my perspective, permeable driveways are very difficult to maintain and

[3:09:00] most homeowners will not maintain them and the permeability of the driveway will clog.

[3:09:05] And hence why you probably very seldom see them in residential properties because the effectiveness

[3:09:13] of the permeability decreases over time unless you're able to professionally maintain them.

[3:09:18] Okay, thank you. I don't have any other questions. Thank you.

[3:09:23] Do any other council members have questions? Council member Reynolds?

[3:09:27] Yeah, just a quick question for staff. There was a discussion about appropriate

[3:09:35] Can you confirm that our staff have checked that the property lines are accurate?

[3:09:42] Thank you, Commissioner Reynolds.

[3:09:44] At this time, the applicant has submitted a, or council member, the applicant has submitted a what we call a topographic survey.

[3:09:57] the project is conditioned.

[3:10:00] I would like to provide property corner certification and boundary marks during the building plan check process. Typically, there's not much deviation between those two surveys. So at this time, we believe that the property lines indicated are accurate. The boundary survey process is more extensive and it has more cost and it's one of the reasons it's done after entitlements are provided. The applicant would work with the county and get it recorded. So at this time, we don't have that level of a survey.

[3:10:29] but the topographic survey is typically pretty accurate.

[3:10:32] Thank you.

[3:10:33] And in the conditions is the key part, right?

[3:10:36] So that would be answered, okay.

[3:10:38] And then there was a note about the project potentially

[3:10:46] damaging existing trees.

[3:10:48] I don't know if that was on the site property or adjacent property.

[3:10:51] What are our current rules about like a neighbor damaging

[3:10:55] another neighbor's tree?

[3:10:57] The entitlements that would be provided are limited to the applicant's property.

[3:11:03] If there is a tree that does, let's say straddle a property line, that would be something that would have to be worked out typically sometimes civilly, but it's not something that I don't know if we've studied completely the existing planting plan that we have is just really showing what's proposed and it doesn't show if there's any trees to be damaged, but it's intended to only modify the trees on the subject property.

[3:11:29] Any

[3:11:33] other questions of staff or the applicant or the appellate, if not, then let's open it up for public comment so you all can sit down.

[3:11:44] And there may or may not be anyone else from the public that wishes to talk of this matter.

[3:11:51] I don't see anybody from the public, from the chambers.

[3:11:56] Anybody on Zoom?

[3:11:57] No, Mr. Mayor.

[3:11:57] Closed public comment, and there's a stuff going on with the Councilmember Gameras wanted to remove his motion.

[3:12:08] You want to remove your motion?

[3:12:12] Okay, I'll make a motion.

[3:12:14] I'll make a motion, sir.

[3:12:15] Okay, I'm going to make a motion to, I guess it's to affirm the planning commission's decision to approve this project.

[3:12:25] Second, okay, it's small lot ordinance project.

[3:12:32] I have one other question.

[3:12:34] How come this has to even come to the Planning Commission?

[3:12:37] Why can't, if they're not asking for any variances, why can't it be ruled on administratively?

[3:12:46] The project, including the map right now is required by code to come through to the Planning Commission for review.

[3:12:53] The code also indicates that the design of the structures is part of that application.

[3:12:57] Be submitted either prior to processing that tentative map.

[3:13:01] So that's what the code requires at this time.

[3:13:04] All right.

[3:13:06] Okay.

[3:13:07] If I may, Mr. Mayor, I, yes, if you're leaving.

[3:13:10] If I could just, just a brief add on here.

[3:13:14] And I think in some prior meetings, we had talked about an ongoing process to clean up the

[3:13:19] code and streamline a lot of these types of approvals.

[3:13:23] One of the reasons that this property needs a discretionary approval to subdivide and

[3:13:29] build two new homes is that it's not in an R1.

[3:13:33] R1, if it currently R1s can do this ministerially, they're purely on a staff level.

[3:13:38] But this being an R2 could have to use the small lot subdivision ordinance.

[3:13:44] And so our plan, one of the things on our top priority is to update the streamlining so

[3:13:49] So that R2 properties can be processed in a similar manner as the R1 property SB9 type process.

[3:13:55] So I just wanted to add that on as well.

[3:13:57] Thank you, I was just going to comment, during my comments.

[3:13:59] First of all, it is always good to see property owners using their rights to create more housing stock for community.

[3:14:05] And ESA Costa Mesa has a lot of interesting parts of the multiple housing adjacent and

[3:14:10] I think, I'm very thankful to hear you say that because I was about to ask that of staff.

[3:14:16] Any chance you have to stream my housing production we should do so, and I really want us to be making the goal to be as efficient and

[3:14:22] pretty for housing.

[3:14:23] It should not take the applicant long enough that they're used to to get a housing project that we need to go to makes it through.

[3:14:28] So I'm really pleased to support this motion and I'm happy that we're moving forward with more housing.

[3:14:35] Yes, anyway, I wanted to further express myself about the motion.

[3:14:40] Yeah, thank you for answering my question.

[3:14:43] and I do recall that the small lot ordinance was a hot political topic back in the 2017-2018

[3:14:53] time frame and there was an amendment to the ordinance that I voted on.

[3:15:00] I have a PTSD flashback from that. I know we were over an OCC, believe it or not. I don't know if anybody else remembers that when we voted on it, because we thought there would be so many people there. Or was it the fairgrounds? No, it was, it was a fairgrounds. We were at the fairgrounds for some reason. And we voted for, we weren't in the council chambers. But yeah, so that could be the reason why the code is white is because it was a very politically sensitive issue.

[3:15:29] But that's kind of died down, and now the priorities of the council have settled on as Mayor Pro Tem, Chavez said, providing more housing.

[3:15:40] And I think this is a terrific project.

[3:15:43] I just wish we would have gotten it through faster, and I know we will in the future.

[3:15:48] You know, you're winning, so there's something critical for you to say.

[3:15:53] Just a clarification if the motion includes the additional condition that the Planning Commission impose.

[3:15:59] Yeah, yeah, yes, it does.

[3:16:02] It's just approving what affirming what they did.

[3:16:05] Okay, thank you.

[3:16:06] Okay.

[3:16:06] The only thing I was going to mention is it'd be good to just approve these plans as they are so

[3:16:11] we can move forward and be clear about the conditions.

[3:16:16] Well, the only condition they added was to get rid of the palm trees, right?

[3:16:20] I mean, that's no big deal, right?

[3:16:21] What did they do? They had anything else?

[3:16:26] It was the two of us. There's two I saw. And we addressed them both.

[3:16:31] The commission also reiterated the requirement that a view study be required during the building plan check process.

[3:16:38] And so in an effort to try to maybe eliminate that component of the condition, the applicant has submitted

[3:16:43] the revised landscaping plan to provide additional landscaping, to provide that privacy so

[3:16:49] that that study won't be required down the road.

[3:16:51] Okay. And so what does staff think about that? You think it's a good idea to eliminate that?

[3:17:01] When we evaluated the revised landscaping plan, the applicant does appear to comply with the additional required landscaping as recommended by the planning commission, and it would be beneficial to make a determination of if that's sufficient to reduce the privacy impacts or not.

[3:17:19] Otherwise, if during building plan check there's additional remedies, we maybe should be requiring them at this time.

[3:17:27] I'm not understanding.

[3:17:28] So if the landscaping is sufficient, then we shouldn't have to do additional view studies to determine if there's privacy impacts.

[3:17:37] Okay, so you think we should get rid of the view study?

[3:17:41] I think it's the recommendation, yes, correct?

[3:17:45] Okay, I will include that in my motion.

[3:17:47] second cruise.

[3:17:48] Second cruise.

[3:17:49] No view study.

[3:17:50] Let's get rid of the palm trees.

[3:17:52] Correct.

[3:17:53] I know some of the council members feel strongly about palm trees.

[3:17:56] And palm trees.

[3:17:58] People don't like palm trees.

[3:17:59] And palm trees, you know, I don't mind palm trees but they can be as we saw in the fires.

[3:18:07] They can be flammable and dangerous so you could use another tree.

[3:18:12] But we'll get rid of the view study.

[3:18:14] That's good. If there's no other comments than anybody has, okay, Councilmember Gameros.

[3:18:22] No,

[3:18:26] I know, but can you read if you want to give me a comment?

[3:18:33] What could you pile, pile?

[3:18:41] Okay, well you said that already.

[3:18:42] We heard you. Go.

[3:18:43] Okay, so I just want to make some comments here on everything that I've heard.

[3:18:49] I don't think it's fair that an applicant, a developer,

[3:18:55] has to wait two years, or invests two years of their time, not in that of itself,

[3:19:01] but in proportion to the fact that 72 hours is only given because that's the letter of the law.

[3:19:09] There's a letter of the law and there's a sphere of the law.

[3:19:11] And I'm not going to call foul play.

[3:19:14] But if it takes two years to get to the Planning Commission and 72 hours later,

[3:19:20] there's a decision made. I think that's extremely impactful on the surrounding

[3:19:24] neighbors and I don't think it's fair. So, for that reason, I'm not going to support this.

[3:19:30] Okay. Fair enough. Let's call for the question.

[3:19:41] Councilmember Reynolds, please.

[3:19:45] Motion carries 5-1 with Councilmember Camero's voting. No.

[3:19:49] Thank you. Congratulations and we're moving on to the next item which is old business item number

[3:19:56] Number one.

[3:19:58] Thank you.

[3:19:59] This is the clean-

[3:20:00] Ability, options, voucher, pilot, program for community-based transit. This is an amendment one presentation by Mr. Seth Rahman, Public Works Director.

[3:20:11] Mr. Mayor, members of the council, our

[3:20:15] Transpression, so it's managed at Paul Martin, and I have a Transpression Co-ordinator,

[3:20:20] but I think the Atomas are getting ready to set up the presentation.

[3:20:25] But I think we'll make the presentation, and I will be happy to answer any questions after that.

[3:20:31] Okay.

[3:20:35] Gentlemen, whenever you're ready, you have the floor.

[3:20:42] Good evening, Mayor Pro Tem and Honoural Council.

[3:20:46] I bring, we bring before you, I'm joined, my name's but I think the Atomas, I'm the City's

[3:20:50] Active Transportation Coordinator, and I'm joined by Paul Martin, our City's Transportation Services Manager.

[3:20:56] Today, we bring before you the Clean Mobility Options Voucher Pilot Program for Community-Based Transit Amendment 1.

[3:21:04] Some quick background on the project, the Clean Mobility Options Program is a state-wide initiative that provides funding for on-demand electric vehicle transit services to underserved communities.

[3:21:16] And the goals of this program are to increase clean mobility options for low income and disadvantaged communities.

[3:21:23] Provide community driven mobility solutions, improve access to safe reliable community and affordable community mobility, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

[3:21:34] The city staff submitted a successful grant amplification to the CMO program in August of 2023, and we were awarded an initial grant of

[3:21:46] $500,000 per year for a total of $1.5 million with no, and I should point out there's had no required local match.

[3:21:54] In June of 2024, the City Council awarded a contract services agreement to circuit transit ink to operate the on-demand rideshare service.

[3:22:04] And we began operation of the service in October 2024, which provided on-demand point-to-point rideshare service in the areas of college park and

[3:22:15] the west side south of Joanne Street connecting that area to the area surrounding the east side

[3:22:21] commercial district along 17th Street.

[3:22:26] Since the launch of the program in October of 2024, we've seen a steady increase in

[3:22:31] ridership until the month of August, our last recorded month of 2,800 rides per month.

[3:22:39] In February of 2025, city staff successfully secured an additional grant of $300,000 to increase the program funding from $1.5 million to $1.8 million.

[3:22:53] This additional funding will expand the service area and add a fourth electric vehicle to the service.

[3:23:00] In addition, the expansion of the service is pending the approval of amendment one with circuit transit ink.

[3:23:07] Additionally, the staff is proposing to update the service hours.

[3:23:11] The current service hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m.

[3:23:16] Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

[3:23:20] And we're proposing to extend the Monday through Friday service hours from 8 a.m.

[3:23:24] to 8 p.m.

[3:23:25] And maintain those Saturday and Sunday hours from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

[3:23:30] The service area, as mentioned, is currently south of Joanne Street in the College Park and

[3:23:35] west side areas to federal avenue, south of west 19th street, it goes to the western city limits to west 16th street and this connects again to the east 17th street commercial district, bounded by east 18th street in the north and east 16th street in the south, the proposed service area expansion would add the addition of the whole hospital complex as well as the east side of Newport Boulevard, south of Santa Isabella Avenue between Elden Avenue, Florida Avenue and Newport

[3:24:05] report Boulevard.

[3:24:08] The CMO pilot project for on-demand transit services is included in the fiscal year 2025-26 CIP budget and the amount of $500,000.

[3:24:19] Staff is requesting to increase this appropriation to 650,000 for the approved expansion of the service.

[3:24:26] And funding for the proposed amendment one with circuit transit ink is provided by the grant for two years.

[3:24:33] And as previously mentioned, there is no local city match.

[3:24:35] the CMO pilot program does require a city commitment, however, of city staff time, including social media advertising and administration, as well as electricity for four EV chargers and dedicated parking spaces at the corporate yard.

[3:24:53] Staff recommends that this evening that City Council approve amendment one to the contractor services agreement with Circuit Transit A.

[3:25:00] I think for the clean mobility options voucher pilot program in an amount not to exceed $650,000 annually for a term of two years. That city council authorize an increase of appropriation of the clean mobility on demand transit services from 500,000 to 650,000 for the FY 2025, 26 budget. And that city council authorize the city manager and the city clerk to execute the agreement and future amendments to the

[3:25:29] agreement. With that, I conclude my presentation and we are available for questions. Thank you

[3:25:34] very much. Thank you, excellent presentation. Any questions?

[3:25:39] How's the room really? Just a couple. I know it's a popular program and

[3:25:44] it seems to be getting a lot of usage, but I'm just curious, in 2026, whether the grant

[3:25:49] program runs out, have we heard any indication from Sacramento or any other

[3:25:54] sources to what their intentions are or what our plan would be if the funding

[3:26:01] Good evening, councilmember Buley. I'm Paul Martin, the Transportation Services Manager.

[3:26:06] We kind of expected you guys would ask. It's kind of the hot topic, right? We were able,

[3:26:13] the city was able to secure a grant for three years. So what happens after that? Our team

[3:26:18] is actually working on a more comprehensive memo, providing more details about the ridership

[3:26:23] and evaluating how the service is going that will provide the City Council.

[3:26:28] And with that, always thinking about funding opportunities going forward.

[3:26:32] We haven't necessarily seen another funding source immediately, but

[3:26:36] we've got a couple years to really nurture that and look for those opportunities.

[3:26:41] Whether that's with the state or with OCTA more locally,

[3:26:45] or if there's some other mechanism for some funding sources.

[3:26:49] I would imagine maybe with our finance department or what now we can do some sort of analysis and look at a whole bunch of scenarios, but one scenario is what's it cost to maintain this and what would be a reasonable fee for servicing right now it's a gratis voucher program but who knows we own the vehicles my sense is a lot of these EVs are pretty low to no maintenance for certain period of time, depending on what their loo useful life is.

[3:27:16] And you guys crunch the numbers and see what's the low, low amount to still provide the service, especially if it's extremely popular at a below market fee, but I'm sure that's part of the memo and things you guys will be working on.

[3:27:32] And that's kind of the beauty of the pilot right we're getting that opportunity for three years years to really see

[3:27:39] With X dollars. What do we get with these certain amount of hours with this many vehicles and a certain geography

[3:27:46] So then we'll know exactly what those costs are through the coordination with this vendor that we have running the system

[3:27:54] Okay, I'm gonna support this. I was just curious. Well, yeah, I've got you guys here. Yeah, I didn't ask you a great

[3:27:59] Mr. Mayor.

[3:28:01] Yes.

[3:28:02] If you can just clarify, the funding is there till October of 2027, I just want to clarify that.

[3:28:11] Excellent.

[3:28:12] Any other, before we open it up to the public, any other questions?

[3:28:17] Okay, let's open it up to public comment.

[3:28:26] I guess I'll go first.

[3:28:29] Yes.

[3:28:29] Yes, quick question, I didn't even know that this program existed in Costa Mesa, but I was wondering, isn't there any other cities that have already done certain programs like that that we can study off of them instead of us spending 1.8 million dollars?

[3:28:45] I mean, I got a lot of relatives that live in LA and they all have scooters and they, you know, you just pick them up and you do whatever.

[3:28:51] So, demographically, who's using the service?

[3:28:55] Is it young people?

[3:28:56] Is it adults?

[3:28:57] Is it people with handicap?

[3:29:00] Is it, you know, the Orange County Transportation Authority

[3:29:03] already operates buses for people that are injured or, you know,

[3:29:09] they need handicap, wheelchair services and so forth.

[3:29:12] So, aren't we kind of doubling this thing up?

[3:29:15] Why are we studying something that somebody else might have already looked at instead

[3:29:19] of saying, hey, look, that worked for these guys?

[3:29:21] Why don't we implement this and do this? And then you guys are buying the batteries on these cars

[3:29:27] Those things go out then the car is useless because you got to change the batteries on them

[3:29:33] Granted, it's not going to happen in three years, but they do diminish

[3:29:37] so my common is white set up another

[3:29:42] Committee to study something that somebody else probably already done and if it's not here locally

[3:29:49] I'm sure the Japanese have already thought about it.

[3:29:52] Tokyo is very, very crowded and they've figured that stuff out.

[3:29:56] So we can look at other things and bring it here instead of trying to create our own...

[3:30:00] No one study session. My two cents worth, thanks. Thank you. Commissioner. Thank you, Mr. Mayor, just speaking on behalf of myself. Yeah, this is a fantastic program. I have used it already. Enough times to where a driver now recognizes me when I use the program. So I'm very happy about the service. And I'm happy to see it expand over to the east side. I'm sure anyone, any east side regulars would appreciate not having

[3:30:29] to cross over the 55 in order to use this service and I think it's fantastic to expand

[3:30:35] it to include a Hogue Hospital so that anyone can get to their necessary medical appointments.

[3:30:42] So this looks like a great service and I also think that any data points that we can collect

[3:30:47] from this, any anonymized point to point data, see where the travel demand is going to

[3:30:56] and from, and then if we continue with a micro transit service, if after the three-year

[3:31:01] grant period is over, we decide we'd like to go for more of a consistent route, a fixed

[3:31:09] route service, we'll have that data that is specific to Costa Mesa and not something that

[3:31:15] is from like Huntington Beach's circuit system or something like that, which they do have.

[3:31:21] So I think this is a great program and I'm excited to see it expand.

[3:31:24] Thank you.

[3:31:25] Okay, thank you.

[3:31:26] Anybody on Zoom?

[3:31:30] No, Mr. Mayor.

[3:31:31] Close public comment.

[3:31:33] And I'm going to make the motion to approve the staff recommendation, seconded by Council Member Reynolds.

[3:31:39] I'm really, I remember when we opened this and I'm really happy that we've had 11,000 riders and that it's increasing in ridership.

[3:31:48] Do we have data about, and I'm sorry if it's in the staff report and I forget it, I'm sorry about that.

[3:31:54] Do we have data about the demographics of the users?

[3:31:59] Again, that's one of the items that we plan to go into a deeper dive in the memo.

[3:32:06] We do have some data about the age demographic and some of the destinations in particular.

[3:32:12] So we did want to really evaluate that in discussion with the operator.

[3:32:16] And obviously because of the use that we are filling some gaps from OC access provided by OCTA and things like that.

[3:32:26] So that's terrific.

[3:32:28] But is it going to be in the memo, I should say, why are there gaps in how is it that we're filling those gaps?

[3:32:39] Yeah, definitely. We didn't have here tonight, which could be supplemented in the memo is a discussion again about the OCTA buses, the OCE bus routes that go through the city and where they do and don't serve the city and how this microtransit is run by the city, we are in control over what the geography is and what the community it serves, what those destinations are.

[3:33:03] So we have much more say over how that management occurs and it's less of a line that a typical bus route has that's fixed in this case more of a foot geography of the community.

[3:33:18] So we cover a greater area of the community that can be served by all the micro transit.

[3:33:25] So there are definitely pros and cons associated with this type of transit versus the more traditional buses run by OCTA.

[3:33:34] Right. Or even the OCT access, the, you know, the, for disabled folks in the old folks.

[3:33:43] Right. Because our micro transit is serving all the community. So it's not only anyone with mobility access issues.

[3:33:51] Right, right.

[3:33:51] So, greater audience.

[3:33:54] Yeah, anyway, congratulations.

[3:33:56] I mean, I think it's a great implementation.

[3:33:58] Council member Reynolds, did you have anything to say

[3:34:01] you're the second of the motion?

[3:34:03] Yes, a very enthusiastic second.

[3:34:08] Very, very proud of this program.

[3:34:10] And it's great to see the growing

[3:34:12] user ship and the variety in the user ship.

[3:34:16] A little bit of history.

[3:34:18] I know there's been some talks about,

[3:34:19] So, you know, we're different grants come from this is one that several years ago our team was very intentional about pursuing because feedback especially from the Westside community was serious mobility challenges.

[3:34:36] I don't have the data right in front of me, but I recall some census-based statistics on customisa.

[3:34:43] These neighborhoods in particular being some of the highest proportion of residents that don't have access to a car

[3:34:49] And that spans multiple ages

[3:34:51] But another broader context is the aging of Orange County, right? And so a lot of this covers my district where I would get feedback from a lot of her

[3:35:00] And your community members who said they didn't go to the senior center because they didn't have access to, they didn't have vehicle access. It was hard to get there. They didn't go to certain events. They didn't get to parks. They couldn't get to a hospital because they didn't have this support. And so knowing that one where able to create these connections is a really incredible service that we can provide. And being able to do it completely free to the city for three years is pretty fantastic. My primary question you already touched on, which was,

[3:35:29] I really wanted to make sure we're ahead of the ball for when the existing grant money

[3:35:34] is gone.

[3:35:35] I know you guys are playing with a lot of different strategies there and can look at other areas

[3:35:40] for those strategies.

[3:35:42] I love the idea of a fix route ride when I was in college or college provided, they called

[3:35:47] it safe ride.

[3:35:48] It was like a fix route.

[3:35:49] So you know, every 10 minutes, you know, in certain locations, a shuttle was going to come

[3:35:53] up that you could get on.

[3:35:54] If that makes sense, you know, it's worth looking into.

[3:35:58] I've mentioned this before with some of the other OCTA funded transportation services that

[3:36:04] we provide, really making sure that we're looking at whether it makes sense to coordinate

[3:36:08] or combine those services that we run through the senior center.

[3:36:13] Let's make sure that we're looking at that data together.

[3:36:19] The Japanese have a really good strategy, subways, light rail, fast trains, walkable cities,

[3:36:26] We'll get there, but I think this is a really good incremental step.

[3:36:29] Congratulations.

[3:36:31] Thank you.

[3:36:33] Okay.

[3:36:34] Anyone else to count?

[3:36:36] Mayor.

[3:36:38] Mayor Pro Temp.

[3:36:39] Thank you, Mayor Stevens, and thank you, Mayor Reynolds, for your good comments on this.

[3:36:43] I know you were very interested in bringing this program to Costa Mesa, and it doesn't come

[3:36:47] as much entirety of my district.

[3:36:50] A few things I want to point out is, when we look at the ridership of this program, 45% of

[3:36:55] of the folks using this program are 16 to 22 years old.

[3:36:59] So what that tells me is that we're helping young people in our community,

[3:37:04] perhaps get to their grocery store.

[3:37:05] Don't worry, they're right in two on e-bikes, kind of dangerous.

[3:37:08] But the point I'm trying to make is this is clearly shown to be something that's good for

[3:37:13] the youth.

[3:37:14] And we have a lot of kids in West Coast Mesa that go to school in New Bra Harbor.

[3:37:18] A lot of kids go to school in Sancia and they may get get across town.

[3:37:21] This is very, very productive.

[3:37:23] I think it's a good use of grant funding because I don't own money, it's someone else's money we're using for this program.

[3:37:29] So, I look forward to seeing us continue to develop it, and yeah, let's be productive looking at the future and

[3:37:35] see what we need to do to maintain this with without grant funding.

[3:37:39] Ideally, the hope would be that we have grant funding for this, but if we really feel like it's fitting in our community, I think we should explore that option.

[3:37:47] So, with that being said, there's a good motion, and I was happy to support it.

[3:37:50] Okay.

[3:37:54] In that case, let's call for the question.

[3:38:02] Councilmember Buley, please.

[3:38:06] Motion carries 6-0.

[3:38:09] Right. Now, we have one more item, old business item number two.

[3:38:16] Before we adjourn back to our closed session, can you read the title, please?

[3:38:22] Yes. Second reading and adoption of an ordinance of the City Council, the City of Costa Mesa, California.

[3:38:28] Many in chapters 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and 11 of Title 13, Planning, Zoning, and Development, of the Customation, Municipal Code, Planning, Zoning, and Development, to provide technical updates and clarifications.

[3:38:45] Code amendment PCTY- 2025-001, presentation by Ms. Curly, Assistant Planner.

[3:38:53] Now, Ms. Curley, this was approved as my recollection.

[3:38:57] It was approved last time unanimously.

[3:39:00] So how many syllables do you need for your presentation?

[3:39:05] If any.

[3:39:07] Mayor, staff is available for any questions.

[3:39:09] There you go.

[3:39:10] Beautiful, rock and roll.

[3:39:12] That's the best presentation you've ever made.

[3:39:17] Caitlin Curley for the win.

[3:39:19] All right.

[3:39:21] Let's open it up unless there's no questions.

[3:39:23] Just let's open it up to public comment.

[3:39:25] Anybody, oh, really, Mark, yes, please, please, how many syllables do you need, and then take your time, Mark.

[3:39:56] Are you ready?

[3:39:56] Yeah.

[3:39:57] Good evening, Councilor.

[3:39:59] My name is-

[3:40:00] This is Mark Brooksovich, and I want to tell the story of two businesses in Costa Mesa and one government regulation.

[3:40:07] There we go. This is Ali Garvin, the owner of Meet Coffee in Costa Mesa. Meet Coffee actually just celebrated its 10 year anniversary, I think yesterday or the day before. Meet Coffee, if you haven't been, is the clicker going to work.

[3:40:26] I'm trying every button.

[3:40:30] I'm just going to say next slide.

[3:40:31] Is that, you know what I mean?

[3:40:36] Kneat coffees in West Side Coast of Mason

[3:40:38] is a wonderful institution, a coffee shop,

[3:40:41] a community center, started from an old car repair shop

[3:40:45] or something like that, it serves as an amazing community space.

[3:40:49] And knee coffee almost didn't exist.

[3:40:51] Kneat coffee almost didn't exist

[3:40:53] because of our parking minimum requirements.

[3:40:56] Kneat coffee only existed because we,

[3:40:59] because they were not going to meet

[3:41:00] a coastal basis parking minimum requirement,

[3:41:03] unless they put in a bike rack

[3:41:04] which could count for one spot of their parking minimum requirement.

[3:41:09] This is Boyle and Bake. Boyle and Bake is Costa Mesa's newest and greatest

[3:41:13] bagel shop owned by Chef Carlos and Chef Luke. Chef Carlos, if you don't know, is the

[3:41:18] son of the owner of Shirley's Bagels and has been in the Bagel family a long, long

[3:41:23] time. They make amazing, delicious bagels. I'm going to go there in the morning.

[3:41:29] They have been recognized as one of the best restaurants in Costa Mesa.

[3:41:32] listed number one on eaters, eating through Costa Mesa.

[3:41:37] They're recognized across California,

[3:41:40] and Southern California for the best vehicles,

[3:41:42] and they just have their two-year anniversary.

[3:41:45] This is their door, their front door on the right,

[3:41:48] 114 right there.

[3:41:49] On the left of them, 112, they're expanding,

[3:41:52] just next door to them.

[3:41:53] And since big things are coming,

[3:41:55] because they're expanding their business.

[3:41:57] But they've been told by the city of Costa Mesa

[3:41:59] that at that expansion, that they cannot have four barstools because they don't meet the minimum

[3:42:06] parking requirement for their property. And they want those four barstools. Their landlord

[3:42:12] wants their four barstools, but our minimum parking requirement says, no, the government

[3:42:17] knows better than the small business owner. This is incredibly frustrating to me. It's incredibly

[3:42:21] frustrating to me how many businesses never even saw the light of day in Costa Mesa because

[3:42:26] they couldn't make their government arbitrary parking requirement standard, as they could

[3:42:32] never see the light of day. And so parking requirements and zoning ordinance

[3:42:36] have created unoccupied spaces. That's sort of something I agree with. Parking does in

[3:42:42] fact deduce traffic and driving. It's not something we should be mandating. It's something

[3:42:46] we should let small businesses decide. And I'm not going to go into this. I don't have

[3:42:50] time. But ultimately, I don't think the government

[3:42:54] how much parking, a mortuary needs, how much a housing development needs,

[3:42:58] how much a flower shop needs, how much a call center needs, and or an accountant's office needs.

[3:43:03] The small business may not know either, but the government certainly doesn't.

[3:43:07] And I think we should get rid of these arbitrary requirements.

[3:43:09] Thank you.

[3:43:12] Spoken by a man who's agitated, yes.

[3:43:15] Okay, so is there anybody on Zoom?

[3:43:20] I would say David, I'm sorry, I missed you over there.

[3:43:22] You have the floor, let's turn that mic back on.

[3:43:25] Thank you. I switched sides on you. Yeah, so speaking only as myself I have to be a little

[3:43:32] careful here because this might come back to planning commission. We did do a study session

[3:43:38] on a whole bunch of different updates towards zoning code that could make businesses be able

[3:43:45] to open a lot faster and a lot easier. And my number one thing that we should address

[3:43:50] is the parking requirements and before you tonight and the reason why Mark and I are both

[3:43:56] talking about this tonight is because you have the commercial parking requirements section

[3:44:01] before you right now under second reading. There are some minor updates in there but honestly

[3:44:07] the best thing that you could do to address boil and bakes concerns to prevent something

[3:44:13] like what happened to neat coffee from happening in the future is just remove that entire section.

[3:44:20] That entire section of commercial parking requirements, honestly, not really needed.

[3:44:28] I've seen graphs from the suggested parking minimum requirements from the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

[3:44:37] And some of those data points that they use are completely lopsided.

[3:44:43] Some of them only have two data points that they use.

[3:44:45] some of them have reverse the bigger businesses, the less parking it actually needs.

[3:44:51] So these things are all over the place and I think if you study the literature of parking

[3:44:57] minimums, and there's a very thick book on-

[3:45:00] Parking requirements by Donald Schoep that you can read if you want, but it essentially says parking requirements are just kind of made up. They're just arbitrarily imposed. And this is one clear, concrete thing that's before you right now. If you wanted to, you could do it tonight, reintroduce as a first reading. But it's something that

[3:45:29] But we desperately need to fix because there are so many businesses, so many places that have been affected by these requirements.

[3:45:41] And they just don't make sense.

[3:45:44] One of my favorites that I've seen is our minimum parking requirements on places that serve alcohol.

[3:45:53] It's like why are we forcing people to have open parking spaces to a place where you're

[3:46:03] going to go and drink and then what you're going to drive home and pair it afterwards.

[3:46:08] So this is my number one issue that I want to see addressed in a future zoning code update.

[3:46:16] And I hope that the City Council agrees.

[3:46:19] Thank you.

[3:46:22] Well, let's just sound really glad I stayed for the last one.

[3:46:26] So when he comes to parking, parking is a driver.

[3:46:31] If you don't have sufficient parking, as stated, and one number does not apply to everything.

[3:46:38] But I'll tell you what, we're having major issues, and what is before you right now.

[3:46:43] If it gets changed, then what happens to all the businesses that have gone through and

[3:46:48] applied and either got denied or are currently operating without sufficient.

[3:46:55] The Mercado Market at the Home Depot parking lot, go out there on a Saturday morning.

[3:46:59] There's no parking.

[3:47:01] You have to park at the Home Depot section and walk all the way across if you want to go to the market.

[3:47:06] And if you want to go to the Wells Fargo Bank, well, you might as well park maybe by Starbucks or something down the street cuz there is no parking.

[3:47:12] Even the older employees park in the back of the store now, they're still in the sufficient

[3:47:17] parking.

[3:47:18] They just open the salty horse behind the Rexall center right there on Cecil.

[3:47:25] They're doing phenomenal.

[3:47:27] They don't have any parking.

[3:47:30] They don't have any handicap parking.

[3:47:32] The other day I was driving down the street, there was a girl in the wheelchair trying to

[3:47:35] get to the restaurant.

[3:47:37] Where are they supposed to park?

[3:47:40] Now, the fact that they don't have sufficient parking, they're parking up and down a residential

[3:47:44] street.

[3:47:45] They're parking up and down on Eldin, they're parking down on Cecil.

[3:47:48] There is no parking yet, they're operating a phenomenal business out of a location that

[3:47:54] doesn't even meet the criteria.

[3:47:57] So do you go back and revert all these existing businesses and say, well, guess what, you don't

[3:48:01] need any parking now?

[3:48:03] Just do whatever you want to do.

[3:48:05] or is it going to be like LA that we're going to start having meters on every street and

[3:48:09] the cities collect revenue because now you're parking on city streets because you can't

[3:48:12] park anywhere else.

[3:48:14] And now you're doing the housing program where you can build an ADU, but you don't have

[3:48:18] to supply any parking for the ADU, so where they're going to park.

[3:48:21] They can't park on the grass, they don't have a garage, and everybody that does have a

[3:48:25] garage has stuff with the kids to store in the garage, their electric bikes, their canoes,

[3:48:31] their exercise room, whatever.

[3:48:32] So now everybody gets dumped onto the city street and now the city maintains a city street with red curbs

[3:48:40] So now there's even less parking in higher density areas

[3:48:45] so

[3:48:47] You have to have parking

[3:48:49] it's mandatory to have parking and

[3:48:53] For eliminating so much. I mean

[3:48:56] It doesn't have to be one number fits all

[3:49:00] Everyone should stand on its own merit

[3:49:02] I'm a general contractor.

[3:49:04] If that project doesn't meet the criteria, and I can't make my profit margin,

[3:49:08] that's not a good project for me.

[3:49:10] I walk away from it, I go to the next project.

[3:49:13] So every restaurant or parking situation she's staying on its own ground.

[3:49:18] I mean, I don't think four barstools really makes a difference, but that's my personal opinion.

[3:49:24] But you have to have some picture.

[3:49:26] All right, thank you.

[3:49:28] Anybody on Zoom?

[3:49:29] No, Mr. Mayor.

[3:49:30] Okay, close public comment.

[3:49:31] But I'm going to make a motion to approve the item for second reading.

[3:49:38] However, I do think this is an interesting conversation.

[3:49:41] And I think that we should consider having a study session next year about this concept

[3:49:49] of commercial parking minimums.

[3:49:53] But for now, I think we should vote for this.

[3:49:56] Yes, of course, all on one second, because I made my motion.

[3:49:59] you could speak in the same way.

[3:50:00] Second.

[3:50:02] I made the motion. It's seconded by Councilmember Chavez. We're going to give him a shot to say anything, but I do think that we should just for now get through the holidays, you know, help that we can find a parking space and get through this meeting. Okay. Do you have anything to say, Mayor Pro Tem? No, you have something super important to say. Go. I do just because you guys just confused the heck out of me and I just want some clarification and it kind of pivoted

[3:50:29] It's on the conversation I had with Miss Thai, the one project I was talking about seems like one of the hang-ups was a parking issue, but I just want to make sure I follow this exchange correctly.

[3:50:44] What's being contemplated in tonight's second reading, it wouldn't be, it would be to remove mandatory minimum numbers, but not to remove mandatory parking.

[3:50:56] And I'd like to comment that was made, it seems to me the appropriate path forward when we get there would be on a case-by-case basis, the applicant justify a reasonable parking number that everybody agrees to, but what was being contemplated just remove all parking requirements because that seems absurd to me.

[3:51:19] Thank you, Council Member Buley.

[3:51:21] As part of tonight's agenda item for the second reading, there is no proposal to remove

[3:51:28] any parking minimums.

[3:51:30] The only aspect of the second reading that remotely touches parking is the adoption of

[3:51:37] updated shared parking data for hour by hour usage that allows staff to calculate how a shopping

[3:51:47] center with many tenants, how users of that shopping center occupy parking throughout the

[3:51:52] course of a day so that they can share parking over the course of the day and in total not

[3:51:59] have each tenant park individually.

[3:52:01] And the net result is actually that fewer parking spaces will be required when a whole shopping

[3:52:07] center is taken into account.

[3:52:10] But that is the only aspect of parking that's affected with the zoning ordinance change.

[3:52:14] Any discussion about parking ratios or parking minimums would return at a future time and I'll just end on this

[3:52:21] I'm appreciative of this discussion and to pivot on what we spoke previously maybe a week or so ago that this is all part of the process of

[3:52:29] Cleaning up our zoning and code so we can

[3:52:33] Tackle this problem of delay and frustration and making it difficult for people to pull permits and do business in the city

[3:52:41] So I'll support the motion, but I just wanted that clarification, thank you.

[3:52:45] Before I was good, I just never felt it.

[3:52:47] Shout out to the designated drivers, because I actually drive in park when my wife drinks wine at the bar, just saying, you know.

[3:52:54] So, anyway, good point, Council Member Rounds.

[3:52:59] Yeah, I'll be supporting the motion.

[3:53:01] I just wanted to add, I have a strong interest in well as well, and I like the idea of a study session on the topic.

[3:53:08] It is the highest pain point that I hear from especially our small businesses who are trying to open the very thick book that Commissioner Martinez mentioned in his personal capacity is called the high cost of free parking, and it's really eye-opening about the lost opportunities with certain areas.

[3:53:37] parking requirements, not just what businesses don't open, but how we're using land in our city.

[3:53:44] So I think it's a really important topic and the benefits that come from addressing this issue

[3:53:50] are very aligned with, I think, resident interest on diverse dynamic,

[3:53:56] interesting, locally-owned businesses that really face major barriers due to our parking requirements.

[3:54:02] In one last thing before I call for the question, I do remember having a sitting in a very interesting breakout session at the mayor's conference in D.C.

[3:54:13] Where a napal, wait, was it a napalist?

[3:54:17] Anyway, I think it was one of the city's back east, did a private, public-private partnership to develop paid parking, you know, where people pay on public or private land.

[3:54:31] and we worked with it.

[3:54:33] We have in the city of Costa Mesa, to my knowledge, no place public parking where people pay, right?

[3:54:42] And there's a lot of hunting and beach has that, Santa Ana has that, it's quite good.

[3:54:51] And I think that as Council Member Reynolds said, the title of the books is the high cost of free parking.

[3:54:59] And so

[3:55:00] And so we can maybe work together as part of our discussion on opportunities for a public-private partnership to create parking, to alleviate some of the pressure on our businesses, and also address the need for parking, which I think we all know it exists. But we kind of leave, throw our local businesses to the wolves and have them shoulder the entire burden of that without stepping up.

[3:55:29] as the public sector, as many of our local neighboring communities do, all right?

[3:55:38] Let's call for the question.

[3:55:44] Council Member Pioli, please.

[3:55:49] Motion carries 6, 0.

[3:55:51] Okay, at the request of Council, sorry, Mayor Pro Tem, Chavez, we're going to adjourn in memory in honor of

[3:56:03] Jager boys who died tragically in an e-bike accident and may rest in peace and may we commit ourselves to safe e-bike ridership and take care of those folks on e-bikes.

REGULAR CITY COUNCIL AND HOUSING AUTHORITY* on 2025-10-07 6:00 PM - *Note: All agency memberships are reflected in the title "Council Member"4:00 P.M. Closed Session

Agenda

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